We were so close. Just four more picks, and we would've made it. Sadly, my pride in you all was dashed by Runner Runner, who was the only team to time out on their pick, in the 6th round. Their record as a drafter will now forever be tarnished. We bow our heads.
4.01 Corey Clement
5.01 Sam Darnold
6.01 De'Angelo Henderson
This is the Zombies owner's first draft in the league, after taking over the franchise midyear. They traded away their 1st and 3rd round pick for Michael Thomas earlier in the offseason, so didn't make a pick until the second round. They went with the top TE prospect in this class, Gesicki. With only Ben Watson and Jermaine Gresham on the roster, this was a solid move to get a reliable starter in the position. They will hope Gesicki doesn't take as long as the typical TE to start producing. They also grabbed Darnold in the 5th to backup Carr. Two young QBs should help the team reliably fill that position for years.
Draft Grade: B-
1.02 Sony Michel
2.02 Christian Kirk
3.02 Josh Rosen
4.02 Nyheim Hines
5.02 Kenneth Dixon
6.02 Ricky Seals-Jones
Even though Michel was the third highest taken RB in the real NFL draft, investing heavily in Pats RBs is always a hell of a gamble. The rest of their rookie picks were good value, especially with getting the potentially #2 receiver in the group at 2.02. Nyheim is a great sleeper pick in the 4th, who could easily be the starter in Indy by week 1. The Dixon pick seems a bit optimistic, but grabbing Seals-Jones for the homer love makes complete sense to wrap up this draft.
Draft Grade: A
1.03 Calvin Ridley
2.03 Michael Gallup
3.03 Josh Allen
4.03 Dallas Goedert
5.03 Marcell Ateman
6.03 Chase Edmonds
The Nutts invested heavily in some new blood at the receiver position. Ridley's landing spot in Atlanta should result in immediate points, and as soon as Julio moves on the sky is the limit! Sooner than that, Gallup will have his shot to take Dez's vacancy in Dallas. The draft took a turn in the 3rd, though, as the team's QB-loving ways once again resurfaced. With Goff and Ryan already rostered, and early investment in another passer seems premature, especially with the gaps at RB. And then there's the Ateman pick. I'm not sure how badly I'd like to stash a 7th rounder on a team that just signed Jordy and traded for Martavis.
Draft Grade: C+
1.04 Derrius Guice
2.04 Anthony Miller
3.04 Peyton Barber
4.04 Quincy Enunwa
5.04 Vance McDonald
6.04 Myles Garrett
Our newest owner was welcomed to the league with a gifted Guice! That had to feel good. As the draft wore on, however, the team fell back on reliable vets rather than take stabs at this year's rookies. Enunwa will be an extra interesting prospect to watch this year. He looked promising two years ago, until getting hurt early last season. Will he rise to his former potential, at least enough to earn this 4th round price? We'll see.
Draft Grade: C
1.05 Rashaad Penny
2.05 Courtland Sutton
3.05 Case Keenum
4.05 Geronimo Allison
5.05 Justin Jackson
6.05 Sean Lee
This team sure does like their Seahawks RBs! The Ddy's followed a similar approach to the last team, in forgoing rookies for their middle round picks. The Geronimo pick is a risky one, as Green Bay took three receivers in this year's draft. All late rounders, though, so he'll definitely have his shot at some of those targets left behind by Jordy. I'm not sure what the plan is for Justin Jackson, perhaps as trade bait for the Melvin Gordon owner if the injury bug strikes?
Draft Grade: C+
2.06 D.J. Chark
3.06 Mark Walton
4.06 Bradley Chubb
5.06 Elijhaa Penny
6.06 Danielle Hunter
With Arob and Hurns both gone from Jacksonville, that WR1 spot is wide open. Dede, Marquise Lee, and Keelan Cole aren't exactly stiff competition, either, so Chark is a solid get for the Jags fan. Speaking of Arob, Runner Runner had given up their 1st this year to acquire the ex-Jag, hence their missing pick. With their 3rd and 5th round picks they elected to stock up on rookie handcuffs, which we've seen pay off in the past. The Bradley Chubb pick in the 4th seems early for our IDP-lite league, even if he was the 5th overall pick in the real thing. Finally, in the 6th, Runner Runner tragically timed out and autopicked Danielle Hunter. Fleaflicker rankings for the win!
Draft Grade: B-
1.01 Saquon Barkley
1.06 Ronald Jones
1.07 D.J. Moore
2.07 Dante Pettis
3.01 Equanimeous St. Brown
3.07 Baker Mayfield
4.07 J'Mon Moore
5.07 Deon Cain
6.07 Bo Scarbrough
I know I always use this part to brag, but it's just so hard not to when I look at these beautiful picks! Barkley and Ronald Jones get added to the stable of RB studs (team owner still suffers from PTSD from three years worth of RB-injuries). D.J. Moore and Pettis are decent darts for that troubling last WR spot on the team's starting roster. The one reach, here, was probably on St. Brown. He was picked in the 7th round after two other receivers were already taken by Green Bay, so it's not like he's got a lot of promise outside of his predraft name value. Luckily the team hedged their bets by grabbing J'Mon in the next round. Lastly, the team grabbed Zeke's likely handcuff in Scarbrough.
Draft Grade: A
1.08 Royce Freeman
2.08 Cameron Brate
3.08 Albert Wilson
4.08 Travis Benjamin
5.08 Mike Davis
6.08 Christian Kirksey
TDs said no thanks to rookies this year. After Royce, it was all vets all the way. Cameron Brate just got a huge contract, so that should be a reasonable investment, even with the lower value of TEs in this league and the shared space with OJ. The rest of these picks, though, I just don't know. Albert Wilson could try to rise the WR ranks, but he still has either busted Tannehill or Ossweiler as his thrower. Mike Davis was just fired/rehired on a team with plenty of RBs including the guy they traded up to grab in the 1st round. And Travis Benjamin has to share targets with Keenan, Tyrell, Mike Williams AND Hunter Henry. Gotta say yuck on all three of those picks.
Draft Grade: D+
1.09 Nick Chubb
2.09 James Washington
3.09 Hayden Hurst
4.09 Kalen Ballage
5.09 Tre'Quan Smith
6.09 John Kelly
Finding yourself at the end the first round and seeing Chubb still there has got to be a nice feeling. James Washington may take a year to start earning fantasy points, but you can't argue with the talent (plus with Martavis gone it won't take quite so long, just gotta wait out Brown). Heyden Hurst was a shocking pick by the Ravens in the 1st round, but not so much the bEARs in the 3rd. Greg Olsen is almost dead and Jordan Reed might as well be. Hurst fills a gap that will soon be apparent on the bEARs roster. Ballage is a coin flip. He has the opportunity to overtake Drake in Miami, though it will be an uphill climb after Drake's finish last season. Then they wrap up the draft with Gurley's handcuff and possible heir in a couple of years. All in all, this was a solid draft prepping for 2019. The bEARs are clearly prepared for their old guys to start falling off this year.
Finding yourself at the end the first round and seeing Chubb still there has got to be a nice feeling. James Washington may take a year to start earning fantasy points, but you can't argue with the talent (plus with Martavis gone it won't take quite so long, just gotta wait out Brown). Heyden Hurst was a shocking pick by the Ravens in the 1st round, but not so much the bEARs in the 3rd. Greg Olsen is almost dead and Jordan Reed might as well be. Hurst fills a gap that will soon be apparent on the bEARs roster. Ballage is a coin flip. He has the opportunity to overtake Drake in Miami, though it will be an uphill climb after Drake's finish last season. Then they wrap up the draft with Gurley's handcuff and possible heir in a couple of years. All in all, this was a solid draft prepping for 2019. The bEARs are clearly prepared for their old guys to start falling off this year.
Draft Grade: A+
1.10 Kerryon Johnson
2.10 Keelan Cole
3.10 Lamar Jackson
4.10 Trey Burton
5.10 Jordan Wilkins
6.10 Justin Watson
With Dak, Deshaun, and Brady I'm not sure the Munnies needed to stash another QB, but they may be looking toward Brady's inevitable decline. Keelan Cole has as good a shot as any of the Jags receivers to make up for the Allens' departures, though 25 year old UDFAs are typically a scary prospect to try and cash in on, in the 2nd round no less. Wilkins is in the mix in Indy with Mack and Hines, and it's interesting to see that both he and Hines went in the same dynasty draft rounds as their NFL counterparts. Maybe that's just interesting to me. I don't know. The Watson pick makes sense as a bit of Evans insurance, though we'll see if he even survives our roster cuts in August.
With Dak, Deshaun, and Brady I'm not sure the Munnies needed to stash another QB, but they may be looking toward Brady's inevitable decline. Keelan Cole has as good a shot as any of the Jags receivers to make up for the Allens' departures, though 25 year old UDFAs are typically a scary prospect to try and cash in on, in the 2nd round no less. Wilkins is in the mix in Indy with Mack and Hines, and it's interesting to see that both he and Hines went in the same dynasty draft rounds as their NFL counterparts. Maybe that's just interesting to me. I don't know. The Watson pick makes sense as a bit of Evans insurance, though we'll see if he even survives our roster cuts in August.
Draft Grade: B+
So that's it for the draft! I have removed the random IDP guys from your rosters. From now until the preseason roster max will remain at 38, and waivers will be running weekly for free agents. Remember, you have $100 in blind bidding money that has to last you the entire 2018 season, so spend it wisely! For those of you who are new, to bid on free agents you just find them in the players list on fleaflicker, click ADD, and specify how much you want to bid. On Wednesday when it processes, the top bidder will win the player and lose that amount of FAAB money.
When we get to the preseason, I will be reducing roster maximum back down to 30, so you'll have to be ready to cut players to get down to the right number. Until then, trade away, and thanks for another successful draft!
