Griff Coomer steals Larry Johnson from Rob Masterson – Draft – 8th Round, 2005
For a three-year stretch, there was no bigger stud than Priest Holmes. From 2002-2005, Priest was a first-round pick (or keeper). In2002, he help lead me to a title (earning player of the year honors). In 2003 he was the top running back up until Tomlinson blew up in week fourteen to pass Holmes in total points. In 2004, Priest dominated again, however, like 2002, Holmes had a late season-ending injury.
Heading into the 2005 draft, Rob Masterson had to decide if he would use a first-round pick for the third straight year to keep Holmes. Despite being weary of his injury issues, Rob had little choice but to keep him. However, he knew that in the previous season, when Holmes went out, third-year back Larry Johnson had stepped in and filled the void. The question that Sunday morning at my Stuy Town apartment wasn’t ‘if’ Rob would take Larry Johnson as insurance, but ‘when’?
After keeping Priest in the first, Rob nabbed Ahman Green in the second, followed by receiver Roy Williams and quarterback Kerry Collins. He filled out the rest of his main roster (besides kicker/defense) with Javon Walker and TE Randy McMichael. In the 7th round, it was time for Rob to make that tough decision, go for a legit starter to be your backup RB, or insurance. Rob went with legit backup, Duce Staley, RB for the Steelers (although he turned out not to be legit). Rob would have to wait thirteen more picks before he got another selection. At this point, Rob had remained quiet for most of the draft.
It was our first (and only) morning draft and Rob had just returned from a vacation. He was a little tired, so we cut him some slack. Slowly, the picks came out; Fred Taylor, Bucs DST, Lee Suggs and Tatum Bell. With the second-to-last pick in the 7th round, Griff (the ’04 runner up) took Justin McCareins, WR for the Jets. With the last pick, Bob selected the Cowboys DST. Seven more picks to Masterson’s next selection. With the first pick in the 8th round, Bob surprised everyone by taking Marshall Faulk. It had already been decided that Steven Jackson would start in St. Louis so it was an unusual pick.
Now Griff was up.
What would he do? Already blessed with a great keeper, Shaun Alexander, in round one, Griff had also nailed down LaMont Jordan (an up-and-comer in Oakland). He followed that up with Hines Ward and Antonio Gates. Four rounds in and Griff was already an early favorite. By the time the 8th round came around, Griff had a decent roster, but lacked one thing; a backup running back and there weren’t a lot of names left. Yet, we all assumed Griff would draft a RB who was actually starting for their team. He didn’t. The pick was made and Rob Masterson cursed in agony…Larry Johnson, running back, Chiefs.
It was an odd choice for one team to ‘steal’ someone else’s insurance this early in the draft. Rob was shocked, declaring that he was planning on taking Johnson with his next pick. He knew instantly he waited one pick too long and the rest was history. Priest Holmes went down for good and Griff inserted LJ into his lineup, by the end of the season, Griff won the 2005 championship with the greatest running back combination this league had ever seen (Shaun Alexander, Larry Johnson). Johnson, despite not starting the first five games, earned second-team All-Robio, nearly rushing for 1,800 yards.
Rob would end up suffering numerous loses; Priest Holmes, Ahman Green and Javon Walker…he never recovered.
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