Mock Draft #10
Ended July 31, 2003

This mock draft was conducted by ten fantasy football fanatics from our message boards. It was based on a league using standard performance scoring.

The Draft

Round 1			Round 2			Round 3			Round 4
1	RB	Williams,Ricky	1	RB	Green,Ahman	1	WR	Moulds,Eric	1	QB	Warner,Kurt
2	RB	Tomlinson,Lad.	2	WR	Moss,Randy	2	QB	Culpepper,D.	2	WR	Holt,Torry
3	RB	Portis,Clinton	3	RB	Henry,Travis	3	QB	McNabb,Don.	3	RB	Smith,Antowain
4	RB	Faulk,Marshall	4	RB	Taylor,Fred	4	QB	Vick,Michael	4	WR	Boston,David
5	RB	Holmes,Priest	5	RB	Dillon,Corey	5	WR	Robinson,Koren	5	WR	Horn,Joe
6	RB	McAllister,Deuce	6	RB	Barber,Tiki	6	QB	Manning,Peyton	6	WR	Ward,Hines
7	RB	Alexander,Shaun	7	RB	Lewis,Jamal	7	WR	Burress,Plaxico	7	WR	Driver,Donald
8	WR	Harrison,Marvin	8	RB	Davis,Stephen	8	QB	Gannon,Rich	8	WR	Toomer,Amani
9	RB	James,Edgerrin	9	RB	Garner,Charlie	9	RB	Martin,Curtis	9	TE	Shockey,Jeremy
10	WR	Owens,Terrell	10	RB	Green,William	10	RB	George,Eddie	10	WR	Price,Peerless
Round 5			Round 6			Round 7			Round 8
1	TE	Gonzalez,Tony	1	RB	Smith,Onterrio	1	WR	Rice,Jerry	1	TE	Sharpe,Shannon
2	WR	Johnson,Chad	2	RB	Bettis,Jerome	2	RB	Barlow,Kevan	2	WR	Brown,Troy
3	WR	Coles,Laver.	3	RB	Shipp,Marcel	3	RB	Dunn,Warrick	3	TE	Stevens,Jerramy
4	RB	Hambrick,Troy	4	QB	Maddox,Tommy	4	WR	Jackson,Darrell	4	QB	Favre,Brett
5	QB	Brooks,Aaron	5	WR	Smith,Rod	5	WR	Johnson,Key.	5	RB	Mack,Stacey
6	RB	Thomas,Anthony	6	RB	Stewart,James	6	WR	Gardner,Rod	6	TE	Pollard,Marcus
7	WR	Booker,Marty	7	WR	Mason,Derrick	7	RB	Canidate,Trung	7	TE	Franks,Bubba
8	WR	Stallworth,Donte'	8	WR	Porter,Jerry	8	DT	Buccaneers	8	QB	Green,Trent
9	TE	Heap,Todd	9	WR	Smith,Jimmy	9	QB	Bledsoe,Drew	9	DT	Dolphins
10	WR	Bruce,Isaac	10	QB	Garcia,Jeff	10	WR	Wayne,Reggie	10	RB	Staley,Duce
Round 9			Round 10			Round 11			Round 12
1	WR	Conway,Curtis	1	PK	Elam,Jason	1	PK	Gramatica,M.	1	TE	Miller,Billy
2	WR	Chambers,Chris	2	RB	Smith,Emmitt	2	RB	Alstott,Mike	2	TE	Fauria,Christian
3	DT	Eagles	3	RB	Duckett,T.J.	3	WR	Morgan,Quincy	3	PK	Janikowski,S.
4	WR	Rogers,Charles	4	DT	Steelers	4	RB	Hearst,Garrison	4	WR	Brown,Tim
5	DT	Panthers	5	TE	McMichael,R.	5	RB	Zereoue,Amos	5	WR	Bryant,Antonio
6	DT	Falcons	6	QB	Hasselbeck,M.	6	QB	Pennington,Chad	6	WR	Taylor,Travis
7	TE	Crumpler,Alge	7	QB	Johnson,Brad	7	RB	Johnson,Larry	7	DT	Titans
8	QB	Brady,Tom	8	RB	Buckhalter,C.	8	WR	Davis,Andre'	8	PK	Feely,Jay
9	DT	Packers	9	PK	Akers,David	9	QB	Collins,Kerry	9	QB	Plummer,Jake
10	DT	Ravens	10	QB	McNair,Steve	10	WR	Reed,Josh	10	DT	Cowboys
Round 13			Round 14			Round 15			Round 16
1	TE	Jolley,Doug	1	RB	Jordan,Lamont	1	DT	Raiders	1	QB	Kitna,Jon
2	WR	Galloway,Joey	2	PK	Vinatieri,Adam	2	PK	Reed,Jeff	2	PK	Andersen,M.
3	TE	Lewis,Chad	3	DT	Patriots	3	PK	Mare,Olindo	3	PK	Dawson,Phil
4	TE	Becht,Anthony	4	DT	Bears	4	PK	Kasay,John	4	PK	Brown,Josh
5	PK	Wilkins,Jeff	5	PK	Longwell,Ryan	5	PK	Anderson,Gary	5	PK	Stover,Matt
6	TE	Wycheck,Frank	6	TE	Alexander,St.	6	DT	Broncos	6	DT	Jaguars
7	TE	Johnson,Eric	7	DT	Giants	7	PK	Nedney,Joe	7	PK	Edinger,Paul
8	WR	Lelie,Ashley	8	DT	Redskins	8	TE	Clark,Dallas	8	TE	Mili,Itula
9	WR	Morton,Johnnie	9	TE	Chamberlain,B.	9	DT	Chargers	9	DT	Colts
10	PK	Vanderjagt,M.	10	PK	Carney,John	10	DT	Saints	10	RB	Bennett,Michael

The Positions

Quarterbacks
3.02 Culpepper,D.	8.04 Favre,Brett
3.03 McNabb,Don.	8.08 Green,Trent
3.04 Vick,Michael	9.08 Brady,Tom
3.06 Manning,Peyton	10.06 Hasselbeck,M.
3.08 Gannon,Rich	10.07 Johnson,Brad
4.01 Warner,Kurt	10.1 McNair,Steve
5.05 Brooks,Aaron	11.06 Pennington,C.
6.04 Maddox,Tommy	11.09 Collins,Kerry
6.1 Garcia,Jeff	12.09 Plummer,Jake
7.09 Bledsoe,Drew	16.01 Kitna,Jon

Tight Ends
4.09 Shockey,Jeremy	12.02 Fauria,Christian
5.01 Gonzalez,Tony	13.01 Jolley,Doug
5.09 Heap,Todd	13.03 Lewis,Chad
8.01 Sharpe,Shannon	13.04 Becht,Anthony
8.03 Stevens,Jerramy	13.06 Wycheck,Frank
8.06 Pollard,Marcus	13.07 Johnson,Eric
8.07 Franks,Bubba	14.06 Alexander,St.
9.07 Crumpler,Alge	14.09 Chamberlain,B.
10.05 McMichael,R.	15.08 Clark,Dallas
12.01 Miller,Billy	16.08 Mili,Itula

Running Backs
1.01 Williams,Ricky	2.04 Taylor,Fred	5.04 Hambrick,Troy	8.1 Staley,Duce
1.02 Tomlinson,Lad.	2.05 Dillon,Corey	5.06 Thomas,Anthony	10.02 Smith,Emmitt
1.03 Portis,Clinton	2.06 Barber,Tiki	6.01 Smith,Onterrio	10.03 Duckett,T.J.
1.04 Faulk,Marshall	2.07 Lewis,Jamal	6.02 Bettis,Jerome	10.08 Buckhalter,C.
1.05 Holmes,Priest	2.08 Davis,Stephen	6.03 Shipp,Marcel	11.02 Alstott,Mike
1.06 McAllister,Deuce	2.09 Garner,Charlie	6.06 Stewart,James	11.04 Hearst,Garrison
1.07 Alexander,Shaun	2.1 Green,William	7.02 Barlow,Kevan	11.05 Zereoue,Amos
1.09 James,Edgerrin	3.09 Martin,Curtis	7.03 Dunn,Warrick	11.07 Johnson,Larry
2.01 Green,Ahman	3.1 George,Eddie	7.07 Canidate,Trung	14.01 Jordan,Lamont
2.03 Henry,Travis	4.03 Smith,Antowain	8.05 Mack,Stacey	16.1 Bennett,Michael

Wide Receivers
1.08 Harrison,Marvin	4.07 Driver,Donald	6.08 Porter,Jerry	9.04 Rogers,Charles
1.1 Owens,Terrell	4.08 Toomer,Amani	6.09 Smith,Jimmy	11.03 Morgan,Quincy
2.02 Moss,Randy	4.1 Price,Peerless	7.01 Rice,Jerry	11.08 Davis,Andre'
3.01 Moulds,Eric	5.02 Johnson,Chad	7.04 Jackson,Darrell	11.1 Reed,Josh
3.05 Robinson,Koren	5.03 Coles,Laver.	7.05 Johnson,Key.	12.04 Brown,Tim
3.07 Burress,Plaxico	5.07 Booker,Marty	7.06 Gardner,Rod	12.05 Bryant,Antonio
4.02 Holt,Torry	5.08 Stallworth,Donte'	7.1 Wayne,Reggie	12.06 Taylor,Travis
4.04 Boston,David	5.1 Bruce,Isaac	8.02 Brown,Troy	13.02 Galloway,Joey
4.05 Horn,Joe	6.05 Smith,Rod	9.01 Conway,Curtis	13.08 Lelie,Ashley
4.06 Ward,Hines	6.07 Mason,Derrick	9.02 Chambers,Chris	13.09 Morton,Johnnie

Kickers
10.01 Elam,Jason	15.02 Reed,Jeff
10.09 Akers,David	15.03 Mare,Olindo
11.01 Gramatica,M.	15.04 Kasay,John
12.03 Janikowski,S.	15.05 Anderson,Gary
12.08 Feely,Jay	15.07 Nedney,Joe
13.05 Wilkins,Jeff	16.02 Andersen,M.
13.1 Vanderjagt,M.	16.03 Dawson,Phil
14.02 Vinatieri,Adam	16.04 Brown,Josh
14.05 Longwell,Ryan	16.05 Stover,Matt
14.1 Carney,John	16.07 Edinger,Paul

Defenses
7.08 Buccaneers	14.03 Patriots
8.09 Dolphins	14.04 Bears
9.03 Eagles	14.07 Giants
9.05 Panthers	14.08 Redskins
9.06 Falcons	15.01 Raiders
9.09 Packers	15.06 Broncos
9.1 Ravens	15.09 Chargers
10.04 Steelers	15.1 Saints
12.07 Titans	16.06 Jaguars
12.1 Cowboys	16.09 Colts

Resulting Teams

	#	1 - blaw23	#	2 - Maize	#	3 - snaggy	#	4 - Beer
QB	6	Garcia,Jeff	3	Culpepper,D.	3	McNabb,Don.	3	Vick,Michael
QB	10	McNair,Steve	12	Plummer,Jake	8	Green,Trent	10	Johnson,Brad
RB	1	Williams,Ricky	1	Tomlinson,Lad.	1	Portis,Clinton	1	Faulk,Marshall
RB	2	Green,William	2	Garner,Charlie	2	Davis,Stephen	2	Lewis,Jamal
RB	8	Staley,Duce	7	Barlow,Kevan	7	Dunn,Warrick	5	Hambrick,Troy
RB	16	Bennett,Michael	11	Alstott,Mike	10	Buckhalter,C.	11	Hearst,Garrison
WR	3	Moulds,Eric	5	Johnson,Chad	4	Toomer,Amani	4	Driver,Donald
WR	4	Price,Peerless	6	Smith,Jimmy	5	Coles,Laver.	6	Mason,Derrick
WR	7	Rice,Jerry	9	Chambers,Chris	6	Porter,Jerry	7	Jackson,Darrell
WR	9	Conway,Curtis	13	Galloway,Joey	11	Morgan,Quincy	9	Rogers,Charles
TE	5	Gonzalez,Tony	4	Shockey,Jeremy	13	Lewis,Chad	8	Franks,Bubba
TE	13	Jolley,Doug	14	Chamberlain,B.	16	Mili,Itula	13	Becht,Anthony
PK	11	Gramatica,M.	10	Akers,David	12	Feely,Jay	15	Kasay,John
PK	14	Carney,John	15	Reed,Jeff	15	Mare,Olindo	16	Edinger,Paul
DT	12	Cowboys	8	Dolphins	9	Eagles	12	Titans
DT	15	Raiders	16	Colts	14	Redskins	14	Giants
	#	5 - FightingEvil	#	6 - potman	#	7 - lobsterclaw	#	8 - Rover
QB	5	Brooks,Aaron	3	Manning,Peyton	6	Maddox,Tommy	3	Gannon,Rich
QB	10	Hasselbeck,M.	11	Pennington,Chad	8	Favre,Brett	9	Brady,Tom
RB	1	Holmes,Priest	1	McAllister,Deuce	1	Alexander,Shaun	2	Henry,Travis
RB	2	Barber,Tiki	2	Dillon,Corey	2	Taylor,Fred	4	Smith,Antowain
RB	6	Stewart,James	5	Thomas,Anthony	7	Canidate,Trung	6	Shipp,Marcel
RB	11	Zereoue,Amos	8	Mack,Stacey	11	Johnson,Larry	10	Duckett,T.J.
WR	3	Robinson,Koren	4	Horn,Joe	3	Burress,Plaxico	1	Harrison,Marvin
WR	4	Ward,Hines	6	Smith,Rod	4	Boston,David	5	Stallworth,Donte'
WR	7	Johnson,Key.	7	Gardner,Rod	5	Booker,Marty	11	Davis,Andre'
WR	12	Taylor,Travis	12	Bryant,Antonio	12	Brown,Tim	13	Lelie,Ashley
TE	8	Pollard,Marcus	10	McMichael,R.	9	Crumpler,Alge	8	Stevens,Jerramy
TE	14	Alexander,St.	13	Wycheck,Frank	13	Johnson,Eric	15	Clark,Dallas
PK	13	Wilkins,Jeff	14	Longwell,Ryan	15	Nedney,Joe	12	Janikowski,S.
PK	15	Anderson,Gary	16	Stover,Matt	16	Brown,Josh	16	Dawson,Phil
DT	9	Panthers	9	Falcons	10	Steelers	7	Buccaneers
DT	16	Jaguars	15	Broncos	14	Bears	14	Patriots
	#	9 - osmonaught	#	10 - bb98
QB	7	Bledsoe,Drew	4	Warner,Kurt
QB	11	Collins,Kerry	16	Kitna,Jon
RB	1	James,Edgerrin	2	Green,Ahman
RB	3	Martin,Curtis	3	George,Eddie
RB	6	Bettis,Jerome	6	Smith,Onterrio
RB	10	Smith,Emmitt	14	Jordan,Lamont
WR	2	Moss,Randy	1	Owens,Terrell
WR	4	Holt,Torry	5	Bruce,Isaac
WR	8	Brown,Troy	7	Wayne,Reggie
WR	13	Morton,Johnnie	11	Reed,Josh
TE	5	Heap,Todd	8	Sharpe,Shannon
TE	12	Fauria,Christian	12	Miller,Billy
PK	14	Vinatieri,Adam	10	Elam,Jason
PK	16	Andersen,M.	13	Vanderjagt,M.
DT	9	Packers	9	Ravens
DT	15	Chargers	15	Saints

Team	First 5 Picks/Grade*	Draft Slot Analysis
1	RB - RB - WR - WR - TE Plan Grade: A	The smaller the league, the more coveted the early draft picks are. In this 10 man league, the #1 did the natural play of Ricky Williams, then was able to grab William Green for an RB2 - those four less picks than a 12 team league make a big difference here! Knowing that QBs exist even later in a smaller league, went straight for the WR shelf and nabbed Moulds and Price, then was able to reach Gonzalez (5) and Garcia (6). In a ten man league, this is likely the best possible scenario for positional picks as Team 1 was able to get two top 10 RB's, a top 4 WR, a top 3 TE and still have some depth. While I may not agree with every name, you cannot argue with the success of this plan.
2	RB - RB - QB - TE - WR Plan Grade: A	The second team drafting took a similar approach. After Tomlinson, grabbed Garner. Taking Garner over Green missed a chance for a homerun hit in my book, but Green fell in this draft to me. Went for Culpepper (3) to secure the top QB and start the run but this meant that he would miss out on the top 9 receivers by his fourth pick. Given the depth still there for the next tier of WR, he went for starting the TE run and grabbed Shockey. Hit the WR's the next two picks to maintain at least acceptable numbers and found Chad Johnson and Jimmy Smith. Later had MIA defense (8) and Akers (10) to make the team chock-full-o-starters. While the WR's are a little weak, he more than compensates for it with top players in literally every other position. This is essentially the same team as #1, except he has a top QB instead of a top WR. The net points on either are likely the same.
3	RB - RB - QB - WR - WR Plan Grade: B+	In a ten man league, starting RB-RB happened seven times in this mock. That probably makes sense. While team #3 took Portis, he also was able to reach Stephen Davis (2) and then took a top QB in McNabb. Opted for the #12 WR of Toomer over the #1 TE but after seeing the runs on WR in rounds 3 and 4 probably was concerned with getting nothing if he waited any longer. As it actually worked out, probably could have been stronger with that TE and waited a round on WR which were still at least decent for the next two rounds. Taking Toomer off a career year and Coles on a new team may be risk plays anyway. Waited a long time on TE's and will post average points there at best. This team needs a few things to go right with WR in order to remain a top team. Starting out Portis-Davis-McNabb was great but as the serpentine order works, in a ten man league the options start to get less the deeper you draft.
4	RB - RB - QB - WR - RB Plan Grade: B -	Started out Faulk and Lewis and then added Vick (3) for an awesome 1-2-3. Then went with Driver (4) but secured his RB3 before anything else. Getting those backups become less hurried the smaller the league since obviously the quality in a position lasts longer than a larger league. Waited until the very end to bother with kickers or defenses but did grab Franks (8) early enough to get at least moderate production from his TE. The problem with this strategy is that it only produced two known difference makers in Vick and Faulk and the team did not even take Gordon for Faulk's annual two week vacation during the season. The receivers are wonderfully deep but likely without any top 10 players. This strategy focused on depth for the highest scoring positions but paid a price in lesser WRs and lower numbers from TE, PK and DEF each week. That's like over half your starting roster. This is a pretty standard way to draft but it bypasses some opportunities for safety nets.
5	RB - RB - WR - WR - QB Plan Grade: A+	This ridiculously high grade is admittedly affected not only by a great strategy but also filling the spots with players that I really like. The standard RB-RB ploy continues to improve mid-round drafting with Holmes and Barber hitting the roster. Was able to then reach Robinson (3) and Hines Ward (4) and yet still get Brooks (5) for a QB. Backed-up Brooks with Hasselbeck in the 10th for big time depth. While he missed the top 3 TE's, Pollard (8) could perform very close to those and also has CAR (9). As this plan worked out, at least in my rankings, team ended up with two top 10 QB, two top 10 RB (or close), two top ten WR, the #4 TE and #2 Defense. This is a very solid team of starters and in my opinion about the best you can wring out of the #5 spot in a ten man draft along with some fortuitous drops of players that gave him great value picks.
6	RB - RB - QB - WR - RB Plan Grade: A-	Mid-round drafting looks pretty advantageous this season and this mock bears that out. Starting McAllister and Dillon, was still able to get Manning (3) and then Horn (4). Used the #5 pick, which is like a #4 pick in a 12 team league, to backup his RBs with A-Train. Probably got away with that by still going Rod happy with Smith (6) Rod Gardner (7) for nice depth. McMichael later on is a solid, upside TE selection and ATL defense was nice. This plan worked pretty well but when you compare Team 5 to Team 6, you see a slight step down in all positions except for QB where he went in round 3. This is still a solid team and good strategy, just a slight step down from the picks next door for team 5 as it worked out.
7	RB - RB - WR -WR - WR Plan Grade: B -	The interesting part of this mock is the variations on a similar theme as it applies to different draft slots. The seventh slot has been a great spot in the 12 man leagues and so far all teams started RB - RB like 12 team mocks have. At the seventh, Alexander and Taylor beef up the RB starters and then the natural play of WR-WR produced Burress and Boston (later creating the killer B's of Booker and Brown). This was a good plan here though I would not have passed Horn for Boston personally. At the 5th pick, opted to back up his WR with Booker. Certainly a studly group of receivers. Waited until the 6th for a QB and took Maddox over Garcia, Favre, Hasselbeck, etc. That pick was a reach since Maddox lasts until much later in the draft but still snapped up Favre in the 8th to make the position solid. Took his TE (Crumpler) and DEF (PIT) at the end of the run on starters. This team could be rocked if Taylor gets hurt or Boston takes time to settle in. Also RBs have little depth, with only Canidate who at best will share and Larry Johnson who may never play. This analysis is perhaps tweaked due to my personal feelings about some of the individual players, but the lower grade stems mostly from a lack of difference makers, some risky starters and the decision to backup WR so early.
8	WR - RB - QB - RB - WR Plan Grade: C	Finally the RB-RB curse is lifted! Starting out with Harrison and then Henry was the best route. Opted for Gannon as the fifth QB taken which did empty my top tier for QBs, but then grabbed Antowain Smith as RB3 which left him with WR2 as riskier Stallworth when he could have had nine better receivers had he reversed it and gone WR - RB which still would have gotten him Bettis or Stewart or Barlow or any other RB in that tier. Taking a WR with the first pick makes sense, and his next two picks strategically emptied high tiers of QB or RB, but also probably made the team think that going RB in the 4th was necessary to get any value but in doing so, missed opportunity for better receivers while still would have had about the same brand of runner one round later. Team ended up with some big risk plays - Jerramy Stevens, Andre' Davis, Lelie, Shipp, etc. - all upside guys but still risks. Was smart enough to see the lack of difference makers to at least grab TB defense. The 8 spot is about the worst spot this season in my opinion since you miss out on top RBs, get a great WR but then a lesser RB2 and likely miss out on great QB and WR with the #3 pick which makes you accept even worse RBs later on. I have yet to see a strategy at #8 that seemed to work out greatly and it is a tough spot this year.
9	RB - WR - RB - WR - TE Plan Grade: B	Knowing that he could get a top 3 WR on the backside, team took Edgerrin James and then Moss (2). Edge is a risk play that could spell disaster or incredible value. Already having a top WR and thinking that RBs would be short at 4th, took Curtis Martin (3) and still was able to reign in Holt (4) for a great starter set of WR. I liked the snatch of Heap at his 4th, getting far better value there than was available in other positions. This strategy waited until the 7th round for a QB and took Bledsoe and later Collins (11) who are neither "my kind of guys" but offered good value where they went. This team gets a B+ grade largely on his moves of good TE (Heap), Defense (GB), Moss and Holt and at least enough depth in RB to find two decent starters every week. I always prefer difference makers and he has Moss, Holt, Heap but unfortunately WR and TE score less than QB and RB. Drafting this deeply in this manner forces the team to make tough decisions in order to reach great players without ending up with crappy WR2 and RB2. He can never have a great RB1 and the play for Edge was his best to get one to break through the tier into the top echelon of RBs. Waiting on QB allowed him to do other things with decent results, but he needs to be 100% correct with this QBs to contend.
10	WR - RB - RB - QB - WR Plan Grade: A -	The swing in a ten man league is always a wonderful treat when you are not waiting on 22 other picks to be made. Here the team grabbed Owens and followed that with Ahman Green. Was able to reach George (3) who fell in my opinion and then found Warner (4) who also was a great value grab. Paired up Bruce (5) with his QB and then appears to have sat back and done exactly what you should do with this swing set. Looked for value floating down to him but in a few cases forced himself to take a player/position a bit early knowing that 22 picks later the entire draftscape would be dramatically different. While this team has only Warner and Owens as most probable difference makers, good value picks with upside may well pop a few others into top categories before it is all said and done. Interesting mixture of old veterans (Sharpe, George, Bruce) with young blood (Onterrio Smith, Wayne, Reed, Miller) should manage to at least produce a competitive team.

* Review of the strategy of positional picks with a bit of my own wisdom/plain old prejudice.