MOCK DRAFT MUSINGS

By Ralph Mancini, Fantasy Football Insiders

Taking part in mock drafts won’t give you any fresh perspective into which runners are being selected in round one, but it can serve as a tool to help you experiment with different draft strategies.

Taking the best player available may be the way to go in real life NFL drafts, but in the world of fantasy it’s all about value determined by the lack or abundance of certain players at specific positions.

Supply and demand isn’t the only thing to factor in however. One must also recognize the odds a player has of being a true difference maker. The odds are greater for those who get the most touches which makes running backs and quarterbacks, in my view, much more valuable than players at other positions.

With that in mind, I went into my mock drafts with the sole purpose of selecting three runners and one quarterback with my first four picks. The true objective here was to see what caliber of receiver would be available to me in rounds five and six. Here were the results.

* Picking third in a 12 team league, my receivers were Plaxico Buress and Joey Galloway.

* Picking eighth in a 10 team draft, my receivers were Javon Walker and Marques Colston.

* Picking first in a 10 team draft, my receivers were Marques Colston and Joey Galloway.

* Picking sixth in a 12 team draft, my receivers were Donald Driver and Joey Galloway.

* Picking eleventh in a 12 team draft, my receivers were Calvin Johnson and Santana Moss.

If you believe that Chad Johnson, Torry Holt, Marvin Harrison and others being selected in rounds two through four are significantly better than the receivers listed above, then my strategy isn’t for you.

If fantasy guru Ralph Mancini says it, you better pay attention! Get in-depth, detailed analysis from Mancini all season long as he delivers the knockout blows to your competition.

Email: Ralph@nfldraftbible.com

RALPH MANCINI'S TOP 80 OVERALL FF RANKINGS

RAY MANCINI’S TOP 80 OVERALL FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FOR 2007

Ladanian Tomlinson
Steven Jackson
Larry Johnson
Frank Gore
Joseph Addai
Travis Henry
Brian Westbrook
Shaun Alexander
Rudi Johnson
Laurence Maroney
Peyton Manning
Willie Parker
Willis McGahee
Edgerrin James
Reggie Bush
Clinton Portis
Thomas Jones
Carson Palmer
Steve Smith
Brandon Jacobs
Ronnie Brown
Chad Johnson
Maurice Jones-Drew
Reggie Wayne
Torry Holt
Cedric Benson
Marvin Harrison
Roy Williams
Terrell Owens
Marshawn Lynch
Drew Brees
Cadillac Williams
Marion Barber III
Anquan Boldin
Marc Bulger
Marques Colston
Lee Evans
T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Duece McAllister
Randy Moss
Tom Brady
Ahman Green
Jamal Lewis
Donovan McNabb
Adrian Peterson (Min.)
Donald Driver
Larry Fitzgerald
Plaxico Burress
Javon Walker
Julius Jones
Lamont Jordan
Andre Johnson
Hines Ward
Tony Romo
Warrick Dunn
Antonio Gates
Terry Glenn
Laverneus Coles
Joey Galloway
Matt Hasselbeck
Jon Kitna
DeAngelo Williams
Darrell Jackson
Terry Glenn
Chester Taylor
Jerious Norwood
Todd Heap
Baltimore D
Reggie Brown
Philip Rivers
Brandon Jackson
Santana Moss
Jeremy Shockey
Calvin Johnson
DeShaun Foster
Jay Cutler
Tony Gonzalez
Chris Chambers
Braylon Edwards
Vernon Davis

Running Backs
Ladanian Tomlinson
Steven Jackson
Larry Johnson
Frank Gore
Joseph Addai
Travis Henry
Brian Westbrook
Shaun Alexander
Rudi Johnson
Laurence Maroney
Willie Parker
Willis McGahee
Edgerrin James
Reggie Bush
Clinton Portis
Thomas Jones
Brandon Jacobs
Ronnie Brown
Maurice Jones-Drew

Quarterbacks
Peyton Manning
Carson Palmer
Drew Brees
Marc Bulger
Tom Brady
Donovan McNabb
Tony Romo
Matt Hasselbeck
Jon Kitna
Philip Rivers
Jay Cutler
Eli Manning
Ben Roethlisberger
J.P. Losman
Matt Leinart
Brett Favre
Vince Young
Jake Delhomme

Wide Receivers
Steve Smith
Chad Johnson
Reggie Wayne
Torry Holt
Marvin Harrison
Roy Williams
Terrell Owens
Anquan Boldin
Marques Colston
Lee Evans
T.J. Hoshmandzadeh
Randy Moss
Donald Driver
Larry Fitzgerald
Plaxico Burress
Javon Walker
Andre Johnson
Hines Ward
Laverneus Coles
Joey Galloway

Tight Ends
Antonio Gates
Todd Heap
Jeremy Shockey
Tony Gonzalez
Vernon Davis
Ben Watson
Randy McMichael
Chris Cooley
Kellen Winslow Jr.
Jason Witten
Eric Johnson
L.J. Smith
Dallas Clark
Alge Crumpler
Tony Scheffler
Marcus Pollard
Heath Miller
Greg Olsen
Daniel Graham
Bo Scaife

Defenses
Baltimore
Chicago
New England
Denver
San Diego
Jacksonville
Philadelphia
Dallas
Carolina
Minnesota
Pittsburgh
Seattle
Tampa Bay
New Orleans
New York Jets
Green Bay
Buffalo
Arizona
Kansas City
St. Louis

Kickers
Adam Vinatieri
Jeff Wilkins
Nate Kaeding
Jason Elam
Neil Rackers
Robbie Gould
Shayne Graham
Josh Brown
Steven Gostkowski
Olindo Mare
Matt Stover
David Akers
Jason Hanson
John Kasay
Josh Scobee
Mike Nugent
Joe Nedney
Rian Lindell
Lawrence Tynes
Sebastian Janikowski