Roy Altbaun’s 2017 HDL Draft Grades
After 7 necessary and relevant rounds, the 2017 HDL rookie draft has finally concluded. Now its time for some immediate grades.
Sarlo/Hark- A+
Sarlo and Hark executed their draft plan to perfection. They were able to address their holes at running back adding McCaffrey, Mixon, Perine, and Mack, while also adding the best WR in the draft. They should come out of this with 3 starters for 2017.
Best pick- Joe Mixon: I believe if Sarlo had to drop Mixon or McCaffrey right now, he’d choose McCaffrey. 1.06 was great value for him.
Worst pick- Sidney Jones: This might sneakily be the worst pick in the entire draft. There is a 0% chance anyone keeps a roster spot for a cornerback who is not playing in the 2017 season. Even if healthy, Jones wouldn’t have been worth a draft pick. Just take a safety.
Billy Davis- C
Billy had no picks to work with so I’ll just give him average. I don’t see any player drafted here ever being relevant in fantasy football.
Best Pick- Aaron Jones
Worst Pick- Ishmael Zamora
Nick Martino- A
I really like what Martino did in this draft. I would have gone with Mixon at 1.05 but Dalvin Cook is certainly a fine pick. Juju at 2.02 is a good value pick as well. I also liked the additions of Curtis Samuel, Solomon Thomas, Wayne Gallman, Dede Westbrook, Chad Hansen and Adam Shaheen. A lot of potential players got added to a roster that certainly needs it.
Best Pick- Juju Smith-Schuster: No need to rush and add a guy that is going to help immediately. Juju has potential to develop into a good player a few years down the road.
Worst Pick- Curtis Samuel: This wasn’t necessarily a bad pick. I would have just rather seen Marlon Mack or Cooper Kupp with this pick. Samuel is likely a gadget piece for Carolina and not a reliable fantasy starter.
Dan Marino- B-
I believe Mike Williams was the right pick for Marino at 1.04. I also like Patrick Mahomes in the 4th round as he could develop into a future gunslinger. Hopefully for Marino Williams can develop into a red zone monster and WR1 in the future.
Best Pick- Mike Williams: WR with great upside and tools to develop into a reliable starter.
Worst Pick- Chad Williams: Super reach.
Head/Frank- A-
I was shocked when Head chose Kareem Hunt at 1.08 but I actually like the pick. I think Njoku could develop into a starting fantasy TE as well. Myles Garrett in the 3rd round could also sneakily end up being a steal. Really solid draft all around here.
Best Pick- Kareem Hunt: Hunt wasn’t ranked this high on most boards, but if you like a player just take him. I think Hunt is going to be a good player for KC.
Worst Pick- D’Onta Foreman: This wasn’t a bad pick either, but I would have rather seen Juju or Zay Jones pick here especially after addressing running back in round one.
Troy Altbaum- B
This pick is basically solely based on Leonard Fournette. I believe if Troy’s team was further away from competing, he might have taken Corey Davis. Fournette can immediately help out however, and pair with Zeke to provide a nice running back duo.
Best Pick- Leonard Fournette: I think Fournette will be an immediate RB1 or 2.
Worst Pick- Noah Brown: Probably won’t even make an NFL roster but Brown was the last player on the board that Troy knew.
Steve Calhoun- C+
Randall Cobb for 2.03 was a really bad trade, but I actually like the player that was taken there. I’m not a huge fan of John Ross at 1.07 but at that spot he was probably the best on the board. Henderson and Stewart were solid later round picks.
Best Pick: Zay Jones: This could be a steal. 2.03 was great value for Jones. Don’t know if Randall Cobb was worth it but we’ll wait and see.
Worst Pick: John Ross: I wouldn’t have traded up for Ross by any means. His size will likely hold back his ceiling for fantasy.
Falcone/Chris Black- C+
I think O.J Howard was a good value pick. Same goes with Evan Engram, but two tight ends with Kelce and Walker already on the roster is a little head-scratching. I don’t think Watson will ever be a good fantasy option but it wasn’t a bad pick at that spot. Foster could also end up being a stud fantasy linebacker so I like that pick a good bit. Joe Williams at 4.04 was a good valu….. wait… He was taken at 2.04? Yikes.
Best Pick: O.J Howard. Howard is in a pass happy offense and could become a dynamic NFL tight end.
Worst Pick: Joe Williams: This probably has my vote as the worst pick in the draft. There was at least 15–20 players I would have taken over Joe Williams at this spot.
Cleve Bryan- N/A
I gotta commend Cleve on driving 35 minutes to select Shelton Gibson, Tarik Cohen, and Jahad Thomas. None of these players will be on that roster by the start of the season. This draft was irrelevant and doesnt even get graded.
Mike Altbaum- B+
Mike had very little ammunition heading into this draft and came away with some nice players. I think the trade for Cooper Kupp was a good deal, and Jamal Williams at 3.02 was a steal.
Best Pick: Jamal Williams: Williams could end up being Green Bay’s number one running back this season.
Worst Pick: Rodney Adams: This is the name mike came up with when he was picking random first and last names hoping that one of the names thrown out was a player in the NFL.
Poulton/Milzy- B-
This draft wasn’t bad but I wasn’t a huge fan of it either. Kamara was a so-so pick there, but as he stated at the draft he can afford to sit on him until Peterson and Ingram are gone. McNichols, Golladay and Dupre could maybe turn into something in the future.
Best Pick: Kenny Golladay: This was a pretty good pick at this spot and Golladay goes to a good situation (On Detroit, not Brett’s team. He’s fucked there).
Worst Pick: Malachi Dupre: I think Brett could have waited to grab Dupre a little later on.
Hallahan/Scott B
The best move in this draft was trading 2.03 for Randall Cobb. They got a better player for that then they did for 2.01. I don’t think I would have given up 2.01 for C.J. Prosise but it’s not a horrible deal either. I think the additions of Taylor was good as well. I would have rather seen Jamal Williams pick over James Conner, but getting Le’veon Bell’s handcuff makes sense as well. Taco Charlton…. steal of the NFL and HDL draft.
Best Pick: Randall Cobb: Im throwing Cobb into the mix here because they came out of the draft with him.
Worst Pick: C.J Prosise: I think Juju or Zay Jones would have been a better pick than adding in Prosise. I dont see him being a reliable fantasy starter.
