Wednesday, January 4, 2012

All Draft Day Steal Team/Draft Day Steal of the Year

It happens every year. Players outperform their draft position big time. You go back and look and go "wow I can't believe this guy was taken in the 10th round" etc. Here are the players who had a way bigger impact than their draft position would have indicated.

QB-Eli Manning (Dr. Wily's Robots)
Drafted: 11th Round (101st Overall)
# of QB's Drafted Ahead: 13
QB Rank: 6
Overall Rank: 12
Ironically, Eli was Matt's QB last season, but this season he was supposed to only serve as a backup to 3rd round pick Philip Rivers. Rivers' early season struggles led Matt to make a switch to Eli and Matt never really looked back. Eli enjoyed a tremendous season and considering he was drafted after the likes of Josh Freeman and Sam Bradford, this was hands down the QB Steal of the Year.

WR-Jordy Nelson (Shredders)
Drafted: 11th Round (109th Overall)
# of WR Drafted ahead of Nelson in 11th round alone: 4
WR Rank: 2
Overall Rank: 16
Danny Amendola, Mike Sims-Walker, Lee Evans, Hines Ward. Those are just a few names drafted over Jordy Nelson. Hell in the 11th round alone, 4 receivers were drafted before him. Kenny originally drafted him, but threw him in a package for Peyton Hillis. Big mistake. Only Calvin Johnson produced more fantasy points at the receiver position, and Nelson finished 16th overall. Not bad for waiting for 108 players to be drafted over him.

WR-Steve Smith (Salt & Vinegar Chips)
Drafted: 11th Round (105th overall)
Two Receivers taken right before him: Danny Amendola, Lee Evans
WR Rank: 6
Overall Rank: 28
This came as a huge surprise as many thought Steve Smith's fantasy usefulness was over. Originally Albert's pick. He was performing so well he was able to flip him in a deal for Tom Brady. Smith never let up and thanks for Cam Newton, he had a career resurgence and finished #6 in all receivers and was a top 30 player overall. This old dog still had a thing or two to show the world, and who knows maybe he'll do it again next year.

WR-A.J. Green (Dr. Wily's Robots)
Drafted: 13th round (121st overall)
Two Receivers Drafted Right Before Him: Johnny Knox ,Davone Bess
WR Rank: 14
Overall Rank: 54
You're not supposed to get a rookie wide receiver who contributes immediately, but Matt sure did. After Kenny Britt went down, A.J. Green slid in with no problem in Matt's lineup and never looked back. He not only led all rookie wide receivers in fantasy scoring, but finished 14th overall at that position and 54th overall.

RB-Fred Jackson (Dr. Wily's Robots)
Drafted: 12th Round (120th Overall)
Players drafted before him in the 12th round: Detroit Defense, Kyle Orton, Daniel Thomas
RB Rank: 14
Overall Rank: 41
Matt really cleaned up in the later rounds eh? Rounds 11-13 were FANTASY GOLD. This had a big chance to be steal of the year, but Jackson ended up missing 6 games due to injury. He still finished 14th overall at the RB position and 41 overall in fantasy scoring. Not bad for someone who supposed to be part of a platoon with C.J. Spiller.

RB-Marshawn Lynch (RuggedRaymontHarris)
Drafted: 10th Round (93rd Overall)
# of Running Backs Drafted Ahead of Him: 32
RB Rank: 5
Overall Rank: 19
Criminally underused and actually DROPPED by Cindy. Another candidate for steal of the year, but I only used him once (and he went off against the Eagles) because I had both LeSean McCoy and Ray Rice on my team. Beast Mode went INSANE this year and despite being drafted after 32 backs were off the board, he managed to defy expectations and finish with a RB rank of 5 and overall rank of 19. 

TE-Rob Gronkowski (The_Twin_Killers)
Drafted: 13th Round (124th Overall)
Patriot drafted before him in this round: Stephen Gostkowski (Kicker)
TE Rank: 1
Overall Rank: 9
Gronk had the best season a TE has EVER had and he was drafted in 13th round?!? I drafted MERCEDES LEWIS over him?? Wow, unbelievable. He finished as the all time leader in TE Touchdowns and Yardage, and was of course the #1 tight end in fantasy and 9th overall at any position. A TIGHT END finishing in the top 10 overall is nuts. 10 tight ends were taken ahead of him. That sure as hell will never happen again.

Draft Day Steal Of The Year
Rob Gronkowski
Yep, no brainer here.





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