Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Consisting of nine members of the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Staff, along with guest columnist, Ryan Hallam, from Fighting Chance Fantasy, the Bruno Boys Mock Draft was a 14-round affair based on a standard scoring league (Pass TDs - 4 points, All Other TDs - 6 points). Outside of having to field a starting line-up occupied by 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 D, owners were free to compile their rosters any way in which they pleased. All commentary after each pick is provided by the Bruno Boys staff member who made the pick. The draft was conducted over email and took place from July 13, 2009 to August 3, 2009.

ROUND 8 RESULTS

8.01: Michael Whooley - Eddie Royal (Den) - 91 catches for 980 yards and 5 TDs - not too shabby for a rookie year. If Jay Cutler were still around, Royal would probably have gone at least 2 rounds earlier, but people are shying away due to Kyle Orton being under center. That could be a big mistake, especially with Josh McDaniels wanting to use Royal like the Patriots use Wes Welker.

8:02: Larry Joseph - Matt Schaub (Hou) - There are some durability concerns with Schaub. He has only played in 11 games each of the past two seasons. He did finish 2008 passing for 3,043 yards with 15 TD’s and 11 interceptions and he came on strong late in the season. He has a lot of offensive weapons to work with in Houston and he appears primed to breakout this season. Injuries are a concern though and I will likely look for a solid backup later in this draft. Schaub is a good value pick in the 8th round.

8:03: Marc Caviglia -Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ) - Despite a decrease in reception and yardage totals, Cotchery saw an increase in touchdowns (5 total) last season and with Lavernanues Coles out of town those numbers should continue to grow. He isn’t going to be a consistent 10+ point per week guy but he will be more than serviceable as a WR3.

8:04: Chris Ziza - Lance Moore (NO) - At this stage of the draft you still have solid talent on the boards, but plenty of question marks. Moore is no different. He has the talent to be a good WR2, yet with his nagging shoulder issues he is no sure thing. Grabbing him as my WR3 gives me a potentially deep wide receiver group.

8:05: Kyle Smith - Ray Rice (Bal) - Reports out of Baltimore this off-season have been that Rice will be the main ball carrier, though Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee will be in the mix as well. This is something of a make-or-break pick, but if it pans out, I could get second or third-round production in the eighth.

8:06: Cory Steger - Cedric Benson (Cin) - Benson may have some issues but he’s the clear-cut starter in Cincinnati and the last three weeks of the season last year he he averaged 118 rushing yards a game. He only started 10 games last year so with a full season he could pay some dividends.

8:07: Jimbo Jones - Julius Jones (Sea) - He didn’t have a great 2008 season by any means, but being the top back on a team that wants to run more makes the future look promising for Julius Jones. If the Seattle Seahawks can get their passing attack going again and spread the field, he could have a pretty good season.

8:08: Ryan Hallam - Chris Cooley (Was) - I know he only had one touchdown last year, but given his career numbers I would be surprised if that happened again.  The guy had been between six and eight touchdowns for the rest of his career.  Not to mention 83 catches out of a tight end is pretty good too.  Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El aren’t what you would call a great set of receivers, so there is no reason to think that Cooley won’t be a huge part of their offense again.

8:09: Greg Warnock - Donald Driver (GB) - It is hard to believe how undervalued Donald Driver is every year. While this may be about where he should always go in drafts, I still believe he is a good WR3/WR4. He has had 5 straight seasons where he has gotten over 1,000 yards receiving. While I expect the Packers to try to get back to the run in 2009, Driver will still see his share of balls come his way.

8:10: Dominic Brown - Kevin Walter (Hou) - Last season, he quietly registered 899 yards and 8 tds. And with Andre Johnson getting a majority of the attention, Walter makes for a big target in the red zone. Plus if Johnson should happen to miss any time, Walter’s value shoots up.

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ROUND 9 RESULTS

9:01: Dominic Brown - Devin Hester (Chi) - Blazing speed meets a rocket arm, seems like the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Over the last few seasons, Hester has improved his skills as a receiver. While he still has room for improvement, the one thing we know he can do is burn past defenders. And now he has a Pro Bowl QB to get him the ball deep.

9.02: Greg Warnock - Donnie Avery (StL) - Some may think this is a tittle early, but Avery has a lot of potential to be as much as a WR2 in fantasy football this season. He is the WR1 on his own team and will see a majority of the passes from QB Marc Bulger, which last year were directed towards teammate Torry Holt. I would not be suprised to see Avery nearly double his production of 674 yards and 3 touchdowns of a year ago.

9.03: Ryan Hallam - Ted Ginn Jr (Mia) - I’m not exactly sure why, but I really like this guy.  I think that he is an explosive guy who has the chance to take any short pass to the house.  The Dolphins also use him as a runner with lots of end arounds, and halfback passes in the Wildcat offense.  In two years his receptions went from 34 to 56 and he nearly doubled his yardage.

9.04: Jimbo Jones - Chris Chambers (SD) - He disappeared in the second half of the season last year, but Chris Chambers has big-play capabilities. With having a stud at QB in Philip Rivers, I think the San Diego Chargers will pass a lot this season. Don’t forget that these two were a better impressive duo in the first half of 2008. Taking Chambers as my fourth WR in the ninth round is worth the risk.

9.05: Cory Steger - Carson Palmer (Cin) - With this pick I had some options but I decided to fill out my QB depth with Palmer rather than reach for a tight end. Palmer has a nice offense around him assuming the line can hold and could in line for a big comeback season.

9. 06: Kyle Smith - Greg Olsen (Chi) - With three running backs, a QB and four receivers, it was time to select a tight end. It was between Olsen, Owen Daniels and Kellen Winslow, and though it was tight, I like Olsen to break out due to the presence of Jay Cutler and Chicago’s lack of other receiving options.

9. 07: Chris Ziza - Kellen Winslow (TB) - As Kyle Smith just said, the good tight ends are getting scarce and I was thinking between Daniels and Winslow. I chose Winslow. Yes, his QB situation isn’t the greatest in Tampa Bay, but any man that is willing to drain fluid from his testicles to be able to play is a player that I want on my team. The return to Florida could help as well, and you have to love players that are playing with a chip on their shoulder.

9.08: Marc Caviglia - Donald Brown (Ind) - You can never have enough depth at the RB position and adding Brown gives me four solid options in a start two RB league. Look for him to cut into Joseph Addai’s carries throughout the year and make a major impact by seasons end.

9.09: Larry Joseph - Felix Jones (Dal) - Injuries cut a very promising rookie season short for Jones in 2008. He did average a whopping 8.9 yards per carry on 30 carries in six games. He also added three TD’s, which went for 11, 60 and 33 yards respectively. Jones has great speed and he should get at least 10 touches a game this season, making him a solid RB4 for me and a nice value pick in the 9th round.

9.10: Michael Whooley – Owen Daniels (Hou) - It seems a lot of my fellow Bruno Boys were debating whether to snag Daniels or not. Luckily for me, they went elsewhere for their TEs, allowing Daniels, my 5th ranked TE for 2009, to fall into my lap. With Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter on the outside, Daniels has plenty of room to roam in the middle of the field. Third among tight ends with 862 receiving yards, if Daniels can improve on his 2 TDs he should be a fantasy beast at his position.

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ROUND 10 RESULTS

10:01: Michael Whooley - Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG) - With Derrick Ward heading to Tampa Bay via free agency, Bradshaw will have the opportunity to take over Ward’s role as a change of pace back to Brandon Jacobs, a role that left Ward with 1,409 total yards in 2008.

10:02: Larry Joseph - Michael Crabtree (SF) - Crabtree had 231 catches for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns in only two-years of college. He has a chance to start right away and he should become a huge red zone target for the 49ers. If he can avoid a lengthy contract holdout he is a great value as a WR4. ::Crabtree’s contract talks are at a stand still as of 8/22::

10:03: Marc Caviglia - Torry Holt (Jac) - Holt had a year to forget in 2008, but a change of uniform for the first time in his career could help him get back on track. He will be the No.1 receiving option in a Jaguars offense that is looking to be more balanced in ;09 and he should flirt with 1,000 receiving yards and 5+ touchdowns.

10:04: Chris Ziza - Matt Ryan (Atl) - Because this is a start-3 WR league I was very tempted on grabbing my 4th wide receiver here. But every year there are plenty of wide receivers that come out of nowhere, yet there are very few reliable quarterbacks. Already being manned by Rivers as my QB1, I am grabbing Ryan as my QB2. This gives me excellent insurance if one happens to get hurt or trade bait if my competitions quarterback gets hurt. At this point and stage I am very happy with him.

10:05: Kyle Smith - Matt Hasselbeck (Sea) - It’s all about value at this point, and Hasselbeck is just a season removed from throwing for 28 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 yards. He’s very good insurance for my earlier pick of Tony Romo, and if he returns to even a semblance of his former self, that’s good enough for me.

10:06: Cory Steger - Pittsburgh Steelers DEF/ST - Having the chance to take the top rated defense at this spot is a nice opportunity for me so I decided to jump at the chance and pick the Steelers. They were either first or second in every major defensive category last year and should be even tougher with the re-signing of James Harrison and the drafting of DL Evander Hood.

10:07: Jimbo Jones - Tim Hightower (Ari) - Whether or not Chris Wells takes the top spot on the depth chart this season remains to be seen. It’s still Tim Hightower’s job to lose although this RB duo should see about a 50-50 split. Hightower did a nice job taking over for Edgerinn James last season when the veteran wasn’t getting the job done. He’s worth a look as a bench player on my team to see if he can hold off Wells at least for this year.

10:08: Ryan Hallam - Baltimore Ravens DEF/ST - With only a few rounds left and my other important positions filled, I wanted to grab a great defense before a run started and I didn’t pick for a while.  They may have lost their coordinator and a couple of pieces to the Jets, but the main pieces are still there.  And no defense has more of a offensive mentality when they have the ball than the Ravens.  Ed Reed and Ray Lewis still anchor one of the more intimidating units in football.  With four games against the Browns and Bengals, they should have some weeks where they allow less than 10 points.

10:09: Greg Warnock - Jamal Lewis (Cle) - I’m not sure how Lewis slipped through the cracks, but there is no reason he should be going in the bottom of the 10th round. Sure he is on a bad team and showed his age last season but he is behind a young and improving offensive line and has very little competition behind him. Keep an eye on him on draft night because he could be available this late in a lot of drafts.

10:10: Dominic Brown - Kyle Orton (Den) - Here are the facts. He’s throwing to one of the league’s best receiver combos, he’s playing behind one of the best offensive lines and his coach made Matt Cassel $63 million after one starting season. Add the pass-catching talents of new weapon Knowshon Moreno and I feel pretty good about my backup QB.

Past Rounds RECAP:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

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See More ‘09 BUSTS:  QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DEF

See More ‘09 SLEEPERS:  QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DEF

Cheat Sheet RANKINGS:  QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DEF

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