Untitled Update

I could not stifle a laugh. I was on the phone with Phaddy, a friend since the second grade and, more importantly, a competitor in one of my fantasy football leagues. We were talking a few minutes after our draft wrapped up Wednesday night.

“Do you know who I took in the 15th (and final) round?” he said. A kicker, I thought. Maybe Michael Vick as a possible keeper for next season. Wrong: “Marko Mitchell,” he replied.

Marko Mitchell. Not Marco Polo. Not Marco Coleman. Not even Kevin Mitchell, who serves as my team logo (more on that later). Marko Mitchell, seventh-round pick of the Washington Redskins in April’s NFL Draft. Marko Mitchell, fighting the likes of the established D.J. Hackett to be the No. 5 receiver...not on your fantasy team, but on a real-life NFL team.

So it goes with many fantasy drafts. You’re not only a fantasy football addict but a football fan. And if you’re worth a crap, you have a favorite NFL team. So you’re tempted to reach for an obscure player from that team and take him late in your draft as a sleeper. Nobody else knows about this guy’s potential, you tell yourself (Never mind the other 4 million fans of that team. This is the NFL, not MLS).

So you take Marko Mitchell. Or Dwayne Jarrett. Or in the case of my buddy Erk, the entire Chicago Bears starting offense (Matt Suhey is still their fullback?).

Rarely does the late-round hometown sleeper pick work out. Let’s be honest. Unless you’re a Jets fan who drafted Leon Washington late last year or a Ravens fan who had actually heard of LeRon McClain a year ago, you probably have not had much luck with the late-round hometown sleeper. So avoid it in the future.

Of course you should couch that advice with this tidbit: Before I remembered I had sacrificed my 15th round pick to keep Matt Ryan, I was eyeing another player Wednesday night: Malcolm Kelly. He was a second-round pick of the Redskins last year. He caught all of 3 passes as a rookie and may or may not be ahead of Marko Mitchell on the depth chart. He seemed like the perfect sleeper...