A quarter of a century. That is how long ago we gathered around the Kelly table at 1205 Glen Arbor Drive to draft the first teams of Mandeville Kelly Fantasy Football League, now Maryanne Smith League. Over those two and a half decades we’ve seen some incredible seasons and players and have had some historically awesome and historically terrible drafts. Through many of those seasons I’ve provided draft grades. For a while I was doing weekly recaps and predictions until ESPN made character limits on the league message board so heinous I had to move to a blog. Through all this time we’ve grown up. Many of us have gotten married. Many now have children of our own. Many are highly successful in their respected profession. All seem to be doing pretty well from my vantage point. I can’t describe how happy I am that we all get to reconnect on an annual basis and I hope that we are all able to get together this time next year to celebrate another year alive and another year of Fantasy Football. Enough nostalgia. Let’s get to what you came for.
Draft Grades! As always I’d like to remind you this is my opinion. I’ll defend my opinion with the pieces of information I have in my brain. That doesn’t make me right. I’m not the best with deep analytics and data. I’m knowingly ignorant about most things, fantasy football included. My hopes for these grades is to educate but also to help you in other league you might be drafting in, in the near future. I might not be able to convince you on players that I’m high on, but if I give you something to think about it’ll make me happy.
1. Quentin.
Tied with the most championships in league history (4) Quentin begins his quest for #5 with the #1 overall pick and the rights to draft Jamarr Chase. In 2024 Chase won the WR Triple Crown, leading the NFL in Receptions (127), Receiving Yards (1708) , and Receiving TDs (17). Good for an average of 19.9 per game. Including games of 36.3, 49.9, and 38.1. Now obviously this is a rare feat. Unlikely to happen again. Last year the Bengals defense was horrific. Leading the Bengals to have to score in bunches just to stay in close games. Many of which they wind up losing. They are hungry and motivated to ensure they start out fast and strong this season. But there’s a couple of problems. Last season their weakness was offensive line and defense. In the offseason they signed Jamarr Chase and Tee Higgins to massive contracts. They did seemingly nothing to improve their secondary or defense. They did seemingly nothing to improve their offensive line. I believe we are going to see more of the same. Burrow having to throw a ton and Chase being the main benefactor. He’s the slam dunk WR1 and a great pick made by Quentin.
At the turn Quentin did what I expected him to do. I had created mock drafts in an excel document and I predicted Quentin to take Bucky Irving and a QB. I guessed Josh Allen, so I was wrong on the QB, but right on the concept.
Bucky has become a bit of a cult sensation on Fantasy Football platforms like Sleeper. He averaged 12.99 points per game in half ppr last year as a rookie. The impressive thing about him was he did this while only playing 30-57% of snaps in every game except for Weeks 6 and 18. Both weeks he faced New Orleans and where he played in 64% and 72% of snaps. Rachaad White is a little banged up. Sean Tucker is being hyped up. And also Liam Coen is gone, now head coaching Jacksonville. Will the new OC, Josh Grizzard, keep the same RBBC approach of Coen? He was the passing game coordinator under Coen last season in Tampa. Before that he was a quality control and WR coach in Miami, more recently under Mike McDaniels. He helped the Dolphins in the 2023 season when Miami achieved the NFL’s top offense in yards per game. Losing Coen could hurt, but seems Grizzard is an up and coming who has a chance to be the next young coach in the McVay, McDaniels, Coen molds in the future. Also, I have to mention he selected Bucky over Chase Brown and Jonathan Taylor. Quentin had JT last year too when he won it all.
In the 3rd Quentin took Lamar Jackson, recreating his 2024 QB who helped him win a title. Last season Jackson added Derrick Henry and the Ravens rolled on offense. Jackson had his best fantasy season ever. Throwing for a career best 41 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. Josh Allen won the MVP award, but Lamar Jackson was the MVP. The team is relatively unchanged. The division is relatively unchanged. By taking Jackson you can go ahead and give Quentin two wins automatically this season. One in Week 13 and the other in Week 15. Where they square off against the Bengals. Last season Chase averaged 43.1 and Jackson averaged 33.1. 76.2 points on average from two players in those matchups. Giddy up.
At the 4/5 turn Quentin missed out on a lot of great talent in Round 4 and at the end of Round 3, but that’s the disadvantage of drafting at 1. He secured one boring, but solid pick in James Conner as his RB2. A bit of a reach, according to the rankings, he selected George Pickens to start the 5th. Conner rushed for a thousand yards and finished as RB#11 in half ppr. All signs point to him repeating as the lead back with a mix of Trey Benson behind him. This is one of those solid picks that seems boring, but helps a roster.
Most rankers had Pickens behind the likes of Davante Adams, Marvin Harrison, Terry McLaurin, Courtland Sutton, etc. Quentin knew he probably wouldn’t come back to him, so he took his guy. Pickens has always been talented albeit a bit of a headcase. Last season he was the Alpha WR1 on the Arthur Smith-led Steelers, but couldn’t breakout while catching balls from Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. A change of scenery to Dallas should help. With a Cowboys team projected to throw a ton in Brian Schottenheimer’s first season as the head coach. I’m bullish on Pickens, but I don’t think I could’ve taken him over the list of wideouts above.
In Rounds 6 and 7 Quentin selects Aaron Jones and Travis Kelce. The Vikings will be starting JJ McCarthy at QB, a sophomore with the experience of a rookie given he missed all of 2024 after tearing his meniscus. How do you help a rookie Quarterback? By running the football. Insert Jones and offseason addition Jordan Mason. Jones should handle 3rd downs and two minute offense. Mason should handle bruiser duties and goal line back duties. In games that the Vikings are winning I expect more Mason. In games they have to score a lot I see more Jones. According to Warren Sharp Vikings have one of the hardest schedules when looking at Vegas projected win totals. Which makes sense when you look at the division featuring the Lions, Packers, and Bears. The Bears brought in Ben Johnson and overhauled their offensive line. I like Jones as a RB3. It should provide flexibility in the event Conner gets hurt or starts to lose volume to Trey Benson.
When it comes to Kelce, he had his worst season in 9 years. Catching only 823 yards and 3 touchdowns, a career low (ignoring his nonexistent rookie season). He still finished as TE#6. This is a bet on a rebound as father time is looking to end this hall of fame career in the near future. If this is his last ride, fans would love to see him recreate some of the numbers he’s put up in the past. One of the reasons Quentin won last year was the deadly combo of Kittle and Bowers. Kelce is a downgrade from those two obviously.
In Round 8 and 9 Quentin started a bit of a fall in terms of draft grade. Taking Khalil Shakir and Najee Harris. Two players who are currently injured. Shakir is the most consistent WR on the Bills. He has potential, but it seems it’ll be a very slow start to the season for him why he works his way back from a high ankle sprain. Those injuries tend to linger, so look for the Bills to take the cautious approach to start the year. Najee was the free agent RB to have. When the Chargers signed him to a one year deal. I said here we go baby. 1000 yard season streak is secured. Then the draft happened and the Chargers selected Omarion Hampton of North Carolina in the first round. Najee’s fantasy value plummeted but wasn’t looking too bad. More of a 1A/1B sort of thing where he would be a decent fantasy asset at the beginning of the season at least. Then on the 4th of July he had a fireworks incident that injured his eye. He’s been unable to practice ever since. That is over a month ago, so to cause a running back who uses their legs for a living to not be able to practice at all tells me it was more serious than we thought. He falls further. Then, the Chargers starting Left Tackle Rashawn Slater tears his patellar tendon and is lost for the season. They’ll move Joe Alt to Left Tackle and try to make RT work, but this lessened it a little bit more. We’ll see if Najee can overcome all these negatives to have a positive season. But more frustrating than all of what I just wrote about is when Greg Roman and Harbaugh roll out Hassan Haskins at the goal line just for shits and giggles.
Later rounds I liked Isaac G and Jaydon Blue. They are both injured right now, but young, talented RBs. Isaac G being a handcuff and Blue being a potential late season starter, with only one knee Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to overcome. Shadeur Sanders is a 4th string QB and shouldn’t be owned in a 10 man fantasy league, but I get people are trying to make him a thing and it made for a funny pick. If he winds up being relevant this season then we’ll know one of two things are true. Either the NFL is rigged or we are living in a Computer Simulation.
Draft Grade: B-. He will be competitive and I hope I don’t face him in Weeks 13 or 15.
2. Andy.
Andy Bo Bandy. Gibbs was RB#2 last season despite having 95 less rush attempts than #1 Saquon and 75 less rush attempts than #3 Derrick Henry. How? Gibbs caught 52 passes for 517 yards and scored 20 TDs last season. He averaged 19.8 half ppr points per game which is about the same as Jamarr Chase. The Lions have one of the best offensive lines in football. They play in a tough division. I mean it when I say it. Gibbs is the best running back in the NFL. He is entering Year 3. Sure he’ll have Montgomery back from injury. Ben Johnson is gone. There are arguments against him repeating his 2024 success. It’s hard to score 20 touchdowns. But Gibbs is the truth and a slam dunk pick at #2.
In Round 2 Andy went AJ Brown. I love AJB. He even has the same initials as Andy! He is one of the best WRs in the NFL. Every WR metric you can track he is one of the guys on the top of the list. The only reason he isn’t higher is because of the Eagles are such a good team and don’t have to pass much. You don’t have to throw a lot if you’re winning late in games. But he is one of those players where you feel better knowing he is in your starting lineup. You never have to question, should I start him? The answer is always yes. Start and forget. And let’s be real. There will probably be some positive regression coming his way after missing 4 games and finishing as half ppr WR#18 in 2024.
In Round 3 Andy takes Josh Jacobs. Over JT and Chase Brown. For me, Chase Brown was the pick. An argument can be made for Jonathan Taylor as well. But Jacobs in half ppr makes a lot of sense as well. Once the weather gets cold in Green Bay they pound the rock. And Jacobs smashed last season after the bye week. Rushing for an incredible 12 touchdowns in the final 8 games of the season. Weather gets cold, Andy’s team will get bold. Jacobs was RB #5 last season and I have no argument as to why he can’t replicate that. Prefer Brown, but okay with Andy taking Jacobs.
In Round 4 Andy took Mike Evans. Criminally underrated for 11 seasons.
Mike Evans Half PPR Finishes In His Career:
2014- WR12
2015- WR23
2016- WR1
2017- WR19
2018- WR9
2019- WR12
2020- WR10
2021- WR8
2022- WR16
2023- WR5
2024-WR9
Average: WR11. Godwin is banged up to start the year. One of the reasons Mike Evans is able to dominate defenders is because his arms are as long as Mr. Fantastic’s. AT 35 1/8″ it is 98th percentile. The NFL average for a wide receiver is 31-32 inches. A lot of people talk about how big Wide Receiver hands are. Seldom do they talk about the arms. This allows Evans to high point the ball better than your average player. He is 31, this might be the season he falls off a cliff. But I don’t think so. I think he gets another 1000 yard season to add to his Hall of Fame career.
In the 5th Andy goes Jameson Williams. Williams broke out last year and showed his potential getting over 1000 receiving yards and finishing as the WR#19. If AJ Brown and Mike Evans are Andy’s “Steady Eddies”, then Jamo is his dynamite. Can go for 70 yard touchdowns any given moment. This trio of WRs paired with Andy’s duo at RB gives him a solid core.
In Round 6 he got the steal of the round. I was looking at Ridley, but couldn’t pass on Joe Burrow in the 6th. Calvin Ridley was WR27 last year with horrific and I mean horrific QB play. Insert the #1 pick Cam Ward, a gunslinger and a terrible group of Wideouts and you have the making of a WR who is going to get a ton of volume. The WR room consist of Tyler Lockett, a few rookies, and Van Jefferson. Ridley is gonna smash this season.
In Round 7 Andy went DK Metcalf. I didn’t care for this pick. I felt Andy should’ve gone TE, QB, or backup RB. Getting a 5th WR in half ppr when you already landed 4 studs seemed like a bad idea in my book. I dropped Andy’s grade when he did it. And I like Metcalf. But I don’t care for Rodgers, nor Arthur Smith’s play calling. This seems like a team that’s going to run two tight ends with Jonnu Smith, Pat Freirmuth, and Darnell Washington seeing a ton of snaps. Running the ball a ton with Kaleb Johnson and Jaylen Warren. And sure DK will be the deep threat/alpha X Wide Receiver just like he was in Seattle, but I predict the volume will be much less. I’m not high on Metcalf this season, but where his value lies will be in touchdowns. I don’t think you’ll get the steady 7-8 catches, but he’ll win some jump balls in the red zone from Rodgers. Adams caught 8 and Wilson caught 7 from Rodgers last season.
In Round 8 Andy takes Brian Robinson. Another underrated player. Robinson is another one of those boring picks like James Conner. He’s a solid 8-10 points. If something happens to Gibbs or Jacobs, Andy will be able to survive in the short term by plugging in the RB#1 on the Commanders.
In Round 9 Andy took Tyler Warren. I loved this pick and hated this pick. Loved it because I’m very high on Warren. Hated it because Andy prevented me from getting him. Just watch the play against Maryland at the 7:34 mark:
Early in the 2nd Quarter Against Maryland. The QB takes the snap. Warren stays with his block, giving the Qb a chance to step up. He runs behind QB. QB tosses it back to Warren. Snapped at the 48 yard line, by the time the QB pitches it back to Warren he catches it at the 40. Then he stiff arms one defender at the 45, hurdles a defender at the 47. Breaks another tackle at the opposite 40. Sprints down the sideline and gets tackled at the 21 yard line for an official 31 yard rush, that he ran for 39 yards. Breaking 3 tackles after blocking the DE enough to give QB a chance to escape. You drafted a Kittle. A Manimal. The Colts offense will funnel through him and JT this season. Last thing. TE 1 in 2023? Rookie Sam LaPorta. TE1 in 2024? Rookie Brock Bowers. Does the trend continue in 2025?
In Round 10 Andy takes Jordan Addison. Love this value. Andy will have trade ammunition to better his RB situation in the event of someone getting hurt. In the offseason I did a big analysis on WR2s. And how they performed when the WR1 was out. Addison had games of 21.4, 26.2, and 35.3 last season. Another boom or bust Andy can throw in due to injuries or bye weeks. Andy might be the deepest WR team and it’s not particularly close.
In later rounds Andy took Cam Ward, Anthony Richardson, and Rashid Shaheed. Great value in the Shaheed pick. He has looked better than Olave at times when healthy. Ward is a gunslinger, but I imagine there will be the normal rookie growing pains. Richardson should start for the Colts, but we’ll see if they do it. Richardson is 3 days older than Cam Ward. You read that correctly. Richardson and Cam Ward are the same age as Richardson enters his third NFL season. It’s not a bad strategy. And Andy can easily pick up a QB via waiver wire if they don’t work out. Loveland might hit, but a lot of mouths to feed in Chicago. Ford might be okay in Cleveland depending on Judkins/Sampson/QB play etc.
Draft Grade: B. Andy’s strength is core of Gibbs-Jacobs-AJB-Evans-Ridley and depth at WR. I think Warren will be just fine at TE. Andy will have to figure out WR and hope his two RB studs don’t go down because the RB depth is thin/non existent.
3. Michael
Michael had the nice 3 spot in the draft, ensuring he got one out of Chase, Gibbs or Bijan. Andy went Gibbs and Bijan fell into Michael’s lap. Bijan was RB#4 last year with immense volume for the Falcons. 304 rushing attempts, 1456 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, 72 targets, 61 receptions, 431 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown. All signs to a similar workload as the Falcons haven’t made any changes. One beat reporter who spoke to Bijan said he’s been working on his big play ability this offseason. He noticed other players taking it to the house more frequently. He was more of a death by a thousand cuts type of fantasy player. If he’s able to add some more explosive plays then the skies the limit for this entering third year stud. According to Warren Sharp the Falcons have the 4th easiest schedule in the NFL this season. Easy pick.
In Round 2 Mike took Trey McBride. McBride was TE#3 last season in half ppr. The Arizona offense funneled through McBride in 2024. Marvin Harrison might have the NFL player legacy genes but he had a very quiet rookie season (Trust me I know). McBride did this while only scoring 3 touchdowns. If he gets the same volume (147 targets, 111 receptions) then you can expect more touchdowns. Now Marvin Harrison looks jacked so there’s a chance he gets a larger piece of the pie, but they didn’t add any other threat so I see this as a condensed Receiver group and love this pick for Mike in Round 2.
Round 3 Mike takes Josh Allen. The Brad Killer.
Josh Allen’s QB Finishes in his Career:
2018- QB21
2019- QB8
2020- QB1
2021- QB1
2022- QB2
2023- QB1
2024- QB2
Top 2 QB for 6 seasons in a row. Now interestingly he started out a little boom and bust last year. 31.1, 9.6, 30.8, 7.3. Then he settled down was putting up 18.2-28.3 in Weeks 6-13. Then Week 14 happened. 51.8 fantasy points against me. 342 passing yards. 3 passing touchdowns. 82 rushing yards. 3 rushing touchdowns. The following week he scored 41.2 fantasy points. Mike starts the draft with three players who could realistically finish as the QB1, RB1, and TE1. Now I can see an argument being made for my beloved Chase Brown (see Logan’s grade for more information) or Jonathan Taylor before the massive tier break for RBs. But I can’t blame Mike too much on a Top 2 QB. Lock him in and forget about it. Mike didn’t even draft a backup QB. Didn’t need to.
In Round 4 Mike takes his first WR with Tee Higgins. When healthy Tee Higgins puts up WR1 numbers. He has one season where he played in 17 games. He’s played in 16, 14, 17, 12, and 12. He is known for random soft tissue injuries. He also was being conservative on the backend of his rookie contract wanting to ensure he gets the big second contract. Well he got it. To the tune of 4 years, $115 Million with $30 Million fully guaranteed at signing and a $20 million dollar roster bonus for 2025. He also has incentives in his contract that include $2 million dollars roster bonus if he is active on game days. Meaning if he misses a game he’ll lose 1/17 of the $2 million dollars or $117,647 per game. This gives him incentive to be less conservative on those soft tissue related injuries and play on Sundays. Now this could be a good thing if he’s active and effective. Or it could be a bad thing, for if he rushes back too early he risks exacerbating the injury and possibly missing more. His 15.47 half ppr points per game over the course of a 17 game season would have put him at WR#3. As I mentioned in my grade about Burrow and Quentin’s grade about Jamarr Chase, the Bengals are going to throw the ball. A LOT. At first glance Tee Higgins as your WR1 doesn’t look great. The further you look and the more you like and are okay with it.
In Round 5 Mike took Terry McLaurin. Scary Terry. F1. Whatever you want to call him isn’t happy. He wants a new contract. Mike is banking on him and Commanders getting the business part done and McLaurin looking to replicate his best season of his career as LSU sensation Jayden Daniels enters Year 2. As we get closer to the season and as the business side gets worked out you’ll see Terry McLaurin rising up draft boards and going early to mid 4th round and not into the 5th where Mike snagged him. Another solid pick.
In Round 6 Mike takes D’Andre Swift as his RB2. Swift is an interesting running back with an interesting history. He’s in Detroit with Ben Johnson as OC. He has some injuries and some controversy surrounding his availability. He gets doctors to sign off on snap counts for games. The relationship deteriorates and the next thing you know he winds up an Eagle. One season as an Eagle to replace Miles Sanders and he rushes for 1000 yards but doesn’t wow and finishes as RB23. Then Eagles sign Saquon and Swift winds up a Bear. Lions, Eagles, and Bear oh my! Last year he played in all 17 games (career best) and finished as RB19. He’s a RB2. Insert Ben Johnson and more importantly, insert a whole new offensive line and you have a lot of potential. Swift has not played to his potential in his career. That’s true. The Bears also have Roschon Johnson and drafted Kyle Monangai in the 7th round of the draft. Monangai is more of a between the tackles bruiser type of back. On August 9th the Bears worked out Jamaal Williams. Williams rushed for 17 touchdowns his last year in Detroit. The same year he was paired with… D’Andre Swift. So here’s what we know. Swift will play two minute drills. He’ll be the third down back. He’ll probably finish as an RB2. Will he do more than that? Probably not. Ben Johnson knows who Swift is and what he is not. He’ll try to maximize what he is.
Mike takes Xavier Worthy in Round 7. Not a bad WR3. Cheifs WRs are a bit of a mess right now. You have 35 year old Travis Kelce. Rashee Rice who might be suspended and who is coming off of injury. Hollywood Brown who is oft-injured and currently working through an ankle injury. JuJu Smith-Schuster. Rookie Jalen Royals. And Tyquan Thornton, a young WR from the Patriots who couldn’t break out in New England. At the very least Worthy is a big play potential. He had a couple of boom weeks including towards the end of the season. Even in the Super Bowl he caught those two long touchdowns albeit when the game was over and Mahomes was just chucking it. But for a flex play or depth piece in case someone goes down? Why not?
In Round 8 Mike took Chris Olave. Praying he stays healthy and avoids concussions this season. His QB play might be rough again, but the Saints could be very bad again and they’ll have to throw the ball a lot late, which could help. Olave is a great wide receiver when he’s healthy and should be drafted closer to JSN than he is. All Saints are discounted due to the cloud hanging over this season. AKA It aint looking good.
Mike then loaded up on RB fliers for depth. Javonte Williams, Travis Etienne, JK Dobbins, Tyjae Spears, Bhayshul Tuten. Honestly it’s not a bad strategy. Williams, Etienne, and Dobbins are in muddy situations where they very well could be the Week 1 starters for their teams. Or they could be part of some nasty committees. But those committees can become valuable if one is outplaying their teammates or if one of those teammates gets injured, etc.
Draft Grade: B+. Mike didn’t take a backup QB or TE, so he’s an Allen or McBride injury away from being very mediocre, but which team wouldn’t be if they lose their 2nd or 3rd round pick? He’ll have to figure out his RB2 if Swift underperforms and bye week streamers, but overall pretty solid job drafting.
4. Stephen
I was actually shocked by Stephen taking Barkley. Madden Curse. #1 RB last season. This offseason they lost some key pieces on defense (although they added Jihad Campbell in the draft for God’s sake) and they have a tougher schedule this year (29th according to Warren Sharp)With that being said their Vegas projected win/loss line is at 11.5. They are the favorite to repeat as winners in the NFC East. And with their core in tact are looking like strong contenders again this season. Barkley ran behind the best offensive line in football. With a solid QB and awesome wideouts where the defense couldn’t commit to just stopping the run. By the end of games Barkley was exploding for long touchdowns having asserted his will against them. His season was healthy and honestly, a little God-like. No better example of his reverse hurdle that is now in Madden. That’s one of those plays that no matter how many times you watch it you still can’t believe it. It defied physics and probability at least. I thought Stephen was going to go Lamb here. Dallas looks like they are going to throw a ton and a lot of pundits have Lamb ranked right behind Chase. In half ppr I get the allure of going RB to play it safe.
In Round 2 Stephen had Jeanty unexpectedly fall to his lap. Here is where the Lamb pick in the 1st would’ve paid off. But still. Barkley/Jeanty ensures Stephen has a high volume rushing attack. Ashton Jeanty looked like a cheat code in college. Big plays, unable to be tackled. And he landed in a great spot with the Raiders where his volume is assured. Now the Raiders play in a division with the Chiefs and Broncos whose defenses scare me. But he’ll get the goal line work, the two minute drills, the 3rd downs. He’ll play a ton and he has that breakaway ability. Geno Smith is an upgrade at QB for the Raiders and teams can’t overcommit to stopping Jeanty otherwise they’ll let Brock Bowers eat them alive. Now the concern here is the offensive line. Brandon Thorn has them ranked 26th in the NFL and well below average. Their over/under on wins is set at 6.5, so can’t expect Jeanty to get a bunch of rushes late in games. It’s a volume and talent bet. I still liked Chase Brown and Jonathan Taylor more than Jeanty, contrarian to most fantasy “professionals”. But even still I’m not going to lie, I thought about Jeanty in the 2nd. But couldn’t do it.
In Round 3 Stephen chooses Ladd McConkey as his WR1. Ouch. As I mentioned in Quentin’s grade on Najee Harris, losing Rashawn Slater is a bigger deal than people are letting on. They’ll shuffle their offensive line around and move Joe Alt to Left Tackle, but Brandon Thorn moved them from fringe Top 10 offensive line to #25 offensive line. It was that big of a loss. I downgraded all Chargers players as a result of this loss. Adding to the offensive line woes for McConkey is the additions of Keenan Allen, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, and Tre Harris. They also added Tyler Conklin and Orande Gadsen at TE. Last year they had Ladd and QJ and that was about it. They’ll have more options now. Don’t get me wrong. Ladd is still their #1 target. I don’t like his chances to replicate his 2024 finish of WR#12. I go back to Round 1. Had you taken Lamb, you could’ve gone JT or Chase Brown here. Having a JT/Jeanty/Lamb trio or a Jeanty/Brown/Lamb trio, I like a lot better than the Barkley/Jeanty/McConkey. Hindsight is 20/20 but in my mocks I had you passing on Barkley.
Round 4 you got Alvin Kamara. Similar to Mike Evans he’s been criminally underrated the past few seasons.
Alvin Kamara Finishes In His Career:
2017- RB3
2018- RB4
2019- RB13
2020- RB1
2021- RB8
2022- RB18
2023- RB14
2024- RB11
Those numbers also don’t reflect the fact that AK has missed 1-3 games every season of his career except for his rookie campaign. His 16.52 half ppr points per game last season would’ve been good for RB5 pace. Saints might be bad again this year. Qb situation is looking ugly. But drafted an offensive lineman in the first again. Maybe Kamara can keep the magic going for another season.
Round 5 Stephen got good value in Davante Adams. More like Davante Auras. (He dressed slick at the celebrity golf tournament I attended last month at Lake Tahoe) Adams left Green Bay and had a couple frustrating seasons with the Raiders. Then was traded to the Jets and had one frustrating season with the Jets. But even though it was frustrating he still finished as WR3, WR11 and WR14 in those three seasons. And last year he was WR14 despite missing 3 weeks. Now he replaces Cooper Kupp in Sean McVay’s offense in Los Angeles. Honestly I think Adams might finish higher than Ladd McConkey this season and will be Stephen’s best wideout. That is assuming Matthew Stafford’s back injury is nothing serious and just more maintenance and caution for a 37 year old Quarterback. He looked fine when he golfed with Bryson Dechambeau in the offseason on Bryson’s Youtube show “Break 50”. Stafford is a much better Quarterback than Golfer. But I love how they say things like “have to be cautious with such an old Quarterback” and he’s literally the same age as me.
Stephen selected Chuba Hubbard in Round 6, providing nice depth at RB. Chuba was awesome last season. Now they added Rico Dowdle and drafted Trevor Etienne this offseason, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Chuba was run down by the end of last season. But they paid the man starter money and he’s the #1 on the offense. I think it was a great value pick while at the same time expensive because you had to pass on Calvin Ridley to get him. I’m high on Ridley this year.
In Round 7 you took Tetairoa McMillan. 10 inch hands baby. Bryce Young will sling it to the former volleyball player. Now I will tell you. I drafted Travis Hunter over him in dynasty. Why? When watching McMillan I saw too much Courtland Sutton. Too much Drake London. You might be thinking, what the hell is wrong with those guys?!?! Nothing, but Sutton’s best finish in his career in terms of fantasy was last season where he finished as half ppr WR 13. Last season was his 7th NFL season. London finished as WR 5. That was in season 3. First season was WR36 and second season was WR39. Maybe McMillan can smash as a rookie. But last year the Panthers spread the ball around. Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, Hunter Renfrow, Jimmy Horn, and Jalen Coker represent his target competition. He has a lot of potential. But will he smash in Year 1? I’m not convinced. It might take him a minute. [By the way the final nail in the coffin for me in deciding between T-Mac and Travis Hunter was yards of separation. TMac= 2.8 Yards (20th percentile). Hunter= 5.9 Yards (91% percentile). 5.9 yards of separation!]
Round 8 Stephen took Patrick Mahomes. The truth about Patrick Mahomes. In the past two seasons he’s been a great NFL quarterback. But he has not been a great FANTASY quarterback. 2024- QB11, 2023- QB8. Now that doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well it’s bad if you look at his ADP. Now this year Stephen got him in Round 8. That is better. That makes it more palatable. Especially if he can overperform his ADP and have one of those Top 5 finishes like he had in 2018 (1), 2020(4), 2021(4), and 2022(1). He just hasn’t been crisp the past couple of seasons and hasn’t needed to throw because Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has been so dominate on the other side of the ball. Decent value in the 8th.
In Round 9 Stephen took Travis Hunter. I think he outperforms McMillan. I did a large analysis on WR duos this offseason. I think Hunter is going to be just fine. If he plays 75-80% of snaps it’ll be like having 75% JJ. This guy is a unicorn. He won the Heisman, The Biletnikoff and the Bednarik for God’s sake. And people are like “Oh he’s going to get hurt”. Steal in Round 9.
Round 10 Stephen gets his tight end in Evan Engram. He also added DAvid Njoku in Round 12. Solid tight duos and great value. With Engram I worry about consistency. Broncos defense is scary. They are going to run. They have Courtland Sutton as the #1. Engram will have some boom weeks where he is a major contributor in the game plan. But I don’t anticipate him being consistent. Boom/Bust. Just have to get the Booms right. Njoku should be fine despite the QB drama.
Like the Golden and Higgins picks and flier on Nick Chubb with Joe Mixon’s injury.
Draft Grade: C+. I would have gone differently in Rounds 1, 2, and 3. Felt like he got good value in the middle rounds. Going to be one of those teams were you have to get the start/sit decision correct and those can be frustrating. While doing mock drafts my favorite position to draft from was 4th. I could get everybody I wanted there. Felt like Stephen didn’t execute as well as he could have.
5. Caleb
Caleb goes with CeeDee Lamb. CeeDee was the WR#1 in 2023, the last season he had a healthy Dak Prescott for the full season. This team projects to have a bad defense and a bad run game. That means pass-happy and that means I’m bullish on Lamb this season. WR#1 is within the range of outcomes, despite Chase seeming like he can’t be touched. Last year Lamb wasn’t pretty. He was working through a shoulder injury for most of the year. Catching passes from Cooper Rush for most of the year. Despite all of that and missing the last two games of the season he finished as half ppr WR#8. Can’t thing of worse scenarios than last season and yet he still finished Top 10. Stud. Great pick.
In Round 2 Caleb followed Brad and Josh’s lead as the only three teams to start the draft WR-WR. Caleb selected Drake London who had a third year breakout last season and finished as WR#5. In the last three weeks of last season he had 39 targets. I think the WR specific schedule is harder this season, so he might not be able to replicate his Top 5 finish, but Top 10 is definitely reasonable. I liked McBride, AJ Brown, and Chase Brown more than London, but Top 5/10 WR is a great asset.
In Round 3 Caleb got his RB1 in Jonathan Taylor. Last season I gave a lot of people crap for not drafting Jonathan Taylor. Quentin drafted Jonathan Taylor. Quentin won the Super Bowl in big part due to drafting Jonathan Taylor. JT scored 39.8 and 27.6 in the fantasy playoffs last season. So naturally he falls to the middle of the third round this season… Caleb got a stud. His 16.84 half ppr points per game would have put him as the RB5. But he missed a few weeks and finished as the RB9. But he played when it mattered most for Quentin. The Colts offense will run through JT and Tyler Warren. Love the pick even if I had Brown an edge higher.
Round 4 came and Caleb was staring at a large list of veterans. He had his choice of Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, Terry McLaurin, Davante Adams or he could’ve gone Alvin Kamara to secure his RB2. He instead chose to go with Tyreek Hill. Tyreek devastated Josh’s team last season. Tua got hurt, Tyreek hurt his wrist, and the Dolphins offense was a disaster. (with the exception of the God-King Tight End Jonnu Smith) Hill had his worst statistical season in his career other than his injury riddled 2019 season. He finished as WR#21 but failed to break 1000 yards receiving. He’s 31. He has seven confirmed children with rumors of three more. He could have a major bounce back season this year. But the Dolphins offensive line got worse. If Tua is healthy then he has a chance. Especially with the Jonnu Smith vacated targets. Evan Silva thinks this might be the year Jaylen Waddle overtakes Tyreek as the WR1 in Miami. But Silva has historically been bullish/higher on Waddle than consensus. I would have gone Evans or Higgins here but we’ll see if we can get a glimpse of the Tyreek of yesteryear again.
In Round 5 Caleb took David Montgomery as his RB2. Montgomery was his normal touchdown scoring self until an injury prematurely ended his 2024 regular season campaign. He should be healthy coming into 2025 and looks to pick up where he left off. He scored 12 touchdowns last year and averaged 14.55 points per game. Gibbs is more explosive, but Monty is the grinder and will be used to keep Gibbs fresh. Sonic and Knuckles!
In Round 6 Caleb got great value in Garrett Wilson. Wilson had his third year breakout and it’s like nobody even cares. He was WR11 last year after terrible finishes of WR19 and WR32 (when compared to his ADP). Talent has never been the problem with Wilson. It’s been the Quarterback play. Insert Justin Fields who has been a better runner than passer in the NFL so far. But Fields was Wilson’s QB at Ohio State, so the transition from Rodgers to Fields should be smooth. Fields ability to move around the pocket more than the 40 year old coming-off-of-achilles-injury Rodgers will help Wilson on broken plays get open and score more. If Tyreek has another bad season Caleb will still have a decent trio in Lamb-London-Wilson at WR.
Round 7 Caleb takes Isaih Pacheco. Pacheco should be the RB1 for the Chiefs this season, but Kareem Hunt pooped in his cheerios last season. I see them continuing to use a committee approach with Pacheco, Hunt, Elijah Mitchell, Carson Steele, and rookie Brashard Smith. One or two of these guys might have to practice squad it for awhile. The clearest path for Pacheco is for Hunt to be injured or cut, but all signs look at another committee approach. Not a bad flier and RB depth piece, but I liked Tony Pollard better here. Felt like that was a miss.
Caleb goes TJ Hockenson in Round 8 to secure his TE1. Rookies love checking down to Tight Ends. JJ McCarthy will play like a rookie at times with his first healthy season as a starter. Also, Jordan Addison is suspended the first 3 weeks of the season. Hock could get peppered early and help Caleb get off to a fast start. Last season was all about getting back to healthy status for Hockenson but he showed flashes of his former self. We’ll see if he can regain the magic and have a Top 5 finish like he did in 2022 and 2023.
Round 9 Caleb goes with Tank Bigsby. Worth a shot. I think he’s the best pure runner on the Jags. He didn’t catch a lot of passes. I think Coen is going to go with the hot hand approach and it certainly can be Tank. Etienne is probably the smartest RB. Tuten is most explosive but had fumble issues and pass protection issues in college. Early in the season I think they are going to feel it out and who knows. They might all have a role in the offense similar to the Bucs did last year with Irving and White both being fantasy relevant and Sean Tucker coming in every now and then with decent production.
Later rounds Caleb got good value in Justin Fields, Jaylen Warren and Trevor Lawrence. He even got Kyle Pitts for free.
Draft Grade: B+. Didn’t care for Tyreek and Pacheco picks but the team is solid. Love the Fields pick as QB1 and the stack with Wilson. RB depth is good enough. Solid draft for Caleb.
6. Logan
Logan got burned in 2024. He kept drafting WRs. He went CeeDee Lamb, AJ Brown, Davante Adams, Mike Evans, Brandon Auyik to start. This season he went with an opposite approach. Christian McCaffrey at 1.06. Evan Silva and Mike Leone had a big debate about CMC in their Man vs. Machine podcast recently. Silva had CMC as his 18th ranked player and Leone had CMC as his 7th. Silva’s argument was he wasn’t taking a 29 year old running back with injury riddled history and career touches north of 4000 (pro and college) over a stud 25 year old Wideout like BTJ or Nabers. Leone’s perspective was he’s CMC. We can’t assume injury. He’s healthy and the offense runs through him. He has RB1 in his range of outcomes. Their 7th rated player was them being extremely conservative. I leaned a little more towards Silva’s side of the debate. I was going to take Nabers at 7 if Logan took JJ at 6. CMC is CMC. Jordan Mason is gone. Isaac G is hurt. Niners schedule looks favorable. There’s no argument against the pick here I just liked the WRs a little bit more.
In Round 2 Logan took Derrick Henry. The last time Henry rushed for around 2000 yards was in 2020. He rushed for 2027 yards and 17 touchdowns. The next season he was injured and only played in 8 games. Last season he was able to rush for 1921 yards but on only 325 carries. He was half ppr RB3. This is the same argument as CMC. Henry is 31 and his usage is astronomical. But we can’t assume injuries. So it appears Logan starts the draft out with two Top 5 RBs and two studs to ensure he doesn’t repeat his 2024 draft.
Then Round 3 happened. Last season Chase Brown started out in a time share with Zach Moss, playing 20-40% of snaps as the secondary option during the first five weeks of the season. The next two weeks Brown averaged 50-62% of snaps. Zach Moss got hurt and Brown kept performing. It wasn’t until Week 9 where Brown began getting 80%+ snaps from Weeks 9-17. In that stretch he averaged 18.25 half PPR points per game. For perspective, Bijan Robinson, half PPR RB #4, averaged 18.3 half PPR points per game. Now one might argue that Samaje Perine could take over some 3rd down snaps and 7th round rookie Tahj Brooks could give Brown some much needed rest sprinkled into the game. But Brown is the man and Top 5 RB is within his range of outcomes. In fact, in the second round I was debating taking Chase Brown over Brian Thomas, but couldn’t pass on BTJ who I see as a JJ-level talent in a Liam Coen offense where his slot play percentage is likely to increase a bit from his rookie season. In the first preseason game he lined up in the slot 42% compared to last year where he averaged 28%. Logan nailed this pick. This is one of those picks that has the Top 5 in draft order look silly for passing on him twice in Rounds 2 and 3.
In the 4th Logan took his first WR in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. DK Metcalf is gone. Geno Smith is gone. Insert Klint Kubiak as OC, Sam Darnold at QB, Cooper Kupp, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and rookies Tory Horton and Elijah Arroyo. JSN is talented but I don’t view him as a fantasy WR1. He should be WR1 for his team, but I worry about this team. Their offensive line is ranked 29th according to Lineman Expert Brandon Thorn. And that’s with the addition of Greg Zabel, a talented guard they added in the first round of the draft. But taking a gander at the division foes’ draft and you’ll see teams committed in bettering their defense and defensive line. We’ve seen the Rams defensive line become a fearful group with Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. But now the 49ers drafted Edge Mykel Williams, DT Alfred Collins, and LB Nick Martin. Prioritizing defense in the draft. And Arizona started their draft with DT Walter Nolen, CB Will Johnson, and Edge Jordan Bunch. All seemingly trying to recreate what the Rams did. We’ve seen Kubiak’s potential when the Saints started off 2024 going 2-0 and scoring 91 points against the Panthers and Cowboys. But we also saw what happened when injuries started to occur to key team members. JSN is talented. Another caveat worth mentioning is Sam Darnold’s struggles when there is interior pressure. Also, I don’t view Darnold as an upgrade over Geno Smith. Smith is underrated and Darnold is a bit overrated. So there’s a non-zero chance we see Jalen Milroe at some point this season. An exceptionally talented runner with a mixed bag of inconsistent and seemingly impossible throws. We’ll see if scheme (Kubiak) and talent (JSN) can overcome weakness (OL, Division). But there’s a chance Logan replicated some of his 2024 woes by going with three straight RBs to the detriment of his WRs.
In Round 5 Logan takes Marvin Harrison Jr. A more appropriate place to pick him than the first round like I did. Last year was terrible. He’s super talented, got the genes. But man. The scheme does not bode well for his fantasy prospects. The offense is a ground and pound with James Conner and the passing game is Marvin running deep to open up the middle for Trey McBride to eat. I have seen nothing to indicate the scheme or plan is looking differently in 2025. Harrison did bulk up in the offseason, but it doesn’t matter how big your biceps are if you’re running go routes and your 5 foot 3 inch quarterback with lethargic tendencies can’t see that far down the field. Mediocre offensive line. Tough division. This is one of those I hope so, but not betting on it sort of story lines.
In Round 6 Logan takes DJ Moore. I like DJ Moore in Ben Johnson’s offense. I think he is most likely to take on the Amon-Ra St. Brown role. He has been a solid WR2 every season in his career minus his rookie year and has one WR1 finish in 2023. The concern is target distribution with the Bears bringing in Colston Loveland and Luther Burden to pair with Rome Odunze. And the bigger concern is Caleb Williams. Can he make a large leap in terms of production and consistency in Year 2? Ben Johnson’s style is structure, execution, and discipline. Caleb Williams style is loose, creative, and reactionary. Stylistically they are like a peanut butter and sardine sandwich. Not great. But if I was them. I would set it up so that I can get the ball into DJ Moore’s hands as much as possible. So despite the major concerns, I like DJ Moore and could see him being Logan’s best wideout.
In Round 7 Logan changed the trajectory of my entire draft and drastically reduced my percentage chance of winning the title. This one pick was so consequential to my team’s draft that it reverberated throughout the next four rounds with me unable to recover. The entire league owes Logan a debt of gratitude. For there is nothing worse than an overly cocky Brad winning the title. And he did his job drafting next to him. The Chase Brown steal was one thing. Brad expected that. But this steal was a arrow hitting Achilles level. Tony Pollard is not an exciting RB. As a member of the Titans last year he was RB21. But he was a solid RB21. And that was with abysmal QB play. Spears is a little banged up to start the year, so Pollard is the #1. Another year removed from his ankle injury that he suffered in Dallas. New QB that is a HUGE improvement. He was just a solid pick for an RB3. Logan’s RB4.
In Round 8 after Brad panicked and took Tyrone Tracy as a result of the Pollard pick, Logan had Devonta Smith fall into his lap. Smith is a boom/bust WR 2/3. Except. If AJ Brown is hurt. His points per game shoots up from around 12 to 15 per game. Only Andy and Caleb have a better WR4.
In Round 9 Logan takes Jordan Mason, stealing another late round RB I was targeting. How do you support a rookie Quarterback? RUNNING THE FOOTBALL. Mason is going to be the goal line back. He was incredible last year for the Niners. He’s going to eat. He’s a great pick. With this pick Logan took 3 RBs I was prioritizing. THREE OF THEM. This secured Logan’s RB room as the best in the league and it’s not even close.
In Round 10 Logan takes Bo Nix. Nix was QB#7 last year and they added Evan Engram and RJ Harvey in the offseason. I’m bullish on Bo and the Broncos. Bull, Bo, Broncos.
Later rounds Logan takes Jake Ferguson and Zach Ertz at tight end, his only weakness.
Draft Grade: A+. Logan has the best RB room in the league. But I fear he might have overcorrected a little bit. JSN had Metcalf pulling coverage as an alpha x. Kupp is not an alpha x. Harrison needs a Trey McBride injury in order to ascend. Logan’s pass catchers aren’t great. But he has five very even ones. Meaning he’ll be playing the same game he played last season. Which WRs should I start this week? We’ll see if the RBs are good enough so that it doesn’t matter. But looking at past champions, Logan still hasn’t learned the importance of the TE position. The scarcity is more important than you think.
7. Brad
Last season Brad drafted next to Quentin. Quentin took Kittle, Bowers, Jackson, JT and won the damn thing. This season Brad drafted next to Logan. I’m legitimately changing all of my passwords because I don’t see how all my players can be stolen one pick before me unless someone has access to my ESPN and/or Fantasy Pros accounts to see the mock drafts I was doing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for Logan and his upcoming wedding. But also, F#$% you Logan. This sucked. My nickname for Logan is the ASSassin. RB-RB-RB start and then STILL taking my RB targets in Rounds 7 and 9, one pick before me. I digress.
In Round 1 Brad goes with Justin Jefferson. I was a bit surprised that JJ fell to me. He is a Top 2 WR in the league. Addison is suspended the first three weeks of the season. Three weeks where the Vikings face @ Chicago, Atlanta, and Cincinnati. 2-3 potential shootouts and an uptick of target share? Yes please. I’m sure some people have concerns about JJ McCarthy at QB this season. But I think people forget about 2023. Cousins gets hurt, JJ is hurt. But he comes back and puts up the following stat lines:
10 targets, 7 receptions, 84 yards
10 targets, 6 receptions, 141 yards, TD
10 targets, 5 receptions, 59 yards
14 targets, 12 receptions, 192 yards, TD
Those games were played with Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall at QB. So McCarthy needs to be AS good as Nick Mullens or Jaren Hall and JJ will be fine.
In the 2nd Round Brad debated Chase Brown. Thought about Ashton Jeanty’s volume for a minute. But eventually stuck with the stud Brian Thomas Jr. I view him as the next JJ. Liam Coen is going to make him even better with the scheme. As a rookie he finished as the WR4 and that was with Mac Jones throwing him the football for most of the back half of the year. Insert Travis Hunter to keep people honest and boom goes the dynamite. Two LSU studs to start the draft and a dynamic WR1-WR2 combo.
In Round 3 Brad was almost able to double dip the chip, but Logan unexpectedly took a 3rd RB. Brad had to settle for the underrated Kyren Williams. He was the RB 6 in 2023 and RB7 in 2024. McVay trusts him. He’s the goal line back. He catches passes. They added some juice in Jarquez Hunter to get a home run element. But then they locked down Kyren with a big RB contract this summer. My guess is Kyren finishes as the RB7-ish. Of course Matthew Stafford’s back injury is concerning. We’ll see if it’s just maintenance or if we are going to start the year watching Jimmy G throwing murder balls to Davante Adams. With the defense and offensive structure I see Kyren as a safer bet than some of the Rams pass catchers.
In Round 4 Brad takes George Kittle, a priority add for me. I wasn’t able to get the RB1, RB3, or RB4 that I wanted thanks to Logan, but nobody stopped me from getting the best pick in Round 4. Kittle was TE2 last year in half ppr (better than McBride). Auyik is injured (found out post-draft it’ll be around Week 6 return). Jauan Jennings is hurt and seeking a new contract. Deebo Samuel is in Washington. Kittle has finished as a Top 5 Fantasy TE four years in a row. He’s Brock Purdy’s favorite target in the red zone. In the playoffs last season he went for 8-106 and 8-112 for Quentin. The offense will run through CMC and Kittle this year. I have him in the same tier as McBride and Bowers, but I was able to get him in the 4th where as Bowers and McBride went in the 2nd. In many of my mocks I added Kittle in the 3rd.
Lucky to get him in the 4th. Stoked about it.
In Round 5 Brad goes Trey’Veon Henderson. This is the opposite of a conservative RB2. This is lightning in a bottle, home run hitter. Rhamondre is going to be the grinder, but two minute drills and 3rd downs Henderson is going to eat. And any given touch he could take it to the house. He might eat into Rhamondre’s early down work if the evidence is clear that the offense moves a lot better with him in the game. I love this pick. It’s fun and hip. Patriots are going to play defense and run the ball with Mike Vrabel as head coach. Offensive line was improved a lot in the offseason with addition of LSU stud Will Campbell. Giddy up.
In Round 6 Brad had Joe Burrow unexpectedly fall to him. Burrow was the QB3 last year throwing for 4918 yards and 43 touchdowns. The defense did not improve in the offseason. The schedule is roughly the same. The team is roughly the same. Why is the Top 3 QB who might throw for 5000 yards and 50 touchdowns this season dropping to the 6th round? With 5 QBs being drafted ahead of him for that matter? The concern for Burrow is injuries. The offensive line still sucks. He’s won comeback player of the year twice. He’d much rather win the Lombardi. But the Bengals did not improve the offensive line. He takes a ton of sacks with his aggressive play style. Look for more of the same. When he plays, fire. If he gets banged up, yikes. Great value here.
In Round 7 Logan ruined Brad’s plans that set off a chain reaction over the course of the next four rounds. Brad was taking Tony Pollard here. Once Pollard was gone Brad didn’t like any of the RBs. At least not over Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith. So Brad goes Waddle in case Evan Silva is right and he overtakes Tyreek and has a bounce back year with the Jonnu Smith departure. Then in the next round Brad needed to secure a RB3 so he goes with Tyrone Tracy. Tracy should start the season as the starter and will most likely be in a time share with Cam Scattebo by years end. Tracy did well as a rookie and looks good in his limited preseason action. I’m not bullish on the Giants, but Russ Wilson and/or Jackson Dart should be better than Daniel Jones. Giants defensive line is nasty too. So possible to have some quick touchdown scoring opportunities if they are able to generate turnovers. Not a bad RB3, but not as good as Pollard.
In Round 8 Brad takes Ricky Pearsall as his WR4. Target concentration in San Fracisco is looking to be condensed early in the season. CMC, Kittle, Pearsall are going to be the main beneficiaries with Auyik out and Jennings injury/contract situation.
The next three rounds Brad prioritzed RB depth with Rhamondre Stevenson, Braelon Allen, and Ray Davis. STevenson could be startable if he maintains the first and second down and goal line duties. Allen is said to be in a time share with Breece Hall. And Ray Davis had some stand alone value even with James Cook playing last season. Cook is unhappy with his contract, so we’ll see how that works out leading up to the regular season, but Davis represents a flexcuff. Someone who could be a beast if Cook is lost due to injury. (Don’t think he has leverage to hold out, so don’t view that as likely). But also has some stand alone value if the RB position gets bleak.
Brad got decent value in later rounds with Tucker Kraft and Drake Maye. Kraft was banged up for most of last season but still finished as the TE 9. Maye has rushing td potential and could sneak into QB1 status looking at the schedule.
Draft Grade: B+. Brad’s Strengths are QB1, WR1, WR2, TE1, TE2. His weaknesses are RB1, RB2, RB depth. Logan did that. That’s Logan’s fault. The ASSassin. This team could make the playoffs but needs to stay healthy and get some favorable scheduling luck. We’ll see!
8. Josh.
I have figured it out. I know why Josh drafted the way he did this season. Pity. He has pity on me while he deals with a high demanding job and lifestyle. He jumped on the grenade for a lot of players so that I wouldn’t draft them. While Logan sniped all my targets one pick ahead of me, Josh let my targets flow down to me. It was like he gave up hit seat on a lifeboat during the Titanic disaster. If Logan is the ASSasin then Josh is my Savior. Healing my team and giving me an outside chance of a title. Thank you Josh. Thank you.
In Round 1 Josh takes Nico Collins. This guy is a monster and criminally underrated. When healthy he’s up there with the Lamb’s and JJ’s and Amon-Ras of the world. My concern with Nico is the soft tissue injuries, but also the Texans offensive line. It was bad last season and got worse. Terrible offensive line. Stroud will be running for his life. Also, they drafted Jayden Higgins (Nico Collins clone), Jaylin Noel, and brought in Christian Kirk. Kirk will most likely take the Tank Dell roll and Higgins will take the Diggs role. But I don’t know how much time Stroud will have to throw. They did get a new OC this offseason, so that could help get more time with a little scheme help, but with Joe Mixon hurt I don’t see teams respecting the run very much. Nick Chubb is a shadow of his former self and Woody Marks is an unproven rookie. Texans are favored to win the division, but we’ll see.
In Round 2 Josh takes Puca Nacua. Puca is amazing and deplatformed Cooper Kupp last season. Just emasculated him into dust. Puca is also banged up a lot because of his aggressive play style. He’s always willing to put his body on the line to make the play. In addition to Puca’s injury risk there is the Matthew Stafford back issue. Everyone is hoping it s a non-issue come Week 1. Otherwise Rams will have to turn to Jimmy G or Stetson Bennett at QB which would lead me to downgrade all pass catchers. If Stafford plays AND Puca stays healthy? Josh will look very smart for this pick.
In Round 3 Josh goes Kenneth Walker. Another oft-injured player. I’m high on Walker this season. I like the scheme fit with Klint Kubiak’s system. The offensive line is terrible. Sam Darnold makes this team worse. But I think they are going to pound the rock. A LOT. If Kenneth Walker is able to stay healthy for an entire season he’ll be in Top 5 RB discussion. He’s a home run hitter and a monster when healthy. But man this guy cannot stay healthy. He’s dealing with a foot injury right now that is taking it’s time to heal. We shall see if he can be healthy this season.
In Round 4 Josh takes James Cook. Cook scored 16 rushing touchdowns last season. He did this by playing less than 60% of the offensive snaps in every game except for Week 1. That week? 61% of snaps. Buffalo ran a committee, which helped keep Cook healthy and fresh. He finished as the RB8. Can you imagine if they uptick that to 70-80%? Dynamite. My guess is it’ll be more of the same as last year. Explosive, but annoying when he comes out for a Ray Davis touchdown. He’s also disgruntled and demanding a new contract. We’ll see if they work something out or if the relationship detiorates. He has to know he didn’t play more than 60% of the teams offensive snaps last year. He was very efficient when he did play, but tough to argue for more money when the offense didn’t miss a beat without you.
In Round 5 Josh takes Rashee Rice who is looking at a possible suspension in the 6-8 game variety. When healthy he is a monster, up there with Nico Collins and Pat Mahomes #1 target. Last year he tore his ACL, but that was early enough where he looks good to go. So for those keeping score Josh started out his draft Injury Concern, Injury Concern x2, Injury Concern, Holdout, Possible Suspension. ALL RISK ALL REWARD BABY.
In Round 6 Josh made the most head scratching move I’ve ever seen. Taking Kyler Murray over Joe Burrow. I think Josh took pity on me. He saw Logan bullying me and thought, “man Brad loves this game, maybe I should throw him a bone and let Joe Burrow fall to him. But I need a QB, Kyler is next, I’ll take him.” Or the more likely scenario. Josh didn’t see Joe Burrow was still available. There is no scenario where I see Murray being better than Burrow. Unless it’s an injury. Even then Kyler missed a big chunk of 2022 and 2023 because he was injured… I don’t know what else to say but Thank you Josh and then dock his draft grade a full letter grade.
In Round 7 Josh got his TE1 with Mark Andrews. I actually love Andrews this year. He received a lot of haterade due to the drop in the postseason. Isaiah Likely is injured to start the year. Lamar is playing at a God level. Andrews was TE5 last year scoring 11 touchdowns in the final 12 games of the season.
In Round 8 Josh takes Rome Odunze. Improved coach, improved offensive line, Keenan Allen is gone. They added Colston Loveland and Luther Burden, but Odunze has a year head start on them when it comes to NFL playing experience. I like Rome to have a better sophomore campaign, but I don’t like him more than Devonta Smith, who Josh could’ve had.
In Round 8 Josh got Kenneth Walkers backup in Zach Charbonnet (great pickup). And then took Rachaad White (terrible pick). White is hurt and is proably going to be the RB3 in Tampa. Stevenson, Javonte Williams and Jaylen Warren would’ve been better picks in my opinion.
Decent bench pieces late with Goff, Aiyuk and Trey Benson.
Draft Grade: C-. I would have made different picks in 6/8 of the first 8 rounds. Nabers over Nico. BTJ over Puca. Kittle over Walker. Sutton, DJ Moore or Ridley over Rice. Burrow over Kyler and Devonta Smith over Odunze. Josh could’ve had Nabers, BTJ, Kenneth Walker, Kittle, Sutton, Burrow as his core and we are talking about an A grade and a bow from yours truly. Some positive injury luck and this team can compete, but another year where we are singing, “What might have been…”
9. Ben
Drafting 9th is like getting the middle tee time of a golf tournament where you don’t get to get an early start on either Round 1 or Round 2, meaning you don’t get any soft greens. Bad draw. Ben impressed me in Round 1 after his 15 minute tardiness thanks to his tee time, but he piped one down the middle with his first pick. Malik Nabers is going to eat. I see 140+ targets and 1500 yards when I see Nabers. He was my choice at 7 if JJ and Lamb were both gone. He is going to be a problem this season. Great pick and impressive given you were drafting while playing golf. A game which allows you to shut your brain off and only focus on the game while you play it. Birdie on the first hole.
After Max took Amon-Ra and Bowers Ben selects Achane. Achane was a surprising pick for me. Ben must’ve hit it into the water before he made this selection, because his draft grade certainly DROPPED. Achane was RB6 last season despite the Dolphins being quadruple bogey level bad. Their offense was so terrible it makes me want to puke just thinking about it. Tua got hurt. Their offensive line sucks. So they just completely ignored Tyreek and Waddle and let them run to open up short game where they just peppered Achane and Jonnu Smith for 4 yard gains repeatedly. So gross. The offensive line didn’t improve at all. Tua is healthy, so that helps, but picking Achane over Henry, BTJ, Jeanty, Chase Brown. Gross. Terrible slice into the water. +3 through two.
In Round 3 Ben took Jayden. Fun pick. Love it. He is legitimate. I watched that 2022 LSU team. I knew he was special. Hopefully Washington gets the McLaurin contract dispute figured out so Jayden can roll with the same crew as last year plus Deebo Samuel. If they trade McLaurin that would knock Jayden down a peg or two, but I don’t think that happens. Enjoy the ride Ben. Jayden-Nabers, Geaux Tigers. Birdie. +2
In Round 4 you took Breece Hall. Kittle was the correct choice here. But Hall should be an okay RB2. He’s looking at a committee approach. New coach. Justin Fields doesn’t check it down, he takes off for runs. But Hall is in a contract year, so maybe he pops off. I think he was an avoid for me. If Kittle was gone I could understand because round 4 looks gross in general, but you had a chance at Kittle who is screaming high target volume for a committee back. Bogey. +3
In Round 5 you took Joe Mixon. The fantasy community is leaving him for dead. He has a mysterious foot injury. He might not be ready for Week 1. But I imagine at some point he’ll be good to go. Maybe provide a back half of the season push for you. Taking him over Sutton, RJ Harvey and others was kind of gross though. Bogey. +4
In Round 6 you took Sam LaPorta. He is awesome. Solid Tight End. Hopefully a change at OC won’t negatively impact him. I don’t see him getting back to TE1 status like his rookie season, but Top 10 is a safe bet. Par, +4.
In Round 7 you took Zay Flowers. I like Zay, but not as a WR2. Maybe a WR3 or 4. Target share just isn’t good enough. Lamar can run, Henry, Andrews, Bateman, they added D-Hop. He’s the chain mover and is a better ppr asset than half ppr asset. Bogey. +5
In Round 8 you took Quinshon Judkins. Judkins is the only rookie who hasn’t signed his rookie contract. Ownership is waiting to see what happens with his trial. He allegedly struck his girlfriend. A few days later she reported it. His lawyer isn’t looking for an expedited trial. Which doesn’t bode well for him. I’m pretty sure the second he signs his contract the NFL is going to put him on the Commissioners exemption list and not let him play. There were several running backs on actual NFL rosters you could’ve chosen or an actual WR2 like Devonta Smith. This is like that viral video. You were playing slow on the course, someone hit into you, then a fight ensued. Another quad-bogey. +9 through 8.
In Round 9 you took Jerry Jeudy. He exploded last year! In games where Jamies was slinging it and in games AFTER Cedric Tillman, the true #1 for Cleveland got hurt. You’ll probably have Joe Flacco throwing the ball, but the fact that Jeudy fell into Round 9 tells you there is consensus that last season’s WR15 finish was a fluke. Bogey. +10
Round 10 you took Deebo Samuel. Not a bad flier given the McLaurin contract issue, but I don’t see Deebo being the same Deebo he was in his prime. More of a boom/bust WR4 for me. You do get the Jayden-Deebo stack which might be fun some weeks. Bogey. +11
Baker in the 11th was great. Par
Ekeler in the 12th was meh. Bogey +12
Keon Coleman was a birdie pick. With Khalif Shakur injured he could have a decent start to the season. +11
Corum meh, Likely was good.
Draft Grade: D+. Played this draft like an 15 handicapper. You broke 100 but only because you didn’t count mulligans and dropped a few balls that were lost out of bounds while your buddies weren’t looking. This team is God awful Ben. Jesus, how you do book a tee time during a fantasy draft? Are you used to an assistant managing your schedule for you? What would Chris Herron think? “YOU JACKASS!” – in the Happy Gilmore Jackass guy voice
10. Max
Max didn’t have the patience for our annual shenanigans this season, but he was a good sport and tried to make the best of drafting 10th. In my mock research time I thought 8th and 9th picks were the worst and 10th was a little better because you at least got the back to back. I was right. Max starts out with Amon-Ra St. Brown. A boring Top 10 WR. Goff’s number one and a grinder. I liked BTJ more, but Detroit is the more likely playoff team and scores in bunches to the benefit of Amon-Ra. Sometimes its not about the sexy pick though. Sometimes the grinder is who you want.
Then Max took Brock Bowers. There were 3 tight ends that could separate a team from the rest of the league. Max got one of them in Bowers. Geno Smith is an upgrade at QB. He was unguardable last season. They add Ashton Jeanty who will automatically demand respect for the running game. We all knew Bowers would be a stud. But 112 receptions for 1194 yards and 5 tds? Nasty work. Set it and forget it.
In Round 3 Max takes Jalen Hurts. Hurts is coming off his Super Bowl winning season. He rushed for 14 touchdowns. And yet, only finished as QB8. He missed a couple weeks due to injury, but also, Barkley happened. They didn’t need to throw! He played super conservatively. He only threw 361 attempts! compare that to 538 in 2023 and 460 in 2022. There has to be some positive regression here right? I see him as a Top 5 QB, but he’ll need to throw at least a little more. We’ll see if losing Kellen Moore as OC hurts, but I don’t think it will. If anything it might help. Especially if they don’t run as much and try to save Barkley’s legs for later in the season.
Having secured his QB1, WR1, and TE1 he needed a Running Back. He goes with Omarion Hampton. I love Hampton as a prospect and was excited he went in the first round and two the run-happy Chargers. In college, Hampton rushed for 1504 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023 and 1660 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. It was for North Carolina and it was in the ACC, but still. Incredible consistency. But like I mentioned in Quentin’s and Stephen’s grades, the Slater injury is tough. (Charges starting Left Tackle Rashawn Slater tears his patellar tendon and is lost for the season. They’ll move Joe Alt to Left Tackle and try to make RT work, but this lessened it a little bit more….Brandon Thorn moved them from fringe Top 10 offensive line to #25 offensive line. It was that big of a loss. I downgraded all Chargers players as a result of this loss.). I love Hampton, but I’m not sure if he’ll be good enough as an RB1.
In Round 5 and 6 Max did great with Courtland Sutton and RJ Harvey. A pair of Broncos. Courtland Sutton had his best season of his career last year with Bo Nix at the helm and Sean Payton as head coach. I see no reason why Sutton doesn’t repeat as a solid WR2. RJ Harvey might be a monster as well. Hand picked by Sean Payton to replace Javonte Williams. Giddy up. They brought in JK Dobbins as a veteran, but Harvey will smash this season.
In Round 7 Max takes Chris Godwin and follows it up with Kaleb Johnson, keeping up with the rookie running back trend. I worry about Godwin. A lot. I think Devonta Smith was more prudent of a pick and would’ve given you the Hurts-Smith stack. Godwin’s ankle was completely broken. Gruesome, terrible injury. One of those injuries where he might never get back to where he was. Certainly not in the first half of this season. Kaleb Johnson is another back where I see him taking back seat to Jaylen Warren for awhile before getting his own chunk of plays earned consistently. Arthur Smith loves committees, running three tight end sets, and he hates fantasy players. Except Jonnu Smith, he loves Jonnu Smith.
In Rounds 8 and 9 he took two more injured players. Cam Scattebo and Jennings. He wanted Ricky Pearsall and I stole him from him, so I won’t knock his grade too bad. Skattebo should carve out a role for him back half of the season. Jennings, we’ll see.
In later rounds great value in Brock Purdy, Cooper Kupp, and Dalton Kincaid. Providing good depth pieces.
Draft Grade: B. First 5-7 weeks Max will be in survival mode. He needs to get a few lucky breaks when it comes to scheduling. If he does that, I see him as being able to make a late season run. The most likely scenario is Max misses the playoffs and plays spoiler to other teams who are trying to make a run. Maybe he can knock me out with a huge week from Cam Scattebo and RJ Harvey in Week 12.
There you have it folks! Best of luck this season!
Draft Grades In Order:
1. Logan: A+
T2. Michael: B+
T2: Brad: B+
T2: Caleb: B+
T5. Max: B
T5: Andy: B
7: Quentin: B-
8: Stephen: C+
9: Josh: C-
10: Ben: D+
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