Alternate Reality Game 1: Chiefs

[Rain Man]

The original post is below in blue, but let's summarize it here based on the past few years.

1. If you're a new player, start with the current Chiefs roster. If you've been playing for a while you'll have your own evolved roster.

2. You can add any free agent that the Chiefs add.

3. You lose any free agent that the Chiefs lose, but only if they were on the Chiefs' roster when you began playing.

4. You can accept or reject any trade the Chiefs make as long as any Chiefs player involved is currently on your roster.

5. You do not get players that the Chiefs draft. You draft your own players, using the same draft picks that the Chiefs have.

6. You can trade down ONE time before the draft or after the draft. If you trade down before the draft, you get up to full value for your pick according to this chart: https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-V...-Rich-Hill.asp. (Note: this chart was updated in 2022.) If you trade down after the draft, the value of the picks you trade must be discounted by at least 25 percent. Any trade down must involve only the picks of one NFL team, and you cannot receive more than two picks more than you give up. (In other words, if you trade away one draft pick you cannot pick up more than three in return.) The other team's picks also must be picks that they held prior to the opening of the draft. See the examples at the bottom of the post.

6. You can trade up ONE time before the draft or after the draft. If you trade up before the draft, you get up to full value for your pick according to this chart: https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-V...-Rich-Hill.asp. (Note: this chart was updated in 2022.). If you trade up after the draft, the value of the picks you trade must be discounted by at least 15 percent. Any trade up must involve only the picks of one NFL team. The other team's picks also must be picks that they held prior to the opening of the draft.

7. By the beginning of the season, you must reduce your total roster to include only 53 players.



Original post: You can ignore this now.

Spoiler!

Okay, having tested the waters I think we've got enough interest in this. There will be two other games as well that I'll announce soon.

The concept of this game is to, over a series of years, see which Chiefsplanet members are best at building a team. We can have an unlimited number of players, and this game will take very little time on your part - just a little bit of time and some voting.

Here's how the game will work.

Step 1. First, you have to locate your team in a city. It cannot be in a city that has an existing NFL team, so you must pick from the following cities, which are the largest cities that don't have an NFL team, but ensuring that there's at least one city in every state. If we have more than 100 players I'll add to this list. (List deleted for brevity. If you start playing, just pick a city.)


Step 2. Once the NFL draft is complete on April 26, owners will select players who were available with each Chiefs selection (i.e., do their own draft) and add these people to their roster. If the Chiefs make any draft day trades, the player may choose to accept or reject the trade and act accordingly.

Step 3. After training camp, each owner selects 40 (Edited up from 35) Chiefs players who are "their" players who will make up their roster. The remaining 13 positions will be filled by a generic "scrub".

Step 4. At the end of the season, the person will provide an overview of who started at each position over the course of the year, providing the number of starts at each position by each player. Edit: the rules for doing so are discussed in Post 285.

Step 5. At the end of the season, we will have a Survivor-style vote among the general Chiefsplanet population to determine who had the best team that year, including impacts of injuries and other issues.

Step 6. In Year 2 (and beyond), the player starts with his/her core of 40 players, adds new players through the draft, and can then pick another core of players from the following pool: their 40-player core, new drafted players, and any new free agent that joins the Chiefs

If the Chiefs make a trade that includes draft picks, each owner can choose to accept or reject that trade on their own team. If the Chiefs make a trade involving a player on the Chiefs roster, the owner can accept that trade ONLY if his/her own roster includes that player.

There will be no trades between owners, and no implications of the salary cap.

I realize that in the first season we'll have a lot of players with similar rosters, but they'll diverge over time and that's where it'll get interesting.

So...if you're interested in playing, claim your city and name your team.


Teams As Of Post #113:


Alaska (Anchorage) Watchmen (cdcox)
Austin [name to be determined] (Hound333)
Billings Snake Filets (KCChiefsman)
Cheyenne Buckshot Cheneys (banyon)
Des Moines [yet to be named] (Hoover)
Duluth Normans (Rain Man)
El Paso The Courvoisier (DeezNutz)
Fargo Rape (SNR)
Fort Wayne Dancers (Chiefs=Good)
Fresno Refugees (Adam)
Harrisburg Beer Farts (Otter)
Hartford Manticores (Crush)
Honolulu Craters (Sully)
Knoxville Nukes (Patteeu)
Las Vegas Hitmen (Bowser)
Little Rock Reapers (doomy3)
Los Angeles Cobras (chiefscafan)
Madison Beers (Spicy McHaggis)
Memphis Jackals (Ultra Peanut)
Oklahoma City Boom (Sanka)
Omaha Streakers (speak24)
Orlando Beakers (ChiefsCountry)
Reno Sheriff Department (MWagg72)
San Antonio Scorpions (truebigdog)
Scranton Paper Packers (bdeg)
Sioux Falls Slackers (pestilenceaf23)
Spokane [yet to be named] (Mr. Flopnuts)
Springfield (Missouri) Cashew Chickens (H5N1)
Wichita [yet to be named] (jwazzie)
Winston-Salem Warlocks (ArrowheadHawk)
Worcester Sauce (unothadeal)

Added Rules and Reminders:

1. Remember that you can draft undrafted rookies, so you don't have to select only guys who were drafted.

2. Anyone can change their rookie draft selections at any time, UNTIL we reach ten days before training camp. At that point, all picks will be locked in.

3. Each team can do ONE trade of draft picks if they like, using this chart:http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...t-trade-chart/. However, if you're trading up, you have to pay 15 percent more than the stated value of the picks you're obtaining. If you're trading down, your pick's value will be discounted by 25 percent.

For example, if you want to trade up from the 20th pick in the 1st to the 10th pick, you can see from the chart that the 20th pick is worth 259 points. The 10th pick is normally 369 points, but by paying 15 percent more, it will cost you 1.15*369, or 424 points. So you would need to come up with another 165 points to make the deal (424-259)

For example, if you want to trade down from the 20th pick in the 1st and pick up the 10th pick in the 2nd, your 20th pick would normally be worth 259 points, but in this game it will be worth 25 percent less, or 194 points. The 10th pick in the 2nd is worth 142 points, so you can get 52 points back from the other team. (Remember that you cannot pick up more than two extra picks in the trade, so consider your math carefully.)

You can do only ONE draft-pick trade up and ONE draft-pick trade down, and in each case you can only trade with one other team for their own picks. (In other words, you couldn't take the 52 points in the above example from a third team.)

[kccrow]

I need an IR and PUP for my team... jeebus.

Have mine in soon.

[kccrow]

2022 Superior Yeti's Roster

OFFENSE (27)
QB - Patrick Mahomes (1-10/17 - KC)
QB - Chad Henne (FA/20 - KC)

RB - Aaron Jones (5-180/17 - GB)
RB - Tyler Allgeier (4-135/22 - ATL)
RB - Ronald Jones II (FA/22 - KC)

FB - Michael Burton (FA/21 - KC)

TE - Travis Kelce
TE - Cade Otton (3-103/22 - TB)
TE - Noah Gray (5-162 - KC)

WR - JuJu Smith-Schuster (FA/22 - KC)
WR - Gabriel Davis (4-125/20 - BUF)
WR - Tyler Boyd (2-37/16 - CIN)
WR - Donovan Peoples-Jones (5-177/20 - CLE)
WR - Marquez Valdes-Scantling (FA/22 - KC)
WR - Justin Watson (FA/22 - KC)
WR - Justyn Ross (7-251/22 - KC/IR)

OL - Bernhard Raimann (2-62/22 - IND)
OL - Joe Thuney (FA/21 - KC)
OL - Erik McCoy (2-48/19 - NO)
OL - Trey Smith (6-221/21 - KC)
OL - Andrew Wylie (FA/18 - KC)
OL - Josh Ball (4-136/21 - DAL)
OL - Teven Jenkins (1-31/21 - CHI)
OL - Geron Christian (FA/22 - KC)
OL - Connor McGovern (4-126/16 - NYJ)
OL - Bradley Bozeman (6-198/18 - CAR)
OL - Rasheed Walker (7-233/22 - GB)

DEFENSE (23)
DL - Ross Blacklock (1-32/20 - MIN)
DL - Justin Madubuike (2-64/20 - BAL)
DL - Zach Sieler (7-219/18 - MIA)
DL - Daviyon Nixon (4-144/21 - CAR)
DL - Tershawn Wharton (UDFA/20 - KC)

ER - Matt Judon (4-129/16 - NE)
ER - George Karlaftis (1-30/22 - KC)
ER - Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (5-159/18 - HOU)
ER - Carlos Dunlap (FA/22 - KC)
ER - Jeffrey Gunter (7-243/22 - CIN)

LB - Cole Holcomb (5-167/19 - WAS)
LB - Logan Wilson (2-63/20 - CIN)
LB - Leo Chenal (3-94/22 - KC)
LB - Isaiah McDuffie (6-208 - GB)

CB - L'Jarius Sneed (4-138/20 - KC)
CB - Paulson Adebo (2-63/21 - NO)
CB - Byron Murphy (1-29/19 - ARZ)
CB - Christian Benford (5-173/22 - IND)
CB - Nazeeh Johnson (7-259/22 - KC/PS)

DB - Jessie Bates (2-52/18 - CIN)
DB - Justin Reid (FA/22 - KC)
DB - Tarvarius Moore (3-86/18 - SF)
DB - Amani Hooker (4-116/19 - TEN)

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
K Harrison Butker (FA/17 - KC)
P Tommy Townsend (UDFA/20 - KC)
LS James Winchester

Notes
I hung onto 11 offensive linemen this year just to see what I have stick. It's not looking great at the tackle spots, while the interior is overloaded. I'm hoping one of Josh Ball, Teven Jenkins, Bernhard Raimann, and Rasheed Walker latch onto a spot on the outside and ball out but I might be asking too much. I can't seem to find a solution at the position and might have to spend much higher resources, but if you guys ever need help finding a #2 WR, Safety, or Center, well then I'm your guy... lol.

Cuts
RB - Christopher Carson (7-245/17 - SEA) - Retired from his neck injury. He was a solid back for me.
DL - Carlos Watkins (4-132/17 - DAL) - He's been a very average-at-best player for me and after his recent cut I feel like it's time to just cut my losses.
ER - Oshane Ximines (3-92/19 - NYG) - I thought this might come down to holding Perkins on the roster another year in hopes he ever gets off IR or keeping Ximines who never did anything. I decided to waive goodbye to both and hang onto hopes that Carlos Dunlap has one good year left in him and that I can pick up another rusher in '23.
ER - Ronnie Perkins (3-94/21 - NE)
WR - Olabisi Johnson (7-243/19 - MIN) - After another ACL tear in back-to-back seasons, I'm pretty sure it's time to just let him go.
WR - Rashard Higgins (5-162/16 - CAR) - I've clung to Higgins a while for very modest production. I'd rather take chances elsewhere.
Other cuts: TE Blake Bell (FA/21 - KC), WR Daurice Fountain (FA/21 - KC), WR Corey Coleman (FA/22 - KC), OC Austin Reiter (FA/22 - KC), OL Roderick Johnson (FA/22 - KC), OL Mike Caliendo (UDFA/22 - KC), DL Taylor Stallworth (FA/22 - KC), DL Danny Shelton (FA/22 - KC), LB Elijah Lee (FA/22 - KC), ER Azur Kamara (FA/22 - KC), LB Jermaine Carter (FA/22 - KC), CB Luq Barcoo (FA/22 - KC), DB Deon Bush (FA/22 - KC)

Rookie Report
DE George Karlaftis (1-30): Looks like the real deal and a solid pick, something I could definitely use in the trenches.
OT Bernhard Raimann (2-62): It looks like he may have lost out on the starting gig at LT which is a definite concern for me given my Teven Jenkins situation and him moving to RG. Not that he might not be the future, but I was hopeful Raimann could immediately fill my void LT slot.
LB Leo Chenal (3-94): Chenal looked solid in the preseason but we didn't get much indication about how he'd be used.
TE Cade Otton (3-103): Otton is buried behind long-time vets Brate and Rudolph for now, but had a really good camp.
RB Tyler Allgeier (4-135): Allgeier might start the season behind Patterson and Williams but he has a solid shot to be an early short-yardage and goalline player that evolves into more.
CB Christian Benford (5-173): Benford had a great pre-season and looks like he could be the real deal. He should be the team's 3rd CB to start the season with White on the PUP but could overtake Elam if he starts shaky.
DE Jeffrey Gunter (7-243): Gunter made the Bengals' 53 and had a solid pre-season. He could end up a nice rotational piece, but we'll see.
WR Justyn Ross (7-251): The Chiefs and Ross decided another surgery on his foot was required but he turned heads in mini-camp. He'll spend the year on IR but I'm going to carve out a spot to save him for next year, just in case.
CB Nazeeh Johnson (7-259): The Chiefs are keeping Johnson on the PS, and I would too if there were one. I don't have much space for Johnson but I'm a bit shy on corners so I'll keep him around and hope he develops into the nickel-hybrid player I hoped he would be.

[Rain Man]

It's a time of change for my team as we part ways with some longtime contributors on defense and start rebuilding. I won't list the cuts who were camp fodder.

Quarterback

Russell Wilson
Sam Ehlinger
Carson Strong (Rookie)

We remain strong here with Russell Wilson, and we like the two young guys behind him.

Notable Cuts: Easton Stick. He's had no chance to prove himself.

Running Back

Alvin Kamara
Rashaad Penny
Isaih Pacheco (Rookie)
Ronald Jones II

Kamara will bounce back this year, and our patience with Rashaad Penny may pay off. We've got some young depth and Ronald Jones will also get some snaps.

Notable Cuts: Damien Williams and Justin Jackson. I wanted to keep Damien, but he was my 54th player. Jackson was a good role player for a while.


Fullback

Michael Burton

We're guaranteed to get every third and short.

Notable Cuts: None

Wide Receiver

Juju Smith-Schuster
Marquez Valdez-Scantling
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Terrace Marshall
Justin Watson
Khalil Shakir (Rookie)
James Washington

We don't have any major stars (yet), but we've got a posse of productive guys if our young guys come through. Peoples-Jones will start in Cleveland. Terrace Marshall has been disappointing so far and is a backup. James Washington barely kept his job over another disappointing second-round pick, Andy Isabella.

Notable Cuts: Andy Isabella, Daurice Fountain, Dazz Newsome, Jerrion Ealy, Justyn Ross. The Andy Isabella experiment is over.

Tight End

Travis Kelce
Blake Bell
Grant Calcaterra (Rookie)

Kelce is of course the best TE in the league. We've got Bell at second string when he recovers, and a rookie to fill out the roster.

Notable cuts: None

Offensive Tackles

Orlando Brown, Jr.
Morgan Moses
Geron Christian
Lucas Niang, G/T

We have two massive starters and some unproven backups.

Notable cuts: None

Guard

Wyatt Teller
Trey Smith
Joe Thuney

This is a talent powerhouse. I'm not even sure which two will start.

Notable cuts: None

Center

Cody Whitehair

We're strong here.

Notable cuts: None

Kicker

Harrison Butker

Best in the business.

Punter

Tommy Townsend

We'll keep Tommy for another year.

Long Snapper

James Winchester

Best in the business

Safety

Jordan Poyer
Justin Reid
Andre Cisco
Deon Bush

Jordan Poyer has been on the team for a decade and gets better every year. Reid and Cisco will battle for a starting spot (Cisco is now a starter in Jacksonville) and Bush will be our enforcer.

Notable cuts: Tyrann Matthieu left in free agency.

Cornerback

Marcus Peters
Coby Bryant (Rookie)
Desmond King
Amik Robertson
Shaun Wade

We're giving a rookie a starting job here and have two solid nickel and dime backs. We're holding on to Wade to give him one more chance to prove himself.

Notable cuts: Deandre Baker, Bashaud Breeland. I'm not sure why Breeland can't hold a job.


Outside Linebacker

Elijah Lee
Leo Chenal (Rookie)
Zach Baun
Anthony Nelson
Cameron McGrone

I constantly invest in this position and can never hit on a starter. We'll start our new free agent Lee and will give Chenal a starting job over our group of underachieving draftees.

Notable cuts: AJ Klein, Jaylon Ferguson. AJ Klein was a very productive mid-round pick for us, but his time has come. Jaylon Ferguson is dead.


Inside Linebacker

Nakobe Dean (Rookie)

We're handing the job to a rookie because we have no other options.

Notable cuts: Anthony Hitchens, Jermaine Carter, Dylan Moses. Hitchens was okay. The other two guys never saw the field for me. Moses was a late-round flyer and never came back from injury.

Defensive end

George Karlaftis (Rookie)
Yetur Gross-Matos
Dorance Armstrong
Carlos Dunlap
Ifeadi Odenigbo

After years of failure drafting at this position, I now have three legitimate NFL starters. I think I'm pretty good here at long last.

Notable cuts: Malik Herring, Azur Kamara, Alex Okafor. I liked the two rookies and Okafor has been productive. I was deep at DE.

Defensive Tackle

Andrew Billings
Tershawn Wharton
Kalia Davis (Rookie)
Marvin Wilson

I'm razor thin here. Billings and Wharton are good as starters, but I'm hoping that my rookie and last year's flyer with Wilson will pay off.

Notable cuts: Taylor Stallworth, Danny Shelton, Jarran Reed (free agent loss), Brandon Williams (Ravens), Star Lotulelei (Bills), Maurice Hurst. Brandon Williams and Star Lotulelei were rocks for me for many years, but their time has come. I'm going to have to start investing in this position after the luxury of having veterans here forever.

[Rain Man]

Overall, I think my offense is strong if I can get some of my wide receivers to step up. That's my only real vulnerability on offense.

Defense is a chapter not yet written. I lost several productive long-time veterans, so my depth is thin. I'm starting four rookies at DE, ILB, OLB, and CB. My depth is okay in the backfield and at DE, but I'm very thin at DT and the LB corps. I need my rookies to play well.

[tyecopeland]

If I began right now, I'd get all the Chiefs players. Then in any future years, their lost free agents from this current roster would be my lost free agents?

I can only add free agents the Chiefs sign?

So the only real way to get different players is via the draft and by not accepting trades the Chiefs took?

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by tyecopeland

If I began right now, I'd get all the Chiefs players. Then in any future years, their lost free agents from this current roster would be my lost free agents?

I can only add free agents the Chiefs sign?

So the only real way to get different players is via the draft and by not accepting trades the Chiefs took?

Yep, pretty much. If the Chiefs cut a player though, you can choose not to. Like, say when they cut Fisher or cut Houston, we could keep them. I actually kept Houston for a couple of years afterward.

It's geared hard towards draft eval.

[Rain Man]

My team had five pro bowlers this year, though only two that I drafted:

Travis Kelce
Orlando Brown, Jr.
Joe Thuney
Tommy Townsend
Jordan Poyer

Some of my past pro bowlers fell off this year: Russell Wilson, Alvin Kamara, Wyatt Teller, and Marcus Peters.

This is a rebuilding year for us. And we're kind of screwed at quarterback for a long time.

[kccrow]

Overall:
I'm releasing this a week early, and without the results of the CIN/BUF game (damn that sucks) but I wanted to gauge things a bit off a 16-game run for consistency.

I'm extremely pleased with my team right now. I don't really feel like there are overwhelming weak spots in the starting lineup outside of RT. I do fear it is, once again, a fatty draft for me to shore up the OT and DT spots. I'd really like to stake claim to a #1 WR and a #1 CB but I'm okay enough to get by.

OFFENSE (27) Lineup (Rotation/Reserve):
QB P. Mahomes III (C. Henne)
RB A. Jones (T. Allgeier, R. Jones II)
TE T. Kelce (C. Otton, N. Gray)
WR J. Smith-Schuster (J. Watson)
WR G. Davis (D. Peoples-Jones)
WR T. Boyd (M. Valdes-Scantling)
LT B. Raimann (G. Christian)
LG J. Thuney (B. Bozeman)
OC E. McCoy (C. McGovern)
RG T. Smith (T. Jenkins)
RT A. Wylie (J. Ball)

QB: Can't be any happier when you have the MVP but I do need to do something at the backup spot for the future.
Patrick Mahomes III (1-10/17 - KC) - 417/622 5,048 yds 40 TD 12 INT 58 car 329 yds 4 TD
Chad Henne (FA/20 - KC) - Nuffin.

RB: I've maintained a good stable with modest investments. I'm happy here. Jones does Jones things and is a very good back. Allgeier looks frustratingly average but he is productive.
Aaron Jones (5-180/17 - GB) - 201 car 1,073 yds 56 rec 375 yds 7 TD
Tyler Allgeier (4-135/22 - ATL) - 186 car 900 yds 16 rec 139 yds 4 TD
Ronald Jones II (FA/22 - KC) - 7 car 25 yds 1 rec 22 yds - The lone turd I should address.
Michael Burton (FA/21 - KC) - He's a FB. He blocks. He plays well on special teams. Good enough.

TE: Obviously I have the best of all time but I'm also happy with my young guys that played well with opportunities this year. I think Otton could blossom into a nice get for me going forward. Gray looks like that complimentary H-back that I envisioned so he's about where I'd expect.
Travis Kelce - 104 rec 1,300 yds 12 TD
Cade Otton (3-103/22 - TB) - 41 rec 386 yds 2 TD
Noah Gray (5-162 - KC) - 27 rec 285 yds 1 TD

WR: I have a locked and loaded roster of very good #2s. If I ever get a true star? My lord. I could end up with 5 receivers over 700 and 4 over 800. Veach helped with his FA additions but I'm incredibly happy with Davis, Boyd, and Peoples-Jones.
JuJu Smith-Schuster (FA/22 - KC) - 76 rec 898 yds 3 TD
Gabriel Davis (4-125/20 - BUF) - 45 rec 797 yds 7 TD
Tyler Boyd (2-37/16 - CIN) - 53 rec 711 yds 5 TD
Donovan Peoples-Jones (5-177/20 - CLE) - 59 rec 797 yds 3 TD
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (FA/22 - KC) - 39 rec 660 yds 2 TD
Justin Watson (FA/22 - KC) - 14 rec 248 yds 2 TD
Justyn Ross (7-251/22 - KC/IR) - My stash for next year

OT: A huge frustration has been my LT situation and the colossal misfire that was Teven Jenkins. I do like the development of Raimann so far though and I feel like he's going to be quite solid next year. The rest is very much a dumpster fire. Ball has flashed in limited action this season so we'll see but his only chance to play significant snaps is basically what happened and that's for Steele to get injured. I need reinforcements here.
Bernhard Raimann (2-62/22 - IND)
Andrew Wylie (FA/18 - KC)
Josh Ball (4-136/21 - DAL)
Rasheed Walker (7-233/22 - GB)
Geron Christian (FA/22 - KC)

IOL: I couldn't have a better overall group than I have here. Thuney and McCoy are bonafide studs and the rest of the group is extremely solid. My only real issue is an overloaded room at this point after Jenkins missed at tackle and ended up a guard.
Joe Thuney (FA/21 - KC)
Erik McCoy (2-48/19 - NO)
Trey Smith (6-221/21 - KC)
Teven Jenkins (1-31/21 - CHI)
Connor McGovern (4-126/16 - NYJ)
Bradley Bozeman (6-198/18 - CAR)

DEFENSE (23) Lineup (Rotation/Reserve):
ER M. Judon (O. Okoronkwo)
DT Z. Sieler (D. Nixon)
DT J. Madubuike (T. Wharton, R. Blacklock)
ER G. Karlaftis (C. Dunlap, J. Gunter)
LB C. Holcomb (L. Chenal)
LB L. Wilson (I. McDuffie)
NB: L. Sneed
CB: P. Adebo (N. Johnson)
CB: C. Benford (B. Murphy)
FS: J. Bates III (T. Moore)
SS: J. Reid (A. Hooker)

IDL: Thank goodness for Sieler turning into a stud the past couple of seasons because Blacklock was an enormous miss in round 1 (seems to be a bad habit lately). Overall, I'm okay with Madubuke and Sieler starting. Depth is a ... problem.
Justin Madubuike (2-64/20 - BAL) - 39 tkl 5.5 sck
Zach Sieler (7-219/18 - MIA) - 67 tkl 3.5 sck
Ross Blacklock (1-32/20 - MIN) - 2 tkl 1 sck
Daviyon Nixon (4-144/21 - CAR) - 6 tkl
Tershawn Wharton (UDFA/20 - KC) - 8 tkl 1 sck

ER: Judon is a legit DPOY candidate and Karlaftis is coming along nicely. Depth is okay, especially with Okoronkwo looking better in Houston, but I could improve there. I'm disappointed I've burned some 3rds of late and missed only to cut them. I could use another dude as Judon ages, but I won't complain too much. Many teams could do much worse.
Matt Judon (4-129/16 - NE) - 57 tkl 15.5 sck
George Karlaftis (1-30/22 - KC) - 30 tkl 5.5 sck
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (5-159/18 - HOU) - 43 tkl 5.0 sck
Carlos Dunlap (FA/22 - KC) - 39 tkl 4.0 sck
Jeffrey Gunter (7-243/22 - CIN) - Cincy has clearly made this a development year but he's stayed on the 53. I can't expect much more from a late 7th.

LB: My stud LB in Holcomb went down early in the season (week 7) with a foot injury, so that's stung and degraded my group significantly. Wilson has been the guy I said he'd be when I argued for him over Willie Gay (who has surprised this season a bit) and once again is over 100 tackles. Chenal is developing but I'd like to see a lot more before I'm comfortable with him. McDuffie has also received more playing time in his 2nd year but I don't think he's ever a true starter.
Cole Holcomb (5-167/19 - WAS) - 69 tkl
Logan Wilson (2-63/20 - CIN) 115 tkl 2.5 sck 1 int
Leo Chenal (3-94/22 - KC) - 30 tkl 1.0 sck
Isaiah McDuffie (6-208 - GB) - 40 tkl

CB: This group is solid all around but I could still use another guy, honestly. Sneed is a slot matchup stud and Abedo is good outside. Murphy is also good in the slot, so that leaves me kind of lost for a #2 opposite Adebo. Benford was coming on strong before he went on IR and he's just now returning which could strengthen the group even more. Murphy was another one of my R1 fails but at least he's serviceable, much like Jenkins. Johnson is a developmental on the 53, much like Gunter.
L'Jarius Sneed (4-138/20 - KC) - 104 tkl 3.5 sck 3 int
Paulson Adebo (2-63/21 - NO) - 60 tkl
Byron Murphy (1-29/19 - ARZ) - 36 tkl
Christian Benford (5-173/22 - IND) - 24 tkl 1 int
Nazeeh Johnson (7-259/22 - KC/PS) - Developmental stash

DB: My safety group is quite solid. Bates is probably the best safety in the game even if he's having a down year and both Reid and Hooker are solid. Moore is a nice athlete with some experience so he's not breaking me as a #4 and his demotion to special teams. I do wish Hooker would stay healthy because he's a stud when he's on the field.
Jessie Bates III (2-52/18 - CIN) - 63 tkl 3 int
Justin Reid (FA/22 - KC) - 77 tkl
Amani Hooker (4-116/19 - TEN) - 41 tkl 1 int
Tarvarius Moore (3-86/18 - SF) - 7 tkl


SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
I can't complain much about special teams and the one spot I feel needs an upgrade, long snapper, is damned difficult to gauge plus you're probably not going to draft one. We're fine here.
K Harrison Butker (FA/17 - KC) - 34/37 xp 17/23 fg
P Tommy Townsend (UDFA/20 - KC) - 49 pnt 2,476 yds 45.5 net 19 in20
LS James Winchester

[Rain Man]

You've had some good home run picks, kccrow. Guys like Aaron Jones and Matt Judon and Jessie Bates form a great core.

There's something that's really satisfying in this game about making a really good pick, because it helps you for years. And this game also makes it clear about how hard it is to make good picks. I think I've done reasonably okay drafting, and every year I feel good about my draft, and then most of them flame out fast.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You've had some good home run picks, kccrow. Guys like Aaron Jones and Matt Judon and Jessie Bates form a great core.

There's something that's really satisfying in this game about making a really good pick, because it helps you for years. And this game also makes it clear about how hard it is to make good picks. I think I've done reasonably okay drafting, and every year I feel good about my draft, and then most of them flame out fast.

I think you've done a great job as well, especially offensively.

Definitely, great points on how difficult it is, and flaming out or not becoming what you expect is a huge hurdle. An example for me is Teven Jenkins. I expected him to at least be a good RT if he didn't work out at LT. Instead, he ends up at RG where I already have two high-quality players. That's a tough one.

I think the other thing it shows is that you better be patient with picks developing. You're usually not getting a lot in year 1, or even in year two. Hell, some guys, such as Sieler and Okoronkwo, didn't even really contribute much until year 4. It's tough to balance the patience when you're making decisions on who to retain on the 53.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I think you've done a great job as well, especially offensively.

Definitely, great points on how difficult it is, and flaming out or not becoming what you expect is a huge hurdle. An example for me is Teven Jenkins. I expected him to at least be a good RT if he didn't work out at LT. Instead, he ends up at RG where I already have two high-quality players. That's a tough one.

I think the other thing it shows is that you better be patient with picks developing. You're usually not getting a lot in year 1, or even in year two. Hell, some guys, such as Sieler and Okoronkwo, didn't even really contribute much until year 4. It's tough to balance the patience when you're making decisions on who to retain on the 53.

The patience in developing is huge. I've always had a rule that I'm going to keep every draftee for at least a year, and hopefully longer, even if they look terrible in their first training camp and get demoted or cut. But in many cases a year or two isn't long enough.

I've got Jordan Poyer, who is a pro bowler now, and he was my 53rd guy more than once in his early years when he was not playing much. I barely kept him a couple of times, and it ended up paying off.

I also have some memory of drafting Lawrence Guy and cutting him after a couple of years of not much happening. He was getting cut and bouncing around between teams and it seemed like he was a goner in the NFL. It took him four teams to get a starting opportunity and now he's still starting 12 years later. I think I cut him back in 2014 or so.

[Rain Man]

Dang. I'm also seeing that I drafted Geno Smith and eventually cut him.

[Kellerfox]

I'm still new... But two drafts in not a lot to hang my hat on!

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Kellerfox

I'm still new... But two drafts in not a lot to hang my hat on!

I wish everyone would participate in this. It's a battle to succeed and it's eye-opening about how hard it is to draft well. I was better than Scott Pioli, but I'm not nearly as good as Brett Veach.

[Rain Man]

Okay, year in review.

This is undoubtedly my worst season ever, due to a quarterback collapse and a weak defense. The rest of my offense was probably the strongest group that I've fielded, with a lot of strengths and no glaring weakness. But if you don't have a quarterback, you're doomed.

My defense entered a rebuilding phase. The defensive backfield was okay, and my defensive ends were solid. But I was abysmal at defensive tackle and linebacker. We have a lot of work to do.

My draft needs next year are:

1. Quarterback. I really have to hope for a rebound by Russell Wilson.
2. Defensive tackle. I need both bodies and quality here. I was able to ignore this position forever, and then they all left the league at once.
3. Linebacker. I've never had success at LB, and I draft them constantly. I'll keep trying, and I actually may look better if my two rookies of Chenal and Nakobe Dean develop.

Somehow I also need to find a WR1 and an ascending CB atop those things.

Quarterback

Russell Wilson
Sam Ehlinger
Carson Strong (Rookie)

What can I say here? Russell Wilson fell off a cliff. Ehlinger got a few starts midseason to see if he could improve things, but he was even worse. I'm going to have to do something drastic in the draft going forward.

Running Back

Isaih Pacheco (Rookie)
Alvin Kamara
Rashaad Penny
Ronald Jones II

I had a good 1-2 punch with Pacheco and Kamara. The running game worked this year. Penny always looks really good in the handful of games that he plays before going on IR for the year. My running back room was decent.

Fullback

Michael Burton

Okay.

Wide Receiver

Juju Smith-Schuster
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Marquez Valdez-Scantling
Terrace Marshall
Khalil Shakir (Rookie)
Justin Watson
James Washington

I actually improved notably here this year. Juju and Donovan and Marquez were serviceable starting receivers as a platoon. Terrace has been disappointing, but is a viable #4 WR. Shakir got a few catches, as did Justin Watson, so my group was pretty deep. James Washington is going to need a miracle to make the team next year as a second-round bust.

Tight End

Travis Kelce
Blake Bell
Grant Calcaterra (Rookie)

Kelce is awesome. Bell was injured most of the year, so Calcaterra was my non-impactful #2 TE. He's developing, though.


Offensive Tackles

Orlando Brown, Jr.
Morgan Moses
Geron Christian
Lucas Niang, G/T

Brown and Moses were pillars at tackle for me. My depth was questionable but I never needed it. I was strong here.

Guard

Wyatt Teller
Trey Smith
Joe Thuney

These guys were all great. Teller and Smith each missed a little time, but with three great guards I had no dropoff.

Center

Cody Whitehair

Whitehair was solid. He missed a few games, so one of my guards would've needed to move inside for a few games.

Kicker

Harrison Butker

He had a rough year with injuries, but was good when he played.

Punter

Tommy Townsend

All-pro!

Long Snapper

James Winchester

Best in the business

Safety

Jordan Poyer
Andre Cisco
Justin Reid
Deon Bush

Poyer was a pro bowler, and Cisco and Reid gave me good depth. Solid group here.

Cornerback

Marcus Peters
Desmond King
Coby Bryant (Rookie)
Amik Robertson
Shaun Wade

Moderately serviceable group here. Peters held down one spot, and King and Bryant were an okay 2 and 3 CB. Not great, but okay.

Outside Linebacker

Leo Chenal (Rookie)
Anthony Nelson
Zach Baun
Elijah Lee
Cameron McGrone

This was an area of major weakness. Chenal is ascending, but was a rookie, and Nelson is a part-time pass rusher. The other guys are all used car salesmen next year.

Inside Linebacker

Nakobe Dean (Rookie)

Terrible. I figured he would be a Week 1 starter, and he barely played all year.

Defensive end

George Karlaftis (Rookie)
Yetur Gross-Matos
Dorance Armstrong
Carlos Dunlap
Ifeadi Odenigbo

I finally have a starting-caliber defensive end in Karlaftis, and Gross-Matos started all 17 games as well. Dorance Armstrong is a strong pass rusher, and Dunlap is a good rotational guy. Odenigbo can play in a pinch. This group actually isn't bad.

Defensive Tackle

Andrew Billings
Tershawn Wharton
Kalia Davis (Rookie)
Marvin Wilson

Zoicks. This was a disaster. Andrew Billings hung in there all year, but Tershawn was hurt early and the other two never saw the field. I probably would've had to move Dunlap inside.