Fellas, first of all it was great seeing everyone last night. Loved the energy, loved the focus, loved that Garrett has already renounced his team as illegitimate, really just a great productive evening overall. With that, of course means that it's time for some draft recaps.
This year, along with my personal take, I'm incorporating some objective criteria on how to grade the teams, outlined below:
Picks Past Average Draft Position (PPADP)
This takes a player's ADP (sourced from FantasyPros) and subtracts that from where the player was drafted. For example, TK took Nick Chubb with the 22nd pick, but Chubb's ADP was 18.6, so TK got Chubb at 3.4 PPADP. Tyler took Ja'Marr Chase with the 4th pick, but Chase's ADP was 8.4, leaving Tyler with -4.4 PPADP for Chase.
For this, I only counted values from the first 10 rounds because later rounds just got crazy in terms of the PPADP, and I figured 10 rounds is enough for a starting set plus 3 backups, which will really be the heart of your team anyways.
Collin (70 PPADP)
Collin of course got a steal by taking Kupp, widely considered to be the WR1 this year, for a 4th round pick, but the bulk of his score was actually from holding off and taking Burrow and Prescott in the 9th and 10th rounds. Collin also had the fortune of Jaylen Waddle, considered an early 5th round pick, falling to him in the 6th round. His one blunder was taking Tony Pollard in the 8th, but I'd still give Collin the stamp of "generally successful" on his draft.
Jake's Grade: B+
Jake (25 PPADP)
Without the luxury of getting a 30+ boost thanks to a keeper, I had to build my team on heart and football IQ and picking whoever was the highest on ESPN's list. My RB situation is looking good, depending on how the Broncos play Russell Wilson and what that means for Javonte Williams, and my WR's are a solid B-, no superstars but nothing to scoff at. All that considered, I really think I have a decent team this year, and I'm cautiously open to giving that punk bitch Antonio Gibson another shot.
Jake's Grade: A-
Mike (-12 PPADP)
Mike took the starting-lineup first approach by filling out his entire starting set before drafting any flex or backup players, pulling the trigger on Mahomes quick out of the gate in the fourth round after Josh Allen fell. Mike's boost for this draft, and the best value pick based on PPADP was locking in Deebo Samuel for an 8th round pick, good for 57.6 (the highest in the draft), which makes it all the more impressive that he finished with a negative score. He may have slightly reached for DJ Moore in the 3rd round, but hovering around the par-level means Mike likely wasted his huge boost from Deebo by drafting like dog shit for the rest of the night.
Jake's Grade: C-
Ryan (-46 PPADP)
Interestingly enough, Ryan's keeper actually had negative PPADP (-1.8), but otherwise his only big question marks were reaching up almost two rounds for Tyler Lockett in the 8th, and collecting a defense in the 10th. His team leaders (Mixon, Adams, and Josh Allen) are great, it's going to be a matter of if rookie Breece Hall and perpetual under-performer David Montgomery can come through to help propel Ryan's team to success. But let's be honest, Ryan's the reigning champ, no one wants to see him be successful.
Jake's Grade: B-
Tyler (-11 PPADP)
If Tmo can go the season without much injury, I actually think his team is pretty damn good. Aaron Jones and Saquon would be a dynamic RB duo, and Kyle Pitts is poised to be a top 3 TE. Tmo also has pretty solid depth at WR, it's really just his QB situation that's subpar, waiting until the 10th round to grab Wilson. His -11 PPADP is also a little misleading, because he took a -32.4 on picking up Rashod Bateman in the 6th, which to be fair was a pretty horrendous pick but all in all Tmo did just fine this year.
Jake's Grade: A
Austin (30 PPADP)
A clear first overall pick in JT, along with a keeper pick that netted him 57 PPADP in Leonard Fournette put Austin in a great position to have a solid draft. Picking up Elijah Mitchell in the 6th round was a good grab, and if Jalen Hurt can have a breakout year Austin could be primed for a playoff run.
Jake's Grade: B
Actually Austin (2" PP)
LMAO you thought nah fam you don't think I'm gonna let Austin off the hook like that? This clown took Mark Andrews in the 2nd round because some 5'7" journalist named "Tristan" or "Cade" working for CBS Sports said he should, and reached up over two rounds for Courtland Sutton as a backup. Honestly one of your worst drafts yet, which isn't surprising because you never actually draft, you just rely on grabbing players up off waivers weekly like the bridge troll you are. New year, same Austin.
Jake's Grade: F
Nathan (-183 PPADP)
Nate we uhhhhh we gotta talk buddy. Derrick Henry, fine, solid pick. AJ Brown in the fourth? Great, another fine pick. That concludes the comprehensive list of things you did right last night. Michael Pittman in the 2nd round? Hunter Renfrow, your 4th WR, in the 6th? Why? What's the logic there? I actually don't hate the Cole Kmet pick, but otherwise sort of just a disaster all around. Destined for 10th right out of the gate.
Jake's Grade: D-
John Luke (-75 PPADP)
Keeping Najee Harris to collect a top 5 RB in the first round with the 10th pick was a good strat JL, I'll give you that one. You turned around and took Stefon Diggs at 11, which was also pretty good and gave you a solid foundation for points this year. You got a little weird with Allen Robinson II in the 5th round, but I'd let that slide. JL's biggest hit to PPADP was Devin Singletary, ranked 30th and JL's 4th running back, in the 6th round before picking up a QB. You'd better hope Brady can stay Brady, because he'll be a make or break for your team this year.
Jake's Grade: C
Garrett (4 PPADP)
Garrett may hate his team, but honestly I... don't? Kamara can absolutely tear up the field, CeeDee Lamb could be a top 5 WR this year, and even Tee Higgins will probably get plenty of points with Ja'Marr Chase taking the best secondary defenders with him. Herbert will likely put up consistent numbers, and even Cam Akers could be a sleeper top-10 RB. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Garrett's got himself a playoff team here.
Jake's Grade: A
TK (-71 PPADP)
Last and potentially least (nah Nathan's got that one wrapped up), TK and his #2 spot in the draft. He played it well though, scooping up an elite WR in Justin Jefferson as a keeper with a late second round pick, and with Austin forgoing a RB because he kept Fournette and drafted JT, TK even had Nick Chubb fall to him in the 3rd round. Everything past that was questionable at best. Lamar Jackson has under-preformed as of late, TJ Hockenson plays for a college team, and I honestly didn't know Allen Lazard was still in the league. I don't anticipate TK making it to the postseason this year, but only time will tell.
Jake's Grade: C-