& there you have it.

We waited for days and weeks for draft day to arrive so we can each prove that this
is our year. It's the chance we have to draft that player we like, to take the player
that everyone else passed up, and to compare our team to the next guy's and
convince yourself you can take him head to head. It's wild because no games have
been played yet, not a single pass thrown or running play called. Draft day is all
about blind hope and hype. This year was great. It's always great to get together
and even better to roast each other for 3 hours. This year there were reaches, steals,
snipers, and picks that made us go "??????".

In the NFL, it has been a crazy this offseason between the Giants trading away
OBJ and the Browns stockpiling talent to surround Baker. The Raiders continued
to Raider by trading for the league's biggest nutcase, Antonio Brown. Le'Veon Bell
actually showed up to work this year after getting paid. & now Zeke is taking his
place as Mr. Holdout. Will Mahomes repeat his insane rookie year or regress to a
reasonable mean? Which NFL team will come out of the gate hot and flop at the
end? Will this finally be the year that Tom Brady shows age? I'm excited about this
season. There are two weeks left before the opening kickoff and plenty more
drama, injuries, retirements, and surprises ahead of us this season.
& now, for a personal draft recap

Cesar
Cesar started this season off by going all-in on the new and improved Browns,
nabbing Odell Beckham with his first pick and stacking him with also Browns QB
Baker Mayfield, who is primed for a huge year. Mark Ingram is another strong 4th
round pick, as the lead running back for a team that doesn't want their quarterback
to throw all that much.
wildcard pick(s): WR Josh Gordon - Gordon has a wide range of outcomes,
anywhere from out of the league/suspended to top 10 WR. On a team with limited
receiving options, Gordon will have his chance

Steven
Steven had the most predictable pick at the number one spot, sticking with
Christian McCaffery who carried his team to a championship last season, who
looks like he'll have the same workload. Steven also made the choice to go with 4
consecutive running backs, securing KC RB Damien Williams and NE RB Sony
Michel, who have massive TD upside, while also securing top quarterback Aaron
Rodgers. Of course, he'll start the year off with Cooper Kupp and Sterling Shepard
leading the way for his WRs.
wildcard pick(s): TE Delanie Walker - Walker is coming off a lost year where he
tore his ACL and is 35 years old. He has always been a model of mild consistency
but his age and injuries may catch up to him. In a league where tight-end
production is scarce, he'll be important for steven to have success.

Eddie
Contrary to Steven, I started off the draft with four consecutive pass catchers,
Davante Adams, Juju Smith-Schuster, TE George Kittle, and Brandin Cooks. I also
took a risk in taking rookie QB Kyler Murray earlier than most, who is looking to
turn one of the worst offenses last season, into one of the most explosive, this
season.
wildcard pick(s): RB Melvin Gordon - a first-round talent when playing, Melvin
Gordon lasted until the 5th round. A clear candidate to hold out multiple games, I
need Gordon to provide value to compete for a title this season. I don't hate that I
only used my 5th round pick for him.

Daniel
Daniel started his draft as safe as can be with DeAndre Hopkins. Best hands in the
league and will once again fight for the lead in touchdowns. Daniel also scored a
killer stack by drafting both Pat Mahomes AND Tyreke Hill, who will undoubtedly
hook up for multiple touchdowns this seasons. That combination can bury his
opponent quickly or catch up in a hurry.
wildcard pick(s): RB Duke Johnson - As of this moment, Daniel lucked into the
new Texans starting running back. Always underutilized in Cleveland, the Texans
may give him his shot to use his rushing and receiving talents with volume. If he
turns into a solid RB2 for Daniel, watch out.

Ivan
Ivan went with David Johnson to anchor his team in the first round. Coming off a
down year to his standards, Johnson has a new coach, QB, and offense and will
look to repeat his season of 2 years ago. Mike Evans is solid WR to lead his team,
also with a new coach and offense that will feature him. Marlon Mack will
probably be leaned on more in wake of Luck's retirement, and Edelman will once
again be Brady's security blanket, good in all ppr formats.
wildcard pick(s): TE Evan Engram - Engram will be one of the main facets of the
Giants offense, who lost Odell Beckham and a suspended Golden Tate. The
problem here is Eli Manning. Washed beyond his years, Engram will rely on a sub-
par QB to feed him often, and will likely be hoping for rookie Daniel Jones to
jump in and rely on Engram for completions.

Mike O
Mike found himself in a precarious spot at number nine spot and drafted new Jets
RB LeVeon Bell. Bell will see a TON of volume this season likely to challenge
Saquon for the lead in touches. With TE being thin this season, Mike made sure to
grab Kelce who will be Mahomes' number one red-zone target. Mike also took the
plunge on AJ Green in round 6 and can boost his team to be a title favorite if he
resembles his old self coming back from injury.
wildcard pick(s): RB Chris Carson & QB Lamar Jackson - Mike invested a very
high pick in Chris Carson, who is said to be the true bell-cow in Seattle, a run-
heavy team. Investing a pick that high, Carson needs to produce a Demarco
Murray type season to keep Mike on top of every matchup he has against his
opponent's RB2. After Luck retired, Jackson is currently his starting QB. Last
season after week 10, Jackson was the 3rd overall QB after Mahomes and Josh
Allen. He'll need to provide major rushing points and improving passing to keep
Mike as one of the best garage league teams.

Phil
Phil picked Julio Jones with the 10th overall pick. Julio is also a model for
consistency and will most def improve his TD count from last season. Chubb and
Diggs followed Jones and with his fourth pick, took a chance on Bears RB David
Montgomery. Montgomery, a rookie, by all accounts has looked great this
preseason, but so did Trent Richardson at one point, lol. Will Fuller and Dante
Pettis round out his starting WR's with Fuller finally being healthy to start the
season and is Watson's deep threat.
wildcard pick(s): TE Mark Andrews and RB Austin Ekeler - Andrews is
relatively unknown and only scored 3 times last season with the Ravens. With a
thin TE class, he'll need to make a big jump in BAL for Phil to be successful every
week. Austin Ekeler is also key because of how long he'll be relevant is unknown.
Ekeler is a prime ppr RB but would have little standalone value should Gordon
ever return.

Mike V
Mike was bold enough to take Todd Gurley with his first-round pick. Reports of
his workload being scaled back and his arthritic knee did not deter Mike, as he has
the most total TDs in the last two seasons. James Conner will once more be a true
workhorse. Mike took a small hit with Luck retiring, as now his WR TY Hilton
will have a lesser QB throwing to him. He is also trusting 32-year-old WR
Emmanuel Sanders coming off an Achilles tear, to be his WR3. Securing a top TE
Zach Ertz bodes well for Mike's weekly point floor.
wildcard pick(s): RB Kareem Hunt - Hunt is suspended for his team first 8 games
of the season. Once a top 5 running back, his role, once he is allowed to return, is
completely unknown, especially behind Nick Chubb. If Chubb gets hurt or Hunt
shares the load, Mike got a steal, but there's also a chance he'll barely see the field.

Alex
Alex's opening pick was a strong one, going with RB Alvin Kamara who has a shot
to finish as the league's RB1 this season. He also bolstered his running back stable
going with new workhorse RB Kerryon Johnson with his second pick. Thielen is a
model ppr WR1. The reach of the century came in the 5th round when he took RB
Justin Jackson, who in some drafts is going undrafted. Alex may laugh last if he
tears it up in a Melvin Gordon absence, and becomes their lead running back. Alex
is also putting his trust in Russell Wilson, a hyper-efficient QB with low passing
numbers but good TD and rushing stats.
wildcard pick(s): RB Darrell Henderson - The Rams traded up for Henderson in
the draft, and NFL analysts compare him to Kamara. After Kerryon and Kamara,
Alex's running RB is questionable at best. Henderson has a great opportunity to
establish himself as a valuable piece in McVay's offense should he play well right
away. Alex will have an ace with him if he pans out.

Brian
Brian continued his love/affair with Ezekiel Elliot, taking him for the third year in
a row. He would be my number one overall pick, would he not have holdout
questions similar to Melvin Gordon. Brian also bolstered his running back stable
with the electric Dalvin Cook and touted bruising rookie RB Josh Jacobs. The
talent at RB comes at the cost of his WRs, going with Tyler Boyd (who will lead
the CIN WRs) and Dede Westbrook to lead his team for now. Brian also chose to
ignore the TE position before picking Darren Waller in the 15th round, who some
view as a dark horse to be a staple in OAK's offense.
wildcard pick(s): RB Derrius Guice - Coming off a torn ACL, Guice is a talented
RB whose had many injury setbacks up to this point. Recently activated, she
showed well WSH's last preseason game. Still, there is enormous upside here.
Having used a 5ht round pick on Guice instead of a WR, Guice has a ton of upside
but needs to return on Brian's investment to be one of the top teams.
That's all I have for you guys today. I hope you guys enjoy my totally biased
opinions, lol. This season I hope to continue doing more of the same for the
League Manager Note, in terms of stats, power rankings, NFL/fantasy
implications, playoff odds, and other new stuff. Give me ideas if you guys have
them. Look out for the week 1 match-ups next week!

WEEK 1 MATCH-UPS TO WATCH

TBD