OldNo7
Overall, it was a decent draft for OldNo7. With the first pick overall, the team took Priest Holmes who was unanimously the best player for 2004. However, his value as a franchise player is limited due to his age. The 2004 draft was important because it marked the introduction of the franchise player so Priest was probably not the best option for the #1 pick. However, OldNo7 pulled a great trade for Portis later in the draft. OldNo7 has the best of both worlds: they have the best RB for 2004 in Priest Holmes, and they have their RB for the future in Portis who has more value for 2005 and forward.
The WRs are a question mark for the most part. Torry Holt is a good starter, but he only had one good season. Will he continue in 2004? Jimmy Smith is getting older. Price has not proven anything with the Falcons yet. Charles Rogers has potential but is coming off an injury. McCareins is the #2 with the Jets. Lelie could be a bust.
OldNo7 has a very strong rookie with Kevin Jones who will start for the Lions. The defensive players are below-average and the Chiefs D is overrated. Is this the defense that could not stop the Colts a single time in the playoffs last year? They may be improved from last year with the return of Guenther Cunningham as the defensive coordinator, but they were taken 5th defense in the draft!
Best move: the trade for Portis.
Worst move: drafting the Chiefs D.
In summary OldNo7 could have a good team but there are some question marks that prevents them from being league favorites.
BeaudoinBrothers
This was certainly not the BeaudoinBrothers’ best draft. They took Jamal Lewis with the 11th pick overall after the best 6 RBs, best 2 QBs, and best 2 WRs were taken in front of them. Lewis was the next logical pick, but there is uncertainty around him. Vick was taken in the 3rd round and there are question marks with him too. Shockey was a value-pick at 62nd overall (6th TE taken). Shockey could be great, and was definitely worth it as the 6th TE in the league, but he could be a bust if his injury history continues.
The BeaudoinBrothers waited until the 47th pick to finally draft a WR. With their previous picks, the went with available talent when they took McNabb even though they already had Vick and when they took Barlow even though they already had Tomlinson and Jamal Lewis. It is not clear that taking the best available talent is a better strategy than trying to fill out spots for starters first.
The best part of the BeaudoinBrothers’ draft is how strong the team could be in 2005. The BeaudoinBrothers drafted several young offensive players on the rise and very few (if any) old players in decline. Tomlinson is the player with the most value for the future. He is young and gets great stats despite a horrible offensive line and an awful QB. If the team improves in the next few years, he could be awesome. LT will rank in the top 5 players in the league for the next 3-4 years and will be very productive for the BeaudoinBrothers. After their franchise player, the BeaudoinBrothers are loaded with youth and talent: Vick, McNabb, Leftwich, Carr, Jamal Lewis, Barlow, Lee Suggs, DeShaun Foster, Andre Johnson, Jerry Porter, Anquan Boldin, Donte Stallworth, Shockey, Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow Jr, and McGahee. That’s 16 players and only five of them will be cut in 2005 – the BeaudoinBrothers will keep the next best 6. Scary.
On defense the BeaudoinBrothers have the best DL in Strahan and the best DB in Rodney Harrison. Youth was not emphasized as much there. Keith Bulluck is a top LB. The 4th starter on defense could be the weakness for the BeaudoinBrothers.
Best move: getting Tomlinson. Best franchise player available. He will carry the BeaudoinBrothers for the next few years.
Worst move: drafting Rodney Harrison so early. He is the best DB, but defensive players were not going very fast in the early rounds.
In summary, the BeaudoinBrothers hope that a few of the young players with potential will rise to stardom in 2004. However, they may be a year away from a championship team.
WaxOnWaxOff
Again this year, WaxOnWaxOff had a very solid draft. They don’t have any glaring weaknesses. Hasselbeck will be a fine QB as he is still improving. McAllister is a nice franchise player. He is only in his 4th season and could be a top RB for years to come. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens is arguably the best WR duo in the league, close to UncleJack’s Harrison/Ward combo. Todd Heap is a solid TE. Carson Palmer was the best rookie available and he has potential for a double-digit average this year.
On defense, Wax holds its ground with Rucker as the starter and underrated Charles Grant as the backup on the line. The team has depth at DB with Hamlin and Sammy Knight behind Roy Williams. The LBs may be the only weakness of the team. Andra Davis is ok, but Lavar Harrington has to improve because he has never had great stats. Anthony Simmons is injury-prone.
Best move: getting Chris Brown at 63rd overall – this is a steal. He will be a top 10 RB. He will take over Dillon as a starter for Wax.
Worst move: getting Corey Dillon. The Patriots have too many weapons so he will not be a dependable starting RB in the PQBFL. The C Brown pick solves Wax’s problem though.
WaxOnWaxOff are the early favorites to win the league. No major weakness, good team depth, few question marks.
Spitoons
In 2003 the Spitoons were the joke of the league. Their team was one of the worst in the league’s history. Because of that, the expectations for 2004 were not very high. However, the team surprised with an excellent draft.
The Spitoons have a top-notch RB duo of S Alexander and Ahman Green. Santana Moss and Steve Smith are two young WRs who could both end up in the top 5 of the league this year. Tony Gonzalez was the best TE available this year again.
The QB is a little bit of a question mark. Favre is the starter, and we don’t know yet when his decline will start. The Packers are relying more and more on the run. Favre is throwing more INTs than in the past. Bulger is the backup. With the problems the Rams have on the offensive line, Bulger is no safe backup. Jeff Garcia plays for a new team so he is uncertain too. Kitna is not even expected to play this year.
On defense the Spitoons will be strong. Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, and Greg Wesley are among the top 3 at their position.
At rookie, the Spitoons hope for either Larry Fitzgerald or Roy Williams to emerge. Because it may not happen, the team is weaker than other teams at that position.
Best move: getting Steve Smith in the 6th round. He is underrated and has lots of potential.
Worst move: Waiting too long before drafting a QB. Hasselbeck went 23rd overall, McNabb 35th, Pennington 43rd, McNair 44th, T Green 48th. Taking Favre at 52nd and Bulger 57th is risky. Aaron Brooks was still available and would have been a better pick.
Overall, we can say that the Spitoons have a chance to repeat what the Decepticons did in 2003: go from last in expansion year to first in their 2nd year.
Decepticons
The 2003 champions had a disappointing draft and the linesmakers reflected it in the line movement. The Portis trade was a very questionable call. Edgerrin James could have a great year, but Portis has more long-term value. Now the Decepticons are stuck with James and M Faulk as the starting RBs. James is in a contract year and may not be with the Colts in 2005. His 2005 value is uncertain. That could force the Decepticons to keep Culpepper as the franchise player. Not bad, but the team would have been better off with more flexibility. The backup RBs have little chance of emerging and helping the team if Faulk goes down. Staley may not get the goal-line carries. Stephen Davis will split carries with D Foster. Onterrio Smith will be suspended and he can’t stay away from drugs. He has potential though, because Michael Bennett is often injured.
The team’s passing attack could be up and down. Culpepper will probably have another great year. However, after Chad Johnson, the 2nd WR position is a question mark. Derrick Mason and Joe Horn (acquired in the Portis trade) are on the downside. Mason had a career year in 2003 and could potentially return to his 2002 stats. Joe Horn is getting older and injuries have affected him recently. Stallworth and rookie Devery Henderson will push him for the Saints. The Decepticons are hoping that Plaxico will get his act together and realize his potential. He could become the team’s starter. He has to stop spiking the football after a catch when the opponents have not touched him yet. He needs to understand that this counts as a fumble.
On defense, the Decepticons have the best LB duo with Ray Lewis and Donnie Edwards. However, the DBs are awful. Brian Russell had a great year in 2003 but that was a fluke. Nick Harper had decent stats in 2003 but he changed position in the backfield in the middle of the season, and after the change, his stats tailed off. The Decepticons did not even draft a 3rd DB so they are in trouble.
The team drafted a league-high 5 rookies. S Jackson, Ju Jones, or E Manning could emerge and make the Decepticons good at that position.
Best move: getting Plaxico Burress in the 14th round (80th overall). Great potential and the team needs him to wake up.
Worst move: trading Portis for E James in order to upgrade from P Price to Joe Horn. Now the RBs are very shaky. Oh, and drafting extra-point-misser-when-the-game-is-on-the-line John Carney was dumb.
The chances of Decepticons repeating are much lower than before the draft. The team has many iffy positions or questionable depth.
UncleJack
After winning the league in 2002, UncleJack fell hard in 2003 by finishing next-to-last. The team got too cocky since the championship and things don’t look good for 2004, and probably for 2005 too.
The RB squad is the most horrendous the league has seen for a while. Domanick Davis is nice, but there are questions about his durability. Tony Hollings may take a few carries away from him. Travis Henry may lose the goal-line carries to McGahee. TJ Duckett will lose yardage to Warrick Dunn and he will lose goal-line carries to Vick. Uhh… so what’s left? Garrison Hearst is the 4th RB for the Broncos and he is washed up. UncleJack is the only team that did not draft a 5th RB and they are the team that needed it the most.
The only way UncleJack could survive is if Manning throws to Harrison all year long. Manning to Harrison often. Manning to Harrison for bombs. Manning to Harrison on slants. Manning to Harrison for TDs. When that happens, UncleJack will win a few weeks here and there. But when the Colts are held in check, UJ will be awful.
The team also needs rookie Tatum Bell to start in Denver. If it happens it will be a great help for the team. Bell could have a nice season. But if he does not start, look out. R Woods has not done anything in the 49ers camp so far due to an injury. M Clayton is a nice rookie WR in Tampa Bay, but Gruden prefers veteran receivers, which is why he signed old geezer Tim Brown who will start along side old Galloway.
UncleJack may also have mortgaged the future with this draft. A bunch of old guys close to retirement, close to the bench, or on the verge of seeing a decline in production were taken: M Brunell, T Maddox, Hearst, T Henry, Keyshawn Johnson, etc. The players that UJ could be freeze for 2005 are worse than other teams.
Best move: getting Marvin Harrison. The rule change in the NFL where DBs can’t touch the WR after 5 yards will advantage Harrison greatly and he will have a monster year.
Worst move: not getting depth at RB.
In summary, this could be a long season for UJ unless many players perform much better than expected.
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