Draft Review 2003

Battle Angels: Devoted their draft to solidify their starting lineup. With an aging starting lineup, the Angels drafted Trung Canidate, Curtis Conway, Tai Streets, JJ Stokes, and Chad Pennington with an expectation that 3 of the 5 could make it into the starting lineup. Unfortunately, Pennington suffered a season-ending injury and Conway was simultaneously rendered ineffective. The word on the street is that Canidate was also extremely over-valued as the first pick overall. However, we are high on Tai Streets and view that as a solid pick in the 4th round.
Draft Grade: C (due largely to bad luck)

Skool: Skool already fields a deep starting lineup so management went for depth and talent searching. Chad Johnson and Josh Reed are both extremely talented pass receivers and will have excellent opportunities to start alongside Peerless Price and Donte Stallworth. This could be one of the youngest and most talented receiving corps in the league with an opportunity to explode this year. Anthony Thomas and Stacey Mack are merely depth and bench fodder behind veteran stars Deuce McAllister and Stephen Davis. Baltimore should be a solid defense too. Draft Grade: A-

Flaming Shrapnel: Already loaded in the backfield with 3 running backs, Shrapnel GM continued stockpiling its backfield talent by adding rookie Onterrio Smith and veteran back, Warrick Dunn. It will be interesting to see how the team will divide its playing time among 5 backs. Jimmy Smith was supposed to be the team’s third receiver until he was slammed with a 4-game suspension by CTDB for drug violation. Break-out-player-of-the-year candidate, Reggie Wayne, will be thrown into the fire. Veteran QB, Tommy Maddox, will have to prove that he was not a one year wonder. We’re open to taking bets though.
Draft Grade: B

Green Team: Entering the draft with question marks in their backfield, the team did little to upgrade that position as the team spent its second pick on perennial slug, Antowain Smith (who was unimaginably drafted by the Monkeys in Round 1 last year). Young RB, Kevan Barlow, has a world of talent but will be hard pressed to find enough carries this year to contribute significantly. The team did pick up Rod Gardner, Marc Boerigter and Kelly Holcomb to solidify its passing attack. Rod Gardner should be a solid contributer while MB is becoming a solid sleeper this year. The Bucs D should also be back to their old ways – more likely to find the endzone than Keyshawn. Draft Grade: B

Philadelphia Phreaks: Management agonized over its receiving team this summer and finally decided to release veteran motor-mouth Keyshawn Johnson in the offseason. Led by the sure-handed Ike Bruce and a talented but yet to capitalize Chris Chambers, the Phreaks wanted to add additional receivers through this years draft. The team managed to land a coveted pass receiver in Jerry Porter who is a physical beast in his own right. The team also drafted Jeremy Shockey, the league’s best tight end, to replace both Keyshawn’s receptions and his mouth. DeWayne Bates was also added for additional depth on the roster. The teams starting backfield will be backed up by TJ Duckett.
Draft Grade: B+

Ante Up: After a disappointing 5-8 season, Ante Up is looking to rebound in a big way. Already concerns are on the horizon for Ante Up. QB Jeff Garcia is dinged up and while he is one of the toughest Latino players in the league, there is only so much one little man can take. If Garcia goes down, Ante Up may lose it's most consistent player. The drafting of explosive Trent Green as backup will help if Garcia has a subpar season. RB Fred Taylor is also injured and while he looks to be starting the season, doubts remain about his overall durability. The other keeper back, Edgerrin James, should be lined up to have a great year, two years removed from an ACL injury. If Edge can return to elite status, Ante Up could have quite a year.

The receiving corps looks very solid, especially with first round draft pick Koren Robinson joining Laveranues Coles and Derrick Mason. All three should be primary receivers for their respective teams and that could give Ante Up a powerful aerial attack. With promising backup RBs in Troy Hambrick and Amos Zereoue, Ante Up should be ok if Fred Taylor has an injury plagued year but potential doesn't always pay the bills. This will mark the first time in league history that Ante Up hasn't had the dominating Buccaneer defense and time will tell if that could be the difference for this team. Maybe by switching to another superior defense, Miami, Ante Up can find some more chemistry between offense and defense. Ante Up has tasted success in the past and with a reloaded roster they are looking to return to glory this season.
Draft Grade: A-/B+

Buffy: It was a tough year last season for Buffy. Coming off a high and a championship season, Buffy slipped down the gutter and ended up in the division cellar with a 5-8 record. From first to last and back again? It's possible. There is still a lot of talent on Buffy's roster but now much of it is plagued with question marks. That's the way the ball bounces isn't it? It helps that Rich Gannon and Charlie Garner are still a dynamic and underappreciated duo. Both are pushing their age limit but are still durable and productive. Torry Holt had a "down" year but that was not an indication of his personal failure. The Rams' poor season and QB problems led to a bit of a slip for Holt, but look for him to return to elite status this season. Rod Smith however, is clearly slowing down. Age or injuries have caught up with him and while he is still a great player, he is no longer a dominant performer.

The draft provided Buffy with some good pieces to put around his keeper core. Aaron Brooks is the young QB that Buffy needs next year, as Gannon's career winds down. Quincy Morgan, Troy Brown and Todd Pinkston should be good backups and possible replacements. Tony Gonzalez was a semi steal if he can become a dominant TE again. The question on this team though is, where are the running backs? Marshall Faulk is still an explosive player but he's got some injury issues. If he goes down for half the season again, Buffy could find itself with a gaping hole in the running game. If Marshall can stay healthy however, look for Buffy to return to respectability and possibly dominance. Buffy has been a run and shoot explosive team from day one and it looks like they're looking to recreate the magic again this season. And let's not forget Janikowski, the biggest leg on the planet. If Janikowski gets his act together and starts bombing, watch out!
Draft Grade: B

Chunky Monkeys: The Monkeys have always been a strong team and things should be no different this year. Boasting a young stud backfield of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander, Chunky can run through people. While LT has emerged as a dominant back, Shaun Alexander's inconsistency last year really hurt the Monkeys. The young back had great overall numbers but there were many games where he simply disappeared. With the drafting of Matt Hasselbeck and Darrell Jackson, Chunky is pinning his hopes on a great offensive season from the Seahawks. Chunky has the old school QB consistency of Peyton Manning to make up for many mistakes but his WR core is slightly suspect this year. Donald Driver should be the number one receiver and he should have another fine season but questions remain with the rest of the wideouts. David Boston has been traded and injured and is one strike away from a league suspension. Marty Schottenheimer has never had a 1,000 yard receiver and while Boston certainly has the talent, he may not have the coach or the opportunity to duplicate his breakout season two years ago.

Andre Johnson and Travis Taylor are both young WRs but Taylor has never exhibited the dominance expected of him while Johnson, a talented player no doubt, may be on too weak of a team to shine. The trading away of last year's premier receiver, Joe Horn, could really hurt this team if Boston cannot step and produce. A sneaky fourth round gamble on Duce Staley has panned out as he has rejoined the Eagles and will serve as capable backup RB. The Monkeys have Peyton, LT and Alexander but if the receivers can't come through, the Monkeys could wind up short once again.
Draft Grade: B-

DirTeByrDeeZ: The dominant performance by last year's Dirty squad may soon be a fast fading memory. Even before the season starts, superstar QB Michael Vick has already been injured and sidelined for at least six weeks. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the rest of the team. Running backs Corey Dillon and Ahman Green help to shoulder the load but Corey is inconsistent and Ahman is slightly injury prone. They are top backs but hardly franchise backs. The franchise on this team is clearly WR Marvin Harrison, who simply had one of the greatest receiving seasons in NFL history. If he can come anywhere close to those numbers again, he will lead a group of distinguished and capable wides.

Plaxico Burress emerged as a potential stud late last season and the first round draft pick of Keyshawn Johnson adds a stable (if not overly explosive) third option. Young WR Ashley Lelie has a chance to break out this year if given a bigger role in the Broncos offense but he could also be a year away. The backup RB situation isn't bad with Correll Buckhalter but if he doesn't pan out or if Duce starts taking his carries away, Correll could be a wasted pick. Much of the depth of this championship team has been stripped and if more players start to succumb to injury, the Birds could do a first to last flip in a blinding instant. New starting QB Kerry Collins is a steady veteran and has the ability to put up big numbers but he is hardly Michael Vick. The Birds may have to just get by until Vick returns, when they hope to be able to make a push for a repeat championship.
Draft Grade: B-

Tiiite End Jammers: The Jammers could easily have won a championship last year. Ricky Williams had a career year, Priest Holmes was the best player in all the fantasy land. But an unfortunate hip injury took Holmes out of some crucial playoff games and the Jammers ended up a little short. But this season the Jammers are reloaded and ready to wreck some havoc. With Williams and Holmes looking good, the Jammers have little to worry about in the backfield (outside of some backup depth). Kurt Warner seems poised to return to his super marksman status and he could easily carry this team to win after win based on the strength of his arm and accuracy.

The WRs that the Jammers have on roster all have proven track records and while they may be a bit on the older side, production is what counts. With Amani Toomer, Muhsin Muhammed, Ed McCaffrey and the venerable Jerry Rice, the Jammers have a strong corps to work with. Add in lead receiver Joe Horn (an off season trade addition) and promising rookie Charles Rogers and the Jammers have the look of championship contenders. Even if Warner doesn't return to elite status, backup QB Drew Bledsoe will put up good numbers and let the running backs dominate and lead the Jammers to what will hopefully be a first championship. Unless the aging receivers completely collapse or a long injury prevents Williams/Holmes from playing, the Jammers could have the most explosive and deepest team to start off this third fantasy season.
Draft Grade: B+