by Anthony Fernandez, September 14th, 2013
[1.1] 
CB Xavier Rhodes, FSU | A+
It's not hard to mess up the #1 overall pick, but it IS hard to not get a good player with the #1 overall pick. Sometimes a team gets lucky and finds themselves at the intersection of
want and
best player available, and I do believe that is where Houston found themselves here. Xavier has outstanding ability ( 95/92/98 ), while still being VERY strong, with decent hands and good tackling for the position... while having an amazing frame for the position. He's ready to start now - even if he'll take some lumps - and he'll be one of the better CBs in the league in a few years. Couple that with a pretty weak secondary in Houston, and you've got the right pick.
[1.2] 
DE, Dion Jordan, Oregon | A+
There were some reports that GM Apolo was going to move Dion to... DT? It doesn't look like that's happening, but obviously that would negate all the nice things I'm about to say. Jordan is an absolute freak. A rookie who walks onto the field at 92OVR is going to put up insane numbers (already 2 sacks this year). He's a little light in the ass, but with his size and speed, he's going to be exceptional. I personally think Apolo so loves the draft that he's going to tank this season, knowing the Cowboys will also be hot trash, and then he'll parlay that into two Top 5 picks in the upcoming draft. Sure, that could have been Jadeveon Clowney... but maybe they'll have BOTH. Those two rushing off the left side together would be insane. Imagine if they end up with Aaron Donald AND Clowney next year, to go with Jordan? Yikes. The next era of Carrs may never even get started in Indianapolis. But we're getting ahead of ourselves - with no pressure to compete this year, Apolo grabbed arguably the best player in the draft.
[1.3] 
CB David Amerson, N.C. State | A-
The "-" here is for the need, not the player, as Amerson is an absolute stud. Unlike the Texans, who locked up a good one at [1.1], the Dolphins didn't NEED a CB here. I actually quite like the Dolphins secondary. Pound for pound, they might have the best young secondary in the league, and that is BEFORE they added Amerson. So it's a classic case of "the rich get richer", but isn't that the case anyway when I guy who almost won the Super Bowl is drafting in the Top 3? This roster is in great shape, and while sure a guy like Justin Hunter might have looked great in South Beach, I will hardly ever downgrade a GM for taking best player available. Amerson already has an INT in a crowded secondary.
[1.4] 
CB Desmond Trufant, Washington | B-
The run on CBs is in full effect, and while Trufant is a solid player, he's clearly a step below those other two guys. I'm also inclined to naturally hate all things New Orleans (as a RL Bucs fan), so maybe I'm being too harsh. Trufant lacking the size of the other guys likely means the Saints should be pumping points into the SPD/AGI/ACC to make Trufant stand out even more. With most of their CBs either already in regression, or headed there soon, it's hard to argue with the need of the position.
[1.5] 
MLB Jonathan Bostic, Florida | C
I may be a little biased here, as I absolute HATE..... Gators players. But the real issue here is just the value of taking a MLB in the top 5. It was such a great draft that starting quality MLBs were going in the middle rounds, so to spend a premium pick here for a one of the deepest positions in the league is not value I can endorse. Especially for a 24 year old. That said, I'm quite sure Bryan doesn't give a damn what I think about his draft picks. Bostic has been off to a little bit of a slow start, but with his measurables he should develop into a realiable starter, and with his 89/86/89/91, he should be pretty good for a few years even into regression.
[1.6] 
CB DeMarcus Milliner, Alabama | C+
Look at that, another CB. Milliner is a tiny bit taller than Trufant, but he does lack quite a bit athletically for only being two picks later. There was a time in Buffalo sports history where an AFC East team wouldn't DARE trot out a rookie this unpolished to cover WRs being thrown to by Tom Brady, but it appears the Bills don't mind. And perhaps it's just going to be a rebuilding year, as it doesn't appear they've poured too many premium assets into this secondary, so perhaps there is justification for Milliner. I might have opted to trade that pick for a more developed CB, but GMs love to raise their own kids. Woodson is probably a couple years away from being a real threat at QB, so it's as good a time as ever to groom a CB. Just must be discouraging knowing that you're trying to CATCH UP to the Dolphins, and they're a few picks ahead of you taking better dudes anyway.
[1.7] 
WR Justin Hunter, Tennessee | A++
Good job by the shield stepping in here and making sure that the Chiefs don't suffer due to the previously ghosted GM. The other outcome could have been scary, but ultimately when you "miss" a pick and still get the best WR in the draft (1st offensive player taken) at 8th overall, that's big dubs. At 6'4" with 95/95/97, Hunter has the makings of an ELITE talent once he's fully developed. The 73 OVR thing is a little scary, but they've got a veteran QB (that they refuse to trade for anything reasonable), so Hunter should develop fine as they hover around .500 for the twilight of Eli's career and then eventually have to trade for a developed QB so as to not waste Hunter when he's ready. But to have a guy that big, who can get THAT fast, is a real asset in this league. When GMs in the AFC West close their eyes, they're going to see Hunter streaking down the field with 3-4 steps on very good CBs.
[1.8] 
TE Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame | A
I don't know if I'll get panned for giving this an A or not, because there is a lot of legitimacy in the debate at how important TEs even are in Madden (especially in leagues that don't let them play WR1/WR2), but I absolutely loved this pick. Anyone who even remotely needed a TE surely did a private workout and saw how this (already gifted player) skewed UP, and I'm sure were drooling. Is [1.8] too high? Probably. But when you leave that stinking, rotting cadaver of a Dallas team you've been building and inherit a team as stacked as San Diego (with a young, established star at QB), you can roll the dice on a TE in the top 10. So far Eifert is grabbing almost a TD a game, so he should easily finish with 10 this year and develop into an immense weapon for Quinn moving forward. I would have loved to grab him, and he was on my list, but as the man who inherited that stinking, rotting cadaver in Dallas, we just couldn't afford to take a TE that high... primarily because Will left us no picks in the top 4 rounds... but also because we had many other holes to fill first. We like Dion Sims who we got later (and apparently so do the Chiefs, who thinks TE Sims, WR Thielen, OLB Kendricks, and QB Stafford is a reasonable exchange for the corpse of Eli Manning), but Eifert was the clear #1 TE in the class.
[1.9] 
WR Cordarelle Patterson, Tennessee | A+
Brady is essentially the USA or Soviet during the space race, because they sure are stockpiling weapons. No team in the league competes with the talent that they have at WR, and that was BEFORE they grabbed Patterson, who will be an absolute elite weapon when Brady is done developing him. Even at 79OVR, he already has 4 TDs, and in 4-5 years we could be looking at a guy who breaks SFL records at the position. Tinnin then smartly grabbed the best QB in Free Agency to protect his investment against injuries at QB (playoff ouchie). He was so loaded at WR that he was able to discard WR LaTarence Dunbar into Free Agency, where he came onto my abysmal squad off the street and put up 150 yards this week. Dunbar was a 1000+ yard receiver for the Bengals the last two seasons, and I think Patterson will easily slide into that role for them for the next 10 years. Great pick.
[1.10] 
LT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan | A-
I hate to say anything nice about the Iggles, but AC did really well with this pick. Fisher is arguably the best OL in the draft, and they got him at 10 overall. Fisher's athletic stats are just insane to see... 70SPD/79AGI/83ACC... like more athletic than some starting DEs. The STR is lower than you'd like, but it's already went up to 90STR since draft night, so that pretty much settles any concerns you may have had about him. Amazing pass and rush blocks out of the gate. Elite pick for a team that had a war chest full of picks coming up in the 2nd round. Good night to be an Eagles fan.
[1.11] 
WR Robert Woods, USC | A-
Woods looks good on paper, but let's be real: nobody will ever trade a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick for him. And isn't THAT the true bar for success at the WR position?
#RileyCooperTruther All jokes aside, Woods is not far off of Patterson, who I loved, so I've gotta give some love here, too. The 29STR is comical, and time will tell if that will have any effect, but any time you can grab a guy with 96/97/98 and he's 6' or higher... do it. So far his stat line has been gross, but that's largely because he's been going up against unstoppable teams like the Dallas Cowboys. I expect him to improve as the year goes on... even if I think his team COULD benefit from adding another target at WR (perhaps at a smaller cost than 1/2/3, however).
[1.12] 
SS Shawn Williams, Georgia | A-
People really seemed to love this pick on draft night, while I didn't love it initially. As someone who was in the market for a FS/SS, I had done some scouting and thought there was talent to be had in this draft that would NOT require a top 12 pick. That said, as time has passed this pick has really grown on me. The fact remains that he is tall enough, yet exceptionally fast for the position. In fact, until I scoured free agency and some rosters, I hadn't quite noticed how common place it was for guys to start Safeties in the mid to upper 80s athletically in SFL. So to have Williams right out of the gate be such a freak will surely be an advantage down the line. He's already nabbed two INTs and three TFL, so the early returns have been nice.
[1.13] 
WR DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson | A-
The AFC West was a prominent feature in the Top 16 picks, but if they keep adding weapons like they did on draft night, that should change soon. Hopkins is a solid player, even if he's got a little worse since draft night, but he will be a solid player moving forward. He has had some issues with who is under center, as the team is riddled with injuries, but ultimately he's still been productive. Pairing him with Gronk and some of their other weapons was a smart play. Anytime you've taken a QB in the top 10 (like they did last year) you want to surround them with as many weapons as possible. They did that here. Good job, Tommy boy.
[1.14] 
DT/RE Sylvester Williams, UNC | A++
Williams was seemingly one of my favorite players in the draft, and I had hoped that nobody else would notice him. I was foolish to think Kevin wouldn't. I don't remember MUCH about these Madden leagues, but I remember that if you've got a guy like this playing RE in your 34 defense, you're going to be very happy with the results. I'm not sure if Kevin has been playing him or not, and where, but so far Williams hasn't made much of an impression on the stat sheet... but I have no doubt he will in the future. This guy needs some work, but he's a perfect ball of clay to mold into something fierce. Very rarely do you get a guy who is unbelievable value for their draft spot, and perhaps also overdrafted a bit? Williams is someone that MIGHT have slid... if other GMs didn't see what he could BECOME. But Kevin wasn't willing to take the chance to find out how far he'd slide. What might have seemed like a reach to some on draft night was a huge win in my book. Outstanding pick.
[1.15] MLB Nico Johnson, Alabama | B-
I personally thought this was a smart pick by the Texans, their second of the draft. Granted, I don't love taking MLBs in the first round of a league SO deep at the position, but anytime you get a starter with the 15th pick, it ain't all bad. In fact, Nico isn't that far off of Bostic, who went Top 5... and I kind of prefer Johnson just for the extra year before regression. These guys are physical freaks, that's their value, but the league is flooded with MLBs like this. Maybe a missing opportunity to grab a WR? But ultimately a player they'll be happy to have as they continue to rebuild that defense.
[1.16] 
LE Ezekiel Anzah, BYU | C
So for me, I didn't love this pick, obviously. I mean, I loved it in that it will be interdivision, so naturally I'm rooting for the Giants to fail. But as the 16th best player in the draft? Nah, not for me. That said, he's 85/77/85, so he IS within that range where if you put a lot of work into him he could be very good. But is he SPECIAL? Meh. The sample size so far indicates no, as zero sacks from the premium pass rushing position is a tough look. He could very well get better and make me regret these words later, but I personally thought this would have been a great position for the Giants to TRADE DOWN, accumulate more resources, and maybe grab a 21 or 22 year old QB to let (contract year) Rivers passively mentor for his twilight years as he begins to regress. You could have found a guy like Ansah later... there was even a comparable guy in Free Agency, if you got the cash.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully picks 17-32 will post later this week.
