RealFantasy Pigskin 2013: Draft and Discussion

Kenny F'ing Powers

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I think you got the best left tackle and he is the third left tackle off the board. He struggled in the last 4 games of the year, and I don't think it's a coincidence that Houston's offense struggled at the same time. Up until that point, he had only let up 1 sack in his last 29 games. he's also only been called for a holding penalty once, in his rookie year in 2008. I think that he is the best left tackle in football. Good pick.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Kenny F'ing Powers said:
I think you got the best left tackle and he is the third left tackle off the board. He struggled in the last 4 games of the year, and I don't think it's a coincidence that Houston's offense struggled at the same time. Up until that point, he had only let up 1 sack in his last 29 games. he's also only been called for a holding penalty once, in his rookie year in 2008. I think that he is the best left tackle in football. Good pick.
 
Wow, that's a pretty amazing stat.
 

BoSoxFink

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I love the Brown pick, when I was drafting it was between a Defensive End who can rush the passer or an OT.  I almost took Brown but I went the JPP route instead.  I think besides QB, either OT or DE are the two most important positions on the field.
 
Also I didn't see it mentioned in the first post, but are doing a snake draft or just a straightforward 1 to 32 draft?
 

SPDougie

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BoSoxFink said:
I love the Brown pick, when I was drafting it was between a Defensive End who can rush the passer or an OT.  I almost took Brown but I went the JPP route instead.  I think besides QB, either OT or DE are the two most important positions on the field.
 
Also I didn't see it mentioned in the first post, but are doing a snake draft or just a straightforward 1 to 32 draft?
Snake draft
 

Mystic Merlin

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Well, if you want some feedback, I'd be a little worried about Foster's slippage over the past few seasons.  The Texans have ridden the shit out of him.
 
He's really Goddamn good, though.
 

ElcaballitoMVP

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CaptainLaddie said:
I GUESS MY PICK SUCKED GUYS
 
It'll be interesting to see what kind of line you put together to block for him. He's a stud, but he's also got one of the best lines in the game blocking for him. Without a strong o-line, I'm not sure he'd be my pick for 2nd RB off the board. He's also a guy who carries the ball a lot (over 350 carries last yr) . So I worry about the wear and tear. 
 
With the relatively short shelf life on RB's, you'll need to build a team that can win now and be able to pound the ball if you want to maximize his value. He's a great guy to have running the ball for you if you're trying to win a championship within the next 3 or 4 years. 
 

DaughtersofDougMirabelli

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I think, as we've seen even with the Pats, a top RB isn't the recipe for success in this league. A guy like AP is probably the only RB I would have selected in the first round. Seems like you wanting AP led to the Foster pick.
 
Foster took a step back last year. He had the most attempts in his career which led to the inflated rushing yardage, but his Y/A was down almost half a yard from last year, and almost a full yard from two years ago. Also his Y/C were cut in half from where he usually is.
 
He's only 26 and definitely a workhorse but I don't think he was very valuable last year. 
 

Dgilpin

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CaptainLaddie said:
I GUESS MY PICK SUCKED GUYS
I liked it, as MM said Foster is an absolute beast. My only concern would be the usage, and additionally I don't feel the gap between the top backs and the rest of the field is as large as it is with other positions i.e QB, LT, DE
 

Dollar

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With the 30th pick in the draft, the Denver Buckin' Broncos select CB Patrick Peterson.
 

 
Finding a true shutdown cornerback with size, who is still young (only 22 years old), who is also an explosive punt returner, is a rare thing.  He has excellent ball skills (7 INT this season), and the ability to turn those turnovers into large chunks of yardage and points on the board.  He returned 4 punts for touchdowns his rookie year, and also recovered five fumbles this year.  He led all cornerbacks this year in Win Probability Added.  Peterson will be a great building block for my defensive unit, which I hope to be big, fast, and capable of putting points on the board.
 
Sending a PM to Saturnian now.
 
Also...
Would anyone who's active during the 8am-3pm EST hours be willing to send over their email, so I can relay my picks to keep the draft rolling?  I get all the new posts sent to my email, but I can't access SoSH at work.   If you don't mind proxying, please PM me an email address.  Thanks.  got a volunteer or two.  thank you!
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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We're on a pretty slow pace compared to the previous iteration.  Last time we finished the draft in almost exactly three months, which works out to averaging about two rounds per week.  However, things definitely slowed down in the later rounds - people become less engaged over time and it takes them longer to figure out which of the mediocre LGs left are worth picking in the 19th round.  So finishing in three months required getting out of the gate pretty fast - we made 82 picks in the first seven days and 181 picks in the first two weeks.  That's about 13 picks a day.
 
After Dollar's pick, we'll have made 30 picks in four days.  If you figure a few more get done tonight, that's still about 8 picks a day, a decent difference and not enough to average 2 rounds/week even at the beginning of the draft.  We got slowed down by a few random factors - the weekend, the snowstorm, etc.  But part of it is that the picks have been coming in pretty slow in general.
 
I don't really care how fast this draft proceeds,  I want this to be fun not stressful, and I know most of us have real lives and jobs that obviously take precedence.  I just want to point out that if we don't pick faster (or make better use of proxies) then you will be spending your Memorial Day weekend thinking about which punter to draft.
 

ElcaballitoMVP

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Dollar said:
With the 30th pick in the draft, the Denver Buckin' Broncos select CB Patrick Peterson.
 
 
This is the guy I had ranked higher than Sherman on my board.  I love Patrick Peterson. LOVE him. I was holding out hope that he'd be available for Jnai on the way back and was even considering him over Clady earlier in the round. Great pick, Dollar. 
 

RhaegarTharen

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Yeah, Peterson's the first guy from my short list to get taken (not counting guys like Watt, Atkins, Sherman, Clady, ADP, and Willis who I never expected would realistically make it to me). 
 
Great pick. 
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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ElcaballitoMVP said:
This is the guy I had ranked higher than Sherman on my board.  I love Patrick Peterson. LOVE him. I was holding out hope that he'd be available for Jnai on the way back and was even considering him over Clady earlier in the round. Great pick, Dollar. 
 
Yeah, I agree.  He is not there yet but if I had to bet on any CB turning into Revis Island Part II, it would be Peterson.
 
I have no idea why but for whatever reason Peterson dominated everybody he faced this year other than Michael Crabtree, who completely owned him in both games.
 

Saturnian

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With the 31st pick, the Las Vegas Saints select LT Joe Staley.  
 

 
Having a road grader like Staley will be essential to the Saints offense.  RBs averaged over 5 YPC running off his left side last season, and he was an anchor on what was likely the best OL in football.
 

RhaegarTharen

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With the 32nd and final pick of the 1st Round, the Minnesota Vikings select...
 
DE/OLB Cameron Wake
 

 
 
I thought about this pick for a long time.  After all the debate over QBs there were still a couple very solid ones left on the board at 32, in addition to some stud WRs, RBs, and TEs.  But I felt there was still a lot of real value in the defensive players still left on the board.  And after debating exactly what I wanted as a cornerstone for my defense, I could only come up with one conclusion:  In today's pass-happy NFL it's absolutely essential to be able to put pressure on the QB, especially from your D-line.  So even though there were many stout linebackers still available - either interior tacking machines, outside pass rushers, or elite run stuffers - in the end I chose to go back to the roots of the Vikings and draft a beast of a lineman who can anchor the Millennial version of the Purple People Eaters and set the tone for the team in general.  His ability to play OLB at a high level will also be counted on to bring a versatility to the defense. 
 
Wake has been one of the best at pressuring the QB since coming late to the NFL from Canada, and PFF considers his run-defense to be very solid and underrated.  His age made this a tough choice for me, but I'm hoping that his excellent conditioning and a few years less NFL-level wear and tear will help keep him productive for the next 3-5 years.  And while there were younger players to be had, any of them who had anywhere near the impact in the pass rush as Wake did were long gone by the time I picked, and I just couldn't justify picking a less productive player who may never reach the level Wake's been playing at just because of his age. 
 
I think Alan Page, Carl Eller, and Jim Marshall would approve.
 

RhaegarTharen

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Kicking off the second round, the with the 33rd pick, the Vikings select: Casey Hayward, CB.  
 

 
I knew I wanted to go defense with my first two picks, to set the stage for a strong tough unit that will hopefully be built to compete in today's NFL.  There were a lot of players/options I considered, including a second elite pash rusher to pair with Wake, or a complete linebacker that could anchor my front seven.  But one need only look at the Pats to see what can happen to a defense lacking in the secondary.  Pairing a shutdown corner with Wake would give me the best chances of building an elite defense that can pave the way for a successful team.  
 
The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Hayward is certainly a gamble this high.  Once I had decided on a CB, I had to sort through some excellent players coming back from injury, some options with a lower ceiling but much higher dependability, and several other promising youngsters.  To be honest, if Patterson was still available he would likely had been my pick here, but it would have been very close.  
 
Hayward is young and still somewhat unproven, but he has shown the ability to play at a very high level in the slot and outside on both sides of the field.  His scouting reports before the draft praised his instincts and intelligence, and during his rookie campaign he surprised many with his ability to quickly diagnose routes and adjust to the pro level.  Despite a lower snap count he still had 6 interceptions and 12 passes defended - making a play on almost 25% of the times he was targeted (only Sherman had similar numbers there).  He also lead all CBs in QBR against.  
 
Hayward has the talent and youth to be the star of my secondary for the next decade, and that's what I'm risking my team on.  
 

Saturnian

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The Saints select DT Ndamukong Suh with the 34th overall pick.
 

 
Suh just turned 26 after the season, young enough to project years of dominance ahead of him , and hopefully old enough that the shenanigans are behind him.  His 9 sacks and 16 TFL were both second in the league for DTs behind Atkins.
 

Dollar

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With the 35th overall pick of the draft, the Denver Buckin' Broncos select QB Philip Rivers.


 

Yeah, he's kind of a douche. And he played pretty poorly this past season. But he was been one of the most consistent performers at the QB position since he became the full time starter in 2006, and he won't turn 32 until December. I'm going to attribute much of his 2012 struggles to injuries to, and in general a weakening of, his supporting cast. According to FO, he played behind the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the league. I'm banking on the fact that he can return to his old form with some talented teammates on this Broncos team, and lead us to a deep playoff run.  Though I wasn't thrilled with this pick initially, I think Rivers fits in favorably with the Romo/Big Ben/Stafford group and I shudder to think at what might be available at the QB position when the draft snakes back around to me.
 

PBDWake

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Damn you Dollar. I'll have my new pick up in a few. In the mean time, I'll spoil all the Rivers images I planned on using for drafting him.
 

PBDWake

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Well, after a disappointing development with Dollar's decision to remove Phil Rivers from the equation, I had to go back to the drawing board and see where I wanted to go from there. After debating the merits of the elites at other positions, I decided that, with 13 teams with 2 picks each still needing a QB between me and my round 3 pick, I couldn't afford to wait to pull the trigger another round. And since the Green Bay Packers organization I run supports environmental awareness and green initiatives, it made our decision that much easier. Since we had already sent our car service to Doucheville, USA, it only made sense to have the car simply swing around the block from the home of Mr. Rivers and arrive at the front door of our next pick...
Jay Cutler, QB

I think that Cutler, with any sort of offensive line around him, has shown that he can be a QB you can win playoff games with. And while his Chicago tenure seemed to ignore that fact, I feel comfortable with him as my QB knowing that he already has Duane Brown, already probably the best O-lineman he's ever worked with by default, protecting his blind side.
 
Of course, the pick could flop epicly. And I'd look like a total douche myself. I imagine it'd look something like this.
 

DaughtersofDougMirabelli

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sleepyjose03 said:
Kicking off the second round, the with the 33rd pick, the Vikings select: Casey Hayward, CB.  
 
The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Hayward is certainly a gamble this high. 
 
Defensive ROY went to Kuechly
 
Gamble but a pretty good pick. 
 

CaptainLaddie

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WELL, here we go.
 
The Philadelphia Eagle-Yambags select....
 

 
Andy "The Red Rifle" Dalton took a big step forward in 2012.  He threw for 3669 yards with 26 TDs and 16 picks while gaining 4 more TDs on the ground.  He's proven that he is coming into his own as a passer in this last year.  I feel that he's going to take a step forward in the next year and become a top 10 QB.  We'll see if I'm right, but I'm feeling good about this one.  Also, it's another ~60 picks until I get to go again -- chances are we'll be down to the Sanchez's of the world.
 

ilol@u

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The LOLGiants select ... Matt Schaub, QB

Matt Schaub had a better statistical season last year then some of the QBs selected earlier, such as Stafford, Romo, Rivers, Cutler and Dalton. He had 22 TDs and only 12 INTs and  was successful when the pressure wasn't on him and has a strong running game to work with. With Adrian Peterson and Matt Schaub, I feel my team is an automatic contender for at least 4-6 years. 
 

Dgilpin

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Lions select Chris Long DE
 

 

 
Staying with my philosophy of drafting elite talent at premium positions the Lions decided to take an impact DE instead of reaching
for the 16th best QB. Long is one of the more complete DE in the league, who is probably stronger against the run than the pass. That being
said, he is really coming to his own as a pass rusher with 24.5 sacks over the past 2 seasons. Long who will turn 28 in March, will be expected to anchor the Lions D-Line for the considerable future.


 
 

DanoooME

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The Seahawks are no strangers to building a team without a good QB and with the last remnants of decent QBs gone earlier in the round, it's time to continue to build the offense around youth and talent.  This guy made the Pro Bowl as an alternate in his rookie year. 
 
With the 40th pick of the draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Matt Kalil, LT.
 

 
I was going to go another direction, but decided OL was more important.  I'll be interested to see where the other guy goes (I expect soon).
 

ElcaballitoMVP

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I'm going to assume I can still pick for Jnai, since he didn't have any problem making the first pick and told me I could pick for now, so with our second pick, the Jnai Dolphins select:
 
Clay Matthews, OLB
 

 
Personally, I don't like him. I tried talking myself out of taking him. But the name of the game is to get after the QB and that's something Matthews excels at. After only notching 6 sacks last season, Clay bounced back with 13 this season in only 12 games. He suffered through a hamstring injury this season only to come back and notch at least 1 sack in each of the final 5 games he played. At only 26 years old, I anticipate the sacks to keep coming for years to come and he'll be someone offenses have to game plan for. 
 
Edit: DanoooMe- since you felt the need to use a picture of your guy blocking our guy, I felt the need to use a picture of our guy killing the guy your guy is supposed to protect. So there. Take that. I hope your franchise tackle enjoys blocking for a guy with scrambled eggs for brains. 
 

ilol@u

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I was thinking about taking Clay Mathews as well. Looking at where the other guys got picked (Geno Atkins, JJ Watt, Aldon Smith), I thought Clay Mathews would have good value in my last pick, but I knew I would be looking at shitty QB's once it was my turn to pick again. 
 

SPDougie

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I debated this next pick quite a bit.  Did I want to go on the other side of the ball after taking Atkins with my first pick or continue to build a strong defense.  The LT's I really liked are gone and I'm not particularly enamored with the QB's left.  That is why I have decided to take a guy who has been arguably the best shutdown CB in the NFL the past few seasons (minus last year obviously).  The San Diego Chargers select:
 

Darrelle Revis, CB
 
It is a bit of a risk coming off a torn ACL but look at the impact AP had coming back from the injury.  Still only 27 (28 by the time next season starts) he is in his prime and elite CB's have tended to play well through their mid-30's.  Very happy to get Revis and have one side of the field on lockdown.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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As I had feared, the top LTs going off the board fast. Man snake draft takes a loooooooooooong time to make it up the board. 
 
Picks updated. 
 
A quick poll: who had the best value pick in Round 1? Biggest reach?
 

ElcaballitoMVP

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SeoulSoxFan said:
As I had feared, the top LTs going off the board fast. Man snake draft takes a loooooooooooong time to make it up the board. 
 
Picks updated. 
 
A quick poll: who had the best value pick in Round 1? Biggest reach?
IMO, the best value is either Cam Newton at 13 or Geno Atkins at 23. I was hoping Atkins would last one more pick, but getting the top interior D lineman at 23 is pretty damn good value and a great way to start building a top defense. I really like that pick. Patrick Peterson at 30 is another one I liked a lot.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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ElcaballitoMVP said:
IMO, the best value is either Cam Newton at 13 or Geno Atkins at 23. I was hoping Atkins would last one more pick, but getting the top interior D lineman at 23 is pretty damn good value and a great way to start building a top defense. I really like that pick. Patrick Peterson at 30 is another one I liked a lot.
 
Getting Peterson at 30 is a great pick I thought, but I would have doubled-down on D by getting someone like Clay Matthews (left on board at Dollar's spot) or get a key OL piece like Kalil, and draft a younger QB much later on. I guess I just don't have confidence in Rivers getting back into form.
 
Duane Brown at 29 or Staley at 31 is also pretty awesome - I didn't they'd last that far down.
 
P.S. I'd say Gronk at 25th pick would have been a gamble, but DanooMe shrewdly got Kalil in the 2nd round, picked up a case of Guinness, and went home with a couple of Sea Gals.
 

 
 

CaptainLaddie

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I actually think Gronk at 25 is an incredible pick.  Gronk, when healthy, is pretty much the 2nd most uncoverable player in the NFL behind Megatron.  Add in the fact that he blocks like a very good lineman and you've got a stew goin'.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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CaptainLaddie said:
I actually think Gronk at 25 is an incredible pick.  Gronk, when healthy, is pretty much the 2nd most uncoverable player in the NFL behind Megatron.  Add in the fact that he blocks like a very good lineman and you've got a stew goin'.
 
That makes sense for sure. A complete all-around TE like Gronk is certainly a once-in-a-generation player.
 
I've just got this unhealthy concern about health of Gronk. Irrational I know, as the back (the once biggest concern) has held up well, and the forearm is a freak injury. Just too good to be true thing perhaps.
 

PBDWake

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I really liked the Geno Atkins pick. Just the kind of guy you want to build a defense around. It has my vote for best pick of the first round.
 
Also, a lot of the early QBs I felt were almost default picks, since QB is the most important position on the field. So none of them really landed on my "big steal" or "big reach" radar. Especially since nobody picked up Sanchez in Round 1
 
As far as biggest reach? I don't think there were any really atrocious picks. It's all relative. I don't think I would have taken JJ Watt at #4, but he was also my top non-QB player, so it's not like I think the biggest "leaps" in picks were people that jumped like, 2 spots, over where I had my position rankings. I had Joe Thomas behind Brown and Clady, and I don't know if I would have gone with Matt Ryan over one or two other QBs. People did a pretty good job of not taking Round 3 talent in Round 1. I don't think any of the picks in Round 1 I had making it much farther than early Round 2, and a lot of that was because I expected a few more QBs to go in Round 1
 

Dollar

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SeoulSoxFan said:
 
Getting Peterson at 30 is a great pick I thought, but I would have doubled-down on D by getting someone like Clay Matthews (left on board at Dollar's spot) or get a key OL piece like Kalil, and draft a younger QB much later on.
You weren't the only one thinking that. I actually had the Matthews pick all typed out, but changed my mind after looking over Rivers' numbers from the past few years and some factors that may have contibuted to his 2012 struggles.

oh, and last time I went defense-heavy early and ended up with Jake Delhomme. Never again.
 

DanoooME

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Edit: DanoooMe- since you felt the need to use a picture of your guy blocking our guy, I felt the need to use a picture of our guy killing the guy your guy is supposed to protect. So there. Take that. I hope your franchise tackle enjoys blocking for a guy with scrambled eggs for brains. 
 
LOL, there's pretty much zero chance I'm picking Joe Webb, so your comment about scrambled eggs for brains doesn't apply. 
 
I'm picking THE SANCHIZE! 
 
Oh wait...
 

RhaegarTharen

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Damn.  Love the Kalil pick (full disclosure: I might be biased).  Was really hoping that, despite his youth, he would be passed up in favor of some other tackles who were ranked higher and would (maybe) make it all the way back down to me again. Kid's a stud.  Great pick.
 
And Clay Matthews was the guy I was seriously debating drafting over Wake.  A bit more injury prone, but 5 years younger.   In the end I was just not happy with the drop-off from Wake to any DE I could reasonably assume would make it back to me than I was with the drop-off from Matthews to other OLBs.  Seemed to be a lot of really solid (if non-pass rushing) OLBs to be had, whereas Wake's numbers relative to remaining DEs were too good to pass up. 
 

DaughtersofDougMirabelli

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I'll join in on the Atkins love. 
 
I was debating between him and a couple QBs at 15 and was surprised to see him fall to 23.
 
The back end of the snake got some real premiere talent. I'm just wondering about the guys who passed on QB, what their final squad will look like. 
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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4 hours to go, and I'm not waiting a single second longer.  I'll slowly leak my vengeance out on the GMs around me for not letting SMU/I pick 2 QB's...
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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Also, I liked the Atkins pick as well. Was hoping because he was a Bungle that hed slip on the radar back to us in the second. Was hoping for stupidity from people in this draft. Aside from a few picks, people have drafted well.
 

Was (Not Wasdin)

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I'll have a pick up in a few minutes.  I think Newton at 13 was the best value in the first round.
 
I'm disappointed I didnt get Kalil, mainly because I wanted to put up some pictures of his mom.