#1 Overall in a PPR 12 Dynasty League Who to Pick

[jhuntsville]

I have #1 overall pick in draft in a 12 team dynasty league. It is a PPR league. I do not necessarily need production this year, (Start 2 RB + 1 WR/RB). Who is best pick long term McFadden, Stewart or Mendenhall.
QB - Phillip Rivers, Vince Young
RB - Adrian Petersen (Vikes), Reggie Bush, Earnest Graham
WR - Andre Johnson, Roddy White, DJ Hackett, Meacham, Jacoby Jones
TE - Cris Cooley
K- Akers
DEF - Cowboys, Eagles

[Steelersfan]

Long term Mendenhall no doubt.

[RaidersWinBaby]

I would personally try to trade down to 3 and get Mendenhall there. I agree with Steelersfan that he's the best prospect, but get I would get some value and trade down a spot or two for a nice young prospect or a pick.

[skip]

There is a lot of "pro-Mendenhall" sentiment here on this board. It's interesting because on the other board I frequent there are a number of people who didn't have him in the top 3. In the end, I question whether we will get any real stud out of this deep class. All of them have questions either due to ability or situation. I favor McFadden, then Stewart.

[RaidersWinBaby]

There is a lot of "pro-Mendenhall" sentiment here on this board. It's interesting because on the other board I frequent there are a number of people who didn't have him in the top 3. In the end, I question whether we will get any real stud out of this deep class. All of them have questions either due to ability or situation. I favor McFadden, then Stewart.

For this reason alone I would look at trading down, especially if someone is intent on grabbing McFadden. If folks got the chance to see both McFadden and Mendenhall run this past weekend and liked McFadden more, they need to get their eyes checked.

[Pilate]

JStew....

[kris_kapsner]

To me it's McFadden and it isn't even close.

There were people who were drafting Lynch over Peterson last year because of injury concerns. Same thing here. I don't know where the hate for the best RB in the nation has come from towards McFadden. But, some people over analyze players. McFadden is an elite play maker. There are a number of RBs that I like in this year's draft but none of them have the overall elite play making ability like McFadden does, not even the highly touted "potential one year wonder" Mendenhall.

[skip]

And if there is one thing to learn from pre-season, it is to pay no attention to pre-season.

[stevea]

Long term Mendenhall no doubt.

Agreed. I like Mendenhall best out of the three...McFadden is third and I don't think he will be able to get it done on the NFL level. And please, let's not try to compare McFadden to Peterson/Lynch situation. The difference McFadden and Mendenhall isn't nearly as large as the gap between those two.

Trade down and snag Mendenhall while picking up someone else who can help your team.

[cowboysfromhell]

If there is any doubt in your mind, I would suggest trading the pick like one of the previous posters stated. You could get a proven commodity to strengthen the team and McFadden might even fall to you. The fumble reports out of training camp won't help his value.

This year's RB class is deep with plenty of talent that might even produce nice stats starting in Wk 1. Ray Rice (who I've seen go in the late first and early second rounds of rookie drafts) is just example of that depth.

[BubbaBurst]

You need to pick based on the best talent and there is no doubt that Run DMC is the best talent. His body of work in college is one of a kind. Drafting anybody else is a mistake.

[Steelersfan]

Well, I'm glad we all agree...

[lake3711]

I would take McFadden at #1. He is the guy that we've been talking about since his freshman year, and the odds of him being the highest ranked RB of the 3 next offseason are the best, which means he is the most valuable. You can argue this debate every which way, but McFadden is the best weapon. Although I don't know if he's an every down back plus goalline carries, he's an elite weapon and you shouldn't pass. If McFadden has the most value you should be able to trade him for Mendenhall and a 1st round pick, or something like that, if that's what you wish to do at that time.

I like Mendenhall slightly better than Stewart because I think he's more durable. Stewart's left ankle injury is chronic, unlike Peterson's college injuries. The recent news on the pain in Stewart's toe is not encouraging, it was supposed to be fully healed right now and it is not. It would not be good if he has 2 chronic injuries.

There seems to be a negative sentiment toward Mendenhall as lots of message boards and websites call him a bust. I don't know if he was entirely a 1 year wonder, although he was a one year starter. When he was the backup, he was still very productive and if you combine his college career rushing and recieving stats, he only falls short of Stewart by 100 yards. It's 3200 to 3100 or something like that. Stewart's issue was injuries and Mendenhall's issue was fumbles and backing up the team MVP, who rarely fumbled, but Rashard still averaged 8 yds. per carry that year.

Furthermore, NFLdraftscout.com compared Mendenhall to Cedric Benson, and then they sell their information through the sports xchange to nfl.com and other sites. Everybody that sees that wants to draw conclusions that Mendenhall is a bleep like Cedric Benson that doesn't work hard and doesn't like Football. Then we heard about Mendenhall being so frustrated with the coaching staff last summer that he almost quit football but his brother helped him refocus and just go out and play whether you like the coach or not. A lot of people want to draw the conclusion that Mendenhall is a bust b/c "one year starter" and "Cedric Benson comparison".

I agree that those are red flags, but from the information I have gathered through quotes from the coaching staff and scout.com, it seems like Mendenhall is a blue collar guy who shows up to work every day and tries to improve and learn and that he is very coachable. To me, those blue collar work ethic traits are what separates good running backs from the pack. The lack of those traits is what led to Benson's downfall. He might have been good if he actually cared, but obviously he did not want to lift a finger to help the team after he recieved his signing bonus.

Mendenhall will take a little while to develop, but if you have the patience or the depth, he should be worth it, just like any talented RB that plays in a great offense. If you are looking for more immediate results, maybe Stewart is your guy, but with the way Deangelo Williams looks running the ball right now, you can't be so sure about the immediate results.

1) McFadden
2) Mendenhall
3) Stewart

[khrolltop]

About Mendenhall only being a 1 year starter:
Barry Sanders was only a 1 year starter too. He also played behind a starter named Thomas. He also was very productive in his role as a backup.

[tra151]

mcfadden, hands down