Year of the first-round fantasy busts
It’s a rough year for first-round picks in fantasy football, and the MNFL, our league here at the Morning News, is no exception.We have 14 teams, and I’d say 11 of our owners are cursing the day their top picks were drafted.
I had the No. 1 pick (aka LaDainian Tomlinson) and, despite all the hubbub, I’m not panicking. LT’s still the second-highest scoring running back in our league and, considering the first-round alternatives, I’m cool with that. (Of course, that could be because my team is 4-1 so I can afford to wait for LT’s inevitable breakout. If I was 0-5, I’d be as livid as a Chargers fan at Norv Turner)
Here, however, is a quick rundown of our first round (and the reasons most of these owners are antsy):
1. LT (OK, but not No. 1 material)
2. Peyton Manning (a reach, especially considering he’s the No. 4 scoring QB in our league)
3. Steven Jackson (subpar start and then an injury ... maybe Peyton wasn’t such a bad pick)
4. Shaun Alexander (here’s a real stinger: he’s healthy and still only the 17th-highest scoring RB)
5. Larry Johnson (all the preseason reservations were warranted: LJ’s 20th on the scoring charts)
6. Joseph Addai (looked great until that chest injury kept him out last week)
7. Frank Gore (rumors of the Niners’ return were greatly exaggerated)
8. Brian Westbrook (excellent start, but better hope he healed that torn ab muscle during Philly’s bye)
9. Reggie Bush (I had a feeling the Saints were in for a letdown year; didn’t think it would be this bad)
10. Rudi Johnson (another casualty of the early injury)
11. Laurence Maroney (an injured underperformer ... and to think Ronnie Brown (the top-scoring RB) was predicted to go about here and available)
12. Willie Parker (actually about right at 13th in scoring, but could be so much better without Najeh Davenport stealing TDs)
13. Travis Henry (a good pick about to go up in smoke)
14. Maurice Jones-Drew (so bad that when he finally went off, it was on his owner’s bench)
Posted by
on 10/09 at 04:39 PM
