What to do with the No. 7 pick in fantasy drafts

Earlier this week, I posted the results of the first round of our July fantasy mock draft. If you missed it, 11 bloggers joined me to mock out the first round for a hypothetical redraft league. The results of the second round of the July fantasy mock draft are forthcoming, but the mock got me thinking: What, exactly, should be done with the No. 7 pick in this year's draft? Why No. 7? Well, because that is where I landed in this month's mock. I opted for upside at the seven spot by taking Dallas' runningback Marion Barber. To me, it seems like he has the most potential to break into the top-5 of all runningbacks this season, like Frank Gore a couple years ago. Barber's main competitor for playing time — Julius Jones — now is out of the picture and in Seattle, so Barber should see the bulk of the workload. The Cowboys did draft Felix Jones in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, but I could not see Jones being more than a complement to Barber this season. When it comes to crunch time and goal line situations, Barber should be the go-to back. However, some have called the pick a reach. Barber's average draft position (ADP), according to Fantasy Football Calculator, is 1.08. Based on this, I reached on Barber by one spot. ... more ...