Keepers are due tomorrow night. Lots of tough decisions to be made. However, let’s take a look back at each person’s greatest keeper (in no particular order).
ROBIO MURRAY
MARSHAWN LYNCH, 2011-2013 Oddly, despite my success, I haven’t really produced a lot of great keepers. Maybe I’m bad at it. Maybe I draft so well, I always have lots of great players to keep. Let’s just say the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Ironically, my best keeper wasn’t even a player I drafted. In 2011, Marshawn Lynch was part of a five-player deal between Matt and I. During his 2 1/2 year run with me, Lynch finished 8th, 6th and 6th, twice earning third-team All-Robio. I went 21-13 with Lynch on my squad, winning a title in 2012. Let’s hope two more seasons of Lamar Jackson in round seven will knocked Lynch off this list.
GRIFF COOMER
ARIAN FOSTER, 2010-2012 This was actually a tough decision. Coomer had Shaun Alexander for four years (2003-2006) and the Seahawks running back finished 7th, 2nd and 1st in the first three years. He was a big reason why Griff made it to three straight championship games (2003-2005), winning a title with the league’s greatest backfield in 2005. However, I’m naming Arian Foster as Griff’s best back, even though a title was never won between the two. The fact is, Alexander was the 5th overall pick in 2003 and would always cost Griff a first-round pick. Foster was taken in the 9th round and proceeded to finish 1st, 3rd and 3rd in his three years with the Coomer. The pair went a stunning 28-11 together in the regular season, although they failed to earn a playoff win.
DON VOZZOLA
MAURICE JONES-DREW, 2008-2010 Don had a decent run of category two wide receiver keepers between 2007-2011. Greg Jennings finished 14th, 6th and 20th among all receivers and was a part of Don’s second title run. He was followed up by Percy Harvin, who finished 23rd, 20th and 11 in his three years with Don. Yet, the easy choice for Don’s top keeper can be found in the backfield. Maurice Jones-Drew was a first-round pick in 2008. He finished 9th among all running backs. He followed that up with a first-team All-Robio award in 2009 and then 10th in his final year with Don.
ERIC VOZZOLA
Antonio Brown, 2015-2017 Alfred Morris was Eric’s first solid keeper. Between 2012-14, the Washington Football Team’s back finished 11th, 10th and 9th among all backs. Sure, those aren’t All-Robio numbers, but that meant each year Eric had a starting back he got in round six. Yet, Eric’s top keeper ever has to be Antonio Brown. Why I shy away from putting first round pick/keepers on this list, Brown’s accomplishments were too good to ignore. Eric took the Steelers wideout in round one in the 2015 draft and kept him two straight years. He became the first and only keeper to finish as a first team All-Robio all three seasons, ending up as the league’s top receiver in 2015, second best receiver the following season and number one again in 2017. Brown would help lead Eric to the postseason three straight seasons, which at the time, was just the second time that’s happened to Eric.
ROB MASTERSON
RAY RICE, 2009-2011 Priest Holmes should have been Rob’s greatest keeper, but the dude couldn’t ever finish a season. Brandon Marshall was a brilliant round 11 pick in 2007. The Broncos wide receiver was entering his third year in the league and was ready to explode. He ended up finishing 7th among all receivers in year one, followed by 11th and 17th. Yet, I’m going with Ray Rice. Rob grabbed the Ravens rookie back in 2009 and he became a star, delivering two All-Robio awards. He finished 3rd, 7th and 2nd and waited until after Masterson couldn’t keep him anymore before imploding on the world. However, he is expected to keep Chris MacCaffrey one more time this season. He’s already earned Rob a second-team and a first-team All-Robio award. One more, along with a deep playoff push, could vault the white boy to the top of this list.
RICHARD BURRIER
LADAINIAN TOMLINSON, 2003-2007 Burrier had a nice run lately with DeAndre Hopkins. The former Texans receiver was taken in round 13 of the 2013 draft. He struggled as rookie, finishing 42nd among all receivers. However, his final two years as a category three keeper, he finished a solid #11 in 2014 and then 3rd in 2015. He’s the only keeper that Rich has ever kept after round nine that earned an All-Robio Award. Yet, to this day, Tomlinson remains not only the greatest keeper Burrier’s had, but without a doubt, he’s the greatest keeper ever kept. Rich landed Tomlinson with the first pick in the 2003 draft and kept him until about halfway through the 2007 season. He earned three first-team All Robio’s and two second-team All-Robio’s. He led Burrier to four-straight winning seasons, all four resulting in a division title, delivering Rich’s only title in 2003. When he shipped him off to me in 2007, I gave him to Neatock, who won his first title with L.T. in his backfield.
RICH CALDERON
CALVIN JOHNSON, 2010-2012 Calderon’s list of “players who broke out one year and were kept to repeat those stats, yet failed” is a long list. It started with Jamal Lewis in 2004, was followed by Cadillac Williams and Deuce McAllister in 2006 and 2007 and ended up with Steve Slaton in 2009. However, his three-year run with Megatron was one of the greatest by one player on one team. Johnson delivered a third-team All-Robio award in 2010 and then followed it up with back-to-back first-team All-Robio awards. Only L.T. has delivered more in a three-year span (he did one second-team and two first-team awards). Rich would go 24-15 in the regular season with Calvin in his lineup, winning a division and bringing home his only scoring title.
BOB CASTRONE
CHRIS JOHNSON, 2008-2010 This is a tough call between two great keepers. In 2011, Bob drafted rookie quarterback Cam Newton in round 12, then proceeded to keep him two straight years. While he never produced an All-Robio award, he did finish 4th, 8th and 6th, which is solid. Oddly enough though, Bob went 6-7 in all three seasons with Cam leading the way, although his 2011 team ran the table in the postseason and won a championship. Still, I believe the best of Bob’s keepers was Chris Johnson. Drafted in the seventh-round of the 2008 draft, Chris Johnson proved to be one of the most productive keepers ever. He finished ranked 10th best back as a rookie, then followed that up with a #1 ranking. In his final season with Bob, he finished 9th among all backs. During his three-year run, Bob and Chris Johnson combined to win 30 games, the most ever by a player kept on the same team.
MATT NEATOCK
AARON RODGERS, 2008-2010 There are numerous keepers you could have dropped in this slot and few would argue. Edgerrin James rocked out back-to-back top-five seasons as a second-round keeper. Don’t forget about Wes Welker, who finished 10th, 14th and 6th, all as a 13th round pick. Yet, he’s not even the better keep in that class, as Adrian Peterson was taken in the second round in 2007 and finished 3rd, 5th and 4th among all backs. Both Welker and Peterson help lead Matt to his two titles.
Yet, I’m gong with Aaron Rodgers. When Matt selected him in the 10th round in the 2008 draft, Rodgers had yet to start a single game. By the end of the season he was starting and finishing third among all quarterbacks. The following year he moved up to second and led Matt to his second title. However, the reason I’m putting him above the other great keepers is that in 2010, Matt shipped his star quarterback off to Calderon in week three for LeSean McCoy. The Eagles star back ended up finishing 5th among all backs and then Matt kept him one more year and he finished first among all backs. So basically thanks to a trade, he was able to have a top-five player for four years.
COLBY HALL
TIKI BARBER, 2004-2006 After this season, I expect to move Patrick Mahomes at this spot, but for now, I’m sticking to old school. In 2004, Colby was able to snag Tiki Barber in the infamous trade we all know too well. That trade proved to be a good one, as the Pounders earned the scoring title that year, led by Barber, who finished as the league’s top back. He followed that up in 2005, by earning a second straight first-team All-Robio award. In year three, Barber “slipped” to third-team All-Robio. I believe that’s what you call a good trade. Barber would lead Colby to three straight trips to the post-season and the title game in 2005.
JEFF GREENBLATT
Melvin Gordon, 2016-2018 While Michael Evans is currently making a case (two top-10 finishes the past two years), Jeff’s best keeper to date is Melvin Gordon. The Chargers back had an impressive three-year run after Jeff took him in round three, despite the fact he was not yet penciled in as the Chargers full-time starter. A Danny Woodhead season-ending injury changed that and over the next three seasons, Gordon would finish 3rd (second-team All-Robio), 6th (Third-team) and 7th. His three seasons on Jeff’s squad would prove tone the three most successful of Greenblatt’s career. He reached the postseason three straight years (the only time he’s done that), including that 11-win, top-seed 2016 season.
MICHAEL EVANGELIST
NONE Obviously, too soon to tell. Mike kept just one player off Marc’s roster, JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Steelers receiver was an injury-plagued bust last year, finishing 52nd. This season, look for Dalvin Cook to be kept, coming off a first-team All-Robio award.
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