Grading the 2012 Draft

It's a bit over due but another season has kicked off and its time to take a look at the draft that was.

1. Philadelphia Phreaks
Its rebuilding season and the Phreaks didn't putz around on this one. With 6 rookies taken with their first 7 picks, GM Ping has decided that now was the time to kick start the youth movement. This draft class is headlined with leading rookie including Doug Martin, RGIII and Justin Blackmon. The Phreaks rounded out their rosters with targeted picks of Brian Quick, Ronnie Hilman and Alshon Jeffrey. Sandwiched between all these rookies was Steven Jackson who was an absolute steal in the second round. It's too early to tell how many of these rookies will pan out but the Phreaks would be ecstatic if they could find 2 keepers here. Early read is that Martin and RGIII are already coming on as strong starters with Blackmon showing flashes of brilliance.
Best pick: RGIII - he's blown the door off first the two weeks. 
Draft Grade: B+ 

2. Tiiite End Jammers
The Jammers came into the draft looking to shore up his starting lineup. Kicking off his draft with Demarco Murray and Antonio Brown (two former Chunky Monkeys!), the Jammers found instant starters for their 2012 lineup. Reggie Bush, Kenny Britt and Malcolm Floyd form a solid bench core. The Jammer's draft seemed to be built around "best player available" while drafting to build a roster with depth all around. We like the Jammer's draft and think they've gotten better top to bottom.
Best Pick: Its hard to argue against Demarco Murray but Kenny Britt could be a huge steal. 
Draft Grade: A- 

3. Gang Green
The Greenies went veteran with picks like Frank Gore, Peyton Manning, Brandon Marshall and Anquan Boldin headlining their draft. Hernandez and Crabtree rounded out the experience laden draft. Marshall and Gore, taken with the first two picks, are immediate starters. Gang Green also plucked out Stevan Ridley and Michael Crabtree late - both are looking like excellent values. Its also worth noting that Greg decided to pair up the Manning brothers with Peyton backing up Eli.
Best Pick: Marshall. Even if he's a nutcase, we think he's a top 7 WR this year. 
Draft Grade: A- 

4. Fobsters
The Fobsters led off their draft with the selection of Dwayne Bowe and Antonio Gates. After shoring up their receiving core, the Fobsters went heavy on running backs and drafted 4 straight backs including Donald Brown, Peyton Hillis, W. McGahee, and Ced Benson. We don't love any of these backs from a keeper perspective but there will be at least one or two serviceable backs for this year. One interesting note is that the Fobsters chose not to draft a back up QB for Tom Brady and instead decided to load up on the position players.
Best Pick: Antonio Gates 
Draft Grade: C+ 

5. Battle Angels
Vu seemingly auto-drafted from his villa in Hawaii with some head scratching picks in this year's draft. Headlined by the a first round selection of James Starks who hasn't played a down this year, the Angels followed that pick with the drafting of Robert Meachem, Ryan Williams, and Mike Williams (no longer on the roster). None of the top 4 picks have contributed meaningfully from a fantasy perspective. On the flip side, Vu did save the best for last. Late round picks of DeAngelo Williams and Sidney Rice could be tremendous values and could help save the draft but neither has contributed meaningfullly. Schaub has looked like a nice back-up but will unlikely ever surpass Brees in the start QB slot. All in all, this looked like one of the worst draft efforts by GM Vu in recent years. We hold out hope that guys like Meachem, DW and Sidney could still have value but as of now, the team has little outside of Brees, VD and an aging Andre Johnson.
Best Pick: DeAngelo Williams 
Draft Grade: F 

6. Chunky Monkeys
Coming off their first ever season where the team was left off the playoff train, the Monkeys stormed through the inaugural toilet bowl and ended up winning the first overall pick which was parlayed into Trent Richardson. Time will tell if Richardson will end up a keeper in front of Ryan Mathews or Jamaal Charles. Backing up Richardson was Garcon who flew out of the gates in Week 1 before summarily getting hurt. When healthy Garcon seems to be the perfect WR3 behind Megatron and Jones. Roles players including Kevin Smith, Reggie Wayne, Denarius Moore and Brandon LaFell all are unlikely to see the starting roster but all have shown promise. Most importantly, GM Evan made it a point to bring Philip Rivers back in the fold for team morale.
Best Pick: Trent Richardson 
Draft Grade: B 

7. Ante Up 
Already loaded up with the likes of A-Rod, LeSean and Ray Rice, GM Jae was looking to load up on the receivers side. Using 5 of the first 7 picks on receivers, Ante Up certainly went heavy on the passing game. Brandon Lloyd has yet to blow up looks on the verge. Jermichael Finley, Nate Washington and Amendola have all had their moments but aren't starting materials yet. On the running side, Wilson and Tate are high upside backs that require an injury before being able to make an impact - perfect fits for a team already loaded with running talent.
Best Pick - Brandon Lloyd 
Draft Grade: B+ 

8. Dirty Birds 
Similar to Ante Up, the Birds came in loaded with skill position players but needed a QB to lead the ship. With one of the worst draft secrets leading up to the draft, GM Jon executed as promised spending the first two picks on young QBs that look ready to lead the franchise. Matt Ryan (first round) and Andrew Luck (second round) both already look like keeper materials. The Birds then took a few pot shots to round out their bench with the drafting of Daniel Thomas, Toby Gerhart, CJ Spiller, Robert Turnbin and Isiah Pead. We like the Birds' depth at running back but are slightly concerned with the lack of bench talent at the receiver position. With only Kendall Wright and David Nelson as qualified back ups (Nelson is also now injured for the year), the Birds are running extremely thin at WR.
Best Pick: CJ Spiller 
Draft Grade: B- 

9. Fat Jubas 
The Jubas were already loaded and they knew it. Eric Decker and Torrey Smith look like terrific picks so far. Third round pick, Rashad Jennings, is good insurance behind MJD (the potential holdout never happened but Jennings is still a terrific insurance policy). The Jubas rounded out their rosters with the selections of Witten, Law Firm, Greg Little and Jaquizz Rodgers. We like the blend of upside (Rodgers and Little) with experience (Witten and Law Firm).
Best Pick: Torrey Smith 
Draft Grade: A- 

10. Buffy 
When you're the reigning champion, you usually don't have many holes. This was the case with Buffy and so they went immediately to starting positions with early selections of Defense (49ers in the 2nd and Texans in the 4th) as well as Gostkowski as early as the 5th round. Buffy did add to his skill position arsenal with the drafting of Miles Austin who has starter material written all over him as well as Titus Young and Jonathan Stewart. Buffy did gamble somewhat by waiting on his starting quarterback. However, we're confident that either Flacco or Cutler will pan out this year.
Best Pick: Miles Austin 
Draft Grade: B