2012 Draft Report Cards

Let’s just get down to brass tacks – 2011 MSUSCFL Champion Phil Janis:

Keepers: (Drew Brees $77, Dez Bryant $25, Marques Colston $25): Although beating a dead horse, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the keeping of Drew Brees for $77. He does not go for more than $65 in the draft which makes the value drop significantly at $65. An extra $12 could have gone a long way in the draft for this reigning champ. Grade – D+

QB: ( 1 – $77) Brees had the second highest fantasy points average per game last year and is an elite QB. However, we are not predicting him to keep up his 2011 level of play after missing training camp and the likely instability due to Sean Payton’s suspension. This pick would merit a higher grade if this owner hadn’t overpaid it. Grade – B

RB: (4 – $47) Bradshaw is not an elite back and has been fragile over the last couple of years. Insufficient funds due to pre-draft decisions led to Phil’s drafting of LaGarrette Blount, Tim Hightower, Kevin Smith and Jonathan Dwyer. Need I say more? Grade – D-

WR: (5 – $65) Dez Bryant and Marques Colston lead the way for this position group but ultimately due not inspire much confidence, especially given Bryant’s propensity to get in trouble off the field. Laurent Robinson came on for a few weeks in 2011 but I look for Meachem to be the more consistent #3. Kendall Wright could provide value at $1 at some point but for the time being remains unproven and therefore insignificant. Grade – C+

TE: (1 – $9) Brandon Pettigrew is a solid pickup here with Graham, Gronkowski and Hernandez all off the board to start the draft. Pettigrew is a big target and provides good value at $9 as long as he can hold off Scheffler for targets from Staffy. Grade – B-

K: This one will really depend on the efficiency of Washington’s offense in a competitive division. Rackers is consistent but there is nothing special about this pick. Grade – C+

D/ST: In a tough division with Brees and Newton, the Falcons defense will have a tough time bettering its 2011 ranking of 11th. With only 12 teams in the league this pick was questionable at best. Grade – D

Favorite Pick: It would be Brees if not for the way he was picked. I guess Colston or Bryant would be the best picks of this draft which says a lot.

Question Mark(s): There is a big void at RB with a RB2 in the #1 slot. Look for an early free agent pick up here.

Draft strategy most resembles: NY Giants – reigning league champ, franchise QB, average RBs and a limited number of very good WRs.

Overall Draft: Grade – F

Division Draft Rank: 6^th/6

League Draft Rank: 12^th/12

Way Too Early Prediction: 3-5 wins // Toilet Bowl participant

Next Up (7/22): Jeff Byl