2016 Dawgpatch Fantasy Football

The first five rounds of the draft are crucial to obtain your cornerstone pieces who will anchor your team for the entire season. Sure, you'll find that hidden gem on your bench or in the waiver wire, but those first five picks are what will make or break you for the year. In looking at Big Red's one through five, we have Cam Newton, Mark Ingram, Brandon Marshall, Jonathan Stewart, and Demaryius Thomas. Cam is a definite stretch at number 2. No offense to "The Dabber", but I don't believe in taking a QB in the first round in any circumstance. Pairing a running QB with his RB is not a recipe for success, because one is bound to steal the goal line touches from the other. Brandon Marshall is still a viable number one receiver, but Demaryius Thomas concerns me only because of going into the season with an unproven QB in Trevor Simieon usually doesn't go well for star receivers. The bench is filled with potential back-ups so this team will need to rely on injuries for these guys to have a significant impact. Worst Pick: Cam Newton Best Value Pick: Charles Simms Draft Grade: C

The Dawgpound received the highest draft grade possible from the CBS Sports writers. Although I do believe this was a strong draft for the Dawgs, there are some concerns. The biggest issue could potentially come at quarterback. The Dawgpound rolled the dice at quarterback and waited until the 8th round to pick up Marcus Mariotta. They followed up in the 12th with Dak Prescott, which could be boom or bust with either of these guys. Both have the potential to be duel threats with the run, but they are a far cry from the Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady's of the world when it comes to consistent QB play. The Wide receiving corp is one of the strongest in the league with Antonio Brown and Allen Robinson leading the charge. Combine that with Jordan Reed and Gary Barnidge at TE, this should net some high points for the Dawgs on a weekly basis. The running backs are above average and that may be enough to keep the Dawgpound competitive and in every game week in and week out. Worst Pick: Dak Prescott Best Value Pick: Jay Ajayi Draft Grade: A-

Having the number one overall pick is tough, especially when there isn't a clear cut number one guy like there has been in years past. Todd Gurley was the smart choice in this position, as he was the number one back on most draft boards, including mine. The second round is where the reaching began. Doug Baldwin probably would have been on the board later. Andrew Luck seems like a good pick here, but it depends on which Luck you get. If it's the one that played last year before the injury, it could be a long season for the Stomp. Overall, the QB's and TE's are strong, but it's hard to find a ton of value at the receiver and running back positions. Gurley should be great, but Frank Gore was a huge reach in the 5th round. The Colts offensive line is atrocious and Gore is well over 30 years old. Not a good combination for your starting running back. I actually believe the bench receivers of Allen Hurns and Markus Wheaton will post better numbers than the combination of Decker and Baldwin. Wheaton should have a strong year with Bryant out of the lineup all year. Worst Pick: Frank Gore Best Value Pick: Markus Wheaton Draft Grade: B-

I find a lot of question marks in the first five picks for the CheezHeadz. Aaron Rodgers is obviously a solid number one QB, but again, shouldn't be taken in the first round. The running backs are a gamble with Eddie Lacy and Arian Foster. Lacy is in better shape than he was a year ago so that should help his numbers. Foster is in a new system on a new team and has a serious history of injuries. This was a pick that you can't fault, because when healthy Foster is one of the best backs in the league. The problem is he can't stay healthy. One of the best picks of the entire draft was Josh Gordon in the 7th round. Gordon finally seems to have his head on straight and has a QB who can get him the ball. Greg Olsen is one of the best tight ends in the game as well and hasn't missed a regular season game. The depth on this team has question marks but there are some solid pieces that will keep the CheezHeadz in most games. Worst Pick: Aaron Rodgers (only because he could've been there in the second round) Best Value Pick: Josh Gordon Draft Grade: B

I liked this team as I saw the draft picks developing. First, the quarterback position is as strong as any team in the league. Jameis Winston and Eli Manning are primed to have as big of a year as anyone at the QB position. They both have exceptional weapons who will help the signal callers have career years. The depth at running back is solid on this team as well. Mathews will be the guy in Philly and I firmly believe DeMarco Murray will be the main guy in Tennessee. Derrick Henry has potential, but so has every other Alabama running back in the past 7 or 8 years and has failed to live up to expectation. Theo Riddick will probably end up seeing more playing time than one of the fore-mentioned guys because of his ability to accumulate YAC out of the backfield. The first five picks of Beckham, Jordy Nelson, Murray, Mathews, and Jimmy Graham are as strong as any first five rounds in the league. Terrelle Pryor and Kevin White are both unproven talents so DaGoobs are banking on catching lightening in a bottle with these two. Overall, this team is designed to win games and I expect a playoff appearance in DaGoobs return campaign. Worst Pick: Kevin White Best Value Pick: Theo Riddick Draft Grade: B+

On paper, this looks like it could be one of the strongest teams heading into the 2016 season. Amari Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins could be one of the most lethal combinations in the league this season. The Seahawks have gushed all of training camp over Christine Michael and it looks like he may end up getting a majority of the carries as the season begins. Ezekiel Elliott is supposed to be the "next big thing" so time will tell if he's worthy of the first round pick the Gamblers used on him. With average QB play but a lot of depth, I can see this team making a deep run in the playoffs this year. Could this be the year the Gamblers hold up the belt for the first time in league history? Time will tell. Worst Pick: Travis Kelce Best Value Pick: Christine Michael Draft Grade: B+

This team seemed to think they had the best draft of the night, so let's break it down starting with the first five picks. Rob Gronkowski, AJ Green, Doug Martin, Julian Edelman, and Tyrod Taylor make up the core of this team. I love the players taken here, but given Gronk and Edelman have to split touches with Brady missing the first four games of the season may affect their numbers. If healthy, LeDarius Green will post similar numbers to Gronk this year in the new explosive Pittsburgh offense. We will have to wait and see if Tyrod Taylor was a one hit wonder or if he can duplicate his 2015 performance. This may be one of the most well rounded teams Tossed Salad has ever put together. If they can catch some breaks and their back-ups can get some playing time on their respective teams, they may be a formidable force in the Dawgpatch League. Worst Pick: Tyrod Taylor Best Value Pick: LeDarius Green Draft Grade: B

This team is the most difficult to break down. Russell Wilson was a definite reach in the second round, but they were able to add some talented players despite of this bad pick. It's hard to gauge how Lamar Miller will do going to a new team. Historically, running backs going to new teams don't always have the strongest showing right away. If that's the case, this could be a blown first round pick and destroy the season for the Bandits. Latavius Murray should be a solid back and will need to anchor this team due to the unpredictable receiving corp. Keenan Allen should have a good season in San Diego and Randall Cobb will get his touches in Green Bay, but neither of them are top tier pass catchers. I am the one person in Indianapolis who thinks Coby Fleener will have a pro bowl year with the Saints this season, so needless to say I think this is going to be a gold-mine pick for the Bandits this season. Worst Pick: Russell Wilson Best Value Pick: Coby Fleener Draft Grade: B

The Munchers have one of the best running back groups in the league this year. Freeman and Peterson is an amazing duo and will be the reason the team wins or loses. The receiving group is solid with Watkins and Maclin and Zach Ertz at TE. Drew Brees is 37 and hasn't looked consistently sharp in camp. He's a first ballet hall of famer, but he's on the 18th green and we shouldn't expect the 5,000 yards and 45 touchdowns we're accustomed to seeing from him. Overall the depth of this team is it's strength so any injury endured during the season should be easily rectified with the bench. Donte Moncrief is poised to have a breakout season in Indy and Charles Sims is going to steal a lot of the third down carries in Tampa. This team, like the Tossed Salad, may have one of it's best roster in years. Worst Pick: Drew Brees (Because of position) Best Value Pick: Donte Moncrief Draft Grade: B+

As the draft was unfolding, I was the biggest critic of the draft picks that were coming in for the Lions. After breaking it down and having a chance to look at all the players, it's still not great, but not as bad as I initially thought. The first five picks are obviously scary with two quarterbacks being taken. Both great QB's, but only one can play at a time so to use a valuable pick that early in the draft was mind-boggling. Two of the top five picks are actually suspended for the first quarter of the season (Bell 3 games and Brady 4) so they won't even have an impact right away. Once they are available, those two players will be the backbone of this team and be the reason they make any kind of run into the playoffs. It was smart to handcuff DeAngelo Williams but drafting a defense so early could make this team suffer by missing out on a more valuable player like Chris Ivory or Allen Hurns. With the suspensions and lack of depth, this team will be relying heavily on Jamaal Charles and Kelvin Benjamin, two guys coming off serious injuries with no certainty on how they'll perform going into the 2016 season. This is a scary proposition. By week five if they are playing well and Bell and Brady come back and perform at their respective past levels, this team could end up being fine. If not, it'll be a long season for the Lions. Worst pick: Ben Roethlisberger Best Value Pick: Tevin Coleman Draft Grade: C-

LOD was able to snag, in my opinion, the receiver with the highest potential of anyone in Mike Evans. I expect a 1500 yards and 14 TD season for the Tampa pass catcher. The top pick, David Johnson, has been compared in training camp to the likes of Marshall Faulk with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. If this is ends up to be slightly true, this could be the best first two rounds of anyone in the draft. Beginning in the third round, I thought there were better players on the board with each pick taken by the Doom. Jeremy Langford, who I love because he's a Spartan, is a decent value pick in the third round, but he's on a bad team who will be down quite often so I don't know how this will affect his carries. Depending on if Thomas Rawls can stay healthy and repeat his 2015 performance, he may be able to step in and take this starting role if Langford struggles. I'm a big fan of Blake Bortles this year and expect him to put up huge numbers. The main focus for the Legion of Doom this season was to go with the young guy no matter what. We should have a good idea of whether or not this was a good decision by week 4. Worst Pick: Thomas Rawls (Could be the best pick if he's the number one guy) Best Value Pick: Tavon Austin Draft Grade: B

The defending champs used the same model to draft that won them the title a year ago. Load up the receivers and go mediocre at running back. Dez Bryant and Julio Jones will probably be one of the best receiving duos in the league this year, not to mention Hilton and Matthews will be viable substitutes. The running back position leaves a lot to be desired, but so did last year's combination of Eddie Lacy and Frank Gore, but that didn't stop this team from going 15-1 and taking home the trophy. Led by either Philip Rivers or Kirk Cousins, either will be a sufficient option for this team. They won't provide the dual threat points this team got a year ago from Tyrod Taylor so that may play a factor in a decline for this team. Matt Forte will provide some stability if he has anything left in the tank. I believe he will be the X factor in this team's chances of repeating this year. Worst Pick: TJ Yeldon Best Value Pick: Jordan Matthews Draft Grade: B