Draft / Off-Season Analysis
My thoughts on the winners and losers of the draft and offseason in general. Presented in the order in which I liked their drafts.
BIG WINNERS
Rednecks
Traded J.J. Watt and Victor Cruz for Trent Richardson.
Drafted 1.01 Dez Bryant; 2.01 Ryan Tannehill; 3.01 Le'veon Bell; 3.09 Marcus Lattimore; 4.09 Jay Cutler; 9.04 Mike Glennon; Plus a K, 3 DFs and a DB.
I like these moves. John needed help at QB and RB this offseason and he addressed it.
Trent Richardson is the most highly regarded RB prospect both last year and this. Marcus Lattimore would have been had he not blown out the knee. Bell also looks like a good stash with potential.
Cutler can help keep the QB position above water this year and maybe next. Tannehill was my favorite QB prospect available and Glennon is a hail-mary in the 9th round.
Dez Bryant was the best player available in the draft and is an upgrade over Victor Cruz who left in the trade for Richardson. I think this is a much better roster than it was 2 weeks ago. And will have players to keep an eye on 2-3 years from now.
Bronies
Drafted Giovani Bernard; DeAndre Hopkins; Vincent Jackson; Jordy Nelson; Alex Smith; Plus 3 DBs, 3 DFs, and a K.
WR might have been Mike's biggest weakness heading into the draft and I liked every WR he drafted. Hopkins is young with upside. Jackson and Nelson are veteran talents but could have several more years left in the league. This is now a position of strength for Mike. Bernard was one of my favorite RBs in the class and will be a nice youth to stash behind Spiller and Gore. Alex Smith is essentially a body. But its not like he was going to find an upgrade to RG3. He just has to hope, like we all do, that our stud doesn't get hurt.
Malleus
Traded a 2014 2nd round pick for Ronnie Hillman; and a 2013 2nd round pick for Stevan Ridley.
Drafted 8.10 Christine Michael; 9.09 Kembrell Thompkins; plus 2 DFs, 3 DBs, and a K.
Malleus really bulked up on RBs this offseason, acquiring 3 youths through trade and selections. Michael gets stashed for his potential; Hillman is in a make or break year; Ridley will be a nice back up for Ray Rice. Otherwise, Haydn felt comfortable with his roster and drafted the defense and kicker he'll need to play games. Plus a WR to stash for later as well. Hard to argue with that.
Capo
Drafted 1.05 Reggie Wayne; 2.05 Lamar Miller; 5.05 Philip Rivers; 7.05 Emmanual Sanders; Plus 2 DBs, a DF, and a K.
Capo did decent work here. He needed WRs and Wayne was one of the best short-term answers to that problem available. He picked up one of the better RB prospects out there in Lamar Miller. He just needs a warm body behind Brees and picking up Rivers to be that in round 5 is perfect. I don't love Emmanual Sanders... but to be fair to Chris, that was a pick in the 7th round based on "pick me a WR." So, yeoman's work here.
MARGINAL WINNERS
Mimes
Failed to franchise Dez Bryant.
Drafted 1.03 Eddie Lacy; 1.12 Tavon Austin; 5.03 Cecil Shorts; 6.03 Stevie Johnson; 7.03 Geno Smith; 8.12 Denard Robinson; Plus 2 DFs, a DB, and 2 Ks.
I'm already on record liking Lacy and Austin as youth with upside. Lacy especially could be very good for Darin and may immediately become his starting RB. Stevie Johnson and Cecil Shorts will compete to be Dwayne Bowe's #2 until Tavon Austin is ready to assume that role. Geno Smith and Denard Robinson may be huge long-shots, but both were picked after the 6th round when these kind of picks make a lot of sense. Darin did what he could to retool and this team may be even better next year. With a starting roster of Kaepernick, Lacy, Bowe, and Austin. But... wouldn't that have looked even better with Dez Bryant in that line-up?
Old No. 7
Drafted 1.07 Cordarrelle Patterson; 2.07 Steven Jackson; plus 3 DFs, and 2 DBs.
Jackson might plug Jason's RB hole this year. I would like to have seen Jason pick up a young RB as well, but I can't argue with Cordarrelle as better prospect at another position of need and by the time 3.07 comes around, I don't know if there is anything worth taking by way of prospect RBs.
Hamburglers
Drafted 1.06 Steve Smith; 2.06 T.Y. Hilton; 3.06 Ryan Matthews; plus a K, 2 DFs, and 2 DBs.
Not much by way of instructions from Hamburglers. But Jamie knew he needed WRs and picked up a veteran and 2nd year player that I think are decent picks when drafted. This team is really hoping either MJD or Jamaal Charles have a bounce back year. But there wasn't much better than those choices in round 3. So loading up on guys who've had better pasts then prospects seems appropriate even if it was unintentional.
TREADED WATER
Lagers
Drafted 1.11 Montee Ball; 8.09 Bryce Brown; 8.11 Ryan Broyles; plus 2 DBs, 3 DFs, and 2 Ks.
Lagers are another team that was not going to improve their skill position starters in the draft so focused on D and K, tried to provide some back-up in case Foster falls apart and then picked up a flyer on a WR. I just didn't like the choice of Ball there. I'm not a believer. I'm actually more intrigued by Bryce Brown for the future. Broyles does not excite me but was also one of the last players drafted.
Bill
Bill's picks got auctioned for a good bit of cash. Bill now has $42.8 million in slush money. You'd think selling off your whole draft was a loss. But its been done before and teams have made the playoffs the same seasons. So we'll give Bill a push.
Maniacs
Traded Trent Richardson for J.J. Watt and Victor Cruz.
Drafted 1.04 Carson Palmer; 2.04 DeSean Jackson; 6.04 Roy Helu; Plus 1 DB, 1 DF, and 2 Ks.
Mike did not have a lot of picks to work with after we auctioned off the back-end of his draft but he got enough to play a game. Palmer is fine as a back-up for Romo. I'm not sure DeSean Jackson is an upgrade at WR. I would have liked to see more upside with the 1.04 pick. But I understand that this was a poor draft for upside, so I'm going to have to get over that as a criticism. The Richardson trade was interesting. In a vacuum I like Richardson better than Cruz and Watt. But Richardson was likely Mike's backup RB and Cruz should be an upgrade at starting WR. So sacrificing Richardson's long term potential was a win now move. I guess the question is whether Maniacs were a WR away from contention. If not, they may hate that move next year when Lynch breaks down.
LOSERS
Drow
Traded Ronnie Hillman for a 2014 2nd round pick; and Stevan Ridley for a 2013 2nd round pick.
Drafted 2.10 Markus Wheaton; plus 2 DBs, 2 DFs, and a K.
Stevan Ridley for Markus Wheaton is hard to judge. If Ridley remains a low RB1 or high RB2 and Wheaton develops into a starting fantasy WR maybe its a push. But extra RBs are not what I needed and so I tried to turn them into things I did. But in the end I still may not have a backup WR if Wheaton goes to the practice squad. And my bye-week RB is now Mark Ingram or Ben Tate with AP and Doug Martin on the same bye week. I clearly decided there was nothing better available at 2.10 and drafting D and K hopefully keeps me from having to buy one with my limited cash later. That said, the roster does not look better after this offseason then it did when my season ended because there were bills to pay.
Dynasty
Drafted 1.02 Vernon Davis; 2.12 Ahmad Bradshaw; 3.02 E.J. Manuel; 4.10 Jason Witten; 5.02 Darren McFadden; 6.02 Jacoby Jones; 7.09 Darrius Heyward-Bey; Plus a K and 3 DFs.
Jamien had a lot of picks and added a lot of veterans. I only see one player he drafted that was a made with a look to the future: E.J. Manuel was a good pick at 3.02 I think. He was the only other QB I thought had a future. Considering his WR talent I don't think he needed that many back-ups, especially since they are mostly known quantities and not youth with high upside.
BIG WINNERS
Rednecks
Traded J.J. Watt and Victor Cruz for Trent Richardson.
Drafted 1.01 Dez Bryant; 2.01 Ryan Tannehill; 3.01 Le'veon Bell; 3.09 Marcus Lattimore; 4.09 Jay Cutler; 9.04 Mike Glennon; Plus a K, 3 DFs and a DB.
I like these moves. John needed help at QB and RB this offseason and he addressed it.
Trent Richardson is the most highly regarded RB prospect both last year and this. Marcus Lattimore would have been had he not blown out the knee. Bell also looks like a good stash with potential.
Cutler can help keep the QB position above water this year and maybe next. Tannehill was my favorite QB prospect available and Glennon is a hail-mary in the 9th round.
Dez Bryant was the best player available in the draft and is an upgrade over Victor Cruz who left in the trade for Richardson. I think this is a much better roster than it was 2 weeks ago. And will have players to keep an eye on 2-3 years from now.
Bronies
Drafted Giovani Bernard; DeAndre Hopkins; Vincent Jackson; Jordy Nelson; Alex Smith; Plus 3 DBs, 3 DFs, and a K.
WR might have been Mike's biggest weakness heading into the draft and I liked every WR he drafted. Hopkins is young with upside. Jackson and Nelson are veteran talents but could have several more years left in the league. This is now a position of strength for Mike. Bernard was one of my favorite RBs in the class and will be a nice youth to stash behind Spiller and Gore. Alex Smith is essentially a body. But its not like he was going to find an upgrade to RG3. He just has to hope, like we all do, that our stud doesn't get hurt.
Malleus
Traded a 2014 2nd round pick for Ronnie Hillman; and a 2013 2nd round pick for Stevan Ridley.
Drafted 8.10 Christine Michael; 9.09 Kembrell Thompkins; plus 2 DFs, 3 DBs, and a K.
Malleus really bulked up on RBs this offseason, acquiring 3 youths through trade and selections. Michael gets stashed for his potential; Hillman is in a make or break year; Ridley will be a nice back up for Ray Rice. Otherwise, Haydn felt comfortable with his roster and drafted the defense and kicker he'll need to play games. Plus a WR to stash for later as well. Hard to argue with that.
Capo
Drafted 1.05 Reggie Wayne; 2.05 Lamar Miller; 5.05 Philip Rivers; 7.05 Emmanual Sanders; Plus 2 DBs, a DF, and a K.
Capo did decent work here. He needed WRs and Wayne was one of the best short-term answers to that problem available. He picked up one of the better RB prospects out there in Lamar Miller. He just needs a warm body behind Brees and picking up Rivers to be that in round 5 is perfect. I don't love Emmanual Sanders... but to be fair to Chris, that was a pick in the 7th round based on "pick me a WR." So, yeoman's work here.
MARGINAL WINNERS
Mimes
Failed to franchise Dez Bryant.
Drafted 1.03 Eddie Lacy; 1.12 Tavon Austin; 5.03 Cecil Shorts; 6.03 Stevie Johnson; 7.03 Geno Smith; 8.12 Denard Robinson; Plus 2 DFs, a DB, and 2 Ks.
I'm already on record liking Lacy and Austin as youth with upside. Lacy especially could be very good for Darin and may immediately become his starting RB. Stevie Johnson and Cecil Shorts will compete to be Dwayne Bowe's #2 until Tavon Austin is ready to assume that role. Geno Smith and Denard Robinson may be huge long-shots, but both were picked after the 6th round when these kind of picks make a lot of sense. Darin did what he could to retool and this team may be even better next year. With a starting roster of Kaepernick, Lacy, Bowe, and Austin. But... wouldn't that have looked even better with Dez Bryant in that line-up?
Old No. 7
Drafted 1.07 Cordarrelle Patterson; 2.07 Steven Jackson; plus 3 DFs, and 2 DBs.
Jackson might plug Jason's RB hole this year. I would like to have seen Jason pick up a young RB as well, but I can't argue with Cordarrelle as better prospect at another position of need and by the time 3.07 comes around, I don't know if there is anything worth taking by way of prospect RBs.
Hamburglers
Drafted 1.06 Steve Smith; 2.06 T.Y. Hilton; 3.06 Ryan Matthews; plus a K, 2 DFs, and 2 DBs.
Not much by way of instructions from Hamburglers. But Jamie knew he needed WRs and picked up a veteran and 2nd year player that I think are decent picks when drafted. This team is really hoping either MJD or Jamaal Charles have a bounce back year. But there wasn't much better than those choices in round 3. So loading up on guys who've had better pasts then prospects seems appropriate even if it was unintentional.
TREADED WATER
Lagers
Drafted 1.11 Montee Ball; 8.09 Bryce Brown; 8.11 Ryan Broyles; plus 2 DBs, 3 DFs, and 2 Ks.
Lagers are another team that was not going to improve their skill position starters in the draft so focused on D and K, tried to provide some back-up in case Foster falls apart and then picked up a flyer on a WR. I just didn't like the choice of Ball there. I'm not a believer. I'm actually more intrigued by Bryce Brown for the future. Broyles does not excite me but was also one of the last players drafted.
Bill
Bill's picks got auctioned for a good bit of cash. Bill now has $42.8 million in slush money. You'd think selling off your whole draft was a loss. But its been done before and teams have made the playoffs the same seasons. So we'll give Bill a push.
Maniacs
Traded Trent Richardson for J.J. Watt and Victor Cruz.
Drafted 1.04 Carson Palmer; 2.04 DeSean Jackson; 6.04 Roy Helu; Plus 1 DB, 1 DF, and 2 Ks.
Mike did not have a lot of picks to work with after we auctioned off the back-end of his draft but he got enough to play a game. Palmer is fine as a back-up for Romo. I'm not sure DeSean Jackson is an upgrade at WR. I would have liked to see more upside with the 1.04 pick. But I understand that this was a poor draft for upside, so I'm going to have to get over that as a criticism. The Richardson trade was interesting. In a vacuum I like Richardson better than Cruz and Watt. But Richardson was likely Mike's backup RB and Cruz should be an upgrade at starting WR. So sacrificing Richardson's long term potential was a win now move. I guess the question is whether Maniacs were a WR away from contention. If not, they may hate that move next year when Lynch breaks down.
LOSERS
Drow
Traded Ronnie Hillman for a 2014 2nd round pick; and Stevan Ridley for a 2013 2nd round pick.
Drafted 2.10 Markus Wheaton; plus 2 DBs, 2 DFs, and a K.
Stevan Ridley for Markus Wheaton is hard to judge. If Ridley remains a low RB1 or high RB2 and Wheaton develops into a starting fantasy WR maybe its a push. But extra RBs are not what I needed and so I tried to turn them into things I did. But in the end I still may not have a backup WR if Wheaton goes to the practice squad. And my bye-week RB is now Mark Ingram or Ben Tate with AP and Doug Martin on the same bye week. I clearly decided there was nothing better available at 2.10 and drafting D and K hopefully keeps me from having to buy one with my limited cash later. That said, the roster does not look better after this offseason then it did when my season ended because there were bills to pay.
Dynasty
Drafted 1.02 Vernon Davis; 2.12 Ahmad Bradshaw; 3.02 E.J. Manuel; 4.10 Jason Witten; 5.02 Darren McFadden; 6.02 Jacoby Jones; 7.09 Darrius Heyward-Bey; Plus a K and 3 DFs.
Jamien had a lot of picks and added a lot of veterans. I only see one player he drafted that was a made with a look to the future: E.J. Manuel was a good pick at 3.02 I think. He was the only other QB I thought had a future. Considering his WR talent I don't think he needed that many back-ups, especially since they are mostly known quantities and not youth with high upside.
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