Through six rounds of the Fantasy Sports Matrix EXPERTS draft, the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football staff has done an excellent job of addressing talent and the core positions, and also snagged a top 5 quarterback in Carson Palmer in the 5th round. Usually, we are against going after a quarterback this early, but when drafting in the 2nd position of a 12-team snake draft, you need to snag the player you feel has the best value at that time. Not liking alot of the talent still on the board, and hoping to start a trend, we felt Palmer would suit our team best. After we drafted Palmer with the 50th overall pick, we saw three more quarterbacks fly off the board in round 5. This helped us gain depth in round 6 and beyond, as owners started using the next few rounds to shore up their quarterback position.
In the 7th, 8th and 9th round, we wanted to make it a priority to add depth at the running back and wide receiver positions. With that in mind, let's see how Rounds 7-9 played out in the Fantasy Sports Matrix draft which was hosted by Yahoo Sports and took place on August 13th, 2008. The scoring system is "standard" scoring and each team starts 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 RB/WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF.
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2008 Fantasy Sports Matrix Draft - Round 7 Results
7.1: Sports Data Hub: Chris Johnson (Ten)
7.2: Bruno Boys Fantasy Football: Marvin Harrison (Ind)
7.3: RotoNation: Chester Taylor (Min)
7.4: RotoWire: Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ)
7.5: Fantasy Insider Online: Kevin Curtis (Phi)
7.6: Fantasy Football Fools: Chris Cooley (Was)
7.7: Kontend.com: Brett Favre (NYJ)
7.8: FS Matrix-Bobby: Bernard Berrian (Min)
7.9: Yardbarker: Eli Manning (NYG)
7.10: FS Matrix-Jim: Chris Chambers (SD)
7.11: RotoHog: Anthony Gonzalez (Ind)
7.12: Mock Draft Central: Ricky Williams (Mia)
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Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Pick: Looking to round out their starting wide receiving corps, the Bruno Boys select Marvin Harrison with the 74th overall selection.
Bargains: Grabbing a wide receiver to the caliber of Marvin Harrison in the seventh round should be considered more than a bargain. Before a knee injury caused him to miss 11 games in 2007, Harrison had gone eight consecutive seasons with at least 1,100 receiving yards and 10 TD's. If he can produce anywhere close to those totals, we are set at the wide receiver position, as Harrison will act as our WR3 behind Larry Fitzgerald and Marques Colston. If Ricky Williams can carry over his preseason success into the regular season, and Ronnie Brown's injuries continue to linger, Mock Draft Central might have snagged themselves an every down rusher with the 84th pick.
Even Money: You can't go wrong with snagging tight end Chris Cooley in the 7th round. He isn't going to compete in terms of reception totals with the likes of Jason Witten, Kellen Winslow and Antonio Gates, but you can't overlook his 21 TD's since 2005. Plus, Cooley scored a touchdown in eight different games last year. Once the full Brett Favre saga died down, fantasy football players realized that Favre still has value as a QB1. With the supporting cast to get the job done, you can expect Favre to be throwing often, and his soft schedule against the pass helps. Although Chris Chambers is the 3rd best option in San Diego, he has proved to us in the past that he can be a WR1 in fantasy football leagues and he should act as a solid WR3 for FS Matrix-Jim's squad.
Overpaid: Running Back Chris Johnson has been one of the hot topics throughout the preseason, but taking him with the first pick in the 7th round is a bit pricey. He has shown great speed and power, but are people forgetting that LenDale White had 1,110 rushing yards and 7 TD's in '07? Not to pick on Fantasy Insider Online, but this squad just can't catch a break. When we drafted, the pick of Kevin Curtis in the 7th round looked to be a solid one, but a week later and Curtis undergoes sports hernia surgery causing him to be out of action 6-8 weeks. Now 2 of his first seven picks have suffered injuries after the draft took place.
Trending Up: Our staff has always been high on wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, but when Favre was traded to the New York Jets, the rest of the nation seemed to have caught on. In just under three weeks since the Favre trade, Cotchery has seen his stock rise from a WR3 to a back end WR2 in standard leagues. Cotchery has 82 receptions in each of his last two seasons, and with Favre being an upgrade at the QB position in New York, you can expect him to exceed 90 catches in '08, and haul in 6-7 TD's.
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2008 Fantasy Sports Matrix Draft - Round 8 Results
8.1: Mock Draft Central: Matt Hasselbeck (Sea)
8.2: RotoHog: Felix Jones (Dal)
8.3: FS Matrix-Jim: Ray Rice (Bal)
8.4: Yardbarker: Donald Driver (GB)
8.5: FS Matrix-Bobby: Jeremy Shockey (NO)
8.6: Kontend.com: Joey Galloway (TB)
8.7: Fantasy Football Fools: Minnesota Vikings D/ST
8.8: Fantasy Insider Online: Nate Burleson (Sea)
8.9: RotoWire: Justin Fargas (Oak)
8.10: RotoNation: San Diego Chargers D/ST
8.11: Bruno Boys Fantasy Football: Santana Moss (Was)
8.12: Sports Data Hub: New England Patriots D/ST
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Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Pick: Wanting to add much needed depth at the receiver position, the Bruno Boys select Santana Moss with the 95th overall selection.
Bargains: There wasn't really any picks in the 8th round that jump out as bargains, but there are a few players that have the potential to have breakout years. With the 92nd overall pick, Fantasy Insider Online drafted Nate Burleson and with injuries to Bobby Engram and Deion Branch, the Seattle Seahawks will ask Burleson to step up and produce as a top wide receiver. Burleson has great speed, good hands but has never produced to his potential. With a favorable schedule and a pass-happy offense, this very well could be his breakout year. Also, despite being banged up and having a make shift receiving corps, we feel that Matt Hasselbeck still should produce at a high level. Plus, Derek Anderson, Donovan McNabb and Ben Roethlisberger went three rounds ahead of Hasselbeck, but by seasons end their point differences could be minor.
Even Money: With Donald Driver you get consistency, as he has hauled in 80 receptions in each of the last four seasons. However, unless Aaron Rodgers can find a groove in his first season as the quarterback in Green Bay, he might fall short of that total. Still, the selection of Driver in the 8th round is a wash for Team Yardbarker. Also, tight end Jeremy Shockey was taken with the 89th overall pick, which is ten slots lower than his ranking in our Bruno Boys Top 150 Cheat Sheet. With the potent New Orleans Saints offense clicking on all cylinders, we feel Shockey should post his best numbers since his rookie campaign. Our selection of Santana Moss is neither sexy or dull. It's the true definition of "even money" and us just adding wide receiver depth in case Harrison is slowed down by knee troubles.
Overpaid: In our opinion, all three owners who snagged their Team Defense in the 8th round overpaid. Yes, they did draft the top three overall defenses in the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, but in our opinion none of them dominated the earlier rounds of the draft enough to take a defense. There was still plenty of wide receivers on the board, a spot in which all three owners lack depth.
Trending Up: Rookie running back Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens couldn't be in a better position to start the 2008 season. After falling to the 2nd round of the NFL draft, the Ravens felt Rice would compliment Willis McGahee, but they didn't expect to force him into duty this soon. With McGahee ailing from knee problems, Rice could start the season as the primary rusher in Baltimore. A month ago, Rice was only being targeted in Dynasty Leagues, now he is getting drafted as a handcuff to McGahee in the middle rounds of standard scoring leagues.
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2008 Fantasy Sports Matrix Draft - Round 9 Results
9.1: Sports Data Hub: Javon Walker (Oak)
9.2: Bruno Boys Fantasy Football: Chris Brown (Hou)
9.3: RotoNation: Nick Folk (Dal)
9.4: RotoWire: Ahman Green (Hou)
9.5: Fantasy Insider Online:Patrick Crayton (Dal)
9.6: Fantasy Football Fools: Mason Crosby (GB)
9.7: Kontend.com: Stephen Gostkowski (NE)
9.8: FS Matrix-Bobby: Devin Hester (Chi)
9.9: Yardbarker: Derrick Mason (Bal)
9.10: FS Matrix-Jim: Maurice Morris (Sea)
9.11: RotoHog: Vernon Davis (SF)
9.12: Mock Draft Central: Jay Cutler (Den)
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Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Pick: Accidentally pushing the wrong button in the Yahoo Draft, the Bruno Boys select Chris Brown with the 98th overall selection.
Bargain: Once again Fantasy Insider Online did an excellent job of adding depth at the wide receiver position, as he drafted Patrick Crayton with the 5th pick in round nine. Crayton has improved his stats every year since entering the NFL and should emerge as a solid second receiver in the high powered Dallas Cowboys offense. He checks in at number 83 in our Bruno Boys Top 150 Cheat Sheet and should act as a solid WR3 in all leagues.
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Fantasy Sports Matrix Expert League Draft Results (click to view)
First Round Results
Second-Third Round Results
Fourth-Sixth Round Results
Seventh-Ninth Round Results
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"Stinky Tee's" Mock Draft Results (click to view)
First Round Results
Second Round Results
Third Round Results
Fourth Round Results
Fifth Round Results
Sixth-Eighth Round Results
Ninth-Eleventh Round Results
Twelfth-Fifteenth Round Results
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"The Hazean's" Four Round Mock Draft Results (click to view)
First Round Results
Second Round Results
Third Round Results
Fourth Round Results
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