FanHouse BraylonEdwards

On Second Thought is Matt Snyder's look back at the initial FanHouse staff rankings, which were compiled nearly a month ago. As we all know, fantasy players' value changes frequently, even when no games are being played.

Formerly a relatively unpredictable position with just a small handful of reliable WR1-types, wide receiver now sports a solid upper-echelon. With the overemphasis on the pass game in the NFL, you must have one elite wideout to compete in fantasy football.

There is also good depth. It seems to me most of the shaky players here in terms of good value are in the teens. Meaning after the elite wideout, you should let everyone fill out their WR2 while waiting to stockpile good value guys in the seven and eight round range.

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Braylon Edwards would probably like to get his hands on a time machine and go back 12 months. And as long as we're defying the laws of physics, Derek Anderson would like to hitch a ride, too. A year ago, both players were coming off Pro Bowl seasons.

Today, they're still with the team, but have endured myriad trade rumors, inconsistent play, and for Anderson, a midseason benching.

Yet, training camp is five weeks off and both remain on the roster. New head coach Eric Mangini hasn't named his starting quarterback, although the word on the street is that it's Brady Quinn's job to lose. And Edwards, the club's 2005 first-round pick, is not only off the trading block, but should be an integral part of the Browns' offense.

Perhaps the best way to ease a young NFL quarterback into the starting job is to surround him with playmakers, the support of a suffocating defense, or both. That way, he's seldom in the position of having to win a game, but has the benefit of gaining experience.

The strategy worked for the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, and the Ravens and Joe Flacco and the Falcons and Matt Ryan last season. Pittsburgh was 15-1, Baltimore and Atlanta were 11-5. It helps to have most of the pieces in place before handing over the offense to a young QB, but it's not mandatory; the Ravens won five times the year before Flacco arrived, and the Falcons won four.

In a perfect world, Cleveland would break its first offensive huddle next season, send Braylon Edwards to one side of the field, Donte Stallworth to the other, and both would catch everything thrown in his direction. But, as Browns fans can heartily attest, 'tis not a perfect world.

Bray Bray might get traded because he's got the dropsies, Stallworth is facing DUI manslaughter charges and the Browns' other returning receivers (led by Joshua Cribbs) are role players at best. So new head coach Eric Mangini is doing his best to fill the gaps -- the latest coming with the signing of former Lion Mike Furrey.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

One year removed from a 10-win season, and on the heels of a four-win effort, owner Randy Lerner decided change was in order. He fired head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage and brought in Eric Mangini and George Kokonis.

If the first draft under the new leadership is any indication, the Browns will use the last weekend in April to restock the roster, and eschew high-priced, quick-fix free agents. The previous regime had a healthy mix of the two: Gary Baxter, Eric Steinbach, LeCharles Bentley and Donte' Stallworth were signed as free agents; Kamerion Wimbley, Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn were all high-round draft picks.

It seemed Braylon Edwards had weathered the worst of it. Speculation had the Browns trading him out of Cleveland by draft weekend, yet four days later, he's still on the roster.

Maybe head coach Eric Mangini thought Edwards could find his '07 Pro Bowl form (maybe). Or perhaps general manager George Kokonis scared off potential suitors by asking for too much in return (more likely).

We've already given a single post to each of the seemingly most relevant fantasy football impact players from the NFL Draft -- we say seemingly because bust-hood is always a possibility in this business -- but those are by no means the only players who might matter in this coming season. With that in mind, here are the rest of the guys who's impact will be felt:

LeSean McCoy, RB, Eagles (Round 2): If you end up with Brian Westbrook, you absolutely must have McCoy. The shifty stud from Pittsburgh is exactly the type of back Westbrook is, which means he can thrive in this offense.

On Thursday, we speculated about the possibility of Michael Crabtree being available when Green Bay picks ninth in the NFL Draft.

While many observers would probably double over in laughter if Green Bay actually made this selection, there is precedence for it in the Packers' own division. According to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers may indeed pull the trigger if Crabtree is on the board.

NEW YORK -- Merry Christmas morning to Nutso NFL fans the world over! Draft Day has arrived. The first pick has already been made. The mock drafts are six hours away from the shredders, and angry Jets fans have already begun staking out Radio City Music Hall on this summery New York City day in anticipation of their team's seemingly annual first-round blunder.

The best thing about today may be that the lies and the posturing can finally stop. Everything you've heard from every team, every agent, every player and every anonymous source about this draft over the past few weeks has been misinformation designed to throw you off the scent. Everything has been a smokescreen designed to help the position of the person or organization issuing it. It's become an art form, with dozens upon dozens of skilled practitioners.

So in honor of the annual end of the deceit, I hereby present a Draft Day feature I like to call Six Things I Don't Believe:

The FanHouse Podcast: Because bloggers are much sexier on the phone.

Day 5 of a long podcasting week arrives and we're pleased to bring on ESPN's own Qadry Ismael -- an especially relevant guest considering all the news about wide receivers in this year's draft (ahem, Percy Harvin) and Qadry's own first-hand knowledge and ensuing analysis of the draft process.

After the jump, we talk to Qadry about Harvin's chances, Darrius Heyward-Bey's draft stock, who the Giants need to fill Plaxico Burress' shoes (and whether it could be Braylon Edwards) and how Qadry would feel if he came back to campus at Syracuse for his senior season to find out Greg Paulus was throwing balls his way.