dude in our draft this year took bmore defense in the second and chicago in the third

Last Year a guy took Nate burleson in the third round! What a moron...

It's not a mistake, and here's why:

I assume these owners have taken their starting lineups, DEFs, etc. At this point, it's kickers and "sleepers" and waiver wire fodder. "Sleepers": how'd Matt Jones do last year? Vernon Jones (who I took; injured much of the year)? DeAngelo Williams (I took him too)? Joseph Addai (who I took) didn't last until R10. Mike Bell was pimped like nobody's business, how did THAT turn out? So much for the sleepers.

Point being, how many of your bottom five picks did better than an early FA pickup? I've been on top of sleepers as much as anyone, and it never pays off in FFB. And there is a simple reason: NFL coaches are risk-averse, and unknown quantities with no track record are by definition risky, and therefore, to be avoided.

The real mistake is anyone who takes a shot RB like Edgerin James (just to name one) or a Reuben Droughns last year (to name another). This year, I'm thinking Ahman Green will fall into that category. These third-tier players are not going to be part of a winning team so taking them is a wasted draft pick. They should not be low on your list, they should be OFF your list. If you are in a position where you would consider taking them, you have already lost. You'd be better off with a Wilkins and a FA pickup like Maurice Jones-Drew (who was on NOBODY'S sleeper list last year, even playing behind a known injury risk like Fred Taylor).

Instead of taking a player who you would cut in favor of the FA pick du jour, why NOT take two of the best PKs available? What, you'd prefer Correll Buckhalter? You can always cut one/both of them and to pick up the FA du jour later. Position players who slip to 10 do so for a reason: they have flaws. Going into this year's draft, my philosophy is simple: take the player you like. Don't overthink. 30% of your team is going to be cut for FAs anyway.

After I drafted Frank Gore last year in the third round. The latest newbie asked: Who's Frank Gore and is he on my cheatsheet?

I play in a 12 person league with a 24 round draft. We play with IDP's. Someone actually drafted Shawne Merriman in the 8th round while there were still 8 starting rbs, 10 starting qbs and numerous wrs available.

We have a guy in our league that drafted vince young in the first round and terrence copper in the 5th round. In any scoring format that is ludicrous picks.

In my league draft last night, the Titans' Chris Henry went in the fourth round, before better values such as Javon Walker, Lee Evans, Anquan Boldin, Antonio Gates, Marc Bulger, and Santana Moss. The guy had already picked Westbrook and Parker, so I was really scratching my head on this one -- espcially since the guy has won our league 2 out of our 6 years and made the playoffs in the other 4...