More Bang for Your Buck Nick Pags , Fantasy Football Staff Writer Jul 16, 2007 | More

More Bang for Your Buck

Who is going too high? Who can you get at a lower price? Who are the value picks of the 2007 draft? Where can you get more bang for your buck? I’ll show you some of the players you can wait on and get later in your draft rather than taking a bigger name at a higher price earlier in the draft.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR Bengals – Housh will be a top 10 WR in fantasy come January and you can get him at a cheaper price than that of Chad Johnson. Chad is going as high as one of the first three wide-outs taken in drafts. TJ and CJ will have similar seasons, so why not wait until Housh drops a little further down the draft board than Chad and get more “bang for your buck.”

Jerricho Cotchery, WR Jets: Cotchery came on strong last season and should be in for a solid season this year. Coles is ranked about seven to ten spots higher than him on most draft boards. He is also going about a round or two higher than Cotchery. Wait on Coles and get Cotchery at a cheaper price. When you’re making a decision about who you want as your WR2, try not taking Coles, and get a similar player in Cotchery a round or so later.

Anquan Boldin, WR Cardinals: This is not a significant difference as some of the others, but Fitzgerald is going about eight to ten picks higher than Boldin. I feel both will put up very similar numbers this season, so take the guy who is dropping further in the drafts.

Deuce McAllister, RB Saints: Deuce ran for over 1000 yards and had double digit TD’s last year, yet he is not getting much love this year. His situation from last year is the same, if not better as the Saints continue to improve. He is continually dropping to the third round. Although I live by the RB-RB strategy, you may be able to get your favorite top-flight WR in the second round, and steal Deuce in the 3^rd, especially if you have a Top 6 pick.

Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Eli Manning, QB’s: These quarterbacks are going late in drafts and can beneficial to your team. A potential draft strategy could be to nab two of these QB’s and play the matchups each week. Also, each   of these QB’s has potential for the 2007 season, so if you grab two of them, your chances for getting a solid one will increase. Also, most of these QB’s are going in or after the 9^th round (in the MMM’s in the tank - http://www.fantasysharks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=118855 ), so you can be drafting RB’s and WR’s in the first 6 or 7 rounds, and then get a QB. Unless it is a complete steal, don’t be tempted to take Peyton, Palmer, Brees, or Brady early. Wait on one of these young guns later in your draft.

Leinart – 2 tremendous weapons at WR and a proven RB. He is also in his second year with a better O-Line.

Cutler – A deep receiving corp this year as well as newly acquired RB Travis Henry. With a good coach in Shanahan, Cutler will continue to improve in his second year.

Rivers – Best running back in the game, best TE in the league to check down to. On one of the best overall teams in the league with some young WR’s who are improving.

Romo – Has the weapons all over in that offense. The job is his and he should take off.

Manning – It is now or never. With the loss of Tiki, he must step up this year. I think he does. However, with that said, I have more trust in the other QB’s listed.