Kopacz feels that he got a steal in the fourth round in QB Carson Palmer.

Explain your pre-draft strategy for this type of draft format.
Going into the draft, as in any football league, I wanted to go after running backs early and often. When a running back did not make sense for the pick, I wanted to target the best value. Fielding a relatively small team, I wanted to make sure to piece together the major point positions (running backs, wide receivers, and quarterbacks) before going after my bench. When drafting in an early league, taking sure hit players is key because question marks may turn into cuts and bench players before the season begins. I really wanted to shy away from rookies, as their roles are still undetermined.

Explain the thought process behind your first-round selection.
When getting any of the first three picks, your choice is quite easy. Having the third pick, I knew I would take any one of the “big three” running backs (LaDainian Tomlinson, Stephen Jackson or Larry Johnson). Johnson is a work horse and with Trent Green officially gone, the offense will rely on him even more than last season. The only two concerns will be the defense keying in on LJ and the carries catching up to him. Although they are legitimate concerns, they are not good enough to miss out on possibly the best player in the draft. Because of his size and physical strength, touchdowns will find him.

Which was your best value pick, and why?
The best pick that I made was nabbing Carson Palmer at the end of the fourth round. Palmer has two top notch receivers in Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The two should continue their dominance over the league next season as Housh is only growing up. I can not see Johnson having another weak season due to the fact that he is one of the top talents in the league and motivated himself. Palmer will continue in his growth and stick with the “second to Peyton” club. He has the ability, and weapons, to possibly challenge Peyton, which is unlikely but the possibility is worth the risk. Palmer will bring in many touchdowns and has said to be working on improving his completion percentage. 

Which pick would you “do over” if you had the chance, and why?
I would like to be able to take back picking my defense, Denver, so early on. I had filled my key roster spots and instead of improving my bench I got lost in filling my entire roster. I feel that Denver is a great defense but is solidly in the second tier. Most likely they would still have been around in a later round, or for sure another similar squad would have been. In fact I got Seattle in one of the last rounds, who might end up providing more sacks, thus more points. Denver will however provide many interceptions, sporting the best corner combo in the game with Champ Bailey and Dre Bly.

Not including yourself, which owner had the best overall draft, and why?
I really liked how John Garber formed his team. I am a huge believer in Shaun Alexander coming back from injury and grabbing him at the end of the first round was a steal. I know that they say “once injured, always injured” but I think that the Seahawks will do a good job protecting him. Seattle has one of the most balanced teams on the west coast and will provide good pockets for him to run through. From top to bottom it does not appear that there is a gapping hole on his team. He grabbed strong wide receivers in Houshmandzadeh, Santana Moss and Isaac Bruce plus drafted deep in the right areas.

Not including yourself, which owner had the worst overall draft, and why?
This is the hardest question to judge because you really can’t tell but probably Moshovetis. I think he grabbed a few too many running backs and focused too much on a single position at a time without really getting any huge proven players. I really like Laurence Maroney’s upside but there has been talk he is not determined enough and the injury is still affecting him. I am a strong believer in basically filling your roster before drafting back ups, only because you need to maximize points. If everything pans out perfectly and you draft a healthy team, having four solid running backs and an iffy receiver corps will not help. Fill your team to make it top to bottom as strong as possible, then worry about bye weeks and injury risks.