Trying something new - offseason content!

Inspired by a brief Blingachat thread - and today's date - let's take a look at each franchise's most foolish keepers.

Allen

Allen might not be an active franchise any more, but he was around long enough to have plenty of keepers. As I looked at them, I was (a) struck by how many remember-a-guys (RAGs) there were (Ladarius Green? Rueben Randle? Isaiah Crowell? Tre Mason?) and (b) how there really isn't anything too wild.

The player that performed worst after being kept was Tre Mason (2015), who followed up his 765 yards and 4 TD in 2014 with just 207 and 1 the next year. But he only cost Allen a 13th round pick, so it's hard to criticize his choice too much.

Babel

Overall, Babel has a pretty solid list of keepers. Jameis Winston (2017) is one of the few clear disappointments on the list, as he downgraded from 4090 yards to 3504 and 28 TD to 19 as Babel's keeper. But a slightly worse one is Lance Moore (2013), who followed up a 1041/6 season with 457/2 and was never drafted in Blingaleague again.

Dave

Dave has a fair share of RAGs (Chris Thompson, Jeremy Langford, Jordan Howard) on his keeper roster, but his most foolish choice was a former star. Heading into 2020, Dave kept A.J. Green, who didn't play at all in 2019 and had just 694 yards in 2018. He didn't get any better, with just 523 after being kept for a fourth round pick.

Derrek

Derrek has a really impressive keeper history, so there's really only one option here - and it's a good one. D took a flyer on Josh Gordon in 2016, hoping that he'd be reinstated after being suspended for all of the previous year. Spoiler alert: he was not.

Ed

The Commish not once, but twice chose to keep a hilariously forgettable Giants RB. In 2013, that RB was David Wilson, who followed up a banner 358 yard and 4 TD campaign with 146 yards, 1 TD, and a career-ending neck injury. In 2017, it was Paul Perkins, who put up 90 yards and zero TD after having 456 and, uh, zero the year before. Great job, Ed!

Kevin

Kevin has fewer keepers than any of the other sixteen-year franchises due to his opting to keep just one player in 2014 and 2020 (amusingly, both were named Allen). The worst keeper on his list is probably Martavis Bryant (2015), who had a middling season with 765 yards and 6 TD after having 549 and 8 as a rookie in 2014.

Matt

I'll give Matt a pass for keeping Kevin Smith in 2009, as the Lions RB was coming off a rookie season in which he rushed for 976 yards and 8 TD. His 2009 downgrade to 747 and 4 clearly didn't prevent Matt from winning his first Sanderson Cup.

Instead, let's highlight Andre Ellington, whom Matt kept in 2014 and 2015. Ellington didn't exactly set the world on fire as a rookie, finishing with 652 yards and 3 TD in 2013. He put up nearly identical numbers in 2014 (660 and 3). He then totally bottomed out his third time on Matt's roster, with just 289 yards (and another 3 TD) in 2015. Fun fact: Ellington was never drafted in his Blingaleague career, only kept.

Mike R.

Mike's self-deprecation over his own keeper history in Blingachat was the inspiration for this issue, and there are indeed some real gems here. Three times, Mike has kept an RB in the 9th round only for them to never be drafted in Blingaleague again.

Most recently, that RB was Alex Collins. Mike acquired him via trade during his 973-yard, 6-TD 2017 season and kept him into 2018. Collins put up just 411 yards, but did add 7 TD, and was traded away to Pat.

In 2015, Mike kept Charles Sims. Keeping him was a bold move, as he had just 375 total yards and 1 TD as a rookie in 2014. Sims did put up his best year when kept (529 rushing, 561 receiving, 4 total TD), but it wasn't that good.

Longest ago, that RB was Zac Stacy. Mike kept him in 2014 after a 973-yard (yes, the same as Collins's pre-keeper total), 7-TD rookie year in 2013. Stacy rushed for just 293 and 1 the following year, then 89 and 1 in 2015, then was out of the league.

In the end, a non-RB will earn the distinction of being Mike's worst keeper. Terrelle Pryor, Sr. followed up a 1007-yard, 4-TD receiving year in 2016 with a spot on Mike's roster. The failed QB put up just 240 and 1 in 2017, demonstrating his duality as a failed WR, as well.

Pat

Pat's been our most historically-inept franchise, so it's no surprise his keeper history is full of a few headscratchers. When you look closer, a lot of those remember-a-guys made sense, though: Willie Snead was coming off two seasons with 895+ yards; Austin Collie was entering his third year and was expected to have Peyton Manning at QB; Dustin Keller cost only an 11th round pick.

So instead, let's talk about Pat's 2016 keeper choices and draft. His first keeper was Mike Wallace, who had 473 yards and 2 TD the year before. That does not sound like a 5th round pick to me, but that's where he was kept. But, surprisingly, it worked out pretty well, as Wallace had a revival in Baltimore to the tune of 1017 yards and 4 TD.

Pat's other keeper was Matthew Stafford for a 7th. Stafford was coming off a pretty standard year, with more than 4000 yards passing, and he would put up another 4000-yard season in 2016. But despite having one of the most reliable, if not amazing, QBs on his roster, Pat opted to take Aaron Rodgers in the first round. All tolled, that makes Pat's 2016 a worthy highlight here.

Pulley

Pulley definitely has a pattern to his keeper choices, historically preferring low-cost options. His most recent bargain-basement choice, however, is also probably his worst (which says a lot about his strong keeper history): Deshaun Watson. Pulley drafted the suspended Watson in 2021 in the last round of the draft as a reasonable flyer in case he wound up playing. He kept Watson for a 14th in 2022, when he did eventually play in six games. He then kept Watson again in 2023, when he once again played in only six games. In total, Pulley rostered Watson for three years and got 12 games, 2217 yards, 14 TD, and 9 interceptions out of it.

Rabbit

As one of our best franchises, it should be surprising that Rabs has a history of good keepers. His worst - Donte Moncrief in 2016 - was bad, but at least cheap (10th round).

Richie

There is one name that sticks out like a sore thumb from Richie's keeper list: Corey Coleman. Richie, like the Browns, drafted Coleman in 2016. While he had just 413 yards and 3 TD in his rookie year, the potential was there, so Richie kept him for an 8th heading into 2017. Coleman had just 305 yards that year, and then was out of the league by 2019.

Rob

There are a few other "him?" guys on Rob's list, but the answer here was always going to be one man.

C.J. Spiller put up just 300 yards rushing after Rob kept him for a 3rd in 2014.

Schertz

The first half of Schertz's keeper history is a treasure trove of question marks... with somewhat-reasonable answers. Danny Amendola for a 9th in 2013? OK, he was joining the Patriots after putting up 666 yards for the Rams. Ben Tate for a 6th in 2014? OK, he had just been signed by the Browns after he rushed for 771 yards and 4 TD as Arian Foster's backup. Alfred Blue for a 9th in 2015? OK, he had just rushed for 528 yards and 2 TD as a rookie and Arian Foster's backup.

So instead let's look at his most recent keepers. In 2022, rookie Treylon Burks had just 444 yards and a single TD for the Titans. Heading into 2023, they added DeAndre Hopkins as their new top WR. In a surprise to no one except Schertz, it appears, Burks had just 221 yards (and zero TD), proving to be an awful keeper choice.

Scott

Scott's initial keepers - whom he inherited from Allen - are really his only two that aren't outright good. He entered the 2018 season with Jamaal Williams (long before his TD explosion in 2022) and Rex Burkhead for a 9th and 12th round pick, respectively.

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