BBY Dream Team League Season 17 Playoff Preview

Today I’ll take a look at the playoff teams, how they got here and to preview the Round 1 Matchups.

  1. Stephen T-Bo (9-5)

Congratulations on making the playoffs for the first time Stephen!  Stephen had a rough go in 2009 and 2010, but he’s back and not only does he get the number 1 pick.  Now he is the #1 seed in the playoffs after going 9-5 and beating Scotty in Week 10 giving him the head to head tie breaker when it comes to seeding.  Stephen of course drafted Jamarr Chase with the 1.01.  An unfortunate turf toe injury left Burrow out for most of the year and so Chase wasn’t his normal dominate self.  He is still sitting at WR5.  The biggest two picks Stephen made were Javonte Williams in Round 8 (he currently sits at RB#7 on the season) and Davante Adams in Round 4 (he currently sits at WR#6).  His best free agent acquisition was Rico Dowdle for $5 FAAB.  He sits at RB#12.  He has a complete team heading into the bye with a chance of being crowned champion!  

  1. Scotty (9-5)

Congratulations to Scotty for winning points leader and the cash prize!  Scotty tied Trey at 9-5, but they split their head to head matchups and Scotty has the advantage when it comes to points.  Scotty got here by drafting CMC in the first round.  Everyone expected him to be healthy last year and he was hurt all year.  Everyone expected him to be hurt this year and he has been healthy all year.  RB#3 on the season.  In addition Scotty got Drake London who has had his moments and now he has the bye to potentially get him healthy for a final four run.  James Cook was probably his best draft pick in Round 3.  He sits at RB6.  I liked the pick during the draft but Mahomes sits at QB#2 on the season.  Scotty has managed well and will have a chance to compete for his second Super Bowl.  He’s made the playoffs 11 times and the Super Bowl 3 times.  Last year he was defeated by JD in Super Bowl 16.

  1. Brad (8-6)

Brad makes his 12th playoff appearance in league history, but his first in 3 seasons.  He did this by winning Division 3.  Brad won two Super Bowls in the league’s first three seasons but has gone 0-3 in Super Bowls in the last 13 seasons.  This season he has been carried by Jahmyr Gibbs.  Who sits at RB#2 and has single handedly won Brad several weeks.  He also did well with Drake Maye who sits at QB#5 who he drafted in Round 9.  And Jaylen Waddle who he drafted in Round 6, who took over as the Dolphins #1 WR when Tyreek Hill went down to a nasty season ending injury.  He sits at WR#14.  Brad had 4 weeks with no Bowers, but survived with a solid season from Treyveon Henderson (RB#20) and Jaylen Warren (RB#19).  Brad picked up Christian Watson when his two veteran wideouts went down in Mike Evans and Garret Wilson.  Watson has been on a tear since coming back including scoring 5 touchdowns in the past 4 weeks heading into Round 1.

4. Trey (9-5) 

Super Bowl 9 winner Trey makes his 7th playoff appearance in league history.  Trey has only made one Super Bowl, but he won the thing.  After a few seasons out of the playoffs he made it last year and now finds himself back again, but this time as a strong competitor.  Trey was 2nd in Points For and tied for first for best record in the league.  His only downside is he was in the division with Scotty who edged him out in points.  Due to that he’ll square off against the 5th seed Mike Grote in the 1st Round.  Trey got here by going bruiser RBs to start his draft, which worked.  Henry is RB#8 and Jacobs is RB#10 heading into the playoffs.  This meant he had to be right about his first WR taken Jaxon Smith-Njigba.  And as he pointed out to Brad’s chagrin, he was indeed right and Brad was wrong.  JSN is the #1 WR in fantasy and has set the Seahawks franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season.  He also did well with #5 TE Tyler Warren who might see an uptick in usage given the Colts QB situation heading into Week 15.  Trey also has RJ Harvey who took over after Dobbins was lost for the season.  Trey traded Jameson Williams to Scotty midseason, with both being pleased I think as they are both strong “2’s” in their respected position.  Trey also picked up Michael Wilson for $15 FAAB.  Kyler Murray gets hurt.  Marvin Harrison gets hurt.  In comes Jacoby Brissett slinging the rock to Wilson and McBride.  Wilson has games of 29, 19.8, and 34.7 in the past four weeks.  Making Trey one of the best teams in the league heading into the playoffs.  

5. Mike (7-7) 

Mike has never won a Super Bowl and over the past 7 seasons he was playing the make the playoffs, miss the playoffs, make the playoffs, miss the playoffs game.  No more.  Mike has now made the playoffs in back to back seasons.  His first time doing so since Season 1 and 2.  Mike’s best player is Puca Nacua who has been awesome.  He sits at WR#2 and makes the 10 people who drafted ahead of Mike look silly.  Mike somehow survived the season despite not having his 2nd round pick for most of the year.  This was due to the emergence of Travis Etienne.  Drafted in Round 9 he currently sits as RB#11.  He’s been streaming QBs and will have to stream Tight Ends in the playoffs as he just lost Zach Ertz to a bad leg injury.  Mike is what one would consider the Underdog heading into a Round 1 matchup with Trey.  

  1. Kenny (7-7)

Congratulations to Super Bowl 12 winner Kenny for making the playoffs due to the head to head tie breaker.  Kenny beat out on Joe and JD because of uneven head to head matchups meaning it went to Points where Kenny had the advantage.  Kenny has been led by the RB#1 Jonathan Taylor.  He also has his 2nd round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown who is WR#4.  Then he has a lot of awesome stories from this season.  Dak is slinging it and sits at QB#3.  Kenny Gainwell is in a 50/50 split with Jaylen Warren and looks more explosive.  Kyle Monangai is in a split with D’Andre Swift but has 5 rushing TDs on the season.  Kenny is getting healthy at the right time too getting back Terry McLaurin.  

Consolation Bracket:

Joe (7-7) vs. JD (7-7)– just missed out on the head to head tie breaker with Kenny due to Points For.  winner of this game will be guaranteed multiple balls in next season’s draft lottery

Chase (6-8) vs Katon (5-9)– division foes go at it for a 3rd time.  Winner guarantees multiple balls in the draft lottery next season.

Tommy (5-9) vs. Jen (5-9)– These two battle it out to try and have a chance at a higher pick next season.

Round 1 Preview: 

  1. Stephen (9-5)- BYE
  2. Scotty (9-5)- BYE

3. Brad (8-6) vs. 6. Kenny (7-7) 

Story Line: RB#1 vs. RB#2

Kenny beat Brad back in Week 7 when Brad lost Mike Evans to a broken collarbone and had a whopping 6 players scoring 5 or less.  

Kenny has #3 Dak Prescott against a tough Minnesota defense on Sunday Night Football.  This pegs Brian Schottenheimer’s offensive mind against Brian Flores defensive mind in what should be a good game.  Brad has #5 QB Drake Maye going up against Buffalo.  New England is trying to lock down the division, but Buffalo isn’t going to make it easy on him.  QB is even.

At RB we have #1 Jonathan Taylor for Kenny vs. #2 Jahmyr Gibbs for Brad.  Both have tough matchups as JT goes to Seattle without a QB and Gibbs travels to Los Angeles to face the Rams.  Both good defenses.  

Kenny has Kenny Gainwell and Brad has Jaylen Warren.  Warren has been more consistent in terms of usage, but Gainwell has looked more explosive.  Who knows who scores more against Miami.  

At WR Kenny has #4 Amon-Ra St. Brown vs LA Rams.  Brad has #14 WR Jaylen Waddle vs. Pittsburgh and red hot Christian Watson in a tough matchup @ Denver.  

Brad will need #4 TE Brock Bowers to act like the 2nd Round Pick Brad predicted against Philly.  While Kenny will turn to TE#10 Juwan Johnson against the Panthers.  In their first meeting in Week 10 Johnson went for 4-92-1 and 17.2 fantasy points.  

Another interesting note is Kenny will have Kyle Monangai vs. Brad’s defense Cleveland #8.  And Brad will have Jaylen Waddle vs Kenny’s defense in Pittsburgh #6.  

This is about as 50-50 you can get folks.  Brad vs. K-Dub.  Flip a coin.

  1. Trey (9-5) vs. 5. Mike (7-7)

Story Line: WR#1 vs. WR#2

At QB Mike will pick one out of Stroud vs. Arizona or Purdy vs. Tennessee or someone off the waiver.  Trey will have #9 Bo Nix after losing Danny Dimes to an Achilles injury.  Broncos vs Packers should be a great game.  The line opens as Packers slight favorites despite playing in Denver.  Mike has to put in the work and get this guestimate right.  

At RB you have Bucky Irving vs. Atlanta and #11 RB Travis Etienne vs. The Jets for Mike.  Trey will have #8 Derrick Henry @ Cincinnati who he just scored 16.9 against two weeks ago.  Henry has gotten at least 9.3 fantasy points every week since Week 5.  He’s been a tremendous floor play and even has a couple 20 point games.  Should be a close game, so Henry should keep that streak going.  #10 RB Josh Jacobs has a tough matchup @ Denver, but it’s winter and he’s Jacobs.  Pretty even actually despite it not looking so on paper.

#2 Puca Nacua vs. Detroit or #1 JSN vs. Indianapolis.  Love how the playoffs lined up this year.  Both teams are in potential shootouts and JSN has the added benefit of not going against Sauce Gardner who is injured.  But the real story will be the Colts QB situation.  They might be pulling a 45 year old dusty Philip Rivers off the streets or rolling with Brett Rypien, so I don’t know how competitive they’ll be at Seattle.  Even in blowouts Darnold has moved the sticks throwing to JSN.  Puca has a real chance to be in a shootout.  

Mike has Zay Flowers a solid WR#2 vs. Cincy.  Trey has Michael Wilson but in a tough matchup @ Houston.  That secondary and defense is nasty.  Big storyline will be whether Marvin Harrison is healthy or not.  

At Tight End Mike doesn’t have one rostered and Trey has Tyler Warren who might play QB for the Colts.  I’d say advantage Trey on this one, but we’ll see who Mike winds up starting.

Kenny Walker is in a good spot against Indy if they blow out the Colts now that their head is cut off.   RJ Harvey is in the same boat as Jacobs.  Tough matchup, but it’s cold and he’ll be solid.  

Mike has Seahawks D/ST against QB less Colts.  Will probably be a top DFS play this week as they sit at D/ST #1 averaging 13.5 per game.  Trey has D/ST #5 in LA Rams.  Detroit is a good offense, but they can be dominated at the line of scrimmage some weeks.  In those weeks Jared Goff was seeing ghosts.  Plus this is the classic Goff  and Stafford vs. Their prior teams matchup.  Making it extra spicy.  

Advantage to Trey due to Tight End inequity.  But the game is more evenly matched than one might think.  

There you have it folks.  Two incredible first round matchups.  Consolation bracket people set your lineups for balls.  Congrats to Scotty for winning Points Leader.  I’ll send you some cash soon.

-Commish B-Razzle Dazzle

Best Buy Dream Team League: Draft Grades Season 17

 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: 

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

 

In Order of Draft Grade: 

  1. 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

The Maryanne Smith League Draft Grades: Season 25 Edition

   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+ 

 

 

Dynamo Dynasty 2025 Rookie Draft Grades

Another year and another rookie draft is in the books.  Thank you all for making this league so exciting and fun.  I’m grateful to be a part of it.  Now, let’s take a look at how I see each of you did.  I’ll be emptying most of my brain in these grades so you’ll know exactly how I feel about many of these rookies.  I’ve been open and honest about my usage of Establish the Run draft kit and Late Round QB Prospect Guide.  I don’t follow them, but I use them to help me be better informed to make my own decisions.  I take ownership of my decisions and I realize life isn’t that serious, so I try not to stress even if some of those decisions blow up in my face.  (Alexander Mattison in Round 5 of a startup draft, trading up in the 2nd for Blake Corum, etc.).  If you are offended by these words then ignore them.  It doesn’t matter what I think about YOUR team.  It’s YOURS.  I’ll be doing them in original draft order, so if picks look out of place that’s why.  I hope you enjoy. 

 

1.Dan 

   Dan traded his 1.01 pick and Chris Olave to Wesley for Justin Jefferson and Michael Penix.  Dan’s QBs are old so this is a great trade for him.  It also opened him up with the 2.01 pick to not need to take Cam Ward.  The trade wind up being Jeanty/Olave for JJ/Penix AND flexibility at 2.01.   

   With that 2.01 pick Dan selected… CAM SCATTEBO!  I think coaches are going to love this kid.  Grinder.  Doesn’t know when to quit-type of runner.  Carried two teams on his back.  Got better every year.  He was the 2nd running back in the 4th round taken and the 8th running back taken overall.  I like Scattebo.  People will knock his speed and I get that.  He doesn’t have that breakaway speed like some backs do.  But he is quick and fast around the line of scrimmage.  And that can be enough.  Him and Tracy will most likely be a duo together for the next couple years but if you are at the goal line you’re using Scattebo.  He’s got great hands too.  Late Round QB has a 79.8 prospect score on him with comps to Kareem Hunt, Zach Moss, and KeShawn Vaughn.  I will say this though.  I was surprised that Dan passed on Matthew Golden.  Golden was taken in the 1st round of the NFL draft by the Packers, a team that hadn’t drafted a WR in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002.  That’s a long ass time.  Scattebo was the 2nd RB taken in the 4th round.  A 4th round RB vs a 1st round WR.  I couldn’t pull that trigger.  But I get Dan wanting to secure a RB from this awesome draft class.  Plus Packers WRs are a clusterfuck and Dan is very strong at WR post-JJ trade.  Establish the Run has Matthew Golden as their #6 PLAYER in this entire draft class.  Over Egbuka, Over RJ Harvey, Over Kaleb Johnson, Over Judkins, and Over Both TE prospects.  They are extremely bullish on Golden.  I’m not that high on him, but it’s interesting to point out.     

   Dan also had 2.06.  He took Tre Harris.  I like Tre Harris a lot.  LRQB Prospect Score: 80.9 comps to Cedric Tillman, the WR Dan traded away last year in a package deal to Brad for Tee Higgins.  His main competition will be aging Mike Williams and Quentin Johnston entering his 3rd year.  QJ had a MUCH better Year 2 than Year 1.  Can he keep improving?  Can he have a third year breakout?  I like Harris’s chances to overcome Mike Williams.  If not Week 1 then at some point throughout the season.  Ladd McConkey is going to remain the WR1, but Harris should be able to take over WR3 duties and be an added handcuff if Williams and/or QJ goes down to injury.  Love the talent.  Great contested catch player.  Solid pick.   

   At 3.09 he took a flier on Jalen Milroe.  I like the pick.  Milroe was so talented and had flashes of greatness.  If he fixes his consistency and/or gets an opportunity in the event Darnold goes down to injury, look out.  Has that incredible rushing ability like Jalen Hurts.  I was expecting him to go Jarquez Hunter to get a potential Kyren backup but I don’t hate the pick due to the upside of Milroe.  

   Dans late picks included 4.6 Kyle Monangai, 4.8  Isaac TeSlaa. It’s crazy that a 3rd round WR fell to the back side of round 4 in our rookie draft.  TeSlaa has a prospect score of 72.1 which is great value at 4.08.  Amon-Ra is coming off surgery and Jameson Williams is eying a breakout.  He could carve out a role.  Monangai has a chance to compete with Swift for Chicago running shares unless they add a veteran like Nick Chubb or JK Dobbins.  Or trade for a RB as a few rumors have suggested could happen.   

 

Draft Grade:  A.  Acquiring JJ for 1.01 and Olave tips the scales on this one.  I do think 2.01 was not the right choice, but 2.06 made up for it in value.  If you take out the JJ trade and look at only picks it was more of a B- for me.  But JJ is JJ.   

 

2. Wesley 

   Wesley came in hot.  Trading away Kenny Walker and Justin Jefferson.  Acquiring 1.01 when he had 1.02.  With those picks he selects Omarion Hampton and Ashton Jeanty.  According to LateRoundQB Jeanty has a prospect score of 99.7.  The only RB in history to beat that score was CMC.  Hampton was no slouch either.  He came in at a 98.2 prospect score.  His model looks at Breakout score, best-season reception share, weight, speed score, teammate score, age, and draft capital.  He comps Jeanty to Mark Ingram, D’Andre Swift, and Jonathan Taylor.  He comps Hampton to Todd Gurley (my comp for him), Ezekiel Elliot, and Rashaad Penny (what might have been, le sigh).  Now according to Establish the Run there aren’t any running backs that correlate to Jeanty enough to be comped to him.  The closest was Bijan, Kenneth Walker, Javonte Williams, and Todd Gurley.  But let’s be real.  He’s the truth.  Raiders are going to give him so many touches he should be a Top 5 Fantasy RB in Year 1.  I’d be shocked if he wasn’t.  

   With Hampton, Establish the Run saw more correlated comps including Najee Harris and Breece Hall.  He’s probably somewhere in between.  But in the Greg Roman offense he should be a great fantasy asset.  But don’t be surprised if Najee gets a decent chunk of work because he is a professional running back.  Also, you need to mentally prepare yourself now for when Roman throws in Hassan Haskins for no reason whatsoever to dive over the pile from the 1 yard line.  But great pick and I like it even more for his Year 2.  Another thing I like about this pick is the strategy.  By going RB-RB you allowed yourself to take best player available at 2.02.   

   With that 2.02 Wesley went Jayden Higgins.  Stud drafted at the 2.02 in the NFL draft AND the 2.02 in the Dynamo Rookie Draft.  Crazy.  His top comp is Nico Collins.  Many call him a Nico Collins clone.  Well Nico Collins is a great WR, why isn’t Higgins higher on draft boards?  Because he happens to be on the same team as… Nico Collins.  He should start as the WR2 right away due to Diggs being gone and Tank Dell being dead.  Reports are coming out about Stroud struggling through a shoulder issue, but it’s early summer so no need to panic yet on that.   

   Wesley traded back into the 2nd.  Shipping Isaac Guerendo, 3.02, and a 2026 3rd for pick 2.08.  He used that pick to select Mason Taylor, LSU TE on the Jets.  I liked Taylor at LSU.  It just felt good when he caught the ball.  I think the price for him was pretty steep, but I understand you trying to go up and get your guy.  LRQB gave him a prospect score of 72.33, so they weren’t as bullish on him as other rankers.  ETR also didn’t have him high, instead ranking him as the TE6 of this draft class.  So I like the aggressiveness to get your guy, but don’t necessarily agree with your guy being your guy.  Fields likes TE’s, but the team will most likely be heavily run-first.  But hey, anything can happen.  He should be target #2 behind Garret Wilson, and that’s not nothing.  

   Wesley kept wheeling and dealing and wind up with Pat Bryant at 3.06, Konata Mumpfield at 5.02 and Jacory Croskey-Merritt at 5.11.  Bryant is graded out as a 73.2 prospect score with comps to Javon Baker, the hyped up NE WR that didn’t do jack shit last year.  Mumpfield is a throw away pick, but I liked the upside of Croskey-Merritt.  Brian Robinson is entering a contract year and Austin Ekeler is almost aged out.   

 

Draft Grade: B.  Trading away JJ is rough man.  It’s like trading away Randy Moss.  He’s had shitty QBs before and still smashed so I’m not worried about JJ McCarthy.  With that said.  Jeanty is a Top 5 Dynasty RB right from the gate.  He is a Top 5 RB this season if healthy.  Olave is still young and very talented.  #1 WR on a team that could be bad and need to throw a lot.  Kellen Moore offenses typically do well for #1 WRs.  The Kenneth Walker trade hurt me, but that had more to do with next years draft not this draft.  Jeanty-Hampton-Higgins-Taylor is a great haul from this draft class, so I can’t knock you too bad.   

 

3. Andy 

Andy has been talking about Quishon Judkins since last year.  He was his guy.  I don’t think landing spot mattered for Andy.  Judkins received a LTQB Prospect score of 93.4 with comps of Melvin Gordon.  He should plug in immediately into the Browns vacated Nick Chubb role.  A role of first and second down and red zone running back.  They may use Sampson or Ford in 2 minute drills and/or hurry up offenses, but Judkins will get first crack on most drives I’d imagine.  Performances in college that stood out to Andy were against LSU when he was at Ole Miss.  And other performances that highlighted his epic stiff arm ability.  One of his top comped players according to establish the run was Will Shipley believe it or not.  But also Breece Hall and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.  With that being said they also mentioned this stat: 

List of freshmen to run for 1,400 yards and 5.5 YPC in a Power 4 conference since 2000: 

Jonathan Taylor 

Adrian Peterson 

Samaje Perine 

Ryan Williams 

Nick Chubb 

LaMichael James 

Javion Hawkins 

Sean Tucker 

Tyreel Sutton 

JK Dobbins.   

Some huge hits there.  Andy did not have a 2nd round pick due to his trade with Adam last season to acquire Sam Darnold.   

   At 3.03 Andy selected DJ Giddens. JTs new handcuff.  His prospect score isn’t great at a 67.0 but his comps aren’t terrible.  Tevin Coleman, Cam Akers, Marlon Mack.  All these backs seemed to stay in the NFL longer than one would think.  Hell Andy still had Cam Akers rostered. He had a couple random RB2 finishes in random weeks last season.  JT has missed 16 games the last 3 seasons, worth stashing the handcuff in my opinion.  Giddens just needs to get past Khalil Herbert on the depth chart first.   

   At 4.03 Andy selected Tyler Shough.  Incredible value and love the fit for Andy.  Herbert and Darnold are starters but Shough gives Andy some breathing room knowing Darnold has Jalen Milroe breathing down his neck.  JO went Sanders a pick before, a QB that is 4th on the depth chart which allowed Andy to take Shough who might be QB1 to start the season.  Great, great value for my brother and he gets the potential Shough-Kamara stack.   

   Got Will Howard late since Rodgers is probably a one and done and Mason Rudolph isn’t a starter.   

 

Draft Grade: C.  I respect Andy getting his guy.  I had Judkins ranked behind the two wideouts and maybe Treyveon Henderson, but I respect you going to get your guy.  Andy did it with Gibbs in the startup draft.  Last season he took Marvin Harrison Jr. He’s building a very competitive team by getting a little better each year.  His main need heading into the draft was RB behind Kamara and depth at QB.  He solved both issues.  Solid.   

 

4. Ollie. 

I was shocked when Ollie selected Luther Burden.  I could have sworn he was going Tuten with this pick due to him already having Etienne and Tank Bigsby.  This would have locked down the Jacksonville backfield in a Liam Coen offense.  But I also understand that both were pretty much unusable last year.  So one way to break the cycle is to avoid the same situation this year.  Plus let’s be real.  Luther Burden was too good a value not to draft here.  Several pundits had him as their #1 WR in this draft class.  Over Tet and over Hunter.  I am not one of those pundits, but a slip to 2.04 is just silly.  Should take over the slot role for Ben Johnson.  Has a chance to be special and hopefully the drop into the 2nd round of the draft gives him motivation to prove others wrong. LRQB thinks you got a steal as they gave Burden a prospect score of 95.2.  (For perspective Tet was 96.0 and Egbuka was 95.8).  They comped him to DJ Moore, Brandon Aiyuk and Jarvis Landry.  That would be pretty sweet eh?  

   Ollie didn’t pick again until Round 4 where he selected Jalen Royals.  Then he snagged Xavier Restrepo in Round 5.  Royals had a draft prospect score of 56.9 and Restrepo was 17.3 mainly because he wasn’t drafted.  But he has rapport with Cam Ward already and with aging wideouts there he very well could make the team.  Royals top comp was… Rashee Rice.   

 

Draft Grade: A.  For only having three picks I thought Ollie maximized it.  He upgraded his WR room with one stud and two fliers that could work out.  Luther Burden at 2.04 could be an incredible steal.   

 

5. Colton 

   Colton was wheeling and dealing in 2024 and wind up with 3 1sts in 2025 and 2 1sts in 2026.  Rich with picks.  He selected Trevyeon Henderson at 1.05, stud RB out of Ohio State.  At this state of the draft he had the 5th pick, Mike B had the 6th pick, and then Colton had Picks 7 and 8.  So he had a choice to make.  Take Tet McMillian and let Mike Bellocq take Trevyeon Henderson and then have to choose between Harvey/Kaleb Johnson to pair with his TE OR take Trevyeon Henderson and let Mike Bellocq take Tet McMillian and then take Egbuka and a tight end.  He made his choice.  Colt took Henderson, Mike B took Tet.  Henderson received a prospect score of 94.1 with comps to David Wilson, James Cook, and JK Dobbins according to LRQB.  Everything I’ve heard is about how amazing he is in pass protection.  He should take 2 minute drills and hurry up offense right away and take over the backfield entirely by midseason.  There’s a chance Rhamondre takes the goal line work and eats in to some of the Vrabel ground and pound pie, but he’s a great player.  He would have been the top RB taken in 2024 but instead he went back to Ohio State and helped them win a championship.  He’ll be Drake Maye’s protector and dump off valve.  It’s a great pick for Colt.  I think he’s a bit safer than Tet and also secures a Top RB for Colt in this “RB Draft”.   

   With his next selection at 1.07 Colt took RJ Harvey.  An older rookie, but hand picked by Sean Payton.  Javonte is in Dallas.  Jaleel McLaughlin had a lil pop but isn’t going to handle a large workload. Estime is still a project.  LRQB has him with an 84.2 prospect score most likely lessened by his age.  Two of the three comps were unknowns but an intriguing one was Chase Brown.  A Chase Brown in a Sean Payton offense?  That’s sexy.  I had Kaleb ranked higher but I see the potential and respect the choice.   

   Colt then took Tyler Warren at 1.08. LOVE this pick.  I honestly considered him at 4 once I made my decision on Tet.  Hunter was just too tempting to pass up.  NFL.com has him ranked as a higher prospect than Bowers, which is insane.  LRQB has him as a 91.82 prospect score and had Loveland higher more likely due to age.   Establish The Run was also not happy with the landing spot, but they figured if the offense flounders this season a new regime will come in and possibly draft or sign a better QB situation.  Assuming Richardson and/or Daniel Jones doesn’t work out.   

   You should be excited about this selection Colt.  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.  Let’s hope Colts can unleash his potential.  Dudes a BEAST.   

   Colt took Jordan James at 3.02.  CMC was hurt most of last year.  Guerendo was banged up.  Not a bad flier to have 3rd stringer for the Niners offense.  He’s a short back, a little Jaylen Warren to his game.  LRQB had a 61.4 grade on him.  But think Niners offense elevates that a bit.   

   Late rounds Colt took Tai Felton and Brashard Smith.  Smith was a 55.4 and Felton was a 66.4.  Felton will most likely be 4th target on Vikings and Smith will be a change of pace back behind Pacheco and Hunt in KC.   

 

Draft Grade: A.  I liked Tet over Henderson and Kaleb over Harvey, but to each their own.  You got Treyveon Henderson, RJ Harvey, Jordan James, and Brashard Smith.  Four running backs in an incredible RB class.  Epic.  KTC had you move from worst running back group in the league to 7th, up five spots.  Which is great.  You also got an amazing Tight End who I love and will be a matchup nightmare for.  Plug and play starter at TE.  Great job Colt.     

 

6. JO 

Justin Overman inherited a mess.  We should all be very appreciative he was willing to step into a difficult situation and take over a failed roster to try and turn it around.  JO is new to dynasty, but he showed the commitment required by making his picks even while participating in a 610 Stomper Bar Crawl in New Orleans.  Respect brother.  He started off strong with pick 1.11 getting Emeka Egbuka.  In my opinion this was the safest pick in the whole draft.  I LOVE Egbuka as a prospect and I love his fit in Tampa.  With Godwin coming back from a devastating injury that presents a lot of unknowns you get an Ohio State beast cut from the same cloths as Marvin Harrison Jr, Chris Olave, JSN, Garret Wilson, etc.  He is so freaking good too.  His LRQB prospect score was a 95.8!  Which was the 5th highest in the entire draft class.  His top comp was Chris Godwin.  Establish the Run has him as their 8th best rookie in this class with comps to Rashee Rice, Michael Thomas, and Brandon Auyik.  The only knock on him is that he is behind Evans and Godwin.  But they aren’t spring chickens.  And Tampa throws a lot.  Love this pick. 

   In the 2nd round JO was given a gift from the God’s.  Somehow Matthew Golden fell to him at 2.03.  That’s because the two picks before them were a 4th round running back and a 2nd round wide receiver.  Golden was taken by the Packers at pick #22, their first WR taken in the first round since 2002.  That WR room is wide open.  His prospect score was an 88.7 according to LRQB with comps to Ladd McConkey and Curtis Samuel.  Establish the Run LOVES this guy though.  They have him as their 6th highest player in the draft class.  Two first round WRs to upgrade your dynasty roster is a great start.   

   JO Made more good moves with Dylan Sampson with the 3.01 and Jaxson Dart with 3.04.  Sampson was my favorite running back prior to the draft and I was eyeing him for my pick 2.05.  But once he was drafted by the Browns after they had already selected Quinshon Judkins I dropped him down my rankings.  He’s got some Blake Corum and Devonta Freeman to his game.  Prospect score was a 69.9, dropping due to where he was taken in the draft.  Dart was a great pick.  Need a backup to Jayden Daniels.  He should take over at some point over Russ Wilson and Jameis Winston.     

   At 4.01 you took Trevor Etienne who joins a crowded Panthers backfield.  But his prospect score was actually higher than Sampsons at a 78.8!  Showing you got great value here.  He’ll compete with Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle in Year 1.  The Sanders pick at 4.02 was a funny flier pick.  At 4.05 you traded the pick to me and got Jaleel McLaughlin.  JK Dobbins went to Denver for a visit, but he didn’t sign.  If Broncos stick with Harvey, Estime, and McLaughlin he could have some handcuff value and keep his change of pace role going.  He’s had some periods of pop.  Nice flier on Damien Martinez in the 5th round.  He got drafted by the Seahawks where Kenneth Walker is entering a contract year.   

 

Draft Grade: A.  You did great JO!  You did great!  Egbuka-Golden-Sampson-Etienne-Dart are some great building blocks to your new dynasty team!  I didn’t care of the Sanders pick, but loved all the other ones.  And who knows?  Maybe Sanders does work out after all that draft drama.  That would be sweet eh?    

 

7. Mike Dickinson 

   Dickinson pushed his chips all in last season and came up short in the playoffs.  This led to him only having a 2nd and a 3rd.  Then he traded away Stefon Diggs for 2.08.  With 2.07 he snagged Kyle Williams.  Not a bad dart throw.  Someone has to catch passes for New England.  It can’t continue to be Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper for God’s sake.  Williams had a prospect score of 76.6.  He’s been getting hyped up a lot, but I didn’t have him as high.  I remember last season when people were talking up Polk and Javon Baker only to have them both suck and not be able to pass up Demario Douglas.  Plus they are going to run the ball.  A lot.  I liked Bech more personally, but we’ll see what happens.   

   With 2.08 Dickinson got tremendous value, trading it away to Wesley for Isaac Guerendo, 2026 3rd and 3.02.  THEN he traded with me and shipped 3.02 for 3.07 and a 2026 4th.  So for 2.08 he got Guerendo, 3.07, 2026 3rd and 2026 4th.  According to KTC Trade Calculator he got 10,199 points of value while losing 6,406 points.  A 37% value in return.  Brilliant!  Then he used 3.07 to select Ollie Gordon.  Gordon has a prospect score of 63.4 but some nice comps like James Conner and Rhamondre Stevenson.  He is not a burner, but he adds an element the Dolphins don’t have.  A sledge hammer.  While all the fast Achanes, Wrights, Waddles and Tyreeks are running around they finally have someone they can just run up the middle to tire out the defense a little bit.  I like a few guys better here, but since he has Achane I don’t hate the pick for him.   

   Dickinson got Woody Marks at 3.12, which was great value.  Woody is a pass catching specialist who joins a beatable group of Running Backs other than starter Joe Mixon.  Mixon is getting older though, so having his handcuff is a valuable thing.  His prospect score was higher than Gordons with a 73.6. At 5.7 Dickinson chose Riley Leonard which I take as more of a trolling job towards me who has Anthony Richardson and not a legitimate dynasty stash.   

 

Draft Grade: B-.  He did great with trades, but not with picks in my mind.  But he was looking to upgrade his RB depth and I think he succeeded.  Isaac G, Ollie Gordon, and Woody Marks helps a lot.  Kyle Williams could workout but I’m doubtful.  Leonard is a throw away, but acquiring a 3rd and 4th for next year was nice, raising his grade a bit.   

 

8. Brad 

Brad shocked the free world.  He had Ollie’s pick from last years blockbuster where he sent Mahomes, Addison, and a 2nd to Ollie for Dak, JT, and a 1st.  Due to some terrible luck for Ollie (or luck for Brad) Ollie missed the playoffs and secured Brad with a Top 5 pick.  It happens.  With that pick Brad saw 3 straight RBs off the board.  Initially my pick was Tet McMillian.  Establish the Run has Tet as their #2 rookie over Omarion Hampton.  LateRoundQB has Hunter edging him out prospect score wise 97.1 to 96.0.  Both had higher scores than other players on the board and I felt like my roster allowed for me to draft Best Player Available (BPA).  So what made me decide Hunter over Tet?  Lots of things.  Tet McMillian’s comps were Tee Higgins, Courtland Sutton, Drake London, Mike Williams and even Marvin Harrison Jr.  But also DeVante Parker, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Quentin Johnston, N’Keal Harry.  A few people comped him to Mike Evans, but Mike Evans has 38″ arms whereas the rest of that entire list is more like 31-34 inch arms.  Evans is a unicorn mixed with Mr. Fantastic and McMillian isn’t Evans.  So which one is it?   

   I began analyzing film and it was tough.  He was on a terrible team.  Arizona went 4-8 and his Qb sucked.  He also got double or triple covered a bunch after his blow up Week 1 game against a High School team where he went for 300 yards.  The 8 drops were concerning but debatable, because again some of the throws were very bad.  Establish the Run is convinced he is Drake London and will play the power slot role that elevated London to a Top 5 Fantasy WR in 2024.  I was not convinced.  Panthers have Tet, Jalen Coker, Adam Thielen, Hunter Renfrow, Jimmy Horn Jr. And Xavier Legette.  Theilen, Renfrow, and Horn’s are slot type WRs.  Legette is an outside WR.  Or at least that’s how they were forced to use him last year.  Tet was mainly an outside big bodied X receiver, but did play some slot and did well there in college.  Panthers also spread the ball around.  Now that could have been because they didn’t have a talent of Tet’s caliber on their roster.  Do they use Tet outside to free up Legette inside?  I don’t know. 

   For me he was more Courtland Sutton.  That was my comp.  Sutton has been in the league 7 seasons and has exactly 0 WR1 (Top 12) PPR Seasons.  His best one was last season after I traded him away and he finished as WR#15.  I traded away Tee Higgins and Courtland Sutton last season, am I really going to draft another one?  Well what is the alternative?  I started looking into Travis Hunter.   

   Now the first major concern would be: I already have BTJ, is drafting Travis Hunter retarded?  I did an analysis looking at WR1/WR2s on the same team.  I started looking at the big WR duos in the league: 

AJB/Devonta Smith 

JJ/Jordan Addison 

Chase/Tee Higgins 

Amon-Ra St. Brown/Jameson Williams 

Mike Evans/Chris Godwin 

DK Metcalf/JSN and then JSN/DK Metcalf 

Tyreek Hill/Jaylen Waddle 

Garret Wilson/Davante Adams 

   You get the picture.  My question was: does having two WRs on the same team limit my ceiling, the average, and/or the floor of the WR combo?  And the results were… interesting.  You would think it would impact ceiling the most.  But that isn’t what I found.  For example, would it have been better to have AJB/Devonta Smith stack versus AJB/Addison or AJB/JSN in 2024?    

   Out of the 17 weeks last year AJB and Smith were both healthy in 11 of them.  In those 11 weeks AJB/Smith were the best combination 3 times (outscoring AJB paired with another teams’ WR2).  They were the worst combo 4 times.  AJB/Addison was the best combination 1 time and the worst combination twice.  So is pairing AJB with Smith instead of Addison hurting the combination’s ceiling?  No.  But here is where we get into the subjective. 

Smith is better than Addison.  Okay.  Let’s look at another example.   

JJ/Addison vs. JJ/Smith? 

JJ/Smith averaged 1.332 more points per game than JJ/Addison.  Slightly better to have Smith. 

Out of the 17 weeks last year JJ and Addison were both healthy in 13 of them.  In those 13 weeks JJ/Addison were the best combination 3 times.  JJ/Smith were the best combination 3 times.  JJ/JSN were the best 4 times, but again you can argue JSN became the WR1 on the Seahawks midseason.  JJ/Addison were the worst duo 3 times.  JJ/Smith were the worst duo 4 times.  So the ceilings didn’t really get impacted.  The floor and the averages did.  Logically this makes sense.  If the team is shut out, both WR’s score low and you probably lose the week.  BUT.  If they are in a shootout.  Both WRs could pop off and win you the week.  So it introduces some volatility, but can actually raise the ceiling depending on the situation.  Successful example would be Chase/Higgins, but Chase is Chase, so he should be viewed as an outlier.  Tyreek/Waddle was a shitshow and represents the worst case scenario of having two WRs on the same team.  But if you look at the non outliers it isn’t all that bad.  Imagine having JJ and Addison in Week 14 last year when they combined for 71.5 points!  Or averages 43+ points per game like Chase/Higgins did last year!  I could live with the risk, but I had to look further.   

   Then I had to look at Liam Coen’s Offensive philosophy.  I had to look at Travis Hunter as a WR prospect.  (I ignored IDP TD for the most part).  Evans and Godwin were smashing for Tampa last year.   

   They both got hurt in Week 7.  But before that they combined for 31.9+ points in 5/6 games.  They even had 40+ in 2 games.  Coen moves WRs around.  BTJ will play some slot, Travis Hunter will play some slot.  And both of them are capable of making amazing plays.  Coen’s system is a good one.  And I’m convinced the Jaguars don’t trade 2 1sts and more to acquire a player and not play him on every single high value play in the football game.  Redzone, 2-minute drills, hurry-up offenses.  He’s BTJ level and they have a ton of vacated targets due to losing Gabe Davis(42), Christian Kirk(47), and Evan Engram(64).   

   In conclusion, I was good with WR1/WR2 on same team situation.  I was good on offensive system.  Only question that remained was… is Travis Hunter really that good?  The film was an resounding yes.  He wasn’t just the most athletic player, he was the most intelligent.  The final nail in the coffin was the same term I heard over and over again.  5 different profilers referred to him as “a unicorn”.  I could sleep knowing I missed on Tet McMillian if he turns into Drake London.  I couldn’t sleep knowing I passed on one of the potential greatest football players that has ever lived.  Because that is within Hunter’s range of outcomes.  Playing CB adds snaps which adds probabilities that he could be injured.  Other risk is if Tet becomes WR1 unlike Sutton and more like London.  I’m okay with that risk.  One more stat that stood out to me.  Average Yards of Separation Created.  Tet= 2.8 Yards (20th percentile).  Hunter= 5.9 Yards (91% percentile).  5.9 yards of separation!     

   Enough on my first pick.  At 2.05 I narrowly missed out on Luther Burden!  Who went to Ollie at 2.04 for an insane value.  Instead I decided to take a RB in this incredibly deep RB class.  Insert Bhaysul Tuten who went at pick 4.02 and one pick ahead of Cam Scattebo to the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Jaguars back to back?!?!  I’m not bullish on the Jags but I am bullish on Liam Coen.  He did some incredible work in Tampa.  It seems like everyone he coached elevated.  Tuten is a speedster.  My favorite play from him came against Miami.  Middle of the field, Miami loaded the box to stop a 3rd and short.  Big mistake.  Tuten breaks a tackle and takes it to the house 55 yards.  His prospect score came in at an 84.9 ahead of RJ Harvey.  But I’m realistic. The only reason was due to age. Tuten is 23 years old and Harvey is 24 years old.  One of Tuten’s top comps was Kenneth Walker.  Which obviously caught my attention.  Wasn’t planning on going all in on the Jaguars, but needed to slake my 2025 RB class lust.  

   In round 3 I traded up with Mike Dickinson.  Sending a 2026 4th to him to move up 5 spots and snag Terrance “Turd” Ferguson.  What can I say?  I like TE’s named Ferguson.  LRQB was very high on him and that’s why I moved up to get him.  His prospect score was an 88.1, but interesting enough he had him in the same tier as Warren and Loveland!  That I don’t believe, but I like the sound of it.  I don’t see him being relevant much this season with Higbee and Adams there, but 2026 and beyond he could be the TE1 I’ve been missing.  (One can only hope).  

   I traded back into round 4 by shipping Jaleel McLaughlin to JO for 4.05.  I selected Jarquez Hunter.  Mainly due to his last name, but also because Rams RBs are fantasy gold mines.  If Kyren gets hurt I have the handcuff secured by having both Corum and Hunter.  Or at least that’s the plan.   

 

Draft Grade: C-.  Drafting two Jags when I already have one.  Drafting two Rams when Stafford is almost retired.  Plus taking Travis Hunter (BIG RISK) with a Top 4 pick and Tuten, a third string RB.  This was a lot riskier draft than usual for myself.  It could work out great or it could blow up spectacularly in my face.  Can’t wait to find out which it is!      

 

9. Oscar 

Oscar’s beloved Tyler Warren was yanked by Colt one pick before Oscar was up, so he had to pivot.  With concerns at RB behind Josh Jacobs and Bucky Irving (Pacheco/Hunt situation, Najee sharing with Hampton, Estime having Harvey get drafted) he wanted to get that third option for the long season.  Insert Kaleb Johnson.  Carried the Iowa Hawkeyes on his back.  He came in as an 86.5 prospect score from LRQB with comps to… wait for it.. Le’Veon Bell and James Conner.  He wore black and yellow in college, it was like it was meant to be.  ETR has his top comp as Zach Charbonnet.  They have him ranked as RB16 in Dynasty right next to… Josh Jacobs.  An argument could be made for taking Loveland here, but I understand the allure of the sexy RBs in this draft. 

   At 2.09 Oscar took Devin Neal.  This was a bit of a reach for me.  You had Bech, Blue, Terrance Ferguson available.  Neal’s prospect score is a 65 with comps to Bishop Sankey.  Now he was productive as hell at Kansas and Kamara is getting up there in years.  But the Saints could be terrible.  Kamara’s contract locks him in for next two seasons with no out.  And Kendre Miller is still there.  Prospects with scores of 88.1 and 80 were still out there.  Didn’t care for this pick.   

   At 3.05 you selected Harold Fannin.  Love this pick.  Extremely productive Tight End enters a Browns team where David Njoku enters the last year of his contract.  Fannin had an 84.3 prospect score.  Higher than Mason Taylor.  Oscar then shipped out 3.06 to Wesley (after repeatedly denying me for the pick) and also shipped out 3.09 to Dan.   

   He also got great value late selecting Elijah Arroyo at 4.9 and Dillon Gabriel at 5.9.  Arroyo and Fannin give Oscar a couple young TEs to replace his aging starters.  Here’s what I’ll have to say about Gabriel.  Jeanty, Hunter, Gabriel, and Sanders were all at the Heisman Award Ceremony.  Sanders was there supporting Hunter, his teammate.  Gabriel was there because he was a finalist.  Take with that what you will.   

 

Draft Grade: B+.  Loved the pick of Kaleb Johnson and the trades in the third.  Loved the two TE’s which was a team need.  Only thing that knocked it down was selecting Devin Neal too early in my opinion.  Strong draft.   

  

10. Mike Bellocq 

Mike’s been wheeling and dealing for months.  It all fell into place. He had the 6th pick.  Brad takes Hunter maybe somewhat unexpectedly.  Colt takes Henderson.  That left Tet McMillian to fall into Mikes lap.  I already went into detail about Tet in my portion.  But Establish the Run had him ranked above Omarion Hampton as their #2 overall rookie dynasty player.  They see him as an immediate alpha.  I didn’t see what they saw, but still an exceptionally highly producing prospect and guess what?  I’m wrong.  A LOT.  But even if he doesn’t become a London or Evans, Tee Higgins is a WR1 in FPPG, Sutton is on the up and finished WR15 last season once Bo Nix came in.  These big handed, tall, jump ball specialists tend to stay in the league for a long time due to their ability to stretch defenses and are consistently targeted in the red zone.  Mike will be hoping for Young to take the “F -IT T-Mac down there somewhere approach” to maximize his return on investment.   

   In the 2nd Round Mike had pick 2.10. He attempted to trade back but wind up staying put and selecting Bech.  I really like Bech as a prospect.  And the Raiders are on the up and up.  Geno Smith is an upgrade, Jeanty is going to smash, Bowers, Meyers.  I can see Bech carving out a role for himself immediately.  He plays with heart, he’s a former LSU Tiger, what’s not to love?  His prospect score came in at a 79.2 but I’m bullish and I love the pick.   

   Mike decides to go WR-WR in a “RB Draft”.  Mike is #1 in WR according to KeepTradeCut Dynasty League Power Rankings.  His decisions point to strengthening a strength via best player available draft strategy, but it was his trading with newcomer members Wes and JO that allowed him to lean into that strategy.  Prior to the draft shipping his 2026 1st and 3rd for Kenneth Walker and a 2026 2nd. (I’ve already said my piece).  And then sending Rhamondre Stevenson and a 4th to JO for Zach Charbonnet.   Locking down the Seahawks backfield.   I’ve stated previously that they brought in Kubiak as OC.  Signed two full backs.  Drafted a lineman in the first round and a tight end in the second round.  Spoiler alert.  THEY PLAN TO RUN THE ROCK.  It’s not what people say, it’s what people do.  Actions > Words.  

 

Draft Grade: B+. Not getting a RB in this draft class and my assessment of Tet lowers this grade from an A to a B, but make no mistake.  Mike’s team is in contender category.   

 

11. Adam Bellocq  

Adam traded with his brother in the offseason and acquired Heisman trophy winner Devonta Smith and Pick 1.10 for Zay Flowers and Pick 1.06.  Mike scored Tet McMillian, the 8th overall pick in the NFL draft.  Adam scored Colston Loveland, the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft.  So Devonta Smith and Colston Loveland for Zay Flowers and Tet McMillian.  There were also a late pick swap be that’s de minimus.  ETR takes the Mike side and says it’s not even close, but they are very high on McMillian.  LRQB has Loveland as a 94.3 prospect score.  He has a chance to be what everybody thought Dalton Kincaid would be.  He’s got comps to Pat Freiermuth, David Njoku, and Michael Mayer.  I think it’s a great pick for Adams team.  Hockenson has a new QB, Kincaid hasn’t lived up to his hype.  Great pick.  Loveland should take the LaPorta role for Ben Johnson’s offense.  Cole Kmet is there but they can run some 12 personnel and be alright.  Plus Loveland, DJ Moore, Luther Burden, and Rome Odunze allow the Bears to move people around.  Loveland lined up in line, then pops out and runs a route from the slot.  I can see the vision, just need to see what the target percentage and Caleb Williams play looks like to see if this pick smashes.  

   Adam didn’t pick again until 3.11.  As you might remember he shipped a lot of picks to Dom in the Breece Hall deal last season.  With the 3.11 he selected Tory Horton.  And I have to be honest.  This is a player that I was unaware existed until Adam selected him.  His prospect score is a 55.8. He has a comp to Josh Reynolds and Dyami Brown, which isn’t nothing.  Now Seattle shipped out DK Metcalf and added Cooper Kupp and MVS.  But those are aging vets.  I like the dart throw.  I probably would’ve gone TeSlaa here but that’s because I own Tesla stock and a Tesla Model 3 and the name is cool.   

   At 4.07 Adam took a flier on Quinn Ewers since Tua is always hurt.  Probably a throw away pick, but don’t hate it. 

 

Draft Grade: D+.  Zay Flowers is worth more than Devonta Smith in some dynasty circles.  Now of course this is most likely due to age.  Smith is WR2 to AJB on a team that was run heavy last season.  Flowers is WR1 on a run-first team as well.  Moving back 4 picks was the difference between Tet McMillian and Colston Loveland.  Nothing wrong with Loveland.  I liked Warren better, but he wasn’t there.  Loveland is more of the Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid style Tight End.  Those worry me a bit.  But Top 10 pick, Ben Johnson’s first pick as a Head Coach, there’s a ton of potential there.  He’s also young.  These are draft grades, you wind up with Loveland, Horton and Ewers, three players I wasn’t targeting in the draft at all.     

12. Cuz  

Our beloved Champion.  Coming up the rear just like he likes it.  He gets to close out the first round and he surprised me a bit by selecting Cam Ward.  Cuz already has Joe Burrow and Drake Maye rostered, but he elects to select another QB in Ward.  Ward was the #1 Overall Pick.  His spiral is beautiful.  Qb values fluctuate in dynasty.  Sometimes there are 4 starters available as free agents/waivers and other times someone has to start Gardner Minshew or Joe Flacco for a week due to injuries and barren free agents available.  Cuz was able to sell high on Baker Mayfield to me last season once Dak got hurt and Richardson was benched.  He acquired a 2026 2nd and a 2025 3rd, which is great for an older vet.  I think this pick meant he sought dynasty value over roster need, which isn’t surprising coming off a championship run.  Roster was obviously good enough last year right? 

   At 2.11 Cuz took Jaydon Blue, rookie selected by the Cowboys.  His profile came in at a 74.5 with a top comp to Justice Hill.  The Cowboys backfield is one knee Javonte Williams, bust Miles Sanders, and Blue.  Absolutely worth a shot.  At very least he could be change of pace back with Williams or Sanders handling first and second downs. 

   At 2.12 Cuz took Jaylen Noel. Rookie taken by the Texans.  Texans are a bit of a mess eh?  Offensive line was completely rebuilt and I’m not sure if it was for the better or not.  Strouds shoulder is acting up.  They lost Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell.  Insert Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins, and Noel. Noel has a prospect score of 76.8 with comps to Randall Cobb, Skyy Moore, and Duverny.  So slot guy.  With Kirk there he’ll most likely play behind Kirk and eventually take over the slot once they either move on from Kirk or if Kirk misses any time.  Not a bad pick at all.  

   In later picks Cuz took Elic Ayomanor at 3.08, Tahj Brooks at 4.10. Gunnar Helm at 5.01.   Solid selections.  

 

Draft Grade: B.  Solid draft.  I was a little surprised of Cam Ward pick.  Understand the dynasty player value angle, but with Tyreek, Hopkins, and Lockett entering their end of life in the NFL I think 1st round WR Matthew Golden should have been the pick here.  But hey.  If Ward turns into a Mahomes I’ll gladly admit I’m wrong and take my medicine.   

 

Here are the drafters in order of grade: 

Colt: A 

Ollie: A 

JO: A 

Dan: A 

Mike B: B+ 

Oscar: B+ 

Cuz: B 

Wesley: B 

Mike D: B- 

Andy: C 

Brad: C- 

Adam: D+ 

 

Overall nobody did terrible.  And I gave Adam a bad grade last season and then Bo Nix turned into Patrick Mahomes and I looked like a moron.  That’s all folks.  Looking to be another incredibly competitive season and I wish all of you the best of luck!  

 

-Fantasy Football Brad 

New Member Wesley Makes Head Scratching Trade, Makes Brad Rethink His Life

Wesley, Who Art Thou?

Last week a blockbuster trade occurred in our Dynamo Dynasty League.  Yet in the group chat.  Silence?  Why?  I care to take a wager as to why.

Mike B trades Wesley 2026 1st, 2026 3rd.

Wesley trades Mike B Kenneth Walker III, 2026 2nd.

Seems simple enough.  Mike has been vying to get a stud RB to match his hellacious WR trio of Chase, Nico, and Puka.  He already has a Top 3 Fantasy QB in Lamar Jackson.  A Top 3 TE in Trey McBride.  His lone weakness has been RB1.  In comes a new member to the league and he trades Mike B an RB1.  But was it worth it?  Let’s dive in.

Mike B has been a contender in both Year 1 and Year 2.  Last season he won Points Leader.  His average draft position in rookie drafts is 1.09 (1.08+1.10/2).

Wesley took over for Ian.  The franchise hasn’t made the playoffs in either season.  Their average draft position in rookie drafts is 1.025 (1.03+1.02/2).  Kenneth Walker III was a prized possession for Ian.  Last year Ian was offered 2025 1st, 2026 1st and a young WR for Kenneth Walker and he DECLINED.  What did Ian see that Wesley did not?

Kenneth Walker III averaged 16.47 ppr points per game last season.  If he had played all season that would have been RB12 or an RB1 finish.  So RB1 in Points Per Game.  Now he did this behind one of the worst offensive lines in football.  Their starting center RETIRED midseason!  This offseason the Seahawks have been reimagining their identity.  They traded away DK Metcalf and Geno Smith.  They brought in Klint Kubiak as OC.  They signed Sam Darnold and drafted Jalen Milroe.  They acquired Cooper Kupp.  They also drafted Grey Zabel with the 18th overall pick.  They’ve also brought in Tight Ends, Fullbacks and a Tight End that is converting to Fullback.  They are sending a message by their actions that they are going to RUN THE ROCK.  Kubiak’s zone running scheme saw Alvin Kamara average 18.95 ppr points per game last season.

Now let’s dig deeper into the trade.  With Mike B’s average draft position being 1.09 and he just got better at RB1 and has Pick 1.06 still due to the Adam trade earlier this offseason.  There is no reason to think Mike will regress other than horrific luck/injuries.  For Wesley he has the average draft position of 1.02/1.03.  He just lost his RB1.  Montgomery is a solid RB2.  Javonte might win the Dallas RB job.  With 1.02 he could draft Omarion Hampton who looks to be a stud in the NFL.  But with Najee Harris there, uncertainty in Dallas, and Gibbs ascendence, KWIII was still Wesley’s RB1 heading into 2025.  Now in return for his RB1 he got back a 2026 1st from Mike B’s average draft position of 1.09.  And a 2026 3rd from Mike B’s average draft position of 3.09.  He also gave up his own average draft position 2.02/2.03 to Mike B.  Written another way the trade looks like this:

Wesley receives 2026 1.09, 2026 3.09

Mike B receives 2026 2.02 or 2.03, RB1 FPPG Kenneth Walker III

Now maybe I’m biased in my Kenneth Walker III assessment.  We are biased creatures after all.  So let’s take a look at some Dynasty Trade Calculators to see if my analysis of the trade is off.

Keep/Trade/Cut:

Kenneth Walker- 5705

2026 Mid 2nd– 3879

Value Adjustment- 1251

Total = 10,835

VS.

2026 Late 1st– 5257

2026 Late 3rd– 2316

Total= 7,573

KeepTradeCut says Mike B received 30% MORE VALUE than Wesley in this trade.  Keep in mind this is with Kenneth Walker’s value being down 1100 points due to his recent injury/recency bias.  Which means this could be even MORE lopsided of a trade if KWIII regains that value.

But yeah.  KTC is open to anyone.  What about some other trade calculators?

I subscribe to Establish the Run.  I’ve purchased and used their Pro Draft Kit since their company’s founding.  One of the tools they provide as part of the kit is a Dynasty Trade Calculator.

Kenneth Walker- 306

2026 2nd Round Pick- 87

Total= 393

VS.

2026 1st Round Pick- 252

2026 3rd Round Pick- 55

Total= 307

ETR says Mike B received 21.91% MORE VALUE than Wesley in this trade.

I then looked up FantasyPros and took a gander at their Trade Value Chart in Dynasty.

They rated a 2026 1st anywhere from 48-34 points.  A 2026 2nd anywhere from 17-24 points.  And a 2026 3rd anywhere from 5-9 points.  Where did they value Kenneth Walker III?  51 Points.

So…

Kenneth Walker- 51

2026 2nd 17-24

Total= 68-75

VS.

2026 1st– 34-48 Points

2026 3rd– 5-9 Points

Total= 39-57

A difference of 42.6% on the high end or a difference between 24% on the low end.  That says Mike B received 24-42.6% MORE VALUE than Wesley in the trade.

So what’s the big deal?  Why write this?  Why the silence in the group chat?

The silence was either due to 2 things:

1. People didn’t see the trade.  It’s the offseason, things are slow.  We have league members on honey moons, preparing for babies, or grinding at work.  But its SLOW.  They are trying to hype every rookie catch, every running back drill, and they are trying to make the schedule release sound like the offseason Super Bowl.

OR.

2.  We don’t know Wesley.  We don’t know what he’s like in real life.  How long he’s been playing fantasy football.  We don’t want to offend him and call him retarded or stupid for making this trade.  We aren’t close to him.  He’s a new member.  We are a welcoming league.  We welcome people with open arms.  We don’t want to call them out.  But this move is a head scratcher.  Mike B holds pick 1.06.  He just locked down a RB1.  He doesn’t need to use 1.06 on a RB now.  Tet McMillian or Travis Hunter could fall to him.  Because of this trade he can pull the trigger.  It simply makes a great team, better.

But hey.  Maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe KWIII has lower body issues that are going to keep recurring.  Maybe Zach Charbonnet or 7th round rookie Damien Martinez starts to steal more snaps.  There are a lot of unknowns in fantasy football.  This could be a great trade for Wesley.  But on the surface it looks really bad to this Fantasy Football player of 25 years.  It looks like he traded his RB1 to move up a few picks (2.02 or 2.03 to 1.09) in a bad draft class (I believe Arch Manning will be a 2027 rookie not a 2026 rookie).

Thank you for letting me get this off of my chest.  As far as Draft Grades go, I give Mike an A+++ for trades and an F for Morals.  For Wesley I give him a V.  Because this shit probably should have been vetoed due to the head scratching inequity.  But we only veto in cases of obvious collusion.  And this is not obvious collusion, so my joke is just that.  A joke.  We’ll see what happens.

With this trade it did make me realize that I spend too much time worrying about fantasy football.  It’s a fun hobby, but it reminded me that on the course of life worrying about players that will never know our names playing a game we have little control over seems silly.  It’s supposed to be a fun hobby.  But sometimes our competitive nature takes over and we build up cortisol for no reason.  I want everyone in this league to succeed.  I’m genuinely happy for Cuz and Oscar for winning their titles.  But this trade made me realize I need to take a step back from this hobby.  I’ll continue to participate but perhaps not in the manner in which I have before.  This is a Bradley decision.  I’m sure it’ll look like we added a new member (that I don’t know) to the league who immediately made a terrible trade that made the league worst.  But that’s just my internalization of it.  That’s my cross to bear.  I hope we have a great 2025 season and I hope the Dynamo league continues to be a great league for many seasons to come.

-Fantasy Football Brad

Dynamo Dynasty League Consolation Bracket Team Analysis

Consolation Bracket Team Analysis

  1. Ollie (6-8)

There’s no easy way to say it.  Ollie got hosed.  He was put in the MITE division.  A division with 4 playoff teams from 2023.  This means he had to play Adam, Mike D, and Dom all twice.  He started out 1-2 in Divisional play.  Then he got a great victory in Week 4 defeating Ian 139.10-104.18. He was 5-4 after 9 weeks.  Then he had a string of horrible luck when it comes to Points Against.

150.70

148.56

140.12

141.98

Ollie falls to 5-8.  Despite that he had a chance at making the playoffs.  He needed to beat Dom and he needed both Andy and Brad to lose in Week 14.  But Brad got lucky again.  Facing Oscar when Oscar didn’t have Ladd McConkey, Courtland Sutton, Dallas Goedert, Zach Ertz, and he lost Bucky Irving to an in-game injury.

Ollie did send his 2025 1st to Brad in the Blockbuster deal.  Dak, JT, his 2025 1st for Mahomes, Addison, Brad’s 2025 2nd.  Dak was lost to IR.  Brad traded away JT.  Ollie traded away Addison.  Ollie finds himself in the consolation bracket.  He does hold his own 2nd round pick and Brad’s 2nd round pick.  It’s tough to be motivated to win the consolation bracket when you don’t own your own 1st.  But in this deep RB draft class there is sure to be value to be had in Picks #13-16, which is where Ollie’s 2nd will fall.  This class has Jeanty, Hampton, Judkins, Henderson, Singleton, Gordon, Etienne, and Scattebo.  At WR it’s not too bad either with McMillan, Burden III, Egbuka, Bond, Harris.  If Ollie wants to develop his QB room there’s Sanders, Ward, Milroe, and Gabriel.  And a few Tight Ends that could climb the draft boards depending on their landing spot.

Ollie also has Derrick Henry, Joe Mixon playing great for their age.  He’s stacked at Tight End with Kelce, Engram, and Jonnu Smith.  And his WRs improved a lot this year with Shakir, Meyers, Reed showing flashes.  Losing Johnathan Brooks is a bummer, but he can compete in the consolation bracket and make his 2nd round pick a bit higher next year.  But make no mistake.  If I was Ollie I’d be pissed about the way my luck turned out this season.  According to Fantasy Genius a widget on the sleeper App.  Ollie had 4 unlucky losses and a net luck score of -3.  That means in four of his losses he scored in the Top 6 teams that week, but lost because of who he played against.  These 4 unlucky losses was tied with Adam for the most in the league this season.

  1. Andy (6-8)

Andy finds himself in the exact same situation as last season.  Andy was 6-8 and the 8th seed, meaning he got a bye in the consolation bracket.  In 2023 Andy had 1503.48 Points For and 1416.40 Points Against.  In 2024 Andy had 1535.82 Points For and 1574.90 Points Against.  Andy got great production out of Jahmyr Gibbs (RB#5) and Alvin Kamara (RB#3).  His QB room improved with Justin Herbert and Sam Darnold.  CeeDee Lamb regressed a tad, but still is a Top 5 Fantasy WR despite losing Dak midyear.

The big story of Andy’s season (other than the bad luck Points Against) was Marvin Harrison Jr.  While other rookies like BTJ, Nabers, and Bowers are WR1 or TE1 so far this season, Marvin is only a WR3.  There’s no doubt he’ll have a great career in the NFL, but the slow start was unfortunate for Andy’s chances to go the distance this season.  Andy also improved his TE room with the addition of Tucker Kraft.

Andy will look to add depth at RB, but also some higher floor Wide Receivers.  Many of his weeks were Boom/Bust due to his Trio of Deep Threats in Jameson Williams, Elijah Moore, and Alec Pierce.

Let’s add Jeanty or McMillian to this team next year and see what happens.

  1. Ian (5-9)

The Green Bubble definitely exists, I think.  It’s not just the fact that he doesn’t participate in the group chat for this league.  It’s that he doesn’t participate much in terms of transactions either.  But he put up the 5th highest points for and transactions don’t help with Points Against, where Ian had the 3rd highest.  This was evident from the get-go.  He lost a nail-biter in Week 1 120.58-121.32 against Oscar.  Less than 1 point was the difference between starting 0-1 and 1-0.  Then he took care of Brad easily in Week 2 151.84-107.16.  But then he had 3 consecutive weeks where the team against him scored over 130 points.  131.56, 139.10, 130.74.  So he starts out 1-4.  He got a couple of wins to get to 3-4, but then had Mike B get 142.86, then Cuz get 140.44.  Dropping him to 3-6.  It’s hard to climb out of a hole like that and the bubble couldn’t catch a break.

With that said.  Looking at his team he’ll compete in the future.  Kyler was inconsistent, but has stayed healthy and is QB#10 on the season.  David Montgomery is RB#9 and has gotten at least 12.60 fantasy points in 12/13 games.  (mostly because of his 12 rushing touchdowns).  Kenneth Walker is super talented but just couldn’t get it going consistently and has missed 3 games so far.  Deebo has had worst fantasy year of his career other than his sophomore campaign that was lost due to injury.  Rome Odunze has started off very slow as a WR4.  Luckily his best player Justin Jefferson has done his thing and is WR#2 on the season.  Mark Andrews started off slow then came on strong for Ian.  And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Chris Godwin.  Want to talk about “What might have been?”  Godwin was averaging 19.69 points per game prior to his ankle injury that took him out for the season.

The Bubble has his own 1st, 2nd, and 3rd next year, so look for him to compete in the consolation bracket and retool and be competitive against next season, hopefully with some better Points Against luck.

  1. Dom (5-9)

Dom.  Dom, Dom, Dom, Dom, Dom… He started off the year in the offseason with banger after banger of trades. He shipped off Tyreek Hill for Breece Hall.  Traded D’Andre Swift for Kirk Cousins and a pair of picks.  Traded Jaylen Warren and a couple picks for Michael Pittman.  Traded with Adam to move up and draft Jayden Daniels.  Traded Cuz DeAndre Hopkins for a 3rd.  Had two incredibly saavy pickups in Andre Iosivas and Jordan Mason.  He acquired Dotson and a 3rd for Gibson and a 2nd right before Dotson was traded from the Commanders to the Eagles.  He kept going into the season.  Trading Bateman and a 2nd for Wicks.  Then Justin Fields for Diontae Johnson and a 3rd.  Then trading a 3rd and 2nd for Watson and a 4th.  In summary, The Dom was a Diddling.  He started out 5-1.  Then it all came crashing down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulJXiB5i_q0

36 Seconds Into This Video.

He lost 3 in a row to Mike B, Dan, and Brad.  But in Week 10 when he lost to Oscar 123.08-70.88 it was the final straw.  Nothing had worked out.  Pittman injured his back and the Colts were doing QB Roulette.   Dotson busted.  Breece Hall only had 4 RB1 finishes so far.  Wilson only had 3 WR1 finishes so far.  Kyle Pitts did what he does every year and was a Bust.  James Cook was inconsistent.  Keenan Allen was inconsistent.

So after Week 10, while trades were happening prior to trade deadline weekend.  Dom made a decision.  He decided he had seen enough and that he would tank the rest of the season.  He traded Adam Breece Hall for Adams 2025 1st, Andy’s 2025 2nd, a 2026 5th, and a 2027 3rd.  Understandable.  Let’s switch from win-now to rebuild mode.

But then Dom began to bench starting players for bench players.  He started to throw his games.  He didn’t bench all his starters at first.  In Week 12 he put up 94.50 against Dickinson.  But he gave victories to Ian, Dickinson, Adam, and Ollie over the last four weeks of the regular season.  Now looking at things I think he would have gone 1-3 in that stretch anyway.  But this had big implications.

In Week 14 if he had started the following lineup:

Kirk Cousins, Zach Charbonnet, James Cook, Garret Wilson, Christian Watson, Kyle Pitts, Keenan Allen and MVS.

A probable starting lineup if he was trying.  He would have scored 104.26 to Ollie’s 96.50.  Why does that matter?  From Dom’s point of view maybe he was trying to ensure Adam didn’t get a Top 4 pick in next years draft?  But his decision had playoff implications.  If I would have lost to Oscar (I only won due to four things that went wrong for Oscar, so it was a possibility) then Ollie would have made the playoffs over Andy.  Dom’s decision to bench Zach Charbonnet and Garet Wilson would have cost Andy a playoff spot.  Now I did beat Oscar, but it still made Ollie jump Andy in the consolation bracket.  We’ll have to see how it’ll play out with the draft order next year.  In essence Dom’s decision prevented Adam from getting a Top 4 pick and ensured Brad got a Top 4 pick because Brad owns Ollie’s 1st.  Dom chose Ollie over Andy for playoff implications and Brad over Adam for draft implications.

But this is a really shitty thing to do.  You play to win in almost every case.  If you’re Adam, why would you ever trade with Dom again?  Get someone’s first round pick, but then they tank to make your pick worst?  That’s fucked up.  And it didn’t make any sense because Dom doesn’t own any of his own picks.  It was like the season didn’t work out for him, so he wanted to burn it all down and cause as much disruption as possible out of spite.

Now I like Dom and he is an integral part of this league and part of what makes the league such a fun one to be a part of.  But this setting a lineup to lose on purpose is just bullshit.  It’s immature.  It lacks integrity.  Fantasy Football, crazy shit can happen.  You built a win-now team.  It didn’t work, you trade away Hall to hedge your bets then you keep trying to compete.  Alright soap box over.  Hopefully we can all move past this and look for a more optimistic Dom in 2025.

  1. Dan (4-10)

Dan has proven to be quite the talent when it comes to weekly recaps.  Laughing loudly several times each week with his shenanigans, I hope I can do this little blurb about his team this year justice.

Dan’s 2nd season wind up being worst than his first season.  Several factors played key reasons as to why that is.

  1. Rashee Rice tears ACL in Week 4.
  2. Keon Coleman starts slow, then starts to get going, then injures wrist and misses 4 weeks.
  3. Rachaad White has new OC and Bucky Irving emerges. Dropping White from RB1 to RB2.
  4. Sam LaPorta has a sophomore slump dropping in every statistical category from his TE1 finish in 2023.
  5. Chris Olave dealt with injuries to his QB then to himself before being lost for the season in Week 9.
  6. Tank Dell couldn’t regain his rookie season’s magic after breaking his leg then being shot in the offseason.
  7. Inconsistent QB play. Jared Goff is QB#9, but with QB finishes as follows: 18, 25, 19, 4, 4, 10, 20, 27, 15, 1, 25, 18, 6.  Aaron Rodgers is QB#18 with only 4 QB1 finishes this year and none better than QB#10.
  8. D’Andre Swift starts off slow, then smashes for a few weeks, then regresses back again.
  9. Dan has 2nd highest Points Against with 1719.02 (Average of 122.79 against him each week)

With all that being said, Dan has a lot to be optimistic about.  He sold Cedric Tillman high and bought Tee Higgins low.  He picked up Jauan Jennings who looks like a stud for the 49ers.  He picked up Noah Gray who may be organically replacing the aging Travic Kelce.  He’ll have a Top 6 pick in 2025 and 3 picks in the Top 18 picks in a deep RB class.  He’s going to come back next year with Kyren, Rashee, Tee, Olave, Rookies, and be competitive.  Don’t count out our Meme Master General.  He’s going to be back and better than ever next season.

  1. Colton (2-12)

I talked about this in the offseason.  Colton’s startup draft was historically bad.  He knew he would be starting from the bottom this season as he slowly works his way back in competition.  But he made all the right moves this year.  2-12 may be a shocking record.  But he had the lowest Points For and the highest points against this season.  8 times this season a team put up at least 125 against him.  But he knew what he had to do.  Get younger, get picks, get ready.  Full rebuilds can be fun.  Let’s look at what he’ll bring to the table in 2025:

QB: Jordan Love (26), Tua Tagovailoa (26), Geno Smith (34), Will Levis (25), and JJ McCarthy (21). A plethora of veterans and young talent at the QB position.

RB: Aaron Jones (30) has been a solid RB2 this year.

WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (22) is WR#6! On the season.  Xavier Worthy (21), Jerry Jeudy (25)

TE: David Njoku (28) is TE#8 on the season.  Cole Kmet (25)

But more importantly than the young talent already on his team.  His picks for 2025, a very good RB class looks like this:

2025 1st (Top 6 Pick)

Brad’s 2025 1st (Pick 7-12)

Mike D’s 2025 1st (Pick 7-12)

Mike B’s 2025 3rd (Pick 31-36)

Adam’s 4th

Brad’s 5th

Dom’s 5th

And In 2026 he has even more fire power:

His 2026 1st

Brad’s 2026 1st

His 2026 2nd

Dom’s 2026 2nd

His own 3rd, 4th, and 5th

Now we can talk about Colt taking Xavier Worthy over BTJ and Bowers, but Worthy is still fast as hell and young as hell, so we’ll see what type of career his turns into.  But JSN and Jeudy are already performing now.  I look forward to watching Colt turn this thing around in the years to come.

Well good luck everyone in the consolation bracket.  Keep fighting for those higher picks.  The 1.01 looks like Ashton Jeanty.  There’s a ton of RB talent.  McMillan, the 6’5” behemoth at WR.  QBs like Cam Ward, Jalen Milroe, Gilbert, and Sanders.  Judkins.  Henderson.  Fight until the bell and let’s see how it shakes out next year.

-Fantasy Football Brad

Dynamo Dynasty League Playoff Teams Analysis

Congratulations to the 6 teams that made the playoffs.  To the 6 in the consolation bracket I’ll try to get a team analysis this week if I’m able to find the time.

  1. Oscar (12-2)

Our defending champ has defended.  He finished with the lowest Points Against total with 1383.60 (average of 98.83)  The next closest was Mike B with only 1438.60 (average of 102.76) against him.  Oscar played to the level of his competition all season.  He wind up finishing third in Points For, so don’t just chalk his success up to luck.  He has Fantasy QB#4 Jalen Hurts.  RB#7 Josh Jacobs who averages 17.56 points per game on the season, but has averaged 24.58 since the Packers Week 10 bye week, with RB finishes of 5, 2, 5, and 4 the last four weeks.  Oscar’s bye week is crucial as he tries to repeat as champion.  He’s nursing injuries from his two stud rookies Bucky Irving and Ladd McConkey.  He’ll once again turn to his veteran wideouts in Cooper Kupp (averages 18.41/game), Mike Evans (averages 14.40/game), and new addition Courtland Sutton (averages 13.91/game).  He did lose his starting Tight End Dallas Goedert, but thanks to an earlier season saavy trade with Brad he has reliable Zach Ertz (10.01/game) as a suitable replacement and the Eagles replacement for Goedert in Grant Calcaterra who scored a touchdown in Week 14.  Oscar only needs to win two games to repeat as Champion.  It’ll all come down to the health of his rookies and whether Isaih Pacheco can carve out a larger role for himself prior to the postseason.

  1. Mike B (11-3)

Our dear commissioner was hoping to avoid a repeat of last season’s first round bounce by his brother Adam and has successfully secured the bye.  Thanks in large part to #1 Fantasy QB Lamar Jackson who has scored 324.40 Fantasy Points so far this season and #1 Fantasy WR Jamarr Chase who has scored 317.40 Fantasy Points so far this season.  This incredible duo averages a combined 49.37 each week.  Giving Mike an incredibly high floor.  His lowest scoring week came in Week 3 when he scored 98.38 points.  Mike started off 5-0 before falling to Dickinson in Week 6 and then he lost to Oscar in Week 9 in that Classic Kareem Hunt OT rushing touchdown game to beat Tampa Bay.  Sometimes games and playoff seedings are settled by a coin toss.  The biggest story for Mike was some saavy trades to add better running backs to his team.  He added Tyrone Tracy from Cuz and Rico Dowdle from Dan.  Then of course he has his incredible trio of Chase, Puca, and Nico who are all healthy heading into the postseason.  He also has #3 TE Trey McBride averaging 14.78 fantasy points per game despite not catching a single touchdown so far this season, although he does have 1 rushing.  Incredibly high floor.  Points Leader.  He’s deep.  He’s ready.  Will Mike win the coveted title?

  1. Adam (9-5):

Adam has been dominating this entire season.  His lowest scoring week was Week 4 where he scored 96.68.  The next lowest was Week 1 where he scored 109.68.  Just a tremendous floor.  Adam started out 0-2 with high Points Against games against Ollie (115.44) and Dom (121.94).  His team settled in around Week 5 and rattled off 3 wins in a row to move to 4-3.  He lost one to Andy when Andy exploded for 160.90 in Week 8 and then another to Cuz in a 2.82 point nail biter in Week 10 (112.0-114.62).  But then he dismantled Mike B in Week 11 (150.48-119.78) and has averaged 138.93 points per game in the final four weeks of the regular season.  Coming into the playoffs screaming hot.  Steaming hot?  Screeching hot?  Just hot.  The big story with Adam’s team is his MVP race duo of Josh Allen (QB#2, Averages: 23.74) and Saquon Barkley (RB#1, Averages: 23.08).  These two averages 46.82 per week giving him a high floor like his brother.  Adam also has a pair of high scoring RB2’s in #13 James Conner and #15 Breece Hall.  These two also pair with an incredible Foursome at WR: #3 Amon-Ra St. Brown, #5 Terry McLaurin, #15 Zay Flowers, and #16 Darnell Mooney.  Perhaps the hardest thing for Adam will be deciding which of the 7 players will sit out each week of the playoffs.  There are also rumblings about Breece Hall being shut down for the season in a lost Jets season.  But with almost all his players either making the NFL playoffs or vying for an NFL playoff spot, look for Adam to continue his hot streak on his quest for a title.

  1. Mike Dickinson (9-5)

Mike Dickinson, by far the prettiest member of the league who would make the best looking woman if he were to change genders, comes into the playoffs as one of the savviest traders in the league.  He traded away Jaylen Waddle for Stefon Diggs and Ricky Pearsall in a four-way trade between Brad, Cuz, and Colt.  He preyed on a depressed 2-4 Brad who was projected to lose by obtaining Johnathan Taylor for a 1st and 3rd pick.  Then as a stroke of genius he traded away JK Dobbins at his maximum value getting Jordan Addison and a 3rd right before Dobbins got hurt and Addison began to smash.  He has the 6th highest Point For and the 3rd lowest Points Against.  He’s suffered through lots of injuries like many of us.  Adam Thielen missed 7 games, Stefon Diggs was lost for the season, CMC missed 8 games then was lost for the season.  Ricky Pearsall was hurt then got shot after Dickinson traded for him.  CJ Stroud has regressed big time in his Sophomore season. His rookie year he was fantasy QB#11.  This year he sits at QB#19.  Luckily Dickinson traded for Brock Purdy in the offseason.  Purdy missed one game with a hurt shoulder, but was able to come back and is QB#12 on the season, averaging 18.29 points per game.  The other big storyline is De’Von Achane.  Achane is RB#6 on the season and has not missed a game all year.  One of the reasons he’s RB#6 on the year is his involvement in the passing game.  Through 14 Weeks, 13 games he has 71 targets, 63 receptions, 474 receiving yards, and 6 receiving touchdowns.  He averages 17.72 points per game and the Dolphins offense is surging at the right time as they attempt to make an unlikely playoff bid.  Despite all of this, Dickinson’s best player is Rookie Phenom Brock Bowers.  Tight End #1 who sits at 118 targets, 87 receptions (rookie te record), 933 yards, and 4 touchdowns.  He averages 15.82 points per game.  Can the rest of his team stay healthy?  Will Jordan Addison stay hot? (Two 30+ Point games in the last three weeks).  Purdy. Achane.  JT.  London (WR#8).  Bowers.  Mike can compete and gets Cuz in Round 1.

  1. Cuz (8-6)

In 2023 Cuz finished 7-7 but was edged out by Points For by the Mikes who were both also 7-7.  It led to Cuz playing for a Consolation Bracket Title, but he came up short and was awarded the rights to Malik Nabers.  Fast forward to 2024.  Cuz gets the coveted 8th win and secures the 5 seed.  No consolation bracket for him a second year in a row.  Cuz has done this despite keeping a “Build for the future” management style.  He traded Baker Mayfield to Brad for a 2025 3rd and a 2026 2nd.  He traded Tyrone Tracy to Mike B for a 2025 2nd and a 2026 3rd and Zamir White.  He also sits with his roster having FOUR empty roster spots and FIVE players on IR including Taysom Hill, Austin Ekeler, Zach Moss and Theo Johnson.  He also enters Rounds 1 with George Pickens nursing a hurt hamstring.  The young wideout has had a resurgence of his career with Russ Wilson at QB and is averaging 12.95 points per game this season.  Despite all of what I just said his starting lineup is legitimate.  He CAN compete in his playoff bracket!  #3 QB Joe Burrow has averaged 27.74 points per game over his last 5 games.  RB#12 Chuba Hubbard averages 15.4 points per game and has zero backfield competition as Miles Sanders (IR), Johnathan Brooks (IR), and Raheem Blackshear (went to ER during Eagles game for a severe chest contusion) are all dead.  Cuz will rely on Brian Robinson (averages 13.45/game, No Ekeler competition) and Jaylen Warren (averaging 11.06 in past five games).  He has a stud at Tight End in #2 George Kittle who is averaging a whopping 16.73 per game.  And his trio of Wideouts #13 Tyreek Hill, #9 Malik Nabers, and DeAndre Hopkins.  Cuz might not have the depth to go far into the playoffs, but while he can make a starting lineup he’s just as deadly as the rest of the contenders.

  1. Brad (7-7)

Where to start.  Brad has now traded away the following list of players and picks over the past two seasons:

Patrick Mahomes

Johnathan Taylor

Zay Flowers

Jordan Addison

Courtland Sutton

Tee Higgins

Jerry Jeudy

Sam LaPorta

Zach Ertz

Cade Otton

2025 1st

2025 2nd

2025 3rd

2025 4th

2025 5th

2026 1st

2026 2nd

Mike Dickinson’s 2025 1st

Colton’s 2025 3rd

And he’s dropped:

Russell Wilson

Alexander Mattison

Andre Iosivas

Tucker Kraft

And yet here he is.  After starting the season 2-6 and left for dead on the side of The Witches Road in the internal depression of his mind he decided to make a change.  He wanted to be more positive.  He changed his team name to “To Infinity and Bijan!” and started to have fun tinkering with his lineups and roster rather than dreading the #2 Points Against he was having at the time.  He hedged his bets with trading away Johnathan Taylor to Dickinson.  Sitting at 2-4 with 2-5 on the horizon, Brad knew it would take a lot of luck to be able to make the playoffs.  He also saw the potential in his RB2 Chase Brown.  After trading away a decent looking Dynasty Roster the past two seasons, who the hell does Brad have competing for a title this season?

At QB he has QB#5 Baker Mayfield.  Baker hasn’t been the stud he was when Chris Godwin was in the lineup.  He just hasn’t.  But he’s had QB1 or QB2 finishes in four of the last five weeks.  At RB Brad has his Dynamic Duo of RB#4 Bijan Robinson (18.98/game average) and RB#11 Chase Brown (15.52/game average).  If you look at Chase Brown since Zach Moss was put on IR? 22.34 per game.  But was it Zach Moss?  Or was it our Commissioner in his podcast saying that Chase Brown was not in the same Tier as James Cook.  Mike said that Bijan and Brown were not on the same tier as Cook and Hall.  Well, it turns out he was right!

At WR Brad has WR#10 Brian Thomas Jr, the Ole Miss shirtless duo of AJ Brown and DK Metcalf, who both have missed multiple weeks this season AND have underperformed to their expectations.  Then there is Jaylen Waddle who just started to heat up over the past 3 weeks and Amari Cooper who Brad traded for unknowing that he had suffered a freak wrist injury that would cause him to miss multiple weeks.

He’s here.  He doesn’t have high ranked players like the rest of the bracket.  But anything can happen in fantasy.  He rides his 5-1 record over the last 6 weeks into the juggernaut Adam in Round 1.

Which of the 6 teams will win it all?  Our Commissioner?  Our Inaugural Champion?  Adam with Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley?  Mike D and Brock Bowers?  Cuz with no depth?  Or the luckiest SOB over the past 6 weeks Brad?

-Fantasy Football Brad

Maryanne Smith League Season 24 Draft Grades

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

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

Contenders:

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

Can Compete:

4. Andy: B+

5. Michael: B

6. Brad: B

7. Caleb: C+

Better Luck Next Year:

8. Quentin: D+

9. Ben: D

10. Josh: F

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

1. Michael. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Max.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Stephen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Brad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. Quentin.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Josh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Logan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Andy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Ben.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Caleb.

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

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

Lets dive in.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the draft grades in order of grade:

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

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

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

Good Luck This Season!

BBY Dream Team Season 16 Draft Grades

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

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

***

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

***

Here were my draft grades in order last season:

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

And how we finished:

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

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

1. Tommy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Mike.

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

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

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

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

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

3. Joe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Brad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. Scotty

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

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

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

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

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

6. JD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Chase.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Moose.

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

GetImage (3)

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

GetImage (4)

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

***

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

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

9. Trey.

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

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

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

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

Draft Grade: D.  Achane sucks.

10. Jen.

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

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

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

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

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

11. Katon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12. Kenny.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Draft Grades In Draft Order:

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

Draft Grades In Grade Order:

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

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

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

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

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

Dynamo Dynasty League 2024 Rookie Draft Grades

Great draft this past weekend league.  I appreciate everyone being ready to roll come draft time.  Here are my grades.  As always I stipulate these are my opinions.  I probably missed stuff about your beloved draft picks.  I hope I don’t ruin the honeymoon/delusions of grandeur phase of your picks.  Just some of my thoughts.  Enjoy!

  1. Andy

1.1: Marvin Harrison Jr.

2.1: Xavier Legette

3.1: Will Shipley

5.1: Erick All

   Andy started his draft with the first wide receiver taken in the NFL draft. Then he took the last wide receiver taken in the NFL’s first round.  Andy found the golden ticket last season when he won the consolation bracket.  His prize?  Marvin Harrison Jr.  He gets the best WR prospect we’ve seen in a long time.  Harrison has everything a team wants in an alpha wide out.  Going to the Cardinals who were in desperate need of an alpha was chef’s kiss.  Andy picked him in mere seconds after the draft began.  MHJ or Maserati Marv had a prospect score of 99.3 according to Late Round QB Draft Prospect (LRQB) Guide.  He was consensus #1 player in this year’s rookie draft and Establish the Run has him as the #3 overall Dynasty player behind only Justin Jefferson and Jamarr Chase.     

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   In the 2nd round Andy went with Xavier Legette.  I can’t understand a word he says, but I love that he can stay in Carolina where others might understand him.  Legette earned a prospect score of 86.2, but was deemed “High Risk” by LRQB.  His top comps were Jonathan Mingo and Hakeem Butler.  He’s teammates with Mingo and will compete for targets with Diontae Johnson and aging Adam Theilen.  Legette ran the 40 in 4.39 seconds at 221 pounds.  Panthers are rebuilding, Andy is hoping the draft capital used on Legette gets him some early production while they play from behind in games.  

   In the third Andy went with Will Shipley.  Shipley had a 67.8 prospect score according to LRQB and has comps to Tevin Coleman who was relevant for a few seasons for the Falcons.  The Eagles signed Saquon Barkley for two years guaranteed as they rebuilt their running back room.  Last season’s D’Andre Swift, Rashad Penny, and Boston Scott are all gone.  So Shipley’s only competition for backup/handcuff duties is Kenny Gainwell. 

   Andy didn’t have a 4th round pick as he shipped it to Brad to move up in the startup draft.  He did this to select Chase Brown, who he then dropped, who Brad then picked up.  Brad used it to take Javon Baker so if he hits Brad will never let Andy live this move down.  But at 5.1 he took Erick All.  A dart throw Tight End prospect on the Bengals.  He’ll play behind Mike Gesicki as he rehabs his injury from last season. 

Draft Grade: B+.  You got the best player in the draft and two first round wideouts.  That’s a solid draft.  Shipley and All are more dart throws than depth pieces but overall pretty good.

  1. Cuz

1.2 Malik Nabers

2.6 Drake Maye

2.11 MarShawn Lloyd

4.2 Tyrone Tracy

4.6 Brenden Rice

4.8 Theo Johnson

4.11 Spencer Rattler

5.2 Dylan Laube

   Cuz was wheeling and DEALING this draft.  He acquired quite a few picks as well as Cade Otton before and during the draft.  Overall he got a haul.  He started off with Malik Nabers, LRQB’s top prospect grade in the class at 99.5.  He’s on the Giants.  That sucks.  Daniel Jones or Drew Lock will be his QB.  That sucks.  Nabers…does not suck.  He’s going to demand a lot of targets.  If they can get him the ball, look out.  He’s a baller. 

   In the 2nd Cuz moved back four picks to acquire Cade Otton and took Drake Maye.  Maye is the talented Qb from North Carolina who has drawn some Josh Allen comps with his running ability.  He is more of a project on a rebuilding Patriots team, so I expect Jacoby Brissett to start the year as the starter and for Maye to learn behind him.  But Cuz suffered through Burrow’s injury last season and wanted to get some depth at the position.  He also took Marshawn Lloyd at 2.11.  He should be the top backup to new starter Josh Jacobs on an exciting, young Green Bay Packers team.  Lloyd had a respectable 74.6 prospect score and has a comp of Robert Turbin.  Let’s be real, he’s a handcuff, but the 2024 rookie draft was slim pickings at RB.  But he looks like a grown ass man who you don’t want to fuck with:

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   Cuz didn’t have a 3rd round pick, but had four 4th round picks.  I thought he did a great job in getting a QB, RB, WR, and TE.  Like a little mini roster all from the 4th round.  It’s cute.  Tracy should backup Devin Singletary.  His prospect score is 51.7, but one of his top comps was Tony Pollard.  He has the pass catching chops due to him being a wide receiver his first four years in college.  I say first four years, because he was in college for 6.  It makes sense his initials are TT because he’s been in college as long as Van Wilder who loved dem titties.  He could overcome Singletary, so he’ll be interesting to watch during the summer.  But he’s 24.5 years old.  For perspective, D’Andre Swift is 25.5 and has played 4 NFL seasons already.  Cuz also got son of a hall of famer Brenden Rice in a wide open receiver room for the new Harbaugh-led Chargers.  He also got Giants tight end 6’6″ 240lbs Theo Johnson.  We don’t know if Waller retires or not this offseason, but Giants were going to wait around and get caught unprepared.  The Rattlesnake was a great selection for another QB prospect to sit on or trade away to a desperate Saints fan. (Update before publication, Cuz dropped Spencer Rattler, shame).  

   In the 5th Cuz stole my 5th round darling in Dylan Laube.  Laube has a prospect score of 63.9 and was considered “Low Risk” due to his incredible pass catching ability.  One of his top comparable was James White.  Zamir White is a bruiser, so Laube could carve a role for himself on third downs.  An analyst I follow named Pat Thorman was high on Laube.  After watching his film he said he had a little Joseph Addai or Matt Forte to his game.  

Draft Grade: A.  Just solid.  Quantity doesn’t mean quality, but Cuz did a quality job in his selections.  

  1. Ian

1.3 Rome Odunze

1.8 Caleb Williams

3.7 Isaac Guerendo

3.10 Devontez Walker

4.3 Michael Penix 

5.3 Isaiah Davis

   Personally I think Ian crushed it.  Starting off with Odunze and Williams.  Getting that stack was a scenario I had in one of my mock drafts and it’s just brilliant.  They seem like best friends or perhaps… Step Brothers?

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All it cost was Tony Pollard’s backup in Tennessee and 2.3.  Not too bad.  

   In the 3rd round you selected Isaac Guerendo.  He was a priority add for me in all my dynasty leagues, but I only secured him in 1.  A 9.98 RAS is not something you ignore.  Being on the incredible run-minded coach in Kyle Shanahan is not something you ignore.  His prospect score was a 66.4 with his top comp being Isaiah Pacheco.  He will be the #2 back behind Christian McCaffrey.  I’m planting the flag and saying I GUARANTEE it.  If CMC goes down this season, Ian will be hard to beat.  

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   He also snagged Devontez Walker for the Ravens.  I didn’t like Walker too much.  His top comp is Jalen Tolbert who burned me in a different dynasty league.  Ravens have vacated targets with Odell and Duverney gone, but I don’t think he beats out Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, or Nelson Agholor.  Mark Andrews is still there.  Not a bad dart throw, but I wouldn’t expect much.

   Michael Penix at 4.3.  Didn’t know if this was a joke or not.  Penix is Ian’s 6th rostered QB and won’t be relevant unless Kirk Cousins goes down.  Meaning he’s a QB handcuff that you’d have to sit on for a few years before you can do anything with.  I assume this was to mess with Dom who has Cousins. (Update prior to publication Ian dropped Gardner Minshew and Daniel Jones, so he only has 4 QBs now)

   In the 5th he snagged Isaiah Davis for the Jets.  Jets also drafted Braelon Allen and have Breece Hall, so I’m going to list Davis as a Taxi dart throw/drop candidate.

Draft Grade: B+.  I LOVED the first three picks, but didn’t care for his last three picks. 

  1. Dan

1.4 Keon Coleman!

3.4 Malachi Corley

4.4 Jalen McMillan

5.4 Bub Means

   You can tell Dan’s draft strategy was Wide Receiver.  He shipped his 2.4 pick to Brad in the mega blockbuster from last season which landed him Zay Flowers, Kirk Cousins, and Sam LaPorta.  Of course he used Flowers in the deal to acquire Tank Dell and used Cousins in the deal to get D’Andre Swift.  He knew he had to make 1.4 count.  After unsuccessfully shopping 1.4 he decided to just get his guy.  Most draft pundits had Xavier Worthy and Brian Thomas ranked higher than Coleman.  But I understand the rational.  The best landing spot was the Bills due to Josh Allen and the vacated targets left from Diggs and Gabe Davis leaving (241 targets).  Opportunity is there.  No question.  His prospect score according to LRQB was an 86.4.  His top three comparable players were Breshad Perriman, Kevin White, and Courtland Sutton.  The Bills just kept signing dusty wideouts like Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Mack Hollins.  Coleman should be the top receiver in targets but I don’t know if it’ll be plug and play for Diggs like Dan is expecting.  I’ll talk more about Xavier Worthy and Brian Thomas in my next two draft grades, but needless to say I had them ranked higher than Coleman.  Dan knows it.  But he got his guy and I respect that.  Some sick highlights:

   In the 3rd he took Malachi Corley.  This is an interesting pick.  As many of you know I use Establish the Run draft guides and Late Round QB prospect guides.  I’ve been pretty blunt about that.  They disagreed on Corley.  ETR had Corley as the 9th best wideout in this class over Ricky Pearsall, Xavier Legette, and Ja’Lynn Polk.  I’m talking their 13th best player in this rookie class.  LRQB was not impressed.  His prospect score was a 71.8 and was deemed “High Risk”.  The prospect guide is so low because he didn’t breakout in college.  Barely any production.  Most of his targets came from screen passes (44.3%).  What ETR is seeing is a Deebo Samuel comparable.  They think he can be a supercharged Randall Cobb for Aaron Rodgers.  All that to say.  He could be great or he could be terrible.  But it helps that his main target competition is Allen Lazard and Mike Williams behind the obvious Garret Wilson and Breece Hall.

   4.4 Jalen McMillan.  I’ll be completely honest.  I didn’t know who this was.  Completely off my radar, so I had to do research just to write about him here.  3rd rounder who played for the Huskies alongside Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk.  His prospect score was a 74.6, which should have had him higher than the 4th round in our rookie draft.  Tampa Bay has Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.  McMillan should compete for the third spot.    What caught my eye was his comps.  Kenny Stills and… Amon-Ra St. Brown!!!  I felt like a jackass for not knowing who he was.  Great dart throw.

   5.4 Bub Means.  This wins for best name that you’ve picked.  But the Saints WR room is wide open after Chris Olave.  I do think Shaheed is the true #2, but Mike Thomas is gone and anything can happen.  (Update: Dan already dropped him)

Draft Grade: C+  Coleman reach might bite him in the ass, but between Corley and McMillan Dan might make out like a bandit here.  

5. Colton

1.5 Xavier Worthy

2.5 JJ McCarthy

3.5 Luke McCaffrey

4.5 Braelon Allen

5.5 Cade Stover

   Colt went with the balanced build getting at least one from every position.  He started off going Xavier Worthy over Brian Thomas and Brock Bowers.  I had a really tough time ranking those three but when everything was said and done I finished my rankings with BTJ, Bowers, then Worthy.  I was prepared to take Worthy if the other two were gone, but he wasn’t my preference.  The exact moment when I changed my rankings was when I had an epiphany.  Worthy weighed in at 165 lbs.  I weigh 165 lbs.  Worthy weighs the same as me.  I would be murdered instantly in the NFL.  Dead.  That scared the shit out of me.  But like I said I still would have drafted him if he fell to me.  Why?  Guy can ball.  Like I mentioned in my mock drafts he plays fast and he was always open.  Reid will scheme for him.  Reid comped him to DeSean Jackson.  That’s high praise considering Jackson had over 11,000 yards in his career.  The NFL has changed with smaller, faster wideouts being able to ball out.  Excited to see what he does. 

   Here are all Xavier Worthy’s catches in 2023.  Pay attention to his separation on even the basic routes:

   Colt went JJ McCarthy over Drake Maye which was interesting.  I think McCarthy has the better chance to start this year, but don’t be surprised if he has to sit behind Sam Darnold.  I get it.  Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson.  It feels like we could play quarterback and be successful with those guys.  But Darnold has some experience now and beat out Trey Lance to win the backup job for the Niners last offseason.  It’s interesting to me that you had to pick between Worthy/Thomas and Maye/McCarthy.  I preferred Thomas and Maye, you preferred Worthy and McCarthy.  I’m interested to see how it works out.

   3.5 Luke McCaffrey.  CMC’s brother!  He should be the #3 wideout on the Commanders behind Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.  But now that Heisman winner Jayden Daniels is in town look out.  His prospect score is a 69.5.  He played Quarterback for most of his college career before eventually switching to wideout at Rice.  Not a bad dart throw to see what happens.  We know he comes from a great football family. 

   4.5 Braelon Allen.  Allen was quick to declare for the NFL draft.  I remember I was pining for him when I saw his age!  Only 20!  But then things went downhill.  He didn’t do any of the tests.  Typically that happens when someone knows the results will only hurt them.  He’s slow.  But big.  It worked at Wisconsin.  But now he’s behind Breece Hall and they drafted another rookie RB.  It’s a shame.  Age helps his prospect score of a 72.3, but his top comp was Royce Freeman.  Another comp was James Conner though.  So not a bad taxi stash.   

   Cade Stover was a good dart throw tight end pick.  Prospect score was a 51.7, but he’s on the Texans who have Stroud.

Draft Grade: C.  There’s potential here, it’s just five players who I probably wouldn’t have taken if I was drafting in your shoes from those positions.  

  1. Brad  (It’s me!)

1.6 Brian Thomas Jr

2.2 Blake Corum

2.4 Ricky Pearsall

4.1 Javon Baker

5.6 Jacob Cowing

   Almost the perfect draft for me.  I was so fucking stoked that I landed this group of players.  Will it all work out?  Probably not, but it’s rare to set your rankings, prefer certain people and then get the guys you prefer to get.  That’s half the battle.  The next half is actually being right.  At 1.06 Brad went LSU stud Brian Thomas Jr. over Brock Bowers, Caleb Williams, and Johnathan Brooks.  While doing my film watching I saw an absolute stud.  Many people think he played second fiddle to Nabers and couldn’t do all the things that Nabers could do.  But man.  His jump balls for touchdowns, his jukes in the middle.  Dude can play.  Nabers/Thomas have a legit chance to replicate Chase/JJ.  I also saw this comparison and wet my pants:

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

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

   At 2.2 Brad got his target. Blake Corum.  His prospect score is 79.1.  He is behind Kyren Williams.  He was a third round pick.  He isn’t that fast.  Why Corum?  I share my predraft notes with you here:

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He also helped end Saban’s Bama tenure, something this group especially should be thankful for:

   At 2.4 Brad had a rough time choosing between Ricky Pearsall and AD Mitchell.  The difference maker was draft capital and prospect score.  Pearsall came out as 89.7 compared to Mitchell’s 84.0.  If Auyik or Deebo get traded or hurt Pearsall has a clear path to targets on a very good Niners team. 

   Brad didn’t have a 3rd round pick since he sent 3.6 and Elijah Mitchell to Dickinson for Courtland Sutton last year.   But at 4.1 he had Javon Baker fall in his lap.  Baker was originally recruited at Alabama but as a freshman he couldn’t get past Devonta Smith, John Metchie, and Jameson Williams.  His prospect score is a 67.6, but in a wide open Patriots receiver room anything can happen.  Hype video Amon-Ra style raised his value a bit.  (He went 2.12 in another dynasty rookie draft I did a couple weeks ago)

   At 5.6 Brad went another WR in 5’8” Jacob Cowing.  One of his top comps was Tank Dell, so it’s a dart throw while monitoring the 49ers receiver situation. 

Draft Grade: B-  In my honeymoon/delusional phase I see this as an A+.  Most others probably see it as a C-.  Figured I’d split the difference.  BTJ should be a good NFL starter but there are a lot of mouths in Jacksonville (Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, Evan Engram, Travis Etienne).  Corum is a handcuff unless we hear otherwise.  Brad now has 5 of those. 

7. Adam  

1.11 Trey Benson

2.7 Bo Nix

5.7 Rasheen Ali

   Adam is tied with his brother with the least amount of picks in this years draft with 3. But I have to take it with a grain of salt because he traded back in the 1st and acquired a second 1st rounder next year.  That value will be baked into these grades.  At 1.11 he gets James Conner’s heir and handcuff.  Benson wind up with an 84.1 prospect score and a top comp of Kenyan Drake.  Drake had double digit touchdowns for the Cardinals a few years back.  There’s a chance Conner plays out his contract this year and Adam needs to wait a year, but we’ll see how it works out.  Regardless he at least has Conner and now has his backup. 

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   At 2.7 Adam takes Bo Nix after McCarthy and Maye were off the board. Nix went to the Broncos at pick #12.  Payton is supposedly really high on him.  He’s accurate and was more slice and dice than big play guy.  Russel Wilson sucked at intermediate throws and that’s Bo Nix’s strength, so this could be an over correction on Payton’s part.  They also drafted his college teammate Troy Franklin which should help him transition to the NFL.  Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, and Troy Franklin isn’t the worst receiver room.   

   At 5.7 he went with dart throw Rasheen Ali.  Henry is the bellcow for the Ravens, but Gus Bus and Dobbins are gone.  Keaton Mitchell is coming back from injury.  His main competition for backup duties is Justice Hill.  62.5 prospect score, worth a dart throw to see what he does in OTAs. 

Draft Grade: C.  The 2025 1st round pick is nice. If Dom’s team gets injured and Adam gets a Top 6 selection next year then this grade will be higher.  On the flip side if Dom does well and Adam does bad this year then there could be very little difference in the pick swap.  If Dom wins it all and Adam wins the consolation bracket it’s a difference of pick #12 and pick #13.  One spot.  Time will tell the value there.  The 2024 rookie class was supposedly stacked at wideout and weak at RB.  Adam left the draft with two RBs and a QB.  This was a D or F grade for me, but until I know the 2025 picks value I have to boost it up a notch.  Short and sweet.  

8. Mike B 

2.3 Ben Sinnott

2.8 Adonai Mitchell

3.3 Jaylen Wright

   I guess the Bellocq bros are bearish on the 2024 draft class.  Cuz had 3 more picks then them combined.  I have to factor in Mike’s acquisition of knee-less Tajae Spears since he traded 1.8 for Spears and 2.3.  At 2.3 he went with Ben Sinnott.  Sinnot has a prospect score of  83.9 according to LRQB.  The 6’4” 245 pound K State product went 53 overall to the Washington Commanders.  He provides an instant red zone target for Jayden Daniels.  Last year at K State he caught 82 passes and 10 touchdowns.  His only competition is aging Zach Ertz.   Establish the Run has him ranked as Dynasty’s 11th best tight end.

Here’s a flavor of what Mike’s getting:

   Later in the 2nd after a run of QBs AD Mitchell fell into Mikes lap.  His top comp was Alec Pierce who he has a chance to replace.  His prospect score was an 84 as he played second fiddle to Xavier Worthy at Texas.  He’ll compete for targets with Michael Pittman and Josh Downs for Anthony Richardson.  He has a lot of potential.  Establish the Run had him as the 8th best player in this draft class.  Not 8th best wideout, 8th best player.  We’ll see if he’s the Boom they are predicting.

   At 3.3 Mike traded up to snag Jaylen Wright.  His prospect score was a 70.7 but he’s fast and he’s on the Dolphins.  His top comps were Anthony McFarland, Ty Chandler and Demarco Murray.  He’ll be part of the three headed monster in Miami with Mostert and Achane who have injured riddled histories.  

Draft Grade: B.  He basically got 3 2nd round graded players and Tajae Spears to backup his Tony Pollard.  Of course if he had stayed put he could have had Brock Bowers.  It’s easy to look back and judge.  But you win some and you lose some and despite the way the Titans GM and Pollard’s agent fucked Mike over, he’ll still be competitive.  

9. Mike Dickinson 

1.9 Brock Bowers!

2.9 Roman Wilson

3.6 Ja’Tavion Sanders

4.9 Frank Gore Jr.

5.9 Joe Milton

   At 1.9 miraculously Brock Mfing Bowers falls to Dickinson.  Easily the best value pick of the first round.  99.3 Prospect Score equal to Marvin Harrison Jr.  Two time Mackey award winner. Two time national champion.  Dom and Ian traded up and took QBs.  Dan, Colt, and Brad all passed on Bowers for WRs.  He fell right into Mike D’s lap.  Last year he was plagued by the tight end position.  No more. 

7 people passed on Bowers.  One person passed on him twice.  Those 7 people might regret it:

   At 2.9 Mike took Michigan stud Roman Wilson.  His prospect score is 75.7 and his top comps were Randall Cobb and John Metchie.  Perceived as a slot specialist.  But landing on the Steelers who shipped out Diontae Johnson means he has a chance to get playing time right away.  Albeit on Arthur Smiths offense with Russell Wilson at QB.  God, I just threw up while writing that sentence. 

   At 3.6 I thought Mike D would take Isaac G, but like an idiot he instead took Ja’Tavion Sanders.  Panthers are rebuilding and Sanders had a prospect score of 67.8.  He got some hype this offseason with insane athleticism.  6’4” 243 lbs and was the 1st pick of the 4th round.  My only issue is Panthers offensive line stinks.  Typically tight ends in those situations need to stay in and block more than run routes.  Plus with the Bowers pick this one seemed irrelevant.  With all that being said I will point out that Dickinson was ranked dead last in the league 12/12 in terms of tight end dynasty value according to KeepTradeCut heading into the draft.  Now he is ranked 2/12 behind only Adam with his Kincaid and Hockenson duo.  That’s an impressive jump.   

   At 4.9 Mike D took Frank Gore Jr.  Love the name hate that the Bills also drafted Ray Davis.   Now it’s a camp battle to see who backs up James Cook.

   At 5.9 Dickinson took Joe Milton.  When the NFLPA rookie uniform video dropped my jaw dropped when I saw number 19 for the patriots.  I immediately looked up to see if it was a wide receiver like Polk that I had overlooked or something like that.  Nope it was 6’6” Joe Milton.  Who’s to say Maye is gonna win the starting job?  Just look at this unit in the front row:

Milton

Draft Grade: A.  Turning a weakness into a strength in one rookie draft is money and a great way to stay competitive.  

10. Ollie 

1.10 Johnathan Brooks

2.10 Troy Franklin

4.10 Malik Washington

 5.8 Jordan Travis

 5.10 Jaheim Bell

   The rich get richer.  Ollie who has Johnathan Taylor, Travis Etienne, Derrick Henry, and Joe Mixon drafts a running back in the first round.  Johnathan Brooks was a stud at Texas until injuring his knee.  The draft capital used on him (46th overall pick) helped his prospect score (93.8). His top comps according to LRQB was Sony Michel.  ETR comped him to Javonte Williams, Mark Ingram, and Rashard Mendenhall amongst others:

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   Here’s what we know.  Panthers invested high capital on him.  The Panthers are bad.  The new head coach wants to run.  Brooks needs to heal from his injury.  This rb draft class sucked.  Ollie has RBs already.  This gives him ammunition to trade a couple players for a dynasty stud though.  I would recommend he reach out to Colton.

   In the 2nd he went Troy Franklin.  I liked Franklin when I was watching his film.  Good route runner.  Ate in the Ducks offense because of the slice and dice short throws from Bo Nix who he joins in Denver.  His prospect score was a 77.7 and his top comps were Jameson Williams and Jalin Hyatt.  Translation? He’s fast, but skinny.  He’ll be competing with Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims for Broncos targets.  The connection with Nix should help there though. 

   In the 4th he took a flier on Malik Washington who was drafted by the Dolphins.    This is a great pick.  His prospect score is low, only 51.5.  His top comp is Devin Duverny who was more of a special teamer, but he has a legit chance to start in the slot for Miami.  Tyreek and Waddle are the alphas but they don’t exactly stay healthy all the time.  Good 4th round flier. 

   In the fifth he took Jordan Travis and tight end Jaheim Bell.  Loved these fliers.  Rodgers doesn’t have long left in his nfl career.  Travis would’ve been a much higher pick if he didn’t have his leg look like it broke off his body.  I don’t know much about Bell other than he had a higher prospect score than Ja’Tavion Sanders (68.6 vs. 67.8) and got drafted by the Patriots.  All that stands in his way is Hunter Henry?

Draft Grade: C+.  It’s a solid draft.  But taking Brooks when you’re already so stacked at running back is just greedy.  I’ll like this draft haul a lot better if you ship one of your RBs and one of your mid wideouts for an alpha.  Offer Derrick Henry and Diontae Johnson to Colton for AJ Brown and see what happens.  

11. Dom 

1.7 Jayden Daniels 

3.2 Jermaine Burton

3.9 Ray Davis

3.11 Kimani Vidal

 4.7 Louis Rees-Zammit

   Dom was Diddling like a mad man this draft.  He traded up with Adam sacrificing his 2025 1st to snag that kid Jayden.  It was the right move.  His QB situation was Justin Fields and Geno Smith.  Fields was shipped out from Chicago to Pittsburgh where he’s competing with Russ Wilson.  Sam Howell was traded to the Seahawks who have a whole new coaching staff, meaning the job isn’t safe for Geno either.  Dom addressed it by trading for Kirk Cousins, shipping D’Andre Swift to Dan.  But he needed a young signal caller and this was a great draft to do it.  Jayden won the Heisman and it was well deserved.  We all remember watching incredible play after incredible play last season.  He’s incredible.  6’4” 210 lbs. lightning speed. 40 touchdowns through the air, another 10 on the ground.    Nearly 4000 yards in the air, over 1100 yards rushing.  He goes from the bayou to the swamp.  Now he is a Commander.  It’s worth noting that Sam Howell was getting destroyed last season.  There are some obvious offensive line issues.  His weapons are great though.  Everyone talks about Caleb Williams weapons but people haven’t been hyping up Daniels.  Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Luke McCaffrey, Ben Sinnott, Austin Ekeler, and Brian Robinson.   If the offensive line can protect him I believe he’ll be a stud right away.  Some might dock Dom for going Daniels over Williams but they are both great prospects. 

Here’s 24 straight minutes of Jayden highlights to inject in your veins:

   At 3.2 Dom chooses Jermaine Burton.  A 76.9 prospect score but juicy with potential.  One of his top comps is Robert Woods.  There were character concerns and that’s why he dropped to the third round, but he found himself in the Bengals offense that just lost Tyler Boyd and who’s number two wideout Tee Higgins is currently franchise tagged.  You could easily plug and play Boyd’s production into the your Burton estimates for this season but if Higgins gets traded that could shoot up quick.  I think Higgins reports when necessary and plays on the tag, but he could still miss games when things are sore or tight because without a long term deal why risk it? That is opportunity for Burton.

   At 3.9 Dom went with Ray’Mahn Davis.  Bills drafted him and Frank Gore Jr to backup James Cook.  Dom has Cook so getting his potential handcuff was smart.  I wouldn’t expect much from Davis as a pro.  He’s 24.5 and has a prospect score of 69.8.  Could he become relevant with a Cook injury? Absolutely.

   At 3.11 he took Kimani Vidal.  Love this dart throw.  He was a workhorse at Troy and he lands on the Harbruagh Chargers.  Greg Roman brought in Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins who know his system to lead the backfield, but don’t be surprised when Vidal takes over.  Good depth piece and good potential pick here.

   4.7 Dom took someone that I had to google in Rees-Zammit.  Rugby player that Chiefs signed will probably be dropped before the season starts. 

Draft Grade: B.  Solid B.  Daniel’s over Williams was a plant your flag type of call.  The potential is there for his third round picks.  Fixing QB was the mission and he succeeded.  

12. Oscar  

1.12 Ladd McConkey

2.12 Ja’Lynn Polk

3.8 Bucky Irving

3.12 Jared Wiley

4.12 Audric Estime

5.11 Jase McClellan

5.12 Ryan Flournoy 

   When you’re the champ you pick last.  I spoke with Oscar a couple weeks prior to the draft to get a better understanding of what he was thinking.  His message was clear.  Vacated targets.  It makes sense he goes with McConkey in the 1st and Polk in the 2nd.   Let’s start with McConkey.  Keenan Allen had 150 targets in 13 games.  He’s gone.  Ekeler had 74 targets in 14 games.  He’s gone.  Gerald Everett had 70 targets in 15 games.  He’s gone.  Mike Williams had 26 targets in 3 games.  He’s gone.   320 targets.  Gone.  Insert Ladd McConkey.  The two time national champion from Georgia posts a respectable 87.5 prospect score according to LRQB.  He blew people away with his footwork during the combine and it earned him the 34th pick in the NFL draft. 

   The new regime in Los Angeles is making it well known their intentions.  They are going to run the ball.  McConkey will be the slice and dice, move the sticks guy.  Valuable in PPR formats.  He’s a little on the smaller size, 5’11” 209 but not too bad.  I like the pick. 

   In the 2nd Ja’Lynn Polk fell to you.  I thought this was a huge steal.  Polk has a prospect score of 86.5 almost as high as McConkey.   The Patriots wide receiver room is wide open.  Polk played alongside Rome Odunze and still balled out.  Great value and I like what Oscar did to get some younger wideouts for his aging core. 

   In the third Oscar had his picks from the Brad Betrayal that took place before the league even began.  Famously trading back in the first of the startup handing Mike Jamar Chase and Dickinson CMC but earning Oscar 2 additional 3rds and Jalen Hurts.  It worked out for Oscar as he is the inaugural champion but the other two are cursed by the fantasy Gods for all eternity.  Oscar traded away one of them for a 2025 3rd, which is smart.  Roster sizes are limited and now he has 2 3rds in 2024 and 2025.   Spread the wealth.  In this draft he took Bucky Irving.  Low prospect score with a 51.0.  One of his comps was Tyjae Spears, which is pretty good.  Good receiver.  Don’t know if he’s an upgrade of Chase Edmonds who is backing up Rachaad White in Tampa and that’s saying something.  He then took Jared Wiley.  Another player I needed to google.  He’s a dart throw tight end that could eventually replace Kelce.  Is he worth a roster spot for a few years while you find out?  I thought taking him over Javon Baker and Dyan Laube was egregious. 

   In the 4th you took Audric Estime.  Decent pick.  Javonte Williams is on the last year of his rookie deal and hasn’t looked the same after the devastating knee injury.  Perine could get cut to save money.  The running back room might be more wide open then people think.  Plus Estime is a bruiser.  A Mark Ingram type.  We know Sean Payton loves to thunder and lightning people with his running backs.  Estime’s top comparable was Alfred Morris.  

   Oscar had the last two picks in the draft and took Jase McClellan and Ryan *checks notes* Flournoy.  McClellan is on the Falcons and comps to DeeJay Dallas type.  Prospect score for a 5th round pick isn’t too bad with a 58.2.  Obviously Bijan is the truth, but he’ll compete with Tyler Allgeier for primary backup duties.  I have no fucking idea who Ryan Flournoy is.  

Draft Grade: B.  Loved the first two picks.  Liked Estime pick.  The rest are garbage.   

Thanks for reading league!  

Assistant to the Commissioner,

Fantasy Football Brad