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Since June 4, 2008, INSIDE THE WAR ROOM (IWR) has had a back stage pass to the Fidalgo Island Ill-Tempered Sea Bass fantasy football team’s Draft War Room. The Sea Bass has been involved in the annual Rookie Draft of the HAFA League.

Last time, (See INSIDE THE WAR ROOM Fidalgo Island) IWR reviewed the picks that the Fidalgo Island Ill-Tempered Sea Bass made in the first two rounds of the HAFA Rookie draft. Today, we’re going to review the remaining picks that the Sea Bass made and comment on the picks made in between.

The Fidalgo Island Ill-Tempered Sea Bass entered the 2008 HAFA Rookie draft possessing seven draft picks. These picks included:

1.03 Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit

1.07 James Hardy, WR, Buffalo

2.01 Devin Thomas, WR, Washington

2.14 Earl Bennett, WR, Chicago

3.14 (Original pick)

4.11 (Via trade–Offseason predraft)

4.14 (Original pick)

And here’s how rounds three through four unfolded…

ROUND 3

PICK 3.14–Prior to the 3.14 pick, the Sea Bass had their eyes on Chiefs receiver Will Franklin, a rookie that was performing well above expectations in OTAs. Franklin however, was drafted earlier at 3.07, but with only one receiver selected after him (Andre Caldwell at 3.10) the Sea Bass were still able to get one of the players that they considered to have second round value. The decision on which receiver to take at 3.14 wasn’t easy. The receivers under consideration were the Cardinals Early Doucet, the Falcons Harry Douglas and the Seahawks tight end John Carlson. To weed out the players, the Sea Bass reasoned that Carlson going at 3.14 would be too high considering that rookie tight ends hardly perform up to their draft position. Carlson in the fourth round made more sense value wise. With Carlson eliminated the decision was between Doucet and Douglas. The major concern with Douglas was the fact that he’s a small receiver at 5′11″ 170lbs and could have difficulty handling the rigors of the NFL from week to week. Another concern that the team had was that…well…Harry Douglas didn’t sound like an NFL name! With that resolved, the Sea Bass invested in Doucet. Doucet was selected by the Cardinals to take the place of Bryant Johnson, who departed in the offseason. Due to the unproven talent fighting for the third receiver position, Doucet has a good chance at substantial playing time in 2008 as the third receiver. The Sea Bass also took into consideration that Anquan Boldin’s short and long term plans may not include Arizona. Due to a contract dispute, Boldin has hinted that he may sit out training camp which could allow Doucet an opportunity to audition for his starting job. If however, Boldin does show up at camp it won’t be because he wants to. Boldin wants more money and without a new contract, he’ll likely demand to be traded at the end of 2008, thus opening the door for Doucet to start in 2009.

In hindsight, Douglas would have been a better pick than Doucet. On June 20th, it was reported that Douglas signed a four-year contract and also gained substantial experience with the first team playing the slot position in OTAs. It was also reported that Douglas’ performance in OTAs was exceptional and the third receiver position will be his to lose in training camp.

The third round saw the drafting of eight defensive players, a surprise considering the offensive talent that was still available. What may have been even more surprising however, was the first pick in the third round, Arizona running back Tim Hightower. Hightower is a big back (6′1″ 225lbs) but he is slow and inexperienced against top competition. The fact that he was a fifth round pick and only signed a three-year contract is also cause for concern. At best, Hightower could develop into a goal line back someday. There’s no question that Edgerrin James’ replacement and the Cardinals’ franchise back has yet to be drafted. At 3.05 and at 3.10, Denver receiver Eddie Royal and Cincinnati receiver Andre Caldwell were selected. Both receivers may see playing time in 2008 as third receivers for their respective teams. Caldwell was a good pick in the third round. The Sea Bass had Caldwell rated as a late second round pick, ahead of Jordy Nelson and definitely ahead of teammate Jerome Simpson who was selected with pick 2.10. Indianapolis running back Mike Hart, who was selected at 3.13 was another head-scratcher. At 5′9″, 195lbs, Hart has as much upside as the Bengals’ Chris Perry…who has yet to play a full season. Should the Colts’ Joeseph Addai miss time, Dominic Rhodes not Hart would get the call. The last receiver taken in the third round (3.16) was Dexter Jackson, a player better suited as a fourth round pick or later. Jackson’s playing time will be limited to special teams in 2008, with a possibility that he’ll be groomed to replace Joey Galloway…in a year or three.

ROUND 4

PICK 4.11–A lot of wasted picks were made in this round enabling the Sea Bass to draft players lower than expected. The mistake of not drafting Harry Douglas in the third round quickly resolved itself when he was again available at 4.11. In a heart beat, the Sea Bass selected Douglas and added him to their stable of rookie wide receivers. If tight end John Carlson had been available (he was drafted at 4.01) he likely would have been selected instead of Douglas. Also on the radar prior to the 4.11 pick was Tennessee rookie receiver Lavelle Hawkins. If he had been available (he was selected at 4.09) the decision to select Douglas over Hawkins would have been tough.

PICK 4.14–The Sea Bass’ second pick in the fourth round took quite a bit of thought. The players under consideration were two receivers drafted late in the NFL draft; drafted by teams where they have opportunities to make an impact in their rookie years and both with the potential to become the next Marques Colston. Chicago rookie Marcus Monk and New Orleans rookie Adrianne Arrington were the best of what was left. Despite the two receivers being close to equal, the Sea Bass selected Monk, who in OTA’s stood out by catching everything in sight. It was also taken into consideration that prior to a leg injury in his senior year, Monk was rated as a 3rd round draft pick (The Bears drafted him in the seventh round.) The decision to draft Monk was also made easier by the state of Chicago’s receiving corps, a collection of inexperienced, unestablished and untalented athletes. Arrington on the other hand has a tougher hill to climb in order to start. Colston is the face of the Saints franchise lowering Arrington’s ceiling to the number two receiver spot at best and that’s if he can beat out the players ahead of him like Robert Meachem, David Patten and Lance Moore. The fact that the Saints traded back into the draft to select Arrington indicates that the Saints will give him the benefit of the doubt…should any doubt surface about him. In time, there is no doubt that both receivers have the potential to be starters in the NFL.

Round four turned out to be a grab-bag of rookie picks and second/third string veterans. A couple of notable rookie picks were quarterbacks Josh Johnson, Tampa Bay and John David Booty, Minnesota. Both teams have indicated that neither player will see playing time this season. In fact, neither player saw much action with the first or second teams in OTAs indicating that both will be project players for the unforeseeable future. On the runningback front, Tashard Choice of Dallas and Marcus Thomas of San Diego were also drafted. Choice will likely spend the next 3-4 years on special teams with little to no upside with Marion Barber and Felix Jones ahead of him on the depth chart. The Thomas pick was supposedly a mistake but it was never clear which player was the intended draft pick. If I had to guess, the team likely intended to draft fellow Chargers rookie runningback Jacob Hester, who would have been a steal in this round. The Chargers have indicated that Hester will be LaDainian Tomlinson’s backup in 2008. In OTAs, Hester played with the first team at fullback, runningback and lined up outside as a pass receiver. He could be one of the most productive rookies in 2008.

ROUND 5

Due to offseason trades, the Sea Bass had no draft picks in rounds five and six. The team did consider a trade offer of a fourth round pick in 2009 for the 5.07 and 6.07 picks in this year’s draft. With the two picks, the Sea Bass would have drafted receiver Adrian Arrington in the fifth and the New Orleans’ rookie kicker Taylor Mehlhaff in the sixth. Because there were no guarantees that the two players would be available the offer was cast aside. As the two rounds unfolded however, the two players would have been available at the two draft slots.

Round five came and went with few if any exciting picks made. A couple of interesting picks included Lions runningback Jerome Felton (5.07), Jets quarterback Eric Ainge (5.09), Bills runningback Xavier Omon (5.10), Saints receiver Arrington (5.12) and 49ers receiver Josh Morgan. Most of these players appear destined to be inactive on Sundays in 2008. The few that may have a chance for playing time include Ainge, who could step in for a couple of games should Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens falter, Omon, who could become the backup runningback to Fred Jackson if Marshawn Lynch is suspended or injured and of course Arrington.

ROUND 6

Round six really isn’t worth mentioning. Out of the 16 picks only three of them were offensive rookies. At 6.01, Chiefs tight end Brad Cottam was selected. With Tony Gonzalez in the fold, Cottam may have a year or two before he sees serious playing time. Cleveland tight end Martin Rucker was the next to go. With Kellen Winslow unhappy about his contract and always one play away from injury he has an outside chance to play this season and to even start if Winslow is dealt in 2009. The last offensive rookie to be selected was the Jaguars’ runningback Chauncey Washington at 6.13. In 2008, he’ll likely be the third runningback behind Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Don’t expect him to have a significant role any time soon.

END OF DRAFT OBSERVATIONS

This season’s NFL Rookie Crop is a shallow group. However, the deepest position in the draft is at receiver where the talent may not be as good as in past seasons but the opportunities for these rookies to make an impact on their teams are more plentiful. These receivers can be had as late as the third round. The runningback group is not so promising. Aside from the top five runningbacks, none of the other runningbacks are in position to make an immediate impact. In most rookie fantasy drafts, the top runningbacks will be long gone by the end of the first round leaving quarterback Matt Ryan and the top receivers as viable first round options.

The best way to handle this season’s fantasy rookie draft is to either trade into a top 5 pick to secure a runningback or trade out of the first round for multiple picks in round 2 to select two starting caliber receivers. In the case of the Fidalgo Island Ill-Tempered Sea Bass, they had a successful draft. Not only did they trade up for a starting running back in Kevin Smith, but they also were able to draft five receivers that have a good shot at significant playing time in 2008…and starting jobs in 2009.

This is how the Sea Bass finished the draft:

Check out rounds one and two of INSIDE THE WAR ROOM’s coverage of Fidalgo Island’s Rookie Draft.

2008 NFL ROOKIES POSITION RANKINGS

OVERALL ROOKIE RANKINGS–Updated June 2008

QUARTERBACKS

RUNNING BACKS

WIDE RECEIVERS

TIGHT ENDS & KICKERS

2008 NFL PLAYER RANKINGS

QUARTERBACKS

WIDE RECEIVERS

TIGHT ENDS

By John Willette of IPL Sports