Another
year of the draft and another year of surprises. To say it was
interesting would be an understatement of epic proportions! So now that
it's all said and done, it's time to evaluate the draft! Remember my
yearly disclaimer. These are strictly my opinions and don't mean
jackshit. Remember I said Eugene was going to have the worst season ever
last year, and Kenny was a shoo in to win it all...that didn't work out
so well, so don't take this seriously or personally. Onto the grades!
Matt (Light's Broken Bots)
QB: Russell Wilson, Tom Brady
WR: Kelvin Benjamin, Allen Hurns, Corey Coleman, Jordy Nelson, Josh Gordon
RB: Jamaal Charles, Jeremy Hill, Isaiah Crowell, Chris Johnson, James Starks
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen
Overview: Well
right off the bat, Matt shocked everyone going Gronk #1. The overall
thought was Matt released Odell Beckham to redraft him, and he swerved
us all by taking Gronk. I get the reasoning, Gronk is the best tight end
and Matt was already keeping two receivers in Jordy and Josh Gordon,
but I still think with Beckham and even an unproven Ezekiel Elliott
there (Matt needed a RB Too) those would been better options at #1.
Especially with Gronk having no Brady for a quarter of the fantasy
season. I feel like Matt's team has a lot of obstacles to overcome. I
almost feel like this team is going to be a scary team to play at the
end of the season, when everyone is off suspensions and fully healed,
but things really have to fall into place at the beginning of the season
for Matt to be in playoff contention. Lots of what if's and question
marks. Jamaal Charles was already looking like he was going to be in a
timeshare, now it's looking he'll at least be out one week, and without a
Spencer Ware handcuff, Matt's running backs are pretty weak (not a big
Jeremy Hill fan, especially in PPR, where Gio Bernard is the receiving
back). So off the bat no Charles and No Gordon. Also, Tom Brady is great
flier pick, but when you have Russell Wilson, it's kind of a luxury
pick. Brady will probably be at best a bye week fill in (especially if
you take Russell Wilson with pick #30, you can't pick a QB that high and
start alternating with another QB week to week, that's the whole
purpose of taking a QB in the 3rd round, stability). Maybe Matt can flip
either two to a team who needs QB help later in the season. Typically,
teams draft Brady with the intention of him being their starter after
the 4 game suspension and they draft a 4 week fill in (a
Winston/Cousins/Stafford type) later in he draft. Either the Wilson pick
or the Brady pick could've been used for more depth at the WR and RB
position (really the RB position, Crowell and Chris Johnson are
timeshare backs and James Starks needs Eddie Lacy to suck to be relevant
again). Matt's got two receivers coming off torn ACL injuries in Jordy
and Kelvin Benjamin and another in Josh Gordon who's suspended 4 games.
Benjamin has reportedly looked bad in camp and preseason and Devin
Funchess is playing his way into his spot. Not good. Corey Coleman is an
interesting flyer, just have to see how much the Browns offense passes
and Dwayne Allen is great bye week fill in for Gronk. Overall, this is a
pretty high risk high reward team all around. It's either going to work
and be a dangerous team or totally bomb out and be a league dweller. I
really don't think there's any middle ground with this.
Overall
Grade: C, it was a good keeper start, just felt it fizzled a little bit
after that with a ton of high risk picks. Hopefully the Jordy of old, a
fresh Kelvin Benjamin and Russell Wilson can carry this team to a
decent record before Josh Gordon comes back and Jamaal Charles gets
completely healthy.
Ryan (Hoosier Daddy)
QB: Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers
WR: Sammy Watkins, John Brown, Michael Crabtree, Chris Hogan, Sammie Coates
RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Mark Ingram, Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman, Christine Michael, DeAngelo Williams
TE: Zach Ertz
Overview: Yahoo gave Ryan the best grade of the draft, and while I personally wouldn't go that far, he did a pretty good job overall. With Matt picking Gronk, it gave Ryan a shot at a couple of guys he originally thought he had no shot of. Originally, the plan was to go Le'veon Bell(thus the Deangelo Williams keeper) but once Matt dropped Beckham, Zeke Elliott seemed to be the player of choice. Matt threw yet another wrench into Ryan's plans by not selected Beckham after all. So now Ryan had to chose, the hot new rookie or a Top 3 Wide Receiver? He stuck to his guns with Elliott and now has to hope he can live up to the enormous hype he has on him. Elliott will lead a 3 headed RB squad that includes Mark Ingram (slipped to where it was fine to draft him) and Devonta Freeman (Ryan's 9th round keeper). Kudos to Ryan for snatching up Tevin Coleman too. If Freeman ends up losing his job to Coleman, Ryan can just plug him in. I also like the Christine Michael flier as he's been reported to be doing very well and could cut into Thomas Rawls work as the season goes on. The only nitpick is that it kind of made the Deangelo pick a little worthless. With how Ryan is set up, he won't even use him for a game now as he has 3 RB's ahead of him. To me he needs to trade him ASAP to Alex for SOME value, otherwise that was a wasted keep. The only reason Ryan maybe should've thought about Beckham is because he's unhappy with his receivers. Sammy Watkins is his #1 and though I know the talent is there, this isn't a pass heavy offense and Watkins is a bit injury prone. Watkins is fine as #2, but to be the best receiver on your roster is very risky. John Brown has had concussion problems all summer, but seems to be cleared up but again, he's a guy I'd like as a #3 instead of a #2. Crabtree is a solid if not boring #3, he's not flashy, but he put it up some good numbers last season in Oakland and it wouldn't be a surprise if he did it again this year. The depth after that is pure fliers, as you gotta hope somehow Chris Hogan finds his way into a spot on the field when Tom Brady gets back, and that Sammie Coates can get on the field period as I believe he's buried on the depth chart at the moment. Year after year people think Zach Ertz is going to finally live up to his expectations. Hasn't happened yet, and with a new QB in Carson Wentz will see if they can click and have chemistry together. Big Ben is fine as a QB and Philip Rivers is a great option as a bye week fill in or even starter (Ben's missed some games the past couple seasons)
Overall Grade: B, solid B here. Knocking a little points off with Williams possibly being a worthless keeper, but Ryan did really good this year (of course I thought that last year too, so did Yahoo, he won best draft last year too). Great running back depth, good QB, and the receiver core isn't as terrible as it might look, just risky. If it all comes together Ryan could be looking at the very least at a playoff berth.
Mike (Woe Is You)
QB: Derek Carr, Andy Dalton
WR: Odell Beckham, Keenan Allen, Eric Decker, Stefon Diggs, Phillip Dorsett, Nelson Agholor
RB: C.J. Anderson, Jonathan Stewart, Charles Sims, DeAndre Washington, Devontae Booker
TE: Jordan Reed
Overview: So Mike Posey comes back after a two year hiatus and the first thing he gets is Odell Beckham dropped on his lap. Excellent value there and he's got arguably the best receiving core in the league with Beckham and his keepers Keenan Allen and Eric Decker. I wasn't a Stefon Diggs fan before the Bridgewater injury, so him being hurt doesn't change my opinion of him, they are still too much of a run dominant team for me to trust him. Dorsett's an interesting flier, everyone's high on Moncrief and Hilton, the Colts did draft Dorsett high for a reason though. The Agholor pick is a dart throw and I expect him to be the first cut if Posey needs a new player. So for running backs Mike started off with C.J. Anderson. Me and ol' C.J. don't have the best of relationships, but once again, people are high on him and with what running backs were left on the board, he made the most sense. He also made a super smart pickup late in the draft with C.J. Anderson's backup Devontae Booker. If C.J. falters like the fucker that he is, Booker's next in line. I like the DeAndre Washington pick too, Latavius Murray's backup in case something happens to him. Jonathan Stewart is who he is...a solid yet unspectacular back who has a good floor but really little upside. He's fine though as a RB #2. Charles Sims could be a bye week fill in, especially in PPR leagues. Mike also picked up the 2nd best tight end in Jordan Reed. IF(and that's a big IF) he stays healthy it wouldn't be surprising at all if he outscored Gronk this year. Great move there. The QB's...meh..Carr's ok, I know Mark used him last year as his starter, but I'd be a little worried there and Andy Dalton as a backup, eh compared to the rest of the league, Mike's QB combo might be one of the weaker of the leagues, but as long as Carr plays average, I think the rest of Mike's squad can provide the bulk of the scoring.
Overall Grade: B+. It didn't take long for Mike to get back into the groove of our league. Great receiving core, and tight end, a running back with nice upside and even if QB play is a little underwhelming, it's a position where it doesn't take a lot to put it nice games. I definitely think on paper, Mike's got a championship caliber team and it would be ironic if he won a title taking Kenny's spot.
Alex (SCLSU MudDogs)
QB: Drew Brees, Tony Romo
WR: Julian Edelman, Larry Fitzgerald, Tyler Lockett, Tavon Austin, Travis Benjamin, Torrey Smith
RB: Le'Veon Bell, Carlos Hyde, Theo Riddick, Bilal Powell
TE: Delanie Walker, Jimmy Graham
Overview: Well Alex decided to start fresh and after Matt shocked the world with Gronk, it would be Alex who shocked the world with Le'Veon Bell at pick #4. I really felt that if Bell didn't go to Ryan at #2, he'd end up slipping to the 2nd round because of that 3 game suspension he has. It's really hard to use a first round pick on a guy that won't be able to help right away. Alex is going it for it though, and it's really essential he starts off at least with a win or two before Bell gets back. An 0-3 start before Bell comes back and even with Bell, it'll be hard to get back in the race. When you draft Bell, you MUST have some kind of insurance for those first three weeks...Theo Riddick and Bilal Powell aren't it. I think Alex waited way too long to get RB depth (10th and 14th round) and the lack of depth shows. Hyde is fine where he went, he definitely has upside in Chip Kelly's new system, it's just going to be so hard to have depend on Riddick or Powell (both not traditional running backs, just 3rd down pass catchers) as your RB #2 for 3 weeks. As far are the receivers go, Edelman will be without Brady for 4 weeks so hopefully he has chemistry with Jimmy Garoppolo because that's Alex's WR #1. Larry Fitzgerald to me is more of a solid WR #3 at this point of his career as he has younger guys like Michael Floyd and John Brown fighting for targets. I think he's still useful, but he's vereen towards the Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith portion of his career, solid, but not a receiver who can carry your squad. This is where I think Alex could've gotten a little bit of running back depth instead of going for Tyler Lockett (boom or bust wide receiver) and Tavon Austin (even more boom or bust than Lockett). I actually love the Benjamin pick and can easily see him being better than Lockett and Austin. He could've still had him there and used that 7th pick and a better RB selection. I think as the season goes on, he ends up using Benjamin over both. Torrey Smith as a bye week fill in and 13th round isn't bad. Delaine Walker is a solid tight end, and Jimmy Graham has the pedigree that taking a flier on him in the 11th round certainly doesn't hurt. Of course Alex goes with Ol' Faithful in Drew Brees. I don't know, he possibly could've waited a round, but he wanted his guy and he got him. The Romo pick kinda is a head scratcher because Brees bye week is in week 5 and Romo's expected to miss 6-10 weeks and most say it's more in the later range. If anything, worse case scenario is at the very least if Bell proves that he is indeed a big time talent, he's got a great keeper prospect for next year.
Grade: C-, this factors in the curious case of not keeping Brandon Marshall as a round 5 keeper, plus the risk of taking Bell in the 1st round without adequate backups. Hyde's really going to have to pick up the running back slack for 3 weeks, Edelman's going to need to have some great chemistry with Garoppolo for 4 weeks, and Brees is going to have to perform at usual elite level for this to work early. We'll see, maybe Alex will have the Eugene team this year, low expectations that he greatly exceeds.
Mayra (Bigger Balls)
QB: Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott
WR: Antonio Brown, Amari Cooper, DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace, Dorial Green Beckham
RB: Lamar Miller, Matt Forte, Gio Bernard, T.J. Yeldon, Jay Ajayi
TE: Julius Thomas, Jason Witten
Overview: So Mayra started with the best player in fantasy football in Antonio Brown and possibly a top 5 running back in Lamar Miller. Those two already put her in prime position to compete. She did a pretty good job rounding out the rest of her roster. I really like Amari Cooper as a compliment to Brown, and though DeSean Jackson is one of those home run boom or bust threats, he's shown enough that he's a trustable #3 receiving. He's fine where he is. The bye week receiver depth is a little thin, but Mike Wallace has had nice chemistry with Joe Flacco through camp and this is exactly the type of offense that suits his skills. Green Beckham is probably waiver wire fodder. After a certain point (to me Eddie Lacy) all the running backs come with some kind of question mark. Matt Forte is a year older and I don't think he'll be the dominant bell cow he once was, but as a RB#2 and in a PPR league he's fine as a RB#2. Bernard is also a good flex play in a PPR league, I like him better in this kind of league and his draft position than Jeremy Hill (who proved last year, that he was way too TD dependent for scoring). Not a fan of Yeldon, he did nothing as the workhorse last year and now Chris Ivory is in the mix and he's the better back. I could see Yeldon getting cut after a few weeks. For where she drafted him, Jay Ajayi is a perfectly fine back to take a flier on because of Arian Foster's injury history. If he goes down, Ajayi would step in and he could provide a valuable bye week fill in if that happens. I wanted Julius Thomas, so I was pissed Mayra scooped him up. I think for the round he was drafted in, he provides good value, especially when tight end was getting pretty thin. Witten as a bye week back up is solid too, because I can see Dak Prescott using him as a safety valve like most Cowboys backup QB's do. Speaking of Prescott, I'm on the side of "he's worth the flier". Is he gonna be Cam Newton week 1? Of course not, but he's worth a look to see how he handles regular season play. If he doesn't pan out, well there are still some decent QB fill in options for bye weeks, there always. On the chance he explodes, you got yourself a multifaceted starter who could be a difference maker. Gotta be willing to take risks to get rewards. Matt Ryan seems to be overrated every year, it always seems like he has the talent and the weapons (like Julio Jones) to be super elite, but he always underwhelms. That's why I think the shot at Dak makes sense.
Overall Grade: B. It's very well constructed team. Again, Matt Ryan doesn't have to be all world, just average and he can definitely do that. I like the Dak flier, I think the starters can compete with anyone in the league, the only weakness seems to be WR and RB bye week depth especially the RB position. That can be fixed with waiver wire claims though later in the season.
Albert (Channel 4 News Team)
QB: Andrew Luck, Brock Osweiler
WR: A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton, Doug Baldwin, Vincent Jackson, Will Fuller, Terrelle Pryor
RB: Doug Martin, Derrick Henry, LeGarrette Blount, Justin Forsett
TE: Antonio Gates, Tyler Eifert
Overview: When I look at this team...it really looks like like a sneaky good team to me. I think it's easy to dismiss at first but looking at it a little harder and it's definitely got some potential to make some noise. Albert had already kept Doug Martin and Antonio Gates and Martin was great value in the 5th round, but Gates was a head scratcher...until now. The drafting of Tyler Eifert makes perfect sense. Albert used a 13th rounder on Gates to fill in tight end (which he can easily do) until Eifert comes back in probably 6 weeks, then you get a top 5 tight end back into the mix. Great move here. It seemed like things just fell into place as most of these picks make perfect sense. I love the receiving trio of A.J. Green (he got to keep him anyways) T.Y. Hilton (could regain his elite form with Luck back) and Doug Baldwin (he's not going to repeat what he did last season, and honestly I'd rather have a guy like Randall Cobb who was still there, but as a WR #3 this is more than fine). The bench depth is thin though, I don't know how much V-Jax has left in the tank, and Will Fuller and Terrelle Pryor are total lawn dart throws (especially Fuller), but maybe one of them will breakout. I like the upside Henry pick. Is he ready to fully be a RB#2? Maybe not, but I think he can contribute and if anything, he's a intriguing keeper prospect where he was drafted. Again the RB depth is bit of a question mark, the Patriots backfield is ALWAYS clusterfuck so Blount is hard to trust week to week and maybe Henry is more of a flex play to start the season, so there's no 100% RB 2 on this roster as of now. Justin Forsett is total waiver wire fodder, don't think Albert keeps him long. At QB, Andrew Luck is definitely a great pickup. If he can stay healthy, he can revert back to being in the QB1 conversation like he was before last season when he was taken 3rd overall in our fantasy football draft. The problem is, if Luck goes down, next up is Brock Osweiler, not the best of fantasy backup QB's.
Overall Grade: B. Basically all the starter picks make sense, and even if Henry "isn't completely ready", with DeMarco Murray's injury history and Henry's talent it's not crazy to think that sooner than later it could be Henry's backfield. In case that doesn't happen though, lack of solid depth behind Henry and Martin, and behind the receivers Luck, knock the grade down a little bit. This is still a great team, and could be a darkhorse championship contender.
Drew (Belfast Bruiser)
QB: Kirk Cousins, Robert Griffin III
WR: Donte Moncrief, Allen Robinson, Tajae Sharpe, Markus Wheaton, Kenny Stills
RB: Adrian Peterson, Eddie Lacy, Ryan Mathews, Ameer Abdullah, Jerick McKinnon
TE: Coby Fleener, Clive Walford
Overview: Well Drew already had Adrian Peterson and Allen Robinson in the fold so that's already a top notch start. So Drew adds this year's most hyped up receiver in Donte Moncrief to the mix as his WR #2. This could either be a great move or a Davonte Adams type move that torpedoed Kenny's season last year. I think Markus Wheaton can be a serviceable #3 but really the guy who can end up becoming a huge breakout fantasy star is Tajae Sharpe. He's had rave reviews all preseason, and I really wanted but Drew sniped him one pick before me (because of course he did). Kenny Stills is also not too bad as a bye week fill in, but overall besides Allen Robinson, there's a lot of questions about Drew's receiving corps as a whole. As far as RB's go, I believe Drew has the 2nd best 1-2 punch in the league (behind Leland of course) with Peterson and Eddie Lacy. Lacy was one of the few running backs I felt comfortable drafting and I think he will indeed bounce back from his dreadful season from last year. I think Ryan Mathews is solid value where he was drafted, he's always a health concern, but as a flex/RB 3/bye week fill in, he's a good guy to have that you can fill in with needed. I'm not big on the Detroit rushing game, so Abdullah doesn't excite me and Jerick McKinnon is strictly a handcuff pick who provides zero value when Peterson is healthy (although an intriguing keeper prospect should Adrian Peterson leave after this year). I was interested in Fleener, considering he's going to a team that made BEN WATSON relevant, but reports are he hasn't found his groove yet, so it scared me off. Still, with what was left, I'm sure he'll be an adequate play in a thin position. I don't know much about Clive Walford besides the fact he plays in Oakland. He'd probably be one of those "first roster cuts" if need be. The QB situation...I'm not sold on completely on Kirk Cousins as a season long starter. On paper, it seems like Drew's with Mike as far as having lower level starting QB's. Also, he backed him up with RGIII, I don't think that lasts long.
Overall Grade: B-. Awesome running back starters and a nice backup in Ryan Mathews so actual depth is a plus. I think I can't go higher than a B- though because although the upside is there in Sharpe and Moncrief, they have to show they can perform to justify their positions on Drew's team (especially in the case of Moncrief becauase Drew nabbed him at #31). Fleener needs to also find his chemistry with Brees for that to work, and not a big fan of the QB situation here. Still the upside makes this team a definite playoff contender.
Dad (BigBadBob)
QB: Cam Newton, Tyrod Taylor
WR: Brandon Marshall, Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders, Willie Snead, Mohamed Sanu, Pierre Garcon
RB: Thomas Rawls, Jeremy Langford, Frank Gore, Alfred Morris
TE: Greg Olsen, Jared Cook
Overview: So Dad kept Cam Newton and Jeremy Langford and thanks to the craziness was able to add Brandon Marshall to the mix at was essentially pick #6 of the 1st round. He was the best on the board so definitely a good move there. I feel like Dad's receiving core is the most safe but unspectacular group of the league. Tate and Sanders aren't bad but you basically know what you get from them. I don't see them having any kind of upside to outperform their draft stock and that's ok...sometimes you just want solid production week in and week out. Willie Snead isn't a bad flex/fill in play in that high octane Saints offense. Sanu is also nice depth as he's the defacto #2 and he was decent with the Bengals and should have a solid role in Atlanta. Again, as a bye week fill in, good enough. Pierre Garcon is waiver fodder and probably will the first to be cut from Dad's team. So Dad reunited his backfield by drafting Thomas Rawls in the 2nd round. Honestly I think he reached there, and would've much rather drafted Eddie Lacy, Mark Ingram or taking a shot at another receiver like T.Y. Hilton or Amari Cooper, but Dad likes Rawls and he probably wouldn't have been there when Dad picked at #32 so it's not the worst pick in the world. Gotta go with the guy you like. Rawls and Langford both have question marks themselves as their sample size of playing is relatively small. Rawls is also coming off a serious injury and Christine Michael has somewhat worked himself into the backfield in Seattle. Not a fan of Dad's other running backs. Gore just seems old and slow, but as long as you only have to rely on him from a couple games or a flex play, it's ok. Alfred Morris though, probably waiver wire fodder and will only be relevant if Zeke gets hurt before Darren McFadden comes back. Dad took probably the safest and most reliable tight end (never gets hurt) in Greg Olsen so he has the Newton/Olsen double dip. Cook is a nice upside bye week fill in as it seems he might live it to his potential with a QB that can throw to him like Aaron Rodgers. They developed quite the chemistry together, but with Olsen in tow, hopefully Dad will only have to use him as a bye week fill in. Of course Cam in the 9th was a steal, but Dad reached wayyyyy to high for Tyrod Taylor. Spencer Ware was still there (and he would've been a great depth rb pick) and QB's like Matt Stafford, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Jameis Winston all seemed like better picks that you can get later, instead of using up a 7th round pick for a backup QB.
Overall Grade: C+....here's where Dad gets mad as usual with his "low grade". I love Brandon Marshall, Cam, and Greg Olsen, but with not one but two question marks at running back and not great depth behind them in case it doesn't work, and a receiving core that I like but doesn't "pop" I think Dad's roster is constructed as a middle pack team that will be in the mix, but ceiling might be as a 5th or 6th finish. (cue Dad making me feel bad...it's a yearly tradition).
Me (Bay Area Tanners)
QB: Eli Manning, Jameis Winston
WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, Michael Floyd, Devante Parker, Kamar Aiken
RB: LeSean McCoy, Arian Foster, Rashad Jennings, Spencer Ware, Buck Allen, C.J. Spiller
TE: Marteullus Bennett
Overview: Look I'm not exactly "thrilled" 100% with my team, but damn I think Yahoo unfairly slammed my team to the extreme. 3 win projection?! It's not THAT bad..in fact (and I'm the hardest grader on myself than anyone) it's not bad at all to me. For starters I kept DeAndre Hopkins and Devante Parker. Parker is looking like a long term project but at the 13th round, he doesn't hurt at all. My receiving core has to be among the best in the league with adding Mike Evans and Michael Floyd. Evans has WR1 potential with Hopkins too and Michael Floyd would be a great WR2 and he's my 3. I'll admit behind them is a little thin, I need Parker really to breakout to the potential people saw in him when he projected as a top 60 pick just two weeks ago. Kamar Aiken also isn't a bad bye week fill in, but I gotta hope that's all he's going to be. I can't rely on him more than that. So running backs....I think LeSean McCoy is poised for a great season and I knew I needed a running back in round 2 before they get REALLY bad and to me he was the best available. I've put my trust in McCoy before and it's worked out (2 Finals including one win with him as my leading back). After that...admittedly a little shaky. I got Arian Foster for what I felt was good value. Health will be key, but as RB2 and with the rest of my roster, I can live with him there. I already regret the Jennings pick. Maybe I should've gone for a big gamble with Derrick Henry or take my Tight End there. I think because he's full workhorse I expect he'll be fine, but I think I whiffed there. If I whiffed there though, I think I made up for it with Spencer Ware. At pick #81, I felt this could be a great steal and right off the bat I get his services in week 1 because of Jamaal Charles injury. He could at the very least become my week to week flex play with the upside of taking over RB2 duties from Foster. Really like that pick. Buck Allen is a stash pick as Baltimore's backfield is just so crowded, Allen to me has the best upside because of his pass catching abilities. C.J. Spiller in the last round? If he's really going to be involved in the New Orleans offense it's a great value pick in the last round...if not, easy drop. No harm there to me. I waited wayyyy to long for tight end. I didn't want to get the top three guys, so I was willing to wait, and I was targeting Julius Thomas, but Mayra snagged him a few picks before I picked and it made me go with Martellus Bennett who will be far from reliable and will probably be TD dependent. I don't have a backup for him so it's my weakest position by far. The only silver lining is TE is generally a weak position in general so it's not a huge problem to be weak there. I was going to keep Eli in the 9th, but changed my mind. I still got him in the 8th and I'm totally fine with that considering QB's outside of Cam and Rodgers are basically all around the same to me. I backed him up with Jameis who I hope to have a nice sophomore season.
Overall Grade: B. A top notch receiving core, a high end #1 running back, a high scoring QB, a potential sleeper in Spencer Ware are in my favor. Older running backs behind McCoy, a low end tight end and thin receiver depth are my downfall. I'd give myself a solid B...nothing more...nothing less.
Mark (Shock The Monkey)
QB: Carson Palmer, Blake Bortles
WR: Dez Bryant, Alshon Jeffrey, Jarvis Landry, Kevin White, Brandon Lafell, Ted Ginn Jr.
RB: Latavius Murray, DeMarco Murray, Danny Woodhead, Darren Sproles
TE: Gary Barndige, Jordan Cameron
Overview: Looking at Mark's team and it's one of the most volatile teams in the league. It could be a championship team or can blow up completely and totally disappoint. It's a wild card team that at this moment is really hard to value because the talent is there, but it's just soooo dependent on outside factors. We'll start with Mark's keepers, can't get safer than Jarvis Landry and as a WR #3, that shows how deep Mark's receivers are. The question marks come from his 2nd Keeper and 1st round pick. Alshon Jeffrey and Dez Bryant. All the talent in the world...enough to be elite top 5 types...but both have HUGE question marks that might derail their seasons. Jeffrey simply can't stay healthy. When he's in, he's one the best of the league, but he spends a lot of the season hurt, questionable, and he's a very tricky play. Dez, himself is coming off a couple of injuries from last year and now will once again be without Tony Romo for a least 6 games (as many as 10). The big question mark here is his play with rookie Dak Prescott. Dak is no shitty QB like Kellen Moore, Matt Cassell etc...but he's still a rookie and no one knows how he will react to real NFL games. Mark's team goes as his receivers go as they are the best guys on his roster. If Jeffrey and Dez suck..this is a lotto bound team...if they reach their potential...this is a championship contending team. Mark's receiving depth is just as questionable, Kevin White missed all his rookie season last year, Brandon Lafell is a new system and though he's the #2 with the Bengals, he failed to shine in a prominent role last year in New England, and Ted Ginn won't repeat the kind of season he had last year, especially with the emergence of Devin Funchess and the return of Kelvin Benjamin. The running backs are just as volatile. Latavius Murray is the lead back in Oakland but for all the talent he has, he really hasn't put together a terrific fantasy season. He accumulates his stats in bulk, yards per carry aren't great, and he doesn't score many TD's. It seems like he's the starter defacto and he really needs to take advantage of this situation and lock down the job. He's got the ability that's for sure. DeMarco Murray has looked a lot better with the Titans than he did in Philly last year, but again, he's got a promising young rookie breathing down his neck. Hopefully the competitiveness inspires him to perform as the Murray of old, but if he starts struggling, the Titans won't think twice about giving Henry more of the workload. I like Danny Woodhead as a PPR back and to me his floor is a flex play because he's strictly a catching down back. If Melvin Gordon bounces back from a lousy rookie season, it'll eat into Woodhead's playing time. Darren Sproles is basically a desparation bye week play/waiver wire fodder. Have a feeling he won't last long. Mark's going back to the well with Gary Barnidge and you have to wonder if he was a one year wonder last year. Still, in a thin position, Barnidge isn't a bad start. Jordan Cameron is waiver fodder, he won't last long at all. Then there's the QB situation. To me Palmer/Bortles will be a week to week question you might have to legit ask. Both have high scoring offenses, though Palmer has looked pretty bad in preseason, it's preseason he knows how to play the game. Both guys though are capable of producing shoot out numbers which is great to have.
Overall Grade: B. If everything plays out perfectly, this is an A+ team as based on pure talent, Mark is covered everywhere with no real starting position lacking a talented player...but that's asking for quite a lot. Still at it's face value, I'm comfortable giving this team a B. Definitely a team I'd initially be scared of playing. Will it live up to the hype?
Eugene (Rocket Man)
QB:Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Garoppolo
WR: Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews, Julio Jones, Rishard Matthews, Laquon Treadwell, Victor Cruz
RB: Melvin Gordon, Duke Johnson Jr., Matt Jones, Kenneth Dixon
TE: Travis Kelce, Virgil Green
Overview: So a year after drafting half his team super late and surviving, it's back to normal for Eugene. He kept his cornerstones in Aaron Rodgers and Julio Jones and you can't go wrong with that start at all. Eugene ended up going two more wide receivers in Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews. I really like Maclin, he was great last year and I have no doubt he'll be great again. Jordan Matthews is a bit of a question mark now with Carson Wentz as the Eagles QB. He's definitely got the talent, and as a WR3 he won't have to be super amazing to have an impact. I can't see the Titans being pass happy and with Tajae Sharpe getting all the praise, seems like Rishard Matthews seems to be the forgotten man. He's the one that could be the real main receiving threat for Tennessee as he's got the experience behind him and as a bye week play, I think he can be decent. I think Laquon Treadwell won't be a factor at all and unless you're going to be patient with him and just stash him as a potential keeper for next year, he might be one of the first to go if Eugene needs to pick up someone off waivers. Victor Cruz is total waiver wire fodder and probably will be dropped before Treadwell. Here's the biggest question mark..the running backs. Because Eugene waited until round 5 to draft a running back...the group is pretty bad...probably the weakest group in the league (Matt should have a healthy Charles back sometime this season and Alex will get Le'Veon Bell back). Melvin Gordon as a RB#1 is quite the risk considering his season last year and the Cleveland backfield gives me headaches. Matt Jones seems like a complete bust and Kenneth Dixon is in a clusterfuck situation in Baltimore. This is a super glaring weakness that's hard to ignore. At tight end, Travis Kelce is more than serviceable, even though in round 6 there were some decent running backs still available. Kelce has the tools, they just under utilize him in Kansas City. My dad was frustrated as hell owning him. Virgil Green is an interesting flier and worth a speculative pick. With Aaron Rodgers having his bye early, Eugene went ahead and drafted Jimmy Garoppolo as his week 4 bye week fill in. If Rodgers get hurt though, he's got no real option as a backup as Brady will be back after 4 games.
Overall Grade: C+. Aaron Rodgers and the Receiving core are gonna be a force to reckon with but that Running back situation is scary bad. I did say that last year too with Dion Lewis and Chris Johnson and that blew up in my face, but just strictly before the season starts, on paper, it just looks like a running back nightmare. If anyone can make it work though...it's Eugene, as he proved last year!
Leland (No Soup For You)
QB: Matthew Stafford
WR: Brandin Cooks, Demaryius Thomas, Randall Cobb, Marvin Jones. Jr, Sterling Shepard, Devin Funchess, Michael Thomas
RB: Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Chris Ivory, James White
TE: Eric Ebron, Jesse James
Overview: And ladies and gentleman this is your team to beat. The expectations will be high and rightfully so. Leland's great roster skills afforded him two top 3 running backs in Todd Gurley and David Johnson in rounds 6 and 14. It allowed him to construct as near a perfect team you can in a 12 team league. The wide receiver depth is down right NASTY. You have a little bit of everything. Young stars with a track record like Brandin Cooks, the supposed veteran who's lost his step and has a crappy QB situation in Demaryius Thomas, the obvious bounce back candidate in Randall Cobb, the underrated PPR machine in Marvin Jones, the poised breakout 2nd year player in Devin Funchess, and rookie prospects in Sterling Shepard and Michael Thomas. Just wow. No one is even close to this depth. It's such a deep group, it might even cause a problem in the long run figuring out who the hell to start and sit. I can see trades happening in the forseeable future. Chris Ivory backing up Gurley and Johnson is fine. He's going to be not only the better back of him and Yeldon but the goal line back. James White probably won't be a factor on this team, but he's an ok flier pick. The only weakness that keeps this from being absolutely perfect is tight end. He waited too long and now has an injury prone Eric Ebron and a rookie in Jesse James to chose from. If that's your biggest problem though, I think you live with it. Leland's also gonna ride with Matthew Stafford and I actually think that he'll surprise people who might think he's done without Calvin. They have a deep receiving group and their running game sucks. Stafford's going to throw a shit ton. He's fine as a starter.
Overall Grade: A+. How can't it be? Keepers factored in, even with the tight end situation, it's the best piece of roster management I've seen. Things always don't play out how they should, but it's going to be a difficult task to take this team down.
And we're done!! Tomorrow will be the first edition of Matchups and Predictions!
Ryan (Hoosier Daddy)
QB: Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers
WR: Sammy Watkins, John Brown, Michael Crabtree, Chris Hogan, Sammie Coates
RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Mark Ingram, Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman, Christine Michael, DeAngelo Williams
TE: Zach Ertz
Overview: Yahoo gave Ryan the best grade of the draft, and while I personally wouldn't go that far, he did a pretty good job overall. With Matt picking Gronk, it gave Ryan a shot at a couple of guys he originally thought he had no shot of. Originally, the plan was to go Le'veon Bell(thus the Deangelo Williams keeper) but once Matt dropped Beckham, Zeke Elliott seemed to be the player of choice. Matt threw yet another wrench into Ryan's plans by not selected Beckham after all. So now Ryan had to chose, the hot new rookie or a Top 3 Wide Receiver? He stuck to his guns with Elliott and now has to hope he can live up to the enormous hype he has on him. Elliott will lead a 3 headed RB squad that includes Mark Ingram (slipped to where it was fine to draft him) and Devonta Freeman (Ryan's 9th round keeper). Kudos to Ryan for snatching up Tevin Coleman too. If Freeman ends up losing his job to Coleman, Ryan can just plug him in. I also like the Christine Michael flier as he's been reported to be doing very well and could cut into Thomas Rawls work as the season goes on. The only nitpick is that it kind of made the Deangelo pick a little worthless. With how Ryan is set up, he won't even use him for a game now as he has 3 RB's ahead of him. To me he needs to trade him ASAP to Alex for SOME value, otherwise that was a wasted keep. The only reason Ryan maybe should've thought about Beckham is because he's unhappy with his receivers. Sammy Watkins is his #1 and though I know the talent is there, this isn't a pass heavy offense and Watkins is a bit injury prone. Watkins is fine as #2, but to be the best receiver on your roster is very risky. John Brown has had concussion problems all summer, but seems to be cleared up but again, he's a guy I'd like as a #3 instead of a #2. Crabtree is a solid if not boring #3, he's not flashy, but he put it up some good numbers last season in Oakland and it wouldn't be a surprise if he did it again this year. The depth after that is pure fliers, as you gotta hope somehow Chris Hogan finds his way into a spot on the field when Tom Brady gets back, and that Sammie Coates can get on the field period as I believe he's buried on the depth chart at the moment. Year after year people think Zach Ertz is going to finally live up to his expectations. Hasn't happened yet, and with a new QB in Carson Wentz will see if they can click and have chemistry together. Big Ben is fine as a QB and Philip Rivers is a great option as a bye week fill in or even starter (Ben's missed some games the past couple seasons)
Overall Grade: B, solid B here. Knocking a little points off with Williams possibly being a worthless keeper, but Ryan did really good this year (of course I thought that last year too, so did Yahoo, he won best draft last year too). Great running back depth, good QB, and the receiver core isn't as terrible as it might look, just risky. If it all comes together Ryan could be looking at the very least at a playoff berth.
Mike (Woe Is You)
QB: Derek Carr, Andy Dalton
WR: Odell Beckham, Keenan Allen, Eric Decker, Stefon Diggs, Phillip Dorsett, Nelson Agholor
RB: C.J. Anderson, Jonathan Stewart, Charles Sims, DeAndre Washington, Devontae Booker
TE: Jordan Reed
Overview: So Mike Posey comes back after a two year hiatus and the first thing he gets is Odell Beckham dropped on his lap. Excellent value there and he's got arguably the best receiving core in the league with Beckham and his keepers Keenan Allen and Eric Decker. I wasn't a Stefon Diggs fan before the Bridgewater injury, so him being hurt doesn't change my opinion of him, they are still too much of a run dominant team for me to trust him. Dorsett's an interesting flier, everyone's high on Moncrief and Hilton, the Colts did draft Dorsett high for a reason though. The Agholor pick is a dart throw and I expect him to be the first cut if Posey needs a new player. So for running backs Mike started off with C.J. Anderson. Me and ol' C.J. don't have the best of relationships, but once again, people are high on him and with what running backs were left on the board, he made the most sense. He also made a super smart pickup late in the draft with C.J. Anderson's backup Devontae Booker. If C.J. falters like the fucker that he is, Booker's next in line. I like the DeAndre Washington pick too, Latavius Murray's backup in case something happens to him. Jonathan Stewart is who he is...a solid yet unspectacular back who has a good floor but really little upside. He's fine though as a RB #2. Charles Sims could be a bye week fill in, especially in PPR leagues. Mike also picked up the 2nd best tight end in Jordan Reed. IF(and that's a big IF) he stays healthy it wouldn't be surprising at all if he outscored Gronk this year. Great move there. The QB's...meh..Carr's ok, I know Mark used him last year as his starter, but I'd be a little worried there and Andy Dalton as a backup, eh compared to the rest of the league, Mike's QB combo might be one of the weaker of the leagues, but as long as Carr plays average, I think the rest of Mike's squad can provide the bulk of the scoring.
Overall Grade: B+. It didn't take long for Mike to get back into the groove of our league. Great receiving core, and tight end, a running back with nice upside and even if QB play is a little underwhelming, it's a position where it doesn't take a lot to put it nice games. I definitely think on paper, Mike's got a championship caliber team and it would be ironic if he won a title taking Kenny's spot.
Alex (SCLSU MudDogs)
QB: Drew Brees, Tony Romo
WR: Julian Edelman, Larry Fitzgerald, Tyler Lockett, Tavon Austin, Travis Benjamin, Torrey Smith
RB: Le'Veon Bell, Carlos Hyde, Theo Riddick, Bilal Powell
TE: Delanie Walker, Jimmy Graham
Overview: Well Alex decided to start fresh and after Matt shocked the world with Gronk, it would be Alex who shocked the world with Le'Veon Bell at pick #4. I really felt that if Bell didn't go to Ryan at #2, he'd end up slipping to the 2nd round because of that 3 game suspension he has. It's really hard to use a first round pick on a guy that won't be able to help right away. Alex is going it for it though, and it's really essential he starts off at least with a win or two before Bell gets back. An 0-3 start before Bell comes back and even with Bell, it'll be hard to get back in the race. When you draft Bell, you MUST have some kind of insurance for those first three weeks...Theo Riddick and Bilal Powell aren't it. I think Alex waited way too long to get RB depth (10th and 14th round) and the lack of depth shows. Hyde is fine where he went, he definitely has upside in Chip Kelly's new system, it's just going to be so hard to have depend on Riddick or Powell (both not traditional running backs, just 3rd down pass catchers) as your RB #2 for 3 weeks. As far are the receivers go, Edelman will be without Brady for 4 weeks so hopefully he has chemistry with Jimmy Garoppolo because that's Alex's WR #1. Larry Fitzgerald to me is more of a solid WR #3 at this point of his career as he has younger guys like Michael Floyd and John Brown fighting for targets. I think he's still useful, but he's vereen towards the Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith portion of his career, solid, but not a receiver who can carry your squad. This is where I think Alex could've gotten a little bit of running back depth instead of going for Tyler Lockett (boom or bust wide receiver) and Tavon Austin (even more boom or bust than Lockett). I actually love the Benjamin pick and can easily see him being better than Lockett and Austin. He could've still had him there and used that 7th pick and a better RB selection. I think as the season goes on, he ends up using Benjamin over both. Torrey Smith as a bye week fill in and 13th round isn't bad. Delaine Walker is a solid tight end, and Jimmy Graham has the pedigree that taking a flier on him in the 11th round certainly doesn't hurt. Of course Alex goes with Ol' Faithful in Drew Brees. I don't know, he possibly could've waited a round, but he wanted his guy and he got him. The Romo pick kinda is a head scratcher because Brees bye week is in week 5 and Romo's expected to miss 6-10 weeks and most say it's more in the later range. If anything, worse case scenario is at the very least if Bell proves that he is indeed a big time talent, he's got a great keeper prospect for next year.
Grade: C-, this factors in the curious case of not keeping Brandon Marshall as a round 5 keeper, plus the risk of taking Bell in the 1st round without adequate backups. Hyde's really going to have to pick up the running back slack for 3 weeks, Edelman's going to need to have some great chemistry with Garoppolo for 4 weeks, and Brees is going to have to perform at usual elite level for this to work early. We'll see, maybe Alex will have the Eugene team this year, low expectations that he greatly exceeds.
Mayra (Bigger Balls)
QB: Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott
WR: Antonio Brown, Amari Cooper, DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace, Dorial Green Beckham
RB: Lamar Miller, Matt Forte, Gio Bernard, T.J. Yeldon, Jay Ajayi
TE: Julius Thomas, Jason Witten
Overview: So Mayra started with the best player in fantasy football in Antonio Brown and possibly a top 5 running back in Lamar Miller. Those two already put her in prime position to compete. She did a pretty good job rounding out the rest of her roster. I really like Amari Cooper as a compliment to Brown, and though DeSean Jackson is one of those home run boom or bust threats, he's shown enough that he's a trustable #3 receiving. He's fine where he is. The bye week receiver depth is a little thin, but Mike Wallace has had nice chemistry with Joe Flacco through camp and this is exactly the type of offense that suits his skills. Green Beckham is probably waiver wire fodder. After a certain point (to me Eddie Lacy) all the running backs come with some kind of question mark. Matt Forte is a year older and I don't think he'll be the dominant bell cow he once was, but as a RB#2 and in a PPR league he's fine as a RB#2. Bernard is also a good flex play in a PPR league, I like him better in this kind of league and his draft position than Jeremy Hill (who proved last year, that he was way too TD dependent for scoring). Not a fan of Yeldon, he did nothing as the workhorse last year and now Chris Ivory is in the mix and he's the better back. I could see Yeldon getting cut after a few weeks. For where she drafted him, Jay Ajayi is a perfectly fine back to take a flier on because of Arian Foster's injury history. If he goes down, Ajayi would step in and he could provide a valuable bye week fill in if that happens. I wanted Julius Thomas, so I was pissed Mayra scooped him up. I think for the round he was drafted in, he provides good value, especially when tight end was getting pretty thin. Witten as a bye week back up is solid too, because I can see Dak Prescott using him as a safety valve like most Cowboys backup QB's do. Speaking of Prescott, I'm on the side of "he's worth the flier". Is he gonna be Cam Newton week 1? Of course not, but he's worth a look to see how he handles regular season play. If he doesn't pan out, well there are still some decent QB fill in options for bye weeks, there always. On the chance he explodes, you got yourself a multifaceted starter who could be a difference maker. Gotta be willing to take risks to get rewards. Matt Ryan seems to be overrated every year, it always seems like he has the talent and the weapons (like Julio Jones) to be super elite, but he always underwhelms. That's why I think the shot at Dak makes sense.
Overall Grade: B. It's very well constructed team. Again, Matt Ryan doesn't have to be all world, just average and he can definitely do that. I like the Dak flier, I think the starters can compete with anyone in the league, the only weakness seems to be WR and RB bye week depth especially the RB position. That can be fixed with waiver wire claims though later in the season.
Albert (Channel 4 News Team)
QB: Andrew Luck, Brock Osweiler
WR: A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton, Doug Baldwin, Vincent Jackson, Will Fuller, Terrelle Pryor
RB: Doug Martin, Derrick Henry, LeGarrette Blount, Justin Forsett
TE: Antonio Gates, Tyler Eifert
Overview: When I look at this team...it really looks like like a sneaky good team to me. I think it's easy to dismiss at first but looking at it a little harder and it's definitely got some potential to make some noise. Albert had already kept Doug Martin and Antonio Gates and Martin was great value in the 5th round, but Gates was a head scratcher...until now. The drafting of Tyler Eifert makes perfect sense. Albert used a 13th rounder on Gates to fill in tight end (which he can easily do) until Eifert comes back in probably 6 weeks, then you get a top 5 tight end back into the mix. Great move here. It seemed like things just fell into place as most of these picks make perfect sense. I love the receiving trio of A.J. Green (he got to keep him anyways) T.Y. Hilton (could regain his elite form with Luck back) and Doug Baldwin (he's not going to repeat what he did last season, and honestly I'd rather have a guy like Randall Cobb who was still there, but as a WR #3 this is more than fine). The bench depth is thin though, I don't know how much V-Jax has left in the tank, and Will Fuller and Terrelle Pryor are total lawn dart throws (especially Fuller), but maybe one of them will breakout. I like the upside Henry pick. Is he ready to fully be a RB#2? Maybe not, but I think he can contribute and if anything, he's a intriguing keeper prospect where he was drafted. Again the RB depth is bit of a question mark, the Patriots backfield is ALWAYS clusterfuck so Blount is hard to trust week to week and maybe Henry is more of a flex play to start the season, so there's no 100% RB 2 on this roster as of now. Justin Forsett is total waiver wire fodder, don't think Albert keeps him long. At QB, Andrew Luck is definitely a great pickup. If he can stay healthy, he can revert back to being in the QB1 conversation like he was before last season when he was taken 3rd overall in our fantasy football draft. The problem is, if Luck goes down, next up is Brock Osweiler, not the best of fantasy backup QB's.
Overall Grade: B. Basically all the starter picks make sense, and even if Henry "isn't completely ready", with DeMarco Murray's injury history and Henry's talent it's not crazy to think that sooner than later it could be Henry's backfield. In case that doesn't happen though, lack of solid depth behind Henry and Martin, and behind the receivers Luck, knock the grade down a little bit. This is still a great team, and could be a darkhorse championship contender.
Drew (Belfast Bruiser)
QB: Kirk Cousins, Robert Griffin III
WR: Donte Moncrief, Allen Robinson, Tajae Sharpe, Markus Wheaton, Kenny Stills
RB: Adrian Peterson, Eddie Lacy, Ryan Mathews, Ameer Abdullah, Jerick McKinnon
TE: Coby Fleener, Clive Walford
Overview: Well Drew already had Adrian Peterson and Allen Robinson in the fold so that's already a top notch start. So Drew adds this year's most hyped up receiver in Donte Moncrief to the mix as his WR #2. This could either be a great move or a Davonte Adams type move that torpedoed Kenny's season last year. I think Markus Wheaton can be a serviceable #3 but really the guy who can end up becoming a huge breakout fantasy star is Tajae Sharpe. He's had rave reviews all preseason, and I really wanted but Drew sniped him one pick before me (because of course he did). Kenny Stills is also not too bad as a bye week fill in, but overall besides Allen Robinson, there's a lot of questions about Drew's receiving corps as a whole. As far as RB's go, I believe Drew has the 2nd best 1-2 punch in the league (behind Leland of course) with Peterson and Eddie Lacy. Lacy was one of the few running backs I felt comfortable drafting and I think he will indeed bounce back from his dreadful season from last year. I think Ryan Mathews is solid value where he was drafted, he's always a health concern, but as a flex/RB 3/bye week fill in, he's a good guy to have that you can fill in with needed. I'm not big on the Detroit rushing game, so Abdullah doesn't excite me and Jerick McKinnon is strictly a handcuff pick who provides zero value when Peterson is healthy (although an intriguing keeper prospect should Adrian Peterson leave after this year). I was interested in Fleener, considering he's going to a team that made BEN WATSON relevant, but reports are he hasn't found his groove yet, so it scared me off. Still, with what was left, I'm sure he'll be an adequate play in a thin position. I don't know much about Clive Walford besides the fact he plays in Oakland. He'd probably be one of those "first roster cuts" if need be. The QB situation...I'm not sold on completely on Kirk Cousins as a season long starter. On paper, it seems like Drew's with Mike as far as having lower level starting QB's. Also, he backed him up with RGIII, I don't think that lasts long.
Overall Grade: B-. Awesome running back starters and a nice backup in Ryan Mathews so actual depth is a plus. I think I can't go higher than a B- though because although the upside is there in Sharpe and Moncrief, they have to show they can perform to justify their positions on Drew's team (especially in the case of Moncrief becauase Drew nabbed him at #31). Fleener needs to also find his chemistry with Brees for that to work, and not a big fan of the QB situation here. Still the upside makes this team a definite playoff contender.
Dad (BigBadBob)
QB: Cam Newton, Tyrod Taylor
WR: Brandon Marshall, Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders, Willie Snead, Mohamed Sanu, Pierre Garcon
RB: Thomas Rawls, Jeremy Langford, Frank Gore, Alfred Morris
TE: Greg Olsen, Jared Cook
Overview: So Dad kept Cam Newton and Jeremy Langford and thanks to the craziness was able to add Brandon Marshall to the mix at was essentially pick #6 of the 1st round. He was the best on the board so definitely a good move there. I feel like Dad's receiving core is the most safe but unspectacular group of the league. Tate and Sanders aren't bad but you basically know what you get from them. I don't see them having any kind of upside to outperform their draft stock and that's ok...sometimes you just want solid production week in and week out. Willie Snead isn't a bad flex/fill in play in that high octane Saints offense. Sanu is also nice depth as he's the defacto #2 and he was decent with the Bengals and should have a solid role in Atlanta. Again, as a bye week fill in, good enough. Pierre Garcon is waiver fodder and probably will the first to be cut from Dad's team. So Dad reunited his backfield by drafting Thomas Rawls in the 2nd round. Honestly I think he reached there, and would've much rather drafted Eddie Lacy, Mark Ingram or taking a shot at another receiver like T.Y. Hilton or Amari Cooper, but Dad likes Rawls and he probably wouldn't have been there when Dad picked at #32 so it's not the worst pick in the world. Gotta go with the guy you like. Rawls and Langford both have question marks themselves as their sample size of playing is relatively small. Rawls is also coming off a serious injury and Christine Michael has somewhat worked himself into the backfield in Seattle. Not a fan of Dad's other running backs. Gore just seems old and slow, but as long as you only have to rely on him from a couple games or a flex play, it's ok. Alfred Morris though, probably waiver wire fodder and will only be relevant if Zeke gets hurt before Darren McFadden comes back. Dad took probably the safest and most reliable tight end (never gets hurt) in Greg Olsen so he has the Newton/Olsen double dip. Cook is a nice upside bye week fill in as it seems he might live it to his potential with a QB that can throw to him like Aaron Rodgers. They developed quite the chemistry together, but with Olsen in tow, hopefully Dad will only have to use him as a bye week fill in. Of course Cam in the 9th was a steal, but Dad reached wayyyyy to high for Tyrod Taylor. Spencer Ware was still there (and he would've been a great depth rb pick) and QB's like Matt Stafford, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Jameis Winston all seemed like better picks that you can get later, instead of using up a 7th round pick for a backup QB.
Overall Grade: C+....here's where Dad gets mad as usual with his "low grade". I love Brandon Marshall, Cam, and Greg Olsen, but with not one but two question marks at running back and not great depth behind them in case it doesn't work, and a receiving core that I like but doesn't "pop" I think Dad's roster is constructed as a middle pack team that will be in the mix, but ceiling might be as a 5th or 6th finish. (cue Dad making me feel bad...it's a yearly tradition).
Me (Bay Area Tanners)
QB: Eli Manning, Jameis Winston
WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, Michael Floyd, Devante Parker, Kamar Aiken
RB: LeSean McCoy, Arian Foster, Rashad Jennings, Spencer Ware, Buck Allen, C.J. Spiller
TE: Marteullus Bennett
Overview: Look I'm not exactly "thrilled" 100% with my team, but damn I think Yahoo unfairly slammed my team to the extreme. 3 win projection?! It's not THAT bad..in fact (and I'm the hardest grader on myself than anyone) it's not bad at all to me. For starters I kept DeAndre Hopkins and Devante Parker. Parker is looking like a long term project but at the 13th round, he doesn't hurt at all. My receiving core has to be among the best in the league with adding Mike Evans and Michael Floyd. Evans has WR1 potential with Hopkins too and Michael Floyd would be a great WR2 and he's my 3. I'll admit behind them is a little thin, I need Parker really to breakout to the potential people saw in him when he projected as a top 60 pick just two weeks ago. Kamar Aiken also isn't a bad bye week fill in, but I gotta hope that's all he's going to be. I can't rely on him more than that. So running backs....I think LeSean McCoy is poised for a great season and I knew I needed a running back in round 2 before they get REALLY bad and to me he was the best available. I've put my trust in McCoy before and it's worked out (2 Finals including one win with him as my leading back). After that...admittedly a little shaky. I got Arian Foster for what I felt was good value. Health will be key, but as RB2 and with the rest of my roster, I can live with him there. I already regret the Jennings pick. Maybe I should've gone for a big gamble with Derrick Henry or take my Tight End there. I think because he's full workhorse I expect he'll be fine, but I think I whiffed there. If I whiffed there though, I think I made up for it with Spencer Ware. At pick #81, I felt this could be a great steal and right off the bat I get his services in week 1 because of Jamaal Charles injury. He could at the very least become my week to week flex play with the upside of taking over RB2 duties from Foster. Really like that pick. Buck Allen is a stash pick as Baltimore's backfield is just so crowded, Allen to me has the best upside because of his pass catching abilities. C.J. Spiller in the last round? If he's really going to be involved in the New Orleans offense it's a great value pick in the last round...if not, easy drop. No harm there to me. I waited wayyyy to long for tight end. I didn't want to get the top three guys, so I was willing to wait, and I was targeting Julius Thomas, but Mayra snagged him a few picks before I picked and it made me go with Martellus Bennett who will be far from reliable and will probably be TD dependent. I don't have a backup for him so it's my weakest position by far. The only silver lining is TE is generally a weak position in general so it's not a huge problem to be weak there. I was going to keep Eli in the 9th, but changed my mind. I still got him in the 8th and I'm totally fine with that considering QB's outside of Cam and Rodgers are basically all around the same to me. I backed him up with Jameis who I hope to have a nice sophomore season.
Overall Grade: B. A top notch receiving core, a high end #1 running back, a high scoring QB, a potential sleeper in Spencer Ware are in my favor. Older running backs behind McCoy, a low end tight end and thin receiver depth are my downfall. I'd give myself a solid B...nothing more...nothing less.
Mark (Shock The Monkey)
QB: Carson Palmer, Blake Bortles
WR: Dez Bryant, Alshon Jeffrey, Jarvis Landry, Kevin White, Brandon Lafell, Ted Ginn Jr.
RB: Latavius Murray, DeMarco Murray, Danny Woodhead, Darren Sproles
TE: Gary Barndige, Jordan Cameron
Overview: Looking at Mark's team and it's one of the most volatile teams in the league. It could be a championship team or can blow up completely and totally disappoint. It's a wild card team that at this moment is really hard to value because the talent is there, but it's just soooo dependent on outside factors. We'll start with Mark's keepers, can't get safer than Jarvis Landry and as a WR #3, that shows how deep Mark's receivers are. The question marks come from his 2nd Keeper and 1st round pick. Alshon Jeffrey and Dez Bryant. All the talent in the world...enough to be elite top 5 types...but both have HUGE question marks that might derail their seasons. Jeffrey simply can't stay healthy. When he's in, he's one the best of the league, but he spends a lot of the season hurt, questionable, and he's a very tricky play. Dez, himself is coming off a couple of injuries from last year and now will once again be without Tony Romo for a least 6 games (as many as 10). The big question mark here is his play with rookie Dak Prescott. Dak is no shitty QB like Kellen Moore, Matt Cassell etc...but he's still a rookie and no one knows how he will react to real NFL games. Mark's team goes as his receivers go as they are the best guys on his roster. If Jeffrey and Dez suck..this is a lotto bound team...if they reach their potential...this is a championship contending team. Mark's receiving depth is just as questionable, Kevin White missed all his rookie season last year, Brandon Lafell is a new system and though he's the #2 with the Bengals, he failed to shine in a prominent role last year in New England, and Ted Ginn won't repeat the kind of season he had last year, especially with the emergence of Devin Funchess and the return of Kelvin Benjamin. The running backs are just as volatile. Latavius Murray is the lead back in Oakland but for all the talent he has, he really hasn't put together a terrific fantasy season. He accumulates his stats in bulk, yards per carry aren't great, and he doesn't score many TD's. It seems like he's the starter defacto and he really needs to take advantage of this situation and lock down the job. He's got the ability that's for sure. DeMarco Murray has looked a lot better with the Titans than he did in Philly last year, but again, he's got a promising young rookie breathing down his neck. Hopefully the competitiveness inspires him to perform as the Murray of old, but if he starts struggling, the Titans won't think twice about giving Henry more of the workload. I like Danny Woodhead as a PPR back and to me his floor is a flex play because he's strictly a catching down back. If Melvin Gordon bounces back from a lousy rookie season, it'll eat into Woodhead's playing time. Darren Sproles is basically a desparation bye week play/waiver wire fodder. Have a feeling he won't last long. Mark's going back to the well with Gary Barnidge and you have to wonder if he was a one year wonder last year. Still, in a thin position, Barnidge isn't a bad start. Jordan Cameron is waiver fodder, he won't last long at all. Then there's the QB situation. To me Palmer/Bortles will be a week to week question you might have to legit ask. Both have high scoring offenses, though Palmer has looked pretty bad in preseason, it's preseason he knows how to play the game. Both guys though are capable of producing shoot out numbers which is great to have.
Overall Grade: B. If everything plays out perfectly, this is an A+ team as based on pure talent, Mark is covered everywhere with no real starting position lacking a talented player...but that's asking for quite a lot. Still at it's face value, I'm comfortable giving this team a B. Definitely a team I'd initially be scared of playing. Will it live up to the hype?
Eugene (Rocket Man)
QB:Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Garoppolo
WR: Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews, Julio Jones, Rishard Matthews, Laquon Treadwell, Victor Cruz
RB: Melvin Gordon, Duke Johnson Jr., Matt Jones, Kenneth Dixon
TE: Travis Kelce, Virgil Green
Overview: So a year after drafting half his team super late and surviving, it's back to normal for Eugene. He kept his cornerstones in Aaron Rodgers and Julio Jones and you can't go wrong with that start at all. Eugene ended up going two more wide receivers in Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews. I really like Maclin, he was great last year and I have no doubt he'll be great again. Jordan Matthews is a bit of a question mark now with Carson Wentz as the Eagles QB. He's definitely got the talent, and as a WR3 he won't have to be super amazing to have an impact. I can't see the Titans being pass happy and with Tajae Sharpe getting all the praise, seems like Rishard Matthews seems to be the forgotten man. He's the one that could be the real main receiving threat for Tennessee as he's got the experience behind him and as a bye week play, I think he can be decent. I think Laquon Treadwell won't be a factor at all and unless you're going to be patient with him and just stash him as a potential keeper for next year, he might be one of the first to go if Eugene needs to pick up someone off waivers. Victor Cruz is total waiver wire fodder and probably will be dropped before Treadwell. Here's the biggest question mark..the running backs. Because Eugene waited until round 5 to draft a running back...the group is pretty bad...probably the weakest group in the league (Matt should have a healthy Charles back sometime this season and Alex will get Le'Veon Bell back). Melvin Gordon as a RB#1 is quite the risk considering his season last year and the Cleveland backfield gives me headaches. Matt Jones seems like a complete bust and Kenneth Dixon is in a clusterfuck situation in Baltimore. This is a super glaring weakness that's hard to ignore. At tight end, Travis Kelce is more than serviceable, even though in round 6 there were some decent running backs still available. Kelce has the tools, they just under utilize him in Kansas City. My dad was frustrated as hell owning him. Virgil Green is an interesting flier and worth a speculative pick. With Aaron Rodgers having his bye early, Eugene went ahead and drafted Jimmy Garoppolo as his week 4 bye week fill in. If Rodgers get hurt though, he's got no real option as a backup as Brady will be back after 4 games.
Overall Grade: C+. Aaron Rodgers and the Receiving core are gonna be a force to reckon with but that Running back situation is scary bad. I did say that last year too with Dion Lewis and Chris Johnson and that blew up in my face, but just strictly before the season starts, on paper, it just looks like a running back nightmare. If anyone can make it work though...it's Eugene, as he proved last year!
Leland (No Soup For You)
QB: Matthew Stafford
WR: Brandin Cooks, Demaryius Thomas, Randall Cobb, Marvin Jones. Jr, Sterling Shepard, Devin Funchess, Michael Thomas
RB: Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Chris Ivory, James White
TE: Eric Ebron, Jesse James
Overview: And ladies and gentleman this is your team to beat. The expectations will be high and rightfully so. Leland's great roster skills afforded him two top 3 running backs in Todd Gurley and David Johnson in rounds 6 and 14. It allowed him to construct as near a perfect team you can in a 12 team league. The wide receiver depth is down right NASTY. You have a little bit of everything. Young stars with a track record like Brandin Cooks, the supposed veteran who's lost his step and has a crappy QB situation in Demaryius Thomas, the obvious bounce back candidate in Randall Cobb, the underrated PPR machine in Marvin Jones, the poised breakout 2nd year player in Devin Funchess, and rookie prospects in Sterling Shepard and Michael Thomas. Just wow. No one is even close to this depth. It's such a deep group, it might even cause a problem in the long run figuring out who the hell to start and sit. I can see trades happening in the forseeable future. Chris Ivory backing up Gurley and Johnson is fine. He's going to be not only the better back of him and Yeldon but the goal line back. James White probably won't be a factor on this team, but he's an ok flier pick. The only weakness that keeps this from being absolutely perfect is tight end. He waited too long and now has an injury prone Eric Ebron and a rookie in Jesse James to chose from. If that's your biggest problem though, I think you live with it. Leland's also gonna ride with Matthew Stafford and I actually think that he'll surprise people who might think he's done without Calvin. They have a deep receiving group and their running game sucks. Stafford's going to throw a shit ton. He's fine as a starter.
Overall Grade: A+. How can't it be? Keepers factored in, even with the tight end situation, it's the best piece of roster management I've seen. Things always don't play out how they should, but it's going to be a difficult task to take this team down.
And we're done!! Tomorrow will be the first edition of Matchups and Predictions!
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