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Drafting Receivers in the First Two Rounds

Don't get me wrong - if I get the top pick, I'll take Adrian Peterson and be fine with it. But if I'm picking 7-12, I'll be looking to get two wideouts in the first two rounds.

Ideally, I'd pick ninth or so, and have Larry Fitzgerald slip to me there. On the way back, I'd be hoping for Calvin Johnson, or Randy Moss. Even if Fitzgerald were gone, I'd be very happy with Johnson and Moss as my first two picks.

Not only is Fitzgerald a safer pick than |STAR|any|STAR| running back, but the running back position is particularly deep this year - starters like Larry Johnson and Derrick Ward are typically available in the 20-30 range. Moreover, in most leagues, you need to start three receivers, and the position is thinner than in recent years. Once you get outside the top 10, you're faced with uncertainty - players like 35-year old Terrell Owens sharing targets in a conservative offense and cold-weather city, or Brandon Marshall playing with a lesser quarterback and coming off hip surgery.

Outside the top 20, it's even worse with unproven options like Donnie Avery or targets like Bernard Berrian, Santonio Holmes and DeSean Jackson who rarely see looks in the red zone.

Finally, the top backs other than Peterson and maybe Maurice Jones-Drew are not the rock solid Tomlinson/Alexander/Portis types we relied on in the past. Matt Forte, Steve Slaton, Michael Turner and Chris Johnson are untested over multiple seasons, Steven Jackson, Brian Westbrook and Brandon Jacobs are health risks, LaDainian Tomlinson and Clinton Portis are likely on the decline and DeAngelo Williams, Chris Johnson and Marion Barber are in timeshares. A few of these options will no doubt have big seasons, but all carry more risk than the top three wideouts. The time to take risk is in rounds 4-6, not in rounds 1 and 2.

The bottom line - in a 12-team league, I'm ecstatic to start off with two elite wideouts, and then fill in with two solid backs in Rounds 3 and 4, and a couple more upside backs in rounds 5-9.