Survivor I - Terrell Owens Commentary

NOTE: this draft was completed on 7/24

Recent Stats

YR	RSH	RSHYD	RSHTD	REC	RECYD	RECTD	FPT	RANK
2002	7	79	1	100	1300	13	221.9	2
2003	3	-2	0	80	1102	9	164.0	12
2004	3	-5	0	77	1200	14	203.5	4

Positives - The biggest positive is that Owens is a finely-tuned machine when it comes to catching the ball. Not only is he good at what he does, but he is on a very productive offense led by a great quarterback in Donovan McNabb. The two may have their spats, but when it becomes game time, both have their sights on doing whatever they can to gain victory. Owens is a top flight receiver that will likely put up much needed points every week. In the last 5 years, Owens has averaged 89 receptions, 1293 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Negatives - Obviously the thought of a holdout was a concern, but Owens is attending training camp (but says he won’t be happy). He believes he outperformed his current contract and should be paid what he’s worth. It’s doubtful that his contract will be restructured and that may cause some unneeded stress for him and the rest of the team. Another cause for concern regarding Owens is his knee/leg injury that sidelined him at the end of the 2004 season, all the way up until the Super Bowl. If his play at the Super Bowl is any indication of how his 2005 season will be, then we probably have nothing to worry about.

Draft Strategy - I don’t think everyone would’ve done what I did. Even though I had the 11th pick in the draft, I never thought I wouldn’t have a running back after my first two picks, but that’s exactly where I was after selecting Owens. So why take Owens and not a running back? I was all prepared to select Willis McGahee, but he was taken one pick before me. As I looked at the other running backs available (Kevin Jones, Julius Jones, Corey Dillon, Steven Jackson, Jamal Lewis) that might interest me, I concluded that I was going to continue to go with the best value available. For me, that was clearly Owens. Even if Randy Moss was still on the board (which he was not) I still think I would’ve picked Owens, just because I think he has something to prove and I like how he gels with McNabb and the Eagles offense. I knew I had the best quarterback and the best wide receiver with this pick. I’d rather have that, than take a chance that the 11th best running back would outperform Terrell Owens in terms of fantasy production. I think I made the right choice, but I absolutely have to take a running back with my 3rd pick and probably my 4th pick. I’ll have to agonize for 20 more picks and watch the running backs disappear, but I’m gambling that my decision will be worth it.