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.
This CBSsports.com story has a mock first-round for the 2021 draft.
There are several interesting parts of it, too, including Alejandro's and Jules' favorite team - the Georgia Bulldogs - have a current and a former top-10 projected pick in quarterbacks Jamie Newman and Justin Fields.Interesting.
And of course, if you are expecting a wide-open turnover in terms of the power brokers, well, forget it.
Alabama has six players listed in that CBSsports.com mock draft. Six. DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Dylan Moses, Patrick Surtain, Alex Leatherwood and Josh Jobe. Clemson has three, including top-pick Trevor Lawrence. Stanford has two tackles, and Penn State has two as well.
As for Vegas's odds, here's what my friends at sportsbettingdime.com list as the odd for the first player selected next April:
> Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) is -305, which means you have to bet $305 to win $100;
> Justin Fields (Ohio State) is +300, which means you win $300 on a $100 bet;
> Penei Sewell (Oregon) is +400
> D'Eriq King (Miami) is +1600
> Micah Parsons (Penn State) is +2500
> Jamie Newman (Georgia) is +3300
> Alex Leatherwood (Alabama) is +3300
> Gregory Rousseau (Miami) is +3300
> Ja'Marr Chase (LSU) is +5000
Couple of things about those odds. First, everyone understands Lawrence is the clear favorite. I get that.
But secondly, Ja'Marr Chase is a great value pick right? What happens if a team that took a QB in round one - like Cincinnati or Miami - last weekend stinks again in 2021? They are not going QB, and sure, maybe they could trade down. But Chase is an absolute stud.
Same with Rousseau, who had 15.5 sacks last year as a redshirt freshman and plays a much-coveted spot.
This and that
- Hey, is Roger Goodell the front-runner for one of the few winners during The Corona. He was downright, dad-like charming during the draft and his interactions. Now comes news that about six weeks ago with the financial pain looming, Goodell offered to work for no pay until things get back to normal. And better yet, he did not offer it up as a "look at magnanimous me" statement. Well-played Roger. Well-played indeed.
- The MLB Hall of Fame induction ceremony has been reshuffled, and Derek Jeter and Larry Walker and the rest of the 2020 class will be inducted in 2021. Which gives the veteran's committee a chance to rethink the idiotic decision to have Ted Simmons inducted.
- The Bengals cut Andy Dalton, per Adma Schefter. Shocker. Not really.
- ESPN the Ocho returns this weekend. I'll admit it: Slippery Stairs is fun to watch in a "Wipe Out" kind of way.
- I know there's an April's Fools Day on the first day of the month. Is there a May's Fools Day? We ask because this story out of Atlanta is terrifying, right? Because of The Corona, Atlanta-area teenagers are not being required to take the road test to get a driver's license. Wow, hey The Corona's serious and all, but handing the keys to unprepared 16-year-olds is downright deadly too.
- Rest easy John Mercer, the former WDEF anchor who died Tuesday night with a heart condition. He was 56.
- Couple of consistent daily routines about our fight against The Corona: Well, it feels like each day another sporting event gets cancelled or PP'd; second, every day TFP all-around sports ace David Paschall is sharing some interesting article on something. Today, he catches up with former UTC linebacker Tae Davis, who is a Cleveland Brown and an all-around good guy.
Today's question
I am interested in everyone's thoughts about the sports quarantine compound question.
Also, in the 2021 draft, at No. 1 overall, you take Trevor Lawrence or the field?
As for today, April 30, let's review.
George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the U.S. on this day in 1789.
Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" was published on this day in 1859.
Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on TV on this day in 1952.
Hitler died on this day in 1945. Good riddance.
On this day in 1992, the final episode of the TV show about the Huxtables that was named for the guy that we no longer name around these parts aired.
Burt Young is 80 today. For those unfamiliar, he played 'Paulie' in the Rocky movies.
Best side characters in sports movie history. Go, and remember the mailbag.