Patriots Flag Football: Alec's First Pick

As last year's champion, I have the distinct honor of kicking off the 2013 Patriots Flag Football Draft by picking first. Sure, you could make the case that I should be picking last in order to create parity and mirror NFL rules, but I say nuts to that; to the victor go the spoils, and so I'm going to take my well-earned first overall pick and run with it. The only problem with being the returning champion is that I now have a massive target on my back. Greg, Richard, and Adam are all gunning for my crown, and so it's more important than ever that I get my draft off to a hot start.

I'm a big proponent of the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage, and so I'm going to be adhering pretty closely to my draft strategy from last year. However, I am going to need to tweak things just a bit, especially considering that a) my 2012 first round pick is currently serving hard time, and b) I have two more teams to account for this year, which is going to thin out the talent pool significantly in the later rounds. Therefore, it's more important than ever to hit a home run with your first pick, and I have no problem using that pick on Devin McCourty.

McCourty is a solid corner and safety, but he is also one of the best -if not THE best - overall athletes on the team. He's big, he's strong, he has great hips, he's extremely fast, and he's versatile. McCourty will serve as my primary cornerback on defense and my mid-range receiver on offense, and he will also be a great asset when I choose to blitz the quarterback. Speed and athleticism will take you extremely far in the cutthroat game of flag football, and McCourty has both in droves. He also has pretty good hands, as he rarely drops an interception and his time returning punts and kickoffs has given him excellent on-field awareness and an eye for the ball. I also like that I can shift McCourty between the cornerback position and the safety position without missing a beat as my defensive strategy dictates. The key to flag football is getting good athletes that can play both ways, and while McCourty is a defensive player first, his speed, agility, and hands will make him a valuable asset on offense as well. He's exactly the kind of player you build a flag football team around, and now that I have him locked up, I can start putting the other pieces in place for another strong championship run.

Greg...you're up.