Along with many of the players selected in the NFL Draft, my wife and I spent the weekend in New York City. We didn't hang out with (or even spot) any of these fine gentlemen, but we were walking the same streets they were...and that's pretty much where the similarities end. As for the players, I'd like to discuss some fantasy implications for where these guys landed. I thought the best way to do a draft recap would be by team, so this is going to be a bit lengthy. I won't list every pick from every squad, but I'll give you the highlights and what I think about some of the key players and their fantasy potential in the near future. If you want the short version, you can scan under each team and look for guys in
BOLD. I'm putting all 20 of them at the very bottom into two lists. Let's get to it!
Arizona Cardinals
A solid fantasy defense got better with this draft. At the end of the 1st round the Cards selected Deone Bucannon, a safety out of Washington State. He should pair well with the Honey Badger, and they also drafted a couple of defensive ends in the later rounds. As for the offensive side of the ball, I don't see much instant impact with these rookies. They selected a TE in the second round and a couple of WRs later in the draft, but I don't think any will take much away from Fitzgerald or Floyd (at least not in their first year). The same can surely be said for Logan Thomas, who I'm sure won't see playing time until year 2 or 3 at the earliest. But I wish the former Hokie all the best!
Atlanta Falcons
The Dirty Birds addressed their defense with most of their picks in this draft, but I don't see that moving them into fantasy relevance on that side of the ball right away. Aside from their first pick with tackle Jake Matthews, their only other pick to improve their offense came in the 4th round with RB Devonta Freeman out of Florida State. With Steven Jackson turning 31 this summer, Jason Snelling now retired, and Jacquizz Rodgers entering the final year of his 4-year rookie contract, Freeman finds himself in a pretty good situation. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on him in the preseason to see if he looks like the second coming of Warrick Dunn.
Baltimore Ravens
In typical Baltimore fashion, the Ravens went defense with their first three picks and got a linebacker, nose tackle, and free safety. They're a perennial top-10 fantasy defense, and I think this only solidifies that again for the upcoming season. They also drafted some offensive players, but I don't see them as having fantasy relevance any time soon.
Buffalo Bills
Sammy Watkins: that's who the Bills traded up for in the 1st round. Then the next day they dealt Stevie Johnson to San Fran for a conditional 2015 pick. This is huge news for Watkins and his fantasy value, but it definitely helps Robert Woods a great deal too. I think Sammy instantly becomes a top-25 fantasy WR with obvious keeper potential, Woods gets a slight boost in fantasy value, and Stevie Johnson falls a little with his move out west.
Carolina Panthers
Every year I stay away from drafting a Panther running back, and with DeAngelo Williams on the wrong side of 30, Carolina used their last pick of the draft on Tyler Gaffney out of Stanford. I'm not getting excited just yet about a 6th round pick, but it's a name to keep in the back of your mind when training camps start. On the other hand, a name to keep in the forefront of your mind is Kelvin Benjamin. He didn't stay long at FSU, but with over 1000 yards receiving and 15 TDs last season, he bolted for the NFL. He has all of the physical attributes of a #1 WR, and he's the only guy currently on Carolina's roster who could realistically fit the bill. He'll definitely crack my top-168 when I update my rankings, but I'm not sure how high he'll go just yet...
Chicago Bears
Like the Ravens, the Bears mostly used this year's draft to improve themselves on the defensive side of the ball. But the one hole they did try to fill was at running back with Ka'Deem Carey out of Arizona. Chicago released Michael Bush back in March, so they currently don't have a good backup on their roster. Perhaps Carey can be that #2 RB they now need. Either way, I don't think he'll be anything more than a late-round handcuff for Matt Forte owners.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Law Firm is in the last year of his contract, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's cut in order to free up some cap space. The reason I'm thinking that is because the Bengals used their 2nd round pick on Jeremy Hill out of LSU. At 6'1" 233 lbs, Hill could be the Thunder to Gio's Lightning moving forward, and Green-Ellis could be on the way out. Cincy also drafted AJ McCarron in the 5th round, but I'm sure they'll sign Andy Dalton to a long-term deal soon. So I don't see AJ as being relevant in fantasy land, though he could be a solid backup in real life.
Cleveland Browns
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| Enjoy him, Cleveland. I sure won't. |
After all the dust settled, by Friday the Browns were nearly done with their draft. They ended up with 6 picks and their last one was in the 4th round. But they were busy last weekend. You could say that the biggest news was getting Johnny Manziel aka Johnny Cleveland aka Dr. Douchebag. Or you could say the bigger news came a day later when it was reported that Josh Gordon may be facing a season-long suspension following a failed drug test. Either way, Manziel will surely have a fantasy impact right away. He'll be a risky pick with how high you'll probably have to take him, but he should have value based on his wheels alone...that is, if he can stay away from getting clobbered by giant men in the NFL. I should also note that Cleveland drafted a running back in the 3rd round: Terrance West (Towson). They had previously made a splash this offseason by signing Ben Tate, who will presumably be the #1 RB. But after him, there is no clear-cut #2, and Tate is relatively unproven as a feature back. However, the Browns also signed undrafted Isaiah Crowell, a former 5-star high school recruit who spent time at Georgia, Alabama State, and battling weapons charges in between. If he can keep his head on straight, he could end up as the top RB himself. Bottom line: there is plenty to keep an eye on in Cleveland when it comes to fantasy value with the 2014 rookies.
Dallas Cowboys
They addressed an O-line need with their 1st round pick (Zack Martin), but Dallas mostly went defense with the rest of them. One exception was 5th rounder Devin Street out of Pitt, who set the school's career receptions record with 202 in his 4-year career. For reference, Larry Fitzgerald only had 161 receptions in his time at Pitt. Oh, but his time on campus was only 2 years. For now I'm not getting excited about Street. Dez is obviously the #1 WR in Big D, and Terrance Williams/Jason Witten should be Romo's 2a/2b options.
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| Denver and Detroit keep adding weapons. |
Denver Broncos
Only one fantasy-relevant player to discuss here, and that's WR Cody Latimer out of Indiana. The Broncos actually traded up in the 2nd round to get the Hoosier receiver, so I guess they saw a void they needed to fill when they lost Eric Decker to the Jets via free agency. I thought they had addressed that in signing Emmanuel Sanders, but apparently they weren't done. This pick slightly hurts the fantasy value of Sanders, and you can forget all about Andre Caldwell. But with Peyton Manning as one of my keepers, I'm pretty happy that Denver continues to give him more weapons to work with.
Detroit Lions
Yeah they took a WR in the 6th round, but with Megatron and Golden Tate already on the team, I don't think TJ Jones will have much of an instant impact. But Eric Ebron (their 1st round pick) just might. The problem is, you might have to pay a high price tag in order to get him. He'll probably be on other peoples' radars too, as everyone will be wanting to strike gold and get the next Jimmy Graham. The other problem is, the Lions just re-signed Brandon Pettigrew to a 4-year deal which includes $8 million guaranteed. Ebron could develop into a solid fantasy TE, but I'm not sure he'll be worth drafting until the much later rounds.
Green Bay Packers
Even though they lost James Jones to Oakland in free agency, I'm a little surprised the Packers selected 3 WRs in this year's draft: Davante Adams (2nd round from Fresno St.), Jared Abbrederis (5th round from Wisconsin), and Jeff Janis (7th round from Saginaw Valley St.). That being said, this might hurt the projected value of Jarrett Boykin a bit and I might be lowering him slightly in my next rankings update. Green Bay also selected a tight end in the 3rd round in Richard Rogers (Cal). And with Andrew Quarless as their best tight end, there's plenty of opportunity for Rogers to make a name for himself alongside the other Rodgers.
Houston Texans
Jadeveon Clowney was the big news at the #1 overall pick, but seeing as how he's a defensive end, he doesn't move the needle much from a fantasy perspective. In the 3rd round, the Texans took a big tight end in C.J. Fiedorowicz out of Iowa. They also took a QB in the 4th (Tom Savage, Pitt) and a RB in the 6th (Alfred Blue, LSU). I don't see any of them making much noise in 2014.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts had just 5 picks in this year's draft, and only one of them ended up being an offensive player. They selected Donte Moncrief (Ole Miss) in the 3rd round to add to their receiving corps which already consists of TY Hilton, Reggie Wayne (who is coming back from injury), and newly acquired Hakeem Nicks. I can't see Moncrief having much fantasy value right out of the gates, but this makes me like Andrew Luck even more than I already did. I might bump him right up with Stafford in my next update.
Jacksonville Jaguars
With the 3rd overall pick in the draft, the Jags took Blake Bortles out of UCF...and the Blaine Gabbert experiment officially ended. Then they proceeded to use their 2nd and 3rd round picks on WRs Marqise Lee (USC) and Allen Robinson (Penn State)...and the Justin Blackmon experiment also ended. Jacksonville is moving on, and they made that clear with these selections. For now, Cecil Shorts would be the receiver I'd draft if I were to take one from this squad. Right now I'm not sure if either of these rookies is worth targeting in fantasy drafts. As for Bortles, he might sit a year or two behind Chad Henne to develop. But he might not. Again, only time will tell. I should also note the Jags took a RB with their last pick in the 7th round, Storm Johnson who is also out of UCF. Johnson chose to forego his senior season to enter the draft, and he slipped pretty far for someone who made that kind of decision. But he's going with his QB to Jacksonville, and he'll be fighting for a position that presumably will have Toby Gerhart as the starter. Keep in mind that Gerhart has been behind AP in Minnesota his whole career, so he has very little experience at being the lead back.
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| Bowe shocked no WR was drafted. |
Kansas City Chiefs
Not much exciting to discuss with the Chiefs. They took QB Aaron Murray (Georgia) in the 5th round, but Alex Smith is the starter and they still have Chase Daniel as the #2 QB making like $3 million a year. Murray will compete with Tyler Bray for the #3 QB spot, nothing more. In the 4th round, KC selected De'Anthony Thomas, a running back from Oregon. At 5'9" 174 lbs, I'm thinking they were looking for someone to replace Dexter McCluster. But in that role, I don't think you're getting a lot of fantasy production, especially with Jamaal Charles getting most of the touches. I'm surprised they didn't draft a WR to develop alongside Dwayne Bowe. It really seems like a missed opportunity to me.
Miami Dolphins
They took a couple of WRs in this draft with Jarvis Landry (LSU, 2nd round) and Matt Hazel (Coastal Carolina, 6th round). But the Dolphins already have Brian Hartline and Mike Wallace, not to mention Rishard Mathews. I don't see these two as contributing too much early on except for maybe on special teams. Miami also grabbed a tight end in the 5th round, but Arthur Lynch sounds more like a blocker than a pass catcher.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings had a ton of picks in this draft (10 total), but they used most of them on defense (probably a good call). But they did trade up a bit to get themselves a QB at the end of the 1st round (Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville), and they took a RB in the 3rd round (Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern). Bridgewater will most likely be starting from Day 1, but McKinnon will be another late-round handcuff at best.
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| Jimmy wants to be the next Tom Brady. |
New England Patriots
The Pats selected a RB in the 4th round (James White, Wisconsin) and a WR in the 7th (Jeremy Gallon, Michigan). I'm not looking at either to have an impact this season, but you just never know with New England. The interesting selection though is Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2nd round, a quarterback from Eastern Illinois. Tom Brady turns 37 years old in August, and while he is under contract through 2017, I'm not sure he'll make it that long. I know he's Tom Freakin' Brady, but other than Brett Favre, not many QBs even play into their 40s. And I have a feeling that Brady will go out on his own terms and not do what Favre did. That being said, Garoppolo could be the heir to the throne. If you're in a dynasty league and have a roster spot to stash Jimmy, then you might want to do just that.
New Orleans Saints
Darren who? I don't think the Saints will be missing Sproles too much once they sign 1st round pick Brandin Cooks (WR, Oregon State). Kenny Stills ran a 4.32 40-yd dash at the 2013 combine, and Cooks ran a 4.33 this year. Drew Brees won't skip a beat. As for the rest of the Saints' picks, 4 defensive players and an O-lineman.
New York Giants
The G-Men selected a couple of position players in this draft, and I think both could potentially have fantasy relevance right away. In the first round they drafted Odell Beckham, a wide receiver from LSU. After Victor Cruz, New York's WRs include names like Reuben Randle, Jerrel Jernigan, and Mario Manningham. Beckham has every chance to become Eli's #2 WR and maybe even his favorite target in the near future. In Round 4, the Giants took a RB from Boston College in Andre Williams. There was Heisman buzz around Williams in his senior season, as he accumulated over 2000 rushing yards and had 18 TDs. With David Wilson recovering from neck surgery and the only other RB on the squad being Peyton Hillis, I think Andre Williams has a chance to be the #2 RB behind newly acquired Rashad Jennings. I won't be ranking him just yet, but he could sneak in there depending on how things shake out in the preseason.
New York Jets
Out of the 12 picks the Jets had this year, nearly half were offensive position players. Of those, I think one has fantasy value right away: Jace Amaro (TE, 2nd Round out of Texas Tech). I'm probably not reaching too far for any Jets players (much less a rookie), but Amaro finds himself in a pretty good opportunity for fantasy success. New York also selected a QB in the 6th round (Tahj Boyd, Clemson), and they took 3 WRs in this draft as well: Jalen Saunders (4th round, Oklahoma), Shaq Evans (4th round, UCLA), and Quincy Enunwa (6th round, Nebraska). After Eric Decker, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the #2 WR for the Jets, but I won't be ranking/drafting any of these rookie WRs myself.
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| Derek should find himself behind Schaub on the depth chart |
Oakland Raiders
Speaking of WRs, I don't know that any team could have used one more than Oakland. But of course, they didn't draft a receiver. They did draft a QB with the 4th pick in the 2nd round though: Derek Carr, Fresno State. He's the little brother of David Carr, and I feel like he can't do any worse, right? I don't know, but I do know that I won't be ranking him.
Philadelphia Eagles
Philly drafted a couple of WRs in the 2nd and 3rd rounds: Jordan Matthews (Vandy) and Josh Huff (Oregon). I'll probably be ranking Matthews...
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers drafted plenty of speed with a RB in the 3rd round (Dri Archer, Kent State) and a WR in the 4th (Martavis Bryant, Clemson). While Archer is a small speedster at 5'8" 173 lbs, Bryant is 6'4" 211 lbs. He was overshadowed at Clemson by both DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, but Bryant could come into his own in the NFL. While some people expect Markus Wheaton to make the next step and be the #2 WR for Pittsburgh, it could very well be Bryant. As for Dri Archer, I don't expect him to have much fantasy relevance with Le'Veon Bell as the feature back.
San Diego Chargers
They didn't draft any offensive position players until the 6th round of the draft, and I don't expect Marion Grice (RB, Arizona St) or Tevin Reese (WR, Baylor) to have a fantasy impact this year.
San Francisco 49ers
Another team with 12 picks in this draft, the Niners made a big move in the 2nd round in selecting
Carlos Hyde (RB, Ohio St). At first, it didn't make sense to me. San Fran has some good young RBs already in Kendall Hunter and LaMichael James...not to mention Marcus Lattimore, although he is coming off that terrible knee injury (and who knows if he'll ever be back to full strength?). With Frank Gore entering the last year of his contract, maybe it does make a little sense that they'd draft Hyde. For the 2014 season, he could have had a higher ceiling if he landed with a team with more immediate needs, but he could be a decent stash in a keeper or dynasty league. In the 4th round, the 49ers took a WR from South Carolina by the name of Bruce Ellington. He very well could be a good pick, but I don't see him having much fantasy value right away either.
Seattle Seahawks
With Golden Tate off to Detroit, the Seahawks took a couple of WRs: Paul Richardson (2nd Round, Colorado) and Kevin Norwood (4th Round, Alabama). Two very different style receivers, I like the speedier Richardson to be a potential late-round fantasy sleeper.
St. Louis Rams
The Rams addressed all sorts of needs in this draft, but WR wasn't one of them. I guess they're good with guys like Tavon Austin and Chris Givens. But they definitely improved their defense, and I already considered them as a top-10 fantasy D heading into this season. Of course the big news story with the Rams was drafting Michael Sam, but the bigger fantasy news was drafting Tre Mason in the 3rd round (RB, Auburn). Zac Stacy had such a breakout year in 2013, I didn't even consider them taking a guy like Mason. But they did. Stacy owners have to be a little nervous about a guy like that creating a timeshare situation. I know I'll be slightly adjusting my rankings to reflect that possibility.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Big time fantasy implications in Tampa! In the first 3 rounds, the Bucs selected the following players: Mike Evans (WR, Texas A&M), Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE, Washington), and Charles Sims (RB, West Virginia). These guys could all have value right away for the new look Buccaneers. Evans should fall right into the #2 WR position, Sefarian-Jenkins could be the best rookie TE (though he'll have to earn playing time over Brandon Myers and Tim Wright), and Sims could be a solid 3rd down back to spell Doug Martin and catch some balls out of the backfield. I like all of these guys and will try to fit them into my top-168 in my next rankings update, but the only one who might fit is Evans...
Tennessee Titans
With the loss of Chris Johnson, the Titans knew they had to address the RB position. That's exactly what they did in the 2nd round of the draft. Bishop Sankey out of Washington was the 54th overall selection, a new record low for the 1st RB drafted in any given year. He should have every opportunity to be the feature back for Tennessee, and he'll be my highest rookie RB by a long shot when I update my rankings. The other interesting pick for the Titans came in the 6th round with Zach Mettenberger (QB, LSU). Jake Locker is on a one-year contract and has had trouble staying healthy. It wouldn't be a total surprise to see Mettenberger starting a game or two at some point this season.
Washington Redskins
And finally, my Redskins. I was very pleased at how we traded back to get more picks and that our first 4 selections went toward defense and O-line. Then we had 4 more picks in Rounds 5-7, and those all went to the offense. We even drafted a kicker with our last pick, which just baffles me but whatever. I don't think Ryan Grant (WR, Tulane) or Lache Seastrunk (RB, Baylor) will have any type of immediate impact, but I'm sure I'll get a better look when training camp returns to RVA!
And now for the two lists...
List #1: Guys I think should be picked in your fantasy draft (and my ranking of them)
1. Bishop Sankey, RB, Titans
2. Mike Evans, WR, Bucs
3. Sammy Watkins, WR, Bills
4. Brandin Cooks, WR, Saints
5. Johnny Manziel, QB, Browns
6. Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Panthers
7. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Vikings
8. Jordan Matthews, WR, Eagles
9. Carlos Hyde, RB, 49ers
10. Odell Beckham, WR, Giants
Note: No Blake Bortles here, but will add him if declared the starter before the season starts. Also on the same team, no Marqise Lee or Allen Robinson. One of them may turn into the clear-cut #2 WR by Week 1, but for now we're looking at an Aaron Dobson/Kenbrell Thompkins situation...
List #2: Guys who I'm not ranking just yet, but I'd keep my eye on them if I were you
1. Devonta Freeman, RB, Falcons
2. Tre Mason, RB, Rams
3. Cody Latimer, WR, Broncos
4. Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit
5. Jeremy Hill, RB, Bengals
6. Isaiah Crowell, RB, Browns
7. Jace Amaro, TE, Jets
8. Martavis Bryant, WR, Steelers
9. Storm Johnson, RB, Jags
10. Paul Richardson, WR, Seahawks
Note: Isaiah Crowell could easily become Terrance West here. This should be an interesting training camp battle to watch closely.
That's it for now, but I hope to get my rankings updated and out soon!
Cheers,
Bart
