In our league, we are able to keep one player from last whom we drafted after the 5th round last year and slate him as our 8th rounder this year.

I have in my possession, able to be kept this year, the following:

Drew Brees
Drew Bennett
Willis McGahee
Julius Jones

The prospect of being able to keep one of those guys, as an 8th rounder, has my nipples hard with glee.

But the question is: Who will it be?

I'm torn between 2, but I'd like to hear some advice from this fine board as to whom I should keep.

Fire away.

I'd go w/ Drew Brees. I played against him when he played @ Westlake High here in Austin.

Lots of depth at QB. Brees is at best top 10. McGahee for immediate impact, Julius Jones for long term production. McGahee is in a poor offense and has a major knee history. That is why I give Julius a slight edge. None of those guys is probably franchise material.

I think Julius Jones is going to be a very good RB, an elite RB. The only thing that worries me is the Cowgirls WRs and the old man who's tossing the rock. I'm not so sure they can take the focus off of Julius this year, he's going to be the main target for the DL.

Off of Yorick's comment about McGahee, I would go with Jones.

I don't think you can go wrong with either RB. I'd personally go with McGahee cause I hate the Cowgirls and I think he rates a little higher than JJ right now. As for injuries, JJ missed a good chunk of the start of last season with an injury so I'm not sure he is any more durable than McGahee.

I wouldn't even think about Brees or Bennett with your two RBs to choose from.

Go with Willis McGahee... he is a top 5 talent in fantasy leagues this year and ready for a big time season. Dallas brought in Anthony Thomas and Marion Barber for their backfield, and Jones has injury concerns. McGahee is the only thing Buffalo has, and Mularkey loves to run.

For next year only I would go with McGahee too as I stated. Certainly he is more highly rated according to the conventional wisdom. You could make a case for Brees too, although I think last year was a career year you would be ecstatic that he could duplicate. Considering the depth at QB I would not keep him in a 10-12 person league because I would see those RBs having more value.

The choice between McGahee and Julius is an interesting one, and really if both are healthy either might score more fantasy points. The thing that McGahee has is that he is great in the red zone. He also has good receivers around him in Moulds and Evans. Still the Buffalo O-line is horrible and Losman has zero experience. That for me is a very dangerous combination, even throwing out his durability concerns.

Jones is undersized and he did suffer an injury last year. However, I do believe that closing out the season he put up better numbers that all other RBs in the NFL. I also think his cast is better. Bledsoe stunk in Buffalo, but Dallas has an above average line where as Buffalo's was one of the league's worst. I could really see Bledsoe and Keyshawn hitting it up, plus he has his old target back from NE, plus he is still one of the NFL's best at finding the TE and now he has a pro bowl type guy in Whitten. Also Parcells will feature Jones. Also Jones is much better coming out of the backfield. If you consider all the factors I would challenge conventional wisdom and go with Jones. McGahee might outperform him, but he represents more risk in my book.

If you can get a top RB go with that...there are very few QBs that are that exceptional but good RBs tend to be consistent point getters.

I would personally go with McGahee.

Thanks guys for the outstanding commentary. I didn't mention that this is a 12 team redraft league, and I'll only be able to keep this guy for this year only. Any player who gets kept one year gets automatically dumped back into the player pool the next.

Yorick, you hit the nail on the head. I'm concerned with the fact that Losman has no experience, which may or may not hurt McGahee's production. JJ wan unreal when he came back last year, and I know Tuna loves to exploit the run. I think Dallas has the better supporting cast and therefore it is highly difficult to throw JJ out of the equation.

I know all the rags will have McGahee ranked in the top 8 this year, with JJ slightly lower, but following the rags is a dangerous proposition, as we all know. I think I'll be tossing the coin on this one come draft night.

I would keep McGahee over Jones even though defences will be keying on him. I see McGahee being a work horse this year with each progressive year becomming a more balanced attack. Losman is set and is starting off with a balance of good young and vetran receivers. This should set up a consistant offence for the future years.

I like Jones, and he may have bigger yardage and receiving games this year. However, I think their QB and WRs are not set for the future. I even wonder if Parcels is set their for long term. Their offence may be ever changing, thus adding some question to his consistancy. Also, I hate the Cowboys as well!!


K-Mart

I would keep Willis McGahee... He is a touchdown machine and he's going to get the ball 20-30 times a game for both recieving and rushing. Murlakey likes to run as somebody already mentioned; and Travis Henry is definately done from Bill land for good; besides the Dallas Cowboys are going to use more then just JJ.

Keep Willis, I wouldnt be surprised if he touches the ball almost 400 times this year.

Here's the thing about McGahee that has me worried: the Bills are going to suck this year and McGahee is their only weapon. Remember when we thought Kevan Barlow would be a stud for the very same reasons?

:shudder: