Month: August 2024

Maryanne Smith League Season 24 Draft Grades

bradleybertoniere Fantasy Football, NFL , , ,

Here we are again.  Drafting fantasy football teams together for almost a quarter of a century.  The draft was a ton of fun.  I love it when we all get together whether in person or virtually.  Hopefully the fates will smile down upon us and give us an opportunity to get together in person soon.  But even a zoom call made for a fun and entertaining couple of hours.  Thank you to all that joined.

Now that the sentimental BS is over with let’s get to what you came here for.  Grades.  As always I’ll give my thoughts on players, teams, and give a subjective, arbitrary grade that means nothing.  Last year my grades went like this:

Contenders:

  1. Stephen: A
  2. Max: A
  3. Logan: A

Can Compete:

4. Andy: B+

5. Michael: B

6. Brad: B

7. Caleb: C+

Better Luck Next Year:

8. Quentin: D+

9. Ben: D

10. Josh: F

Now the playoff teams wind up being Stephen, Brad, Caleb, and Josh, with Stephen winning it all.  He got the highest grade and won it all.  Is that how it works?  No.  But I’m building credibility so you believe what I say next.

1. Michael. 

Mike gets first pick and took the “manimal” Christian McCaffrey.  CMC was on Mike’s Super Bowl winning teams in 2019 and 2018.  He was also on Brad’s Super Bowl winning team in 2017.  Since then he hasn’t won a super bowl for his team.  Can Mike turn it around?  CMC was on Caleb’s roster last year and that was good for a 3rd place regular season and 3rd place final standing finish.  Last season CMC averaged 22.36 fantasy points per game in half ppr.  San Fran has a high implied scoring total estimation during the playoffs this year.  This was the correct pick and Mike didn’t hesitate come draft day.

At the end of Round 2, Mike’s plan of drafting Isiah Pacheco was disrupted by Max taking the Chiefs bellcow one pick before him.  Instead Michael selected Drake London at 2.10.  He wasn’t sure who take after that, so he turned to the league for assistance.  Brad took the call and moved up 3 spots via trade.  A saavy move by Mike that would pay off for him in the 4th round.  Now when it comes to Drake London going ahead of Davante Adams, Chris Olave, Deebo, Mike Evans, Jaylen Waddle, DJ Moore, etc.  London has finished as WR#36 and WR#39 in two NFL seasons.  The Falcons have the easiest schedule this season according to Warren Sharp and other than Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney, London should have the lion’s share of targets.  Michael plants his flag and says London WILL breakout in Year 3 and will be better than all of the wideouts I mentioned.  He’s talented.  Let’s see if Captain Kirk can make the vision become reality.  Mike wind up trading Brad’s pick with Quentin to acquire Jalen Hurts at 3.5.  I like Hurts and think he should be a Top 5 fantasy QB with Kellen Moore calling the plays for the Eagles.  Having Barkley helps too.

In Round 4 Mike had the benefit of that earlier trade with Brad, so he was drafting from the 4.7 spot.  The perfect spot to take Malik Nabers.  Nabers looks like a monster, and I can see him being taken in the late first next year.  IF he gets some consistent QB play.  Daniel Jones is in a prove it year (like every year of his career I feel like), but they have Drew Lock backing him up.  Nabers should get a ton of targets and I thought this was a slam dunk pick.  I consistently selected Nabers at 4.7 in my mocks.

In Round 5 Mike traded back with Josh, trading 5.1 and 6.10 for 5.6 and 6.5 and swapping 12ths.  Mike takes Trey McBride at 5.6.  Love this pick.  Think McBride is helped by the added Marvin Harrison weapon for the Cardinals and Kyler is healthier than ever.  In the 6th Mike takes Rashee Rice.  Big pick here.  Rice has several potential felony charges involved with a car accident with injuries where he allegedly fled the scene.  This dug up some earlier scouting reports that had concerns with Rice and who he hung out with during his time at SMU.  As of right now there is no indication from the league if/when he will be suspended for this accident.  Which means Mike has a Top 2 target for Patrick Mahomes and the back-to-back Super Bowl winning Chiefs to start the year.  With Hollywood Brown missing time due to an injured shoulder, Rice will be competing with Travis Kelce and rookie phenom Xavier Worthy for early season targets.  We’ll see if Rice plays the whole season or if this incident comes back to bite.  High risk/high reward type of call here.

In Round 7 Mike took good value in Rhamondre Stevenson.  He got paid this offseason like the now and future starter.  One must worry a little bit about Antonio Gibson’s role.  Gibson can be a decent 3rd down back.  The other thing to worry about is the Patriots might be terrible again.  They have one of the hardest schedules in the NFL this season looking at implied win total.  The hope is volume with Rhamondre.  In Round 8 Mike took Chase Brown.  I think Zach Moss is a perfect fit in that offense.  Everyone keeps saying Brown is the guy, but unless Zach Moss is dead, I don’t think Brown is as big a thing as people are letting on.  We’ll see though.   He had that great 50+ yard touchdown last year on a screen pass.

In Round 9 Tony Pollard.  Seems like the Titans are going to be an electrifying offense and have two pass catching backs that are going to split time evenly.  Pollard is now a full year and a half removed from his broken ankle and his main competition Tyjae Spears has no knee cartilage.

Mike got good value late with Jameson Williams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rico Dowdle, and Jaylen Wright.

Draft Grade: B+.  Mike was trading all over the place but the end result was good.  Hurts-CMC-Nabers-McBride is a great core.  Mike has depth at RB and some high upside WR depth too.  The path to the playoffs for Mike will be if London’s 3rd breakout happens according to plan, if Malik Nabers can overcome potentially inconsistent QB play, and whether or not the NFL cracks down on Rashee Rice at some point this season.  Solid job.

2. Max.

Last year Max got an “A” draft grade, but it didn’t work out.  Injuries plagued him and he struck out on Tee Higgins and Dameon Pierce.  But this is a new year.  Max got a monster with Breece Hall.  He finished last season with games of 37.1-23.1-28.0 fantasy points.  If he can carry that momentum into this year, a year further removed from his knee injury.  Look out.

At the end of the 2nd round he went Isiah Pacheco.  Pacheco finished as RB#16 last year.  The Chiefs defense got worse in the offseason in my opinion.  And all signs point to them passing more and having more shootouts.  With that being said, Pacheco is the starting running back on a very good football team.  That’s a good asset to have.

At pick 3.2 Max went trips RB with PPR machine Alvin Kamara.  He missed 3 games to start the year last year and sat out Week 18, but finished as RB#14.  15 half ppr points per game average though.  Expanded over the whole season he would’ve finished RB #5.  He caught 75 catches on 86 targets for 466 yards.  It was his worst Yards per catch of his career, but the Saints added no new running backs.  We drafted an OT with our first pick.  The offense is virtually the same.  It’s not crazy to think he keeps up this PPR pace.  If he played the whole season with the reception average he had he would have had 98 catches last year.

In Round 4 Max goes DJ Moore.  LOVED this pick.  Caleb Williams is an upgrade at QB.  Last year he was WR#6.  How he fell to you at 4.9 is a mystery.  They did add Keenan Allen and drafted Rome Odunze.  But DJ Moore and Rome are locked in long term.  Keenan Allen is a one year rental.  DJ Moore is the wideout to have on the Bears and this was a great pick.

In Round 5 you got tremendous value in Devonta Smith.  Smith was WR#20 last year, regressing a bit from his sophomore campaign, but in comes Kellen Moore for OC.  The same Kellen Moore that led to Keenan Allen’s blow-up last year.  Will AJ Brown remain X and will they put Smith in the valuable move him all around role? It’s possible, which means Smith could smash his ADP.

In Round 6 Max took Kyler Murray.  This was a little early for QBs this year for me personally, but I think Kyler is locked in to be a Top 10 Fantasy QB this season.  I’m high on the Cardinals this season.

In Round 7 you took George Pickens.  He is the #1 WR on the Steelers.  Arthur Smith.  Russ Wilson or Justin Fields.  Toughest schedule in the NFL according to Warren Sharp.  But someone has to catch passes.  Pickens wanted to be the alpha with all his complaining last couple of seasons.  Well here is your chance hot shot.  Max even said when he drafted him that he wanted an asshole on his team lol.

In Round 8 you took Javonte Williams.  Meh.  I am avoiding the Broncos backs for the most part.  But this was decent value in case he can return to his pre knee injury form from a couple years ago.  9th Round Taysom Hill.  This might be sneaky good.  TE finishes last 4 years: TE#4, #13, #5, #10.  But just in case you took Dallas Goedert with the next pick.  Good value picks with Austin Ekeler, Keon Coleman in the later rounds.

Draft Grade: A.  I think Max did a great job again.  This team scares me more than some others in the league.  I’m glad Max isn’t in my division.

3. Stephen.

The King Slayer Stephen Kelly returns to defend his crown.  The league was staring at a potential Brad three-peat.  God knows what would have happened if Brad had won it all.  The White Knight Stephen took him out.  Stephen’s first five picks were phenomenal.  In Round 1 he starts with Bijan Robinson.  Bijan has the easiest schedule, has a better QB.  And the passing game coordinator for the Rams that made Kyren Williams a thing is now the Falcons OC.  Bijan was RB#9 last year but missed two games that he was active for due to a headache and flu-like symptoms.  But Arthur Smith kept him active like a dick.  The skies the limit for this back.

In Round 2 Stephen took Puka Nacua.  Puka’s ADP dropped due to a bursa sac knee injury.  All signs point to him being ready for Week 1, although they might be a bit cautious with his snap count.  Cooper Kupp is also back and healthy so we’ll see if Puka can repeat his rookie phenom season or if he backtracks a bit in Year 2.  When they were both on the field at the end of last season there were some games where they were split down the middle, others where Puka disappeared and others where Kupp disappeared.  They are going to be a problem for opposing defenses.

In Round 3 Stephen goes Deebo Samuel.  Little early looking at ESPN ADP, but right on the money if you look at competitive best ball tournaments.  The San Fran offense goes through Deebo.  That was obvious last year.  When he was healthy, they won.  When he wasn’t they didn’t.  Despite missing 3 weeks last year he finished WR#12 and averaged 14.25 points per game.  Solid.

In Round 4 Stephen took Nico Collins.  3rd year breakout last year was great.  Finished as WR#9.  The concern for a repeat this season is the addition of Stefon Diggs in the offseason.  But Nico got a contract extension and he’s the #1.  I think Diggs provides depth and a true 2nd wideout for 2 WR sets opposed to Tank Dell who is like a mighty mouse/speedster.  Diggs started last year strong but then played horribly to finish the year.  He might be dust.

In Round 5 Stephen takes James Cook.  My word.  In my other leagues Cook was a 2nd round pick.  Stephen gets him in Round 5.  This is nuts!  Cook was the bell cow last year when Joe Brady took over play calling for the Bills.  Only problem was Latavius Murray.  Cook would be used to get to redzone then they would take him out.  I’m banking on some of that, but maybe less now that his backups are all rookies?  Maybe?  I think Bills defense takes a big step back this year and Cook can catch more passes out of the backfield, we’ll see.

In Round 6 Stephen doubled up on Bills with Dalton Kincaid.  I don’t have issues with Kincaid.  But Dawson Knox is still there and will take TE snaps away.  Kincaid could play more slot, but that is where new addition Curtis Samuel specializes.  They have MVS and Keon Coleman as weapons on the outside.  It’s a bit of a mess, but maybe Kincaid can earn the lion’s share of targets?  I liked Evan Engram and Jake Ferguson over Kincaid this season.  More on that later.

In Round 7 Stephen took Joe Burrow.  Geaux Tigers!  Everyone hopes that Joe is back to 100% after a scary surgery involving his hand ligaments.  Good value in a pair of panthers Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Brooks.  Then just for shits and giggles Stephen got the scary Mahomes new toy in Xavier Worthy.

Draft Grade: A+.  Stephen crushed this draft.  I don’t give out A+’s often.  His team has no weakness.  He has a legitimate shot to repeat.  Wow.  Just blown away by this.

4. Brad.

24 years ago a nervous Bradley leaned over to Michael not knowing who he should pick.  Michael was chewing on one of his mechanical pencils as he always did.  Leaned over and pointed to the ESPN sheet I was holding.  “He’s really good.”  I nodded in agreement and selected my first fantasy football player ever.  “Marvin Harrison”.  Now here we are.  Adults.  And I had an opportunity to draft Marvin Harrison’s son, Marvin Harrison Jr.  I know sentiment and feelings shouldn’t be considered when making logical decisions.  It takes more than good juju to win in fantasy football.  But I was willing to sacrifice this entire season for nostalgia and to be able to honor the memory of that faithful day 24 years ago.  Moments matter.

With all that being said, Marvin Harrison Jr was a terrible first round pick.  His ADP was 21 according to ESPN.  But he was born to play this game.  He’s built like CeeDee Lamb or AJ Green, much bigger than his father was.  I’m bullish on the Cardinals this season.  Kyler is healthier.  MHJ should get high targets immediately.  He’ll get going early and often this season.

In Round 2 Brad selects Kyren Williams.  Kyren finished as RB#6 last year despite missing 3 weeks.  His average fantasy points per game (19.9) was #2 amongst Running Backs only behind CMC.  Now the passing game coordinator of the Rams is now the OC of the Falcons.  And the Rams did draft Blake Corum from Michigan.  Corum of course scored 27 touchdowns last year and helped end Nick Saban’s career with this run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NBDegpbe90

And Kyren was dealing with a foot injury this offseason.  But if he can stay healthy and hold off Corum he should continue to smash.

In Round 3 Mike asked if anybody wanted to move up to 3.1.  Seeing Travis Etienne Jr there I had to take the bait.  It cost me Malik Nabers in the next round, but I was happy to get Etienne.  Etienne was RB#3 last year.  His efficiency was terrible as he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, but he caught 58 passes on 73 targets, scored 12 total touchdowns, and played in every game.  The Jaquars offensive line should be better this year.  And Trevor Lawrence played through multiple injuries last year and should be healthy and ready to go.  They’ve also swapped out weapons Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones for Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis.  An improvement in my opinion.

In Round 4 I missed out on Malik Nabers but was able to take Joe Mixon at 4.10.  Why Mixon?  Mixon seems to have a lock on RB1 duties for a good-looking Texans team.  He could smash this season.  He was RB#5 last year in a similar fashion to Etienne.  High volume, low efficiency, played every game.  Going Kyren-Etienne-Mixon for Brad is like the pioneers that crossed the Oregon Trail.  They had mules.  They aren’t pretty or graceful like horses.  But they get the job done.

In Round 5 Brad goes DK Metcalf.  Metcalf’s last four years of fantasy finishes: 6, 11, 18, 16.  He’s consistently a WR1/WR2.  The new Offense Coordinator is Ryan Grubb, who served as OC for the University of Washington that saw 574 pass attempts out of 985 total plays (58%).  Now was that a product of having Penix, Odunze, Polk, and McMillan?  Or will Grubbs bring that passing rate to the Seahawks?  So far Metcalf is my most rostered player for 2024.  Just a solid choice who can score at any time.  One of my main reasons for drafting him?  I don’t want to play against him.

Round 6: Terry McLaurin.  Another boring veteran.  He’s typically a fringe WR2/WR3.  Last year he finished as WR#28 on a terrible Washington team.  The O Line was a disaster.  Sam Howell was a disaster.  But everything is different.  Jayden Daniels is a cheat code.  Could McLaurin have a career year?  I certainly think it’s a possibility.  Daniels should be the best QB he’s had in his career.  Boring pick, but a tickle of upside here.  Think Kliff Kingsbury’s first year in Arizona and what he did for DeAndre Hopkins.

Round 7 Brad takes Evan Engram.  Seems like good value.  He was TE#2 last year and caught 114 passes.  I do expect some regression in that department with the additions of Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr., but even the year before he was Tight End #6.

In Round 8 Brad continued his onslaught of Honda Civic players with Chris Godwin.  Godwin will move back into the slot this season, which is where he thrived a few years ago.  In Round 9 Brad made his crucial error of the draft.  More egregious than MHJ in the first.  He took Brian Robinson Jr.  He should have taken Jayden Daniels.  With everyone having their QB locked in Brad got greedy thinking he can wait one more round for Daniels.  Caleb had other plans.  Now Robinson was RB#22 last year despite missing a couple games and they added the talented but aging Austin Ekeler.  This coaching staff is new.  Brad went RB depth over upside starting QB.  The error could cost him big time.

In Round 10 Brad takes Jake Ferguson.  Ferguson should be the #2 target on the Cowboys.  He smashed in the playoff game against the Packers last year, catching 3 touchdowns.  He could easily finish a Top 5 tight end this season and jump over aging super stars in the category like Kelce and Kittle.  After missing on Daniels Brad decided to double up on Tight End, knowing there were still several good Qbs out there.

In Round 11 Brad’s consolation prize was Jordan Love.  Love was QB#5 last year.  His weapons are legit.  He got paid like a Super Star.  Can he repeat his Top 5 Fantasy finish?  Late picks were meh and will probably all get dropped at some point.  Although Gabe Davis is always fun for a Boom/Bust spot start.

Draft Grade:  -1 Letter Grade for MHJ in first.  -1 Letter Grade for whiffing on Jayden Daniels.  This looks like a typical Brad team.  Going to put up 85-105 points.  Not going to pop off for 150 any weeks.  But will be consistent and solid and make you show up to beat them.  I swear I stared at this roster for an hour after our draft not knowing what to make of it.  It’s not like any I’ve seen before.  I believe the correct Gen Alpha vernacular is “It’s Mid”.  Draft Grade: C

5. Quentin.  

After Brad got sentimental, Quentin got back to business taking Justin Jefferson.  Many rankers have Tyreek, Chase, and Lamb over JJ this season, but they all have some issues.  Chase and Lamb are holding out for new contracts.  Tyreek has a little wrist injury he’s working through.  JJ’s concern is his QB is Sam Darnold and his other stars Addison and TJ Hockenson are banged up to start the season.  The worry with the Vikings right now is this.  If they are terrible, they may shut down their super star so he doesn’t get hurt later on in the year.  I think it’s premature to say stuff like that and love the upside of the stud who averages almost 100 yards per game in his career so far.

In Round 2 Quentin gets Jonathan Taylor.  WTF is the back half of the draft doing?  In fact every single team that drafted from Picks #6-10 is getting docked a letter grade for passing on Jonathan Taylor twice.  You idiots!  I swear Quentin if you would have passed on him and I would have gotten him yall would have erased my penalty for taking MHJ.  JT has a legit chance to lead the league in rushing yards this season.  I can see him rushing for 1800 yards.  People just like… Nah!  Great pick Quentin.

In Round 3 Quentin did the weird trade thing with Mike but landed on Patrick Mahomes.  Mahomes fantasy finishes every year being a starter: 1, 7, 4, 4, 1, 8.  Last year was his worst year as a starter.  They still won it all.  Now they lost some key people on defense.  And they added Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Xavier Worthy.  He should be back as a Top 4 fantasy QB this year with an outside chance of breaking passing records this season.  He doesn’t run, but look at the finishes.  It doesn’t really matter.

In Round 4 Quentin got great value in Jaylen Waddle.  Waddle is a stud and if Tyreek Hill wasn’t in Miami Waddle would be a late 1st/early 2nd round pick.  Now he had a down year last year while Tyreek was trying to get 2000 yards.  (He finished with 1799).  But this year Tyreek has said that is not his goal this year because it would be selfish.  I think that says they are going to spread it out a little more evenly and Waddle’s numbers go up.  They paid him like they will anyway.

In Round 5 the head scratcher.  Lamar Jackson.  It’s a 10-team league Quentin.  There are 12 starting Qb’s available via free agency right now post-draft.  My strategy was to wait as long as possible to draft a QB.  Quentin has two after five rounds.  Lamar Jackson averaged 21.14 points per game last year for his QB#4 finish.  Jordan Love, who I drafted in Round 11, averaged 19.42 points.

In Round 6 George Kittle after a trade with Stephen.  Kittle was quiet last year and yet still finished as TE#5.  That gives him 3 seasons in a row finishing as a Top 5 Fantasy Tight End.  With his playing style he has played exactly 1 full NFL season in 7.  But he does tough it out and suits up for most of them.  Also, if you watched Receiver on Netflix you know he isn’t afraid to get an injection and go back out there and throw his body around to help his team win.

In Round 7 Quentin finally takes his 2nd RB with Aaron Jones.  He was banged up last year and is going to be 30 in December.  Reports out of camp is the plan is for him to handle 15-18 touches per game, which is solid.  But will the Vikings be good with Sam Darnold at the helm?  Doubling up with Vikings means you think so.  At least Jones should play well in his two Packers revenge games.

In Round 8 Quentin took Keenan Allen.  Keenan Allen who I shat on last year right before he popped off for a WR#8 finish in only 13 games of action, averaging over 17 points per game.  We’ll see how Caleb Williams distributes the ball for the Bears, but with Rome and DJ Moore locked in long term it seems Allen is just a 1-year rental.  Do you throw him the ball a bunch to use and abuse him or do you work on your rapport with your buddies that will be with you long term?

In Round 9 Nick Chubb.  We’ll see if Chubb can return to former glory after having his leg nearly break off last year in Week 2.  He’s a grinder so I won’t bet on him not coming back, but if I’m the Browns I’m not giving him 30 carries any time soon.

Loved Gus Edwards in Round 10.  Should be the starter for Greg Roman’s offense for the Chargers.  They want to pound the rock.  Insert Gus Bus who rushed for over 800 yards and 13 touchdowns last year.

Draft Grade: C+.  Love the core of Mahomes-JT-JJ-Waddle-Kittle.  But RB2, Flex, and WR depth concern me.  You know, might have been a good time to address one of those areas around Round 5 when you were taking YOUR 2ND QB IN A 10 TEAM LEAGUE.

***Every Team Drafting 6th-10th lost 1 letter grade as a result on passing on Jonathan Taylor twice***

6. Josh.

Tyreek again!  Tyreek smashed last year.  He had an offseason goal of getting 2000 yards and the crazy bastard almost did it (He finished with 1799).  But Tyreek has said that is not his goal this year because it would be selfish of him.  But he’s still Tyreek.  Even if he gets 1500 yards instead of almost 1800 I think you’ll be okay.  My concern with him is Week 17 they play @ Cleveland.  So if you make the Super Bowl he might have another Frozen game like in Kansas City last year when they couldn’t do anything.  But that’s a long ways away.

In Round 2 you took Derrick Henry.  Now I would have loved this pick.  I’m big on Henry this year on the Ravens.  If Gus Edwards can get 800 yards and 13 touchdowns then surely Derrick Henry can do more than that right?  But taking him over Jonathan Taylor was ludicrous.  Last year was a mess.  I get that.  He had the contract crap, the ankle crap, then randomly he broke his hand and missed a few more games.  But heading into the year he’s healthy, he’s happy, he’s signed long term.  He’s ready to SMASH.  Love Henry, but not over JT.  No way.

In Round 3 you took Pfizer spokesperson Travis Kelce.  He’s 34 and obviously dating Taylor Swift.  He’s back on a two year deal hoping to do the unthinkable.  Win a third championship in a row.  Kelce who despite missing a couple games last season still finished as TE#3 extending his streak of consecutively Top 3 TE finishes to 8 seasons.  Can he make it 9?

In Round 4 Josh takes Josh.  Jacobs that is.  When this offseason signing happened my initial thought was it was a good fit.  I do think Josh Jacobs will be better in Green Bay than Aaron Jones was last year.  Jacob’s signed on for a few years and should be ready to roll.  The Packers offense looks scary and Jacobs should do well, especially when the weather gets colder.  I had Mixon and Cook ranked higher than him in my rankings, but I could certainly see Jacobs outscoring both of them.

In Round 5 you traded with Michael to obtain a Michael. Pittman Jr that is.  Pittman finished as WR #15 last year despite Gardner Minshew throwing him the ball for most of the season.  Anthony Richardson is back, so a bigger arm could help Pittman’s prospects.  Great value in Round 5 I think.

At the end of the 6th round Josh got his QB in… Brock Purdy.  Over Burrow, Dak, Jayden Daniels.  Purdy was QB#6 last year.  That’s true.  Did you need to take him here though?  Tough to say.  I think you should have waited.  Especially considering you were able to get Caleb Williams in Round 10.

In Round 7 Josh takes Tee Higgins.  I’m down with it.  He has all the potential in the world, but it hasn’t materialized yet.  Maybe if Burrow and him are both healthy this year and Chase is a little slower due to his contract disputes maybe Tee can make the magic happen.  He’s on the franchise tag and is looking to secure a huge contract in the offseason.  Great pick.

In Round 8 Josh takes Tulane stud Tyjae Spears.  I think the answer to Tony Pollard versus Tyjae Spears is “Yes”.  Spears showed flashes of brilliance last year while backing up Derrick Henry.  Spears hype train was derailed a bit this offseason when the Titans signed redundant Tony Pollard to a 3 year $21.75 milly contract.  Pollard is a better catcher than runner and Spears last year caught 52/70 targets for 385 receiving yards and a TD.  All offseason I’ve seen it’s a 1A and 2A situation where they will be interchangeable.  But if Brian Callahan splits the work and airs it out more than previous Derrick Henry/Mike Vrabel seasons then it should be a fun show to watch.  And if one of them gets hurt, look out.

In Round 9 Josh goes Calvin Ridley sticking to the Titans theme.  I think he’ll be used in a similar fashion as he was in Jacksonville.  The Titans new OC was the Jaguars passing game coordinator last year.  Stick with who you know I guess.  DeAndre Hopkins has a knee injury which should help Ridley.  It’s all up to Will Levis.

In Round 10 Josh got Caleb Williams.  High upside pick.  Great value with Jakobi Meyers late.

Draft Grade:  B-.  Passing on JT and reaching on Purdy should’ve been enough to get you to your normal C to D range, but your team is solid.  Two manimals at RB.  4 Solid Wideouts.  Some depth.  Josh.  I see the improvement and I appreciate you.  Remember Stephen drafted you into his division.  Make him pay.

7. Logan.

CeeDee Lamb!  #1 WR’s from previous seasons don’t normally fall to 7th.  Lamb’s contract situation needs to be worked out sooner rather than later, but he’s a stud.  I remember when he was drafted into the NFL.  Falcons were on the clock and passed on him for a Cornerback.  Dallas took him despite already having Amari Cooper because they drafted on talent not on need.  Falcons suck.  Dig the pick.

In the 2nd round you had quite the dilemma.  AJ Brown, who was going in firsts for most drafts.  Or secure that first RB.  I would have taken AJB over Henry and Kyren like you did.  But over JT?  I don’t think I could’ve done it.  But AJ Brown is a stud.  His two seasons in Philly he’s finished as WR#5 and WR#7.  Insert Kellen Moore as the OC and look out.

In Round 3 Logan goes Davante Adams.  Adams ADP was late 2nd/early 3rd.  Another value pick for Logan.  Adams finished WR#11 last year despite having horrific QB play for most of the year.  Gardner Minshew is an improvement and helped Michael Pittman finish as WR#13 last year.  Probably would have been prudent to go RB here, but the Lamb-AJB-Adams trio is straight nasty.

In Round 4 you did it again.  Now it’s getting ridiculous.  But Evans is an underrated beast every year.  Here are all of Mike Evans fantasy finishes starting from his rookie season to now: WR#12, 23, 1, 19, 9, 12, 10, 8, 16, 5.  Does that sound like someone that should be going in the 4th round to you?

In Round 5 you took Brandon Auyik.  His finishes the past two years were WR#15 and WR#14.  He has been holding out for a new contract this offseason as well.  The Steelers are interested in trading for him.  But the 49ers are in win now mode.  Its an interesting dilemma for both team and player.  I think the Niners want to see how Ricky Pearsall is before pulling the trigger on a trade, but Pearsall has been hurt all training camp with a shoulder issue.  I predict Auyik stays a 49er and has another WR2 finish.  If he gets traded to the Steelers I would downgrade him to a WR3.

In Round 6 you finally got a RB.  James Conner.  Career year last year in terms of rushing yards for Conner and he finished as RB#18 despite missing a few weeks.  He’ll have to fend off Michael Carter and Trey Benson to keep the lead job.  I like Conner, but not as a RB1.

In Round 7 you took Raheem Mostert.  Mostert balled out last year.  RB#2 due to his 18 rushing touchdowns.  I don’t think he hits 18 again, but I do think he gets a lot of work in that Dolphins time share at RB.  Decent RB2.

In Round 8 Logan takes Zamir White.  High volume bruiser who will get plenty of opportunities for Antonio Pierce’s Raiders.  White should be the bellcow for the Raiders this season as they only brought in Alexander Mattison and drafted Dylan Laube as his competition.  Laube could carve a 3rd down role for himself, but White should be Jacobs straight up replacement.

Logan gets Dak in Round 9.  QB#3 finish last year and he gets the Dak-Lamb stack which is nice.  Prescott is also working on finalizing a contract extension with the Cowboys.  They may decide to clean house if they don’t win it all this year.  But solid starting fantasy QB in Round 9.

Logan got great value in Jayden Reed and Jerome Ford and David Njoku.  Reed should be the most consistent of the Packers wideouts.  Njoku was a monster last year and Ford should get a lot of work as Nick Chubb works his way back from his knee injury.

Draft Grade: B-.  The Wideouts are SO GOOD.  The RBS are so mediocre.  Depth is great.

8. Andy.

Chase at 8?  Come on.  Great value.  He’s been holding in all summer.  Where he shows up to practice but doesn’t practice.  He wants a new contract, but he’s a year too early.  He is supposed to hold out next summer.  The Bengals want to try and win a Super Bowl this year then lock him down and let Tee Higgins Walk.  It’s been their obvious plan for awhile now.  Chase needs to show up and ball out.

In Round 2 Andy chose Gibbs.  Gibbs over JT is legit.  I think it’s a solid argument.  Gibbs has the talent to be a Top 5 fantasy RB.  He just needs the opportunity.  David Montgomery kind of blocks that opportunity.  But even with Monty there Gibbs finished as RB#10 last year.  And that’s with Gibbs missing 2 weeks too.

Andy stuck with the Lions theme in Round 3 going Sam LaPorta.  The Iowa product came into the NFL in a BIG way last year with his TE#1 finish.  He should remain the 2nd target behind Amon-Ra in the Lions passing attack.

In Round 4 Andy goes with Rachaad White.  White got all the volume last year.  He wasn’t the most efficient with it, but volume is volume and he finished as RB#7.  3.64 yards per carry isn’t going to do it though.  Word from Tampa Bay camp is that Bucky Irving’s skill set fits better into the OC’s running scheme/system.  If White repeats his volume from last year great pick.  If he doesn’t…

In Round 5 Andy goes Tank Dell.  This is an Andy pick.  Tank is a little speed devil.  He was great last year prior to breaking his leg.  But I think the Texans learned their lesson.  Don’t run your fast 165-pound wide receiver up the middle at the goal line.  Little concerned about a dip in targets due to Stefon Diggs signing.  Also, don’t sleep on John Metchie III.

In Round 6 Andy went with CJ Stroud.  This allowed him to not have to change his team photo.  Clutch.  An impressive rookie with 499 pass attempts last season with only 5 interceptions.  That is freaking nuts.  They add Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon to his weapons arsenal.  Does he continue to transcend?  Or does he experience a little sophomore slump?

In Round 7 Andy takes Stefon Diggs.  I don’t think Diggs is startable unless Nico Collins and/or Tank Dell gets hurt.  I just don’t see a path where all three WR’s are consistent.  Nico is the most likely to be consistent.  Taking Diggs over Amari Cooper was a terrible pick in my opinion.  Why have a #1 WR that scored a 50+ point game last year when you could have a WR3 that might be dust!

Andy got decent value in Round 8 with D’Andre Swift.  Starter for what looks like a very potent Bears offense.  Khalil Herbert will probably take more snaps than you’d like, but Swift has been explosive in years past.  He’s been a Lion, an Eagle, and now a Bear, oh my!

Love. Love. Love. The Brian Thomas Jr. Pick.   While doing my film watching I saw an absolute stud.  Many people think he played second fiddle to Nabers and couldn’t do all the things that Nabers could do.  But man.  His jump balls for touchdowns, his jukes in the middle.  Dude can play.  Nabers/Thomas have a legit chance to replicate Chase/JJ. JJ had a NFL prospect score of 6.46 and went #22 overall to the Vikings.  BTJ had a NFL prospect score of 6.47 and went #23 overall to the Jaguars.  I don’t think BTJ is JJ.  But does he have the potential to ascend to that level?  I think there is a chance.  He takes Ridley’s WR18 role right away.  Ridley did that with a lot of close misses and with T Law banged up most of the year.  What can Thomas do with a healthy T-Law?

The rest of Andy’s draft was some great depth pieces like Addison, Hopkins, Allgeier, and Allen.

Draft Grade: B-.  Loved his early picks, loved his late picks.  Just don’t care of the Dell-Diggs-Swift middle rounds.  7 decent wideouts.  Who do you start?  RB2 might be a problem at times.  At least you drafted a team that you like and will have fun rooting for them.

9. Ben.

Sun God!  Amon-Ra St. Brown.  CMC-like energy after watching Receiver on Netflix.  Very impressed by his grind. WR#3 last year despite being hurt and missing a game.  Gutsy player.  A-ok with the pick here.

In Round 2 Ben went Barkley.  Saquon!  I personally would have gone JT here but to each their own.  Barkley has always been a stud, just on a bad team.  But now he’s a stud, on a good team.  His best fantasy performance was during his rookie season where he finished as RB#2.  Since then it’s been a mixed bag with finishes of #10, 114, 32, 6, 12.  2020 was the ACL year I think and 2021 was the ankle.  But for the last couple years he’s put up RB1 numbers.  Miles Sanders was RB#13 his last year in Philly.  Swift was RB#23 last year in Philly.  Time to see what Barkley can do.

Ben got great value in Round 3 when Chris Olave fell to him.  His ESPN Average Draft Position (ADP) is 19.  Ben got him at Pick#29.  That’s legit.  He’s been WR #25 and #19 in his two NFL seasons so far.  Will he have a third-year breakout?  Or will Derek Carr’s inconsistencies cap his ceiling?

Round 4 you took Josh Allen.  Why not?  Josh Allen’s QB finishes the past 4 seasons: Qb#1, 1, 2, 1.  That’s pretty fucking great.  There are concerns for his weapons after losing Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, but they added Curtis Samuel, Keon Coleman, MVS.  I still think he finishes Top 5 QB though because their defense has lost a TON of players.  I think they’ll be throwing a lot and that will help Allen despite not having the same weapons.

Ben took Zay Flowers in Round 5.  Flowers is a shifty cat.  Should build on his solid rookie season.  He isn’t going to kill anyone, but he’ll get decent production most weeks.

David Montgomery was a solid pick in Round 6.  Loved it.  RB#13 last year despite missing 3 weeks.  13 touchdowns.  He’s a solid RB 2 to snag in Round 6.

In Round 7 Ben goes Christian Kirk.  Kirk was doing pretty well last year in his 2nd season with Jacksonville until he tore his groin.  The additions of BTJ and Gabe Davis hurt Kirk’s value in my opinion.  It wasn’t a good sign that BTJ and Davis were lined up in 2 WR sets in the preseason games.  Kirk might be slot specialist/WR3 on the pecking order.  Taking him over Amari Cooper was pretty bad in my opinion.

In Round 8 you got Kyle Pitts.  I sent you a funny meme about Pitts always busting. (see below)  Well like I’ve mentioned before.  The Rams passing game coordinator is the new OC for Atlanta.  And it’s not like Tyler Higbee was smashing.  But 8th round it’s worth the upside as long as you draft someone else in case he busts again.

In Rounds 9 and 10 you got two veteran running backs on new teams.  I think both start to start the year.  Devin Singletary for the G Men who is familiar with Brian Daboll’s system from his time in Buffalo.  And Zach Moss who showed brilliant flashes last year for the Colts.  His ability to run from the shot gun fits beautifully into the Bengals offensive scheme.

Great value in Round 11 Hollywood Brown, Round 12 Blake Corum, and Round 13 Courtland Sutton.  I’m bullish on Corum this season.

Draft Grade: C+.  This is one of those situations where someone drafted value picks but created a team that I hate.  Like if you had pretty-looking puzzle pieces and they looked like they created a beautiful piece of art.  But once assembled they made a picture of dog poo.  It’s like this horse meme where the first pane is ADP value.  The second pane is potential.  And the third pane is actual results.

10. Caleb.

Oh boy.  Wow.  Where to begin?  Let me start with a quick run down of Caleb’s selections and how I feel about them then I’ll go into who and why.

  1. Bad
  2. Terrible
  3. Great
  4. Great
  5. Good
  6. Great
  7. Great
  8. Good
  9. Good
  10. Great
  11. Good
  12. Bad
  13. Good
  14. Bad
  15. Good
  16. Good

Lets dive in.

Round 1: Bad.  Garret Wilson is a rich guy’s Drake London.  He has had two years of bad QB play and flashes of brilliance.  His two finishes were WR#19 and WR#32 last year.  You are banking on him not only securing the third-year breakout, but outscoring AJ Brown (WR#7) and Puka Nacua (WR#4).  Aaron Rodgers is 40, coming off a torn Achilles and was recently considered to be RFK Jr’s running mate.  I get hesitation over Puka’s knee, but taking Wilson over AJB is just dumb.

Round 2.  Deep breathes Brad.  Deep breathes.  You took De’Von Achane over Jonathan Taylor and Jahymr Gibbs.  You took… Achane over JT and Gibbs.  You took a backup RB who is always hurt over JT and Gibbs.  Mostert ran for 18 touchdowns last season.  They drafted Jaylen Wright.  In Weeks 3-5 last year Achane scored 99.8 fantasy points and was RB#1, 5, and 4 those weeks.  Then he got hurt and missed 4-5 weeks.  When he came back from Weeks 13-18 he scored 87.5 points was RB#3, 24, 29, 52, 8, 21.  Mostert is re-signed on a two year deal.  Drafted Jalen Wright.  Here are Achane’s snap %s for every game he played in: 10%, 41%, 60%, 48%, 4%, 61%, 46%, 39%, 55%, 48%, 63% and the playoff game 38%.  Over 25% of his entire fantasy output came in that freak Denver game where the Dolphins won 70-20.  RB’s I have ranked over Achane this season: CMC, Hall, Bijan, Gibbs, JT, Barkley, Kyren, Etienne, Henry, Kamara, Cook, Mixon.  You took him 11 overall.  “Terrible” in a Charles Barkley voice.

Round 3.  Great pick!  Cooper Kupp is healthy and looks great.  Even when he was playing with Puca at the end of last season they were both doing great.  Think this was as huge value and a solid WR2 for your squad.

Round 4 you took Kenneth Walker III.  GREAT RB2.  Love love love it.  High volume, explosive.  He’s missed two games each of his first two years in the league, but he’s a Chris Carson clone and he took up the mantle seamlessly.

Round 5 you took Mark Andrews.  Andrews missed a couple games in 2022 but was fighting injury all year and finished TE#4.  Last year was same story, missing 7 games and finishing as TE#13.  His per game fantasy point average is there (11.29).  He just needs to stay on the field.

Anthony Richardson baby!  Love me some Anthony Richardson.  Dude is huge and flashed his potential last season.  Let’s hope they figure out how to keep him healthy because the sky is the limit.

Phenomenal value in Amari Cooper in Round 7!  Cooper finished WR#18, but missed a couple games.  He also had that 15 target, 11 catch, 265 yard, 2 touchdown game against the Texans in Week 16.

Great value with the Steelers duo at RB in Rounds 8 and 9.  Najee and Warren.  Najee Harris is solid for 1000+ yards and 8 touchdowns, which he has done every year of his career so far.  Only concern with the duo is Arthur Smith bringing in Cordarrelle Patterson.

Then.  It happened.  Caleb ruined my draft.  Jayden Daniels in Round 10.  It was my own fault.  But great, high upside pick.  He is very similar to Richardson.  High upside, high injury risk due to running ability.  The difference is Daniels BMI is 25.6 and Richardson’s BMI is 29.7.  And Richardson STILL got hurt last year.  I’m rooting for both because they will make football and fantasy football more fun.  Good luck choosing the right starter each week.

Good value in later picks as well.  Christian Watson, who supposedly found out why his hamstrings kept getting hurt.  He saw a specialist and they determined one of his legs were bigger than the other.  They adjusted his strength training and workouts to strengthen the hamstrings the right way.  I hope he stays active all year, he is a promising young talent.  Great value with Jaleel and Herbert too.

Draft Grade: C+.  I hated your first two picks so much.  It might work out, but I hate it.  Then you did an incredible job building depth and finding value in later rounds.  I don’t hate your team.  Hate the first two picks.  Don’t hate your team.

There we have it folks.  Here are the draft grades in order of picks:

  1. Michael: B+
  2. Max: A
  3. Stephen: A+
  4. Brad: C
  5. Quentin: C+
  6. Josh: B-
  7. Logan: B-
  8. Andy: B-
  9. Ben: C+
  10. Caleb: C+

Here are the draft grades in order of grade:

  1. Stephen: A+
  2. Max: A
  3. Michael: B+
  4. Josh: B-
  5. Logan: B-
  6. Andy: B-
  7. Quentin: C+
  8. Caleb: C+
  9. Ben: C+
  10. Brad: C

And here are ESPN’s draft grades that they emailed out to everyone post draft:

  1. Stephen: A
  2. Michael: B
  3. Andy: B
  4. Ben: B
  5. Josh: B
  6. Brad: C
  7. Quentin: C
  8. Logan: C
  9. Caleb: C
  10. Max: C

Good Luck This Season!

BBY Dream Team Season 16 Draft Grades

bradleybertoniere Uncategorized

Well, this draft went about how I expected it to go.  4th pick was a tough draw because the three running backs were going to go.  Plus, no running backs were going to drop to the 21st pick in the second.  Had to make some tough choices.  But I want to give credit where credit is due.  Being sandwiched between Scotty and Joe I got sniped early and often. Kudos to both for ensuring I have another season of mediocrity in store.  Reminder that these are my opinions and I’m mostly wrong.  But last year I was pretty right:

This is what I wrote about Chase’s draft last season:

***

Draft Grade: A.  Chase is better at this than us.  Legit chance at Title #4.

***

Here were my draft grades in order last season:

  1. Moose: A
  2. Chase: A
  3. Jen: B+
  4. Joe: B
  5. Kenny: B
  6. JD: B
  7. Katon: B-
  8. Scotty: C+
  9. Tommy: C
  10. Trey: C
  11. Mike: D-
  12. Brad: F

And how we finished:

  1. Chase
  2. Moose
  3. Kenny
  4. Joe
  5. Katon
  6. Scotty
  7. JD
  8. Mike
  9. Trey
  10. Brad
  11. Jen
  12. Tommy

It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s not bad.  On to this year!

1. Tommy.

Tommy was gifted the CMC.  Nothing to comment here.  CMC is a monster.  I’m not worried about a little calf strain either.

In the back of the 2nd and first pick of the 3rd he interrupted the 5 straight RB’s and took a pair of wideouts in Chris Olave and Davante Adams.  Olave finished last year as WR #19, Adams finished as WR #11.  Olave still has Carr at QB and Adams has Gardner Minshew.  Minshew isn’t going to put up Mahomes stats, but he was able to support Michael Pittman Jr last season to a Top 15 half ppr finish.

That same Michael Pittman Jr. fell to Tommy at the end of the 4th round.  Incredible value in these three picks, giving Tommy a solid trio at WR after the CMC pick.  He then took Aaron Jones to kick off the 5th round.  I wouldn’t have done this.  Jones has a chance to ball out and get revenge on his packers.  He was banged up last year and is going to be 30 in December.  Reports out of camp is the plan is for him to handle 15-18 touches per game, which is solid.  But will the Vikings be good with Sam Darnold at the helm?  To take him you passed on Malik Nabers, Brandon Aiyuk, DeVonta Smith and if you look RBs you took him over Zamir White, James Conner, Swift, and David Montgomery.  It could work, but that’s calling your shot type of call.

At the end of Round 6 you took Tank Dell and started the 7th round with Johnathan Brooks.  Brooks will probably sit the first four weeks, but new Panthers head coach David Canales wants to pound the rock.  And Brooks looked special in college before getting injured.  I liked Godwin over Tank here, but I get the allure of getting one of Stroud’s weapons after he balled out last year.  Diggs addition muddies the target projections a bit.

Round 8 you took DeAndre Hopkins and in Round 9 you picked up Jordan Love.  You drafted Brock Bowers at tight end in Round 10.  Rest wasn’t worth commenting on.

Draft Grade: B.  CMC and the trio of WRs you got will make you compete.  To be special you need to nail the later rounds and navigate the middle rounds correctly.  The season might come down to whether the Aaron Jones call was the right one.  Combined with how soon Johnathan Brooks can get going.  Solid draft.

2. Mike.

It was the best of times.  It was the worst of times.  Mike’s team is scary.  If you look at his first four picks.  Then like the thrill of climbing Everest.  He had to come back down and try not to die.  Loved taking Breece Hall at 2 overall.  I had him ranked 2 overall as well.  He runs angry.  He doesn’t smile.  He balled out last year.  Giddy up.  At the end of the 2nd you took PPR machine Alvin Kamara.  He missed 3 games to start the year last year and sat out Week 18, but finished as RB#14.  15 half ppr points per game average though.  Expanded over the whole season he would’ve finished RB #5.  In my ideal draft scenario I was picking him in the 3rd, but this is Best Buy where RBs go at least 1 round early.

In Round 3 you took Marvin Harrison Jr.  I love the Cardinals this year.  I think they take a step forward.  Kyler is healthier.  Added weapons like MHJ.  As you can see from my Murray, McBride, and Wilson picks I’m bullish on Cardinals this season.  The first player I ever drafted in Fantasy Football in August 2001 was Marvin Harrison.  I was tempted for nostalgia’s sake to take him in the 2nd, but I knew I had to get a RB.  MHJ should get high targets immediately and reminds me of CeeDee Lamb in terms of playing style.  His biggest comp was AJ Green, but either way he should get going early and often this season.

Loved the Anthony Richardson pick in Round 4.  I had a strategy to wait on Qbs this year since I feel like there are so many good ones, but if you are going to take one early they need to have Qb1 potential and Richardson has that.  Starting Richardson-Hall-Kamara-MHJ was great start.  Then.  It happened.  Instead of grabbing his stud WR2, Mike instead elected to go with Dalton Kincaid over Malik Nabers, Brandon Aiyuk, and DeVonta Smith.  What a shame.  Kincaid should get more targets with the loss of Stefon Diggs.  But Dawson Knox isn’t going away.  Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel were added.  Then in Round 6 he had another opportunity to get a solid WR2.  Instead, he chose Javonte Williams.  I’m not big on Williams.  Think Jaleel McLaughlin takes a lot of work.  Rotation is gonna be a mess.  Rookie QB most likely starting.

Round 7 you took Calvin Ridley and in Round 8 you took Courtland Sutton.  So you have some wideouts, but man.  Feel like Rounds 5 and 6 took your team from favorite to win it to struggling to make the playoffs.  I could be wrong, we’ll see.  Loved the Ja’Lynn Polk pick in Round 14.

Draft Grade if I ignore Rounds 5 and 6: A.  Draft Grade when factoring in Rounds 5 and 6: C.

3. Joe.

Joe!  Bijan!  You bastard.  It was the right call.  Falcons passing attack should be improved.  Coaching should be improved.  According to Warren Sharp Falcons have the easiest schedule this season by far.  Raheem Morris has publicly said they want Bijan to have a CMC like role in the offense.  The passing game coordinator for the Rams that made Kyren Williams happen last year is the new OC.  Sky’s the limit as long as he doesn’t catch a cold or get a headache.  (missed two games last year but were active for both because Arthur Smith is an asshole).

In Round 2 you took Joe Mixon.  Mixon seems to have a lock on RB1 duties for a good-looking Texans team.  He could smash this season.  I hadn’t thought about Mixon vs. Kamara.  I think with half PPR Mixon is a good pick.  If it was full ppr I think it would sway to Kamara’s side.  I don’t hate it.  In Round 3 I wanted Kamara, LaPorta or Metcalf.  You took LaPorta one pick before me so I settled for DK.  I see no reason why LaPorta won’t replicate his TE#1 finish from a year ago.  He’s a monster.

In Round 4 you were handed a gift in the speedster Jaylen Waddle.  Your first WR taken is lightning in a bottle and can score at any moment.  Then in Round 5 you sniped me again by taking Malik Nabers.  Waddle-Nabers is a solid ass combo at WR.  You got good value in Brian Robinson in Round 6.  This also give you the coveted B. Robinson + B. Robinson combo.

In Round 7 you continued your assault on this draft by taking Chris Godwin, an incredible value.  Solid trio at WR despite waiting for them.  In Round 8 you took the ghost of Zeke Elliot.  He tried last year and has a chance to start for Dallas.  They haven’t made any other moves so right now it’s between him, Rico Dowdle, and Royce Freeman.  We’ll see if Rico pulls a Tony Pollard on Zeke or if Zeke can hang on to the top spot.  Lots of rumors about them potentially trading for a back like Miles Sanders or Khalil Herbert, so we’ll have to wait and see there.

Then in Round 9 a head scratcher.  Aaron Rodgers over Kyler Murray.  I wasn’t sure if this was a political move.  Like you were trying to combat White Dudes for Harris by taking Aaron Rodgers who was considered for RFK Jrs VP pick.  Later you did take Harrison Butker.  Low testosterone leftists aside I think Murray should have been taken over Rodgers.  Murray scrambles a bit and offense should see a leap forward.  Rodgers is coming off of that Achilles injury.  I was grateful because I took Murray with the next pick and got a little Cardinals stack.  But shit.  Joe you could’ve waited until the end of the draft for a Rodgers.  Goff and T Law went undrafted.  I have them both ranked higher than Rodgers.

Draft Grade: A-.  Rodgers pick and maybe 4th string RB Vidal were the only terrible picks I saw.  Other than that, you should compete in Division Poker Night.

4. Brad.

I hoped someone would take a WR so I could get one of the trio of RBs, but this is Best Buy and I was prepared for exactly what happened to happen.  A week ago, I was leaning JJ.  Then the JJ McCarthy news, the Addison news, the CB news.  Seems like Vikings are cursed and if it’s a lost season they may rest of up their highest paid non-QB stud.  Lamb was WR#1 last year, but has held out all camp.  Ja’Marr Chase is fun, but he’s held in all camp.  Tyreek went for 1700 yards last year, is signed, and practicing, so it was the conservative choice.  Nothing conservative about Tyreek’s ability to impregnate women though.  Fast runner equals fast swimmers, boys.  Big play bonus potential in this league helped my decision.

In Round 2 I wanted Henry or Etienne to fall, but again, I knew this was Best Buy.  Neither happened.  I prepared for it and made peace with my decision of James Cook.  Cook was the bell cow last year when Joe Brady took over play calling for the Bills.  Only problem was Latavius Murray.  Cook would be used to get to redzone then they would take him out.  I’m banking on some of that, but maybe less now that his backups are all rookies?  Maybe?  I think Bills defense takes a big step back this year and Cook can catch more passes out of the backfield, we’ll see.

In Round 3 I really wanted Sam LaPorta.  Joe decided that wouldn’t be happening, so I fell back on DK Metcalf.  Many of my mocks had McBride falling to me in the 4th, so I went WR.  Metcalf isn’t a sexy pick.  He’s huge.  Alpha X.  But gets doubled and hasn’t performed like a Top 10 WR in the NFL.  But he’s consistently a WR2 and with the new head coach from Washington who had a 60% pass rate, we’ll see if that translates to more volume for the 8-pack monster who uses sign language to shit talk after scoring touchdowns.

In Round 4 Trey McBride did indeed fall to me.  Liked McBride at 4.9 better than Kelce and Andrews in the 3rd.  Of course, I could’ve had a Kelce-Waddle combo over a Metcalf-McBride combo, so it’ll be interesting for me to watch and see if I whiffed on this one.  I have Waddle in dynasty, and I didn’t want the Tyreek-Waddle combo.

In Round 5 I took a discount on Brandon Auyik.  The shit or get off the pot offseason means he’ll either stay with 49ers or head to Arthur Smith’s Steelers.  Auyik was WR#14 last year and WR#15 the year before that.  Another boring, but solid WR for fantasy purposes.  Giving Brad the Tyreek-Metcalf-Auyik trio, which is pretty good.  If he gets traded to Steelers I think he takes a hit, but I don’t think the move makes sense for the 49ers.  I predict they sign him and the drama dies in darkness.

In Round 6 I was targeting Amari Cooper but Moose made sure that didn’t happen.  I took Terry McLaurin instead.  McLaurin is another not sexy WR.  His best finish was WR#14 in 2022 and last year he was a WR3 ranked #28.  I think Jayden Daniels has a chance to electrify this offense.  In Round 7 I pulled a Brad with a pretty significant reach.  I took Jerome Ford.  The Free Agent Darling of Chase last year.  I typically bank on RBs that are coming off of devastating knee injuries to start slow and Ford is actually pretty damn good, so I was okay with him being my RB2 to start the season.  Even if Chubb comes back I don’t see Ford just going away.  I imagine there will be some sort of split that would provide him some value.  If Chubb starts the year on IR then Ford pick looks good.  If Chubb is active and starting Week 1 then this could be a huge swing and a miss.  Wide range of outcomes.

In Round 8 I loved the value in Tony Pollard.  Seems like the Titans are going to be an electrifying offense and have two pass catching backs that are going to split time evenly.  Pollard is now a full year and a half removed from his broken ankle and his main competition Tyjae Spears has no knee cartilage.  In Round 9 I took Kyler Murray for the Murray-McBride stack.  Rounds 10, 11, 12 took fliers at RB.

Draft Grade: C.  I agree with ESPN.  Last year Brad went WR-WR, then panicked and took RBs in the middle rounds where solid WRs went.  This year he did better.  Getting 1 to appease the panic demon in his brain, which led him to the Metcalf, Auyik, McLaurin depth.  But it looks like he’ll be figuring out RB again this year.  He’ll probably blame the fact that he was 4th pick instead of taking personal ownership.  Look for Brad to be fighting for a 6th seed late into the season.

5. Scotty

Scotty did well.  Loved Ja’Marr Chase pick.  Rachaad White at 2.8 was a bit early for me, but he had great volume last year and was RB#7.  All signs point to him repeating a high-volume role, despite a not so great efficiency last year.  In Round 3 you took Josh Jacobs.  This could be a great pick.  Historically when RBs change teams they don’t do as well. (https://www.fantasylabs.com/articles/raybon-should-you-target-or-avoid-rbs-on-new-teams/)  But Jacobs is an upgrade over Aaron Jones.  The Packers offense is young and exciting.  When it gets cold they will turn to Jacobs early and often.  Could be good, could be great.

In Round 4 you got tremendous value in Cooper Kupp.  When Kupp and Puka were both playing last year it was almost a dead even split.  Puka is banged up and went in Round 2.  In Round 5 you took young stud CJ Stroud.  An impressive rookie with 499 pass attempts last season with only 5 interceptions.  That is freaking nuts.  They add Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon to his weapons.

In Round 6 he took Najee Harris, which was a great pick for his 3rd rb.  Harris has rushed for over 1000 yards and 7 or more touchdowns every season in his career. His passing volume has gone down as Jaylen Warren’s has gone up, but he still finished as RB#20 last year.

In Round 7 Scotty takes Diontae Johnson.  I think he’ll get a lot of catches this season.  Panthers are going to be bad.  Adam Theilen is a year older.  I like it.  Then David Njoku in Round 8.  Njoku was a monster last year.  Now the OC for the Browns is now the OC for the Patriots.  But Browns brought in Ken Dorsey from the Bills for the OC spot.  They also signed a bunch of QBs in case Watson sucks again.  They have Tyler Huntley and Jameis Winston in case Watson can’t hand-le it.  Get it?  Hollywood Brown in Round 9.  He’ll miss the beginning of the season with a shoulder ailment, but he’ll be back at some point.  He should have his best season this year with Mahomes at QB.  Then in Round 10 Scotty jacked Gus Bus from me.  That one hurt me.  A lot.  Scotty crushed this draft.

Draft Grade: A.  If Scotty hits on his White/Jacobs/Najee RB trio he’ll compete for a title.

6. JD

Dizzle lands Lamb, last year’s #1 WR who helped Chase claim his 4th title.  Lamb is holding out for a new contract, so we’ll see if Jerry Jones and him get their shit together and work it out or not.  Love the pick and would have made the same one.  In Round 2 you got Derrick Henry.  Henry should smash for the Ravens this season.  If Gus Edwards can rush for 810 yards and 13 touchdowns then what can the King do?  If teams stack the box against them they’ll have to worry about Lamar’s legs, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, and Rashod Bateman.

In Round 3 you took Drake London.  London is immensely talented, but it hasn’t materialized into fantasy gold yet due to atrocious QB play.  Cousins will be the best QB he’s played with and it’s not even close.  This is a big call here by JD though.  London has finished as WR#36 and WR#39 in two NFL seasons.  He was taken before Nico Collins (WR#9 last year), DJ Moore (WR#6 last year), Deebo Samuel (WR#12 last year), Mike Evans (WR#5 last year), and Cooper Kupp who was rough last year but was smashing the years before that.  Now as I mentioned in Joe’s section the Falcons have the easiest schedule this season and other than Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney, London should have the lion’s share of targets.  JD plants his flag and says London WILL breakout in Year 3 and will be better than all of the wideouts I mentioned.  We’ll see.  DJ Moore has more competition for targets, but a better QB.  Nico has more competition for targets with Stefon Diggs in town.  Kupp has Puka there now.  Mike Evans should regress TD wise.  We’ll see.

In Round 4 JD took Rhamondre Stevenson.  He got paid this offseason like the now and future starter.  One must worry a little bit about Antonio Gibson’s role.  Gibson can be a decent 3rd down back.  The other thing to worry about is the Patriots might be terrible again.  They have one of the hardest schedules in the NFL this season looking at implied win total.  The hope is volume with Rhamondre.  But with Gibson there and them most likely being behind in 4th quarters I don’t know if I could’ve pulled the trigger over the Cooper Kupp, Jaylen Waddles, and Malik Nabers of the world that were available at the time.

JD then went Tee Higgins.  Higgins, like London, has yet to breakout.  He has finishes of WR#30, 22, 17, and last year’s WR#49.  He has all the talent, but between Burrow’s injury and his last year it hasn’t materialized yet.  His contract status is weird too.  He’ll play on the franchise tag this year as the Bengals made it obvious they want to play him one more year, try to win a title then let him walk when they sign Chase to his long term deal.  We’ll see if the potential materializes into production this season.

In Round 6 you doubled down on the Falcan’ts and took proverbial bust Kyle Pitts.  Another guy with potential who hasn’t lived up to it.  In his rookie year he had 1026 yards receiving, but only 1 touchdown.  In Years 2 and 3 combined he had 1023 yards.  In Round 7 you took Dak Prescott to get the Cowboys stack of Dak-Lamb.  Twas potent last season with Dak finishing QB#3 and Lamb finishing WR#1.

In Round 8 you took JSN.  He should carve out more targets away from Tyler Lockett this season.  Don’t think he overcomes DK, but Lockett definitely.  I liked Devin Singletary in Round 9, he balled out for the Texans at times last season and should hold on to RB#1 duties for the G Men.  Just have to hope they don’t suck.  Jaleel McLaughlin was a decent RB dart throw in Round 10.

Draft Grade: C+.  Love the Dak-Lamb stack, hoping they work out the contracts.  Henry is a great RB#1.  Need a big Falcons and Cowboys season to compete for a title this year.

7. Chase.

The reigning and four-time champion of the WORLLLDDDDDDDDDDDD…. CHASE SIMS!  Chase rejoins the Johnathan Taylor Thomas fan club this year.  JT is LOCKED IN.  Wearing those retarded looking helmets during preseason to ensure he’s healthy.  He legitimately can lead the league in rushing yards this year.  I’ve seen some experts throwing out 1800 rushing yards.  The only concern is he didn’t catch many passes.  Will just have to hope Richardson doesn’t take too many rushing TDs away from JT this year.  I understand reaching for a RB in this league though.  In Round 2 Puka Nacua fell to you.  His slide most likely due to his bursa sac knee injury.  All signs point to him being ready for Week 1, although they might be a bit cautious with his snap count.  Cooper Kupp is also back and healthy so we’ll see if Puka can repeat his rookie phenom season or if he backtracks a bit in Year 2.

In Round 3 Chase took the 34-year-old Pfizer representative dating a rich, crazy cat lady that may help usher in a new terrifying form of communism into the country… sorry what were we talking about?  Kelce right.  Chase takes Kelce who despite missing a couple games last season still finished as TE#3 extending his streak of consecutively Top 3 TE finishes to 8 seasons.  He seems locked in as the Chiefs try to do the unthinkable and win a 3rd straight championship.

In Round 4 you had Mike Evans fall to you.  Here are all of Mike Evans fantasy finishes starting from his rookie season to now: WR#12, 23, 1, 19, 9, 12, 10, 8, 16, 5.  In Round 5 Chase takes Zamir White.  White should be the bellcow for the Raiders this season as they only brought in Alexander Mattison and drafted Dylan Laube as his competition.  Laube could carve a 3rd down role for himself, but White should be the new Jacobs for Coach Antonio Pierce.

In Round 6 Chase took Joe Burrow.  We are all hoping Burrow is fully healthy after that weird hand grip/wrist surgery he needed.  He seems like everything is good to go, so hopefully he gets back to tearing it up on the field.  Thought it was a little early for a QB in my opinion, but Burrow is fun to root for.  Geaux Tigers!  After that Chase went Keenan Allen who I shat on last year right before he popped off for a WR#8 finish in only 13 games of action, averaging over 17 points per game.  We’ll see how Caleb distributes the ball for the Bears, but with Rome and DJ Moore locked in long term it seems Allen is just a 1-year rental.  Do you throw him the ball a bunch to use and abuse him or do you work on your rapport with your buddies that will be with you long term?

In Round 8 Chase made his choice for the Titans with Tyjae Spears.  Spears showed flashes of brilliance last year while backing up Derrick Henry.  Spears hype train was derailed a bit this offseason when the Titans signed redundant Tony Pollard to a 3 year $21.75 milly contract.  Pollard is a better catcher than runner and Spears last year caught 52/70 targets for 385 receiving yards and a tuddy.  All offseason I’ve seen it’s a 1A and 2A situation where they will be interchangeable.  But if Brian Callahan splits the work and airs it out more than previous Derrick Henry/Mike Vrabel seasons then it should be a fun show to watch.  And if one of them gets hurt, look out.

In Round 9 Chase took Nick Chubb.  We’ll see if Chubb can return to former glory after having his leg nearly break off last year in Week 2 bending like this greater than sign, but in the wrong direction >  .  He’s a grinder so I won’t bet on him not coming back, but if I’m the browns I’m not giving him 30 carries any time soon.

Rather than share the knee pictures, here is a picture from the movie “The Arrival” to demonstrate what the knee looked like:

In Round 10 Chase took Jameson Williams.  Decent WR depth piece.  Not much to say about the rest.

Draft Grade: B-.  Age is just a number, but going Kelce-Evans-Allen-Chubb makes me believe you are trying to cheat death.  But death comes to us all.  Memento Mori.  Which of the vets mentioned will fall off the cliff of fantasy production this year and suffer their doom?

8. Moose.

Welcome to Team Brads, Dads, and Chads, Moose.  Glad to have you.  In Round 1 Moose goes the Sun God, Amon-Ra St. Brown.  CMC-like energy after watching Receiver on Netflix.  Very impressed by his grind.  I would’ve gone JJ here, but Amon-Ra is less likely to be shut down for their team being dog shit like the Vikings might be.

In Round 2 another God shined down on you and dropped Jahmyr Gibbs in your lap.  I was honestly thinking about reaching for Gibbs at #4 until his hammy injury.  Although not serious, it was enough for me to go WR.  But tremendous value in the 2nd round.  Go Lions.  In Round 3 you went Mark Andrews.  It didn’t work last year, but maybe it will this year.  Andrews missed a couple games in 2022, but was fighting injury all year and finished TE#4.  Last year was same story, missing 7 games and finishing as TE#13.  His per game fantasy point average is there.  He just needs to stay on the field.

In Round 4 you took Josh Allen.  Josh Allen’s QB finishes the past 4 seasons: Qb#1, 1, 2, 1.  That’s pretty fucking great.  In Round 5 another gift.  Devonta Smith drops in your lap.  Smith was WR#20 last year, regressing a bit from his sophomore campaign, but in comes Kellen Moore for OC.  The same Kellen Moore that led to Keenan Allen’s blow-up last year.  Will AJ Brown remain X and will they put Smith in the valuable move him all around role? It’s possible, which means Smith could smash his ADP.  In Round 6 you sniped my target in Amari Cooper.   Cooper finishes WR#18, but missed a couple games.  He also had that 15 target, 11 catch, 265 yard, 2 touchdown game against the Texans in Week 16 that shot Chase into the championship game.  Interesting that in Round 4 Moose took Josh Allen one pick before Chase and in Round 6 Moose took Cooper one pick before Chase, since they were both on Chase’s championship team last year.

Round 7 you took always underrated Raheem Mostert.  In Round 8 you took Xavier Worthy.  Round 9 Chase Brown.  I think Zach Moss is a perfect fit in that offense.  Everyone keeps saying Brown is the guy, but unless Zach Moss is dead I don’t think Brown is as big a thing as people are letting on.  We’ll see though.  In Round 10 you took Brian Thomas Jr…

***Soap Box Time. Here is an excerpt from my dynasty league draft grades from earlier this summer after I took BTJ 6th overall:

***

While doing my film watching I saw an absolute stud.  Many people think he played second fiddle to Nabers and couldn’t do all the things that Nabers could do.  But man.  His jump balls for touchdowns, his jukes in the middle.  Dude can play.  Nabers/Thomas have a legit chance to replicate Chase/JJ.  I also saw this comparison and wet my pants:

GetImage (3)

And then of course Establish the Run didn’t help either:

GetImage (4)

Now I don’t truly think Thomas is going to be JJ.  JJ is in a tier by himself.  But I’ll take a sliver of a chance.  He takes Ridley’s WR18 role right away.  Ridley did that with a lot of close misses and with T Law banged up most of the year.  What can Thomas do with a healthy T-Law?***

***

And we are back.  Fuck you Moose for taking him I wanted him.  Moose got great value with Chuba Hubbard in Round 11 and Rashid Shaheed in Round 12.

Draft Grade: A-.  Didn’t care for Andrews pick, but this team is deep and good.  Moose was like a spider with a web in the middle rounds this year.  Catching players that shouldn’t be there by us idiots that didn’t pick them.  Are we really doing this?  Is Moose gonna compete for Title #5 for fuck’s sake?

9. Trey.

T-Money has another chance to go JJ and says no again.  Last year he had #1 pick and took Bijan.  This year he goes Barkley over JJ.  Why do you hate JJ Trey?  He likes video games.  Sets records.  Has drip.  Barkley could easily have his best season ever but will depend on Hurts and how many tuddies get stolen by the Tush Push.

In Round 2 you took De’Von Achane over Jahymr Gibbs.  You took… Achane over Gibbs.  You took a backup RB who is always hurt over Gibbs.  Mostert ran for 18 touchdowns last season.  They drafted Jaylen Wright.  In Weeks 3-5 last year Achane scored 99.8 fantasy points and was RB#1, 5, and 4 those weeks.  Then he got hurt and missed 4-5 weeks.  When he came back from Weeks 13-18 he scored 87.5 points was RB#3, 24, 29, 52, 8, 21.  Mostert resigned.  Drafted Wright.  Over Gibbs.  Now Moose has Gibbs.  Moose, who has won 4 titles.  Started AMSB-Gibbs.

In Round 3 you took Jalen Hurts due to an irrational fear of Hurts taking all of Barkley’s touchdowns.  😉  In Round 4 you took Deebo Samuel.  He was my target in Round 4, so damnit.  In Round 5 you took James Conner.  Not a sexy pick, but decent volume.  Almost like the exact opposite of De’Von Achane.

In Round 6 you took Jayden Reed.  Reed is in the slot and should be the most consistent out of the Packers wideouts, but the ball will be spread around.  You taking him in Round 6 over Amari Cooper, Terry McLaurin is a saying you know he is the Packers #1 WR.  Even though no one knows if he is the #1 WR, you know and that’s all that matters.  Unless of course you’re wrong.  Rashee Rice in Round 7 might be the steal of the draft if he avoids suspension.  Christian Kirk in Round 8.  Pretty good.  In preseason BTJ and Davis were lined up in 2 WR sets, so something to monitor.  Blake Corum in Round 9 hurt me physically.  Wanted him and I see him as the #1 handcuff this season.  I’ll talk more about Corum in Kenny’s write up since he took Kyren Williams.  Taysom Hill in Round 10 might have been sneaky good.  TE finishes last 4 years: TE#4, #13, #5, #10.

Draft Grade: D.  Achane sucks.

10. Jen.

Jen gets JJ again!  For the 3rd year in a row Jen takes JJ to start the draft.  People are concerned with Sam Darnold at QB and injuries to Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson to start the season.  But JJ is a monster.  His finishes have been WR#5, WR#4, WR#1 and last years WR#29.  But he missed 7 games.  He averaged 16.82 per game.  If he had played all 17 and kept up that average he would’ve finished WR#5.  So despite Cousins missing a significant portion of the season last year, JJ was still balling.

In Round 2 she went with Isiah Pacheco.  Pacheco finished as RB#16 last year.  The Chiefs defense got worse in the offseason in my opinion.  And all signs point to them passing more and having more shootouts.  Pacheco is the starting running back on a very good football team.  That’s a good asset to have.  But in my rankings I had Gibbs and Henry ahead of him.

In Round 3 Jen takes Nico Collins.  3rd year breakout last year was great.  Finished as WR#9.  The concern for a repeat this season is the addition of Stefon Diggs in the offseason.  But Nico got a contract extension and he’s the #1.  I think Diggs provides depth and a true 2nd wideout for 2 WR sets opposed to Tank Dell who is like a mighty mouse/speedster.

DJ Moore was a great pick in Round 4.  Continues to be underrated.  In Round 5 you stuck with the Bears going Swift.  I have concerns about Swift, but not enough to dock you for him.  Evan Engram in Round 6 was okay.  Warren in Round 7 was great.  Jayden Daniels in Round 8 was another great pick.  If Jayden can stay healthy, he has Top 5 Fantasy QB potential.  Got some rookies.  Got a decent handcuff in Gibson.

Draft Grade: B.  Solid draft Jen.  I can see you winning Division 3 and sticking it to Joe, Tommy, and JD.

11. Katon.

Katon!  AJ Brown-Garret Wilson start.  I started like this last year with my AJ Brown-Amon-Ra St. Brown start.  My team sucked.  But I whiffed on T-Law, Ridley, every running back I chose.  It was bad.  Let’s see how you fair.  AJ Brown is a beast.  Enjoy!  Wilson hasn’t lived up to his ADP, but Rodgers being healthy would go a long way.

Kenneth Walker III isn’t a bad consolation prize for RB 1 in Round 3.  In his first two NFL seasons he’s finished RB #16 and RB#19 despite missing 2 games in each season.  Maybe this year he can be healthy all year and outperform his draft position.

I was a little surprised by the Lamar Jackson pick in Round 4.  Jackson over Allen.  Bold move cotton. Jackson’s finishes over past 4 years: QB#10, 15, 14, and 4.  Allens (as mentioned previously) finishes the past 4 seasons: Qb#1, 1, 2, 1.  Does Katon know something we don’t?  Because I thought adding Derrick Henry might take away a little of Jackson’s rushing.  And Josh Allen’s Bills might have their worst defense in years with all the guys they’ve lost this offseason.  So Moose got Josh Allen.

In Round 5 you took David Montgomery, which is great value.  In Round 6 you went George Kittle.  Montgomery isn’t a sexy pick, but finished RB#13 last year despite missing 3 weeks.  He scored 13 rushing touchdowns.  Kittle was quiet last year and yet still finished as TE#5.  That gives him 3 seasons in a row finishing as a Top 5 Fantasy Tight End.  With his playing style he has played exactly 1 full NFL season in 7.  But he does tough it out and suits up for most of them.  Also, if you watched Receiver on Netflix you know he isn’t afraid to get an injection and go back out there and throw his body around to help his team win.

In Round 7 you took Austin Ekeler.  I mean, it could work?  Brian Robinson should be the starter, but I think Ekeler plays and has a role.  He’s also a very valuable handcuff if Brian Robinson gets hurt or shot…again.

Addison in Round 9 is okay.  Might get in trouble due to DUI and might have high ankle sprain.  JK Dobbins in Round 10 over Gus Edwards was interesting.  Gus Bus is #1 on that depth chart and I don’t think he is gonna lose that spot unless he gets hurt.  Dobbins is coming off of an Achilles tear which has been a sign of death for running backs.  Advancements in technologies have come along way, but Dobbins is more machine than man at this point with the screws in his knee and whatever they did to his ankle.

Draft Grade: B.  Core of Lamar Jackson-Kenneth Walker-David Montgomery-AJB-Garret Wilson-Kittle is solid as hell.  I worry about the Jackson over Allen and Dobbins over Gus Edward picks and depth.  Specifically, RB depth.

12. Kenny.

Last but not least!  Kenny going with two Top 6 RBs from a year ago in Kyren Williams and Travis Etienne Jr.  Look at you!  Kyren finished as RB#6 last year despite missing 3 weeks.  His average fantasy points per game (19.9) was #2 amongst Running Backs only behind CMC.  Now the passing game coordinator of the Rams is now the OC of the Falcons.  And the Rams did draft Blake Corum from Michigan.  Corum of course scored 27 touchdowns last year and helped end Nick Saban’s career with this run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NBDegpbe90

And Kyren was dealing with a foot injury this offseason.  But if he can stay healthy and hold off Corum he should continue to smash.  Etienne was RB#3 last year.  His efficiency was dog shit as he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, but he caught 58 passes on 73 targets, scored 12 total touchdowns, and played in every game.  He was my hopeful target in the 2nd round, but I knew there was no chance in hell he would fall to me.  Kenny ensured I was correct.

In Round 3 went Stefon Diggs and then Patrick Mahomes at 4.1.  This was egregious in my opinion.  I get the RB-RB start, but Diggs was a terrible pick.  Over DJ Moore.  Over Deebo Samuel.  Over Cooper Kupp.  Over Mike Evans.  Over Jaylen Waddle.  Over Michael Pittman Jr.  Over Malik Nabers.  If Diggs finishes higher than any of those players this season (unless they get injured*) I’ll send you $5.00.  Yall heard it here folks.  It’s in writing.  $5.00 bet for Kenny where I’m guaranteeing he made a terrible pick.  Diggs will most likely be the 3rd highest targeted player on the Texans.  The other players I mentioned will be first highest player on their teams for targets minus Waddle probably.  Now choosing Mahomes over Allen is interesting.  Mahomes doesn’t run as much unless game is on the line in the Super Bowl.  Allen runs all the time.  But Mahomes should see increased pass volume this year and has added weapons.  If there defense isn’t championship caliber I could see Mahomes breaking some passing records like yardage or touchdowns.  (Not likely, but possible).  His weapons have greatly improved.   I won’t dock you too much for Mahomes over Allen and Jackson, but I will dock you big time for the Diggs whiff.

Round 5 you chose youth with Pickens and Zay Flowers.  Right now they seem like #1 targets on their teams.  In Round 7 you took Jake Ferguson and Round 8 Zach Moss.  I liked both of these picks.  It was a little early for Ferguson, but he has Top 5 TE potential.  He showed what he could do against the Packers last year when he scored 3 times.  Of course the Packers were up by so much it didn’t matter, but Ferguson is good.  I have him in dynasty and am happy for it.  Moss was good too.  Moss averaged 11 points per game and played admirably in relief of Johnathan Taylor for the Colts.  Moss’s playing style matches the Bengals offense too.  There’s a lot of Chase Brown smoke, but I think Moss carves out a big role for himself on that Bengals offense.

Solid picks with Tyler Allgeier and Ladd McConkey.  Curtis Samuel in Round 14 was nice.

Draft Grade: C+.  Diggs picked ruined it.  Looking at your team right now on the ESPN app.  If I saw DJ Moore or Cooper Kupp where Diggs is in your lineup I’d think I was looking at a contender.  1 pick shouldn’t sink your whole season, but it might have been the worst pick of the draft.  I don’t see Diggs finishing as a Top 25 receiver this year.  I see all the guys you passed on being Top 20 receivers.  Just baffling to me.

Draft Grades In Draft Order:

  1. Tommy: B
  2. Mike: C
  3. Joe: A-
  4. Brad: C
  5. Scotty: A
  6. JD: C+
  7. Chase: B-
  8. Moose: A-
  9. Trey: D
  10. Jen: B
  11. Katon: B
  12. Kenny: C+

Draft Grades In Grade Order:

  1. Scotty: A
  2. Moose: A-
  3. Joe: A-
  4. Tommy: B
  5. Katon: B
  6. Jen: B
  7. Chase: B-
  8. JD: C+
  9. Kenny: C+
  10. Brad: C
  11. Mike: C
  12. Trey: D

For Fun here are the ESPN Draft Grades they sent out so we can compare next year:

  1. Tommy: A
  2. Katon: B
  3. Chase: B
  4. Scotty: B
  5. Joe: B
  6. Kenny: B
  7. Moose: B
  8. JD: B
  9. Brad: C
  10. Mike: C
  11. Trey: C
  12. Jen: C

That’s it folks.  Best of luck this season!

-Commish B. Razzle Dazzle aka Brad aka Bradley aka Fantasy Football Brad