1. Steven T-BO
Welcome Back Steven! What better way to welcome you back than the #1 overall pick and 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 23.7 per game. Including games of 41.3, 58.9, and 41.1. 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. In fact, they may trade away their best defender in Trey Hendrickson. 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 Steven.
In Round 2 Steven had back to back picks and goes Ladd McConkey and Jayden Daniels. Daniels is an absolute monster. I wasn’t as high on Ladd McConkey. Let’s start with Ladd. The Chargers lost their starting Left Tackle a couple of weeks ago in Rashawn Slater. It’s a bigger deal than people are letting on. They’ll shuffle their offensive line around and move Joe Alt to Left Tackle, but Lineman Expert, 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#13.
Now when it comes to Jayden. Love it. Lamar, Jayden, Hurts all went within 5 picks of each other while I went RB. Daniels is fun! QB#5 as a rookie. Showed incredible talent both rushing and throwing the ball. Let’s hope the Commanders work everything out with Terry McLaurin soon, so that he doesn’t miss a beat in Year 2.
At the 4/5 Turn Steven goes Davante Adams and Breece Hall. 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, WR10 and WR11 in those three seasons. And last year he was WR11 despite missing 3 weeks. Now he replaces Cooper Kupp in Sean McVay’s offense in Los Angeles. Solid WR2 for Steven assuming I’m right about McConkey’s regression.
Breece Hall is Steven’s first RB taken. That’s a little scary. Hall is very talented and the Jets seem like they are going to run the ball a lot. Aaron Glenn has made it sound like it’s going to be a committee approach. Justin Fields can take off and run instead of checking it down as well. In 2023 after Rodgers went down Hall was a PPR monster. But in 2024 he caught 19 fewer catches in one less game. We’ll see if they go Braelon Allen on first and second down and use Hall as the 3rd down back. I’m very curious how this backfield shakes out, so having him as RB1 is a little scary.
In Round 6 Steven took Kaleb Johnson. Johnson is a very talented rookie, most known for carrying Iowa on his back. This season he gets to stay in black and yellow for the Steelers. Arthur Smith hasn’t been great for fantasy players as he uses an approach that’s called “how can I attack this defense where they aren’t expecting it?” Which results in the 3rd tight ends and backup RBs to score in random ways. I do think Jaylen Warren begins the season as the starting RB in some form of committee. We’ll see if Kaleb Johnson can be the one for one replacement for Najee Harris, who provided 3 1000 yard rushing seasons for the Steelers or if the rookie is going to be eased in and be more of a back half of the season asset.
In Round 7 T-Bo selects Travis Kelce. 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#5. 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. I felt like this was an appropriate place to pick him.
In Round 8 Steven continued his nonchalant attitude towards running backs getting Javonte Williams. Williams had a catastrophic knee injury while in Denver and never recovered. Now it’s him, Rookie Blue, and Miles Sanders for Cowboys running duties, replacing the ghost of Zeke Elliot and Rico Dowdle, who is now a Panther. I’m avoiding this backfield as I see this as a pass heavy team who will rely on Lamb, Pickens, and Ferguson to move the football.
In Round 8 Steven took Keon Coleman, sophomore for the Bills and in Round 10 he took Trey Harris for the Chargers. In the later rounds he took Josh Downs (in Round 13) which is a great value and JJ McCarthy to backup Jayden. He got good value in Hunter Henry in Round 14 and Dicker the Kicker, which is fun to say.
Draft Grade: C+. Jayden and Chase are going to be soooo fun to watch and root for. Chase will probably win you Weeks 13 and 15. But will Week 15 be the first round of the playoffs or first round of the consolation bracket considering you only have 3 RBs on your roster, all looking to be part of committees? Welcome back T-Bo and Good Luck!
2. Katon.
Katon goes with Bijan Robinson to kick off his draft from the 2 spot. Bijan was just so damn steady last season. His lowest scoring week was 10.7. After the Week 12 Bye week he scored 25.5, 20.1, 14.5, 24.3, 24.8, and 31.30. (The last one was Week 18 and doesn’t really matter, but still). He’s a slam dunk pick, a slam dunk player, and a plug and play RB1 that you start and forget about. A Katon specialty. 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 Katon took Trey McBride. McBride was TE#2 last season in 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. 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 Katon in Round 2 because of elite Tight End Scarcity (the reason I took Bowers one pick before).
In Round 3 Katon took Josh Allen. Josh Allen’s Fantasy 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. 342 passing yards. 3 passing touchdowns. 82 rushing yards. 3 rushing touchdowns. The following week he scored 41.2 fantasy points. When he booms? Kaboom. He’s a cheat code and with Bijan in the 1st I love the strategy of locking a stud TE and stud QB in Rounds 2 and 3.
In Round 4 Katon took his first WR in DK Metcalf. I feel the same as Metcalf as Katon’s WR1 as I did about Breece Hall being Steven’s RB1. Ew. 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. They paid him like the alpha that he is. But drawing coverage away to open up the middle doesn’t count for fantasy points.
In Round 5 Katon took speedster Xavier Worthy. Chiefs 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. He showed flashes of the potential of his upside. I wish Katon had paired a more steady WR1 with him, so he can ride the boom and bust weeks. Feel like Metcalf will be TD dependent and Worthy will be target share dependent. Might have weeks where they win you the week and other weeks where they both lose you the week.
In Round 6 he stayed in KC with Isiah Pacheco. He runs angry! And behind Kareem Hunt sometimes, which sucks. 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 a while. The clearest path for Pacheco is for Hunt to be injured or cut, but all signs look at another committee approach. Little worried about him being your RB2.
In Round 7 Katon 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 have Joe Flacco throwing the ball, but the fact that Jeudy fell into Round 7 tells you there is consensus that last season’s WR12 finish was a fluke.
JK Dobbins in the 8th and Cooper Kupp in the 9th. Decent depth pieces in Tyjae Spears and Tyler Allgeier to shore up RB depth. Nice value in Colston Loveland in Round 13 and Keenan Allen in Round 11.
Draft Grade: B. Loved the start. Love the RB depth. WRs worry me a bit.
3. Brad.
Brad is coming off of his worst two season stretch in the 16 year history of this league, with two finishes of 10/12 in a row. Ouch. He’s hoping the RB#1 last season can help me do better this season. Gibbs finished RB#1 despite having 95 less rush attempts than Saquon and 75 less rush attempts than Derrick Henry. How? Gibbs caught 52 passes for 517 yards and scored 20 TDs last season. He averaged 21.35 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 #3.
In Round 2 Brad was handed a gift in Brock Bowers. There were 3 tight ends that could separate a team from the rest of the league. Brad 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 pick for Brad.
Brad pulled a Brad in Round 3. Every year in this league he reaches on someone due to mental gymnastics occurring in his head. This year it was rookie TreVeyon Henderson. At Pick #27. His ADP was around 44. Bottom line, Brad knew he wasn’t making it back to him and he wanted to secure his RB2 before anything else. The more prudent and appropriate picks would have been Lamar Jackson or AJ Brown here. Brad’s QBs and WRs suffered as a result of the reach. But Henderson’s big play ability and solid floor due to PPR, made him a priority add for Brad in the draft. 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 4 Brad finally takes his first WR in Mike Evans.
Mike Evans Fantasy PPR Finishes since entering the league:
2014- WR13
2015- WR22
2016- WR2
2017- WR17
2018- WR9
2019- WR15
2020- WR11
2021- WR9
2022- WR17
2023- WR7
2024- WR14
Brad picks him at Pick #46. The 17th WR to be drafted. Chris Godwin is hurt and will start the year on PUP most likely. 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. And he shouldn’t get ejected from the Saints games anymore because Lattimore is on the Commanders.
In Round 5 Brad double dipped WRs going Garrett Wilson. Wilson had his third year breakout and it’s like nobody even cares. He was WR10 last year after terrible finishes of WR21 and WR26 (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. I was tempted to go RJ Harvey here. In retrospect Brad would’ve been better off going Lamar Jackson in the 2nd and taking RJ Harvey in the 5th. Something I will monitor throughout the season on whether or not this was the decision that tanked my team. Can’t change the past, Wilson is Brad’s WR2.
In Round 6 Brad goes Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins were horrific last season. Tua got hurt, the offensive line was bad, and the offense became this dip and dunk four yard gains to Achane and Jonnu Smith. Defenses started to play two high against them and cut off Tyreek and Waddle’s deep play abilities. But between the Tua, the offensive line, Tyreek’s wrist injury, and Waddle having JustGotPaidTheBag-Itus it was disgusting. Waddle was WR13 his rookie season and WR8 his sophomore campaign. But then WR34 in 2023 and WR46 last year. This is a bet on talent. The offensive line is still really bad. Injuries to their secondary have them bringing in scrubs to play the position. They’ll have to throw a lot to keep up with Bills. Patriots are improved. Jets have Fields and could improve. Evan Silva thinks this is the year Waddle overtakes Tyreek. If that happens this is a great value, if not, Brad took a flier for his WR3.
Round 7 Brad took another Jaylen in Jaylen Warren. Warren is going to be the starter for the Steelers to start the season. Kaleb Johnson is very talented and can usurp him at some point this season. Then again it’s Arthur Smith we are talking about. Rodgers is going to want the better pass protector in there with his old legs. That’s Warren. I’m pretty sure they aren’t allowed to throw the football in Iowa. It’s illegal.
In Round 8 Brad continued to get depth at RB with Zach Charbonnet. Kenneth Walker has a laundry list of soft tissue injuries. Charbonnet is a talented back and has stepped up in the past when needed. This gives Brad solid depth behind Gibbs, Henderson, and Warren. The concern here is the Seattle offensive line isn’t great so they’ll have to rely on Klint Kubiak’s system.
In Round 9 Brad finally takes his starting Qb in Drake Maye. This gives him the Maye-Henderson stack. Maye showed flashes last season. Josh McDaniels comes in and has always been a decent OC, which is shocking because as a head coach, not so much. Last season Maye took over the starting job in Week 6 and had two QB1 finishes in his first two starts albeit against bad defenses. In those games he started he had 54 rushes for 421 yards which was 7.8 yards per carry. Not too shabby. Looking at that over a whole season while adding Henderson, Diggs, improved offensive line. I’m looking for a big Year 2 leap here.
In Round 10 Brad chose Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Meritt. Ridiculous name, but people wouldn’t shut up about him. Rumors at time of the draft was the Commanders were looking to trade away Brian Robinson. They’ll most likely rely on a committee approach with Austin Ekeler and Bill to start the year.
In the late rounds Brad got decent WRs in Cedric Tillman and Wandale Robinson. Added Justin Fields to back up Maye and keep the rushing ability. Added DJ Giddens who looks to have locked up the RB2 spot behind JT.
Draft Grade: B. Reached on Henderson. WRs left some room to be desired. Love the RB depth and Bowers. If Brad is going to compete for a title he’ll need Bald Bowers to enter God-mode.
4. Tommy.
Battling a sinus infection, Tommy would not let that deter him. He showed up and showed out. He began going RB with Saquon Barkley. In other leagues I think Lamb or JJ would be better picks, but in Best Buy you have to go RB if you’re on the fence. Barkley had an incredible year last year. Rushed for career highs in 345 attempts, 2005 yards, and 13 tds. His receiving output shot down last year having the second least targets, receptions, and yards. But it didn’t matter. He’s on the cover of Madden, he’s the Super Bowl champion, and the Eagles have the best offensive line in football when healthy. Let’s hope the Madden curse doesn’t ruin an extremely talented and electric back who just balled out last year.
In Round 2 Tommy had Brian Thomas Jr. Fall to him at pick #22. Most teams tried to secure 1-2 RBs in the first two rounds, which pushed up Chase Brown, JT, Henry, Jeanty, Bucky, Jacobs, and Kyren all ahead of ADP. While most of these guys projected as Round 2 picks, three went in Round 1 and six went before Tommy’s second round pick. Someone had to drop. It was Brian Thomas. I haven’t seen many teams to get Barkley-Thomas, giving Tommy a sick duo. BTJ finished as the WR#4 last season. He scored 10 touchdowns. For perspective, Hall of Famer Andre Johnson had 0 seasons of double digit touchdowns. BTJ has 1 already. I view him as a JJ-level talent who should be drafted in Round 1 of fantasy drafts. I have him ranked above Nico Collins, Puka Nacua, and Drake London, all WRs he went AFTER in the draft. Lightning quick, underappreciated route running ability, and adds the big play potential. And that was all last season before the Jaguars add Liam Coen, a brilliant offensive mind. Trevor Lawrence is back healthy. They added Travis Hunter to keep people honest. Looking at preseason snaps BTJ lined up in the slot 42% of the time. Last season he lined up there 28% of the time and if he sees an increase this year… oh boy. Best Buy always shoots up when it comes to RBs but I think next season BTJ will be in the Lamb/JJ tier and going in the middle first. Tremendous value for Tommy in the 2nd.
In Round 3 Brad reaches on a RB and Tommy secures Lamar Jackson. Giving him the Jackson-Barkley-BTJ trio. A filthy start to this draft. 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 Tommy two wins automatically this season. One in Week 13 and the other in Week 15. Where they square off against the Bengals. Last season Jackson averaged 33.1. Giddy up.
Tommy goes RB2 at the end of Round 4 and it was slim pickings. He chose Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard was great last season. Averaged 16.11 ppr points per game before sitting out the last couple weeks of the lost season due to an ankle injury. Last season they locked him down with a starter money contract. But in the offseason they added Rico Dowdle and drafted Trevor Etienne. For me this says that Chuba is still the starter, but probably won’t replicate the 79%+ of snaps he had in 9/10 weeks in the middle of the NFL season. It was a career year for him in terms of attempts (250), yards (1195), rushing touchdowns (10), targets (54) and receptions (43). I don’t see him replicating that this season. But can he be a solid RB2? Yes I believe he can. Just tough that Tommy had to take him over such talented WR’s like Mike Evans, Davante Adams, Xavier Worthy, Garret Wilson, Marvin Harrison.
Luckily for Tommy in Round 5 he was able to secure Marvin Harrison Jr. 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. I probably would have taken Courtland Sutton here to be more conservative and secure a more steady WR2, but betting on young talent before they hit is the upside play and I respect it.
In Round 6 Tommy took a risky Rashee Rice. This gives him a trio of BTJ-Marvin-Rice, which is solid. We’ll see if he gets suspended and for how long. I imagine it’s going to be more than 3 weeks given there was loss of life involved in his crash. But will it be beginning of year? Middle of year? End of year? We don’t know. Tommy will just roll with him while he has him because he can be Nico Collins level talent when he’s out there.
In the 7th Tommy took Rome Odunze. Improved offensive line. Improved head coach. Keenan Allen is gone. But now they add Colston Loveland and Luther Burden to the mix. Rome does have a year head start on those guys in terms of NFL experience, but 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 and let him work. Rome should be the #2 on the team, but we’ll see how everything shakes out. As the draft was going on Williams looked incredibly sharp in the 2nd preseason game and started the game looking dialed in and marching 90+ yards down the field and scoring a touchdown. Tommy has 3 sophomore WRs now.
In Round 8 he took depth piece Rhamondre Stevenson. He got a decent contract and will be used as the grinder this season. I think Henderson has a chance to eat away a larger share of the workload and to play more when the Patriots are playing from behind, but late in games Rhamondre is going to eat. The Patriots win/loss over under is set at 8.5 this season. That bodes well for Rhamondre and this pick could be a steal.
Tommy grabbed a couple of tight ends in Dalton Kincaid in Round 11 and Dallas Geodert in Round 12. They are starters. Kincaid hasn’t lived up to the hype so far, but maybe he can breakthrough in Year 3.
Draft Grade: B. Sick trio. Great WR depth. RB depth and starting TE worry me a little bit.
5. Jen.
While all of us are playing Redraft, Jen is playing Keeper League. She winds up with Justin Jefferson yet again. This is the 4th year in a row. And can we blame her? In those four seasons he’s finished as WR4, WR1, WR33 (hurt most of year and Cousins was hurt most of year, but still finished with 1000 yards), and WR2. 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 Round 2 Jen locked up RB1 in Kyren Williams. I can’t say I would’ve done the same thing with Brian Thomas and Brock Bowers available. But the way this league does RBs I get it. Kyren was an undervalued Round 3 pick for me, so getting him in the middle of Round 2 is probably appropriate. He has been the PPR#7 RB the past two seasons and just got locked into a big boy contract. They did add Blake Corum in 2024 draft and Jarquez Hunter in 2025 draft. But they trust Kyren and he’ll get the most valuable touches again this season. I think they were just preparing in case he gets hurt by taking the talented college players. Some in Rams camp have said Hunter looks to have the most pop, so we’ll see.
In Round 3 Jen took Jalen Hurts. Giving her the Hurts-Kyren-JJ stack. Not too shabby. 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 in their quest to defend their crown.
Round 4 Jen took D’Andre Swift as her 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 (Top 24) guy. 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.
In Round 5 Jen takes Ricky Pearsall. I like Pearsall a lot this season. I fell like this was pretty early, taking him over Sutton, Ridley, and DJ Moore. ESPN PPR rankings had DJ Moore as WR#22 and Pearsall as WR#45. I think she could’ve potentially waited a round to get him and wind up with a better WR2/WR3 combo. I’m high on Pearsall, I’m guessing he winds up around here when it’s all said and down at the end of the season. 49ers are going to run through CMC, Kittle, and Pearsall to start the season. Perhaps a little Dermarcus Robinson. While Juaun Jennings comes back from minor injury and contract negotiations, and Brandon Auyik works his way back from the ACL he tore last season. So like the player, but don’t like the pick.
In Round 6 Jen took Quinshon Judkins. Judkins was a first round talent drafted at the beginning of the 2nd round in a loaded draft class. He played well at Ole Miss and Ohio State before getting drafted by the Browns. Then the legal trouble. He allegedly struck his girlfriend. Now looks like charges are all dropped, so that’s step one. But now he has to avoid a suspension from the Commissioner. He needs to sign his rookie contract with Cleveland. (As of this writing he remains unsigned) and even if he avoids those two things, he’s been away from the team all training camp. Losing reps. Both physical and mental. So if/when he does come back he’s going to take a while to get going. What a mess. This was another one where I like the player, but don’t like the draft position. Felt like a reach.
Jen goes Tight End in Round 7 with David Njoku. Flacco is named starter, so Njoku should be able to keep smashing. He did very well with Flacco as QB in 2023. Finishing as the TE#6. Last season he was great when healthy. Averaged 13.5 per game, but only played in 11 games. At first glance I had Andrews and Kraft ranked higher, but once I dug in. The more I liked this Njoku pick. He really smashed with Flacco. They did add Harold Fannin Jr this season. So he could eat into more reps than previous TE2s for the Browns.
In Round 8 Jen got great value in Chris Olave. Olave is an incredible talent. He’s just been injured. Now the QB situation for the Saints is a mess. That I agree with. But I can see this team needing to throw it a lot at the end of games. You have Tampa’s offense, Atlanta’s offense, and Carolina’s offense. There is value in WR1’s with questionable QB play. He doesn’t need to be a star, just be himself and he’ll play better than his draft position. I like this pick for Jen here.
Round 9 Jen got a backup QB in Justin Herbert. Round 10 she got handcuff RB Trey Benson. I especially liked her Bhaysul Tuten pick in Round 11. Great upside pick for a RB that could potentially carve a role for himself in a Liam Coen offense. Similar to Bucky Irving last season.
Draft Grade: B-. Jen started off strong with JJ pick. Kyren wasn’t great, but I get it. Hurts was great. With JJ-Pearsall-Olave you have a decent trio of WR. RB depth is good with some upside. Judkins pick might cost her this season, but we’ll see.
6. Scotty.
I need to talk about Scotty for a minute. He’s made the playoffs three out of the last four seasons. Made the Super Bowl last season. He has 6 Top 3 finishes. He found himself with the 6th pick, right in the middle of the draft in his attempt to do it again. He starts off with Christian McCaffrey. Typically you would see CeeDee Lamb go here, but with this being Best Buy League and we all reach on RBs so he goes CMC. Last year sucked for CMC drafters. Ask Tommy who took him at 1.01 last year. But this is a new year. He injected stem cells into his Achilles and is ready to go. Also, the entire backfield is hurt EXCEPT for him entering this season. They just signed Jeff Wilson it’s gotten so bad. CMC is going to be his old self and get a ton of touches. Can the 29 year old stay healthy the entire season? I do not know. But should that be a reason to avoid him in drafts? No. Especially in this league when RBs are always scarce.
In Round 2 Scotty goes Drake London. London enjoyed a 3rd year breakout last season. 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 Bowers, BTJ, and McBride more than London, but Top 5/10 WR is a great asset.
In Round 3 Scotty takes James Cook. Freshly signed to a new deal he’s ready to rock for the explosive Bills offense. 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 or if Allen takes it in himself. This gives Scotty a decent RB duo.
Round 4 he takes Tyreek Hill. Which is where he goes in terms of ADP. Scotty was staring at a large list of veterans. He had his choice of Mike Evans, DK Metcalf, Davante Adams. He instead chose to go with Tyreek Hill. Tyreek devastated my 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 Adams here but we’ll see if we can get a glimpse of the Tyreek of yesteryear again. That would make this pick look like a steal. Went from 4th overall in 2024 to 4th round in 2025. Life comes at you fast.
LOVED the Round 5 pick of RJ Harvey. I would’ve taken him over Garrett Wilson if I hadn’t of already reached on Henderson in the 3rd which put me behind at WR. Harvey was handpicked by Sean Payton. This running back draft class is historic. They added JK Dobbins as a veteran presence, but please. One knee Magee is going to play second fiddle to Harvey much earlier than people think. The Broncos defense is nasty. Look for Harvey to outperform his draft position and be a 2nd or 3rd round pick next season. Great RB3 for Scotty. He did sacrifice his ability to draft Courtland Sutton, DJ Moore, and Calvin Ridley, which could hurt his WR position if Tyreek doesn’t hit, but I like the pick still.
In Round 6 I was planning on taking Mahomes. Figure he is due for a bounceback year, but Scotty had other plans. 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 Scotty got him in Round 6. 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 6th. I like how Scotty navigated this draft.
Round 7- Scotty goes Mark Andrews at Tight End. I love MAndrews and think this was a slam dunk pick. 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 TE6 last year scoring 11 touchdowns in the final 12 games of the season.
Round 8 Scotty takes Travis Hunter. Yes indeed. I couldn’t believe people drafted TMac and Matthew Golden over 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% Justin Jefferson. 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 8. Why? Yards of separation. Hunter= 5.9 Yards (91% percentile. 5.9 yards of separation! People are like, no thanks. I wouldn’t be surprised if your lineup is Mahomes-CMC-Cook-Harvey-London-Hunter-Andrews by Week 3. Damn I like the sound of that.
In the 9th he took a flier on Stefon Diggs. He should be the #1 WR the Patriots have been searching for. We’ll see if he can stay healthy and come back full strength from his acl injury last season. They paid him like they aren’t worried about it at all.
Great value in Rashid Shaheed. You picked Eagles D/ST right before I could.
Draft Grade: A-. Can’t be okay with the London over BTJ pick, but I can be okay with all the other decisions. Scotty’s team is going to be a problem this season and I’m glad he’s not in my division.
7. Trey.
T-Money! Derrick Henry nonchalantly rushes for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns and it’s like no one even cares. He hasn’t rushed for less than 10 touchdowns since 2017. He set his career high in yards per carry at 5.91 last season. 5.91! At Age 30! WTF! He’s finished as a Top 5 Fantasy RB 4 times in his career, but he was only able to do it in back to back years once. Can he do it again? In this league you almost have to take the RB otherwise you risk not getting one in the 2nd. Now in Trey’s case he wind up having Josh Jacobs availbe in the 2nd, but hindsight is 20/20. Going Lamb here would’ve given him the Jacobs-Lamb combo, which is sick. But he didn’t know how the 2nd would shake out.
In Round 2 Trey went Jacobs. Jacobs is a monster. When the weather got cold in Green Bay, they POUNDED the rock. Jacobs was the main beneficiary scoring 12 rushing touchdowns in the final 8 weeks of the regular season. All offseason he’s talked about how he feels great. This gives Trey the best RB duo in the league. A coveted advantage in this league. But at what cost? Passing on Lamb then BTJ and Bowers. At what cost?
Round 3 came and Trey didn’t have to worry about RB 2, so he went Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Over AJ Brown. Over Tee Higgins. Yeah that’s a big no from me dog. JSN. DK Metcalf is gone. Tyler Lockett 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. It’s one thing to pass on Lamb and BTJ in Rounds 1 and 2. It’s another thing to draft JSN over AJB and Higgins. Absolutely not. JSN finished as WR#9 last season. I’ll give you that. But that was with Geno and with a banged up DK Metcalf for most of the season after he suffered an LCL sprain. Metcalf still drew the #1 corners and was mainly decoy after coming back. We’ll see if JSN can be “the man” or if my bearish prediction rings true.
In Round 4 Trey went Jameson Williams. Williams broke out last year and showed his potential getting over 1000 receiving yards and finishing as the WR#22. Jamo is his dynamite. Can go for 70 yard touchdowns any given moment. I love Jamo in this league where we get bonus points for long touchdowns. Some of his TDs last season included 52 yarder Week 1, 45 yarder Week 6, 82 yards in Week 16, 41 yards in Week 17. And in the playoffs he had the 61 yard rushing TD on the trick play against the Commanders. This is a fun pick. There might be a couple of weeks where they don’t target him very much, but on those BOOM weeks he could win you the week. Fun flex player. Have to worry about offense being less gimicky without Ben Johnson and the emergence of rookie Isaac TeslAa.
Round 5- Trey goes third straight wide receiver, but this time a more conservative choice in Courtland Sutton. Sutton is solid. He had his best year of his career last season, setting career highs in targets and receptions. He was rewarded with a new contract this offseason. Bo Nix’s #1 Target. Only concern would be Broncos not needing to throw much later in games. Their defense looks dominant. I’m bullish on the Broncos Super Bowl odds this year. Big part due to their defense, but Sutton is the move the sticks type you want and a great WR2 for you.
In Round 6 Trey took Bo Nix to get the stack. Some might worry about a Sophomore slump. I don’t think so. I think we’ll see him rush a bit less and keep the same throwing numbers. Nix was QB#7 last year as a rookie. In comes Evan Engram, RJ Harvey, and rookie Pat Bryant. More toys for Payton to play with. I loved this pick for Trey and hated it for me because I was aiming for him or Mahomes in this round and couldn’t get either.
Round 7 Trey took Joe Mixon. Gross, puke, disgusting. We’ll see if he can come back healthy at some point this season. Foot/ankle issue sounds bad. We’ll see if he starts the season on PUP. If he does he’ll be out 4-8 weeks from the get go. On top of that, even if he does come back. The Texans offense line sucks. Like, really really bad sucks. Dead last in lineman expert Brandon Thorn’s rankings. The OC is new and should help from a scheme standpoint. But this looks like Mixon getting eased back in midseason into a 2-3 yards per carry situation. Just no thanks. The Texans defense could provide some goal line opportunities but we’ll see if they go with Mixon, Chubb, Marks, or Pierce in those situations. Taking him over DeVonta Smith, Zach Charbonnet. Nope nope nope. Gross. Bad. Bad Trey.
In Round 8 Trey takes Tyler Warren. OOOOOHHHH HEEEEELLLL YEEAAAAHHHH. This will be the 4th time I go on this rant about Tyler Warren. I’ve gotten him in zero fucking leagues. So love the pick for Trey’s team, and I fucking hate it because I didn’t get him:
Just watch the play against Maryland at the 7:34 mark:
Tyler Warren | 2024 Highlights
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? (We drafted prior to news of Daniel Jones starting, but when it comes to Warren it didn’t matter who the starter was. Offense is going to run through JT and Warren).
In Round 9 got decent value in Jakobi Meyers. WR2/3 who is historically underrated. With an improvement at QB. In Round 10 you took Khalil Shakir. High ankle sprain will have him start slow, but later in the season he should go back to being Josh Allen’s most consistent target. Nice pick with Dylan Sampon in Round 14. Yes sir.
Draft Grade: B+. I didn’t like where this was going when he took JSN in the 3rd. But Sutton-Nix stack in rounds 5-6 and then Warren in Round 7 combined with some nice later picks resulted in this grade shooting up. Overall Scotty and Trey did a phenomenal job in the middle of the rounds this draft.
8. Joe!
Go Joe Go! No Joe No! Not Jeanty in the first! 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. (Something I hope happens for my teams sake). 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”. I think the right pick would’ve been to go Lamb here and then take Jacobs or best RB available in the 2nd.
In the 2nd Round Joe takes De’Von Achane. Prior to the draft we learned Achane suffered a lower leg injury that would take him out days to weeks. Later we learned it was a calf injury (but not during draft time). Achane was a surprising pick for me. Achane was RB6 last season despite the Dolphins being horrific. 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 Jacobs, BTJ, Bowers. Gross. Nope. Nope nope nope. Normally going RB-RB is a good thing in fantasy drafts especially in Best Buy Dream Team League. But not if you choose the wrong ones Joe! God almighty.
In Round 3 Joe was rewarded by the Fantasy Gods with a gift from the heavens. AJ Brown, going in the 2nd round of every best ball and redraft league I’ve been apart of, magically fell to Joe due to a little minor hamstring injury. I love AJB. 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 being 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 ppr WR#20 in 2024. Incredible pick that might have saved Joe’s season.
In Round 4 Joe took Joe Burrow. Nice. 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 going a round after Allen, Jackson, Daniels, and Hurts? Rushing? 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.
Round 5 Joe continued with his delusions of grandeur about his Round 1 and 2 RBs going Sam LaPorta. LaPorta is talented and a TE1, no question. Can he replicate his TE1 finish? Probably not, but super talented a solid TE. But you’re going to need to RB depth and you took him right before the last slew of RB#1’s on their teams went. Pollard, Tracy, even Monty would’ve been good.
Round 6 you took George Pickens. I like it. He could easily have his best career season now that he’s off the Steelers. Cowboys are going to throw a ton. He went 41st overall in my other league. You get him at 65. Great value. Talent is there, only 24. Dak will be the best QB he’s played for. This is one where people will look back and be like… how did he fall to the 6th?
In the 7th you finally took a third RB, oh wait just kidding you took Chris fucking Godwin who had his leg ripped off last year. Jesus MF Christ Joe. HIS FOOT WAS FACING THE WRONG WAY. Do you think he’s going to magically heal and start running go routes? My guess is Godwin will come back back of the year and slowly. He won’t be the Godwin of last year. Maybe in 2026 he can return to a glimmer of his old safe, but this is a get better year and you took him over DeVonta Smith and RB’s that could have helped your team. So bad.
In Round 8 Joe takes Cam Scattebo. AASDFAJDF:ASLDJF Halle-fucking-leuh. Finally he chooses a RB3, a backup for the Giants. Scattebo is a great story and a great back. I think Tracy starts the year as the starter and they eventually work out a time share. If Tracy gets hurt I could see Scattebo smashing as a RB2 level. More of a grinder and hit him hard Mike Alstott type, but with more speed. Not a terrible pick, but I had Charbonnet being a better asset at this stage.
In Round 9 Joe takes Austin Ekeler. It might be his saving grace. With alll the noise surrounding the Commanders backfield and them shopping Brian Robinson, it sounds like the best RB to own in the Commanders backfield is Austin Ekeler. Because he’ll be the veteran who they trust in passing downs. He’ll let the young guys take the first and second down ground and pound, but he’ll still provide value.
Took a kicker in the 10th. Took a 3rd string RB in the 12th when the backup was available. Christian Kirk pick in Round 15 was great.
Draft Grade: C-. This was an F grade after two rounds. An F. Then AJB fell into your lap. You took Burrow. Pickens was a great value at 65. You took Ekeler. This team could’ve been so much better. But you did enough or lucked into enough to put forward an okay team. Definitely behind Trey and Scotty in your division and very possibly behind Kenny, so we’ll see what happens. Yowzer.
9. Kenny.
K-Dub! The fan favorite and our beloved Super Bowl 12 Champion. After making back to back Super Bowl appearances in 2020 and 2021 and coming up a little short. He’s missed the playoffs two out of the last three seasons. He’s looking to compete and get back to the top this season, but was dealt an unfortunate hand with the 9th pick. Can’t control the hand you got dealt, only what you do with it. Picking after him is the defending two time champ JD, Mike Grote, and four time champ Chase. Intimidating drafting position.
In the 1st Kenny goes with RB Jonathan Taylor. I personally wouldn’t have been able to draft JT over CeeDee Lamb, but looking at the RBs after him and knowing you had 6 picks before you went again, I get it. Had you not gone JT you would’ve had to choose between Achane and Jacobs most likely. And I agree I would’ve rather JT over them. Lamb-Jacobs might be better than JT-Amon-Ra, but it’s close enough that we’ll have to wait and see on that one. Decent pick. I think no matter who wins the QB competition in Indy JT is going to eat. He exploded last season too. 39.8 in Week 16 and 27.6 in Week 17. Delicious. He’s a stud. He’s healthy. Let’s ride.
In Round 2 you got great value in Amon-Ra St. Brown. He has finished as PPR WR#3 two years in a row and was WR#7 the year before that. In his four NFL seasons he has 430 receptions. Averaging 107.5. In the last two seasons he’s averaged 117. That’s gorgeous in PPR leagues. Ben Johnson is gone, but I think he’ll be okay. Lions are still a great team. Teams have to respect the backs, LaPorta Jameson Williams. So Amon-Ra should be able to continue eating. This new OC might not dial up as many trick plays as Ben Johnson, but we’ll see. Solid start to the draft.
In Round 3 Kenny takes Terry McLaurin. Scary Terry. F1. Whatever you want to call him isn’t happy. He wants a new contract. Kenny 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 is Average Draft Position is. But Kenny took him the 3rd. Over Tee Higgins. Over George Kittle. I love McLaurin, but I think he could’ve waited a round. If he had grabbed Kittle then McLaurin in the 4th it would’ve been better. McLaurin should be a WR1 if he rejoins the team, but the clock is ticking. He wants DK Metcalf money, but he’s 3-4 years older than Metcalf. Might be a tough sell.
In Round 4 Kenny goes Aaron Jones Sr. I actually don’t hate this pick in PPR. Looking at the other RBs available I get the allure of Jones. He’ll play two minute drills and 3rd downs. He was RB#15 last year rushing for 1,138 yards and catching 50 balls. Jordan Mason is going to get more than Kenny would like, but overall not a terrible RB2.
In Round 5 Kenny took 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 Kenny’s best wideout.
In Round 6 Kenny took Tyrone Tracy Jr. I like it. Appropriate pick to give yourself a solid RB3. Tracy has looked great this preseason while Cam Scattebo has missed a lot due to injury. It’ll take longer for Scattebo to catch up an potentially overtake Tracy now. They can’t commit to stopping the run when they have Malik Nabers out wide. I really like this pick for Kenny in the 6th.
In Round 7 he took Tucker Kraft. Kraft was banged up for most of last season but still finished as the TE 9. All of the Packers WRs not named Matthew Golden are injured right now. A TE1 in Round 7 is about right. Not a bad pick.
In Round 8 Kenny took his QB1 in Dak Prescott. Dak was QB#3 in his last full season. Last year he got the big contract and proceeded to start slow then tear his hamstring OFF OF THE BONE. But he’s back now and has a new weapon in George Pickens. Jake Ferguson should be back from his sluggish season last year where he battled an LCL injury all season. Dak should be throwing a lot as their running backs are hot garbage.
Kenny took Jauan Jennings who is trying to get a new contract and is banged up in Round 9. In Round 10 he took Tank Bigsby, not a bad flier to see who winds up leading the Jags rushing attack. Steelers D/ST should be nasty and he got Boswell and Jonnu Smith so he can make a peripheral stack. Does Kenny read my blog?
Draft Grade: B-. Kenny’s team wind up with no weaknesses and no strengths. Just a solid team. Qb1, RB1, RB2, WR1, WR2, TE1, Flex is WR2, RB depth. It’s average, but competitive. He’s in a really tough division, but solid drafting job from K-Dub.
10. JD.
Our DEFENDING CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. The whole league pushes RB’s up their draft boards. JD looks at everyone zigging and he said, “watch this zag mother F@#$ers”. Going CeeDee Lamb (incredible value) and then Malik Nabers in Round 2. He was the only person to start the draft WR-WR other than T-Bo. 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 WR#8. Can’t think of worse scenarios than last season and yet he still finished Top 10. Stud. Great pick.
In Round 2 he takes Malik Nabers. Malik Nabers is going to eat. I see 140+ targets and 1500 yards when I see Nabers. He is going to be a problem this season. Russ Wilson should be an upgrade over Daniel Jones. Jones is a terrible quarterback who shouldn’t be anywhere near a starting NFL roster. Wilson was okay for the Steelers. He’s going to pepper Nabers day in and day out given JD the best WR duo in the league hands down.
In Round 3 JD took his RB#1 in Omarion Hampton. I love Hampton as a prospect and was excited he went in the first round and to the run-happy chargers. But like I mentioned about JSN, the Slater injury is tough. (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….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. Plus the Greg Roman offenses always run a committee. I know Najee blinded himself, but I don’t think he’s dead and his legs still work. This could be a frustrating season especially when they get to the goal line and you see Hassan Haskins rush it in for no good reason other than for Greg Roman to troll fantasy football managers.
Round 4 you got tremendous value in Alvin Kamara. Finally we’ll have JD rooting for the Saints. Alvin Kamara Finishes In His Career:
2017- RB3
2018- RB4
2019- RB9
2020- RB1
2021- RB8
2022- RB16
2023- RB11
2024- RB9
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 18.95 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 you take Calvin Ridley. Volume-Volume-Volume. WR trio of volume. Calvin Ridley was WR28 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.
Round 6 you took Baker Mayfield. I would’ve taken Bo Nix of Mahomes over Baker, but not because I don’t like him. Baker is like the new Drew Brees. Scrappy. Accurate. I don’t think he’ll throw over 40 touchdowns again this season, but he did last year and with his main WRs hurt for a big chunk of the year. Evans is healthy and they added Egbuka from Ohio State, which is a great talent in the Olave/JSN/Marvin Harrison tier. Godwin should come back at some point. I think the Bucs will be without their starting Left Tackle Wirfs for the first four games, so they’ll have to get creative. Also the loss of Liam Coen is a little concerning. I like Baker, but TD regression is probable.
In Round 7 JD took DeVonta Smith. What an incredible value. He is boom or bust and on a run first team. But very talented. When AJ Brown misses games his average goes up from 14 fantasy points per game to 17 fantasy points per game. That’s WR1 level. And AJ Brown is nursing a sore hamstring right now. Great depth piece, flex, and bye week filler with upside.
In Round 8 you took Evan Engram. 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. He flashed some of his potential in the preseason, catching a long ball from Bo Nix along the sideline. We’ll see if that’s a sign of things to come. Jd continued his onslaught of WR depth with Addison in Round 9 and Pittman in Round 10. We get it JD. You wanted the best WR group in the league. And you got it.
Later round picks of Jaydon Blue, Braelon Allen were good RB depth pieces. The Jets won’t shut up about Braelon Allen and all indications are looking like it’ll be on a time share. Fields hurts the RBs a little in PPR because instead of going through progressions and checking it down he goes zoom zoom zoom.
Draft Grade: B+. Nobody is touching his Top 5 WRs. If Baker doesn’t regress and Hampton hits, look out.
11. Mike.
Mike wasn’t worried about Stafford’s back. Rams have Jimmy G and Stetson Bennett. No I’m sure Stafford will come back and be alright. (I love how all the analysts are like, oh hes just old and has to manage the back now when he’s 37, literally my age lol). Mike takes Puka Nacua. Puka came into the league on fire his rookie season. Smashing the rookie receiving record. Last season he battled knee injuries but when he played he was money. Towards the end of the season he just completely blocked out Cooper Kupp like an eclipse. One of the reasons why I think Cooper Kupp is a Seahawk now. Although that sounds great for Puka’s targets… in comes Davante Adams. Adams is still playing at a very high level. He’ll demand his own targets. It’s great for the Rams, but might hurt Puka a little bit. But don’t get me wrong. Adams was able to finish as WR#11 last season despite being on the same team with Garrett Wilson who finished as WR#10. Could he go from a team with two #1 WR’s to another team who produces two #1 WRs? He might. It might come down to a disc in Matthew Stafford’s back. Mike chose Puka over Malik Nabers and Amon-Ra. I had those two ranked higher. But he’s a stud I don’t hate that much.
In Round 2 Mike went RB in Bucky Irving. Over Nabers, Amon-Ra, Achane, Jacobs, and BTJ. I agree with taking Bucky over Achane on that list. But that’s it. Irving was RB#13 last season. How many games did Bucky Irving play over 60% of snaps? 3. Now. He was explosive with 5.42 yards per rush. He caught 47/52 targets which is excellent. But I don’t see the committee approach going away. I see Irving as more of a James Cook level and less of a Jacobs/Nabers/Amon-RA/BTJ level. He’s become a bit of a cult sensation on fantasy platforms like Sleeper. But we have to look at the facts. Bucs lose Liam Coen. Won’t have Wirfs the first four weeks, their stud Left Tackle. And they still have White and Sean Tucker to form a committee. This draft position assumes he makes a big leap and starts getting 70% of snaps. I haven’t heard anything to indicate that he does. Now Rachaad White is a little banged up with a groin injury, but he’s day to day and the season is still three weeks away. Fun player. I like him. I just think this was too high for me. Give me Jacobs or one of the stud WRs. Or even Bowers.
In Round 3 Mike goes Kenneth Walker III. Kenneth Walker? More like Needs A Walker. Am I right? Am I right? (silence befalls the crowd). 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. Charbonnet looked damn good in this past preseason game too. Damn good.
In Round 4 Mike takes James Conner. Getting 3 RBs in the first four rounds. Conner is solid. He’s not a sexy pick, but he’s a solid RB. 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. I would’ve taken Kamara over him personally, but not bad.
In Round 5, Mike takes Zay Flowers. I like Flowers a lot. He moves the sticks. He was playing well last season until an ankle injury tripped him up at the end. When Lamar rolls out on third downs he’s looking for Flowers. Not a terrible WR2 although I like him better as a WR3.
In Round 6 Mike goes TJ Hockenson. He was right to get a TE here because there was a run on them in Round 7. 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 Mike 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. Will be interesting to see if he outperforms Kelce, Njoku, and Andrews who all went a round later.
In Round 7 Mike takes Kyler Murray. Murray is a decent starting QB. He was healthy all of last season and was a QB1 in fantasy, finishing as QB#10. He set a career high in yards per carry at 7.33 which is great. We’ll see if he can get Marvin Harrison going a little more to get some big plays as opposed to just grinding with Conner and dunking to McBride all day. Solid pick.
Mike took Matthew Golden in Round 8. I liked Travis Hunter here better, but Golden has a lot of potential too. Packers never use first round picks on Wide Receivers (ask Rodgers), but they broke their 22 year streak to select Golden. It helps knowing that all their other WRs are hurt right now. Meaning he could get a lot of action early, which is great from a fantasy standpoint and his development.
Mike took fliers on Travis Etienne in the 9th and Jordan Mason in the 10th. Man I love me some Jordan Mason. 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. I want Mason this season and I’ve gotten him in zero leagues so far. So frustrating. Great pick.
In Round 11 Mike took Broncos D/ST. Normally I don’t care about defenses, but when someone selects the best one I pay attention. Decent fliers later with Cam Ward, but your kicker is GAY.
Draft Grade: C. I don’t know how to grade this draft. I would’ve taken different players in almost every pick, but all the picks he made are around ADP. I probably would’ve gone Chase Brown to secure him before Chase picked. Then Malik Nabers. In Round 3 I would’ve taken George Kittle or TreVeyon Henderson. In Round 4 if I had gone Henderson I would’ve gone Burrow. I just see me not drafting this team if we were to simulate this draft 1000 times. If I’m good at fantasy football that’s a bad omen for Mike. If I’m bad at fantasy football that might be a good omen for Mike. But what do I know I peaked in 2009.
12. Chase.
Four Time Champion Chase leads up the rear, just like he likes it. (winky face) Got that baseball playing ass. Chase starts the draft with Nico Collins and Chase Brown. A tail of two picks. One I love and one I don’t. Let’s start with Nico. 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.
Nico Collins Games Played In By Season:
2021- 14
2022- 10
2023- 15
2024- 12
Can you afford a first round pick with a history of not giving you a full season? I hope he stays healthy because he’s incredible when he plays.
Now the pick I like. Chase Brown was 100% the correct pick at this position and in this league. Rant time. 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 20.63 PPR points per game. For perspective, Bijan Robinson, PPR RB #3, averaged 20.1 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. Chase takes him as the 8th RB drafted. Ahead of ADP, but right where he deserves to be drafted. I would’ve gone Nabers or Amon-Ra and Brown at the turn. But I get the Nico argument because he’s so good. We just haven’t seen it the whole season.
In Rounds 3 and 4 Chase goes Tee Higgins and George Kittle. Excellent picks. Here’s why. 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 18.51 ppr points per game over the course of a 17 game season would have put him at WR#4. As I mentioned in my grade about Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase, the Bengals are going to throw the ball. A LOT. Brown- Higgins are two great assets. The worry will be if Burrow goes down. He’s won comeback player of the year twice for a reason, his offensive line sucks and he takes a lot of hits. But they have a capable backup in Jake Browning, so at least him going down won’t be an automatic eliminator.
George Kittle. Kittle was TE3 last year in PPR and TE2 in half PPR over 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 fantasy playoffs last season he went for 8-106 and 8-112. The offense will run through CMC and Kittle this year. I have him in the same tier as McBride and Bowers, but Chase was able to get him in the 4th whereas Bowers and McBride went in the 2nd. Chase was lucky to get him in the 4th and should be stoked about. Also, I saw him at the celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe this past summer and the dude’s pecs are bigger than my entire body above the waist.
At the Round 5 and 6 turn Chase gets some serviceable running backs. Tony Pollard and David Montgomery. 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 RB2/3.
Then you have David Montgomery. 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 15.84 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 7 and 8 he took Tetairoa McMillan and Brian Robinson Jr. All the breaking news on Sunday was about the Commanders looking to trade Brian Robinson. Chase didn’t give an F. Not a bad, let’s see what happens move. Now when it comes to T-Mac. 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 ppr WR 15. Last season was his 7th NFL season. London finished as WR 5. That was in season 3. First season was WR31 and second season was WR37. 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!] That can blow up in my face if Canales funnels the offense through McMillan, but I have a feeling defenses are going to game plan for him and open things up for the slice and dice slot guys. We shall see who is right!
In 9/10 Chase wins the QB pissing contest, being the last time team to draft a QB, beating out Brad who picked Drake Maye 9 picks before him. In Round 10 he got a steal in Emeka Egbuka. Let’s put Chris Olave or JSN on a team with Baker Mayfield, hurt Chris Godwin and see what happens. Everyone is going to feel really really dumb for passing on Egbuka 9 times each by the end of the season. Myself included.
Decent fliers in Chubb, Caleb Williams, Auyik in later rounds. Although I have low expectations for Chubb with that Texans offensive line. Plus Mixon could come back right when Chubb starts to get going and muddy the situation up. But respect for one of the best pure runners in NFL history. Love the Chubbster. Probably irrelevant in fantasy this season. Probably…
Draft Grade: B+. Team would’ve looked a little different had I drafted, but not much. Chase Brown, George Kittle, Tony Pollard. Unique features/things to keep an eye on will be Nico over Amon-Ra, Nabers, and BTJ, and McMillan over Hunter. Can have some fun debates on these guys prior to season start.
Draft Grade In Order of Draft:
- Steven- C+
- Katon- B
- Brad- B
- Tommy- B
- Jen- B-
- Scotty- A-
- Trey- B+
- Joe- C-
- Kenny- B-
- JD- B+
- Mike- C
- Chase- B+
In Order of Draft Grade:
- Scotty: A-
T2. Chase: B+
T2. Trey: B+
T2: JD: B+
T5: Brad: B
T5: Katon: B
T5: Tommy: B
T8: Jen: B-
T8: Kenny: B-
10: Steven: C+
11: Mike: C
12: Joe: C-
Overall, nobody got a D and only one A. Goes to show how evened up this league is. This is truly anybody’s year this year. Except for Joe probably. Good luck!
-Commish B-Razzle Dazzle AKA Fantasy Football Brad AKA Peaked In 2009
fantasyfootballbrad 