Keepers Are In!

Well, Hurricane Harvey tried..but not even that massive hurricane could stop our league from chugging along. Keepers were delayed a tad as the Hurricane affected a few us here in Texas, but luckily everyone in our league is OK and ready for Monday's draft! Here's a team by team look at who kept who this season.

Leland (No Soup For You)

Keepers: David Johnson (14th Round)
               Michael Thomas (10th Round)

Analysis: This was never in doubt and this along with the #1 pick are the main reasons Leland is the preseason favorite to win it all for a 3rd time. Now he was the preseason favorite last year and it didn't work out so just because you have the best "on paper" team, doesn't mean it translates into automatic success, but it's definitely a huge advantage to have two guys who are elite at their position in double digit rounds along with the #1 pick to use on the best of the rest of the bunch.

Ryan (Hoosier Daddy)

Keepers: Ezekiel Ellliot (1st Round)
               Michael Crabtree (6th Round) 

Analysis: Ryan struggled with this decision, but ultimately regardless of what happens with Zeke, this is a keeper league and Ryan just couldn't let someone like Zeke go. This was a definitely a move with the future in mind, which depending on Zeke's suspension going forward or being overturned, might cost him dearly this season, but it was necessary. Crabtree isn't a bad keep in the 6th round. It sounds boring, but he puts up pretty good numbers and is definitely worth keeping at that price.

Alex (SCLSU MudDogs)

Keepers:  Le'Veon Bell (1st Round)
                Jimmy Graham (11th Round)

Analysis: So the defending champion is no dummy..he's not going to repeat his "no keepers" strategy from last season..not when he has Le'Veon Bell at his disposal. The 2nd keeper was a little more tricky as he had a couple of nice candidates. At the end, I think Jimmy Graham in the 11th round is tremendous value, especially at a position as thin as tight end. There's basically only 5 guys you want (and Graham is one of them) before you just start playing the guessing game. Definitely a great 1st step for Alex as he tries to defend his title.

Me (Catch My Javelin!)

Keepers: Mike Evans (1st Round)
               Jameis Winston (11th Round)

Analysis: I'm not going to lie..I get really jealous when others get to keep their studs at cheap prices, while mine is going to cost me my 1st round pick, but there's now way I can put Mike Evans back in the draft pool. He'd no doubt get snatched up in the first 5 picks if I did. Unfortunately, just like last year, I had no stand out 2nd keeper, so I just rolled the dice on my QB with Jameis Winston in the 11th. I'm hoping he takes the next step and becomes an even better QB than he has been the last two seasons. He's got more offensive weapons at his disposal so I've got high expectations for him and the price is right.

Drew (BABY CARROTS)

Keepers: Allen Robinson (6th Round)

Analysis: Not gonna sugar coat this..Drew's going to have to hit a home run in the draft, because he basically isn't getting any help when it comes to keepers. Allen Robinson is just a prayer of a keeper as Drew hopes he can regain his 2015 form. And that's it...that's all he's keeping. Robinson sucking won't make or break Drew, but it automatically puts him at a disadvantage as most teams were able to keep at least one elite player on their team.

Marc (Shock The Monkey)

Keepers: DeMarco Murray (4th Round)

Analysis: Marc is another team that decided to just keep one player but at least it's a solid RB at a cheap price in DeMarco Murray. Most teams are going to struggle with RB's this season and at least Marc has advantage off the bat with Murray. That and the 4th pick is a great start to a bounce back season for Marc.

Dad (BigBadBob)

Keepers: Devante Adams (5th Round)
               Devanta Freeman (9th Round)

Analysis: Freeman in the 9th round is just an absolute steal and kudos again to Dad for making that late season trade with Ryan last year to acquire Freeman. For Dad's second keeper, he's going with Devante Adams who's definitely worth the 5th round flier Dad took on him. If he comes close to the production he had last year, this too, will be a steal at the price. Dad also picks #2 so I really like Dad's chances at redemption after last year's disaster of a season.

Kenny (Easy Beasley)

Keepers: Antonio Brown (1st Round)
               Jay Ajayi (12th Round)

Analysis: Again, this was never in doubt. The minute Kenny decided to rejoin the league, he knew these were going to be his keepers. You can never go wrong with Antonio Brown and Jay Ajayi in the 12th round is no risk, super high reward.  It's definitely a great start for Kenny's comeback tour.

Mike (Woe Is You)

Keepers: Odell Beckham Jr. (1st Round)
              Terrelle Pryor (14th Round)

Analysis: Beckham is one of those no brainer picks, even if it means no 1st round pick, because where Mike picks this year, he wouldn't be able to reaquire him should he have let him go. Pryor is definitely an interesting keep option as the expectations are high for him in Washington. Lucky for Mike it only cost him his final pick of the draft in the 14th round. Very smart low risk move as Mike looks to build on last year's playoff appearance.

Eugene (Rocket Man)

Keepers: Julio Jones (1st Round)
               Melvin Gordon (5th Round)

Analysis: This was one of the tougher group of keepers as Eugene had solid value keepers at his disposal. At the end he goes with Julio Jones, a top 5 WR, and a constant on Eugene's team and Melvin Gordon, who's ranked as a high end running back and value was too good to pass up in Round 5. Definitely couldn't go wrong with whoever he decided to keep, but strategy wise this was probably the best combination to keep, especially considering the lack of depth at the RB position.

Albert (Channel 4 News Team)

Keepers: LeSean McCoy (2nd Round)
               Ty Montgomery (6th Round)

Analysis: McCoy was a no brainer in Round 2, but Albert took a gamble and felt that keeping Jordan Howard in Round 1 was just too rich for his blood and decided to go with a value pick with Ty Montgomery in Round 6. Montgomery is definitely a risk keep as well, just not as high as Howard is. Sometimes playing it safe is the smart thing to do. We'll see if Albert made the right choice as the season rolls on.

Matt (Light's Broken Bots)

Keepers: Tom Brady (7th Round)
               Jordy Nelson (10th Round)

Analysis: It looks like Matt might fix those Broken Bots this season because this is definitely a great start to his squad. Brady in the 7th is really solid and of course Jordy Nelson in the 10th gives Matt a great start to this next season. He also picks 3rd overall. Matt's definitely going to have a team to watch this season.


And now...we wait for Monday's draft! We're getting closer and closer to the start of Year 8 of the Wane McGarity Bowl!!