L. Tomlinson is clearly the greatest keeper ever, but Calvin Johnson and Rich Calderon made sweet music together, too.
Keepers are due this Sunday. 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 draft. 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 Lycnh on my squad, winning a title in 2012.
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.
MOLLY COOMER
FRANK GORE, 2005-2007 Molly has produced a few solid, although maybe not memorable keepers. Dallas Clark was a solid pick in the 13th round. The Colts TE managed to finish 6th in year one, then earned two third-team All-Robio awards as a keeper the following two seasons. The past three years Molly has enjoyed Victor Cruz. He was a free agent pick up in week five, 2011. He exploded onto the scene that season, finishing third. He did manage to finish 12th and 16th as keepers the past two seasons, but let’s be honest, that always felt like a disappointment.
That leaves us to Frank Gore. Molly snagged the 49ers backup running back to Kevan Barlow deep in the 9th round. He never passed Barlow on the depth chart that year, but Molly never cut him either. The decision paid off as Gore would be handed the keys to the 49ers backfield the following season. Over the next two years, he was a solid RB1, finishing 4th and 8th among all backs. Molly would end up going 16-10 during those two seasons with Gore.
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
ALFRED MORRIS, 2012-2013 Eric has been terrible when it comes to picking keepers; just awful. It’s hard to find anything worth bragging about. Kellen Winslow had a nice two-year run as Eric’s 13th round pick. He finished 4th in both 2006 and 2007. Matt Forte finished 5th the year Eric kept him (2011), but he acquired him the previous season in a week ten dump trade. Eric did have a decent three-year run with the Bears DST. He drafted them in 2010 in the 12th round and they proceeded to finish 6th, 9th and then 1st.
However, I’m going with Morris. Eric drafted the Redskins rookie back in round six, having no idea if he would ever sniff the field. He ended up finishing 11th among all backs and help lead Eric to the title game. The following season, Morris started slowly, but managed to still finish 10th among all backs. He is expected to return for one more go in 2014.
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.
RICHARD BURRIER
LADAINIAN TOMLINSON, 2003-2007 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 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 While 2013 proved to be a disaster for Matt when it comes to keepers, he’s still the keeper king by a long mile. 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 finished 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 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. 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
TORREY SMITH, 2012-2013 Wow, not a lot to pick from. Brady had one good year under his belt in 2009 (when he finished 4th among all quarterbacks) and Owen Daniels in round 13 finished as the 8th best TE that same year. So far, the best that’s come from Jeff’s keepers has been Smith. The Ravens receiver has been a steady WR2, finishing 16th and 14th among all receivers. Time will tell if Jeff will give Torrey another go in 2014.
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