NFL draft review part III
Our NFL draft review comes complete today with another top-five list.
Hey, we’re the 5-at-10 after all.
Monday we did the draft winners and losers. Tuesday we did the top-five list of teams that truly improved. Wednesday was the five teams that had the worst drafts.
Today, let’s spin this thing forward a little bit. Let’s go over the five best rookies in the world of fantasy football.
Deal? Deal.
Let’s offer the closest thing we have to a lawyer-like disclaimer before we begin: we can all admit that it’s a difficult chore to say yeah or nay on drafts in the immediate aftermath. But what we can explore is perceived value at each spot and analyze fit and functionality.
With that in mind, here are the five players with the chance to be fantasy stars in 2020, provided there is a traditional fantasy season as opposed to the season being a fantasy.
> Cam Akers. The former Florida State running back has the clearest path to RB1 status of any of the rookie ball carriers picked over the weekend. Akers – a former top-flight recruit who ran for 1,144 yards and caught 30 passes in 11 games in 2019 – was one of the few FSU bright spots, and could be one of the guys with the most valuable descriptions in fantasy football – an every-down running back.
> Joe Burrow. The No. 1 overall pick is going to be the guy from day one, and the Bengals have a sneaky good collection of perimeter guys, and that was before adding Tee Higgins with the first pick of round 2. Yes, the interceptions will come – they always do for rookies – but Jameis Winston was a valuable fantasy guy last year and he threw picks by the bushel. Plus, the Bengals are going to be trailing in almost every game, so Burrow is going to be called to sling it. A lot. (Side note: While we are here, there are a couple of guys who’s fantasy stock sky-rocketed with the draft and the offseason additions. Dak Prescott having a three-WR set with Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and rookie CeeDee Lamb. Drew Lock is another guy who is flush with pass-catchers, including the two the Broncos added in the draft, heading into 2020.)
> Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Damien Williams’ presence on the depth chart means Edwards-Helaire’s path to RB1 is not as paved as Akers’ but the Chiefs spent a first-rounder on the former LSU star. Plus, the fit in an explosive K.C. offense is so mouth-watering, Pavlov is giggling. Edwards-Helaire had more than 1,000 yards and caught 50 passes last year for that explosive LSU offense, and the Chiefs’s offense is going to a) churn up huge numbers, b) create huge mismatches against almost every defense, and c) build a lot of leads and look to pound the ball and run the clock late. Yes please. I would take CEH and Akers right now as my top two RBs and feel excellent about it.
> Ke’Shawn Vaugh. Another former SEC running back, and this one is much more of a reach. But Vaughn also has a real chance to be the ‘title’ guy in the 2020 fantasy season. (Side note: The ‘title’ guy is normally a late-round fantasy pick that exceeds everyone’s expectations to a point that he becomes a difference-maker for 90-plus percent of teams that go on to win their fantasy leagues. Lamar Jackson was that guy in 2019. Christian McCaffrey was the ‘title’ guy in 2018.) Vaughn, a fourth-rounder over the weekend, could be that guy in 2020.
> Antonio Gibson. Sure any of the first-round wideouts could be listed here. (Side note: If I had to rank them in terms of fantasy, I’d go Ruggs, Lamb and Jeudy, because Ruggs is the surefire WR1 in Las Vegas, Lamb will have the best QB of those three but is a clear No. 2 WR behind Cooper, and then Jeudy, who may be the best of three but likely will be behind Courtland Sutton in targets.) But Gibson’s path to the field and his versatility – he’ll spend time at RB and WR – give him a huge upside in Washington. And know this: New Redskins coach Ron Rivera, who was in Carolina for the last decade or so, said Gibson’s skill set reminds him of Christian McCaffrey. And friends, any comparison to McCaffrey in the fantasy world is the utmost compliment.
Quarantine sports return
OK, there have been a lot of these “pod” sports complex ideas pitch in an effort to get professional sports back into action.
There was the baseball plan with everything in Arizona. That idea has morphed into potentially a three-city plan with 10 teams in each.
The NBA was the first I saw with a plan of this ilk. It originally was a Vegas-centered approach.
Now, it appears Disney World in Orlando is in play, and it makes sense in a lot of overlapping ways.
The courts are there. The hotel space is there. It’s close to the Magic facility for the biggest games. Disney owns the park and ABC/ESPN and the broadcast availability and compatibility is clear.
But the two biggest and overlapping parts of all of these ideas remain the same.
First, resumption is without fans. Second, it would require all must-have personnel (players, coaches, broadcasters and essential support staff be it medical and what not) to be quarantined away from family.
Which leads me to our first questions of the day:
Would you be willing to do that, to leave you family for multiple months to be quarantined and run the risk of catch The Corona?
Yes, the month is great and our craving for sports is clear. But would you be willing to hole up in Phoenix until October with no access to your significant other and tots?
And, to go the next step, what would be saying about a star player who said, “You know what, I got plenty of money and I’m going to stay with my wife and kids” when asked to go play?
Discuss.
One more draft discussion
OK, while we’re here, there is one more draft discussion to have.
Hey, I love the draft. You know this.