Grading the 2010 Draft

With the dawn of a new season, there's been a few rules tweaks and in terms of the draft, and expansion of two more rounds. That means there's a whole lot more players to analyze so without further ado, a mega long draft review for a season that will undoubtedly be full of surprises and intrigue, especially after so much player movement over the off-season. We can't recall keeper rosters dramatically changing so much for so many teams, but we sure like the new coat of paint everyone has put on as we head into our official tenth year of Catch the Damn Ball.

1. Fat Jubas
Coming off a big upset playoff win in 2008, Eric's team was looking for a return to glory in 2009. Instead Fat Jubas' fans were treated to a putrid 4-8-1 record and a new number one -- the number one draft pick. After being the first champion to represent the Spunky Misunderstood Genius division in 2005, Eric has had to deal with new SMG contenders that have leapfrogged him to glory. Not one to rest on his laurels, GM Eric completely remade his team in just one off-season. Prior to the draft he'd turned Michael Turner into Peyton Manning to replace the retired Kurt Warner. And amidst heavy rumors, he drafted rookie RB Ryan Mathews first overall and then flipped him for the consensus number one player in all of fantasy, RB Chris Johnson. Suddenly the Jubas had Manning and Johnson to pair with his already strong keeper cast of Frank Gore, Marques Colston, and Dallas Clark.

The good news didn't stop there as he pulled together a stellar draft. First, three more tight ends: Vernon Davis, Tony Gonzalez, and Kellen Winslow. The Fobsters have tried this trick before, the run-it-tight offense, but never with FOUR tight ends. Lei's fans must be screaming in agony. Along with those productive athletes, Eric got a steal in Vincent Jackson, who would normally be a top ten receiver if not for his contract issues. Even if he gets traded or comes back later in the season, Jackson was well worth the pick in round two. Justin Forsett, the spare running back, will probably lead the Seahawks in rushing and even late rounder Eddie Royal has some potential. We love the Jubas' draft and with this haul, Eric probably won't be picking this high again for quite some time.
Grade: A

2. Tiiite End Jammers
It's also a year of transition for the Jammers, who haven't gotten into the playoffs for three years running. They bottomed out last year as their roster fell apart and many of Lei's previous keepers were told to hit the road coming into this season (see ya Joseph Addai, Clinton Portis, Dwayne Bowe, and Lee Evans). The good news is there's a promising bit of youth churned up by last year's draft. Running backs Rashard Mendenhall and Bonzi Wells have starting jobs for their teams, young receiver Michael Crabtree looks like he'll be good, and there's always that other Steve Smith, who might be better than the actual Steve Smith. Lei went heavy on the steady veterans with his draft, nabbing Ryan Grant, Hines Ward, Percy Harvin, TJ Houshmanzadeh, and Ricky Williams. Only Harvin has more upside at this point in his career but he'll might face some migraine issues this year, even as opportunity knocks with Sidney Rice out.

We agree with Lei's decision to add some age to his young lineup, to act as ballast in case the season threatens to tip over again. And we absolutely think Grant was a steal here because he's a solid 1200 yard, 8 TD guy and some publications are listing him as a top ten back. Late rounders RB Donald Brown and WR Kenny Britt add some depth to the roster but it's hard to see them as more than irregular fill-ins. The Jammers season will rest on how the young guys develop and if Mendenhall or Wells can become true feature backs, the supplemental draft only provided serviceable but not great pieces. Late breaking news is that TJ Houshmanzadeh will be cut or traded by the Seahawks. That could spell trouble.
Grade: B+

3. Philadelphia Phreaks
Like the Jammers, the Phreaks haven't made the playoffs in three years and are veterans of drafting high. Things might not be going up immediately either, as the core roster lost some shine during the 2009 season. Marshawn Lynch and Darren McFadden, keepers just one year ago, are now gone. The Phreaks have been given high draft grades the past few years but they seem to have run into a bit of bad luck. For example, McFadden, a number overall pick just two years ago, was a borderline super bust.

This off-season, Ping decided to take fandom to a new level by retaining four Eagles or ex-Eagles on his keeper roster. That haul includes two quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb, neither of whom are projected to be top five QBs. The fifth keeper, RB Maurice Jones-Drew is a stud, but can he carry an all Eagles lineup? Ping excerbated the issue by grabbing Eagles tight end Brent Celek in RD4. Sure we believe the Kolb-led Eagles have potential but will having Kolb, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Celek lead to fantasy victories?

The good news is we like the rest of Ping's draft. First rounder Jahvid Best is projected to be a star, Steelers receiver Mike Wallace will have every chance to emerge as a game changer, and there's always the explosive potential of Felix Jones. Backing up all those Eagles' receivers will be Derrick Mason, who is as steady as they come. Backup backup running back Fred Jackson will start the season off slow but he's proven he can be effective when healthy. Ping had another homer pick late, drafting Stanford's Toby Gerhart. If the Vikings' Adrian Peterson goes down, watch out for the next great white running back! And of course, Mr. David Akers, welcome back to the Phreaks.
Grade: E for Eagles (Okay, it's really a B-)

4. Buffy
Having just covered the Buffy franchise, we are well aware of its past, its present, and its hope for the future. Last year's draft was an unmitigated disaster. Three straight strikes with TJ Houshmanzadeh, Lance Moore, and Torry Holt led to the selection of a kicker in RD4. Roger did draft Jamaal Charles two rounds later but he was cut long before his explosive back end of the season. After participating in some major blockbusters recently, Buffy is coming out with a new look as they now have a much stronger running game (led by Steven Jackson, Marion Barber, Matt Forte) and a diminished passing game (Wes Welker, Antonio Gates and no more Philip Rivers). Favoring established veterans as always, Roger took Chad Ochocinco and Santana Moss in the early rounds, shoring up the passing attack quite nicely. Ochocinco and Moss have been around the block but they have another solid season in them. Last round pick Mike Williams was a bust early in his career but perhaps new scenery in Seattle and a reunion with his college coach will make him a viable option.

The guy we're excited about is second round pick Arian Foster, who many pundits are very high on. Reggie Bush is a fine fifth back and while he's past the promise of stardom, he'll still likely be an effective plug-in. Roger is going with Carson Palmer and Brett Favre as his QBs, both of whom have some question marks, but there's a decent chance at least one of them is a top signal caller. Stephen Gostowski, the kicker drafted in RD4 last year, was taken in the much more reasonable seventh round this year. He must have some sort of blackmail on the Buffy GM.
Grade: B

5. Fobsters
This embattled franchise may finally be gaining some positive momentum as GM Jimmy has sheparded them to two playoff appearances in the last three years. What they need now is some star power, which has been the big Achilles' heel of the team. Despite drafting high in the recent past, the Fobsters have been unable to unearth a franchise player. Reggie Bush was an injury prone tease and is no longer with the team. WR Calvin Johnson is one of the most talented players in the league but he's coming off a disappointing year. The only player with franchise caliber statistics out of the five keepers is Tom Brady, who simply has to have a monster season for the Fobsters to succeed. Brady will have good targets to throw to in Johnson and fellow keepers Pierre Garcon and Jason Witten though. Plus, the draft turned up a very nice selection of receviers with opportunity and upside: Dez Bryant, Jacoby Jones, Santonio Holmes, and Tampa Bay's rookie, Mike Williams.

The biggest problem for this team is at running back. Cadillac Williams was shockingly a keeper selection despite not surpassing 1000+ yards rushing since his rookie year. The Caddy is also just a little injury prone. Actually let's talk about the Fobster running back injury curse, which might overtake the Madden Curse in efficiency. New draft pick Michael Bush is already out for at least a month with a broken thumb. Rookie Montario Hardesty just torn his ACL and is out for the season (just like Jimmy's RD1 pick last year, Kevin Smith). The only other RB on the roster is Joseph Addai, who has appeal as a running-receiving threat, and could score 10+ TDs again, but he's hardly a number one back. And of course Addai is also injury prone. Until the Fobsters can find a consistent guy or two in the backfield -- or at least a few healthy bodies -- they're going to have trouble breaking into the top tier of the league. Oh in the last round they added some RB named Joe McKnight. Basically the question Jimmy wants to ask is: "Can I run an empty backfield offense all season?"
Grade: D

6. Ante Up
After three years of no post-season play and two straight last place divisional finishes, Ante Up returned to respectability last year by finishing 7-6 and earning a spot in the playoffs. They're going to need another solid season to take the next step toward contention. Consistently one of the better judges of draft prospects, Jae has been excellent at identifying young players (running backs in particular) and guiding them to terrific first seasons. That accounts for his current promising keeper backfield of Ray Rice, James Stewart, and LeSean McCoy, who are all stellar talents. Ray Rice in particular is a gem as he was drafted at the top of the third round last season and is arguably the third best fantasy RB in the game. Ante Up also drafted a bonafide franchise quarterback in Aaron Rodgers last year, who went on to be a top fantasy player and is being touted as a MVP candidate this year.

Coming into 2010, Jae was very logically looking for some receiver talent for Rodgers to throw to. He drafted Mike Sims-Walker, Bernard Berrian, Devin Aromashodu, and Jabar Gaffney to fill out the spots next to Reggie Wayne. All four new faces have tremendous opportunity this season. The backup running backs will be Darren Sproles, who is a dynamite part time player, and Bernard Scott, who isn't starting now but has the tools necessary to be very productive if Cedric Benson goes down. Overall, another solid and rational draft from GM Jae, who is hoping that at least one of his new receiving options breaks out so he can have the passing game to pair with his ground game.
Grade: B

7. Dirty Birds
Traditionally the Dirty Birds have not drafted well. Outside of the 2007 draft where they picked up Adrian Peterson, Wes Welker, and Greg Jennings, they haven't found many serviceable players lately. The Birds always draft QBs early because of their need at the position and this year was no different, as they selected Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan in RD2 and RD7 respectively. Sure both Flacco and Ryan are entering the phase of their careers where they might take off statistically but value wise they may have been drafted too high since eight teams already had QBs as keepers -- which is by far a league record.

With the off-season two for one trade of Stephen Jackson and Wes Welker for Michael Turner, the Birds gained a most lusted after Falcon but lost receiver depth. Larry Fitzgerald and last year's surprise star, Miles Austin, are back but there's a chasm at the third WR position. GM Jon chose to fill that hole with matchup nightmare TE Jermichael Finley, who could be the next Tony Gonzalez. If Finley instead turns out to be the next Kyle Brady, deep threats Robert Meachem, Mohamed Massaquoi, and Laurent Robinson will need to really step up. The backfield is steady though, with Peterson and Turner leading a strong stable of runners that include up and comers Knowshon Moreno and CJ Spiller. Big brute Brandon Jacobs will serve as the goal line back, assuming he can stay healthy. The Birds swung for the fences this year with high potential low previous production players and will have to hope some of their gambles pay off.
Grade: C

8. Battle Angels
The newest iteration of the Battle Angels have been a powerhouse team lately. They've had the best regular season record two years running, came within a handful of points away from leading PF both years, and won a championship in an epic Super Bowl VIII. It looked like 2009 was going to be a possible repeat year for Vu but then real live Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees laid an absolute egg during the most inopportune time and Gang Green upset the Angels on the way to their second championship. And that's why they play the game! Frothing at the mouth, Coach Vu will be out to prove that they are the king of the Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses division -- and maybe the entire league since four out of the last five championships have involved SMG owners.

The Battle Angels are the only one to retain all five keepers from the previous year and that means Brees will look downfield at familiar targets Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, and Greg Jennings. With such a powerful receiving corps, Vu needed to find a complement to DeAngelo Williams and he went back to his very nice RD5 pick last year, Cedric Benson, with his first pick this year. Williams didn't repeat his monster season from 2008 last year, and now splits a lot more carries with Jonathan Stewart, but he's still an excellent option. Clinton Portis could have one last fling with Mike Shanahan in Washington but Kevin Smith is still injury prone -- and currently dinged up -- so both backups can't be counted on for extended play. The Angels could go to the run and shoot again, which has brought them great success, since they did draft Malcolm Floyd, Terrell Owens, Lee Evans, and Dexter McCluster. Floyd in particular is looking great now with the Vincent Jackson situation in San Diego. It could be another season of bombs away for the Angels and the rest of the league better look out.
Grade: A-

9. Chunky Monkeys
After finally winning that elusive championship in 2006, the Monkeys have suffered through epic collapse after epic collapse recently, including two gigantic mega ones in the last two Super Bowls. If you're a David looking to upend a Goliath, the Monkeys have been your foil of choice. Fed up with his powerful but ultimately underachieving squad, GM Evan went to work this off-season and cleared the decks. Gone are faces of the franchise Peyton Manning and LaDainian Tomlinson (although he was redrafted back). In a series of trades, the Monkeys acquired Philip Rivers, Roddy White, Brandon Marshall, and 2010 first overall pick Ryan Mathews. The lone keeper holdover is Anquan Boldin, who has his own NFL trade to adjust to. The cost for all these moves was steep, as Manning and running back sensation Chris Johnson are now the property of the Fat Jubas. And up and down Matt Forte was the additional cost of bringing in White.

The new look Monkeys are certainly different but it looks like they'll still be quite impressive on paper. In fact, they could be deeper than ever. Last year's waiver wire wonder Jamaal Charles is back to pair with Mathews. Rivers will have three number one receivers to throw to. The draft trade also allowed Evan to move up and grab Dwayne Bowe, who had a terrible year last season but isn't that far removed from his earlier productivity. Johnny Knox and Legedu Naanee are long shots but young and worth the risk.

In the backfield, Pierre Thomas and LaDainian Tomlinson are both involved in time shares and don't have much upside but they'll have their moments. The real excitement is rookie Kareem Huggins, who back ups Cadillac Williams in Tampa Bay, which means he's just an injury away from starting. If Evan's track record with young RBs holds true, Huggins could be a find. The Monkeys are retooled and looking for a season that ends in a trophy, not a consolation prize.
Grade: B+

10. Gang Green
Maybe we were a bit hasty in anointing defending champ Gang Green "The Team of the Decade" after last season's improbable post-season run to a second championship. But really, who's got a better case? The only player to have been kept by Gang Green over the last three seasons has been Ronnie Brown, who averaged ten games each year and went over 1000+ yards rushing during that span exactly zero times. So that's been Greg's "star power." And while Greg has had some success in the draft in the past, he's recently drafted so low that he's never had a shot at a blue chip rookie. Instead he's gotten by on a variety of veterans, sleepers, and savvy free agent pickups. If the Monkeys have been the Goliaths of CTDB, Gang Green has certainly been the David.

The new Gang Green keeper core is led by Matt Schaub, who had the most passing yards in the NFL last year and a break out fantasy campaign. He'll still have Randy Moss to throw to but one of last season's heroes, Sidney Rice, is out for at least six games. That means there will be a lot of pressure on draft picks Hakeem Nicks, Donald Driver, Braylon Edwards, and Steve Breaston to fill the gaping hole at receiver. None of these guys are their team's number ones but we're thinking Coach Greg will motivate some production out of them. Schaub himself is a little injury prone so Eli Manning will back him up, which gives Greg two 4000+ yard passers on the roster.

The backfield also needs a bit of shoring up as Ronnie Brown probably can't be counted on for a full season. Luckily, last year's late season RB surprise, Jerome Harrison, is once again the starter in Cleveland (after Montario Hardesty's injury). Harrison will pair with sophomore running back Shonn Greene, who put up miniscule numbers in limited carries last year but showed during the NFL playoffs that he's a player on the rise. There's no depth behind these three -- unless you think last round pick Thomas Jones is the answer -- so Greg might have to find some help here in-season. For some reason, Gang Green has drafted a defense in RD3 two seasons in a row. Last year it was the Steelers, this year it's the Jets. Is that the secret of their success? Drafting a defense early? Next year I'm drafting my defense in round one!
Grade: B-