Hometown Draft Recap
Gentlemen.
Welcome back.
It’s finally football season, which means it’s time for us to chase everlasting glory yet again. With draft night in the rear view mirror, I put together a quick recap for each team - in no particular order I might add. Let the sh*t-talking begin.
Still T.O.M.
Season Theme: Run it back.
Draft Grade: A-
Quick Recap: After a dominant 2019 campaign, it’s time to turn the page and forge a dynasty. The reigning champs put together another intimidating roster on draft night - headlined by CMC (the deity himself) and strong gang of pass catchers. It may be a new season, but all four starting WR’s finished inside the top sixteen in 2019 which certainly bodes well for team success. The foursome does lack some explosiveness outside of DJ Charks’ potential - but the combination of McCaffrey, James Conner, and sophomore standout Kyler Murray offer plenty upside for what could be one of the more balanced teams in the league. Try to come snatch the crown. I dare ya.
Keys to Success: James Conner and Hunter Henry need to stay on the field.
X-Factor: Kyler Murray
Hammered Hanks
Season Theme: Ball don’t lie.
Draft Grade: B+
Quick Recap: The Hammered Hanks are coming off a frustrating 2019 season, cut short by a Round 1 playoff loss. They were the highest scoring team in the league, but bad luck delivered a modest 7-6 record. To turn things around in 2020, Hen went out and prioritized receivers early. After Dalvin Cook in the first, he bypassed the RB position entirely before selecting Jordan Howard in the 8th. Headlined by DeAndre Hopkins and Amari Cooper, this is a wildly talented group of WR’s with limitless upside, but many of these names can also fall victim to inopportune volatility. Dak and George Kittle will need to provide steady numbers at the QB and TE spots to make up for down weeks at the WR position. $20 says this’ll be one of the higher scoring teams in the league.
Keys to Success: Bolster RB depth behind Dalvin Cook and Jordan Howard.
X-Factor: DeVante Parker
Moore Crow-Bell
Season Theme: Get over the hump.
Draft Grade: B
Quick Recap: Back to back playoff appearances provide reason for optimism, but nobody remembers second place. This year, this fan-favorite GM went out and pieced together an intriguing lineup of reliable veterans and young studs. Julio, Zeke, and Russ aren’t “sexy” names anymore, but I’ll be damned if all three aren’t top four at their respective positions by year's end. Then we have DJ Moore and A.J. Brown - both of whom showcased their elite ability last season as legit WR2’s, and I don’t think anyone should be surprised if one of them cracked the top twelve. Le’Veon Bell may not be the bellcow he once was, but he’s still a strong volume play, and rookie Antonio Gibson has made a ton of noise in Washington following the dismissal of Derrius Guice and AP. Not a team I want to f*ck around with.
Keys to Success: DJ Moore and A.J. Brown fortify themselves as top twenty WRs.
X-Factor: A.J. Brown
Bounceback Szn
Season Theme: Mulligan.
Draft Grade: B-
Quick Recap: 2019 was a shanked drive off the tee - deep, deep into the hazards. Mulligan! Now in 2020, this SoCal-convert is going alllllllll in on early round tailbacks (emphasis on the all). Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley, and David Johnson make up what’s easily the top backfield in the league - but they come with more than their fair share of question marks. How’s Gurley’s knee holding up? Can David Johnson reestablish himself as an RB1? How big of a threat is Kareem Hunt to Nick Chubb? Then we have T.Y. Hilton, who headlines a questionable WR trio, albeit with undeniable upside. Preston Willians and Anthony Miller do provide decent depth behind the speedsters; Hollywood Brown and Henry Ruggs. Fortunately, Travis Kelce is the top fantasy TE for a reason, so his reliable contributions should pick up the slack when/if needed.
Keys to Success: Gurley, DJ, and T.Y. need to stay on the field, and produce like they have in the past.
X-Factor: Marquis Brown + Henry Ruggs
A-Stainers
Season Theme: Keep on keepin’ on.
Draft Grade: B
Quick Recap: Gotta keep that confidence. The A-Stainers have managed back to back playoff appearances, but they have nothing to show for it. In an effort to flip the script, Stain began his draft with an impeccable trio. Kamara is poised for a revenge tour, Davante Adams was my number one WR coming into the season (who else is Aaron Rodgers gonna throw to?), and Pat Mahomes is the best player in all of football. Juice Landry and Sterling Shephard pose as modest reserves to Adams, with rookies CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk providing nice WR depth off the bench. Then we have Zach Ertz who’ll almost assuredly remain Carson Wentz’s top target in Philly. With all that talent, Cam Akers and Ronald Jones II are the true x-factors on the team. Can either of those two establish themselves as a viable RB2?
Keys to Success: Cam Akers runs away with the Rams’ backfield, and Aiyuk/Lamb provide FLEX value.
X-Factor: Cam Akers
Fyre Fest
Season Theme: Sustain momentum.
Draft Grade: B-
Quick Recap: A late five game win streak in 2019 wasn’t quite enough, but it sure as hell made things interesting. To keep things moving in the right direction, Chettttyy (Deb cheering voice) paired up two incredibly versatile backs to start off draft night; Austin Ekeler and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Both RB’s should provide deadly value in this 0.5 PPR format. Mike Evans and Tyler Lockett make up another robust WR duo. Admittedly, both can be a bit unpredictable week to week, but you’ll feel comfortable starting them in any matchup. Nabbing Darren Waller in the 5th was a nice selection to fortify the TE spot, before rolling the dice a bit more with WR Michael Gallup and RB D’Andre Swift. No one can doubt the potential of either player, but Gallup has to fend for targets with Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb now, while Swift will have to do the same in Detroit between Kerryon Johnson and Adrian Peterson.
Keys to Success: Find reliable production in those FLEX and WR/TE spots.
X-Factor: D’Andre Swift
Brees in the Trap
Season Theme: You do you, baby.
Draft Grade: B+
Quick Recap: Somehow this 11th place team scored just 60 points less than the champs in 2019. It sucks to suck, but it sucks more to be unlucky. Things are looking pretty nice after draft night though. Lamar Jackson immediately gives you an advantage every single week, and an impeccable trio of value RB’s in Mixon, Taylor, and Ingram provide even more room for optimism. Sure, maybe Ingram loses some touches to J.K. Dobbins as the season marches on, but one has to assume that Jonathan Taylor will continue taking on a larger role as well. Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, and Brandin Cooks make up a solid WR bunch - two of whom have a legit chance at being their team’s number one option in the passing game. And lastly, if Tyler Higbee keeps things rolling after his second half last season - then we should all be on alert.
Keys to Success: Increase WR depth, and bank on the emergence of Jonathan Taylor.
X-Factor: Brandin Cooks
Z-Unit
Season Theme: Sunglasses on, to block out the haters.
Draft Grade: B+
Quick Recap: This GM drew more heat last season than gender reveal in California. Everyone liked to question his roster construction and trade proposals, yet all he did was ride that criticism on a one-way flight to the championship. With a head held high, Z had himself a stellar draft night. Pairing Saquon and Chris Carson makes for one of the best one-two punches in the league (buying Carson’s insurance policy in Carlos Hyde shouldn’t be understated either). Kenny Golladay will look to improve upon his huge 2019 campaign now that Matthew Stafford is back under center. Matching Golladay with Terry McLaurin and Courtland Sutton may not seem like an immediately intimidating trio of wideouts - but all three are young, emerging, and grossly talented. Those three, with Diontae Johnson, Christian Kirk, and Allen Lazard make up what I’m calling the deepest WR corps in the entire league. I really like this roster construction.
Keys to Success: Terry McLaurin emerges as a top twenty WR, and Devin Singletary sustains FLEX value at a minimum.
X-Factor: Diontae Johnson
BK
Season Theme: Get back to the good ole days. Get back to 2018.
Draft Grade: A-
Quick Recap: Okay, okay, okay! Nice work BK. The first two picks are awesome - no one can deny Derrick Henry’s volume, and no one can compete with Tyreek Hill’s upside. Those two alone will combine for 60+ points a few times this season - which will suck to match up against. Then we have the Poopmeister himself! OBJ is fully recovered from a nagging hip injury and poised for a bounceback year. Melvin Gordin is a decent enough RB2, and Kareem Hunt is an enticing FLEX who simultaneously serves as the league’s top handcuff. I don’t love having three Browns in the lineup, and I don’t like Curtis Samuel in the WR/TE at all - but Deebo will slide into that spot nicely when ready. Having Philip Lindsay, Kerryon Johnson, and Jerry Jeudy on the bench ain’t bad either. My personal favorite pick though is Joe Burrow in the 17th round. Remember when B-rad selected a guy named Patrick Mahomes late in the draft two years ago?
Keys to Success: Trade positional depth for a difference maker.
X-Factor: Kareem Hunt
PB
Season Theme: Nobody likes freshman year anyway.
Draft Grade: B
Quick Recap: The 2019 season was one to forget - but guess who’s projected for the most points in Week 1? This guy, right hurr. Why? Because this team is pumped full of players with sky high ceilings, and risky floors. Will Fuller, Stefon Diggs, and Aaron Jones are some of the most electric players in the NFL, but every so often they kinda disappear. But it’s not like the entire roster is that way. Josh Jacobs is primed for a coming out party, as many project him to be a top five pick next season. Mark Andrews is a virtual lock to be a top five TE, and JuJu’s hopes are high now that Big Ben is healthy again. My only bone to pick with this team is the shallow bench, none of whom offer any exciting upside. All in all, this is a team bound to explode for 150+ points every now and then.
Keys to Success: Add bench depth in case of injuries to the starting lineup.
X-Factor: JuJu Smith-Schuster
#1 Team in all of HMB
Season Theme: It’s an even year again!
Draft Grade: B-
Quick Recap: You can’t fake championship DNA, and no one can compete with this GM’s aggression on the trade market. Trade, trade, and trade some more. That’s the motto. Any team headlined by Miles Sanders and Chris Godwin is going to have sex appeal, though we have to admit both players have relatively small sample sizes when it comes to success. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, maybe we haven’t seen their ceiling yet. Godwin, Cooper Kupp, A.J. Green, and Marvin Jones Jr. make up a premier quartet of wideouts, and Hayden Hurst’s production as the new TE in Atlanta will be closely monitored after the preseason hype he’s received. I love the David Montgomery and Zack Moss pick, but drafting Leonard Fournette at 4.01 was probably two rounds too early. I bet he’ll win the job eventually, but I want my 4th round pick to deliver value immediately. That was a big roll of the dice - but it might hit!
Keys to Success: Strong WR and RB depth provides the ammunition needed for a blockbuster trade.
X-Factor: Cam Newton
F*CK FANTASY FOOTBALL
Season Theme: “Bro, there’s no way my team can suck three years in a row.”
Draft Grade: A
Quick Recap: W’s have been pretty tough to come by these past two years. The league punching-bag has typically been a heavy investor in the early round RB, but he shifted to a new approach this season. And the way I see it, it paid off big time. Michael Thomas, Adam Thielen, and Robert Woods are a premier trio of wideouts - and the GM didn’t have to forfeit the RB position to get there. Kenyan Drake is a relatively unproven RB1, but enticing nonetheless. We all know how annoying Kyle Shanahan can be with fantasy tailbacks, but you’ve got to feel good about Raheem Mostert as an RB2 behind those stellar pass catchers. If Evan Engram can stay on the field, and if J.K. Dobbins usurps Mark Ingram’s role as the lead back in Baltimore, then we’re all in trouble. Great roster - can’t wait to see how it implodes!!!
Keys to Success: Find consistency at the FLEX spot.
X-Factor: J.K. Dobbins
