Beer to the Dean
Keepers: RB Steven Jackson (1), RB Adrian Peterson (5), RB Chris Johnson (7)
Two-time regular season champ Beer Dean keeps the keys to his success in the league- a dominant running game led by AP. Without keepers, Steven Jackson may not have been a first-rounder this year, but given his first round pick was at #14 and top-tier backs will be gone by this point, it isn't a waste of value.
Grade: A
Brooklyn Goldsmiths
Keepers: RB Matt Forté (5), QB Aaron Rodgers (10), WR Brandon Marshall (12)
These picks were all about relative value- Aaron Rodgers was one of the best QBs in the league last year; retaining him for a tenth round pick was a no-brainer. Forté was the steal of the year last year on the trade market- a top-tier young running back who was drafted in the fifth round was acquired in an exceptionally shrewd trade in exchange for Chris Cooley and Kyle Orton. Brandon Marshall is the big question mark- as the big prize in the Goldsmiths' trade deadline fire sale last season, Marshall is a top tier talent, but he fell off the map the last month of the season (only four catches in the last four games), and has off-the-field issues that make picking him over QB Matt Ryan a bit of a gamble.
Grade: A-
Suit Killers
Keepers: WR Larry Fitzgerald (2), Steve Slaton (12), QB Kurt Warner (14)
Fitzgerald is the top WR in the game, so keeping him at any slot is a must. Slaton and Warner, two top-ten players going in the double-digit rounds give the Suit Killers a lot of options going into the draft. Marion Barber may have been a safer choice given Warner's age, but as long as the Cardinals "pass every down" offense holds up, these picks should serve the Suit Killers well.
Grade: A-
SINS Bolden
Keepers: WR Anthony Gonzalez (8), WR Roy Williams (10), RB Ray Rice (13)
By sticking to the later rounds, SINS Bolden has plenty of flexibility with the draft, even if none of the picks are considered elite at their position. I was really hoping Ray Rice wouldn't be protected- he is my favorite pick of this team's keepers.
Grade: B+
Megatron
Keepers: QB Tom Brady (3), WR Calvin Johnson (8), RB Michael Turner (11)
Johnson and Turner are steals, and there was no question they were coming back. Personally I would have kept Pierre Thomas over Tom Brady- I don't think Brady will be around in the third round, but I think some of the QBs who will be aren't much worse.
Grade: B
City of Champions
Keepers: Drew Brees (1), WR Anquan Boldin (3), RB DeAngelo Williams (8)
Brees and Boldin were neither reaches nor values in their respective rounds- I will be surprised if Brees is the top QB in the league again this year, but keeping him was safer than going with the thirteenth overall pick and taking your chances. Boldin is highly ranked everywhere, but I worry about the fact that he's alongside the top receiver in the game, the fact that he still wants a contract or a trade, and the emergence of Steve Breaston. He probably would have gone in the third round, so it's not a wasted pick, but I would have rolled the dice and kept Leon Washington, a 15th rounder last year.
Grade: B
TWSS
Keepers: WR Steve Smith (5), RB Darren Sproles (10), Baltimore DEF (12)
I think Steve Smith is overrated by expert fantasy ranks, but going for him in exchange for a fifth-rounder is an easy call. Darren Sproles isn't a terrible keeper, but is going to be a really tough decision each week as long as LT is healthy, so he can only be considered a bench player at this point. Keeping any defense, even Baltimore, is questionable, but in all fairness, Lorentz had very little to work with on this team.
Grade: B
Taking the Reins
Keepers: RB Marshawn Lynch (3), QB Donovan McNabb (4), WR Santana Moss (8)
No real reaches or great value picks here- a solid start, but Taking the Reins won't be crowned pre-season champ this time around. Passing up LT is bold, but I would have done the same picking third overall. Wes Welker would have been a better pick than Santana Moss, however.
Grade: B-
Roarin' Rob
Keepers: RB Maurice Jones-Drew (2), QB Jay Cutler (3), TE Jason Witten (7)
Jones-Drew is a lock at any round, so no faulting Skittles on this one. Jay Cutler for a third rounder is a big reach- his receivers aren't what he had in Denver, and he still barely cracks the top third of starting QBs. Witten in the seventh is a fair value, but passing on Moss in the fourth makes this a middling effort.
Grade: C+
Soak-n-Suds
Keepers: WR Andre Johnson (4), RB Ryan Grant (7), K Stephen Gostkowski (10)
Johnson and Grant are good picks- both would have been long gone by the time the fourth and seventh rounds rolled around. Passing on Felix Jones or Kevin Smith are really where Joe C blew it- the fact that he kept a kicker compounds the mistake. (For the record, this is the second time a kicker was kept- last year Jo kept Mike Nugent, who scored two points all season.)
Grade: C
Ja
Keepers: QB Phil Rivers (5), WR Greg Jennings (8), QB Matt Schaub (11)
Rivers and Jennings are decent picks- neither is a steal, but both will be every-week starters at the cost of mid-round picks. Keeping Schaub over Brandon Jacobs or even LenDale White is mind boggling- Schaub is a marginal option as a starter, so he will return only minimal value in a trade, while using a keeper pick on a backup QB is as good of an idea as asking Lee Lochtefeld a question about car washes.
Grade: D+
Bad Newz Kennels
Keepers: QB Kyle Orton (10), RB Warrick Dunn (12), TE Donald Lee (13)
Still waiting for the turnaround to begin with this team. Orton isn't a terrible keep in the tenth, but I think Cassel (also a tenth) would have been the better pick. The thirteenth round is late enough that Donald Lee isn't really wasting that much, but he probably would have still been undrafted at that point. Keeping Warrick Dunn is a bold move, considering he is currently an unsigned free agent.
Grade: D
