Experts Draft: Roddy White Goes In Rd. 3
June 16, 2008 at 7:01 am | Article by Paul Hickey |
Print This Page
| 
Falcons WR Roddy White had a breakout third season in 2007, hauling in 83 passes for 1,202 yards and six scores in Bobby Petrino and Hue Jackson’s high flying offense, but will the stat column translate over to 2008 under the much more conservative and run-friendly Mike Smith and Mike Mularkey? We don’t think so, but find out who did, as we analyze the third round of our most recent experts league draft.
3.01 - 25th overall - The Huddle - Jamal Lewis, Browns RB - Lewis is a safe pick here, as he’s really the only back who will see carries in Cleveland’s high-powered offense. His 1,300 yard, 11 total TD season will be a little tough to duplicate, but he should be a solid RB2 in all formats. We like guys like Laurence Maroney, Michael Turner and Darren McFadden better, but this definitely isn’t a bad pick.
3.02 - 26th overall - FFIndepth.com - Chad Johnson, Bengals WR - Despite the circus, Ocho Cinco should end up being a solid value at this spot. As the season inches closer, if his situation gets resolved in Cincy, it’ll be impossible to get him this late.
3.03 - 27th overall - FantasyPlaymakers.com - T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Bengals WR - In points per reception formats that require three starters at WR - like this one does - Housh should be a great third round value. One trend about this draft is that WRs are flying off the board early. Good thing we snagged Randy Moss in round one.
3.04 - 28th overall - CBSSports.com - Darren McFadden, Raiders RB - Yeah! We like this pick a lot. We know our readers don’t like it when we call McFadden “this year’s Adrian Peterson,” but that’s what he is folks. He’ll come in and light the world on fire in Oakland - mark my words.
3.05 - 29th overall - FantasyGuru.com - Torry Holt, Rams WR - Holt is almost the forgotten man these days, as he ages and begins to see a bit of a statistical decline. Not that Holt isn’t a solid pick here, but we do have some hesitation with him because he has appeared to have hit his statistical peak a few years back. Still, he should be good for 85 catches, 1,200 yards and 8 TDs in Al Saunders’ offense.
3.06 - 30th overall - Rotoworld.com - Brandon Marshall, Broncos WR - Like Ocho Cinco, the odds are that if Marshall shows progress in recovering from surgery on his right arm as August nears, there’s no way he’ll last this long in seasonal drafts. The 6′5″ beast is primed to have another spectacular season as long as he’s healthy. In short, he’s a difference maker.
3.07 - 31st overall - No-Offseason.com - Ronnie Brown, Dolphins RB - We felt like Brown was a great value here. We’re looking at a guy who - if not for his injury last season - would likely be a top three overall fantasy pick regardless of league format heading into 2008. For more on Ronnie Brown, check out our video content.
3.08 - 32nd overall - Athlon Sports - Wes Welker, Patriots WR - Welker was a great pick here. I was wondering how many folks would forget about him, but this is right where he should be drafted, if not a tad earlier. I would have taken him over Housh and Holt in this format.
3.09 - 33rd overall - USA Today - Anquan Boldin, Cardinals WR -Hungry for a new contract, and finally fully healthy after playing through a nagging hip and foot injury last season, Boldin should have an outstanding 2008 campaign. Call me crazy, but I like him a lot better than teammate Larry Fitzgerald.
3.10- 34th overall - Fanball.com - Plaxico Burress, Giants WR -With so many running backs, like Laurence Maroney and Michael Turner still on the board, and comparable receivers like Dwayne Bowe and Roy Williams that may have lasted until Fanball’s next pick, this was a bit of a stretch. Not bad, but not what we would’ve done.
3.11 - 35th overall - FantasyFootballTrader.com - Roddy White, Falcons WR - This was the absolute shocker of the third round, and I want to go on the record by saying that there’s no way Roddy White repeats his breakout 2007 performance - simply because the Falcons offense is not set up that way this season. It’s set up to pound the rock and stay very conservative. Rookie QB Matt Ryan is likely to take over at some point, which is another potential concern for White owners. In other words, you can’t just look at the stat column and project White - you have to take into account several factors.
3.12 - 36th overall - ProFootballWeekly.com - Laurence Maroney, Patriots RB - Maroney will be the steal of the third round. We wrestled with taking him over Brown, and it was a tough call. The third year back from Minnesota started to really run like former college teammate Marion Barber towards the end of 2007, and finished the season just as strong as any other fantasy RB. Contrary to what some say, we believe the fact that he plays for New England actually works in favor of his fantasy value. Expect Maroney to improve in several areas of the stat column in 2008, especially TDs.
To view the rest of this 18 round draft, and our Top 700 overall seasonal and dynasty fantasy football rankings for the 2008 season, you’ll need to sign up for our premium Ultimate Strategist Package package. We post our official 2008 Dynasty Rankings, Seasonal Rankings and Keeper Rankings on the Ultimate Strategist Package forum, and we encourage you to click here and sign up. Note: if you’re not registered for the No-Offseason.com forums yet, do so first, then click on the link above.
- Rankings include multiple scoring systems for Seasonal, Keeper and Dynasty formats.
- Rankings also include both IDPs and team defenses.
- Updated printable weekly cheat sheets during the 2008 NFL Season.
- Unlimited year-round personalized line-up advice and team management advice from No-Offseason.com staff members.
- “Sunday Brunch” - including last minute inactives and game-day updates every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
- Exclusive information, including bonus “Our Sources Tell Us” blurbs and more.
Related posts
Loading ...
