Survivor I - Najeh Davenport Commentary

NOTE: this draft was completed on 7/24

Recent Stats

YR	RSH	RSHYD	RSHTD	REC	RECYD	RECTD	FPT	RANK
2002	39	184	1	5	33	0	27.7	81
2003	77	420	2	6	38	0	57.8	53
2004	71	359	2	4	33	0	51.2	65

Positives - Over his 3 year career, Davenport has averaged 5.1 yards per carry. He’s had over 70 carries each of the past 2 seasons in a backup roll. He had the opportunity to run the ball 19 times against the Rams last year and responded with 178 yards and a touchdown. He signed a 1 year contract during the off season and should be extremely motivated to earn a bigger payday as an unrestricted free agent next year. If Ahman Green misses time for any reason, Davenport should, at least, be a capable backup with a chance to be a star.

Negatives - Davenport has struggled with minor injuries over his brief career and some might question whether he can stay healthy as a starting RB over an entire season. Ahman Green has been a fantasy force over the last few seasons and is in the prime of his career. Should Green miss time, there’s no guarantee that Tony Fisher wouldn’t be named the starter or see increased playing time.

Draft Strategy - Due to the nature of this league (no free agent pickups or trades) I didn’t want to leave my roster in a position where a single injury to a key player could ruin my season. My philosophy in this type of league is to make an attempt to back up my top RBs if the primary backup is secure in his position and there is reason to think he could succeed as a starter. In this case I felt that Davenport is the likely backup to Green and could perform at a high level if needed. This pick will protect me against an injury to Green and should lock up the starting Green Bay RB for my team. I intended to take a second QB here, but miscalculated, not expecting 7 QBs to be selected since my last pick. Rather than take a QB at the end of a run, I’m hoping to take a decent second QB with my next pair of picks.