Atlanta Angst

When it got to be my turn the first thing I noticed was the run of six Running Backs that preceded my pick. I felt it was too early to turn to a Wide Receiver, so I looked at the available Quarterbacks. I quickly narrowed my choice to Mark Brunell and Jeff Blake. Both were excellent last season, with Brunell outscoring Blake by just 9 points. Considering the start the Bengals had, I felt Blake would be the better choice this season. I know that Testaverde outscored both of them, but don't trust him to repeat his numbers this season.
Angst select: QB Jeff Blake CIN

As my turn in the second round of the draft approached, it looked more and more possible that Mark Brunell would fall to me. Since I had taken Jeff Blake in the first round, I did not really need a second Quarterback this early. But I felt that this would offer a unique opportunity.

First I contacted Sam Caplan, who had a pick just 2 after mine, and stated that I felt that Scott McClory, who drafted between us, might be interested in drafting Brunell. I do believe this was a distinct possibility since most have Brunell rated as the second or third rated Quarterback.

I then contacted all of the owners that drafted after Sam except Bob Harris (he already has Favre). I offered them a chance at Brunell also. The only one that expressed interest was Mark Nulty. In the meantime, Sam had submitted an offer that I was interested in, but I wanted to wait to see what Mark would offer. At that point I went off-line for the evening.

When I logged on the morning my pick was due, I had received a second offer from Sam, that was not quite as good as his first offer. Since he had rescinded the first offer, I did something I normally do not do. Something I am not really proud about. I let Mark know what Sam's offer was and gave him a chance to beat it. Now I know that many of you do play one owner against another. In fact, I would guess that most consider it a normal practice. I don't. I feel that it will make it more difficult to trade in the future when you do this type of thing.

Mark declined to improve his offer, so I sent a message to Sam accepting his. The trade came down to me receiving Sam's 2 second round picks and his fourth rounder for my second, third and fourth.

I know that Sam feels that he may have given up too much to get a player he might have been able to get two picks later. He is wrong. Had I not been able to get a suitable trade, I would have drafted Brunell and used him as trade bait later in search of a stronger Running Back.

After trading down, I was undecided what direction to go in. You see it is my greatest desire to prove that you can win without a stud running back. But not this year.

I had several directions to go. There are several excellent wide receivers available. But there are only a few good running backs left, so I decided to go with the one from my home town. Jamal Anderson is a 234 pound back with excellent speed and attitude. My only fear is that Reeves will destroy him running him between the tackles. Still, I think he will be good this year at least.

After gaining over 1500 total yards all he can do to improve those numbers is to improve on his 6 TDs. With Craig Heyward moving to St. Louis, I see more opportunities for Mr. Anderson this season.

Why trade a second rounder for a 3rd only to gain marginally in a later round? Well, I am only dropping three slots, and Terry already let slip who he plans to take with his new pick. And this player is not one that I wanted with this pick. I do feel that Terry has placed himself in a position of risk, unless he knows who Duane and Mark will draft.

Since I feel that two players at the position I am taking next are of essentially the same value, I feel comfortable that one of them will be available. This means that I have gained a mid sixth round pick for a late 7th rounder and should still get the player I coveted with my next pick.

With my third round pick approaching, I was considering two players. I wanted to nab another RB to go with Jamal Anderson and I had decided the best two available were approximately equal with upsides and potential risks. I was looking at Chris Warren and Marshall Faulk.

Clones/Sam Caplan contacted me about making a trade to move down 6 picks, but I asked him to improve the offer. When he declined, he asked me who I was planning to pick. Since it was my turn, I told him. Sure enough, Chris Warren was the player he was after too. Now since I had Warren rated about the same as Faulk, I was tempted to make the trade, but I didn't. I really did not think Faulk would drop to me later, and it turns out I was correct.

I fully expect Warren to return to his 1995 form and end 97 as one of the top 5 RBs.

I had planned to pick up a TE with my 4th round pick. Last season I was able to nab Shannon Sharpe in the fourth round. I had hoped to get my favorite TE for this season, Wesley Walls, with this pick. Then I made a fateful mistake. I talked to Bob Harris before his second/third round picks. He was all set to take Sharpe, and I mentioned that Walls was my top rated TE this season and he mentioned that he was a huge Walls fan, and before you know it, there goes my 4th round pick.

As I watched the third round unfold, I was somewhat surprised and quite dismayed to see both Coates (#2 on my list) and Sharpe (#3) go. Last year the only TE selected in the third round was Joe Bryant's choice (which was ridiculed by many as being too early) of Ben Coates.

In 1996 there were four TEs that were worthy of early attention. Three were gone, one was retired. My quandary now was do I take Chmura assuming that he would pick up the slack left by the retirement of Keith Jackson. Or do I scrap my plan and go with a WR. With the pick by Terry Cannon of Michael Jackson, my choice was made for me. I felt that Chmura would be my best bet at this point.

The reason for this was the fact that in 1995 Mark had caught 54 balls for 679 yards and 7 TDs. In 1996, Favre completed 68 passes for 875 yards and 10 TDs to Chmura and Jackson. If Chmura can come up with 60 receptions for 750 yards and 8-10 TDs, this will be a very good pick here.

Alexander is as much an emotional pick as a logical one for me. Last season, I was able to pick up Derrick in all of my leagues except FanEx, and he helped me to the playoffs in two of those three teams.

I really do like big receivers and Alexander fits the bill at 6'2" and 195 pounds. I hope that 1997 will be his first complete season, as he has been nicked up in each of his 3 seasons.

Derrick averaged over 17.5 yards per reception, and gained over 80 yards in 1/3 of his games last season. He also scored TD's in over half of his games. This consistency is part of what drew me to him.

When it came my turn to pick in the 6th round I knew I needed another WR and was hoping Morton would fall to me. This was not to be. So I decided to pick up Lawrence Phillips as a backup RB. Ooops, Terry "trade 'em if you got 'em" Cannon trades up and steals the bad boy from me.

This obviously left me in a bit of a quandary, so I decided to go back to my original plan of getting a 2nd WR. I had narrowed it down to two players. One had been prominently mentioned in several of the FanEx draft reviews, and I nearly went with him. I also knew that Terry had his eye on this same player because he had asked if I was going to take him before he could get him in the seventh round. When Terry traded up and took Phillips, I felt I could slip this gentleman to my second pick in the sixth round.

This left me open to pursue my selectee...Keenan McCardell. I am a firm believer that it takes most players a full season to adapt to a new system. McCardell came into the Jacksonville system last season and had a very successful campaign with 85 catches for 1129 yards. Still I feel he can improve, by using his 6'1" frame to better advantage inside the red zone. McCardell was only thrown the ball 17 times inside the 20 (just 7 times inside the 10). I expect both of these numbers to improve this season, and along with them, his touchdowns.

The selection of Muhammad with this pick was mandated by an earlier conversation with Terry Cannon. Yes, he really can influence my decisions - at least somewhat. I knew that I wanted Muhammad on my roster. I consider him the best bet to have a breakout season of any WR this year. Terry had asked me if he was going to be able to get Muhsin in the seventh round. I don't know for certain that he would have taken him, but I certainly did not want to take the chance.

I like his size and hands and really love the fact that Willie Green and Mark Carrier are gone. That means that Collins will have, for all intents and purposes, a new set of receivers. Although Mills, Ismail and Carruth will all vie for playing time, none can match Muhammad's size (6'2" - 220), and that is critical near the goal line.

I expect about 80 catches for 1100 yards and 11 TD's from Muhsin this season.

When it came time for my 8th pick, I knew I would be drafting a backup, so I elected to go with the most injury prone position - Quarterback.

When looking for a backup QB, I am not looking for a player that can carry my team. I am looking for a player I can start one or two games that will not cost me the game.

I evaluate several things including TD to INT ratio, Wide Receivers, Running Game, Off season moves and Defensive Team. This is how John Friesz became my selection:

TD-INT:Over the last two seasons, Friesz has had a 2-1 (14-7) ratio.
WR's:Joey Galloway is one of the best, and Blades is a tough receiver who is working out harder than ever before.
Running:I look for Chris Warren to rebound, giving Friesz an additional threat.
Off Season: The pickups of Springs and Jones in the draft will provide immediate enthusiasm and help. Combined with the defensive acquisitions at the CB and safety, I think Seattle will be much improved.
Defense:I feel Seattle's moves will improve a decent defense to the point that there will not be a lot of pressure put on Friesz to carry his team.

With those thoughts in mind, Friesz was a natural for my backup QB.

I felt that Tyrone Wheatley and Leeland McElroy both had a chance to start and show the potential that landed them with their respective teams. McElroy was a speed back with incredible balance and moves. Wheatley was a huge back in the mold of Herschel Walker who had superior power and speed to burn.

I went with Wheatley over McElroy primarily because of his size advantage.

When it was my turn to pick in the 9th round, I was torn between two RB's I felt could have tremendous upside. I went with Wheatley over McElroy primarily because of his size advantage.

When my turn came in the tenth round, I was amazed to see McElroy still on the board. I feel that he could turn into the sleeper of the draft at this point. Everyone knows that he has the vision and the speed. I feel he also has the desire and the strength necessary to star at this level.

In the 11th round, I was in deep need of another receiver. I had my 2 QBs and my 4 RBs, but I had no reserves at Tight End or Wide Receiver.

I looked through my list of available players at those positions and the name that jumped out at me was that of Jason Dunn, a second year TE in Philadelphia.

Dunn is 6'4" 257 pounds with an impressive burst of speed that allowed him to amass an impressive 22.1 ypc average as a rookie.

No, that is not a typo. Dunn averaged 22.1 ypc as a rookie TE. Jason started 13 games for the Eagles, and while I don't expect him to maintain that type of average, I do expect his reception count and TDs to go up. In fact I had Jason at #7 on my TE draft board.

Since I was unable to get one of the top 3 TE's, a strategy I try to always employ, I felt getting a solid backup would be mandatory.

In Dunn and Chmura, I should have one TE that will experience a break-through season. And if I don't see that happening early, I can play the matchups and not worry too much about over coaching.

With my 12th round pick I was down to needing just two positions. My backup WRs and my PKs. I decided to go WR when I saw that Brian Blades of the Seattle Seahawks was still available.

Blades was de-valued because in 1996 he only caught 43 passes for 556 yards and 2 TD's. But the two seasons prior to that he caught over 75 balls for over 1000 yards and 4 TD's. Not bad for a fourth WR.

Word out of Seattle is that Brian has re-dedicated himself spending more time in the weight room than ever before. He will be playing with his brother for the first time in his professional career. And, he will have either John Friesz or Warren Moon throwing to him instead of Rick Mirer. He is not as big of a receiver as I usually like, but at 5'11" he makes the most of his size. Brian is, according to Mr. Bob Harris, the toughest receiver in the league.

The Angst 13th round selection of John Carney, PK San Diego was a case of me getting the player I had targeted at the top of my list for Place Kickers. I feel that Run and Shoot offenses are great at moving from 10 to 10, but sometimes bog down in close. With that thought in mind I felt that John Carney could be the best in the league this season and I had planned all along to take my kicker with my 12th or 13th round pick.

With so many FanExers waiting late to take their kickers, I held my breath in round 12 and was fortunate to get the man I wanted this late.

When it came time for my 14th round pick, I wanted to pick up a WR that had a lot of upside potential. I had three such receivers in mind with my favorite being WR James Jett of Oakland. Due to a combination of factors, I missed my deadline in the 14th round and dropped to the end of the round. Still, I was hoping that Jett would drop to me, and was fairly certain that at least one of the three would.

Well, Shannon filled me with Wrath by taking Jett before I had the opportunity, so I went with the second receiver on my list.

Amani Toomer certainly set no records with his one catch as a rookie, and is not guaranteed the starting job this season. On top of that, Dave Brown has never demonstrated the ability to be a top notch NFL QB, so what in the world is Kellogg thinking?

I believe coaches make a tremendous difference, and I believe Fassell will have an impact THIS year. But still, for the pick to pan out, Toomer has to start. I think his size advantage (6'2" 202) over his competitors Chris Calloway (5'10" 191) and Thomas Lewis (6'1" 195) will help, but he also has surprising speed as demonstrated by his two punt return TD's, and the fact that he returns punts shows his courage in running the high risk routes.

Lewis would probably have been the safer pick, but I was hoping to maximize my chances. Toomer does that for me.

Though I would have preferred the 2nd receiver on a more prolific passing team, Dawkins has a couple of things going for him.

Sean is a big receiver at 6'4" and 211 pounds. He is relatively young with just 5 years in the league. And perhaps best of all, he is in the final year of a contract that he would like to grow.

As a backup wide receiver, I do not expect many TDs but would be very happy to get one or two in the games I do play him. I feel he could produce about 4 for the year. And I expect his yardage totals to be up from last year due to the recovery of Faulk, the improvement of the offensive line, and the (hopefully) health of QB Jim Harbaugh.

Due to personal reasons, Coach Kellogg was unable to be present for his 16th and final selection of the 1997 FanEx draft. After sending many coded messages to trip up the enemy, Greg asked me [Jim Butler] to select a kicker for him that did not have the same bye week as his other kicker, Carney of the San Diego Chargers.

Taking a look at who was available, I tapped Scott Blanton of the Washington Redskins. The potential for the Redskin offense this season is tremendous, just like other high scoring offenses, you will find high scoring kickers. Plus if the Redskins go the way they went last season, the only one getting any points on the board near the end of the season will be Blanton. Plus, he's only a kicker and in the 16th round, what do you expect?