**Warner’s Brothers
- (1) Mark Ingram (NO - RB)
- (5) Cam Newton (Car - QB)
- (13) Denarius Moore (Oak - WR)
- (25) Thomas Jones (KC - RB)
- (37) Shaun Hill (Det - QB)
- (49) Andre Roberts (Ari - WR)
- (61) Louis Murphy (Oak - WR)**
The Good: Mark Ingram, obviously; he’s the only really desirable RB in this class. Cam Newton is a high upside QB. Thomas Jones provides very good value this year (assuming Todd Haley continues to stupidly give him half the carries). Louis Murphy is actually very good value for the 6th.
The Bad: Jones would have provided more value to a team that was in less of a rebuilding mode, since he almost certainly has no value after this season. I’m personally a big proponent of the “Cam Newton: Superbust” theory, but, more objectively, this is higher than he’s typically being drafted, and there was an outside chance he could have been available at the 13th pick. Denarius Moore was an overdraft, though not an egregious one; again, there was a real chance he could’ve been available in the 3rd. Shaun Hill was a wasted pick.
Overall. B-. Some valuable pieces, no doubt, but not the bonanza of high-upside talent it could have been; spending early 3rd & 4th rounders on non-rookies hurt this draft.
**RetroVertigo
- (2) A.J. Green (Cin - WR)
- (14) Lance Kendricks (StL - TE)
- (26) Alex Green (GB - RB)
- (38) Leonard Hankerson (Was - WR)**
The Good: I like every pick at least a little, especially the first two (TE was a gaping hole for this team). Green was basically the last decent option at RB.
The Bad: I’m pretty confident there were more interesting options at WR in the 4th, but with an old and/or unskilled receiving corps in Washington, it’s hard to quibble too much; Hankerson is not an unreasonable choice.
Overall: A-.
**Ides of Martz
- (3) Julio Jones (Atl - WR)
- (15) DeMarco Murray (Dal - RB)
- (27) Jake Locker (Ten - QB)
- (39) Anthony Armstrong (Was - WR)
- (51) Kyle Rudolph (Min - TE)
- (63) Donald Brown (Ind - RB)
- (75) Devery Henderson (NO - WR)
- (87) Donald Jones (Buf - WR)
- (99) David Buehler (Dal - K)**
The Good: Almost every pick is defensible or better. I was ready to yell at **Omni **for the Anthony Armstrong selection, but he did have 871 receiving yards last year as a rookie – how’d that happen? – and he also benefits from the generally crappy Washington WR corps. Good job not getting cute with the 3rd overall pick: anyone in the top 3 this year who failed to come away with Ingram, Green, or Jones failed the draft.
The Bad: I’m not sure I see the point of the Kyle Rudolph pick; and 2nd or 3rd TE on a team that already has a pass-catching starter? Why would you draft a second Kicker? Donald Jones plays for the Bills (and, unlike Armstrong, he did not have an impressive rookie campaign).
Overall: B+. Not wild about the end of his draft, but the pickings were pretty slim there, so doesn’t really matter. Otherwise, he did everything else right (or not wrong, at least).
**Varlos’ Zzzzzzz
- (4) Daniel Thomas (Mia - RB)
- (16) Shane Vereen (NE - RB)
- (28) Randall Cobb (GB - WR)
- (40) Emmanuel Sanders (Pit - WR)
- (52) Jonathan Baldwin (KC - WR)
- (64) Vincent Brown (SD - WR)**
The Good: No one was a reach. Jonathan Baldwin has had a less than inspiring rookie camp, but was nonetheless a major steal in the 5th: in the six 12-team dynasty league rookie drafts that I looked at while preparing for this one, his average draft position was 9th overall. I got him with the 52nd pick, and I’ve never seen him ranked or drafted lower than as a mid-2nd Rounder.
The Bad: I’m not wild about either of my first two picks; Thomas is far from a lock to become a team’s primary RB at some point, and Vereen is likely never to break out of NE’s RB committee.
Overall: B+. I like all four WRs, but the RBs I merely don’t hate.
**CuteWiddleBunny(Hmlt
- (17) Mikel LeShoure (Det - RB)
- (29) Matt Flynn (GB - QB)
- (41) Jerome Simpson (Cin - WR)
- (53) Houston (Hou - DEF)
- (65) Dezmon Briscoe (TB - WR)**
The Good: Got Beanie Wells for his 1st Rounder (5th overall), which I think was a good trade. LeShoure can take advantage of the IR slots, and his injury caused him to fall way further than he otherwise would have, making the pick possibly a good long-term investment.
The Bad: I’m only “meh” on LeShoure – the injury really does hurt his chances for a good career, and he was a high-floor/low-upside type back to begin with – and I hate every other pick. The only conceivable reason to own Matt Flynn is as a handcuff for Aaron Rodgers (whom Hamlet doesn’t own), and even that’s not a good enough reason, and the 3rd Round is way too soon to take him even if you’re determined to do so. Jerome Simpson has been in the league three years and accomplished precisely nothing (279 career receiving yards); he’s probably the 4th or 5th receiving option on a bad offense. Houston was the worst Defense in the NFL last year; granted, Hamlet needed a 2nd team at the position, but why take the one that would need to make huge strides to be below average? Briscoe was a 2010 6th Round pick who basically couldn’t crack the roster last year, on a less than explosive offense. He’s not a good candidate to break out.
Overall: C-. Would have been an F+, but the Beanie Wells trade really was quite nifty, so we’ll count it here.
**9 Inch Neils (RNATB)
- (6) Delone Carter (Ind - RB)
- (18) Jason Campbell (Oak - QB)
- (42) Cecil Shorts (Jac - WR)
- (54) John Beck (Was - QB)**
The Good: Cecil Shorts has a really cool name. Jason Campbell fills a need for a backup QB (since Garrard is a good candidate to be benched before the end of the season). Delone Carter has good upside, what with the generally crappy colts backfield.
The Bad: Carter was nonetheless a bit of an overdraft (even if he was also an underdog to still be on the board in the 2nd). Campbell fills a need, as said, but also is the very definition of a low-upside pick (if he breaks out, he can be a bad QB1 or a good QB2); probably one should be a little more ambitious in the 2nd Round. Cecil Shorts represents some kind of idiosyncratic fetish; he’s simply not being drafted in any dynasty leagues, as far as I can tell (and I admit I’d never heard of him before tonight). There were way better options. John Beck is a 31 year old who might not even be the starter on the crappy offense he plays for.
Overall: D+. Carter is on ok pick, and Campbell is unlikely to be totally worthless. The other two picks were wasted, IMO.
**Fightin’ Quakers
- (7) Roy Helu (Was - RB)
- (19) Isaac Redman (Pit - RB)
- (31) Andy Dalton (Cin - QB)
- (43) Deji Karim (Jac - RB)
- (55) Titus Young (Det - WR)
- (67) Billy Cundiff (Bal - K)**
The Good: Helu was a medium-sized reach according to his ADP and rankings, but I actually really like him (or, rather, I like his situation), so I’m not going to ding the pick. Redman, despite being a rather bigger reach, at least serves a roll as handcuff for Mendenhall. Ditto Karim (but only kinda). Dalton and Young were both unspectacular but solid choices. And **furt **didn’t keep a Kicker, so he get bonus points for showing up for the draft and not having one auto-drafted in the 1st.
The Bad: As said, Redman and Karim are specifically useful to **furt ** as handcuffs, but to use up 2 of your first 4 picks on them seems like way too much of an investment, and both are bad in their own way: Redman because the 2nd Round was way too soon, and Karim because he’s not even the primary backup (right?), so I’m not sure what that pick accomplished.
Overall: B-. Some good young talent added, but there’s too much hedging and not enough expected value for my tastes.
**The Gusterrhoids
- (8) Jared Cook (Ten - TE)
- (20) Ryan Williams (Ari - RB)
- (32) Alex Henery (Phi - K)
- (44) Blaine Gabbert (Jac - QB)
- (56) Christian Ponder (Min - QB)**
The Good: Gabbert and Ponder represent good value, especially for a team that badly needed some upside at the QB position.
The Bad: Drafted a Kicker in the 3rd, but that seems to have been the auto-drafter’s fault. I’m not sure Ryan Williams’ situation is good enough to warrant taking a guy on IR in the 2nd. I am totally baffled by the Jared Cook pick. Yeah, he’ll probably be the starter in Tennessee FWIW, but he’s in two years he’s accomplished almost nothing, and on Justin’s team he’ll just be a backup for Jason Witten.
Overall: C-: The QBs are good picks, Williams is risky but ok, and we’re not grading on the Kicker, but the mega-reach in the 1st Round is hard to swallow.
**Isotopes
- (9) Greg Little (Cle - WR)
- (21) Jacquizz Rodgers (Atl - RB)
- (33) Stevan Ridley (NE - RB)
- (45) Colin Kaepernick (SF - QB)**
The Good: Greg Little was a straight-up steal – he could have gone 4th and no one would have batted an eye. Ridley represents a good gamble in the late 3rd (probably he’s not much less likely to break out than teammate Shane Vereen, whom I selected 17 picks earlier). Kaepernick will get his shot, and is also a worthwhile gamble.
The Bad: Rodgers seems to have limited upside as more of a scat-back type, but that’s really just nitpicking: he was drafted later than he usually is, and the other argument is that he can be the player Jerious Norwood should have been.
Overall: A. Nothing here to dislike, and Greg Little makes this excellent.
**Exploding Pancakes
- (10) Jordy Nelson (GB - WR)
- (22) Jamie Harper (Ten - RB)
- (34) Robbie Gould (Chi - K)**
The Good: I generally frown on taking non-rookies so high in these, but Jordy Nelson never should have been in the draft pool.
The Bad: More auto-draft shenanigans. Jamie Harper is not a bad pick, but he’s also barely distinguishable from a dozen other mid-late round RBs who may or not ever get playing time.
Overall: Incomplete. There’s just not enough here to work with. I think **Beef **could have found one or two more cuts, but YMMV.
**New York Fanboys
- (11) Plaxico Burress (NYJ - WR)
- (23) Victor Cruz (NYG - WR)
- (35) Zach Miller (Jac - TE)**
The Good: Victor Cruz has looked good in preseason, and will have a role on the Giants’ offense this year.
The Bad: Plaxico may (or may not) have a good season in 2011, but he’s 34 years old, and you’ve got to spend your 1st Rounders on guys who might help you in the long term. Zach Miller is the backup TE (behind an entrenched starter) for the Jaguars. I’m guessing Ellis may have gotten him mixed up with the TE Zach Miller who was on the Raiders until recently (a mistake I almost made myself while pre-ranking).
Overall: D. Kind of a missed opportunity. I really feel that **Ellis **should have (and could have) found a few more players to cut, and the 1st Round pick shouldn’t have been used on someone who’s older than I am.
**We Do HGH
- (12) Kendall Hunter (SF - RB)
- (24) San Francisco (SF - DEF)
- (30) Antonio Brown (Pit - WR)**
The Good: I’m not the only one who perpetually has the feeling that Frank Gore’s big, career-ending injury is just around the corner, right? Hunter was a good pick. San Fran’s DEF is a good one, and it fills one of the only holes on Stringer’s team. Brown was a bit of a steal at the 30th overall pick.
The Bad: Kind of a shame to use a 2nd Rounder on a DEF, but, again, it filled a need, and it wouldn’t have been on the board much longer.
Overall: A-. Only a few chances, but it’s a team on which it’s legitimately hard to find cuts, and nothing was wasted.