Pre-draft questions:
1. How many RBs go today?
2. Where do the rest of the stacked WR class go?
3. For the teams that didn't pick on Day 1 (HOU, PIT, IND, NE), where do they start?
4. How many QBs come off the board yet?
5. Do we start seeing more trades like normal, or is this the way things go due to distance this year?
6. How does GB react after going QB Day 1?
Pick Reactions: (*Not every pick is here; just the notable ones for me)
- Tee Higgins - CIN - we lead off the day with a WR and an offensive skill position player that might be the theme of the day. Not a bad possibility for an eventual AJ Green replacement.
- Michael Pittman Jr - IND - He might be a great WR, but I still don't like his long-term prospects til I'm more comfortable with their QB situation. Rivers and Brissett are not long-term answers.
- D'Andre Swift - DET - pretty much ends the Kerryon Johnson experiment. I don't think much of this guy as I watched him run straight into the line for two seasons, but his volume will be heavy for fantasy purposes.
- Yetur Gross-Matos - CAR - They are doing a great job of rebuilding their defensive line against the offenses they're going to be facing for the next couple years. Great pick, but I still like Epenesa just a bit more.
- Robert Hunt - MIA - I like the nucleus and positions that Miami is going after. Instead of the normal hodge-podge that we've expected out of Miami. Is there, dare I say it, an actual plan here? Pairing two good OL with your potential franchise QB who has questions about health.
- Jonathan Taylor - IND - Taylor is going to a great location. One of the best lines in football with a great offensive coach. He is going to compete hard with Swift and Helaire for Rookie RB1.
- Lavishka Shenault Jr - JAX - Great pick to pair with Chalk especially if they are really going to give Minshew a shot. I don't think he has immediate fantasy value, but it would be a dynasty stash play.
- Cole Kmet - CHI - Kind of annoyed for him to go to the Bears here given that I was hoping for a lot of laughs this season at Jimmy Graham. Talented kid from a good system; wish he would've gone to the AFC.
- KJ Hamler - DEN - What is Denver doing taking two WRs? Why when you have Sutton, Jeudy, Fant, Gordon, and Lindsay? You needed better upgrades at OL and DL, and Lock can't throw to anyone from his ass.
- Chase Claypool - PIT - Pittsburgh is the perfect place to turn out a guy I was never high on in college. Pittsburgh has been able to turn diamonds out of turds for years when nobody thought much of Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace, or Juju.
- Trevon Diggs - DAL - God do I hate saying anything good about Dallas, but they have killed the draft over the last five years. They get a corner I liked who mysteriously fell to replace Byron Jones.
- Cam Akers - LAR - WOW! Love this for the Rams, but I think this means the end for Malcolm Brown, and Henderson Jr. may end up taking a back seat. Great dynasty stash pick at the middle to end of the first round.
- Jalen Hurts - PHI - Surprised that the Eagles went QB here, but they may be worried about the long-term health of their star. I love Hurts getting development time, and not having to produce. I doubt he's going to see the field, but I love teams drafting talented backups. We definitely need to reevaluate how the QB market is treated.
- AJ Epenesa - BUF - It is looking more and more likely that Buffalo is the run away favorite for this division with an absolute steal here. Great pick for how they play, and that defense is going to still be fierce.
- JK Dobbins - BAL - Another steal here for a great drafting team. He's going to be fantasy relevant for at least 5 years. This guy might be my RB1 for the Rookie dynasty draft given where he went.
- Ezra Cleveland - MIN - Great value for Minnesota here. This was a guy that was talked about at the end of the first, and they get him at the end of the second. Good building block for a run heavy, play-action team. Unfortunate given that I wanted him for Green Bay yet.
- Denzel Mims - NYJ - The Jets were expected to take a WR in round 1 and got a projected Rd 1 guy at the end of the second. He's likely to have the second most targets on the team next season, and he is a great stash for the second round of dynasty drafts.
- AJ Dillon - GB - Green Bay drafts another replacement to help keep Aaron Jones fresh. A heavy usage, highly-production guy for BC, Dillon is going to be a great bruising back in the league. I like him for a good five year projection especially the first two with Jones still there. He's going to be the thunder to Jones' lightning next season. Not where I would have gone, but an ok pick nonetheless.
- Antonio Gibson - WAS - This guy might be McCaffrey lite for Ron Rivera in Washington. He played both RB and WR at Memphis, and, with the cloudy situation in the Washington backfield, he could be getting the former Chris Thompson value here.
- K'Shawn Vaughn - TB - Tampa needed a new back with Ronald Jones not living up to potential and Peyton Barber being inadequate. He now is likely the number 1 back in Tampa in a highly productive offense where he's going to have a lot of PPR value.
- Lynn Bowden Jr/Bryan Edwards - LVR - The Raiders needed to upgrade at WR, and they have taken three in this draft. I liked Bowden coming in, but I have no idea what plan the Raiders are utilizing other than throw shit at the wall and see if it sticks.
- Zach Moss - BUF - Great insurance policy to have behind a budding star in Devin Singletary. Never a bad idea to have multiple good backs. I don't think he has the same value as his counterparts, but he's a must have handcuff.
- Devin Duvernay - BAL - Speedy slot man to go with Hollywood Brown that gives Baltimore more options for their MVP. They are going to be scary next season, and I think they might have the best draft going so far this year.
- Darrynton Evans - TEN - Good backup and change of pace guy to your franchise piece in Henry. I loved this guy coming in, and he is fast. I think he replaces what TEN wanted to do a few years ago with Dion Lewis. I don't think he is straight handcuff, but he is going to be the backup to a guy with over 400 touches last season. Might be the long term guy in TEN.
- Josiah Deguara - GB - A blocking TE to GB. This was a reach for a guy that I had behind several other TEs. I didn't have this guy on my TEs board, and this is the first pick I just straight don't see it. GB really reached here for positional fit. This guy won't have much value as an offensive weapon, and they wasted an opportunity for much better TEs here.
Winners: BAL, DAL, PIT, IND, NO, TB
Losers: LV, CHI, GB, HOU
Questions answered:
- There were seven RBs taken in the 2nd and 3rd Rds. Many of them went to very exciting places (Taylor to IND, Dobbins to BAL, Vaughn to TB). I love what Indy did by drafting Marlon Mack's replacement before they have to give him a contract. Ballard and Reich seem to have a good plan in place organizationally despite their issues at QB post-Andrew Luck retirement which wasn't their fault. I'm going to have a difficult time picking which of these guys is most dynasty relevant going forward.
- This was the deepest second round and WR class in a generation, and many of them went to good places. I like the value that Pittsburgh got in Claypool mid-second round with their first pick in this draft as well as what Baltimore is doing with theirs and a late Devin Duvernay. Denzel Mims to the Jets is going to be an underrated pick because he's going to be their #1 target going into next season. He only has to compete with Jamison Crowder for catches really. He would be a steal in the second round of dynasty drafts, and might have the best rookie season due to volume of this WR class.
- The non-Day 1 pickers were both good and bad. New England was confusing moving up twice in the 3rd Rd to get two reach pick TEs. I like them upgrading the position for their young QB and they were terrible at the position last year, but I'm wondering if Belichick is losing the touch in the draft. Likewise, I love what Indy did coming out swinging by taking Michael Pittman Jr and trading up to get their RB future in Jonathan Taylor. I think the Colts are the most talented team sans-QB in the league. If they had even marginal QB play, that team is going to really compete, and will be the class of that division next season even being my pick to win the division. I do like Pittsburgh's picks too as they always seem to turn WRs out.
- There was only one QB to come off the board, and it was Hurts to Philly. While I'm not shocked there was only one QB or that it was Hurts, I am surprised to see Philly take a QB. However, I like them being aggressive given Wentz's injury history. More teams should be taking multiple RBs and worrying about their backup QB more. Two playoff teams last season (Saints, Chiefs) had to go multiple weeks with backup QBs. Investing in not losing a season is never a bad idea. Forget the snipers here.
- There were a few trades, but not a ton and nothing substantial. I think doing this remotely has taken a lot of the fight out of GMs to wheel and deal. Harder to float ideas when you can't talk to people in person a lot.
- I loved taking Jordan Love in the first rd. I defended taking a RB like Dillon in the second because they need an after Aaron Jones plan, and he has immediate value. But, I am not going to defend this draft in total when they take a glorified FB/H-Back in the 3rd Rd. There were great value guys here, and they took an undersized Kyle Juszcyck type WAY TO EARLY. I won't get this pick even if he hits, and the scouting department for GB clearly does not have the same eyes or lenses that I do.
Talk to everyone after we're all said and done. It's been really nice to be able to have some normal sports to talk about even if GB is giving me an ulcer with their last pick.