Some observations about the draft the other night, and the field generals that will be leading our teams into the season. Let’s start by first looking at the signal callers taken…
- P. Mahomes – Second Deck (5)
- L. Jackson – Be A Man Hogan (16)
- D. Prescott – QAnon (58)
- D. Watson – The Quasars (60)
- R. Wilson – C Tan vs. The World (65)
- K. Murray – Red Bank Mallrats (70)
- M. Ryan – TIM! (74)
- D. Brees – Nacho Team (83)
- T. Brady – The Tim Bradys (103)
- C. Newton – Murphy Inn-ines (148)
- C. Wentz – TIM! (167)
- M. Stafford – Flying Dutchmen (169)
- J. Burrow – Red Bank Mallrats (171)
- A. Rodgers – SC4Skippers (187)
- J. Allen – QAnon (207)
- J. Goff – The Tim Bradys (210)
- B. Roethlisberger – SC4Skippers (211)
- G. Minshew – C Tan vs. The World (224)
- R. Tannehill – The Quasars (228)
- B. Mayfield – The Quasars (Last Pick – 252)
So we drafted 20 Quarterbacks. No doubt by Week 4 a few of these guys will have been waived, or likely one of Jones’ elderly QBs will be injured/dead. But when we’re determining Best Draft, the QBs will be ranked against these positions. Mahomes is QB1, Newton is QB10, Minshew QB18, and so on.
As far as strategy goes, we were all over the board.
TOP TIER – HOF Play?
Mahomes and Jackson were no brainers as the first two guys to come off the board, but did they go too high? Having had these guys both in recent years (Mahomes in ’18, Jackson in ’19), I can say they absolutely carried my teams in those years. If they stay healthy, they will be absolute superstars here, and while they might have both gone a little higher than initial projections, odds are they will pay off for the “All Caps All-Stars” SECOND DECK and BE A MAN HOGAN.
SECOND TIER – Pro Bowlers?
There was a 12-pick span from 58-70 that saw four QBs taken, and it’s here where maybe the picks were a little riskier. Everyone feeling out the competition and trying not to wait too long to get the guy they wanted. First of this group, and the guy who arguably has the best chance to leapfrog Mahomes and Jackson (making Sykes look more foolish) is Dak. Kaiser returns his championship QB for a chance at a Back-to-Back Title, something that’s never been done in this league. But one could argue the thing that propelled Kaiser to glory in 2019, was snagging Dak in the 20th round. This year he grabs the Dallas QB 181 picks sooner – a repeat will be no easy task.
Next Watson came off the board at 60, an immense talent who has put up great numbers each season – but who has also dealt with some injuries, and just lost Hopkins in a trade to the Cards. That leaves him David Johnson and Will Fuller, who are also hurt all the time. If this trio can stay healthy, this pick should pay dividends for the Quasars, but it seems the doctors are never far away from this sideline.
At 65 the commish snags the most undervalues player in the history of our league maybe – Russell Wilson. He goes in the 6th round this year, Kyle got him in the 13th round last year, and we have never seen him go higher than the 4th round. Despite this, he’s a Top 5 QB in our league near every year.
At pick 70 the Mallrats grabbed Arizona QB Kyler Murray, now in his second season. And with the much-improved O-Line and the addition of Hopkins, I believe Murray has a chance to jump up into that elite Fantasy Number kind of guy. That said, there is every chance that our undersized Cardinal QB regresses and hits a sophomore slump here.
THIRD TIER – Past Their Primes or Not There Yet? OR – Great Value…
Into the aging era of QBs who are either leaving their athletic prime, but still have the Football IQ to put up some numbers.
At 74 TIM! takes Matt Ryan, now just a few years removed from a run to the Super Bowl, and with a Todd Gurley, who if healthy, could revitalize the entire Falcons offense. Ryan has always been a guy in this league who puts up pretty good season totals, but liters in a bunch of 220 point games to balance out his gaudy 400 point days.
Next, Nacho Team grabbed future Hall of Famer Drew “Don’t Dis My Flag” Brees, who has been a fantasy monster for years – or at least until 2019, where he dealt with injuries. Also, for a few years now, Brees has been on a bit of a pitch count as the season wears on, but coming out of the extended offseason, perhaps his arm is the most rested it’s been in a while – this could prove to be a real steal for Dave.
Dropping down from the 7th to the 9th round, Kyle swooped in and took the Wolverine Wet Dream, 75-year-old Tom Brady, who is now in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are going all in this year, have Brady surrounded with a ton of talent – Godwin, Evans, Fournette, Howard, and the return of Gronk. But is it enough for an aging superstar who has looked rather pedestrian for a few years now?
A near 50 more picks are made before Murphy Inn-ines jumps on Brady’s replacement in NE, Cam Newton at pick 148. There is real potential for this to be the steal of the draft, but there is also a real chance Cam doesn’t have it anymore or that McDaniels doesn’t know what to do with a QB who is the polar opposite playstyle from Brady…
The “Tim, you already have a QB!” quote from Trigger is one of the high points from this year’s draft, as the Dutchmen see their waiting game strategy almost blow up in their face with Team TIM! grabbing his backup before Trigger or Jones had looked at QBs at all. And what a pick it was. If Wentz can finally stay healthy, he’s got a ton of weapons, and might end up supplanting Matt Ryan as QB1 on Team Tim!
In a move of great drama (and panic), the Dutchmen take Matt Stafford – coming off season-ending back injuries in two straight seasons – the Lions QB will be counted on to fly this year. He’s got some weapons, and a newly acquired, over the hill, future HOF RB. Let’s see what he can do, and how good the extension for Decker looks…
Bucking the trend here of taking oft-injured veteran play-caller, the Mallrats grab Bengals rookie Joe Burrow at pick 171 – probably a bit too high for this gamble, but we’ll see.
Coming back strong, the last team to select a QB are the Skippers, who draft the corpse formally known as Aaron Rodger, complete with his weird family drama, uncomfortable mustache, and an impressive stable of ex-girlfriends. The Pack got no pass-catching help for Rodgers in this year’s NFL draft, so Jon better hope Adams stay a lot healthier than he did last year…
FOURTH TIER – The Hail Mary Options
Josh Allen, Jared Goff, Ben Roethlisberger, Gardner Minshew, Ryan Tannehill, and Baker Mayfield combine to round out the rest of the wasted bench spots backup QBS. Of this list, I would place my money on Grandpa Ben putting up the best numbers – but I wouldn’t count on it. Then we got Minshew, everyone’s favore Meme QB for about 3 weeks in 2019- HE’S STILL AROUND! Get your Bud Lights ready Tan.
So Second Deck, Be a Man Hogan, Murphy Inn-ines, Flying Dutchmen, and Nacho Team all went one and done with the QBs, while The Quasars went the other way and three guys.
SC League Forever 