Rookies vs. Free Agents

Rookies vs. Free Agents.

That’s the matchup I’m pondering right now. You see, I play in a 10-team dynasty league with IDPs and 28 roster spots, and our draft is this weekend. Available players include all rookies as well as players not on fantasy rosters at the end of 2009, plus anyone else that any of the 10 team owners have elected to drop.

You may have read about my previous trades in earlier blogs, but now my mind is focused on draft day … and that Rookies vs. Free Agents thing.

Most of the veterans available are QBs and LBs, because our league has this weird rule that each team must drop one of its three highest-scoring players on offense and defense.

The rule was put in place to balance things out a bit, the theory being that the owners of the best teams would drop a top-three scorer and a team picking at the top of the following year’s draft would steal him away. A good way to keep things competitive, right?

Wrong. Instead, owners found a way around it from year one, by trading to “cover” their top guys. And if they are unable to do that, they simply drop a QB and an LB, as those positions are always among the highest scoring and deepest, and thus easiest to replace.

That said, I’ve always been a fan of bypassing veterans and sticking to adding mostly rookies, especially in the first two rounds. But this year is a little different. Guys such as Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Tate, Legedu Naanee, Julian Edelman, Kareem Huggins and even Brandon Jackson have my eye. QBs expected to be available include Donovan McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger — remember, this is a dynasty league, so his suspension isn’t that big of a deal — Brett Favre and Eli Manning. On the IDP side of things I’m intrigued by Aaron Kampman, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Kroy Biermann, Rey Maualuga, Stewart Bradley, Dan Connor, Bob Sanders, Sean Jones and Antrel Rolle.

To seasonal owners, it might not seem like a four-star meal, but it’s not a bad menu for deep dynasty owners. Tough choices lie ahead.

For more insight into a dynasty league draft, check back next week when I post and analyze the results of my league’s extravaganza.