The question of the day wasn’t if the Carolina Panthers would draft Cam Newton (they did), but rather, how early will Burrier take him in our 2011 draft? Considering Burrier drafted both Matt Leinert and Mark Sanchez as rookies over the last five years, keeping them both the following year (the one exception was when he traded for Rivers as a 15th round keeper).
In reality rookie quarterbacks don’t really mean much in fantasy. Even if they do start right out of the gate (rare), they’re still not worth a start on a Robioland roster. Often quarterbacks are taken late in the draft, held on for a year before being dropped without ever making an impact on that team.
More often than not, you’re looking at running backs and in a small way, wide receivers to make some sort of impact that year.
Now tonight, you’re witnessing round one of the NFL draft. You’ve already seen Alabama’s Mark Ingram will probably be the first RB taken (Miami?). Obviously, the first RB taken in the NFL draft are the best guys in our draft, right? Don’t know. Let’s see if that has held true in Robioland by taking a stroll back and see how the first RB has done.
RUNNING BACK
2001 – LaDainian Tomlinson Drafted by: Justin Hanright, Round 5
Seriously, do I really need to go through the entire history? He’s the greatest running back in the Robioland era. He’s easily the greatest keeper and one could argue he’s the greatest player ever, although Peyton Manning would get my vote. Of course way back in 2001, the league was all about Edgerrin James, Marshall Faulk and Ricky Williams. LT lasted to the 5th round. He started the entire season for Justin, averaging a solid 174ppg. He earned “Rookie of the Year” honors.
The following year, he landed in Masterson’s lap in the second-round. After finishing “second-team” All Robio, that would be the last time LT would fail to go in the first-round. Heading into 2003, Burrier was the worst team to return, so he was lucky enough to nail down the top pick in our first keeper year. He grabbed Tomlinson first and would keep him all the way until 2007, when the league finally adopted a three-year keeper limit. During that magical four-year run, Rich would win one championship, four division titles and a top-seed with LT leading the way.
In 2007, with LT’s keeper eligibility up, Burrier try to salvage a lost season by trading Tomlinson to me for LenDale White, Jeremy Shockey and Chad Johnson. Without ever starting LT, I would quickly trade him away to Matt for Brian Westbrook and Anquan Boldin. Running along side Adrian Peterson, LT would win his second Robioland title (and Matt’s first) that year. During this incredible seven-year run, on top of his two titles and one rookie of the year award, LT would also win four first-team All-Robio’s and one second-team All-Robio, including player of the year in 2006, when he averaged 262ppg (the second most ever for a running back).
In 2008, Tomlinson re-entered the free agent pool and was once again drafted first in the draft by Colby. However, he wasn’t quite the player he was before and fell to 11th among backs. Still pretty good, but it was the first time since 2001 that he didn’t crack the top-10 among backs. The following year, Rob grabbed him with the second pick. It was the seventh straight season LT was either taken or kept in the first-round. Unfortunately for Masterson, it was one year too many. He struggled to stay healthy and was eventually benched for the first time in his career. He finished the season 30th.
In 2010, Bob gave the veteran in the 8th round. LT moved out west and joined the Jets, where he was expected to backup a younger, Shoone Greene. Of course Greene struggled and LT was pushed back into the starting lineup. Bob had a crowded backfield, so LT split time with other backs, but he started about half the games and finished in the top-20. Technically Tomlinson won his third Robioland title, but this time he got it sitting on the bench, as Bob started Chris Johnson and Ryan Torain.
2002 – WILLIAM GREEN Drafted by: David Hightower, Round 9
Only a year removed for LaDainian Tomlinson being the first back taken in the NFL draft, we got William Green from Boston College. Dave grabbed him in round nine and he proceeded to do very little. He was cut by the end of September. By November, he started to show a little sign of life and I grabbed him, looking for a solid back to pair with Priest Holmes. He did a great job and would split time with Dee Brown. During the post-season, I mostly went with Brown, as Green was averaging about 60 yards per game. Then tragedy hit me. After producing a 166-yard game in the semi-finals, first-team All-Robio, Priest Holmes went down. With the title game against top-seeded Molly around the corner, I was without my best player. I needed a miracle and got it in William Green. He started the title game and produced 187 total yards and two touchdowns. He finished with 426 fantasy points, delivering me my third title.
Of course back then, the league was not a keeper league, so I couldn’t keep him in the ninth. Instead, Griff took him with his second pick in 2003. He was expected to become an elite running back. It didn’t happen. After a decent first seven weeks, where Green produced a couple 100-yard games, he first got hurt. Then he got arrested for DUI and pot. He was suspended. Then he got stabbed by his girlfriend and suspended some more. Obviously, Griff cut him. In only seven games, he finished 36th among backs.
The following year, Eric took a chance on him in the 11th round. With a ton of off-field issues, Green could not rediscover the magic and finished 41st among backs. In 2005, Green got one more shot thanks to Calderon, who took him in the 13h round, but he couldn’t even muster 200 total yards. He was cut and his career was over.
2003 – WILLIS McGAHEE Drafted by: Jeff Greenblatt, Round 14
For one season in college, Willis McGahee was the best back in football. Then he destroyed his knee in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. Smartly, he turned pro. Despite the fact he would need a full year to recover, the Bills took him with a first-round pick. And yet despite not playing, Jeff drafted him in the 14th round. However, he never had the patience to keep a broken player on his bench, so he cut him. I ended up stashing him on my bench with plans to keep him.
Yet I didn’t keep him and Don grabbed him in the 8th round. It would be the beginning of a long four-year relationship between the former Hurricane and the former Gator. In his “official” rookie season, McGahee had some spot starts for Don, but only managed to crack the top-40 among backs. But Don saw the future and the future looked bright. He kept him the next three seasons. During that time, McGahee produced two top-20 seasons and a career best 10th among all backs in 2007. He even helped lead Don to his first title in 2006 as the only starting running back on Gator Nation (until Ron Dayne showed up for the playoff push).
Despite the success, McGahee was shipped off to Baltimore and his numbers have been in decline since. In 2008, Eric grabbed him in the 9th round, while Masterson also snagged him in the 9th the following year. In both seasons, injuries killed McGahee and he barely cracked the top-50 among backs. Masterson took him again in 2010 in the 11th, but only as insurance for Ray Rice. He was cut twice, before ending up back on Rob’s bench by season’s end.
2004 – STEVEN JACKSON Drafted by: Don Vozzola, Round 10
Oh Steven Jackson, the man who could be great if he just didn’t play for the Rams. In his rookie campaign, Jackson was suppose to just be insurance for an aging Marshall Faulk (drafted by Eric), but Don stole him from his son in the 10th. He didn’t do much, sitting on Don’s bench, finished 40th among backs. However, in 2005, Faulk was gone and Don decided to pass on Jackson as a keeper, which allowed Burrier to take him in the second round. Sharing a backfield with LT, Jackson shined, finishing 10th among all backs. Great things were expected from this point on.
In 2006, Jackson went first overall to David Hightower, but then the Rams offense started to fade and Jackson never produced the kind of elite numbers we expected from him. This would be his theme for the next four years. A year after being the first pick in the draft, he was the second overall pick, but again was only able to finish 20th. In 2009, Jackson was picked third overall by Griff and ended up having his best year, finishing 5th among all backs, despite only scoring four touchdowns all season. In 2010, Jackson shockingly became a keeper for the first time ever. He was good for most of the year, but injuries knocked down his stats, as he finished 14th among all backs.
2005 – RONNIE BROWN Drafted by: Eric Vozzola, Round 4
Has there ever been a more overrated player in Robioland than Ronnie Brown? In six seasons, he’s never lasted past the fourth round, yet he’s never finished the season as a top-10 back. In his rookie campaign, things looked good. Despite sharing the ball, he finished 22nd. Eric kept him on board in 2006, but he still couldn’t break through to elite status, finishing 24th overall. In 2007, he was bumped up to the second round, but Eric kept him again. After six weeks it looked like a great decision, as Ronnie Brown was the league’s top back. Then he tore his ACL and he was outta there. He still managed to finish 24th.
The following year, Brown was a free agent and Matt snagged him in the third round.; high for a guy coming off an ACL injury. Still, Brown wasn’t too bad. Despite the injury and despite the presence of Ricky Williams, he finished 17th. He didn’t help the defending champ though, as Matt fell to last in the league. The following year, Brown returned back home to Eric, who found him sitting there in the second round. Again, he looked great. In fact he was a top-eight back for half the year, but again he went down and out for the year (finishing 21st). Despite all the season-ending injuries, another Vozzola took a chance on Brown in the second round in 2010, but by then he just didn’t look the same. He stayed healthy, but finished 35th among all backs…the worst finish in his career.
2006 – REGGIE BUSH Draft by: Bob Castrone, Round 1
Reggie Bush became the first rookie running back to go first overall in the draft. Yes, this happened during the keeper era, but still it’s a big moment. Overall, he had a decent year, finishing 15th among backs, despite sharing carries. However, Maurice Jones-Drew ended up the best rookie back, averaging 199ppg. The following year, Bob actually kept Bush in round one. All should have gone great, especially since McAllister tore his ACL, but Bush couldn’t produce or stay healthy and he finished 26th in the league, sitting on Bob’s bench.
From that point on, Bob had enough and in 2008, Masterson reached for him in the second round. However, like so many of Masterson’s high-picked running backs, Bush was unable to finish the season thanks to his own ACL injury. This was made worse since he was actually having a decent year. He finished 32nd among backs. Coming off that injury, Bush would fall down the draft boards the next two seasons. In 2009 and 2010, Don grabbed Bush twice in the 6th and 7th rounds. He never did much of anything and he struggled to stay on the field. In 2010, he fell all the way to 60th among backs.
2007 – ADRIAN PETERSON Draft by: Matt Neatock, Round 2
Well, what can we say? Outside of Tomlinson, he’s arguable the best keeper in league history. Matt grabbed the Sooner back in the second-round, one round earlier than I predicted and it was a brilliant decision. Over a three-year period, Peterson would finish 3rd, 5th and 4th among all backs. More importantly, he would lead Matt to two Robioland championships in three years. In 2010, he became a free agent and was easily the number one pick in the draft (by me). He led me to the league’s only 12-1 season and a title game appearance. He also earned his first first-team All Robio in 2010.
2008 – DARREN McFADDEN Drafted By: Rob Masterson, Round 3
Coming out of college, great things were expected out of McFadden (I’m talking about Adrian Peterson-type numbers). Unfortunately he played for the Raiders and couldn’t stay healthy. He ended up finishing 37th among backs, yet it didn’t real effect Masterson. He had redshirted McFadden prior to the season and kept him one round later in 2009.
Unfortunately, injuries kept pounding him and he finished 68th among backs. Masterson cut him before the season was over. In 2001, no one really gave him a second thought until round 11 when I grabbed him. He came out of the gate on fire, second only to Peterson in fantasy points by a running back. An injury would cost him a couple games, but he came back and finished the season as a second-team All-Robio back. Barring injury, like Peterson above, he should be a great keeper in 2011 for me.
2009 – KNOWSHON MORENO Drafted by: Rich Burrier, Round 4
Injuries slowed the Broncos running back and Burrier had little patience for an injured running back. He packaged him with Vernon Davis and shipped him off to Colby for Donald Driver and Larry Johnson. Colby was clearly thinking of the future at this point and was trying to land two solid keepers for 2010. Moreno ended up finishing the season for Colby as a starter and was the 24th best rusher in Robioland.
In the end though, Colby decided to pass on keeping Moreno and Neatock took him in the second round. For the second straight year, Moreno looked good when he was playing, but he still missed too many games to be truly effective. He finished the season again as a starter, this time paired with another second-year player in LeSean McCoy and ended up 20th among all backs.
2010 – CJ SPILLER Drafted by: Jeff Greenblatt, Round 5
Too early to call a bust, but Spiller never got a chance in Buffalo (thank you Fred Jackson) and Jeff sent him packing. Masterson grabbed him off the waiver wire and he sat on his bench for the remainder of the year.
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