While Dave channeled his inner Al Davis (look at that team speed!), we finished the draft about as fast as I can remember (COVID year not counted), clocking in at just under 3 hours.

2024 Draft Recap

Schertz

Schertz added the no-brainer #1, Christian McCaffrey, to his already-good RB corps (De'Von Achane (8.14, keeper) and Kyren Williams (9.01, keeper)). After that, he prioritized QB in the second (Jalen Hurts) and took WRs in the third through fifth (DK Metcalf, Keenan Allen, Xaiver Worthy) before pivoting back to RBs. The biggest question Schertz will have going into the season is if he has enough WRs; he only added Jerry Jeudy (11.01) to the aforementioned trio

Kevin

Kevin jumped on Ja'Marr Chase at 1.02 and then, like Schertz, took a QB with his next live pick (Patrick Mahomes II, 3.02). Zamir White (5.02) and Zack Moss (6.13) provide nice depth behind Jahmyr Gibbs (2.13, keeper), but - also like Schertz - Kev has some question marks at WR. Marquise Brown (7.02) is likely to miss week 1, at least; Jordan Addison (9.02) is looking at a potential suspension; and Tim Patrick (16.13) will reportedly be released by the Broncos this week.

Pat

With a WR (Chris Olave, 5.03) and TE (Dalton Kincaid, 8.12) already kept, Pat opted to take RBs (Derrick Henry and Kenneth Walker III) in the first two rounds. He zagged to take rookie WR Malik Nabers in the third before going back to the RB column (Aaron Jones) in the fourth. Overall, there isn't an area that stands out as a potential weakness; sure, Caleb Williams (7.03) is a rookie, but Pat backed him up with Tua Tagovailoa (10.12) as a high-floor option.

Dave

The highlight of Dave's draft was when he declared, "I don't want to" while on the clock in the ninth round (where he wound up taking Ty Chandler). George Pickens (4.11) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (6.11) provided speed in the early-mid rounds, but going TE (Mark Andrews, 3.04) and Kyler Murray (5.04) relatively early - and drafting the injured Nick Chubb (7.04) - means Chandler or Joshua Palmer (8.11) might have to be in Dave's week one lineup.

Derrek

Derrek took Travis Etienne, Jr. in the first round; that's the twelfth time in thirteen post-expansion drafts that D has used his first round pick on a RB. He added D.J. Moore and Rachaad White as nice picks in the second and third and then decided to rebuild part of his 2023 team with Zay Flowers and Jayden Reed in the fourth and fifth. If one or two of Derrek's rookie WRs (Ladd McConkey, 7.05; Adonai Mitchell, 11.05; Ricky Pearsall, 14.10) pan out, he could be looking at a return to the top.

Richie

As usual, Richie elected Matt as his proxy. Instructions provided led to Isiah Pacheco in the first, Davante Adams in the second, Joe Mixon in the third, and Calvin Ridley in the fourth. For an auto-draft team, it looks pretty solid... but then again, so would anyone's if they had banked Garrett Wilson (7.06, keeper) and Puka Nacua (9.06, keeper) for cheap in advance.

Scott

Scott loved A.J. Brown's slide to 1.07 and followed that up with Deebo Samuel and David Montgomery in the second and third. All tolled, he had a solid draft, though it was curious that he took Jordan Love (7.07) just one round before he kept Anthony Richardson (8.08, keeper).

Mike R.

Mike showed a clear preference for established fantasy performers, choosing Mike Evans, Alvin Kamara, Terry McLaurin, Tony Pollard, DeAndre Hopkins, Austin Ekeler, and Jared Goff with his first seven live picks. If most of those guys can hold off aging, Mike should be fine; if not, uh oh.

Pulley

Pulley drew the rare "F" grade from Yahoo, though that seems harsh. Going with Josh Jacobs and Cooper Kupp in the first two rounds seemed good, though Ezekiel Elliott (6.06) and Curtis Samuel (8.06) were drafted higher than expected. That said, there's a lot of upside in guys like Stefon Diggs (3.09) and Diontae Johnson (5.09, keeper), so Yahoo could very easily get this one wrong.

Babel

Babel was the first one to pull the trigger on a QB, taking Josh Allen at 1.10. That's the first time a QB has gone in the first round in seven years! Babel was also the first to take a TE, going with Travis Kelce at 2.05. Considering he kept two WRs (Brandon Aiyuk, 4.05; Nico Collins, 9.10), RB could be a big question mark, but James Conner provided a solid consolation prize in the third, so Babel might not have to worry.

Rabbit

Rabbit did a weird thing this year: he didn't prioritize the RB position. This is the first time since expansion that Rabs didn't take or keep more than one RB in the first five rounds (Devin Singletary, 5.11). He also took a QB (Lamar Jackson, 3.11) in the third round - the first time he's taken a QB in the first five rounds since 2015. This all means that Marvin Harrison, Jr. (1.11), Jaylen Waddle (2.04), and Christian Kirk (4.04) will have to carry a bigger load that Rabbit's WRs usually do.

Matt

Matt took a mix of big swings on yet-uproven WRs (Drake London, 2.04; Rome Odunze, 5.12) and safe bets on established players (George Kittle, 3.12; Najee Harris, 4.03; Gus Edwards, 6.03). And, for the second straight year - and fifth year in total - Brandin Cooks will be a Hammer.

Ed

Ed has a type: guys named Brian, Jr. After going WR with his first two live picks (Tee Higgins, 3.13; Amari Cooper, 4.02), he took Brian Robinson, Jr. (5.13) and Brian Thomas, Jr. (7.13) in the next three rounds. He also followed Pat's lead at QB, taking a promising rookie (Jayden Daniels, 8.02) and an older backup (Aaron Rodgers, 10.02).

Rob

Rob added some old familiar faces in Michael Pittman, Jr. (4.01), Dak Prescott (5.14), and Antonio Gibson (12.01). He also made Brandon Aubrey (11.14) just the seventh kicker drafted in the first 11 rounds since expansion - and just the second not named Justin Tucker!

Closing Thoughts

Don't forget your league dues if you haven't paid already!

Previous Next

All Sanderson Gazettes