Hi again everyone. I figured my pick would raise some eyebrows, so I thought I'd stop by and attempt to explain why I did what I did. I totally agree with anyone who says Smith and Forte should post better numbers not only this year, but next year as well. So why would I take Jones?

At this point, Jones is the RB5 on my team behind Peterson, McGahee, Maroney and McFadden. I realize Maroney and McFadden are not stone-dead locks to be dominant RBs, but I do like their upsides. Taken in this context, I did not need the next best producer on the board who should be either Smith or Forte. Instead, I took the back with the most upside hoping that either his playing time increases or he moves on to take a larger role elsewhere.

Another point on Jones is that he has been talked about as a complimentary RB to Barber for so long that many people are overlooking what a good back he is in his all-around game. Keep in mind that when Arkansas did run a pro set, they ran it with Jones rather than McFadden, and it was Jones that set the all-time NCAA yards-per-carry mark, not anyone else available in this draft.

Jones has been pidgeon-holed, and wrongfully so in my opinion. I feel he can be a 15-18 carry back in the NFL. As anyone who has played dynasty before knows, there are no guarantees in this game. We'll see what happens.

XYZ said:

I tend to agree with Joe about Jones, cause I think he could be a surprise in this rookie class… but my follow-up question is why not trade down Joe?

I could have gone that route, but as I tiered the rookie RBs, I had Jones standing along on his own tier. Not knowing how anyone else was going to rate them, there was no way to know that I could slide back 1-3 spots and still land the player I wanted. Also, to slide back those spots in an environment of what my assumption would be others would say were equal talents, I wasn't going to gain enough in trading down to lose the ceiling that I perceive Jones to have.

At this point, beauty is in the eye of the beholder looking at these players. Jones sparkles more for me than the rest of the field at this point. My hope is that he is not fool's gold. :-)

Hi again Xtremers,

The draft has been a tad slow, but I did get the opportunity to pick again, so I thought I'd stop by go through my (convoluted) thought process.

At 2.01, I went with Jamaal Charles.  For those putting the pieces together on my draft, you may have figured out that I really like this year's rookie RB class.  Charles has premium speed and quickness, but what he lacks at this point is the bulk to get through a 16-game schedule as anything more than a specialty player.  Those who researched Charles realize that he was not purely a football player in college as he was also a track guy.  That participation in track prevented him from devoting himself to the weight room in the offseason.  Let's not forget that he's not starting out as a string bean – the kid weighs 200 pounds now.  I think he has a bright future.

With track now in his rearview mirror, I expect Charles to bulk up to become a successful NFL running back and be the eventual replacement for LJ whenever that time comes.  I'd say 2-3 years should be about right.

I have hit the RBs hard in this draft for three reasons: 

First, as I stated above, I really like this draft class.  The three RBs I grabbed in this draft are all in my top seven rated backs, so that was nice for me. 

Second, I really don't like the draft class next year.  Much like this year's senior class, next year's senior class is going to need help from underclassmen to make it interesting.

Third, what is the greatest currency in Fantasy Football?  In the NFL it's quarterbacks, but in Fantasy it's productive running backs.  If you have a productive running back, you can go out and acquire any other position you might need.

If you guys have questions or comments, I'll check back around to see what those are.