The NFL season is still a few weeks to go, but fantasy football season is well under way. Draft preparations have probably been well underway and in some cases, leagues are already making their picks. Personally I always wait until that last preseason game just in case of late injuries... But everyone has their preference.
As an Eagles fan though, you'll no doubt be faced with a tough decision in your draft. You're on the clock, one of your favorite Eagles is on the board... But is it your head or your heart telling you to draft him? Let's take a look at the notable players and try to answer that question.
LeSean McCoy - In any round, it's your head. As one of the best backs in the NFL, he'll go top 3-5 in most leagues. Without Jason Peters opening holes for him on the left side, I'm not sure we can expect him to break the team record for TDs again this season, but I do think it's safe to say he's going to be pretty productive.
Michael Vick - If it's round one, maybe your heart, but thereafter its the noggin doing the talking. While the prospect of a couple missed games is always worrisome for Vick, he's still a fantasy points producer and the QB of an offense stocked with weapons. He was a top 10 fantasy QB last season even with the missed games. With QBs going early, expect Vick to be off the board somewhere around the 2nd or third round.
DeSean Jackson - In the first 2 or 3 rounds, its the heart. However, from maybe late 3 on DeSean is good value. Plus, he may be a bit of sleeper this season after a so-so 2011. The Eagles are now paying him like a top wideout, so he'll certainly be out to prove he is one. It does say something about Jackson that even in a bad year by his standards, he was still less than 40 yards from a thousand on the season.
Jeremy Maclin - Maclin actually went ahead of Jackson in the Fox Sports mock draft and has had a lot of buzz building around him this offseason. Prior to his illness last offseason, he looked to be on track for a breakout year. Even with that terrible offseason he had, Maclin was on a thousand yard pace. Coming into this season healthy, it would probably be a bit of surprise if he doesn't reach that plateau this season. Look for him in the 4th round of drafts this season.
Brent Celek - He's been coming off boards in the 10th, 11th and 12th rounds. This may be a case where your Eagles fandom really gives you an inside edge. Celek caught 62 passes for 811 yards and 5 TDs last year, but nearly all of that production came after the bye in week 7. Celek was a different player after that point and became a much more integrated piece of the offense. If you project his final 10 games over a whole season, he would have had 78 catches, 1113 yards and 6-7 TDs. So if he's sitting there in the 7th or 8th round and you need a TE, it's probably your head telling you to take him.