Fantasy Football Dynasty Diaries

Neither of these two rookies, Mark Sanchez or Matt Stafford, are likely burning up the draft board given their unproven positions and untested nerves in the regular season. But sorting through the rookie noise at quarterback can prove worthwhile as we all know how it feels to be digging through the waiver-wire trash on game days. Making the right choice on your rookie flier in the late rounds can end up saving the day on multiple occasions once those injuries and bye weeks come flying at you.

The jury is still out on whether either of these guys will have much fantasy impact at this point, but so far they look like the two most likely candidates to get heavy repetitions, so let's get the debate rolling...

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So, you want to try your hand at building a dynasty? Who doesn't? Being able to keep the fantasy football players that you draft from year to year seems like a novel idea. You just need to be aware of a few things.

Building a fantasy football team in a Dynasty League is very similar to a regular league. You're going to try to put together the best group of guys to help you win a championship. The main extra ingredient to keep in mind is that you'd like your team to be as young as possible and still have a shot to win. That being said, you're not going to forego all older players. If Peyton Manning is on the board and he's the best available player, you should consider it. The decision making process kicks in when you're trying to decide between two similar players. You're most likely going to take youth over experience in that situation.

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Remember the 2005 first overall pick for the San Francisco 49ers, Alex Smith? The bust? The franchise killer? The relic? Yeah, that guy just turned 25 last month. It sounds crazy, but Alex Smith is younger than Matt Cassel, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers, Trent Edwards, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. He has only one full year on Matt Ryan, nine months on Joe Flacco, five months on Brady Quinn and most shockingly, is less than thirteen months older than the Giants' fifth-round selection in the 2009 draft, Rhett Bomar. Considering his age, could this year mark the resurrection of Alex Smith's career?

The Arizona Cardinals, for years, have been "fantasy death." But recently, a resuscitation in the desert allowed the Cardinals to suddenly become valuable to fantasy owners. They drafted Beanie Wells of Ohio State in the first round on Saturday, and that's only more good news for fantasy owners.

See, Wells was supposed to land in a situation that would involve him sharing carries. Instead, word on the street is that Edgerrin James will be released and, if that happens, Wells will find himself in a fantastic situation.

Michael Crabtree was supposed to be a top five pick. He was supposed to be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks and slot right into the west coast offense that they run. Then the crazy first round of this year's NFL Draft happened and Crabtree was in a freefall.

He landed with the San Francisco 49ers and for fantasy owners, that's freaking horrible news (like finding out you posed for the picture to the right).

The Broncos drafting Knowshon Moreno was undoubtedly a shock, considering it was with their first, and 12th overall, pick in the NFL Draft. And it's kind of a shame for fantasy players.

That's because Moreno has a ton of talent, even if he's not a lock-down feature back. But he has nice hands, he has enough speed, and he can break off runs. Which would have made him a perfect fit for the Eagles or the Chargers (although the fantasy boost would have been delayed on both). Instead, he's headed to Denver to work under Josh McDaniels' scheme and alongside Kyle Orton.

You know when Herm Edwards loves your pick, you've done something wrong. And he was trying to justify the Raiders selecting Darrius Heyward-Bey, which means if Al Davis can hear him, he should probably realize he's in trouble.

From a fantasy standpoint, Heyward-Bey is actually kind of interesting. He's fast but we're not sure if he can actually run routes. And JaMarcus Russell isn't going to be spectacular just yet. BUT ...

Mark Sanchez was the wild card heading into this year's draft. He had a limited number of starts at USC and no one knew where he would get drafted, but it still seemed likely that he could be a nice QB2 because his upside in the right system grew exponentially as the draft approached.

If Seattle pulled the trigger on Sanchez, though, his fantasy value would be sunk because Matt Hasselbeck isn't going anywhere right away. Then the Jets made a trade with the Browns and were suddenly in the five spot, causing high-fives and smiles all around in the Sanchez household in California.

With the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions surprised nobody by inking a deal with the former Georgia Bulldog quarterback, Matthew Stafford. Long before the draft began at 4 pm this afternoon, Detroit and Stafford agreed on Friday night to a six-year deal worth $78 million with $41.7 million guaranteed.

While most young quarterbacks might be tempted to pull the Elway and start singing, "I gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing I ever do," Stafford, on the contrary, seems genuinely excited to be a Lion and up to the challenge of turning this team around under his leadership. This, combined with a pretty savvy contract by the Lions that puts a lot of that $78 million in incentives based on playing time, looks like a recipe for success. So, the question remains, does Matt Stafford have fantasy value for the upcoming season in Detroit as a rookie?

I must admit, I am not entirely certain that "Up for Grabs, Down for Keeps" is a universal reference. It refers to the hot open-market exchange that is the elementary school lunch table. "Up for grabs" means that the Fruit by the Foot is in play if you can come up with a fat sack of Nutter Butters, or perhaps a goat cheese sandwich if you're from Scarsdale. "Down for keeps" means you changed your mind or pulled the fake-out move and decided to hang onto it for personal consumption.

Anyway, today's segment deals with the decision of determining who should be stashed away "down for keeps" versus who is better off being placed back on the market "up for grabs" in those keeper leagues as we head into the off-season.