11Alive's Fantasy Football Blog

The first time I ran the 11Alive fantasy league — one of them, that is, because there’ve always been two — I lucked into the first draft position and got LT, then swung around the serpentine and got Brady and (I believe) Reggie Wayne coming the other way. It was a good year — the year Brady broke all those records. Good deal for someone just hoping for 25-30 touchdowns.

This year, I’m in two leagues: one run by show producer Rich Hardwick, and one co-run by meteorologist Chesley McNeil and reporter Matt Pearl. The draft order was picked yesterday.

I got last.

For the first time in my entire fantasy football career, I’m picking last in the first round.

According to ESPN’s most recent rankings, the 12th player to be taken should be Drew Brees. Ahead of him: Andre Johnson, Frank Gore, Larry Fitzgerald, LT, Chris Johnson, DeAngelo Williams, S-Jax, Matt Forte, MJD, Turner, and AP. Now, I’m not under any circumstances taking a QB in the first round. I’m sure someone will, but it won’t be me.

The question is: who will fall to me at the 12th (and 13th) picks? The people in this league know their stuff, so I’m not planning on seeing Johnson or Gore taken in the first round. If I want a top-flight RB in the first round, my pickings will likely be pretty slim — I’m thinking Steve Slaton, maybe Gore, Marion Barber, and Brandon Jacobs. Of those guys, I know which one I’m targeting.

My saving grace might be that there’s some Eagles fans playing in this league, so Westbrook is likely to go earlier in the first round than he probably should.

Once I draft both 11Alive leagues — the other one drafts Sunday afternoon — I’ll talk a little more about my draft strategy, but for now, I have to figure out who my 12th and 13th picks are going to be… and who I’m going to target when the serpentine comes back around to me at the end of the third.