Draft Grades (New England)

The Great CornJulios

B+

Best Pick: Julio Jones ($57)
Recently, Julio has become widely considered the consensus #1 receiver in fantasy for 2015. There's a good chance it has to do with his 189 and 259 yard efforts late in the season last year. With Roddy hobbled and Ryan enamored by his #1 target, expect Atlanta to force feed the ball to Julio. Hard to put a price on this guy. Mike was willing to pay whatever it took to get him.

Best Value: Ben Roethlisberger ($4)
Of all the quarterback value buys, this was the best. Mike landed a top 5 quarterback in an offense really focused on airing it out and putting points on the board. Mike's patience paid off in a big way as he got one of the best buys and the lowest cost.

Future Focus: Jordy Nelson ($13), Matt Jones ($2)
Not ideal to close off your IR spot before the draft even ends, but when there's Jordy Nelson available to keep next year at $18, who could blame the kid? This was a future play that cost him some in the current year, but Jordy is going to have a high trade value come the second half of the season. Expect Mike to use that to his advantage. Also, Matt Jones looks really good on tape. Like, freakishly good.

Worst Pick: David Cobb ($2)
At the time of the draft, this was a sensible pick. Unfortunately for the CornJulios, Cobb went down with an injury and has since been designated to IR.

Biggest Gamble: Carlos Hyde ($26)
The Niners fell far from grace almost as fast as Ray Rice after his elevator ride. Half the team quit, retired, got arrested or injured. All in all there is a lot of uncertainty in San Fran. Could Hyde produce in a big way for the Niners? Sure. But until we see this squad on Sunday, we have no idea what to expect from Hyde.

Gurley Manning

B

Best Pick: Brandin Cooks ($34)
At $34, Cooks was remarkably Team Gurley Manning's largest investment. The value boys zigged why the rest of the league zagged, which resulted in them accumulating a pretty solid, young squad. I drove the Cooks bandwagon last offseason. It took him a little while longer to get acclimated to the NFL than I anticipated, but he seems poised for a breakout year as Brees' #1 target.

Best Value: The Entire Team (minus Chris Ivory)
Gurley Manning trusted their limits and didn't look back. It left them with a pile of cash deep into the draft and the ability to value buy the whole way. Do they have any real big hitters? Not on paper just yet. But there's potential there. They also have a boat full of trade bait. For the record, I'm a big Chris Ivory fan, I just know they paid more than they wanted to.

Future Focus: Todd Gurley ($15)
Mason and Jagoda can't be thrilled to hear Gurley could be out until Week 5, but they have more than enough options to weather the storm until Gurley makes an impact on the Rams. He's the best talent of any running back in the 2015 draft class. Can't fault this team for taking a chance on him.

Worst Pick: Peyton Manning ($7)
I expect people to be highly contentious about my opinion here, but given the fact they had already invested $12 in Russell Wilson, it made the most sense to pass on Peyton. They can't start both these guys. Does it take one of them out of their war path? Yes. Could they potentially trade one of them? Yes. But every purchase comes with consequence in auction and its never easy to swing a QB trade deal. At this moment, I don't think it was the smartest move, but I also know they can turn the pick into something better.

Biggest Gamble: Victor Cruz ($7)
Gurley knew this was a gamble and they had money to blow at this point in the draft, but coming off an injury that has a history of ending careers, ailed by another calf injury, Cruz is far from a safe bet at $7. I bet Mason and Jagoda wish they had better utilized this $7 when they folded their cards during a few early draft bid wars.

Peyton Top / Eli Bottom 

B

Best Pick: DeMarco Murray ($54)
Manning beat out yours truly in a bidding war for Murray. DeMarco is no stranger to offensive lines that part the seas for him. Chip Kelly's offense should provide Murray with a lot of room to run. Getting spells from Matthews and Sproles actually makes him more appealing in my eyes, because he's less of a threat to break down after being run into the ground in Dallas. Expect Murray to see the end zone a ton.

Best Value: Isiah Crowell ($5)
Granted Cleveland is in the news every day rumored to be inquiring about free agent running backs, but that doesn't bother me. Crowell was highly productive in limited opportunities last season and he'll be running behind an offensive line that is quietly, one of the best in the league. For $5, why not?

Future Focus: James White ($1)
This marks the second straight season we've heard good things about James White coming out of camp/preseason. Belichick was willing to part ways with Shane Vereen, handing the keys to the 3rd down role over to James White. There could be some potential there. Worth the $1 investment.

Worst Pick: Andre Ellington ($14)
Ellington is always surrounded by injury concern and there seem to be mixed reports about his production this offseason. He's a boom or bust running back in a good offense. Assuming he can fight off the suitors gunning for his role, Ellington could be relatively productive. However, it seems Bruce Arians is hoping to preserve him, which will ultimately drive down his touches in 2015.

Biggest Gamble: Jeremy Maclin ($16)
Maclin is coming off of a career year in Philly, but he's in a much different offense. His talent is unquestioned, but Alex Smith literally went an entire season without throwing a TD to a wide receiver. That blows my mind. As such, its a gamble.

Kindergarden Naptime

B- 

Best Pick: Dez Bryant ($56)

The auction format requires the occasional significant investment. As such, its best to make sure the investment is dollars well spent. Dallas’ X-Factor should compete for the top WR spot this year. Dez is as passionate and driven as they come.

Best Value: Jarvis Landry ($10)

Jarvis Landry quickly emerged as a fantasy favorite this offseason, yet his auction value has remained relatively steady. It’s not every day you find a WR1 catching upwards of 90 balls at a mere $10. You really can’t beat that value.

Future Focus: Bishop Sankey ($4)

Bishop Sankey flopped as a rookie, but there is still some optimism surrounding him down in Tennessee. Naptime chose not to sleep on Sankey and is hoping he rewards them both now and in the future.

Worst Pick: Reggie Wayne ($2)

Joe and Sean’s Patriots bias got the best of them, spending a few bucks on Reggie Wayne, a receiver that was over the hill two years ago. With the news Wayne was waived by the Patriots early this week, Kindergarden Naptime finds itself surfing the waiver wire before the season even kicks off.

Biggest Gamble: Joseph Randle ($21)
Dallas' offensive line is the best in the business. In fact, it may be even better than last year with the addition of rookie La'el Collins. With that said, reports out of Dallas suggest the Cowboys plan to use a full committee at running back, with Randle, McFadden, Dunbar and even Christine Michael splitting carries. With so many hands to feed, Randle's production could be inconsistent and unpredictable. There's still a chance the Cowboys are merely throwing shade our way, but its a big risk nonetheless. 

Skinny Pete(rson)

B-

Best Pick: Adrian Peterson ($62)

Peterson is on the wrong side of 30, but he's coming off a year of rest. He's the best running back in the game. Plain and simple. He's finally got a quarterback that can move the chains. We may not have seen the best of AP yet.

Best Value: Greg Olsen ($8)

Don't be surprised to see Olsen getting 10-15 targets a game this year. With his hands, that should lead to some pretty gawdy numbers for a tight end. If Gronk is worth $48 and Jimmy is worth $32, Olsen should be worth more than $8.

Future Focus: Teddy Bridgewater ($11)

The price tag was higher than expected for Teddy, but no young QB has generated more buzz this preseason than Teddy. He really seems to be commanding the offense and with AP back and young, talented wide receivers emerging, Teddy could be in for a big year and an even bigger future.

Worst Pick: Reuben Randle ($1)

As a Giants fan, Randle rubs me the wrong way. He seems to lack hustle and intensity. Pretty much just goes through the motions during his routes. Hobbled by an injury, I don't know Randle is even worth a stash this year.

Biggest Gamble: Rob Gronkowski ($48)

There's nobody better at the position than Gronk. And you could argue he's essentially a WR1. But strategically, investing that much in a tight end for auction is risky. Frank's wide receiving core isn't as sexy as a result. The 2-TE set Frank might run is intriguing, but whether that gives him enough offensive fire power receiving remains in question.

Team Kremheller

C-

Best Pick: Jamaal Charles ($58) 
I never expected Jamaal Charles to go for less than $60, so for Mark to grab him for less seemed like a solid value. He took a gamble and went all in on Marshawn Lynch as well, which may have set him back financially, but he certainly has an intimidating 1-2 punch at running back.

Best Value: Drew Brees ($12) 
Even with the loss of a few weapons, Drew Brees is too talented and Sean Payton is too brilliant for Brees' numbers to suffer significantly. Armed with rising star, Brandin Cooks, expect Brees to remain near the top of scoring leaderboards. Given some of the other QB price tags, Mark escaped with a pretty solid value.

Future Focus: Breshad Perriman ($12) 
Perriman is a bit of a raw talent, but his measurables made him a hot commodity on draft day. With 4.24 speed and decent size, he's the ideal candidate to take Torrey Smith's spot in an offense that likes to go deep, with a QB that can air it out as far and as accurate as anyone in the game.

Worst Pick: Breshad Perriman ($12)

Kremheller seemed a little reckless with his $12 bid on Perriman early on. He made significant investments at running back, so it made sense for him to be a little frugal at WR. Perriman, unproven and injured, was an aggressive play at $12.

Biggest Gamble: Jimmy Graham ($32)

A lot of people have concerns about Jimmy's new role in Seattle. Graham has been quoted saying he was anticipating being used as a blocker 70% of the time. Even so, Jimmy stands to be a go-to red zone target. With Russell Wilson at the helm, one of the league's most accurate QBs, I think Jimmy's fantasy value will endure.