Draft Grades

Irene tried to rain down and ruin our draft, but she proved only one thing: Females will never interfere with football. Now that the draft is complete, it is time to stir the pot with some draft grades. The draft is only one component to Fantasy, with most of the best moves being made in Free Agency (see: Arian Foster, Mike Vick). With that being said, it’s time to see how well your draft really went.

I decided to use NFL’s projections to figure out a few things. I made two stats based on the projections: Total Team Projection (TTP) and Best Lineup Projection (BLP). TTP is the total number of points your entire team is projected to score, regardless of position. BLP is the total number of points that your lineup is projected to score, using the highest projection for every position. While I think this is one of the best ways to rank the draft, it’s still not ideal, so I offer some commentary about factors that could help your team move up or down during the season. If you don’t like your rank or grade, I will simply offer this disclaimer: I did not make the projections, and I did not make the rankings. The rankings made themselves; I simply put them in order.

The Johnathon Moxon’s (Powers) – A+

BLP: 1812.88 (1)

TTP: 2440.66 (5)

Average Position: 3

Jamaal Charles could lead the league in rushing and the Moxon’s have a strong group of WRs, led by Greg Jennings. Jennings alone can put the team on his back. They have potential breakouts at QB and TE. If Matthew Stafford gets hurt he will become Chad Pennington, but Mike has another potential breakout in Kolb. I like Danny Amendola to become Josh McDaniels’ new Wes Welker.

Pat Nolan’s Ghost (Timmy) – A+

BLP: 1725.08 (5)

TTP: 2509.62 (1)

Average Position: 3

Pat Nolan is going to be able to run a little more than the FB dive with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. Arguably the #1 QB, Rogers joins Megatron, Brandon “Hide the Knives” Marshall and Dallas Clark, who all have big potential. The RBs can be dangerous, assuming Gore and Beenie stay out of Matt the Trainer’s office, and Cedric Benson gets out of jail in time to play.

The Nine Niggas (Joey) – A+

BLP: 1792.18 (4)

TTP: 2460.10 (2)

Average Position: 3

The Nine Niggas rolled the dice on Peyton Manning, making Jimmy weep at the same time. We all know what he will be when he is healthy. When healthy, MoJo is a stud. Joey’s whole season seems to hinge on the health of some recently injured players, including Ryan Matthews and Sidney Rice, who are also coming off injury-plagued seasons.

Beer Towers and TD Showers (Hurst) – A

BLP: 1669.10 (7)

TTP: 2491.02 (2)

Average Position: 4.5

Chris Johnson was either the steal of the draft or another Ricky Williams retirement. Matt Ryan to Roddy White will have AJ serving twice as many BeerTowers and TD Showers as the points get doubled for every TD.

Birney’s Fists of Fury (Lukas) – A

BLP: 1733.58 (4)

TTP: 2432.12 (6)

Average Position: 5

Andre Johnson and Drew Brees are Fantasy studs. The Fists of Fury are hoping Peyton Hillis can be a knock-out punch, reclaiming most of his success from last year. DeAngelo Williams just got a huge contract but he has Stewart breathing down his back.

Husky Tunas (C. Gill) – A-

BLP: 1663.38 (9)

TTP: 2472.78 (3)

Average Position: 6

The Tunas reeled in the biggest fish in the draft: Michael Vick. Vick comes with a bunch of concerns, but if he lasts the entire season, the Tunas will be dangerous. John Fox may have Moreno running wild, but he’s from Jersey so he will probably disappoint. Larry Fitz is a freak, and Kolb will get him the ball better than whatever combo of bums tried last year. (Editor’s Note: If you ask Buckley, Gill is ranked 13^th….out of 12.)

Anthony Gavin’s Shoe Collection (Buckley) – A-

BLP: 1670.08 (6)

TTP: 2418.94 (7)

Average Position: 6.5

The Collection is hoping Tony Romo can come back from injury and connect with Miles Austin (Monmouth University) and Jason Witten to get them double points for TDs. Mendenhall can be a beast, but he also supports terrorism. John may have put too much faith in young players breaking out, but one of them has a Heisman.

Brendan’s Jersey Boyz (Kevin) – B+

BLP: 1761.76 (3)

TTP: 2215.54 (12)

Average Position: 7.5

The Jersey Boyz are going to ride the RBs, with Adrian Peterson headlining the group. Josh Freeman can be a top passer, and Josh McDaniels will have Sam Bradford throw the ball until his arm falls off. Jermichael Finley looks to rebound from injury to be a top TE. Dez can be a superstar, and Reggie Wayne will eventually get Peyton. (Note: The commish is this low because he drafted every backup RB to a Feature Back in the league.)

Sunday’s Best (Jimmy) – B+

BLP: 2369.68 (8)

TTP: 1666.06 (8)

Average Position: 8

Sunday’s Best could be the right name with what could be the best QB and the best RB; although a Hammy is a very dangerous injury, so Arian Foster isn’t a lock. Jimmy looks to continue to ride Austin Collie, but he is a bum without Peyton and has about as many concussions as receptions. There is a chance the Jets Defense could score a TD every game, making them the highest scoring fantasy defense ever.

The Lone Guido (Nick) – B

BLP: 2354.72 (10)

TTP: 1662.96 (9)

Average Position: 9.5

The Lone Guido has two solid QBs, Shady McCoy, and the #1 TE. His starting WRs are all #1’s, and this team had the potential to be dangerous. If Nick’s team stays healthy all year they will certainly exceed the NFL projections.

Franzini’s Groomsmen (Feifer) – B

BLP: 2354.72 (11)

TTP: 1662.96 (10)

Average Position: 10.5

The Groomsmen are actually a team I think highly of: The Projections disagree. If all the Groomsmen make it to the altar, they could score a ton of points. Rapelessberger is married, which means he has spends less time being a rapist and more time dropping bombs to Mike Wallace. Ray Rice is quite good (but from Jersey like Feifer), and you can ask Powers how Stevie Johnson and Percy Harvin were last year. Feifer’s ranking is somewhat skewed because he didn’t draft a kicker, but that’s part of the draft. Plus it’ll be fun to hear him cry.

Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch – B

BLP: 2354.72 (12)

TTP: 1662.96 (11)

Average Position: 11.5

Sorry Marky, but someone had to be last. I like this team too, but I don’t make the numbers. Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson could be a tandem like no other. LeGarrette Blount is a stud, and I’m not just saying that because I’m afraid of him punching me in the face. Owen Daniels is one of the better pass-catching TEs, and this might finally be the year that Shonn Greene ignites.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft 2.0

With the fantasy draft a mere 5 days away, I felt a second Mock draft was warranted 

1.       Kevin

The Pick: Adrian Peterson

With the first overall pick in the draft, Kevin takes Peterson.  He’s the best and most consistent runningback in the game. Cross his name off of your board in Permanent Marker folks. It’s in the bag.

2.       Feifer

The Pick: Arian Foster

Don’t listen to the fake news reports that Feifer has been releasing about being in contact with Jamaal Charles’ agents about signing a contract. It’s all a bunch of smoke and mirrors. I spoke to Jamaal’s agent, and he said he has, and never will speak with someone who lives in New Jersey. Feifer will be taking Arian Foster with the second pick in the draft. The kid is almost easier to predict than a Nick Folk shank.

3.       Jimmy

The Pick: Ray Rice

Well Hell has officially frozen over. Jimmy will not be selecting Peyton Manning in the first round of this year’s draft. This is like Al Davis taking Andrew Luck with the #1 selection in next year’s draft instead of the Wide Receiver from some Sun Belt school who ran a 4.32 40 yard dash. It’s simply stunning. The guy rides Manning for years all the way to a Championship and then kicks him to the curb the second the guy needs surgery to repair his neck that Jimmy most likely injured. Despicable. Jimmy takes Ravens centerpiece Ray Rice, that’s a fact. The real question is who is going to take Peyton in the second round and hold him ransom. Hmmmm.

4.       Powers

The Pick: Jamaal Charles

Mike is now faced with an interesting conundrum. Does he select Michael Vick, the most electrifying quarterback in the NFL, Jamaal Charles, the home run threat who only gets 15-20 touches a game, or Chris Johnson, who currently doesn’t have a contract but will still be the fastest runningback on the planet when he eventually realizes that he spent all his money on Ramen Noodles and needs more.  Mike wants Vick, but I think his hatred of the Eagles and durability fears steer Mike to Charles.

5.       Nick

The Pick: Chris Johnson

I know he’s going to sign, CJ knows he’s going to sign, and Nick knows he’s going to sign. Nick gets a gift at #5. A really gangsta gift.

6.       Terrono

The Pick: Philip Rivers

I predicted in the first mock draft that Matt was going to take Rivers and thanks to our fantasy Commissioner Kevin “Death Throat” Zorovich, it has been confirmed. Kevin, beware of this team when you play Matty because Snitches get Stitches.      

7.       Chris

The Pick: LeSean McCoy

I still think this is the guy that I am going to take in the draft. He makes catches, scores TDs, and plays in an explosive offense. I really don’t care that the Eagles look shitty in preseason because the Colts have lost more preseason games than they have regular season games since 2005. These games mean nothing. I also don’t care that Ronnie Brown is on the Eagles now. Shady is the feature back and he’s going to get his touches and his touchdowns.

8.       Timmy

The Pick: Michael Vick

Welcome to the league, here is your house warming gift. Vick undoubtedly will lead Timmy to a couple of wins, but he better pray that he doesn’t get hurt. I personally think Vick will be fine, so this could be a steal at #8. Now go throw the ball to McCoy.

9.       Buckley

The Pick: Aaron Rodgers

I think John takes the #1 ranked quarterback this year. Rodgers is coming off of an unbelievable statistical season and a Super Bowl win. The lock out did very little to change the offense of the Packers and that means more of the same from Rodgers this year. This guy is a TD machine and doesn’t throw many Interceptions. That’s all you can ask out of your Fantasy study QB.

10.   Joey

The Pick: Maurice Jones-Drew

This is Joey’s first fantasy season after Florida State, so he could be an unexpected force this year. Fantasy Football will now be Joey’s #1 concern on Sundays in the fall because he no longer is thinking about who he’s going to party with, where he’s going to do it, and what chick is he going to take a run at. All of those questions are answered for him. He’ll be with us, at McCann’s, trying to woo AJ. He’s going to be on his game and he’s going to have a stud runningback in MJD.

11.   Hurst

The Pick: Andre Johnson

I had a hard time pegging someone to fill this spot for Hurst, but ultimately I went with Andre Johnson. I feel like Hurst would lean towards an RB, but he’ll probably have only 1 more RB off the board after the turn, so might as well go out and get the best player available, and that is Andre Johnson. Expect a return to his 2009 numbers this season after a small drop off last year with the emergence of Arian Foster.

12.   Lukas

The Picks: Rashard Mendenhall/Roddy White

The turn is a crucial point in the draft. You won’t have another pick for 23 turns, so it’s important to not make a mistake. I think Lukas takes the best available runningback and wide receiver to ensure that he has at least one top tiered player at each position because every other player most likely will have at least 1 RB and 1 WR by the time he picks again. I think those players are Mendenhall and White. Lukas also might take the Jets Defense. Who knows.

Coffin Corner: 2010 Top 10 Draft Busts

This installment of the Coffin Corner features the Top 10 busts/disappointments from last year’s draft.

10. Walking Wounded – DeAngelo Williams/Tony Romo/Sydney Rice/Ryan Grant

It’s hard to classify players who get injured as a “bust”, so I grouped a bunch of them together for this spot in the rankings. Whenever a player you drafted in the first 3 rounds gets injured, your team feels the effects of that. Grant was the only one that didn’t see any action this year, but all were injured before making any real contributions to their teams. Unfortunately it’s impossible to predict if a player is going to get injured while doing the draft, unless you pick Chad Pennington, who is built like a piece of wet spaghetti.

9. Ronnie Brown – Round 4 Pick 46 to Jimmy

140.1 Points

Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams had been a dynamic duo over the past couple of seasons, both racking up yards and TDs and just thriving in the Wildcat offense. Unfortunately, the Dolphins passing offense lacked the explosiveness needed to prevent teams from piling 8 men in the box every play. Brown didn’t have a terrible season, but owners wanted more out of the starting running back for a team that relies heavily on the run game.

8. Robert Meachem – Round 5 Pick 50 to Jimmy

117.2 Points

Robert Meachem wasn’t a “bust” per-say, but he was the 2^nd of the New Orleans Saints’ wide receivers taken in the draft and didn’t have quite the season that Lance Moore had. It was impossible to know that the Saints were going to be playing Wide Receiver roulette to see who would be the go to receiver for the week, but owners who put their chips on Meachem over the other WRs lost more often than they won. Meachem gave a few solid performances, but was far from spectacular.

7. Jonathan Stewart - Round 4 Pick 48 to Feifer

101.3 Points

Jonathan Stewart was never the featured back in Carolina and Feifer did not draft him here with that expectation. DeAngelo Williams is the go to back and then Stewart was supposed to frustrate Williams’ owners by stealing his TD at the goal line. When Williams got hurt, it was time for Stewart to be more than a goal line back, but he never could get anything going. It also didn’t help that the Carolina Panthers had one of the worst Offenses in recent NFL memory, resulting in a subpar season for Stewart.

6. Ryan Mathews – Round 3 Pick 32 to John

129 Points

I know that each and every one of us remembers NFL.com telling us that the next player that we should take was Ryan Mathews from the end of round 1 to the time John pulled the trigger on him. Now he wasn’t AWFUL, but I think it’s safe to assume that Mathews owners wanted to see a little bit more out of a Running back taken in the early rounds. It also doesn’t help when your QB throws 40 TDs, half of which go to Antonio Gates. Mathews may turn out to be an elite Running back, but it was a little too high to draft the rookie back.

5. Steve Smith - Round 4 Pick 39 to Gill

87.3 Points

The Carolina midget Steve Smith punched more people in the face than he scored fantasy points last season.  That’s not entirely true, but he had an absolutely dreadful season last year. It probably wasn’t entirely his fault since Matt Moore turned out to be terrible at QB, the Offensive Line couldn’t block a Mustangs team, and the Running game was just mediocre without DeAngelo Williams, which allowed teams to double team Steve Smith and allow him nothing all season. Add in a sprained wrist and you’ve got yourself one heck of a down year for the usually reliable Smith.

4. Shonn Greene – Round 2 Pick 13 to Terrono

104.6 Points

Shonn Greene was supposed to put the “Pound” in the Jets’ “Ground and Pound” run game. Greene showed that he clearly was not ready to have the running load put on his shoulders, as old man Tomlinson had the superior season to the second year back out of Iowa. Fumbling problems and just an all around lack of the big time play making ability shown in his rookie season made Terrono look foolish for selecting Greene with the first pick of the 2^nd round.

3. Devin Aromashadu – Round 6 Pick 63 to Gill

19.9 Points

Honestly, I have no idea what I was thinking when I made this pick. I was doing a little bit of research and read that a lot of analysts were pretty high on him as a sleeper pick, but in my paranoia that someone else would take him first and he’d have a stellar year, I took him in the 6^th round. What a horrible mistake that turned out to be. The guy couldn’t get on the field for a team that has about ½ of a legitimate WR in Johnny Knox and he averages a measly 1.32 points a game. If I had taken him in the 9^th or 10^th round I wouldn’t have been that upset, but for the 6^th pick on my team, this is just disgraceful. Shot for the stars and missed by a mile.

2. Beanie Wells – Round 3 Pick 35 to Lukas

61.6 Points

It’s not difficult to figure out what went wrong here. Chris Lukas chose a Running back for the Cardinals. Nothing about that sentence hints at success. Beanie Wells was coming off a strong rookie season for the Cards, but Kurt Warner was dancing with the stars and Matt Leinart was too shitfaced to know that it was football season, meaning that every Cardinal was going to have a bad year (except Larry Fitz because I don’t think he’s human). Wells couldn’t get anything going and ended up losing his starting role to Tim Hightower. Hightower ended up having a few big games here and there while Wells ended up doing nothing.

1. Randy Moss – Round 2 Pick 19 to Hurst

83.3 Points

When you are the greatest deep ball wide receiver in NFL history, no one really cares about your attitude because they know you’re going to ball out every game and be an ass doing it. Unfortunately for Randy Moss owners, Moss decided to go with the “I have a shitty attitude AND I’m going to catch nothing in the process”.  He traveled from Patriots to Vikings to Titans to Bench. You felt the need to start him week in and week out because he was your #1 WR and you could always tell yourself that he just had an off week being covered by the likes of Darrell Revis and Vontae Davis, but he only rewarded you with more Goose Eggs in the Point column than you want to remember. When you’re rated as a Top 3 WR in the league and you put on that kind of performance, you are officially the biggest bust of the draft.

Coffin Corner: 2010 Top 10 Value Draft Picks

Coffin Corner is going to be a recurring post on the blog during the offseason, in order to recap on last year’s Fantasy season. Everything from draft busts and surprises to unbelievable performances, both on and off the starting roster will be broken down here. This is the first installment.

Top 10 Value Picks

10) Austin Collie – Round 8, Pick 94 to Jimmy

#34 WR – 138.2 Pts

Austin Collie’s final Fantasy production value was around where it should have been, given where he was drafted. However, he makes this list for big reasons. The first is that Collie missed a significant amount of playing time with a concussion, which undoubtedly would have increased his Fantasy point total. The second is that Collie’s 2 TDs in week 15 were the difference between Jimmy losing in the semi-finals and Jimmy winning the championship. This big playoff performance deserves at least the 10 spot on this list.

9) Hakeem Nicks – Round 5, Pick 54 to Powers

#9 WR – 210.7 Pts

Hakeem Nicks was the 22^nd wide receiver picked in the draft and he was the 9^th wide receiver in total points.  Although he was picked in the 5^th round, which means that he was a very highly regarded player, Nicks also missed time with an injury that very well have cost him the points to be one of the top 3 Fantasy wide receivers in the league. Look for Nicks to be a second to third round pick this year.

8) Mike Wallace – Round 5, Pick 56 to John

#7 WR – 219.6 Pts

Mike Wallace claims the 8^th spot over Nicks because he was drafter two picks later and was ranked two spots higher on the wide receiver rankings. Much like Nicks, Wallace was supposed to be a good receiver since he was drafted in the fifth round, but I don’t think anybody imagined the kind of season he had. Even though Wallace had Charlie Batch/Dennis Dixon throwing him the ball the first four weeks of the season, he still posted ridiculous numbers. Imagine how much more he would have had with Big Ben slinging to him the entire season.

7) Terrell Owens – Round 8, Pick 92 to Nick

#16 WR – 188.3 Pts

Terrell Owens was seen as the #2 WR to Chad Ochocinco coming into the year, but he showed the Fantasy world that he’s still got some gas left in the tank. With much of the attention on #85, T.O. took advantage hauling in 72 passes for 9 TDs and 983 Yards. Getting that kind of production from an 8^th round draft pick and the 4^th WR drafted to your team had to be pleasing for Nick.

6) Mario Manningham – Round 10, Pick 120 to Hurst

#20 WR – 176.6 Pts

Mario Manningham had always been the 3^rd or 4^th option for Eli Manning behind Plaxico Burress, Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, Jeremy Shockey, and Kevin Boss. Well Plaxico went to jail, Shockey went to New Orleans, Nicks and Smith got hurt, and Boss sucks. This opened the door for Manningham to step up and produce for the Giants and put together a solid Fantasy season. From 3^rd or 4^th WR on the NFL depth chart to a #2 WR in Fantasy is a pretty solid improvement for a 10^th rounder.

5) LaDainian Tomlinson – Round 10, Pick 118 to Jimmy

#16 RB – 190.2 Pts

LaDainian Tomlinson had always been the #1 or #2 overall pick in the Fantasy draft, so it’s hard to think of him getting drafted in the 10^th round as a Value Pick, but we came into the season knowing that the Fantasy glory days are over. With Shonn Greene slated to be the #1 back for the Jets, Tomlinson could be seen as nothing more than a RB to be used during weeks when you were desperate and had no better options. Greene disappointed owners and LT showed that he might be over the hill, but he still can run the ball in the NFL and rewarded his fantasy owners with a very productive season.

4) Mike Williams – Round 13, Pick 156 to Terrono

#14 WR – 190.9 Pts

Mike Williams, the Syracuse grad, had a stellar rookie season for the Tampa Bay Bucs and fantasy owners. It’s difficult to predict how rookies are going to perform, but Terrono took a chance in the 13^th round and was rewarded when Williams and QB Josh Freeman showed that they had the chemistry to make the Bucs into a playoff contender for years to come. Williams had 65 catches for 964 yards and 11 TDs, showing fantasy owners that he is a reliable #1/#2 Fantasy Wide Receiver.

3) Jason Witten – Round 5, Pick 57 to Joey

#1 TE – 201.2 Pts

It’s difficult to put a player drafted in the 5^th round this high on the Value Pick list, but Jason Witten had too ridiculous of a season to put any lower than this. Witten had 94 catches for 1002 yards and 9 TDs. He scored 48 more points than the next Tight End on the list, so although he was the fourth TE drafted, his production was so much more valuable than any other Tight End, making this pick a steal.

2) Ahmad Bradshaw – Round 14, Pick 158 to Lukas

#14 RB – 216.4 Pts

Ahmad Bradshaw was the #2 Running back behind Brandon Jacobs for the New York Giants coming into the season and was drafted at the point in the draft where everyone was just trying to fill up all of the roster space and then they could continue drinking. Jacobs forgot how to run the ball and didn’t produce, so Bradshaw stepped up and took the starting role away from him. Bradshaw had 1549 all- purpose yards along with 8 TDs and 47 Receptions. These are solid fantasy numbers for a RB, especially for one that gets drafted in garbage time.

1) Darren McFadden – Round 15, Pick 159 to Gill

#8 RB – 243.9 Pts

Darren McFadden's first two seasons in the NFL made it seem like the 3rd overall pick in the 2008 draft was going to be a bust, however the third time was a charm. McFadden was the 44th RB taken in the draft, behind teammate and #1 on the Raiders' depth chart, Michael Bush. "Run DMC" beat out Bush in the early weeks of the season and then put up unbelievable numbers to be the #8 ranked Fantasy RB. He had 1664 all-purpose yards along with 10 TDs and 47 receptions, showing that this 14th round pick was the biggest steal in the draft. Look for McFadden to continue to shake the claim that he is an NFL bust.