ROUND ONE
Once our keepers were solidified, we then drafted from the incoming pool of rookies combined with any players who were left unrostered at the end of last season. The results were, and I feel this is an understatement, very surprising.
TBone's Terrific Team finished last season with the league's worst record, and thus earned the #1 overall pick. It was a class full of highly touted prospects like Caleb Williams (considered a generational talent at quarterback), Marvin Harrison Jr (the son of the NFL legend and considered one of the best receiver prospects the game has ever seen), Malik Nabers (many people compare him to Ja'Marr Chase.... he would be the #1 receiver in this draft if not for Harrison), and Brock Bowers (the best college tight end EVER).
And who did TBone take with the #1 overall pick? Pat Freiermuth. I understand it is a league where you start two tight ends and it is a very important position to get a leg up on, but.... really? I suspected TBone might miss the draft but I thought for sure that Yahoo would auto pick Harrison Jr for him, as he was listed as the best available player coming into the draft. But no. Pat Freiermuth.
And who did TBone take with the #1 overall pick? Pat Freiermuth. I understand it is a league where you start two tight ends and it is a very important position to get a leg up on, but.... really? I suspected TBone might miss the draft but I thought for sure that Yahoo would auto pick Harrison Jr for him, as he was listed as the best available player coming into the draft. But no. Pat Freiermuth.
I took full advantage of this, taking Harrison Jr. with the #2 pick. Brock Bowers was taken by My Team at #3. While it is a questionable pick with Odunze and Nabers still on the board, at least Bowers is a sensational TE prospect. So I think it is actually a good pick. Hunter Henry taken with the 4th pick. Another wild result I did not see coming. This was another auto pick, so it seemed like Yahoo was auto picking the best tight ends for people. But this was an awful pick.
Jonathan Brooks at #5 to Bluth Company. This is a terrific pick. I wanted Brooks if he was still available at #9. Bluth seems to have done his homework and he is also very RB needy, so this could be a great pick for him once Brooks is fully back from his injury. Malik Nabers at #6 to Teflon Don. Another awesome pick. I bet Chris was shocked that Nabers, one of the best receiver prospects in recent memory, fell to him at #6.
#7 was Jonnu Smith to the Killing Fields. Another auto picked tight end. Jonnu might have a decent year with Miami but with so many younger players with great potential still available, this was not a great pick for TKF. Caleb Williams at #8 to Alice in Horns. I thought Alice was okay at QB with Jordan Love and Joe Burrow, so this was a bit of a surprise to me. But Caleb is an awesome prospect, so I get it. I was mainly just shocked to see Rome Odunze fall to me at #9. I absolutely had to take him. Coming into this draft I never thought I'd walk away with Marvin Harrison Jr and Rome Odunze in the first round. But I'll take it! I was thinking I'd have Nabers and Benson.
Jeffery Simmons to Show me the TDs. I think this may have been an auto pick? Sean C is not going to be happy that Yahoo picked basically all defensive players on his team in the draft. I know he is someone who does his research.
Gus Edwards to Bluth Company at #11. Maybe not a great dynasty pick with Benson still available, but Gus should provide immediate returns playing with the run heavy Chargers this year. At #12, ned took Ben Sinnott. This was a great pick. Ned must have seen the run at TE and took the best young rookie TE not named Brock Bowers. I was looking to draft him with my next pick if I had the chance.
ROUND TWO
Trey Benson went to Tbone at 2.01 - which was a great pick. Kicker Kai'imi Fairbairn went to Thunder Thighs. An auto pick. Where o where were you, Mike? Another kicker, Jason Sanders, was auto picked to My Team. Bluth brought us back to sanity at the 2.04 taking my favorite name in the draft: Ladd McConkey. His next pick was a bit of a head scratcher as he took Michael Mayer, who I just cut from my team a day ago because I didn't think he would contribute much this year. But since we are all in tight end wasteland I can see why he'd make the pick.
Xavier Worthy was another good pick by Teflon Don. Zeke Elliott goes to the Killing Fields. If Zeke has a big year with Dallas, this could be a good pick. Blake Corum to Alice in Horns. This is such an Alice pick. I love it. Deshaun Watson to BDB's team next. This was a surprise pick. If I was going QB, I'd take someone young and with a higher ceiling, like Jayden Daniels.
Show me the TDs auto picks another defensive player at the 2.10. Ouch. Seriously, he is going to be so mad. Diontae Johnson to TDs or Bust at 2.11. Good pick. I like Diontae. Chris Godwin goes to ned's rollers. Good pick. I like Godwin.
ROUND THREE
Juwan Johnson to TBone at the 3.01. Another auto drafted TE. Not a good pick. Another kicker, Dustin Hopkins, to Thunder Thighs. Ouch. Tyler Conklin, another auto drafted TE to My Team. Ouch. I guess it is no surprise that these are the people with the 3 worst records in the league. I have a feeling the way this draft is going, we're going to see more of that.
Dynastic Dan snaps us all back to reality taking Brian Thomas Jr with the 3.04. BTJ is another phenomenal WR prospect, and is someone I legitimately thought was going to be taken in the first round. The fact that he was there at the 3.04 was astonishing to me.
Daniel Jones to Bluth Company. JK Dobbins to Teflon Don. I am not sure either of those picks really moves the needle much. Cameron Dicker to the Killing Fields. Ouch. TKF is having a terrible draft, despite what Yahoo's rankings say. Bo Nix to Alice, which is a solid pick. But I think Nix could have been gotten much, much later in the draft. Sutton to BDB. Meh. Khalil Dorsey to Show me the TDs. For the third time: Sean C is going to be so mad when he sees this draft.
Tyler Higbee to TDs or Bust. Not a great dynasty pick, but TEs are important, so I get it. MarShawn Lloyd to ned. Great pick. Ned sniped him right before he got to me.
ROUND FOUR
Brandin Echols to TBone's Team with the 4.01. Another poop pick. Jelani Woods to Thunder Thighs. I had considered taking a late round flyer on Jelani Woods. He has good talent. But this was a reach at 4.02. Chauncey Golston then went to My Team. Poop. Keon Coleman to Dynastic Dan at the 4.04. Seriously, Coleman is ANOTHER highly touted rookie receiver. I could not believe they were just falling to me left and right. At this point I realized I had other needs on my team, but since MarShawn Lloyd was gone I went with a receiver.
Ja'Tayvion Sanders to Bluth at the 4.04. Good pick. He's a good young guy with upside. Jayden Daniels to Teflon Don at 4.05. Chris doesn't really need a QB but this was a good pick for the value Daniels provides with his high rushing floor. He could be a star better than Purdy or Prescott in just a year or two. Gesicki goes to The Killing Fields. Poop pick. Estime to Alice in Horns. Very good pick. I liked Estime.
Ertz to BDB with the 4.09. Meh. Jalen Reeves-Maybin to Show me the TDs. Have I mentioned yet how pissed he is going to be? Dontayvion Wicks to TDs or Bust. Solid pick. Many compare him to Davante Adams and say he could break out this year. But there are a lot of mouths to feed in that Green Bay offense.
The round ended with JJ McCarthy going to ned with the 4.12. Ned sitting back, silently building up a lot of depth, and taking advantage of everyone else's draft mistakes.
ROUND FIVE
This is where the draft ended for many people.
DL James Lynch goes to TBone's Team. Poop pick. CJ Moore to Thunder Thighs. Poop pick. Jaylinn Hawkins to My Team. Oh dear, this draft has been absolutely brutal for the bottom three, who didn't even bother to show up. Good luck with your rebuild, guys. You had awesome draft capitol that you could have used to fully restock your teams' cabinets, and completely pooped it away.
Ricky Pearsall to Dynastic Dan at 5.04. I know, I know. My fifth wide receiver in a row to open the draft. But the value was there. Pearsall is an elite talent and has first round draft capitol. And now there is all this Brandon Aiyuk drama. I absolutely could not pass on him.
Khalil Shakir to TDs or Bust, with the pick he acquired from Bluth Company in the Breece Hall trade. I like the potential of this draft pick, as many are picking Shakir to have a breakout season. Rico Dowdle to Teflon Don. Chris desperately needed a running back, so this was not a shocking pick. I'm not sure I would have picked Dowdle over other running backs still available, but I do think Dowdle could have a big season if Zeke is hurt. MJ Stewart to The Killing Fields. Poop pick. Sam Howell to Alice. I like Howell and he is a good fantasy QB, but did Alice need yet another quarterback on her roster?
At the 5.09, Malcolm Rodriguez goes to BDB's Team. Poop pick. Cairo Santos to Show me the TDs. Say the line! Jake Bates to TDs or Bust. I guess it makes sense if he needed a kicker. Micah Parsons to neds rollers. This looks like a pick that fills a need for ned's team.
ROUND SIX:
Only 7 teams picked in this round, the remaining 5 teams kept 20 players so their draft ended in round five. At the 6.01, Ezekiel Turner goes to My Team. Poop pick. Jordan Battle goes to BDB, in the pick he acquired in the Justin Herbert trade. But it turned out to be a poop pick. Dynastic Dan finally takes a running back with Kimani Vidal at the 6.03. I'm not a huge Vidal believer, but the dynasty community is - so I'll take their word on this one. I needed a RB anyway.
Bucky Irving goes to Alice's team with the 6.04. Good pick. Khalil Herbert to BDB. It's an okay pick if he pans out. He's in a 3-RB time share though. Adonai Mitchell to TDs or Bust at 6.06. Fantastic value pick. He should have been taken several rounds ago. Josh Palmer goes to ned's rollers. A good depth pick since the Chargers have little at WR.
ROUND SEVEN
Only 4 teams picking now. Everyone else is done.
Kamu Grugier-Hill to My Team. Who? Poop pick. Jaylen Wright to Dynastic Dan. I now have the monopoly on Miami Dolphins running backs. Wright is apparently a Mostert clone so if Mostert gets hurt or released after his contract is up, Wright could be a big big winner in this offense.
Ray Davis to Alice in Horns. Really solid player and a great pick for Alice. I was going back and forth between Ray Davis and Wright/Vidal the last two rounds when I took a running back. At the 7.04, ned fills a position of need with Junior Colson.
ROUND EIGHT
Just three teams left drafting.
Dan goes Ja'Lynn Polk with the 8.01. I didn't need another wide receiver, but Polk is a guy I felt should have went in round three or four. He's a very talented player and could be the WR1 in New England right off the bat. Just too good to pass up. Alice fills a hole in the secondary with Jamal Adams. ned swings for the fences with Johnny Wilson, who probably would have gone completely undrafted if not for this pick. This looks like a homer Eagle fan pick. But who knows, Wilson could be something! No one saw Puka coming last year. EDIT: after thinking it over, I remember some talk about Wilson being converted to TE because of his size. If this is why ned picked him, it is definitely a savvy pick given the TE scarcity in this league.
ROUNDS NINE AND TEN
9.01: Alice takes a kicker
9.02: ned goes Kendre Miller. Good pick. Miller had a bad rookie season but if he hits, could be a valuable player for the Saints if Kamara ever goes down or gets cut.
10.01: Alice takes Byron Young.
10.02: ned takes Theo Johnson. Good pick for ned. Theo is someone I was considering for my taxi squad. In a league where tight ends are important, this is a solid value pick that will look brilliant if he hits.
And that's the end of the draft.
Honestly, this was a very weird draft. I didn't expect so many people to miss it, especially since I've been giving regular updates and sending out reminders. I also announced the date of the draft months ago. Oh well.
One of the things about so many people missing the draft is that it REALLY allowed everyone else to "restock their cabinets." The auto drafters wasted so many picks on tight ends, kickers, and random IDP players. I mean, I guess it is nice that they will be set at TE while everyone else struggles, but their drafts could not have gone any worse for them. It is going to set them back years in this league. Just look at my team, Dynastic Dan. I was able to add SIX highly touted dynasty receivers that should have gone in the first two rounds of the draft. They got none. Other players like Teflon Don, TDs or Bust, Alice, Bluth, and ned really took advantage as well. Don is just stacked at WR and QB right now. The other teams are very well rounded. Show me the TDs had a disaster of a draft, but his core is young and deep enough where I think he will be the only auto drafter not seriously impacted by missing the action.
I think year two is where we really start to see a divide in the dynasty. I am going to do more of an in-depth season preview later in the preseason, but for now my initial power rankings after the draft are:
1 Dynastic Dan
2 ned's rollers
3 TDs or Bust
4 Alice in Horns
5 Teflon Don
6 Show me the TDs
7 Bluth Company
8 BDB
9 The Killing Fields
10 Thunder Thighs
11 My Team
12 TBone
Yes, I really put myself at #1. But I really think I absolutely smashed both the offseason trades and the draft. Let's all come back and laugh at me when I once again finish towards the bottom of the standings.
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