TTR - 2018 Draft

After 4 days of walking over 28 miles, drinking ungodly amounts of brown liquid, laughing until my stomach hurts, punishing my lungs like a coal miner, eating like a teenager, and...well, I could go on if only I could remember...I’ve come to this conclusion...ALL HAIL MANCHILD!

Thank you for your participation in this year’s draft weekend festivities, may your livers be on the mend. So without further ado, here is your draft recap and commentary from 0.5 Commish.

Overall draft impression: this league came well prepared to do work on draft day (that is except for the manager that decided to shirk all preparation in favor of taking exotic dancing lessons...I’m looking at our league Packer fan).

AZ TunaHunters, overall grade = 84

Thanks to the “Golden Shower” pick, Richie got his draft day wet dream of Gurley in the #1 spot. The front end turn left him with wide ranges for WR1 & 2. TY and ARobinson, MIGHT be good, but MIGHT be horrible. Goodwin and Sanders help solidify a bit, and Devonta gives him a solid RB corp. Rivers at QB in 7 was definitely a reach, and Mariota seemed like a rage pick against Kim Jong Kommish. Vance McD in 8 is complete trash. Richie scooped AP before a whole host of other managers, so we’ll see if that turns out to be the sleeper pick of the draft.

Sweep the Leg, overall grade = 86

I am thinking that we should just make this a modified keeper league, where J gets LeVeon every freaking year. He maintained his RB hoarder tendencies by taking 3 RBs in the first 4 rounds, but that leaves him with the widest range possible at WR2 with Josh Gordon. After rounding out his starting lineup with Brees and Engram the rest of his draft is solid with WR2s (Fuller, Meredith, and Shepard) and solid backups (Coleman, Conner, and Keenum)

Rock Out with Your Cock Out, overall grade = 79

I want to love Josh’s draft, but A A Ron in the 2nd is just bad. That pick echoed throughout and left Josh with an aging, former elite WR with a new QB and the two-headed monster in Detroit. Good luck trying to figure out that starting lineup. Mixon is yet to prove himself, and Lewis is in a committee, leaving some major questions behind DJ. Trey Burton and the Vikings D/ST are nice, and Peyton Barber is a steal in 15.

Sho’Nuff Said, overall grade = 82

I didn’t love the #4 pick, and my fears came to fruition. Slight reach with Kamara in Rd. 1, stuck with McKinnon as the last standing in the second RB tier. Same with Thielen and Fitz, not my first choices, not my last. Ertz and Wentz were value picks as I was resigned to letting the draft come to me by the middle rounds. Was able to grab my middle and late round flyers of choice in Crowell, Carson, Williams, Brown and Jones. Not the draft I was aiming for, but at least I remember all 15 rounds, so that’s new!

Ram Everything, overall grade = 88

I am not sure what Zak was doing back in the “other room”, but he produced an above-average draft from his secret war room. Lots to like at RB, especially if McCaffrey gets the touches and Lynch (and the Raiders) are even slightly more efficient than last year. QB, TE, and D/ST all look good, and you can’t do much better than Zuerlein at K. Unfortunately, all of the WRs are suspect, but not without some potential. Watkins and Cooks are both playing for their 3rd team in 3 years, Dez is a FA, and Decker retired on Sunday. However the worst pick might have been Jeffrey in Rd. 4, as it remains to be seen if the often injured WR can get on to the field by Week 1. That’s a high price to pay for lots of question marks.

Never Waitin’ Masterbatin’, overall grade = 92

My pick for best draft goes to Eric (and his mystery FaceTime guest). While this doesn’t bode well historically, as I really like Blas’ and Manny’s teams last year, Eric’s draft is filled with good value at each round. There were no reaches and his bench has a nice mix of solid 2s and flyers with high upside. Without going into specifics, this was a textbook draft from the 6 spot, showing the discipline not expected from someone hit with several penalty shots.

Mrs. Esterhouse, overall grade = 85

Once again, Blas comes out of the draft looking good. RB1, WRs, TE, and QB all look good. However, I suspect RB2 will be a sore spot right out of the gate, and possibly all season long without some managing. Ronald Jones and Jamaal Williams both have tough roads to relevancy, and both pics were reaches at their respective points in the draft. Ingram, Burkhead, Lynch, Michel, and Crowell in the case of Jones in the 5th, and Carson, Cohen, Hyde, and Chubb in the case of Williams in the 8th would have provided more value and upside.

Mexorean Supreme, overall grade = 87

The Kommish put together a solid draft on the top end, but will most likely regret the lack of depth at RB. The homer pick of the draft goes to Derrick Henry in the 3rd, ahead of Shady, Collins and Freeman. Not without potential, Henry is stuck for the time being in a time share with a proven commodity in Dion Lewis. If the Mexorean can survive Ingram’s suspension AND he returns to last year’s historic production things might look good. Everywhere else this team has a nice blend of potential and consistency.

Fat Cobra, overall grade = 78

For the first six rounds, Manny was killing the draft, and then there just isn’t much to like. Goff and Bortles are an atrocious pair at an extremely deep position. Goff before proven top-10 talents Wentz, Cousins, Big Ben, and Smith is downright crazy. I suspect neither Goff nor Bortles will be on this roster by the end of the year. Outside of Jordan Reed, Manny didn’t manage to impress with his middle to late round picks.

Travis My Ass Hero, overall grade = 80

I suspect going WR/WR in 1 and 2 will be a regretful decision by many a fantasy team this year. The depth at the position just doesn’t justify losing out on a tier 2 RB. While I do like the Collins pick in the 4th, and Olsen, when healthy is a solid TE, and of course DHop is a Champ-maker, there just isn’t much here. There is too much reliance on rookies panning out (Johnson and Chubb) and marginal/down players making leaps forward or comebacks (Green, Drake, Garçon). My favorite pick is the Ravens in the 14th.

Get Off My Jacq, overall grade = 77

I really wanted to hate on this draft, and you’d think that’d be easy after all the penalty shots that Angel took. However, outside of the atrocious picks of Penny in the 4th and Dak in the 8th, Angel did OK. I have questions about Jordy and Moncrief, but those are WR 5 & 6 so no real harm there. RB2 is going to be a big issue, but then again, Angel thought he could still get Lynch and Lewis well after they were already taken, so at least he tried.

The No Research Method, overall grade = 73

Another draft and once again Wes reaches in secondary positions while ignoring fantasy’s most important slots. Sure, on the bright side, Wes has top talent in 6 of the 8 starting positions. However, the cost he paid for the Gostkowski/Jags combo is just too great. Duke Johnson and Ty Montgomery at RB is simply horrendous. There is slight hope as something has to pan out after adding 7 RBs after the 4th round...right!?! Suggestion for next year: less day-dreaming of rubbing up on other managers, more draft prep.

Well done fellas, but don’t get it twisted, the draft is just the beginning. Gird up your loins and stop looking at porn long enough to read an article or two, the race for the Huevo begins now!!