Here’s my dream draft in a ten-team league for this year, drum roll please…
Quarterback: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints ($35). Consistency, consistency, consistency. Brees just keeps chucking it, even while the NO brass keeps saying they’ll take more running reps.
Running Back: LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles ($45); Ryan Matthews, San Diego Chargers ($18). McCoy is running behind the best line of the top three running backs (McCoy, Jamaal Charles, and Adrian Peterson). Matthews proved he could stay (pretty) healthy and is playing with a still-relevant quarterback in a wide open offense.
Wide Receiver: Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers ($27); Pierre Garcon, Washington Redskins ($20); Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals ($14). I play mostly PPR and all three of these guys make sense. Cobb is the number two (or number one) in Green Bay, while Garcon is the one completely picking up the tough yards that let DeSean Jackson go over the top in Washington. Floyd is a little bit of a sleeper, but he mostly eclipsed Larry Fitzgerald last year.
Tight End: Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints ($25). If you’ve never played, he’s simply the best. If you have, no words are necessary.
Kicker: Who cares ($1). Last pick.
Defense: NFC West? ($2). Second or third to last pick.
That leaves $13 left in a $200 budget for $7 spots. Obviously, I’ll be digging for some cheapies, like Jarrett Boykin, Khiry Robinson, Markus Wheaton, and Dwayne Allen.
But more than likely, I’ll get cold feet and refuse to pay that much for a top-3 quarterback or one of the top-3 running backs for 2014.