In the last two years, a good draft grade is a pretty strong indicator of making the playoffs. Last year, Katy, Kevin, and Lily all got grades B+ or higher and went on to the playoffs. Once again, however, I was too generous with Donny. His B+ did not translate to success. On the flip side, I also hit with low grades to Andrew, Bill and myself. We got grades B- or below and we all were in the bottom four of the standings. I can understand why my draft grades are eagerly anticipated by the league. However, I’m not as confident of my draft grades’ correlation with league performance this year. The early draft this year and the effect of the lockout means information about players is not as deep as in years past. Please read the draft grade with this expectation.
In order of draft selection:
Victor
Thumbs Up: Strong talent from the start to finish (except maybe for last throw-away pick). Really improved his receiver corps with selection of Wallace and Jones. All his main picks have Pro-bowl talent. Got to handcuff Jamal Charles with Thomas Jones pick. Also, stands to benefit if Pittsburgh passing offense does well. Good combination of sleepers in Bradford and Hightower and stashed Julio Jones as possible 2012 keeper.
Thumbs Down: Missed out on Felix Jones and Percy Harvin and picked Witten instead. This was a case of following his cheat sheets a bit too literally instead of sensing an opportunity.
Twitter says: It’s been quite a while since Victor has been this upbeat about his draft.
Overall Grade: A-
Andrew
Thumbs Up: Fully engaged in this draft. Andrew showed up early and prepared. Some have Vincent Jackson more highly rated than Mike Wallace. Felix Jones pick was a steal, and locked up the Green Bay running game with Starks. Also got a good backup QB in Freeman. Solid Defense and kicker picks as well.
Thumbs Down: Wes Walker somewhat a reach with 2nd round pick, since Brady now has a lot of WRs to throw to this season.
Twitter says: Andrew won’t be MIA in 2011.
Overall Grade: A-
Donny
Thumbs Up: Great combo of Bryant and Harvin for his first two WR picks. Donny may have the best 3 WR offense this season. Also picked up Jermichael Finley before I could get him.
Thumbs Down: Duo of Manning and Flacco is pretty uninspired for a QB-centric league such as FADUCO. Very limited upside there. Pickup of Tolbert will bring headache to Donny since it’s more of sharing than strictly backup situation for Tolbert and Mathews. Bears and Cowboys defenses will face his key position players a lot.
Twitter says: Three WR or traditional 2 RB won’t matter if QBs are blah.
Overall Grade: B
Bill
Thumbs Up: Snookered Kevin (again) with trade of high-mileage RB for young stud WR. Replaced high-mileage RB for potential stud rookie RB. Got the NFL’s equivalent of the dream team defense with Eagles pick.
Thumbs Down: Most of later picks are pretty unexciting after 1st round. Ricky Williams? Hines Ward? Also, TE Gronkowski will be feast-or-famine in Belichek’s offense. Kinda overpaid for rookie K in 10th round.
Twitter says: Again, Bill’s savvy trading is a bit let down by uninspired drafting.
Overall Grade: B (factoring in trade)
PJ
Thumbs Up: Got Miami RB Daniel Thomas in 3rd round, later than where Thomas was expected to go. Ryan arguably the best of the non-keeper QBs given the Falcons’ increased focus on the passing game. Handcuffed injury-prone McFadden with talented Michael Bush.
Thumbs Down: Gambled on Rice and Burress as bench for starters. Kind of overpaid for K in 9th round, and Patriots Defense is cursed with Fat Al on that team.
Twitter says: Uneven middle round picks means about a 7-7 record and middle draft pick again.
Overall Grade: B
Tuna
Thumbs Up: I like the Winslow pick and Giants Defense are primed to be a solid contributor this season. That’s pretty much all I can say about the good stuff.
Thumbs Down: All of Tuna’s first four picks have questions. How is DeAngelo Williams going to do with an unpolished QB in his backfield? Is Jeremy Maclin really healthy? Isn’t Knoshown not the goal-line back? Is Kenny Britt the new Pacman Jones? Tuna almost missed this draft since he thought it was going to be on Thursday instead. I honestly suspect that the auto-draft would have resulted in a better team for him.
Twitter says: Unprepared for draft, and it showed
Overall Grade: C
Hai
Thumbs Up: Vernon Davis a good pick for the 1st round. Can stash AJ Green for 2012 keeper. If healthy, Matthew Stafford is an able backup.
Thumbs Down: Didn’t really get good support for Steven Jackson. Cedric Benson is slow, and Marshawn Lynch has no QB. Pierre Garcon is a bit overrated given that Collie is returning. Steve Smith is done, and has an unpolished rookie QB to boot. Dwayne Bowe won’t duplicate his 2009 numbers with Charlie Weis gone.
Twitter says: Hai, just because you’re now 40 doesn’t mean you have to pick old players as well.
Overall Grade: C+
Lily
Thumbs Up: Very nice pick of Antonio Gates in 2nd round. Somewhat locked in with Patriots running game with BJGE and Woodhead selections. Also got good scoring-type players with Fred Jackson and Brandon Jacobs. I like the Ryan Williams sleeper pick as well. Mario Manningham is now the #2 WR in NY and Sims-Walker has upside if he becomes the #1 WR in St. Louis.
Thumbs Down: Waited a bit too late to pick a defense with the Saints pick. Possibly picked Mark Sanchez for his looks and GQ modeling.
Twitter says: Two straight years of solid drafting, may challenge Kevin again for Caucasian supremacy.
Overall Grade: A-
Kevin
Thumbs Up: Got some good young talent in Collie, Graham, and Alexander. Jahvid Best may be a starter if he stays healthy. If Manning’s neck isn’t an issue, there could be an explosive duo of Andre and Austin. Again, did his homework and handcuffed Chris Johnson.
Thumbs Down: Ochocinco pick a bit perplexing, since Kevin has vowed in the past to never have him again. Marshall still has a mediocre QB to give him the ball. If Best gets injured, RB bench is a bit thin since the rest are just pure backups for their teams at this stage.
Twitter says: Kevin didn’t wow me this time, but still a solid effort nonetheless.
Overall Grade: B+
Katy
Thumbs Up: Concerned about Vick staying injury-free, picked up probably the best backup QB with Schaub pick. Owen Daniels also was overlooked by many, so got good value there.
Thumbs Down: Katy’s draft would have been awesome back in 2007. Addai, Barber, Boldin, Roy Williams, and Santana Moss would have struck fear in the minds of the other league owners. Unfortunately, we’re playing in 2011. Plus, I think HGH is now tested, so it’s less likely for aging veterans to have “surprise” years now.
Twitter says: I thought only Daniel Snyder liked to sign past-their-prime players.
Overall Grade: C
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