The draft…does it really mean much? Who knows. My name appears three times on this list, which goes to show that the draft might be overrated? Or I’m really bad at keeping my category three sleepers? I cut them early and then trade for them later…a winning strategy since never. But this isn’t about me. This is about you, the true American heroes. I present to you, the best picks in the 2014 draft; round-by-round.
For the record, no keepers on this list. That’s a different list.
ROUND ONE | DEMARCO MURRAY, RB-DAL (COLBY) When it’s all said and done, the 2014 first-round picks could be the best we’ve ever had. Only two players are truly failing (Megatron and A.J. Green and both can blame injuries for their woes). Of course, the best of the best has to be DeMarco Murray, i.e. the league MVP so far. He lasted a stunning eight picks even though he was the best back in football at the end of 2013.
ROUND TWO | LE’VEON BELL, RB-PIT (JEFF) Thanks to a pot arrest and rumors that he would be sharing carries in the Steelers backfield, Bell went from a lock in the back half of the first round to being drafted 20th overall. He’s produced 938 total yards already this season, averaging 5.1 yards per touch. The only problem? He has just one rushing TD all season. Yet, he still beats out other top picks in round two like Arian Foster (21st) and Antonio Brown (16th).
ROUND THREE | EMMANUAL SANDERS, WR-DEN (MOLLY) The past three seasons, the third round has been Molly’s graveyard. I mean, her picks have just been fucking awful. This year though, she finally picked a winner. By grabbing Sanders (coming off a 432-point game), she’s proving that it’s better to have the third passing option in a great offense than a lead receiver in a bad offense. He’s produced 1,554 points in a round that has no other non-quarterback who has scored 1,000 points.
ROUND FOUR | SHANE VEREEN, RB-DEN (GRIFF) This one is a little tricky. The best player in this round is Eddie Lacy, but he’s a keeper, so he doesn’t count. Matt Ryan is tops in points, but he’s a quarterback and he’s not playing good right now. This round basically came down to Joique Bell and Shane Vereen. The former has had a decent season so far. However, I’m awarding this round to Vereen based on the one performance I saw after Steven Ridley went down for the year.
ROUND FIVE | T.Y. HILTON, WR-IND (MOLLY) A second Molly receiver has delivered big time. Hilton’s stats are padded by a pair of monster games, but points are points. The next closest in points in this round is DeSean Jackson and he’s nearly 300 points back.
ROUND SIX | KELVIN BENJAMIN, WR-CAR (ROBIO) This round features three solid keepers (Rashad Jennings, Andre Ellington and Alfred Morris), but it does not feature a ton of drafted stars. The three big names that did come out were a trio of young receivers. Brandin Cooks was expected to be the top dog, but he’s been average at best. Terrance Williams has relied on TDs (six), but has been inconsistent with yards. This leaves Benjamin. He’s on pace for 1,000 yards and has five touchdowns as well. I might regret letting Colby have him down the road.
ROUND SEVEN | GREG OLSEN, TE-CAR (ERIC) When the season began, Knowshon Moreno looked like the steal of this round, but he eventually landed on the IR. This opened the window for Greg Olsen, who is the second best tight end in football this year.
ROUND EIGHT | 49ERS, DST-SF (ERIC) With the third pick in this round, I grabbed the first defense. Three more would be taken before the round was over. Most of them have struggled this season, as has the non-kept position players in this round, so the 49ers DST gets it by default.
ROUND NINE | LAMAR MILLER, RB-MIA (BOB) The Broncos DST has produced some points and even Tony Romo is looking like a good late pick now, but the top pick will have to be Lamar Miller. Thanks to Moreno’s injury, he’s the lead back in Miami and he’s produced back-to-back 200-point games.
ROUND TEN | RUSSELL WILSON, QB-SEA (MOLLY) A pretty solid round that had no keepers. It features four solid arms, including Jay Cutler, Cam Newton and Philip Rivers. However, Russell Wilson is the one who is currently sitting as a third-team All-Robio player.
ROUND ELEVEN | RONNIE HILLMAN, RB-DEN (ROBIO) Since Monte Ball has gone down, Hillman has produced 232, 326 and 276. That’s why you draft handcuffs. And that’s why you don’t cut your handcuffs and let Jeff pick them up when your starter goes down.
ROUND TWELVE | DARREN MCFADDEN, RB-OAK (ROBIO) Speaking of cutting a player before he gets rolling. Round 12 features a bunch of junk. Almost all these players are currently available. McFadden hasn’t had a great year, but since the new coach took over, he’s been named the starter and produced back-t0-back 170-point games. It’s not much, but it’s something.
ROUND THIRTEEN | ANTONIO GATES, TE-SD (DON) After a tragic round twelve, thirteen has a handful of good players. DeAndre Hopkins is one good quarterback away from being a star in this league. Delanie Walker is put up big numbers in Tennessee. Chris Ivory can certainly fill a void at the running back spot for Masterson and Jeremy Maclin is the top target in Philadelphia. All solid picks. For now, I’m going with Gates. The old man was supposed to be over the hill, but he’s the third best tight end in football right now.
ROUND FOURTEEN | BRANDON LAFELL, WR-NE (RICH B) Thanks to Victor Cruz’s injury, Odell Bechham could be a great pick in this round. He’s already started to show some flash. For now though, I’m going with Brandon LaFell. Overall, he hasn’t been consistently good, but he has produced one 298-point game and a 314-point game two weeks later.
ROUND FIFTEEN | DAN BAILEY, PK-DAL (JEFF) The round featured nine kickers, one running back, one wide receiver and the Steelers DST. The best of the bunch has been Cowboys’ kicker Dan Bailey. He has 275 more points than the Steelers D.
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