2018 QFL Draft Retro Grading

[Laimbeer40]

Gonna be a good bit of trash talk in this series. The hardest part is going back and remembering who the owners were at the time of the picks since the draft threads got lost to Corey letting the old site die...

1. Miami selects RB Saquon Barkley - Sheesh I forgot Bama was the OG owner for Miami. Barkley was the slam dunk pick at the time and probably would have graded as an A+ selection in 2018. With the benefit of time however you can't argue his impact when he is on the field. It's just he isn't on the field nearly enough...  Grade: B

2. Chicago selects RB Rashaad Penny - Thanks to Petis for stepping in after the initial owner bounced in the first season. This was a shaky debut pick that will probably go down as Pete's low point. Penny is still hanging on in the league but he just never got to shake that injury bug...  Grade: D

3. Miami selects RB Derrius Guice - This was a big whiff for Bama as Guice could never shake the domestic violence bug...  Grade: F

4. Indianapolis selects RB Sony Michel - Ahh the legend SilverFalco making this pick. Knowing him I probably had to direct message him on Twitter so he would know he was on the clock while he was sending flirty tweets to former Big Brother contestants. Anyway Sony flamed out of the league but did have three seasons with over 800 yards rushing...  Grade: C

5. Miami selects RB Ronald Jones II - 2 bums with the top 5 picks of the draft. This pick brings Bama's GPA for this draft to a 1.33...  Grade: D

6. Jacksonville selects RB Nick Chubb - I think this was Forbz running JAX at the time. Dude fell off the map but at least he left behind this gem of a pick. In a redraft Chubb probably goes 1st... Grade: A

7. Minnesota selects RB Royce Freeman - Thanks to Bruskie for being here since the beginning. And for sticking around after this dog of a pick. Seven straight RB's to lead off this draft with a low hit rate. In hindsight should have gone another position... Grade: D

8. Cincinnati selects RB Kerryon Johnson - Thanks to grubadub for also being here from the start. Not sure why my memory told me Kerryon was a better RB than he was. Only 1,225 career rushing yards. He was a decent contributor for a couple of years and I guess that is all you can expect from the 8th RB drafted... Grade: D

9. Green Bay selects QB Sam Darnold - Lol, this pick was made by Montana. Dude cracked me up. Couldn't make a move w/o calling his son-in-law to discuss it. Darnold has been a disappointment which is magnified by some of the other QBs that could have been taken instead... Grade: D+

10. NY Giants selects WR D.J. Moore - Giants original owner bounced after year 1 and our guy LUDD stepped in to draft for NYG. He makes the smart move here to go against the grain and grab a WR. Moore hasn't become a superstar but he is certainly solid... Grade: A-

11. Seattle selects QB Josh Rosen - TomViolence's first ever pick is a big dud. Better times ahead... Grade: F

12. Oakland selects WR Calvin Ridley - jbcoffey's reign of terror was in full effect. Ridley is a tough one to grade. Two solid seasons followed by one excellent season. Then injured. Then suspended. Not sure what we are going to get from him this season... Grade: B

13. Oakland selects WR Anthony Miller - Miller was a jb staple for a long time. Grabbed him ahead of some higher drafted WR's IRL... Grade: D

14. New Orleans selects WR Dante Pettis - Man I remember I thought I got a huge steal here because Pettis was supposed to be a great punt returner. Should have taken Courtland or C.Kirk... Grade: F

15. Kansas City selects WR Christian Kirk - Thanks Sooner for sticking around since the beginning. Kirk has the 2nd most receptions of any WR in this draft after DJ Moore. Solid pick... Grade: A

16. LA Rams select DE Bradley Chubb - Billy is another OG member so thanks for the loyalty. I laughed at this pick at the time but Billy built a strong IDP team that kept him competitive most years. Chubb is in the mix for most sacks from this class... Grade: B

17. New Orleans selects QB Baker Mayfield - Thought I had another steal here getting Baker as the 3rd QB drafted. He's still starting in the NFL so it's not a terrible pick just not a home run... Grade: C+

18. Tennessee selects TE Mike Gesicki - Murph is another stalwart of the league. Thanks for that. Gesicki had one big year and it looked like he was going to become elite but he completely fell off once Mike McDaniel came to Miami. Still he has been a pretty decent TE... Grade B-

19. Cincinnati selects WR Courtland Sutton - Strong pick here for Grub. Sutton isn't a stud but certainly you would love to have him as your WR2... Grade: B+

20. New Orleans selects RB Kalen Ballage - I remembered myself as a lot more proficient drafter than this inaugural draft is showing... Grade: D

21. Atlanta selects WR Michael Gallup - I think Tucci was the one making this pick. Gallup never broke out like I thought he would but he's still comparable to Sutton so that makes an easy grade... Grade: B+

22. Kansas City - WR James Washington - I had high hopes for this guy but a deep threat with bad hands can only go so far... Grade: D+

23. LA Rams select LB Roquan Smith - I laughed when Billy went with Chubb earlier. I absolutely died when he then took a LB in the first round. Joke was on me and this is why my defense is trash to this day... Grade: A

24. Green Bay selects RB Nyheim Hines - Here is a nice pick. Hines has looked close to fading out of the league a couple of times and then comes back and settles in as a solid RB3 with his receiving and return skills... Grade: B

25. New York selects QB Lamar Jackson - The Legend of LUDD begins. I was like man look at how he nailed his first two picks. I gotta get this guy to commit to sticking around!... Grade: A+

26. Denver selects DE Marcus Davenport - Definitely forgot about this owner JustinBasi. The Broncos just passed around to a new owner each year until SPowers saved them. Anyway, this has been a decent pick but looks to be winding down... Grade: C

27. Atlanta selects TE Hayden Hurst - Looked like a steal but who knew Goedert and Andrews would both be better. Still Hurst has been a low end TE1 in a league of this size... Grade: C

28. Houston selects DB Minkah Fitzpatrick - Dang I forgot Jeff was initially the owner in Houston. I think I gave this pick an F initially but Minkah has been a playmaker in his career. I still don't like taking a DB this early but it worked out... Grade: C+

LATER ROUND GEMS

2.8 Josh Allen to CIN (Got their franchise QB here)
2.18 Mark Andrews to SEA (TV with a huge steal)
2.28 Phillip Lindsay to ATL (Tucci got a lot of crap for this one but it panned out for a couple seasons)
3.9 Chase Edmonds to OAK (Any time you get a contributing RB in Rds 3-5 you are happy)
3.21 Fred Warner to ATL (Another win for Tucci)
3.25 Jessie Bates to NO (I redeemed my draft a bit)
4.1 Josh Sweat to CLE (3rd most sacks in this class. Props to Vanadio for being an OG)
4.15 Marquez Valdes-Scantling to KC (Almost didn't shout this one out b/c I didn't want to have to type out his name)
4.22 Allen Lazard to CLE (Pointing this one out b/c Lazard was a UDFA)
5.25 Russell Gage to OAK (Top 10 in most receptions from this draft class at any position)
6.16 Foyesade Oluokin to WAS (Big steal for Kylerap. Arguably the best LB in IDP)
6.27 Durham Smythe to TEN (One pick before Mr. Irrelevant and still kicking. Might even be a valid TE2 this season)

[thepetis]

Two notes for the Bears I remember from this draft:

1. I stupidly passed up an offer to move up to #1 because I didn't want to give up Zach Cunningham- oof.
2. You guys know I'm a Georgia fan and I knew Chubb was the right pick at #2. But I also knew he would never go higher than #6. I should've listened to myself.

Anyway, these are great, some really hilarious blurbs in there too!

[Slou]

Crazy to see I didn’t have 1 pick in the 1st round. Must have traded obviously but can’t remember for what

[Laimbeer40]

Crazy to see I didn’t have 1 pick in the 1st round. Must have traded obviously but can’t remember for what

Didn't you have CMC around this time? My guess would be you had to include your 1st to get him.

[Andrewmott]

Yeah, no idea why I didn’t have a first either. Probably had something to do with trying to trade Antonio Brown lol

[oldmancoffee66]

Note to self... keep drafting WR's

RB's are hit, miss, grow old, and bounced from league by the time we are ready to contend.

Appreciate the look back.

[SoonerorLitigator]

Thanks for doing these. I recall trying to move up for my beloved MAndrews but I couldn't get him.