Rakowski feels he hauled in a winner with his selection of WR Arnaz Battle.

Explain your pre-draft strategy for this type of draft format.
Picking first in a serpentine draft format is both a blessing and a curse.  There are two big pluses. First, you are guaranteed the top person on your draft board and that’s great.  Second, you get consecutive picks beginning in every even-numbered round – the last pick in Round Two and the first pick in Round Three, the last pick in Round Four and the first pick in Round Five, etc.  However, there are two big downsides of selecting first.  One downside is that your roster is very top heavy.  If that no. 1 pick gets hurt, it will be devastating to your season.  The other downside is that it takes so freaking long between picks.  You can pull your hair out watching guys disappear from your draft board.  There can be a run on a position and you may have to wait 22 turns to react.  So you have to have a longer slate of picks at your disposal. You have to try to keep your focus during the long intervals between your picks. It’s easy to get restless. Please remember that setting your fantasy baseball lineup while your football draft is going on is not a good idea. 

Explain the thought process behind your first-round selection.
LaDainian Tominlinson is the clear cut choice at no. 1.  Duh!  Last year having the top pick gave you something to think about.  Some people took Tomlinson, some took Larry Johnson and a few took Shaun Alexander.  Not much to think about here. So, thought process…. Not much. Sorry.

Which was your best value pick, and why?
Arnaz Battle was my final pick and the last pick of the draft.  He’s a very usable player with upside potential--- not a total reach like a lot of guys drafted here would be.  Battle’s production will improve as his quarterback, Alex Smith, matures.  Battle will start opposite Darrell Jackson, with Jackson drawing the no. 1 cornerback on the defense.  I’m not too worried about the San Francisco signing Ashley Lelie.  Lelie is a soft player and he is already hurt. Lelie is questionable for the start of the 49ers training camp.  It’s a good situation for Battle.

Which pick would you “do over” if you had the chance, and why?
I wish I could have mulligan on the Marty Booker selection at #97.  I ran into some time trouble after my draft board was cleansed of everything but tight ends.  This is our fantasy practice camp, and it’s the time to work out timing issues, so let’s move on… I said let’s move on… nothing to see here… that’s right, the show’s over.

Not including yourself, which owner had the best overall draft, and why?
I like the balance of John Garber’s team.  He has good depth at just about every position.  He would weather the inevitable injury better than a lot of squads.  He picked up a couple of guys that I had my eye on as bounce-backs, including Santana Moss. His quarterbacks (Eli Manning and Trent Green) are ordinary, and that’s about the only complaint. You can’t have everything. 

Not including yourself, which owner had the worst overall draft, and why?
I think Roy Cankosyan should have diversified his portfolio a little more.  He took four Saints, including three wide receivers and a tight end.  Drafting a handcuff to your handcuffs?  Fortunately, he saved himself from a bye-week disaster by avoiding any Jaguars, Redskins or Titans. TC Cannon went for the premium quarterback (Peyton Manning) and tight end (Antonio Gates), which I’m not so sure is the best fantasy strategy. His running backs are not that good – I’m not sold on Brandon Jacobs as a #2 fantasy back. His wide receiver corps hinges on a gamble --  Randy Moss is his top wideout, so he has to keep his fingers crossed that the volatile Moss behaves in New England.