2016 Draft Analysis and Predictions

Hello and welcome to another year of fantasy football!  Nice work to all in the draft this year (it went fairly quickly) and everyone seemed to fair pretty well.  I put together a quick little writeup on each team's draft, including a love, hate, and next year's keeper.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Also if you have a new team name please put the meaning of the name in the comments, I'm honestly really curious to hear the jokes/meaning behind it.  Best of luck to everyone this year....I don't really mean that b/c I'm going to win again like 3 of the past 4 years.....

Accounting Championships: Defending Champion Evan Schurman

Love:  First four picks include two top-five WRs and possibly the second best TE in the NFL.

Hate:  Like many teams, a little weak at RB and QB may be a bit of a risk.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Jerick Mckinnon: could AD be out in Minny after 16/17 season?  If so, Mckinnon could be a top 7 RB next season.

Grade: A:  Of course I’m giving myself an A

Von Top: Jordan Westerberg

Love:  Mike Evans and Golden Tate are both #1 WRs on teams that won’t be afraid to throw it around a lot this year.  Evans is among the best in the NFL in percent of total teams targets.

Hate:  Emmanuel Sanders could be in for a down year without a solid QB in Denver, which makes him a reach in the 3rd.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Jimmy Graham returns to his NOLA form and becomes a top 3 TE again making him a steal this late next year.

Grade:  B: solid squad with some reaches here and there.

Make Fantasy Great Again: Jacob Nolton

Love:  Drew Brees is due for a bounce back year with a revamped receiving corp.  I’m also a big fan of the Chris Hogan pick as a sleeper to be the 2nd leading WR in NE behind Julian Edelman.

Hate:  Similar to E. Sanders, I’m down on Demaryious Thomas this year for the same reason.  I’m also not a fan of Chiefs skill position players so Maclin may not be worth the 3rd round pick here.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Kirk Cousins has a Pro Bowl year and leads the Redskins to another NFC East title making him a top 10 QB and a steal in round 12.

Grade:  B-:   because I like the late picks more than the early picks

ViKingslaye: Andrew Rosacker

Love:  Antonio Brown would be the #1 overall pick if available so he’s a big bonus to have in round 2 and paired with Edelman this should be a nice 1-2 punch at WR.

Hate: I’m in the “Never Draft Jamaal Charles” camp so I don’t like drafting him in the 1st round.

Next Year’s Keeper: DeVante Parker turns into the number one WR in Miami and becomes a better value late than Antonio Brown (not likely).

Grade:  B: I either love or hate every pick on this team, no in between players.

Rocket Into First: Alex Christensen

Love:  Coby Fleener is my favorite pick on the team.  As soon as I saw the news of him going to NOLA, I added it to my offseason FF notes sheet as a player to watch.  He could be in for 75% of Jimmy Graham’s former production, which would be awesome for a pick this late.

Hate:  WRs are king in a PPR league and I don’t really see a great WR2 on this team unless Jordan Matthews becomes more consistent.

Next Year’s Keeper:  I already mentioned Coby Fleener so I’ll go with Laquon Treadwell.  He shows some flashes this year and makes for a great late round keeper next year.

Grade: B: I was indifferent about most of the picks on this team, not a lot of love or hate.

Blair Walsh’s Shankersore: Zach Frederick

Love:  Jarvis Landry is a valuable PPR WR and getting him in the 3rd is a nice pickup.  I also think Khalil Mack is interesting from an IDP perspective.

Hate:  First two picks are both two talented yet somewhat unproven RBs.

Next Year’s Keeper:  David Johnson becomes nearly elite and surefire top 5 RB making him impossible not to keep.

Grade: B-: a lot to like on this squad but a few question marks at WR in my opinion.

Bourbons and Sacks: Zeke Kasper

Love:  Adrian Peterson and Odell Beckham Jr. are two really good options to lead your team with.

Hate:  TJ Yeldon in the 6th seems a bit high for an RB who doesn’t score many TDs and will lose carries to new Jags RBs this year.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Matt Ryan finally takes the next step and the Falcons return to the playoffs behind Ryan’s top 5 year.  He’s a complete steal in the 16th next year.

Grade:  B+: Top five picks are pretty good on this squad.

Bad Dream Team: Tony

Love:  Somehow Gronk made it to the second round where he is a complete steal!

Hate:  Dez is a bit of a question mark with an unproven QB to start the year.  Three QBs on the roster isn’t helping this team out, a potential breakout WR would have added more upside.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Jeremy Langford claims the full-time job in Chicago and runs for 1200 yards to go with 40 catches making him a great keeper in the 5th.

Grade:  B-: a lot of talented players but some may be dependent on questionable teammates.

Caucasian Invasion: Chelsea Frederick

Love: Good draft strategy to gather RBs early with Hopkins being kept later in the draft.  Theo Riddick is a nice PPR RB and a good get in the 9th round.

Hate:  While I like the strategy to get RBs to compliment Hopkins, I’m not sure I love the RBs here.  Elliott could be the leading fantasy scorer this year or he could be in for a long year as the only option in Dallas.  I’m also not sold on Hyde in San Fran and Chip Kelly offenses can make or break a player.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Carlos Hyde blossoms in Chip Kelly’s offense and becomes a steal in the 2nd next year.

Grade:  B+: Getting Hopkins in the 7th allows for some great options early in the draft.

Final Dez-tination: Alex Johnson

Love:  This squad has three Pro Bowl WRs in AJ Green, Randall Cobb, and Allen Robinson.....and WRs rule this league.

Hate:  Some questions at RB2 and TE as I don’t like any of these RBs after McCoy and I’m no longer a Gates believer.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Alex is keeping Allen Robinson as long as he produces like he did in 2015.

Grade: B+

Aaron It Out: Travis Bryant

Love:  Getting Alshon Jeffrey in the 3rd is sweet and I love the Jared Cook pick here, this was another player I added to my offseason notes over the summer.  Cook could become the TE Aaron Rodgers has been looking for…..

Hate:  Who in the hell is Tajae Sharpe in the 7th round?  I’ve heard of him but no where near this early.

Next Year’s Keeper:  I mentioned Jared Cook in the love section so I’ll go with Travis Benjamin here.  Benjamin develops into a deep threat in an improved Chargers offense where he’s a nice player to bring to the team next year.

Grade: B: Some nice sleeper picks here to go with solid guys drafted early on.

Cops and Rodgers: Andrew Montgomery

Love: Tyler Lockett could be a breakout player in Seattle’s offense and I also like the potential of Mohammed Sanu in Atlanta as the #2 WR behind Julio Jones.

Hate:  Keeping Aaron Rodgers in the first round is not a move I’m a fan of at all….He’s probably the best QB in the league but not so much better that a similar player couldn’t be found much later.  Also, I think Matt Forte is really old and will start to show his age in NYJ.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Teddy Bridgewater shines in the Vikings new indoor stadium and puts up top 10 numbers making him the keeper here in the 16th round.

Grade:  C+: Sorry Andrew, but this draft is a bit rough in my opinion as I don’t really like the top 5 picks….

Harambe Baby: Colton Westerberg

Love: Lamar Miller is a smart pick here as I think he could break out this year in a Texans scheme, which will give him plenty of touches.

Hate:  I’m not sure CJ Anderson is a consistent enough performer to warrant a 2nd round pick here and it might have been better to address WR in the 2nd round.

Next Year’s Keeper:  Matt Jones becomes a top flight RB and becomes a nice keeper in the 4th round in 2017.

Grade: B-: solid squad but might be lacking in terms of WRs production, as most of the WR on this team are lead by average at best QBs.

Keenan and Kel: Angelo Zaldarriaga

Love:  I ripped Angelo last year for keeping Peyton Manning in the 1st round and was correct in doing so.  However, this year I really like keeping Rivers, who’s statistically a stud, with the 7th rounder this year. 

Hate:  I mentioned earlier that I don’t like Chiefs skill players, the same applies for Travis Kelce here. 

Next Year’s Keeper: Ameer Abdullah becomes more than a change of pace/gadget RB and becomes an every down back in DET. 

Grade: B:  really solid draft all around, although WR2 is a bit of a question.