Fantasy Football 2018 - NFL Draft Breakdown: AFC Winners & Losers

And I feel like if you don't get a monster play from Drake when he gets the opportunity, you're probably going to be disappointed most weeks. Yeah, I would agree with that. I do think he's got the ability, the talent to give you some monster plays. I know we disagree on the effect of Kalin Belage. To me, you know, coming in, they were not going to stick with Kenyon Drake, Frank Gore, and nobody. They were going to draft the running. I saw Kenyon Drake almost as a winner because...

Say what you want about, okay, it's fourth round, but 11 running backs went ahead of Kalim Belage. He was not, you know, this, you know, he wasn't one of these guys where I feel like what happened was the team said we need him. It was more, oh man, we need to add another running back and he's next. And, you know, maybe it's a difference in perspective about what we think about the player himself. I don't think Kalin Belage was that talented.

If he is talented or if you believe he is, then it certainly has a huge effect on Drake. Yeah, I think it's a combination of believing that Belange is competent at the position. And Drake isn't made to carry that load. And I think that's why they paid for Gore. But look, I don't know how it's going to shake out. I just don't want any part of it. That's my takeaway. Jets. All right. Let's talk about the Jets who, for most people feel they stole Sam Darnold. I do.

Although more reports are coming out that teams had Baker Mayfield number one on the board, including the Giants, including the Jets. It's interesting because a lot of people were, I think, some people thought that Cleveland maybe overthought this draft. There was talk about hand size and all these things you need in Cleveland, then they go get Baker Mayfield. But Sam Darnold ends up going third overall after Sequin Barclay was drafted by the Giants. And winners and losers from this,

roster. The one thing that stood out to me is, well, if you were a running back or a wide receiver on the Jets, you didn't get any competition from this draft class. No, I mean, that's the big thing. If you're worried as a Robbie Anderson owner, even a Quincy, a Noonan owner, and you were like, I don't know, because these guys have some question marks, I've got to wait and see what they do in the draft. This was the answer to that. They're great.

to have and, you know, they're going to wait and see what they have. And I believe now they, what they have includes a quality long-term.

quarterback, I think Sam Donald will throw plenty of interceptions, but he'll throw plenty of touchdowns and wide receivers aren't hurt by the interceptions. Don't sell him short. He's willing to fumble as well. That is. He's even more willing to fumble. What was the stat? Something like 31 turnovers in 23 games or something like that? Yeah, I think he had 21 fumbles in college. Oh, man. That's the, the lack of three touchdowns worth. The lack of investments at the wide receiver position.

was a bit shocking to me that you have Quincy Noon while coming off. Well, you got to remember trial prior. Sure. You guys didn't mention him. Yeah. That would be another player that they felt like they invested the free agent capital in and can get a good season out of. But saying that Quincy coming off of the neck injury, Robbie Anderson with his off the field issues, they, it speaks to me that they have confidence that at least one of those guys will be able to go this year. The Jets Week 1 quarterback will be. Josh McCown. I agree.

All right, let's move on. Patriots. All right, lots to talk about here, guys. One of the more shocking picks in the draft, Mike, I think you had it down as your most shocking before you changed. Yes. To equanimious. But Sony Michelle goes in the first round. There had been questions, rumors about concerns, about his durability. Yeah, I think we know where those concerns were leaked from. Seriously. Can't you just hear them under?

Yes, I'm hearing, I'm hearing some bone-on-bone issues about Sonny Michelle. Yeah. Uncle Bill. I got everyone again. And yet again, another running back that I love the Patriots have acquired for fantasy value. It's tough. This is very, very tough for me to.

to read into this because it's a first round guy. You follow the draft capital. You follow that money. But James White is still there. They gave Rex Burke had a lot of cash. I think he's a top 10 paid running back this season. What Jeremy Hill and Mike Gillisley, someone's getting the boot sooner or later. More than likely it's going to be Jeremy Hill. But will Sony Michelle be not only a fantasy or a fitness concierge, but will he be?

Dionne Lewis from last year. I think not only can he be Dionne Lewis. No, I know he can be, but will he be? Yeah, I do think that's, I put my vote in yes. Yeah, I, I, I, I trust Bill Belichick. I know I wasn't as high at all on Michelle as you were, but. You've met my fitness concibly. Michelle. Michelle.

But look, my faith is in the Patriots in the scheme and the offense. They don't usually spend draft capital, certainly not high draft capital, on running backs. It's been a while since they have. So for them to do this says that they really believe in the talent, and it means that Bill Belichick believes he can get a lot out of the talent. I love the combo, the Georgia combo in the first round. You draft Isaiah win, offensive tackle to protect Tom Brady, making him a winner.

You invest a first round pick on an offensive lineman. And you get his roommate, Sony Michelle, the running back position. There's no way to walk away from this without calling Rex Burkhead a fantasy loser by way of the draft. And that doesn't mean he's not going to be relevant. That just means when you think you have a guy, you lose Dionne Lewis, you sign Jeremy Hill to be kind of an insurance policy at the running back position. And then the team goes and says, hey,

We believe in you so much that we're going to draft you in the first round. With your roommate. Yeah, and I think, I don't think anybody's arguing with the fact that from a pure skill standpoint, I think Sony Michelle has Rex Burkhead beat. Oh, yeah. Now, that being said, Sony Michelle's one problem was fumbling. Yeah, that's a great point. And that's not a place you're going to want to do that. Now, Belichick's all about that now. He's into it. He's into it. He's read the analytics. Yeah. It's good. Otherwise, I mean, well.

I thought the wide receiver core was a winner for the Patriots because they were a team that I had as a potential destination for one of the top five or six wide receivers. I wouldn't have been surprised had they gone wide receiver at the end of the first round instead of Sony Michelle. They didn't do that and they didn't take a wide receiver until the sixth round. So I think the existing wide receiver core is a winner. Any other thoughts on New England? I just like hearing you say good things about Jordan Matthews.

Oh, gosh. Oh, yes. Dang it. Dang it. Thank you. Oh, got them. I messed that up. Broncos. All right. The Broncos had Bradley Chubb followed them in the first round. But then they invested a couple of picks on the offensive side of the ball. Cortland Sutton, eighth pick of the second round. And then the new. Oh, the new rolls Royce. Rolls Royce. The real rolls, Royce. Royce Freeman.

Drafted at the top of the third round out of Oregon. Guys, Mike and I were musing on Slack already this weekend about how much we love Royce Freeman. Mike put his money where his mouth was, drafted him in the rookie draft. Yes. Devante Booker, you are a fantasy loser from this draft. He certainly is Royce Freeman production monster from Oregon. I mean, just unbelievable numbers. Seventh most yards from scrimmage.

in NCAA history and to a wide open, to a wide open backfield. He can come in and he can be a three-down guy. I don't know if they'll use him. That way they talked about him as we needed a thumper, a first and second down guy, but he can catch the ball. He's got decent hands. So for fantasy, Royce Freeman, and I'm not just talking about Dynasty right now, he's going to be.

Probably my second or third ranked rookie coming into this season. Wow.

I don't blame you. I won't have him that high. I see him as a, you know, my comp was a poor man's C.J. Anderson coming into the draft. And I don't think anybody was too happy with C.J. Anderson, who I believe is a better back than Royce Freeman. Now, I do think he's a clear winner going, you know, he had high draft capital spent on him. His range of possible outcomes in the draft was very, very wide. So I'm definitely not anti-Royce Freeman, but I'm not nearly as bullish as you two are. I see one of the big winners here.

being Case Keenham. There's just no way that you can say he wasn't on a big winner, considering there was a good chance at that number five spot that they take a quarterback of the future, and they could have. And they chose, obviously, Chubb dropped to them, the defensive end, and so they went that route. But then they followed that up with two of my favorite wide receivers of the draft, Cortland Sutton and Deshaun Hamilton. So you've got, even if you worry about the long-term prospects of Demarius Thomas.

Manuel Sanders. You have four really good wide receiving options there. The new running back, Royce Freeman. I really like what they did with the draft, and I'm excited to see what Case Keenham can do. Now, next season, I project one or both of D. Thomas and Sanders will be gone. Where are you on that, Jason? Do you think one or two are gone? I don't think that you draft Cortland Sutton and Deshaun Hamilton.

both in the first four rounds if you think that both are back next year. One of those guys is gone. All right. Let's move on. Chargers. All right, the Chargers. Let's talk winners and losers in fantasy. For me, it was all the offensive pieces that won because they just took defensive players for the first five rounds. Obviously, they invested high draft capital in Mike Williams last year. He'll have the opportunity to develop, become a core piece of the offense for Philip Rivers.

Rivers is a winner. They didn't draft the replacement for him. And we're going to see everything from Allen, Mike Williams, Tyro Williams, and company this year. I'm not sure anything else stood out to me from the Chargers side. But what do you guys think about the selections they made? No, I mean, I thought their draft was great for them as a team. You know, they had some problems. Basically, they had a few.

weaknesses on a defense that could be really strong if you plug those holes. They drafted the perfect pieces to plug those holes. So I think you're going to have a strong team. If there's any downside to the offense here, it might just be the fact that maybe their defense is really good and shutting guys down. So that would be good news, I would say, for Melvin Gordon.

Being able to run the ball more. It's a great draft for him. I think Melvin Gordon is the biggest winner from the charges. And Austin Eccler in deeper leagues. I was going to say, I think Justin Johnson? Or, I mean, Justin Jackson is a problem for Austin Eckler. Even in the seventh round. Yes. Even with the very, very low draft capital, Justin Jackson's a good running back. He just is not big enough for.

You think he'll make the roster? He is a good running back. And I think he will take Eckler's job. Going in the seventh round, it means he'll have a shot. He'll have a shot to make the roster. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I don't worry too much. But you are right. I do think Justin Jackson is a good pass catching running back there. There are a lot of those handcuff situations that get juggled due to the NFL draft. We saw that in.

Los Angeles with the Rams situation. They grabbed John Kelly and all of a sudden it was, you know, Malcolm Brown last year was locked and loaded as kind of that handcuff. It's probably changing there. That happens on a lot of these teams. Moving on. Chiefs. The Chiefs said, hey, I'll take your five straight defensive picks and I'll raise you seven. Good for you, Chiefs. Is that seven or six? Six straight, they had six picks and they used them all in defense. No offensive pieces. I guess when you.

Their offense was set. Well, they got Sammy Watkins. Yeah, they got Sammy Kelsey Tyreek Hill. Your running back core is set. I mean, the offense is ready to go. So they did what they needed to do on defense. Very similar to the Chargers. But no real winners are losers. Nothing to see here. Raiders. All right. Let's talk about the Raiders. Use the first round pick on Colton Miller out of UCLA. Offensive tackle. They use the third round pick on a tackle.