2018 Draft Analysis and Predictions

Fellow General Managers,

Here is your 2018 draft recap and review.   Overall, I thought this was a fairly even draft, with most teams having some question marks or unproven players at a few positions.  My initial reaction is that Jacob has the best team on paper as we start week 1 but things can change really quickly.   I wrote a bit more about some teams (mostly due to dumb comments), but I am curious to hear what everyone thinks.  Good luck to everyone this year, I hope you all enjoy the race for 2nd place. 

One final thing to remember, 50% of the time you have paid to be in this league your money has found its way to my bank account at the end of the year.

Steez Team (Jordan Westerberg): No legitimate QB, solid at RB although who knows what will happen with Green Bay’s RB situation with Rodgers back.  WR is pretty good, but have to hope Landry can match his prior production levels with Tyrod Taylor or Baker Mayfield throwing him the ball.  I am really high on Davante Adams (feels sick saying that about a Packer) as he’s now Aaron Rodgers’ #1 target.  Has Trey Burton ever started a game?  B

Autobots Assemble (Andrew Rosacker): Some wild cards at QB and RB.  Cam Newton can be up and down, while David Johnson is coming off an injury and has new QBs to play with now.  Obviously Antonio Brown is really good, but after that WR is a bit of a question mark.  Can Zach Ertz put up similar numbers to last year? Could his team have been better without the auto-draft?  We’ll never know….  B

Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams (Jacob Nolton): This team looks really solid, but a lot will depend on how Kirk Cousins plays in Minnesota (I hope it goes well, but it is the Vikings after all).  RB is loaded here as long as both stay healthy; note that Barkley has already had some injury issues this year.  Doug Baldwin is a sneaky good fantasy WR that isn’t talked about.  Mike Williams and Cordarrelle Patterson are interesting high upside guys on the bench.  A-

Accounting Championships (Evan):  I hate that I have to cheer for Drew Brees, b/c I don’t like the Saints.  Team seems pretty good at RB but WR is a big question mark, although there are a few lottery tickets on the bench.  I’m really high on my picks for DEF/ST, K, and IDP, even though they may not make much of a difference. Probably the best keeper of any team this year.  B

Cookin’ Up That Steez (Zach Frederick):  Tough analysis here because I’m typically anti everything related to the Kansas Chiefs passing game, but Tyreek Hill was good last year and Patrick Mahomes (lost 66-10 to Iowa State) could make him more dangerous.  RB is a question mark position here with Dalvin Cook, but I think he is in for a big year.  Bench has some high upside guys with Andrew Luck and Ty Montgomery.  B+

Bumble B Tuna (Zeke Kasper): My stance: I think Jimmy Garropolo is WAY OVERRATED.  Both RB options should see solid touches, especially Carlos Hyde due to the QB situation in Cleveland.  Might be the best WR tandem in the league, although NOLA might spread it out too much to capture Michael Thomas’ true potential.  Not sure where Zeke will go with the flex position. B+

I Gotta Thielen (Chelsea Frederick): Big Ben has become a bit of a boom or bust QB the past few years but with his WR core, he will continue to be solid.  RBs look like great candidates for a lot of touches, but Zeke has had injury and suspension issues in the past.  I’m kind of down on the WRs for this squad.  Personally, I hope Thielen can match last year’s production but we have yet to see his connection with Cousins.  I went through the Amari Cooper experience last season….it wasn’t pleasant and with John Gruden showing film from the 1970s to his team, I don’t think Cooper is producing more.  B+ (the plus is for drafting a guy named Evan).

Aaron It Out (Travis Bryant): Stafford will most likely continue to be solid, but I wonder what will happen with his production since he has a new coaching staff.  RB position is good here, but maybe some slight concern with the Eagles using multiple backs often.  Wild cards everywhere at the WR position; will Case Keenum play well enough to give Demaryious Thomas solid production?  Will Andrew Luck return and boost TY Hilton’s stats?  Is Pierre Garcon going to be Jimmy Garropolo’s top target?  If all three of those questions are a “yes,” this team might be good.  Packer’s TEs are good in theory but have never really worked out, will this be the year?  What happens when Aaron Rodgers walks into A. Barr?  B

Bad Dream Team (Tony):  Hate to say it…but until Tom Brady is bad, we have to assume that he will put up really good numbers.  Love this RB tandem as both play in an offense that allows them to get a lot of touches and as we know receptions are the name of the game.  Not too crazy about the WRs here, has Sammy Watkins ever consistently produced?  Will Corey Davis do anything this year (didn’t do much last year)?  Might have a few too many Chiefs on this squad.  Does the Bears’ defense jump up this year with Mack?  B

Cam You Dig It Sucka? (Alex Johnson): Interesting QB situation here, does Jared Goff continue to progress or was last year the result of an easy schedule?  Also, I think Carson Wentz is vastly overrated (you can tell me I’m wrong in 3 months).  RBs are lesser-known guys but were solid last year.  Chris Thompson caught a lot of passes last year and will probably do so again with Alex Smith dumping the ball down.  I like the WR combo, but I’m just worried about who will be throwing them the ball.  If Watson is healthy in Houston, Hopkins is a top 3 WR, but if Watson is hurt (I think he’s torn his ACL twice?) then Hopkins’ value is way down.   This bench is fairly underwhelming.  B

Sippy Kupp (Angelo Zaldarriaga): I had plans of drafting Philip Rivers this year b/c I think the Chargers the team to beat in the AFC West this year (this is why I picked there DEF) so I’m on board with this pick.  Devonta Freeman continued to produce last year and has now had consecutive years of good stats, plus the Falcons always run the ball in the red zone (I experienced this first-hand when they refused to throw touchdowns to Julio Jones last year).  This team only has one good WR until Julian Edelman returns from is suspension.  Could Marshawn Lynch be a good pick if Gruden feeds him the ball constantly? B

Pickle Rick (Alex Spooner):  Welcome to your first draft review.  Major boom or bust candidate at QB with Deshaun Watson, I tend to lean more towards bust due to the injury history but we’ll see what happens.  We can assume Shady McCoy will run for 1000 yards and catch quite a few passes, which makes him solid (his best days are behind him though).  I have no idea how many touches Dion Lewis will see in Tennessee w/ Derrick Henry being the workhorse, so you need to hope for a lot of third-down duties.  Can Larry Fitzgerald keep producing?  I like Devin Funchess and I think Eric Ebron is a high-upside play IF Luck is healthy for the Colts. B

Lights, Kamara, Action (Andrew Montgomery):  Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the league until he gets hurt (if he’s healthy you can expect multiple 4 TD games).  I am curious to see if Alvin Kamara can match his production from last year, especially with being the lead RB for the first few weeks of the season.  WR is interesting with the Josh Gordon pick here, if he can be the same guy he was four(?) years ago, then this team could be really good.  Juju Smith-Schuster is now the Steelers second option in the passing game so I’ll expect an increase in target when Antonio Brown is doubled.  Broncos DEF could be the beneficiary of an easier schedule this year.  B (A- if Josh Gordon actually plays this year)

BartsBottomFeeders24 (Stephen Bartleson):  Welcome to your first draft review.  Russell Wilson is a really good fantasy QB so I like him here, although he might have been picked a bit early.  RB is a BIG question mark here as we see two rookies, a suspended guy, and a Lions’ RB (never play Lions’ RBs, b/c each RB will somehow score 6 points).   In 2015, this WR lineup would be the best in the league, but AJ Green was down last year and Julio Jones refuses to catch TDs.  In the real world, these two guys are great but from a fantasy perspective, I’m not sure if they’re huge producers anymore.  I personally hope the Vikings DEF is worthy of where they were picked but I have my doubts since they’ll be playing a first place schedule this year and may have to face Aaron Rodgers twice (this DEF would be #1 overall pick if they played Brett Hundley every week).  B (A- if the rookie RBs become 10-12 ppg guys)