Last year, there were sixteen different players who inspired at least $40 worth of draft capital, including Jonathan Taylor with the high-water mark of $63 to Dave. Last year’s crop included 8 RBs, 5 WRs, 2 QBs and a TE. This year, we were a bit more frugal…
2023 saw eleven men go for $40 or more on draft night, this time with Justin Jefferson as the top earner, costing Trigger a hefty $56. Here I will try to determine a value metric based on production, positional rank and games played.
The group this year saw 3 QBs, 4 WRs, 3 RBs and that same TE again. Let’s look at the names;
| PICK | PLAYER | PRICE | POONASS BITCH |
| 29 | Justin Jefferson | $56 | Flying Dutchmen |
| 15 | Patrick Mahomes | $53 | SECOND DECK |
| 6 | Christian McCaffrey | $52 | SECOND DECK |
| 14 | Ja’Marr Chase | $50 | The Tim Brady’s |
| 17 | Josh Allen | $50 | C Tan vs the World |
| 8 | Tyreek Hill | $47 | Timbo’s Ferfers |
| 7 | Travis Kelce | $45 | The Tim Brady’s |
| 25 | Jalen Hurts | $45 | QAnon |
| 32 | Austin Ekeler | $42 | C Tan vs the World |
| 10 | Bijan Robinson | $40 | QAnon |
| 26 | Stefon Diggs | $40 | QAnon |
So here we see most of the biggest names of the offseason, and bids influenced by different factors. For CTan and Matt, there is a level of familiarity with their QBs, and it was worth it for them to keep that piece in place from past seasons. Kaiser meanwhile was looking to create a young, exciting Big 3 sort of lineup, and Trigger just can’t help himself sometimes. So how is it all playing out?
After (almost) nine weeks, we’ve gotten a pretty fair glimpse of what these guys are, and while there’s still a lot of games to play, we can probably evaluate some of these picks to this point.
QUARTERBACKS
Mahomes, Allen and Hurts were projected to be the top threes QBs taken in snake drafts, and our bidding played that scenario out as well. Here’s what the current QB ranks look like for all 24 QBs we drafted. (Gaps in ranks likely indicate Undrafted Players)
| RANK | PLAYER | PRICE | PPG | COACH |
| 1 | Josh Allen | $50 | 357 | C Tan vs the World |
| 2 | Jalen Hurts | $45 | 342 | QAnon |
| 3 | P. Mahomes | $53 | 321 | SECOND DECK |
| 4 | Tua Tagovailoa | $5 | 319 | Sc4_Skippers |
| 7 | Kirk Cousins | $10 | 321 | Red Bank Mallrats |
| 8 | Lamar Jackson | $27 | 284 | Flying Dutchmen |
| 9 | Jared Goff | $16 | 305 | Mexico City Quasars |
| 10 | Justin Herbert | $20 | 339 | Sir this is a Freefall |
| 11 | Brock Purdy | $1 | 293 | QAnon |
| 12 | Dak Prescott | $7 | 292 | W. Sentinels |
| 15 | Derek Carr | $1 | 246 | C Tan vs the World |
| 16 | M. Stafford | $1 | 271 | W. Sentinels |
| 17 | T. Lawrence | $21 | 266 | Timbo’s Ferfers |
| 18 | Jordan Love | $2 | 264 | Sir this is a Freefall |
| 19 | Joe Burrow | $26 | 259 | Sc4_Skippers |
| 21 | Mac Jones | $1 | 207 | The Tim Brady’s |
| 22 | Geno Smith | $5 | 230 | Red Bank Mallrats |
| 25 | Kenny Pickett | $1 | 193 | Sc4_Skippers |
| 26 | Justin Fields | $12 | 247 | Mexico City Quasars |
| 29 | J. Garoppolo | $1 | 198 | W. Sentinels |
| 30 | Deshaun Watson | $9 | 221 | Burrito Warrior |
| 32 | A. Richardson | $2 | 244 | Red Bank Mallrats |
| 33 | Daniel Jones | $1 | 149 | Burrito Warrior |
| 123 | Aaron Rodgers | $7 | -5 | The Tim Brady’s |
Paid too Much / Fair Value / Draft Steal
So we see here that the first three guys remain at the top in total points – which means none of them have gotten hurt or had their BYE week yet. So it would seem that to this point they’ve been good investments. Though of the three, only Allen and Hurts still rank at the top in PPG. Mahomes, the most expensive of the three, is actually tied with Kirk Cousins in PPG at 321, good for 5th place, and just 2 points ahead of Tua who cost 1/10th in the draft. So while Mahomes is still obviously one of the best options in the league, his value based on price tag is the lowest of the three guys in that range.
When we look at the chart we also notice some other oddities;
- 2 of the top 6 (and 4 of the top 14) QBs to this point went undrafted.
- Aaron Rodgers cost Kyle $7, more than Tua, Prudy or Carr, ranks tied for #123 at -5 ppg.
- Despite what has been down year for scoring so far, we have 8 QBs averaging over 300 ppg.
- I left Geno off the RED list only cause I ended up trading him to Kyle, and he shit the bed the week he played me, so $5 well spent.
RUNNINGBACKS
Much like with the QBs, we also saw just 3 guys in the RB slot go for at least $40. Unlike the QBs, the results are all over the place so far. Additionally, we as a whole, drafted 52 running backs, I only included 26 of them for comparison sake. (Many gaps in ranks indicate Undrafted Players)
| RANK | PLAYER | PRICE | COACH | PPG |
| 1 | Christian McCaffrey | $52 | SECOND DECK | 216 |
| 2 | Raheem Mostert | $1 | C Tan vs the W | 166 |
| 3 | Travis Etienne Jr. | $27 | Burrito Warrior | 184 |
| 4 | Josh Jacobs | $38 | Sir this is a fre… | 128 |
| 6 | D’Andre Swift | $12 | The MC Quasars | 122 |
| 7 | Derrick Henry | $37 | W. Sentinels | 138 |
| 8 | Kenneth Walker III | $31 | Sir this is a fre… | 129 |
| 9 | Alvin Kamara | $11 | The MC Quasars | 169 |
| 10 | Brian Robinson | $2 | The Tim Brady’s | 111 |
| 11 | Isiah Pacheco | $6 | Burrito Warrior | 114 |
| 14 | Rachaad White | $13 | The Tim Brady’s | 119 |
| 15 | Bijan Robinson | $40 | QAnon | 105 |
| 16 | James Cook | $9 | Sc4_Skippers | 103 |
| 17 | Joe Mixon | $29 | W. Sentinels | 114 |
| 18 | Tony Pollard | $34 | Mallrats | 115 |
| 19 | R. Stevenson | $27 | Timbo’s Ferfers | 102 |
| 22 | Breece Hall | $22 | Burrito Warrior | 135 |
| 23 | Saquon Barkley | $31 | Flying Dutchmen | 140 |
| 24 | Alexander Mattison | $18 | Mallrats | 94 |
| 25 | Jahmyr Gibbs | $25 | W. Sentinels | 133 |
| 26 | David Montgomery | $16 | The MC Quasars | 156 |
| 30 | Jamaal Williams | $10 | The MC Quasars | 32 |
| 32 | Jonathan Taylor | $19 | Timbo’s Ferfers | 115 |
| 33 | Austin Ekeler | $42 | C Tan vs the W | 139 |
| 60 | Zach Charbonnet | $6 | The MC Quasars | 38 |
| 71 | Nick Chubb | $35 | The Tim Brady’s | 105 |
Paid too Much / Fair Value / Draft Steal
I think CMac has been worth every penny so far for SECOND DECK. It must be so nice to be able to rely on your RB for 200 every week. Bijan has been a bit of a disappointment to date, but that’s largely the fault his QB and Coach, we’ll see if the rook can turn it around in second-half of the year. And Ekeler is always great when he plays, but he hasn’t been playing a ton. Given a do-over, Tan might choose to spend that $42 elsewhere, but Ekeler can still prove a good pick if that Chargers offense can take off.
Aside from the top three, we all look a little dumb for passing on Zach Moss and De’Von Achane in the draft, while allowing the bids to run up on dudes like Jamaal Williams.
WIDE RECIEVERS
For the wideout position, we have four of these guys; Jefferson, Diggs, Chase and Tyreek. We all know that Jefferson, the most expensive man in the draft, in what seems like a yearly happening, has bent over Trigger and shoved that ol’ #1 pick right up the flying pooper. But how do these other dudes look so far?
I didn’t want to include 200 WRs here, so I only looked at players who cost at least $7 in the draft.
| RANK | PLAYER | PRICE | COACH | PPG |
| 1 | Tyreek Hill | $47 | Timbo’s Ferfers | 220 |
| 2 | A.J. Brown | $35 | W. Sentinels | 187 |
| 3 | Stefon Diggs | $40 | QAnon | 177 |
| 4 | DJ Moore | $9 | QAnon | 147 |
| 5 | CeeDee Lamb | $39 | SECOND DECK | 159 |
| 7 | Ja’Marr Chase | $50 | The Tim Brady’s | 158 |
| 8 | Keenan Allen | $16 | Timbo’s Ferfers | 170 |
| 11 | A. St. Brown | $39 | Sc4_Skippers | 157 |
| 12 | Michael Pittman Jr. | $8 | C Tan vs the W | 123 |
| 15 | Davante Adams | $37 | Timbo’s Ferfers | 105 |
| 18 | DeVonta Smith | $26 | Sir this is a fre… | 111 |
| 20 | Chris Olave | $23 | C Tan vs the W | 103 |
| 21 | Jaylen Waddle | $26 | Burrito Warrior | 114 |
| 22 | Amari Cooper | $18 | Mallrats | 120 |
| 25 | Justin Jefferson | $56 | Flying Dutchmen | 186 |
| 26 | Christian Kirk | $10 | W. Sentinels | 114 |
| 32 | Garrett Wilson | $30 | C Tan vs the W | 118 |
| 35 | Chris Godwin | $12 | The Tim Brady’s | 98 |
| 37 | Tyler Lockett | $11 | The MC Quasars | 97 |
| 40 | Drake London | $11 | Sc4_Skippers | 92 |
| 42 | Calvin Ridley | $25 | Flying Dutchmen | 90 |
| 43 | DK Metcalf | $14 | Burrito Warrior | 103 |
| 45 | Michael Thomas | $7 | Mallrats | 76 |
| 46 | Jahan Dotson | $7 | SECOND DECK | 78 |
| 52 | Deebo Samuel | $22 | Sir this is a fre… | 101 |
| 53 | Cooper Kupp | $32 | Burrito Warrior | 117 |
| 54 | Tee Higgins | $15 | QAnon | 80 |
| 70 | Mike Williams | $9 | Mallrats | 142 |
| 74 | Skyy Moore | $9 | W. Sentinels | 41 |
| 86 | Christian Watson | $12 | The MC Quasars | 68 |
| 88 | JuJu | $7 | Sir this is a fre.. | 46 |
| 98 | Kadarius Toney | $9 | SECOND DECK | 30 |
Paid too Much / Fair Value / Draft Steal
TIGHT END
Short List; Kelce. That’s it. This is the least interesting, because Kelce has remained TE1 almost all year, but here’s the 17 guys that got drafted, and how they compare to Mr. Taylor Swift.
| RANK | PLAYER | PRICE | COACH | PPG |
| 1 | Travis Kelce | $45 | The Tim Brady’s | 139 |
| 2 | T.J. Hockenson | $31 | W. Sentinels | 109 |
| 3 | Mark Andrews | $27 | Mallrats | 122 |
| 4 | Cole Kmet | $2 | C Tan vs the W | 95 |
| 5 | Sam LaPorta | $6 | C Tan vs the W | 110 |
| 7 | George Kittle | $16 | Burrito Warrior | 96 |
| 8 | Dallas Goedert | $11 | Mexico City | 78 |
| 10 | Dalton Schultz | $1 | Timbo’s Ferfers | 86 |
| 11 | Evan Engram | $4 | Sc4_Skippers | 82 |
| 13 | Darren Waller | $14 | Sir this is a fre.. | 79 |
| 14 | Kyle Pitts | $8 | Sc4_Skippers | 70 |
| 17 | David Njoku | $1 | Burrito Warrior | 72 |
| 30 | Hayden Hurst | $1 | Timbo’s Ferfers | 40 |
| 32 | Chigoziem Okonkwo | $1 | QAnon | 36 |
| 35 | Michael Mayer | $1 | Flying Dutchmen | 39 |
| 36 | Pat Freiermuth | $8 | QAnon | 68 |
| 85 | Greg Dulcich | $1 | SECOND DECK | 20 |
Paid too Much / Fair Value / Draft Steal
So, I don’t have an exact formula here, but if I had to rank these 11 dudes based purely on draft value, health and production thus far, this is how I would grade it…
| GRADE | PLAYER | PRICE | MANAGER |
| A+ | Tyreek Hill | $47 | Timbo’s Ferfers |
| A | C. McCaffrey | $52 | SECOND DECK |
| A | Stefon Diggs | $40 | QAnon |
| A- | Josh Allen | $50 | C Tan vs the World |
| B+ | Travis Kelce | $45 | The Tim Brady’s |
| B+ | Jalen Hurts | $45 | QAnon |
| B | Ja’Marr Chase | $50 | The Tim Brady’s |
| B- | P. Mahomes | $53 | SECOND DECK |
| C- | Justin Jefferson | $56 | Flying Dutchmen |
| C- | Austin Ekeler | $42 | C Tan vs the World |
| D | Bijan Robinson | $40 | QAnon |
What do you think? Which of these picks has the best chance to improve their stock by the end the of the year? Who is rated too high? Who is primed to plummet?
SC League Forever 