Why I’ll Stop at Nothing to Land Dez Bryant in my 2011 Fantasy Football Draft.
I have been looking forward to my next fantasy football draft since about the middle of September last year. Sure the leagues are fun—grabbing sleepers off the waivers, inserting a nobody into your lineup on a hunch, gallivanting through the playoffs like you own the damn place—but there is just something about the draft that makes it the highlight of my fantasy football season.
It’s no surprise really that the draft is the make or break of your entire season. The draft board you create and the decisions you make in that little hour and a half long window will dictate whether you are the one doling out the trash talk on Monday morning or the one trying to spend the entire day going unnoticed. So, doing your research is a must. And I think there is a blatant wide receiver talent on the boards ripe for the picking.
Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys is that guy. Second year in the league and he is showing veteran NFL talent. I think that had he not gone down with a broken leg toward the end of the year, he would have been in position to take Offensive Rookie of the Year honors from Sam Bradford. He has recovered from that injury and reports are saying that Romo is looking better than ever after having time to grow after he went down in the 2010 campaign.
Last season, Bryant managed 45 receptions, 561 yards, 6 receiving TDs and 2 return TDs in just 12 weeks. Imagine what he can do with a starting quarterback instead of a backup, a year under his belt, and Miles Austin as the only receiver really competing for catches.
I harp on this a lot, but I feel that the most important part of your pre-draft strategy is watching preseason games and reading about team workouts. If you have been keeping up with anything at the Cowboys camp, you will know that Bryant has put on an outstanding performance. He is making great catches, beating any defensive back he faces and powering through defenses. He is the stand out performer of the Cowboys camp. Dez Bryant is in prime position to lead the Cowboys in all receiving categories.
Most draft boards you look at will have Bryant’s receiver rank between 12 and 20. Meaning that you can snag this receiver, with great potential to end the season as a top eight talent, in the fourth round. Most mock drafts have him going in the mid to late fourth round so it will hardly be considered a gamble to grab him with your late third or early fourth round selection.
In his second year in the NFL, you will witness Dez Bryant break out as an elite receiver. The only question is: will he be on your roster or will you be the nervous owner that has to face him?
