Botched Live-Stream Draft
I watched some live-streamed drafts over the last few weeks and enjoyed them. Not so much the commentary, which was fine as far as it goes, but seeing the picks pop up on the board and putting myself in the shoes of each drafter. It’s kind of like watching people play poker on TV — ridiculous but still interesting if you’re that kind of person. So I decided actually to pay $350 for my own draft and live-stream it.
I even tested out my setup early to make sure I had my screen with the draft board properly shared, got my audio, video and everything else lined up and was good to go. The only problem was I toggled between the board and my cross-off list, and left the cross-off list up for the first two rounds (if you watch it, you’ll see what I mean.) Basically, I defeated the whole point of doing a live-stream because you need to see the draft board, and I had it on the wrong screen, and it was the first two rounds, which are the ones of most interest. Finally, I looked at Twitter, and some people pointed out I had the wrong screen (it wasn’t my draft list, just the recent ADP I was using as a cross-off), and I fixed it. But that was in the third round.
In any event, I was reasonably happy with my draft. I made one possible error, something I explicitly warned about in this very livestream — that the receivers dry up in Rounds 6-10, but there are still good backs left in that range. Ignoring my own advice, I took Nick Chubb at pick 36 and struggled to find a good third wideout. (Chubb was a great value there, but it made the draft more difficult.)
In any event, here’s the livestream:
And full draft board:
1.1 Jonathan Taylor — This was an easy call. As much as I love Saquon Barkley, Taylor is the only back without age, health, workload or team concerns. He does have less upside than Christian McCaffrey and even Barkley due to his lack of a major pass-catching role, but the floor is far and away the highest of any back in the draft.
2.12 Travis Etienne — Etienne is healthy again and looks great in camp. He’s paired with his college QB and should catch 70 passes. He’s also on all of my teams, and I like to consolidate where possible. I didn’t consider anyone else.
3.12 Nick Chubb — This was a surprising value, but my team really needed a receiver. In fact, during the livestream, I mentioned that I liked the backs in Rounds 6-10 but didn’t like the receivers, and this pick ensured I’d be picking receivers there instead. But sometimes you take the best available, and I snap-called it at the time.
4.1 Jaylen Waddle — It was he or DK Metcalf, and I went Waddle even though this is my first share. He strikes me as a unique talent like Diontae Johnson, but with more speed. Tyreek Hill will get his, and I’m not a Tua Tagovailoa fan, but Waddle is too good not to catch 90-100 passes in Year 2.
5.12 Darren Waller — I didn’t love the WR options (as predicted), so I took the last of the Tier 1 tight ends. I know Davante Adams is there, but Waller is the more explosive and athletic of the two.
6.1 Brandon Aiyuk — I narrowly picked him over Christian Kirk and Kadarius Toney. The buzz on Aiyuk has been good in camp, Deebo Samuel plays too physical to stay healthy, and with a new QB, maybe Aiyuk becomes the preferred target instead.
7.12 Russell Wilson — I needed receivers but again didn’t love the options. I wanted a share of Russell Wilson in a real offensive system. The loss of Tim Patrick is unfortunate, but he still has plenty of weapons. I also like that he’ll face the Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders twice each, games with potential for shootouts.
8.1 Tyler Lockett — A boring pick, but Lockett is locked into (no pun intended) some target share, no matter who’s playing QB.
9.12 Kenny Golladay — He was a star a couple years ago, and Toney is unestablished and injury prone. Golladay could easily be the team’s WR1 — he has excellent size and playmaking skills.
10.1 Kenneth Walker — It seemed like he slipped too far. I love Rashaad Penny when he’s healthy, but Walker has more upside as a pass-catcher, and Penny hasn’t held up so far in his career.
11.12 Ronald Jones — Jones is a good early-down runner, likely the best one on one of the league’s top offenses.
12.1 Mecole Hardman — I’m not an MVS believer, and while Hardman has been a disappointment, I’d give him a better chance to fill eighty percent of the Tyreek Hill role.
13.1 Irv Smith — The Vikings plan to throw a lot, but don’t have a lot of receiver depth. If Smith is healthy, he could easily be the team’s third option, and that assumes Adam Thielen stays healthy.
14.12 Jakobi Meyers — He slipped because DeVante Parker is getting the training camp hype, but Meyers is still the favorite to lead the team in catches.
15.1 Trevor Lawrence — There’s top-five QB upside should he live up to his pedigree in what has a chance to be an NFL offense.
16.12 Sony Michel — I see no reason he can’t win the early-down workhorse job if he’s able to stay healthy.
17.1 49ers Defense — I like getting a defense with a soft Week 1 opponent, and the 49ers draw the Bears. I also like that they get the Seahawks without Russell Wilson twice now.
18.12 Rams Kicker — I needed a kicker, preferably for a good team in a dome that plays other teams that have good weather.
19.1 Cole Beasley — He hasn’t signed yet, but could be an 80-catch slot guy in the right situation.
20.12 Rob Gronkowski — I take him with my last pick every draft. If he un-retires, he’ll be a top-10 TE, and if he doesn’t, I’ll have someone to drop. Kyle Rudolph’s signing might mean they don’t expect him back, but if Gronk did change his mind, I couldn’t imagine Rudolph making much of a difference.
Roster By Position
QB Russell Wilson
RB Jonathan Taylor/Travis Etienne
WR Jaylen Waddle/Brandon Aiyuk/Tyler Lockett
TE Darren Waller
FLEX Nick Chubb
K Rams
D 49ers
BENCH Kenny Golladay/Kenneth Walker/Ronald Jones/Mecole Hardman/Irv Smith/Trevor Lawrence/Sony Michel/Cole Beasley/Rob Gronkowski