To start with Round 1 (and see the scoring system and roster requirements), click here.

Heading into Round 3, I had Chris Johnson and Steve Smith on board, and felt that I got off to a pretty good start. The first decision I had to make was to turn down a trade offer from the team with the 3.03 pick. He wanted to move back in the third, up in the fourth and up in the sixth. I considered moving up to grab Wes Welker, Clinton Portis or Ronnie Brown at 3.03, but both Welker and Portis went, and I didn’t feel strongly enough about Brown to give up my position in the fourth round.

In other words, there were enough players that I would feel comfortable selecting at 4.05, but I wasn’t so sure that would be the case for pick 4.10. In retrospect, trading up probably would have worked out, though I likely would have ended up with the same player in the end.

Here’s how the first part of Round 3 went: 25) Kevin Smith, 26) Wes Welker, 27) Darren McFadden, 28) Terrell Owens, 29) Drew Brees, 30) Pierre Thomas, 32) Dwayne Bowe

At 3.08, I had to choose amongst Tom Brady, Ronnie Brown, Ryan Grant, Marshawn Lynch and Reggie Bush. Housh was also available, but I felt that if I went WR/RB/WR through the first three rounds, it would put me in a tough spot if the teams drafting after me went on a RB run.

Bush is great when healthy, but that’s the rub — he has trouble staying on the field. I think Ryan Grant is due for a bounce back year, but felt that he had the best chance of being there at 4.05. I didn’t feel great about taking Lynch at 3.08 since has to serve a three-game suspension to start the year. He’s been going in the 4th round so I thought he was another guy that might be there on the way back.

So that left Ronnie Brown and Tom Brady. It was tempting to go QB here, but with two starting RB and a flex, I was worried that all of the aforementioned RBs would be gone by the time I picked again at 4.05. I took a closer look at Brown’s situation and liked what I saw. In 23 games over the last two seasons, he has amassed 2161 total yards, caught 72 passes and has scored 15 TD. That’s 16.4 fantasy points per game. Had he averaged that over the course of the entire season in 2008, he would have finished as RB6.

Brown shared time with Ricky Williams last season, as the Dolphins were intent on limiting him since he was coming off knee surgery the year before. The 32-year-old Williams appears to be fading into the background somewhat, and should take more of a traditional RB2 role this season.

Then there is the Miami offensive line, which should be much improved, at least according to Footballguys.

However, the Dolphins couldn’t impose their will on opponents lining up with eight- and nine-men fronts with the power running game. It is a big reason why Ronnie Brown only rushed for 50-plus yards only seven times in 2008. This should change in 2009 with new offensive line coach Dave Guglielmo.

Guglielmo spent five seasons with the New York Giants top-performing unit and the line made significant improvement immediately. He is an excellent teacher whose strength is communicating adjustments to his unit between plays and series, which is why a coach like Howard Mudd was so revered with the Colts.

The Dolphins unit is physically talented. LT Jake Long made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, RT Vernon Carey is solid, and LG Justin Smiley looked great until he broke his leg in November, but he should be fully recovered this summer. If RG Donald Thomas can’t return to health, they have enough versatility with their depth to plug this one hole. The biggest coup was acquiring former Raider C Jake Grove to replace the undersized Samson Satele. Grove is a physical player capable of competing with the division’s best NTs, which should make them more effective in the power-I sets.

So I took Brown partly because I liked his prospects this season and partly because I was worried that there wouldn’t be a RB that I liked — Grant, Lynch or Bush — at 4.05. As you’ll find out, my fears were unfounded, but I still feel good about my decision to draft Brown.

Round 3, Pick 8: Ronnie Brown, RB

The rest of Round 3 went like this: 33) Tom Brady, 34) Roy Williams, 35) Brandon Marshall, 36) Peyton Manning

Click here to see all of my round-by-round picks.