Time for team report cards? Overall, I feel fairly confident. Got most of my targets round-by-round and never felt like any pick was sniped from me. Certainly feel better about this team than in some of my other teams with a lower draft slot. Definitely helped being positioned next to drunky. It's all a big crap shoot though, really.
No... Jimmy Rhupp, 'by! What, you haven't heard of him? He is finishing up grade 9 and is projected to be the #1 draft pick in 2022. PSJ is on a whole other level.
Draft Recap moes (Picked 1st) QBs - K Cousins, M Mariota RBs - T. Gurley, D Freeman, D. Henry, L Miller WRs - D. Adams, J Smith-Schuster, G Tate, N Agholor, E Sanders, K Cole TEs - T. Burton, J Reed Starting QB: Cousins Projected Starting 5: T. Gurley, D Freeman, D Adams, D. Henry, J Smith-Schuster Starting TE - Burton My goal coming into the draft was to load up on RBs as the #1 slot afforded me the ability to land Todd Gurley and then find some other potential bellcows to go along with him. Gurley, Freeman, Henry, Miller should give me a very fearsome quartet. This marks a big departure from my usual strategy in this league, but I have rarely had the opportunity to pick 1st and with WR production trending more and more down, this is the year of RB resurgence. I was more than happy with all the WRs I was able to couple along with Davante Adams. Cousins should be more than adequate in Minnesota in the dome, and I also am betting big on Trey Burton as I have found myself drafting him in nearly every league and format. Adding Jordan Reed as a 14th round flier feels nice. I enjoy finding high reward players so late. Rook (Picked 2nd) QBs - R. Wilson, J Goff RBs - L. Bell, J. Mixon, R. Freeman, C. Thompson, B. Powell, R. Penny WRs - M. Thomas, L Fitzgerald, M. Crabtree, W. Fuller, M Williams TE - J. Doyle Starting QB: Wilson (A-) Projected Starting 5: L. Bell, J. Mixon, R Freeman, M. Thomas, L Fitzgerald (B+) Starting TE: Doyle (C+) Overall a solid, wily veteran draft from Rook, who is always keen to take RBs early and often. He will need to get more TDs out of his receiving corps and hope that Mixon is much better in his 2nd year and/or Freeman becomes a star to have a shot at the title. TE is a bit of a question mark as Doyle will be fighting for targets with Eric Ebron’s arrival. Depth is pretty solid here as Thompson and Powell should be on the field plenty and Crabtree and Fuller offer a decent mix of upside / consistency. Russell Wilson was the best QB in this format last year, and while I’m not expecting that again, his value in the 6th round is unquestionably solid. Rook will be in the title hunt again as long as Le'Veon Bell returns and returns to form. Overall Grade B+ Ziggy (Picked 3rd) QBs - A. Luck, P. Mahomes RBs - E. Elliott, J. McKinnon, K. Drake, J Williams, S. Michel, A. Jones, J. Wilkins WRs - K. Allen, C. Hogan, R. Anderson, P. Garcon, D. Bryant TE - Gronk Starting QB: Luck (B-) Projected Starting 5: Elliott, Drake, Allen, Hogan, Anderson (C+) Starting TE: Gronk (A) Ziggy had the unfortunate distinction of selecting Jerrick McKinnon, who tore his ACL a week before the season started. This prompted Ziggy to look for some good sleeper RB candidates in Williams, Michel, and Wilkins. His WR core is solid but not spectacular. Gronk and Hogan and potentially Michel cannibalize each other a bit, so not an EV+ move there. Ziggy will need good fortune and good health to repeat as champion. Overall Grade B- Fade (Picked 4th) QBs - C. Newton, D. Prescott RBs - D. Johnson, J. Howard, C. Carson, P. Barber, T. Coleman WRs - AJ Green, D. Thomas, J Landry, D. Funchess, C. Kupp, K Golladay TE - Ertz Starting QB: Newton (A-) Projected Starting 5: D Johnson, J Howard, AJ Green, D Thomas, J Landry (B-) Starting TE: Ertz (A-) Fade went with a fairly balanced approach at all positions from the favored 4 slot and I think the depth here is above average. The Johnson/Howard combo is very nice at RB and Barber and Carson will both have every opportunity to seize starting jobs as their rookie competitors have not fared well so far. Landry is switching teams which may or may not hinder his role from Miami, still he is a lot less appealing in standard format. Denver may finally have an answer at QB in Keenum, but whether that makes Demaryius Thomas a fantasy star again will remain to be seen. No reason this team can't compete for a title. Overall Grade: B+ Jent (Picked 5th) QBs - Brady, Garoppolo RBs - C. McCaffrey, J Ajayi, I. Crowell, D. Johnson, CJ Anderson WRs- A. Brown, B Cooks, A. Jeffrey, S. Watkins, J Nelson TE - E. Engram, G Kittle Starting QB: Brady (B+) Projected Starting 5: A. Brown, McCaffrey, Ajayi, Cooks, Jeffrey (B-) Starting TE: Engram (B-) After a promising start, I think Jent made some real questionable selections in the middle rounds that will ultimately prove difficult to overcome. RB/WR depth is extremely shaky as Duke Johnson basically holds no value in a standard league and CJ Anderson should only become valuable if McCaffrey goes down, which overall is a net negative for the roster. This is why handcuffing starting RBs is suboptimal. Evan Engram I believe is being taken a bit too high as most of his volume in his rookie year was due to him being the last man standing. With a healthy Odell Beckham Jr and rookie Saquan Barkley, I do not see Engram as a viable TE in the 6th round. Jeffrey is already hurt and pairing him with Ajayi is a negative correlation, Watkins and Cooks are very similar speed route runners in offenses with a lot of mouths to feed. Taking Tom Brady in the 3rd round definitely contributed to an opportunity cost loss for better skill position players here. I am not high on this roster as presently constructed. I think it lacks upside as well as depth. Overall Grade: C+ PSJ QBs - A Rodgers, M. Stafford RBs - L McCoy, C. Hyde, N Chubb WRs - O. Beckham Jr, A Cooper, A Robinson, M Gallup, J Crowder TE - K. Rudolph, B Watson Starting QB: A Rodgers (A) Projected Starting 5: L. McCoy, O. Beckham, A Cooper, C Hyde, A Robinson (C) Starting TE: K Rudolph (B-) I really don’t understand what PSJ is doing here at all. The skill position players are surprisingly thin. If you’re taking Aaron Rodgers 6th overall, you better pray he throws for 60 touchdowns. Allen Robinson and Carlos Hyde could easily be nothing at all, McCoy is dealing with legal issues looming, this is an all-time puzzling roster to me. Somebody was sleep-walking through this one. Overall Grade: D- Mikeylu QBs - C. Wentz, P Rivers RBs - A Kamara, L Fournette, M Lynch, D Lewis, L Murray, C Clement WRs- TY Hilton, S Diggs, M Goodwin, K Stills, T Lockett TE - J Graham Starting QB: Wentz / Rivers (B) Projected Starting 5: A Kamara, L Fournette, TY Hilton, S Diggs, M Lynch (A) Starting TE: J Graham (A-) Now this is what a draft in a standard league should look like. I can barely find a bad pick here. Strong options at RB/WR all the way through, and Jimmy Graham has 12-14 TD upside in Green Bay. The late round picks provide a nice mix of undervalued producers and potential. Coupling Wentz with Rivers is very solid. I love TY Hilton and Stefon Diggs this year. This is very formidable squad and I think they will be tough to beat. Overall Grade: A- H-Town QBs - D. Brees RBs - D. Cook, A Collins, M. Ingram, R. Burkhead, A. Peterson, T. Cohen, A Morris WRs - D. Hopkins, T. Hill, J Gordon TE - D. Njoku Starting QB: Brees (B-) Projected Starting 5: D Hopkins, D Cook, A Collins, T Hill, J Gordon (B+) Starting TE: D. Njoku (C+) H-Town definitely does not have a RB depth problem. Peterson and Morris could give him 5 viable starters once Ingram returns from suspension. With that kind of depth you can afford to take a stab at Josh Gordon and hope to catch the magic that once was. TE is definitely an issue here as Njoku is unproven. Brees is not the Drew Brees of old, his production can be easily replicated 7-8 rounds later, but other than that this is a fairly solid draft with all the tools. Overall Grade: B Rockets34Legend (Picked 9th) QBs - M Ryan, D Carr RBs - S. Barkley, K Johnson, M Breida WRs - J Jones, M Evans, D Baldwin, J Edelman TE - G Olsen / D Walker Starting QB: Ryan (B-) Projected Starting 5: S. Barkley, J Jones, M. Evans, D Baldwin, K Johnson (B-) Starting TE: Olsen / Walker (B+) A very interesting draft from Legend who decided to ignore Linebackers completely in favor of high-end DBs. Bold strategy Cotton. The dual TE pair offers some insurance as well as a dependable flex option, so I’m ok with that. However, there are depth issues here as I feel like concentrating on IDPs in the middle rounds hurt the overall makeup of the roster. Late round QB should be fine with Ryan / Carr, but I just don’t think there is enough RB/WR firepower here to make any real noise. Overall Grade: B- SamCassell (Picked 10th) QBs - D. Watson, B Roethlisberger RBs - K Hunt, M Gordon, M Mack, R Jones II, J Conner WRs - A Thielen, M Jones Jr, C Davis, R Woods, K Benjamin TE - T Kelce Starting QB: D Watson (B) Projected Starting 5: K Hunt, M Gordon, M Jones, C Davis, R Woods (B-) Starting TE: Kelce (A) I’m feeling a little mixed with what Sam did with the bookend picks here. Hunt / Gordon start is very nice, and Kelce is arguably the best TE in the game, but I think after there it gets sketchy. I don’t mind the Watson pick for where it happened, I just wouldn’t personally invest heavily in him. I just question the hype factor of the pick. The Texans in theory should be a good team W/L wise this year with an easy schedule and assuming they stay relatively healthy. This points to more negative game scripts for Watson. If they have leads in the 2nd half, he’s not going to be putting up anywhere near the ridiculous numbers he put up last season. When you select a TE/QB with your first 6 selections and then spend your 8,9,10,11th rounders on IDPs, there isn’t going to be a lot left, so while I do like the value of Robert Woods, I think the quality top to bottom of the skill position players here is slightly subpar. Overall Grade: B-
i personally like moes squad the best ..but i dont know anything about idp leagues.. lol.. good luck gents.
I too like the newbie @Mikeylu draft. As far as IDP goes, I like the safety. My effort dropped off significantly once McKinnon went down, lulz. Took Dez because that's the type of miracle I'll need now.
Thanks, It is nothing really, I just absorb so much football information in August then by this time I feel like if I don't have an outlet for commentary I might go insane. I was maybe a bit harsh on your draft. Kittle could be a very nice find. If you get the usual out of AB and McCaffrey becomes a bellcow, then you would still be in thick of it. There's always the waiver wire. Your squad is more than salvageable.
ESPN stinks, I can’t make any changes, like giving us ability to add 1-2 more players or adjusting waiver period, everything is locked once draft results entered... I have to reset everything to make changes, which I believe means to reenter all the picks again... not doing that, so we have to go with only 7 on bench...
It's fine, Rook. We'll manage. You've added an IR spot, which is something that we didn't have before. Not as useful as the missing roster spots but it will definitely find a use. Thanks for running the draft and getting us set up on time again. And like Jent, I really appreciate and look forward to Moe's reviews every year. I reject the premise that the 5 IDP spots are meaningless, but I appreciate the effort nonetheless. Thanks moe.
Just remember who finished 2nd last year in-spite of losing Dalvin Cook. It was a dream draft. I have my eyes on the championship. Aerosmith is going to burn down Moe's Tavern on set.
Allow me to clarify: I never said all 5 IDP spots are meaningless. I think LBs are the only position worth drafting anywhere early. In this league the players are smart enough to focus on high end LBs. In general I think QB/K/DL/DB are devalued since a high percentage of top production can be scooped up off the waiver wire.
Sure but there are usually only about 10-12 DL drafted which doesn't create much scarcity when you have the top DL on roughly 20 teams still available.
Your recap and drafting strategy both show you value all those positions less than most of us do - including LBs. Personally, I value the LBs pretty highly because the top guys are so consistent and because, as you say, you've got to start 3. I think there are tiers for every position, and the top players do differentiate themselves. Every point of added value counts when it's players actually in the lineup. Quality depth at the flex positions only matters to the extent those guys end up starting.
My only goal is to draft as optimally as possible. There are no certainties so playing probability is all you can do to be optimal. Optimal strategy is certainly to start 3 LBs but again I firmly believe that quality LBs can be found on the waiver wire and later on in the draft. Last year nobody invested a valuable pick into Joe Schobert, Christian Kirksey, Blake Martinez etc and they were all near league lead in LB points. I have routinely found LB1 production very late in the draft or off the waiver wire, so I do not focus on selecting 3 LBs while there are still plenty of potential WR/RB producers available to pick. It is far more difficult to have to replace flex production than at any other position, so in my mind it simply makes mathematical sense to draft as many potentially useful players as possible to offset the inevitable busts and injuries that occur every year.