Draft Results and Overview

Last night was the annual Wayne McGarrity Draft and boy was it as unpredictable as ever (expect for the part where Matt autodrafts for a 3rd straight year). That's the fun of the draft, you could do a million mocks and throw them all out the window because odds are when it's time for the real deal, it won't turn out at all like what you expected. Mike Posey kicked off the draft with a surprise #1 pick (Aaron Rodgers), and the panic settled in and dominoes started to fall, as 4 QB's were taken in the 1st rd (including surprisingly Cam Newton). Here's a team by team breakdown of each team's draft. Just like season, these are simply my opinions and I could be dead wrong (Last year I proclaimed season over and Matt would win the championship, he finished 9th). If you want to see the round by round results here's the link

Wayne McGarrity Bowl Draft Results

Richard Head (Mike Posey)
QB's-Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers
RB's-Maurice Jones-Drew, Steven Jackson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Cedric Benson, Michael Bush
WR's-Steve Smith, Dez Bryant, Vincent Jackson, Randy Moss
TE's-Tony Gonzalez, Jacob Tamme
K-Matt Prater
Def- Philadelphia

Overview- Mike stunned the world by taking Aaron Rodgers #1. It's not like one of those unbelievable out of no where picks, because no doubt Rodgers is the #1 QB and is definitely a worthy #1 Pick. My philosophy was though, that QB's, WR's and to an extent TE's were pretty deep, while RB's were very thin and questionable. I thought going with one of the top 3 safe RB's (Rice, Foster, McCoy) would have been the way to go in the top 3, but Rodgers is more than worthy at #1. In fact, during the draft, Leland said he wanted Rodgers at #2, so he wouldn't have slipped past that. Posey has a super solid backup in Philip Rivers who for some reason slipped to 100 (showing how deep the position is, Rivers could be someone's starter in this league). The RB's are little more murky as MJD is a HUGE risk considering he just came back from a holdout, but he did lead the league in rushing last year. If he can get back to game shape fast, MJD could be the steal of the draft, as an end of the round 2nd round pick. Steven Jackson is a year older, and really the RB's at this point are all crapshoots, so it's not bad to go with a proven vet here. I like Posey's RB Depth a lot, with Green-Ellis, Benson (volume backs) and Michael Bush to chose from in case of injury/bye. Receivers are hit and miss, not sure if Steve Smith is a #1, but getting Dez  in the 5th round is definitely nice. Vincent Jackson is another lottery pick, he's proven in the past to have elite skills, as a #3 he's worth the risk. Posey went old reliable in Tony Gonzalez as a TE, and also drafted a backup TE in Jacob Tamme. Mike's got a very volatile team, as there are question marks at every position but QB, but it's not outside the realm of possibility that MJD and Steven Jackson put up good numbers and help Mike stay in contention for the season.

The_Twin_Killers (Leland Lawrence)
QB's-Eli Manning, Jay Cutler
RB's-Ray Rice, Doug Martin, Jacquizz Rodgers, David Wilson
WR's- Julio Jones, Victor Cruz, Eric Decker, Torrey Smith, Lance Moore
TE's-Fred Davis, Greg Olson
K-Stephen Gostkowski
Def-Seattle

Overview-Leland had his pick of running backs and for the 2nd straight year he went with Ray Rice. Rice is definitely in the conversation for top  RB in the draft, and with Leland relying on rookie Doug Martin as his RB 2, he'll need someone like Rice to carry the RB load. Martin is interesting, and definitely had the most upside of what was left. Considering he's "the guy" in Tampa, he could end up being a beast. I also like the Jacquizz Rodgers, David Wilson gambles. Michael Turner's days are numbered, and Rodgers is next in line. It's also only a matter of time before Ahmad Bradshaw gets hurt, so having the 1st round pick of the Giants (especially at pick 99) isn't a bad plan at all. Eli Manning may look like a "boring pick", but there's no question he can put up elite QB numbers like he did last season. Also Jay Cutler as a bye week fill in is a good option in my opinion. Leland is banking on Julio Jones taking the next step (which he should in that offense), and Victor Cruz resembling a lot what he did last season. The wild card here is Decker. A lot of people love him as Peyton Manning's go to guy, and he could definitely end up a very high end #3. The WR is good as Torrey Smith is a great safety valve in case of injury/bye/ineffectiveness. Lance Moore's definitely not a week to week starter, but in case of a plug in start, he's not bad. At TE, getting Fred Davis in the 8th rd is definitely worth that pick, as a lot of people are very high on him. He just needs to stay healthy and he should be a top tier TE. Greg Olson is insurance in case of a Fred Davis injury. Overall, looks like another solid draft from the team that finished 4th last season. Leland will definitely be in the mix for playoff contention.

Dr. Wily's Robots (Matt Gonzales)
QB's-Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger
RB's-Arian Foster, Marshawn Lynch, Peyton Hillis
WR's-A.J. Green, Hakeem Nicks, Percy Harvin, Greg Little, Mike Williams
TE-Vernon Davis, Jared Cook
K-Sebastian Janikowski
Def-Chicago, New England

Overview- For the 3rd straight year Matt decided to let the Yahoo Autodraft gods decide his team's fate and once again "on paper" it looks great. Arian Foster, the RB that in most drafts goes #1, slipped to him at #3, and him combined with Marshawn Lynch gives Matt a nice 1-2 punch at RB, quite possibly the best in the league. The problem here is, severe lack of depth. Remember last year, RB Depth killed Matt's chances at winning, and with Peyton Hillis as Matt's only backup, he'll have to be active in waiver wire scouting, in the event of injury and bye weeks. The receiving core is absurdly great, A.J. Green, Hakeem Nicks, and Percy Harvin, though again the WR Depth is a little lacking (Greg Little and Mike Williams). Michael Vick is extremely risky, but in the 6th rd is worth the risk for the potential upside. Big Ben though is the backup QB, and I'm not sold on him as a week to week starter if Vick gets hurt. TE is taken care as Vernon Davis should be in for another Elite season, and Jared Cook is an upside guy for that bye week. It's like Yahoo is Matt's mercenary, paid to do the dirty work. Auto-drafting loses the human element of drafting and building your own team. On paper, hands down has the potential to be a nightmare team to face and has to be a favorite to win it all. I said that last year as well, but injuries brought Matt down last year, and with a roster of Vick,Nicks, Foster, and Harvin, injuries will be a hurdle Matt might have to overcome yet again.

Breaking Bybee (Kenny Bybee)
QB-Tony Romo, Andrew Luck
RB-LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Ryan Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Ben Tate
WR-Jordy Nelson, Miles Austin, Brandon Lloyd, Kenny Britt, Randall Cobb
TE-Rob Gronkowski
K-Rob Bironas
Def-Pittsburgh

Overview-With Rodgers going #1, Kenny lucked in to a top 3 back in McCoy. 20 TD's might not be repeatable, but in a PPR league, McCoy is definitely safe for another elite fantasy season. Knowing Kenny, one of the biggest shocks of the draft was his decision to go Gronk in the 2nd round. Kenny strayed away from the RB-RB plan he had wanted. I think it's a big risk here. I'm not saying Gronk isn't elite, he definitely is, and he'll be just fine, I just think the combination of other pressing needs at WR and RB, and the many mouths Tom Brady has to feed, makes Gronk very risky. It's not a reach or anything, as he's actually the 11th ranked player in the league, just personal preference. This is a high risk high reward team, as Jamaal Charles is coming off a ACL injury and also has TD vulture Peyton Hillis waiting in the wings. I like the potential of Kenny's backup RB's. It's only a matter time before Ryan Williams takes Beanie Wells' job, and he has the potential to be that late round breakout  candidate. Jonathan Stewart has a lot of guys to deal with (Cam, Deangelo Williams, Mike Tolbert), but he went 30 spots lower than his ADP, so it's definitely a nice bargain pick. Ben Tate is worth a flier in case Arian Foster gets hurt. I'm not in love with Kenny's WR's. No doubt they are good, I just don't know if Jordy Nelson is gonna be able to come close to replicating his success from last year. Miles is always great to have..when he's healthy and he gets banged up quite a lot. I don't know why, but I have a feeling Brandon Lloyd will get lost in the mix in New England. I know his QB situation is 10X better than it ever has been, but you got Gronk, Welker, Hernandez to feed as well. Still as a WR #3 it's not bad at all. Britt is great when he's on the field, if he can stay healthy and out of trouble, he's a nice guy to stash. Randall Cobb is as well, but again, he'll need opportunity in Green Bay to be startable in bye weeks. At QB, you can't go wrong with Romo in the 7th round. You just hope that offensive line can keep Romo from getting killed and that all of Romo's weapons stay healthy all season. I think Andrew Luck is an underrated backup as well. The Colts will be airing it out all season. Kenny is always a contender, who has nice trade chips, and always scours the waiver wire looking to snatch up steals. This team has the components to either win it all, or miss the playoffs completely.

Bigger Balls (Mayra Lopez)
QB's-Drew Brees, Andy Dalton
WR's-Andre Johnson, Marques Colston, Anquan Boldin, Malcolm Floyd
RB's-Ryan Mathews, Frank Gore, Reggie Bush, Roy Helu
TE's-Brandon Pettigrew, Jermaine Gresham
K-Robbie Gould
Def-Houston, New York Jets

Overview- Mayra missed the first two rounds of the draft. It was hit (Drew Brees) and miss (Ryan Mathews). If Mayra can survive the first three weeks of the season, the Mathews pick won't be that bad, but there is a lack of solid depth at the RB position. Frank Gore's better days are past him, I really don't know how much you can trust him this season. I think when Mathews returns from injury she'll be using Reggie Bush over Gore. Helu is part of the Redskins RB Carousel and there's no telling how that's going to play out. You can't ask for more consistency than Drew Brees, but Andy Dalton as the back up QB, eh not feeling that one. I know a lot of people are down on Andre Johnson, but it's not a bad pick at all in the 3rd round. Andre Johnson and Colston are a nice 1-2 combo, but Anquan Boldin and Malcolm Floyd are pretty weak WR #3's. I like Brandon Pettigrew, and he makes for a solid TE and Mayra has another young tight end in Jermaine Gresham as a backup. Not a bad rookie draft, but it all hinges on Ryan Mathews. Mathews is a top 5 talent, and if he returns from injury and plays like he's capable of, Mayra has a solid team in the hunt for playoff contention. If not though, it's gonna be a lonnnnng season.

Chardee MacDennis (Andrew Mata)
QB's-Matthew Stafford, Joe Flacco
RB's-Darren McFadden, Adrian Peterson, Donald Brown, Toby Gerhart
WR's-Mike Wallace, Stevie Johnson, DeSean Jackson, Robert Meachem, Justin Blackmon, Kendall Wright
TE's-Aaron Hernandez
K-Dan Bailey
Def-Detroit

Overview- Andrew Mata returned to our league this season and he'll hope to work his usual magic. His RB's are the biggest lottery tickets you can have. Potentially, this can be hands down the best RB combo in the league, not even close. If and it's two big IF'S McFadden can stay healthy and Peterson can regain his elite form. Drew's known for taking gamble's and them paying off, so it's definitely a great possibility for this RB combo to work out. Stafford at QB is definitely a plus, as he's an elite QB, that can just keep getting better. Only scary thing is Stafford has had injury problems, and Drew waited long for a backup QB, and I'm not a big Joe Flacco fan. Drew needs to hope he'll only need Flacco for 1 game. Drew's other RB's are little suspect, Donald Brown is basically just a starter and Gerhart's value is tied to Peterson. Drew really stocked up on receivers, and that might help him later on for trade bait. With Mike Wallace, Stevie Johnson and DeSean Jackson, it's a solid but unspectacular core. It's Justin Blackmon and Kendall Wright that are most interesting because if one of those two pan out, he might be able to move them to upgrade somewhere else. I like Aaron Hernandez where Drew got him, and think he could be in the mix as a top 5 Tight End. This team is boom or bust basically. It can definitely win a title if everything works out, or it could blow up in Drew's face if those RB's let him down.

Channel 4 News Team (Albert Rodriguez)
QB-Tom Brady, Josh Freeman
WR-Brandon Marshall, Demaryius Thomas, Dwayne Bowe, Titus Young, Nate Washington, Jerome Simpson
RB-Trent Richardson, Willis McGahee, Beanie Wells, Isaac Redman
TE-Jimmy Graham
K-Josh Scobee
Def-Green Bay

Overview-Ummm, what happened here?! The two time defending champ on paper looks to have the worst team in the league (no offensive Albert). This team is the reason why I felt it was necessary to go with at least 1 RB in the first two rounds. Waiting until the 4th round to get a RB1 is playing with fire, and I just don't like Trent Richardson one bit. He's a rookie who's already coming off an injury and he plays for the Browns who play the Steelers and Ravens twice apiece. I'm not football expert by any means so maybe he'll prove me wrong. McGahee is not a bad #2 I guess, kinda boring, yet effective, but that was with Tebow at QB last year. It might be more of a passing offense now that Peyton Manning is there. The backup running backs are pretty bad, Beanie Wells is hardly trustworthy, and who knows how much you can trust Isaac Redman. Albert definitely got the in my opinion the best tight end option in Jimmy Graham but it cost him quality depth at the wide receiver position. For the 3rd straight year Brady will be Albert's QB, and you definitely can't wrong here. Josh Freeman as his backup though? Hopefully Brady doesn't ever get hurt. The wide receiver position is hit and miss, I definitely like Brandon Marshall, especially now that he is reunited with Jay Cutler, and I'm ok with Demaryius Thomas, but I think at this point Dwayne Bowe is just a name receiver. He has a bad QB situation, and I wouldn't be surprised if Albert ends up using Titus Young (who I like) at #3. Nate Washington is the boring veteran who can step in and start if needed on bye weeks or if the match up is right. Jerome Simpson though?? Ughhhh. Albert said it himself "I hate my team with a passion". It's a good thing these games aren't played on paper because I think it's probably the weakest team of the league. But I'll never completely count out the guy who's won the first two Wayne McGarrity Bowl Titles.

Poseidon Angryyyyyy (Meeeeeeee)
QB-Matt Ryan, Robert Griffin III
WR-Calvin Johnson, Roddy White, Pierre Garcon, Reggie Wayne, Alshon Jeffery
RB-Matt Forte, Fred Jackson, Stevan Ridley, Rashard Mendenhall, C.J. Spiller
TE-Antonio Gates
K-David Akers
Def-Baltimore

I'm alwayssssss very hard on myself and this year is no different. To be honest, I'm just not in love with my team. Will i compete, I think so, but i deviated from my plan, and it left me with a less than desirable running back attack. Megatron slipping to me at #8 was probably the worst thing that could happen. Megatron is amazing, but the depth at WR is so great, that I could've addressed this position a little later and probably changed the landscape of the draft. Had I gone with Chris Johnson, my dad probably takes Calvin and gets  Cam Newton in the 2nd, and I get Demarco Murray in the 2nd. Instead I had to settle for two running backs that I'm just not in love with in Forte (not gonna score TD's), and Fred Jackson (old, coming off injury, and C.J. Spiller is waiting in the wings). I'm hoping  Roddy White won't lose too many targets to an emerging Julio Jones, but I'm comfortable with him as a  #2 receiver. My #3 is cause me headaches as i nabbed both Garcon and Wayne. Matchup will probably dictate who I play. My only other receiver is taking a flier on Alshon Jeffery who has a chance to be a sleeper in Chicago. I totally don't like my RB Depth, Stevan Ridley might be the starter for now in New England, but how much are they really gonna run? Mendenhall in the 11th round is more of a long term flier. He might be worth owning in the 2nd half of the season. C.J. Spiller is Fred Jackson insurance. I'm happy with Matt Ryan in the 6th round, think he can have a great season and Gates looks to be 100% so I like the value there in the 5th. It's very risky to take a rookie QB, but I think RGIII has  Cam Newton upside and if I only have to use him for a week, I think I should be fine. Yahoo says I had the best draft, and Albert won that award last season and ended up taking home the title. It's probably not as bad as a team as I think, it's just not as flashy as I want it to be (outside of Calvin Johnson).

The Bad Robofies (My Dad)
QB-Cam Newton, Matt Schaub
WR-Wes Welker, Jeremy Maclin, Denarius Moore, Michael Crabtree
RB-Demarco Murray, Darren Sproles, Deangelo Williams, Kevin Smith
TE-Jermichael Finley, Brent Celek
K-Mason Crosby, John Kasay
Defense-San Fransisco

Overview- Cam Newton became a surprise 1st round pick after Drew Brees and Tom Brady went off the board early. I think dad felt burned by Chris Johnson and didn't want to mess with him this season. I actually like the gamble and think it's definitely a nice outside the box pick. I think though he should've gone with Philip Rivers, RGIII, Andrew Luck, or even  Carson Palmer as a backup over Schaub, but he's not too bad of a spot starter. I think my dad's weakness is drafting depth and bye week fill ins. I love the #1 and #2 receivers of Welker and Maclin ,especially getting Maclin in the 6th round, but the rest of the receiving depth is very week. I'm not a fan of Denarius Moore and Michael Crabtree has shown nothing that makes me think he'll be relevant. Dad will have to keep an eye on the waivers and find someone in the season who's worthy of an add. Dad took Demarco Murray in the 2nd. It's a pick I would've done, but it does come with some risk. Murray was on fire last year before a season ending injury, and he doesn't have a lot of experience, but has elite skills and in a PPR could definitely be worth the early 2nd round pick. Sproles in a PPR is definitely a nice solid #2, he does a little bit of everything and every returns kicks, so that's an added bonus. Again, not thrilled with the backup RB's, if anything Kevin Smith would probably be next in line. Dad will have to keep up and see if anyone comes out of nowhere and pick that person up. Jermichael Finley has all the tools to be an elite TE, and he wasn't bad last year just a little overhyped. Perfectly fine with him going where he went. That offense is crazy scary so Finley looks to be a big part of it. Celek isn't too bad of a backup option as well. By the way, worst pick of the draft? John Kasay, who's not even on a team anymore. I think it's definitely a solid sophomore effort from Dad, and if Newton improves on last year, and Murray picks right back up where he was last season, Dad will be definitely be in the mix of top title  contenders.

Hoosier Daddy (Ryan McKinnis)
QB-Peyton Manning
WR-Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings, Antonio Brown, Darrius Heyward Bey, Sidney Rice
RB-Chris Johnson, Michael Turner, Ahmad Bradshaw, Shonn Greene, Rashad Jennings, Evan Royster
TE-Jason Witten
K-Jason Hanson
Def-New York Giants

Overview- Last but not least is Ryan who drafted last in the 1st round. I think he got excellent value in Chris Johnson at the 10 spot, considering Kenny thought about him at #4. The rest of the running backs though are very suspect. I'm not a Michael Turner guy at all, he wasn't bad last season, but I just don't think he'll be that effective this season. Ahmad Bradshaw is another guy I'm just not high on. He'll be the guy, but I see David Wilson creeping up on him sooner or later (he was the Giants #1 pick this season) and he has injury problems as well. Shonn Greene has been given chance after chance and shown nothing in terms of being a fantasy back you can count on. The only plus about him is that he's the starter. Rashad Jennings would have been a nice running back to own if MJD had held out longer, but he figures to not factor too much beyond the first a couple games of the season. Royster probably has the most upside in the Washington platoon but I still wouldn't touch that situation at all. I think Ryan has the 2nd strongest receiving core in the league behind Matt. Fitzgerald, Jennings, and Antonio Brown are all dangerous, especially where he got Antonio Brown. I'm not a big fan of DHB, but I guess he can be serviceable. Sidney Rice in my opinion does not provide much value at all. Ryan's biggest hole is lack of a backup QB. He didn't draft one, and the ones left are very mediocre. He better pray Manning doesn't get hurt. He's in trouble if he does. I think the sleeper pick is Jason Witten. He fell to the 11th round due to injury, and he might miss the first couple of games, but he's definitely someone worth stashing for long haul. Overall, Ryan's strength of Chris Johnson and his receiving trio should keep him competitive and he'll be a contender if Peyton Manning can stay healthy.

And that's that. Games start on Wednesday, I'll be doing matchup previews tomorrow probably if I have time. It's time to get this season started!!