The Hopes of a New Year
The Llamas were applauded for their selection of Jerious Norwood, but was Hank Baskett a stretch at #13?
Eaters
Chris Davidson is traditionally one of the worst drafters in the league but he could do no wrong selecting Reggie Bush first overall after selecting Eric Shelton in the first round last year. Sinorice Moss probably would have gone to the Brothers if they had a first round pick but Chris gobbled him up in the second round. Croyle and Romo were good "chance" picks and Reche Caldwell was a great late round sleeper.
Grade: A-
Refugees
No team needed a bigger draft than the Refugees. Aceto landed a diamond with Laurence Maroney 2nd overall but didn't draft again until the third round. Aceto also provided a YFFL Draft first by refusing to draft a fourth player. With the Refugees expected to go into the season with either Grossman or Losman as the starter, expect Aceto to pick up another QB in the next few weeks.
Grade: C
White Guys
Aside from Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart was the most coveted player in the draft. While many expected him to go the Refugees, Aceto essentially said "so long" to Aaron Brooks. Many owners thought the Chickens made out when Vince Young fell to Mike at #10 but the real buzz could be when Patriot WR Chad Jackson fell to Aceto at #19. Many owners had him going in the first round. Kellen Clemens went later than expected and could be a sleeper. Correl Buckhalter was a notable pick-up in the 5th round.
Grade: A+
Merry Men
Steve had two big holes to fill but he was only able to fill one, with TE Vernon Davis. The very shaky QB situation was not addressed although Dugas put in a valiant effort with pre-draft trade talks. The acquisition of Anquan Boldin beefed up a previously thin WR corps. Tavaris Jackson was probably taken too soon but with everyone drafting exceptionally well, Steve couldn't take any chances. Michael Koneon was the sexiest pick of the draft.
Grade: B+
Llamas
The Llamas very quietly had a great draft. Joseph Addai is looking like the RB of the future for the Colts and Wali Lundy is looking like the ultimate steal now that Dom Davis' career is likely over in Houston. Mercedes Lewis was high on several draft boards. Addai and Lundy could be the backfield of the future for the Llamas and significantly improve the lowly AFC East.
Grade: A
Mallards
Steve wasn't very happy with the Mallards draft and admitted that he spent too much time focusing on the Merry Men. Mike Bell will be the first round pick that is most closely watched this season. If he excels, he makes Steve look like a genius. If he splits carries with Tatum Bell and Cedric Cobbs, he will send the franchise backwards yet again. Leonard Pope was probably taken too early but Steve missed out on Mercedes Lewis by one pick. Josh Brown was the Mallards best pick while the Matt Schaub pick was perplexing.
Grade: C
Thugs
I knew that I needed a top of the line RB if I am planning on competing in the AFC West in the next five years. I had been drooling over DeAngelo Williams for months. Parting with Boldin was one of the toughest decisions I've had to make in my illustrious career but I am confident Houshmendzadeh is the next Reggie Wayne. Shaun McDonald was probably taken too early but Amani Toomer was a great 4th round pick and Gus Frerotte is a great handcuff to the oft-injured Marc Bulger.
Grade: B+
Orangutangs
If LenDale White is a bust, the 'Tangs future looks bleak. Really bleak. Jon debated taking Cutler but his RB situation was too dire to pass on White. Chris Henry was a great veteran pick-up while Joe Klopfenstein was the TE steal of the draft. Longwell and Ferguson were solid late round picks.
Grade: B+
Beans
I anguished over the QB future of the Beans for nearly 10 minutes. I think ultimately Jay Cutler will be a more polished NFL QB than Vince Young. Jerome Harrison could either be Quenten Griffin or Willie Parker while Ernest Wilford should build momentum off last year's exceptional play. I wanted to grab a quality indoor kicker but with nothing really available I went with rookie Stephen Gostkowski figuring the Pats would be in many high-scoring games.
Grade: A-
Chickens
Once again, a great QB falls to Mike. Vince Young surprisingly fell and Mike stuck by his strategy of taking the best available player. It will be interesting to see if the Chickens deal one of their 5 QBs considering they are very thin at WR and questionable at RB. Ryan Moats, Travis Wilson and Jason Hanson were mediocre picks at best.
Grade: B-
Poop
Bri Davidson certainly did his homework and grabbed the highly sought after Greg Jennings with the 11th pick. Jennings had jumped over Chad Jackson, Sinorice Moss and Santanio Holmes on the draft board with a great pre-season. Jerious Norwood might have been the better pick for a RB-starved team but Davidson will likely go with the Run n' Shoot offense. Verron Hayes might have gone a round too early but again, it was tough to tell with how well everyone was drafting. Jerricho Crothery is pumped for his second go-around in the YFFL.
Grade: B
Huskers
Kevin had the most bizarre first round. Jerious Norwood was a player everyone was drooling over and a vast array of swear words were let loose after he was taken. Just when everyone was about to hand out praise to Kevin, he comes right back and takes Hank Baskett at least a round too early. Holmes, Moss or Jackson would have been the best pick but Kevin got thrown off by Baskett's starting status on the depth chart. 24 hours later he finds himself on the Eagles special teams duty. Kevin bounced back with a decent 3rd round pick of Musa Smith
Grade: B
Boys
Chris did OK but should have gotten extra insurance for Eli Manning. Brian Calhoun may have gone too early but only time will tell. Maurice Stovall was Chris' best pick with the Boys but even he is buried on the Bucs depth chart for now.
Grade: C+
Dragons
For what they were working with, the Dragons had the most efficient draft. Samkon Gado should have gone much earlier in the first round and Derek Hagan was the last great rookie WR before a significant drop-off. Jason Avant has a lot of upside with Philly.
Grade: A
Buddies
The Buddies didn't have any glaring weaknesses heading into the draft so Mike had the flexibility to draft any position he wanted. Santonio Holmes was a great pick-up at 16th overall. Some owners had him No. 1 at his position. Cedric Cobbs was worth a pick with some question marks lingering in the Broncos backfield. The same can be said about Michael Robinson.
Grade: B
Brothers
Not much can be said about the Brothers draft. They only drafted kickers and tight ends and didn't draft until the late second round. Wilkins is a dependable kicker and should continue to put up good numbers kicking inside. Tony Scheffler could pay dividends at TE.
Grade: B-