The annual NFL.com Expert League draft took place on Thursday. It was a 12-team, 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-FLEX, 1-TE, 1-K, 1-D league with six points per passing TD, PPR, and otherwise standard scoring. I picked seventh. Here's how the draft shook out:
| Round | Tristan H. Cockcroft | David Sabino | David Gonos | Greg Rosenthal |
| 1 | Peterson, Adrian RB MIN | Jones-Drew, Maurice RB JAC | Forte, Matt RB CHI | Jackson, Steven RB STL |
| 2 | Boldin, Anquan WR ARI | Jacobs, Brandon RB NYG | Brady, Tom QB NE | White, Roddy WR ATL |
| 3 | Thomas, Pierre RB NO | Jennings, Greg WR GB | Welker, Wes WR NE | Colston, Marques WR NO |
| 4 | Williams, Roy E. WR DAL | Jones, Thomas RB NYJ | Johnson, Larry RB KC | Lynch, Marshawn RB BUF |
| 5 | Gates, Antonio TE SD | Jackson, DeSean WR PHI | Gonzalez, Tony TE ATL | Royal, Eddie WR DEN |
| 6 | Romo, Tony QB DAL | Breaston, Steve WR ARI | Cotchery, Jerricho WR NYJ | Brown, Donald RB IND |
| 7 | Bryant, Antonio WR TB | Ryan, Matt QB ATL | Driver, Donald WR GB | Schaub, Matt QB HOU |
| 8 | Jackson, Fred RB BUF | Mendenhall, Rashard RB PIT | Sproles, Darren RB SD | Daniels, Owen TE HOU |
| 9 | Avery, Donnie WR STL | Jones, Julius RB SEA | Ginn Jr., Ted WR MIA | Palmer, Carson QB CIN |
| 10 | Crabtree, Michael WR SF | Barden, Ramses WR NYG | Taylor, Chester RB MIN | Crayton, Patrick WR DAL |
| 11 | Steelers DST | Cassel, Matt QB KC | Shiancoe, Visanthe TE MIN | Charles, Jamaal RB KC |
| 12 | Orton, Kyle QB DEN | Burleson, Nate WR SEA | McClain, LeRon RB BAL | Williams, Ricky RB MIA |
| 13 | Bennett, Earl WR CHI | Fasano, Anthony TE MIA | Henry, Chris WR CIN | Bruce, Isaac WR SF |
| 14 | Boss, Kevin TE NYG | Curtis, Kevin WR PHI | Britt, Kenny WR TEN | Betts, Ladell RB WAS |
| 15 | Scott, Bernard RB CIN | Elam, Jason K ATL | Dolphins DST | Gostkowski, Stephen K NE |
| 16 | Kasay, John K CAR | Cowboys DST | Rackers, Neil K ARI | Patriots DST |
| Roger Rotter | Michael Fabiano | Chris Liss | Cory Bonini | |
| 1 | Turner, Michael RB ATL | Johnson, Chris RB TEN | Fitzgerald, Larry WR ARI | Tomlinson, LaDainian RB SD |
| 2 | Brees, Drew QB NO | Smith, Steve WR CAR | Smith, Kevin RB DET | Wayne, Reggie WR IND |
| 3 | Owens, Terrell WR BUF | Bowe, Dwayne WR KC | Brown, Ronnie RB MIA | Portis, Clinton RB WAS |
| 4 | Marshall, Brandon WR DEN | McFadden, Darren RB OAK | Edwards, Braylon WR CLE | Houshmandzadeh, T.J. WR SEA |
| 5 | Gonzalez, Anthony WR IND | Berrian, Bernard WR MIN | Moreno, Knowshon RB DEN | McNabb, Donovan QB PHI |
| 6 | Stewart, Jonathan RB CAR | Parker, Willie RB PIT | Rice, Ray RB BAL | Moss, Santana WR WAS |
| 7 | Moore, Lance WR NO | Olsen, Greg TE CHI | Winslow, Kellen TE TB | Benson, Cedric RB CIN |
| 8 | Maclin, Jeremy WR PHI | Cutler, Jay QB CHI | Bradshaw, Ahmad RB NYG | Cooley, Chris TE WAS |
| 9 | McGahee, Willis RB BAL | Harvin, Percy WR MIN | Giants DST | Lewis, Jamal RB CLE |
| 10 | Shockey, Jeremy TE NO | Norwood, Jerious RB ATL | Smith, Steve WR NYG | Roethlisberger, Ben QB PIT |
| 11 | Hasselbeck, Matt QB SEA | Favre, Brett QB MIN | Manning, Eli QB NYG | Miller, Zach TE OAK |
| 12 | Taylor, Fred RB NE | Vikings DST | Washington, Nate WR TEN | Bess, Davone WR MIA |
| 13 | Branch, Deion WR SEA | Muhammad, Muhsin WR CAR | Maroney, Laurence RB NE | Meachem, Robert WR NO |
| 14 | Buckhalter, Correll RB DEN | Fargas, Justin RB OAK | Thomas, Devin WR WAS | Rice, Sidney WR MIN |
| 15 | Vinatieri, Adam K IND | Miller, Heath TE PIT | Leinart, Matt QB ARI | Bears DST |
| 16 | Ravens DST | Longwell, Ryan K MIN | Hartley, Garrett K NO | Kaeding, Nate K SD |
| Adam Caplan | Greg Ambrosius | John Hansen | Ben Ice | |
| 1 | Gore, Frank RB SF | Johnson, Andre WR HOU | Moss, Randy WR NE | Johnson, Calvin WR DET |
| 2 | Barber, Marion RB DAL | Westbrook, Brian RB PHI | Williams, DeAngelo RB CAR | Slaton, Steve RB HOU |
| 3 | Manning, Peyton QB IND | Witten, Jason TE DAL | Bush, Reggie RB NO | Rodgers, Aaron QB GB |
| 4 | Jackson, Vincent WR SD | Rivers, Philip QB SD | Ochocinco, Chad WR CIN | Grant, Ryan RB GB |
| 5 | Holmes, Santonio WR PIT | Ward, Derrick RB TB | Warner, Kurt QB ARI | Clark, Dallas TE IND |
| 6 | Evans, Lee WR BUF | Ward, Hines WR PIT | Addai, Joseph RB IND | Hester, Devin WR CHI |
| 7 | Coles, Laveranues WR CIN | White, LenDale RB TEN | Jones, Felix RB DAL | Mason, Derrick WR BAL |
| 8 | Wells, Beanie RB ARI | Holt, Torry WR JAC | Walter, Kevin WR HOU | McCoy, LeSean RB PHI |
| 9 | Washington, Leon RB NYJ | Hightower, Tim RB ARI | Morgan, Josh WR SF | Graham, Earnest RB TB |
| 10 | Keller, Dustin TE NYJ | Hixon, Domenik WR NYG | Carlson, John TE SEA | Robiskie, Brian WR CLE |
| 11 | Clayton, Mark WR BAL | Garrard, David QB JAC | Bush, Michael RB OAK | Flacco, Joe QB BAL |
| 12 | Celek, Brent TE PHI | Morris, Sammy RB NE | Edwards, Trent QB BUF | Greene, Shonn RB NYJ |
| 13 | Chambers, Chris WR SD | Gage, Justin WR TEN | Jets DST | Eagles DST |
| 14 | Campbell, Jason QB WAS | Packers DST | Walker, Mike WR JAC | Robinson, Laurent WR STL |
| 15 | Chargers DST | Crosby, Mason K GB | Morris, Maurice RB DET | Coffee, Glen RB SF |
| 16 | Gould, Robbie K CHI | Faulk, Kevin RB NE | Akers, David K PHI | Bironas, Rob K TEN |
This wasn't my favorite draft, though I expect to make the playoffs again. Picking seventh in a PPR isn't great because the pass-catching backs should be bumped up, but since they're so similar in value, and we start three WR, I took Fitzgerald. On the way back, it was either Pierre Thomas or Kevin Smith again (like the Yahoo Draft), and this time, I went Smith choosing to diversify my portfolio ever so slightly. This might have been a mistake because Thomas lasted until 3.1, giving Cockcroft a bargain. Had I taken Thomas, I'm pretty sure Smith would have gone soon thereafter, giving another team one less bargain.
This draft was noteworthy for how far the running backs fell. I scooped up a few, but in Round 7 passed on Chris Wells for Kellen Winslow - in my mind the last top tier TE - and Wells almost came all the way back to me in Round 8 where I would have had to take him. I wound up with Ahmad Bradshaw instead which in a PPR I was pretty happy about. I waited forever on quarterback and got a little burned when people took backups early. I settled for Eli Manning who should throw 22 TDs and for a respectable amount of yardage. I grabbed Matt Leinart with my last pick just in case Kurt Warner does go down at some point.