Draft Grades Retrospective
This is purely based on each team's draft, not the team's subsequent moves.
-Commish
Bud Ice Penguins
The Penguins came into the draft with a ton of mid-round picks, and only one selection in the first three rounds. The Penguins season was defined much more by who they brought into the season and the trades they've made, but not the draft itself. There were a few sharp selections though, including grabbing De'Von Achane, Jayden Reed, and Josh Downs. Given what the Penguins had available, I'd say it was a pretty decent draft.
Best Pick: Jayden Reed (5.09)
Worst Pick: Christian Kirk (5.08)
Grade: B
GIRTH
GIRTH neutered their draft standing from the beginning, keeping only one selection in the top seven rounds. Even given this, GIRTH's draft was abysmal. They managed to add very little value to their roster in this draft. Their top selection was Davante Adams, and it's all downhill from there, with the exception of Diontae Johnson at 6.10, who has cooled off significantly in the latter portion of the season
Best Pick: Davante Adams (2.09)
Worst Pick: Bryce Young (7.05)
Grade: F-
Muff Punters
The Punters came in with the #1 overall pick in the draft, and took consensus number one Marvin Harrison Jr. at the spot. Even despite his inconsistent play, Harrison Jr. will certainly be a keeper for the franchise. There were some genuinely solid picks in this draft, including Chuba Hubbard, Stefon Diggs (pre injury), and Tony Pollard. It really isn't the worst draft here.
Best Pick: Chuba Hubbard (8.12)
Worst Pick: Elijah Mitchell (13.01)
Grade: C-
Parma Pirates
The Pirates had one of their best drafts ever this season. They came in with extra picks in the top rounds, which automatically gives an advantage over other teams. There are a ton of big name players here, including James Cook, Alvin Kamara, David Montgomery, George Kittle, and Caleb Williams. There were some notable whiffs as well, as Rachaad White and Gus Edwards were both busts at where they were drafted. All in all, still a very strong draft.
Best Pick: David Montgomery (3.08)
Worst Pick: Gus Edwards (8.05)
Grade: A
Play Action Jackson
This team is notorious for being bad at drafting. This year they stacked the deck by having five selections in the first two rounds alone. Looking at just those picks tells the story of the draft for PAJ, and it was a very mixed bag. Aaron Rodgers and Chris Olave were huge swings and misses for this team, but they did manage to get Kenneth Walker and Josh Jacobs (despite people making fun of this pick, myself included). Going beyond the top rounds, there's even more of a mixed bag, with JK Dobbins being a huge highlight and Tyler Conklin being a weird pick.
Best Pick: Josh Jacobs (1.03)
Worst Pick: Chris Olave (1.05)
Grade: C+
PT Flea Flik-er
Unfortunately for Jackson, his team was set up to fail in this draft. Even worse, Jackson made some not great picks in the top two rounds, with DJ Moore and Amari Cooper taken in rounds 2 & 3. Zamir White might be one of the worst picks of the entire draft, and Jackson didn't really manage to add any value in the late rounds at all. This is a sneaky bad draft, as the only great pick (for who was available) was James Conner.
Best Pick: James Conner (4.10)
Worst Pick: Zamir White (3.10)
Grade: F+
Sacks in the City
Sacks in the City came into the season with an average amount of draft capital, but they made the most of it early. Part of their success came from their triple RB keeper strategy, which meant they could focus on the QB early in the draft. This allowed them to pull the trigger on rookie Jayden Daniels, who is fifth in points currently and will likely be a keeper for this team for years to come. Brian Thomas and Zay Flowers were nice picks to bolster the WR position. There were a few suspect picks in the mix as well, as Dalton Schultz, Pat Freiermuth, and Christian Watson all sit below 200th in points on the year, despite being drafted in the top 120 of the draft. Still, the top is what matters most and Sacks walked away with a legit keeper.
Best Pick: Jayden Daniels (1.08)
Worst Pick: Luke McCaffrey (11.08)
Grade: A-
Slat's Slimes
This draft was abysmal at the RB spot, and everyone knew it from day one. This really led to the team not being able to make many moves throughout the season. Kyler Murray was a decent pick at the top of the draft, and Tyler Lockett was good in round 11, but outside these, there's nothing here. I take back what I said about Zamir White, Jonathon Brooks is one of the worst picks in league history.
Best Pick: Kyler Murray (1.04)
Worst Pick: Jonathon Brooks (5.03)
Grade: F
The Blue Waffles
I've talked all year about the Waffles management, and it all started on draft day. What I've come to realize is this was actually a pretty decent draft, with one huge exception (Michael Pittman). Joe Mixon, Malik Nabers, Terry McLaurin, and especially, Bucky Irving, were all good to great picks. I won't act like there weren't some misses (outside of Pittman, Watson!), but this draft wasn't nearly as bad as I thought at the time.
Best Pick: Bucky Irving (14.02)
Worst Pick: Michael Pittman (1.11)
Grade: B-
The Bridge Road Orcas
The Orcas had a mixed draft with some excellent selections mixed in. Brock Purdy, Drake London, Brock Bowers, Courtland Sutton, and Bo Nix were all very nice selections, with many of these players having keeper upside for the Orcas over previous keeper Tank Dell. This sounds like a home run draft, but there is also a notable misses list: Jaylen Waddle, Evan Engram, Jets Defense, Justin Tucker, Mike Williams, and Ty Chandler.
Best Pick: Bo Nix (9.06)
Worst Pick: New York Jets D/ST (9.09)
Grade: B
Washington Fantasy Team
For all of the nice things you can say about WFT and Curtis, drafting well has not been a major theme for them recently. They are a trade wizard and a lineup guru, not a draft god. It certainly doesn't help that this team makes a habit of not giving themselves much of a chance in the draft by trading all of their picks away. They did nail their QB selections with Jared Goff and Sam Darnold, but that's about all they did that added value to the team.
Best Pick: Sam Darnold (11.10)
Worst Pick: Curtis Samuel (10.08)
Grade: D
Zark's Sharks
Now this is a draft. Most of the good guys you associate with this team were drafted by the Sharks. The list of good to great picks is long: Nico Collins, Trey McBride, Baker Mayfield, Brian Robinson, Brandon Aubrey, and Chase Brown. Chris Godwin was a stellar pick before getting injured as well. There are some names in here that could have been improved on, with Devonta Smith, DK Metcalf, 49ers D, and Jaylen Warren all falling short of draft expectations. Even with these guys, I certainly understand the reasoning behind drafting them, so I'd call them good misses. Zark is probably one of the top draft guys in the league for good reason.