It would have been fitting, since I am kinda slow, that the fourth and final round of our July fantasy mock draft got posted on the last day of July.

Except that this is now August, which makes me even slower than originally believed.

But I never thought it would happen. Two weeks ago, I was happy that we got through two rounds. Conducting a four-round mock draft with 11 other bloggers can be cumbersome on the Gmail inbox. But the work is done, and now it is time to reflect on our spoils.

Through four rounds, I was able to compile the following players for my fake team: Marion Barber, Willis McGahee, Brandon Marshall and Carson Palmer.

Personally, I think Palmer was a steal in the fourth in a six-points-per-passing-touchdown league. Marshall is the biggest gamble, and to be fair I took him before the news broke of his three-game suspension. Barber and McGahee should form a solid duo in the backfield.

Mock drafts are fun and great practice for the real thing. I would head over to the Fantasy Football Calculator to participate in a few mocks before you do any drafting for real.

Hit the jump for the results of the fourth round.

37. Fantasy Football Librarian selects Ronnie Brown [RB, Dolphins]: Without any RBs on my team yet I’m grabbing two solid RB2s here – with the 3.12 pick I’ll take Reggie Bush – would be an even better grab in a PPR league but I think he’s a bit undervalued this year and am pleased to see him land here. With 4.01 I’ll take Ronnie Brown. I know he won’t be the great runner he was at the start of last season but I’m willing to take a gamble on him, especially in the 4th round.

38. Fantasy Football Goat selects Earnest Graham [RB, Buccaneers]: I am going to take Ernest Graham. Questions at QB and a potentially reduced workload with Warrick Dunn in town present some risk but he is a good value in round 4. And I don’t think Cadillac will be a factor – at least until much later on in the season.

Bottom line, a very solid RB2 who runs behind an good offensive line and plays on a team that will run and play ball control against an accommodating schedule.

39. The Fantasy Football Geek Blog selects Anquan Boldin [WR, Cardinals]: For pick 4.03, our team is set for starting running backs and since all of the top tier quarterbacks are gone, it doesn’t make sense to go with that position considering you can get good value much later in the draft. We only have one wide receiver at this point and while there are still a few solid guys left, we’ll go with the next one on
the list.

Our pick is Anquan Boldin, who apparently is really pissed off with the Cardinals and has said he doesn’t plan to re-sign with the team after this season, which to me sounds like he will be playing for a new contract … so let’s hope he steps it up a notch.

40. Fantasy Football Fools select Michael Turner [RB, Falcons]: While I’d love to jump on another elite WR since I believe WR is the place to have strength in your draft this year, I just can’t pass up a player that has fallen to me here.

Michael Turner just signed a sizable contract and will get his chance to show what he can do with the full load in Atlanta. I’m not too worried about Jerious Norwood’s intermissions taking anything from Turner, and the guy sat around watching L.T. tear it up for the last several years. Surely, if he wasn’t talented enough already, he learned a thing or two.

No matter who starts the season at QB, Atlanta is going to give the team to Matt Ryan at some point, and typical of many teams starting young QBs, Atlanta will look to Turner to handle the load and get across that goal line. Besides, Redman, if named starter, isn’t going to be a Kurt-Warner-esque ball hog. While Turner’s no sure thing, I’m willing to take him here at 4.04 and fortify my RB stock so that I go crazy on WRs in future rounds … and I do mean crazy.

41. Football Jabber selects LenDale White [RB, Titans]: Michael Turner would have been the easy pick and I was watching him fall…right into the lap of my draft Neighbor/Nemesis FF Geek Blog.  There is a pretty even bunch of RB’s left at this spot.  I’m going to go out on a limb with a LenDale White.  Chris Johnson has been picking up in the Titans offense but I don’t look for him to be a threat quite yet to the meat and potato carries that White will get, especially in the red zone.  At this point I look at Johnson being the Reggie Bush and LenDale being the Deuce McAllister (of the 2006 McAllisters).

42. The Hazean selects Carson Palmer [QB, Bengals]: At six points per touchdown, Palmer is a good deal here in the fourth round. With Marion Barber, Willis McGahee and Brandon Marshall already in the fold, Palmer would be a solid addition to the starting lineup.

A wide receiver might be wise with Marshall possibly facing a four- to eight-game suspension, but Palmer seems like the better value here. Barber and McGahee should be a solid duo at runningback, so I should be able to wait a few more rounds on the backup runningback position. May as well pick up a starting quarterback here who is considering top-5 at his position heading into the 2008 season.

43. Bruno Boys select Darren McFadden [RB, Raiders]: Flying off the board as high as middle of the second round in some drafts, we feel that McFadden has the upside and big play potential to outperform his draft position. Despite using a heard of backs, led by Justin Fargas, the Raiders still managed to gain over 1,500 rushing yards in 2007. Although McFadden will have to fend off carries from Fargas and Michael Bush, his playmaking ability and freaky fast speed should put him over the top. With the Raiders passing game in question, you can look for him to get a lot of opportunities to shine early, ala Adrian Peterson in Minnesota.

No, we are not saying he is going to post AP numbers in 2008, but he should flirt with 1,300 total yards and outperform some running backs drafted ahad of him.

44. West Coast Nonsense selects Willie Parker [RB, Steelers]: No one likes Willie Parker. I’m aware of this. But believe it or not, I like the value of taking Parker with pick 4.08.

Sure, Parker scored just two touchdowns last year, and Rashard Mendenhall will probably get some chances near the goal line, but I can’t turn down a 1,300-yard back this late in the draft. Parker is just one year removed from a 16-touchdown (13 of them rushing scores) season, and if he can recapture a fraction of that scoring power, fast Willie may just be the steal of this (mock) draft.

45. Pancake Blocks select Jonathan Stewart [RB, Panthers]: If DeAngelo Williams couldn’t get DeShaun Foster off the field, he’s not going to take away important snaps from Jonathan Stewart.

I’m a little surprised after the excellent rookie seasons of Lynch and Peterson last year that Stewart is getting so overlooked, but I’m happy to take him this late.  A power runner who can also play on passing downs, Stewart should carry the load on a run-first attack.  John Fox is anxious to get back to the style of play that got them to a Super Bowl with Stephen Davis.

46. Football Burrito selects Wes Welker [WR, New England]: In week 12 of the 2007 season the Eagles decided to get physical with Randy Moss bumping him at the line with help over the top. Moss was shut down, and from week 12 through the playoffs other teams copied the Eagles approach.

With Moss shut down, Welker got 143 yards receiving against the Eagles and for the rest of the year Moss hardly did anything while Welker flourished. This is not a small sample size either we are talking about 9 games! While one of your friends grabs Randy Moss in the first round, grab Welker in the 4th and remind them every week when Welker outperforms Moss.

47. KUBIAK Draft Application selects Jason Witten [TE, Cowboys]: A top-10 WR emerges from the waiver wire almost every year and the talent is dropping off significantly after the latest WR fire sale.  The QB supply is still reasonable and the 12th-rated QB still looks OK (D Anderson, M Bulger), so I’ll take my chances there.

There are three elite TE in this draft (A Gates, J Witten, K Winslow) so I believe I will make my team strongest by selecting a player that will score consistently from this sporadic position.  While I expect Gates and Winslow to catch more touchdowns, I expect each of them to spend some time off the field this year for whatever reason.  At the end of the year I expect to see Jason Witten leading the TE ranks in receiving yards and should have enough TD to keep him clearly in the top three.

48. Curveballs 4 Jesus selects Lee Evans [WR, Bills]: I almost want to jump on the tight end bandwagon, but I don’t want to leave too big of a hole in my wide receiving corps since I don’t have one yet.  There are still some No. 1 wide receivers on the board and of those, I like Roddy White and Lee Evans.  Both surprised last year, but for different reasons.  White showed flashes of brilliance, while Evans’ brilliance from the previous year had disappeared.

I think White would be a decent grab at this position, but I think Evans has bigger upside.  He has hopefully found someone in James Hardy to take some of the heat off of him.  The young Trent Edwards worked hard in the offseason and has come back more confident and with almost 20 more pounds of lean muscle mass.  If he and Evans can get on the same page, there is no reason Evans can’t cover over 1000 yards and get 8-10 touchdowns like he did in 2006.