2018 DRAFT RECAPS - 6TH OVERALL - FRADER

Number 6: TheStar of Larry David Johnson owned by Jon Frader

First Five:

Frader drew the 6th pick and decided to go WR heavy in the early rounds. He took DeAndre Hopkins (1st), Michael Thomas (2nd) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (5th) with 3 of his first 5 picks.

Hopkins has the potential to be the #1 WR this year, especially with Deshaun Watson back. The two of them only played 7 games together last year but we saw what they can do – over a full season Hopkins would have been on pace to catch 100 passes for 1,400 yards and 16 TDs. Michael Thomas in the 2nd was a solid choice as well – he finished as a top 7 WR last year despite only having 5 TDs. That should improve and Thomas will likely be a top 10 WR again. JuJu Smith-Schuster was a good pick in the 5th. He should be much more involved in his second year and will definitely top the 58/917/7 TDs he put up last year. Crazy to think he’s only 21 years old.

Frader took two NFC North players with his other early round picks – Jordan Howard in the 3rd round and Aaron Rodgers in the 4th. Not much to say about Aaron Rodgers – assuming full health I’m not sure who could beat him for the #1 QB ranking this year. In the 6 full games he played in 2017, he scored 23, 25, 31, 26, 27 and 25 points. Aside from TB12 he’s the best QB in the league – fantasy football or real football.

Jordan Howard is an interesting pick this year. The Bears offense looked HORRIBLE with Trubisky last year, but they added some weapons and added a more offensive minded coach (Matt Nagy, Chiefs OC last year). Howard doesn’t catch many passes (23 last year) and wasn’t overly efficient (4.1 YPC), but the volume is impressive. He had 276 carries last year which was 5th most in the NFL and he had 15+ carries in 10 of 16 games. When you go WR heavy and have Rodgers at QB, Howard is a really good player to have as your RB1.

Next Five:

Frader took one more WR in the middle rounds just for good measure, but also took some RB depth and filled out the roster. Starvin Marvin Jones in the 6th round was the first questionable pick I think Frader made. Do you really need 4 WRs in your first 6 picks? Golden Tate and Kenny Golladay should take away looks and I’m not sold on Jones reaching 9 TDs or 1,000 yards again this year. The 2017 season was the only time he's ever surpassed 1,000 yards.

He made up for that pick by taking Chris Carson City Nevada in the 8th round and Sony Playstation Michel in the 10th. Carson is currently the Seahawks starter while Rashaad Penny recovers from an injury and he looked really good in his starts last year (10 or more points in each of the games he started). He’s got a chance to hold on to that #1 spot if he comes out hot in 2018. While I disagree with the Michel pick as a Patriots fan (real draft, not fantasy) – I don’t mind it here. Rex Burkhead always gets hurt and I bet there will be 4-6 weeks where Michel performs like a top 15 RB.

The other picks were Jimmy Darmody Graham and the Lions Tigers and Bears and Jaguars D. While the 9th round mayyyyy be a little high for a defense, you have to pick them there or earlier if you want them. I see no reason why they can't be the top D again this year and let’s not forget – they were a HUGE reason why Keetz won the league. They may not score 8 TDs again (ridiculous stat), but 5-6 is reasonable. Jimmy Graham in the 7th was a solid pick – he could have a gigantic year with Rodgers and guess what? Every TD Graham scores will count 10 points for Frader.

Last Five:

Like Keetz, Frader did a nice job of finishing out his draft. He took Carson Wentz, Tarik Cohen, Sterling Shepard, Alfred Morris and Will Lutz with his last five picks. Carson Wentz and Aaron Rodgers may be overkill, but Frader should be able to park Wentz in his IR spot for the first few weeks. Potential trade piece in the middle of the season right there.

Tarik Cohen was a nice pick in the 11th for two reasons. First as a handcuff to Jordan Howard and second because he might have some stand-alone value as a FLEX. He returns kicks/punts and caught 53 passes last year. He’s a Duke Johnson lite. Alfred Morris was the other RB that Frader picked late (14th round). He must have some San Fran intel because Jerick McKinnon tore his ACL the very next day. Luck, foresight, blowjib favors to the 49ers medical staff, I’m not sure how Frader knew that would happen but regardless he might have got a starting RB in the 14th round.

Shepard in the 13th was a good pick too – Frader’s WR group continues to grow stronger. If Odell goes down then Shepard would be a top 25 receiver and he may be even without that. He had 3 games with 130+ yards last year which shows his upside. We end Frader's draft with a kicker, and a good one at that. Lutz was K #7 last year and kicks for a high powered offense.

Grade:

I give Frader an A here, about a 94/100. His WR group is the best in the league and despite not investing heavily, his RB group looks good. He’s also got the best QB and the best defense by far. Jimmy Graham has top 5 potential at TE as well.

Prediction:

I predict Frader goes 8-5, earns a playoff bye AND IS YOUR 2018 GW BUSH LEAGUE CHAMPION. While there are some question marks about his RB group, the rest of his team is elite at every position. He got boned with the David Johnson pick last year and I think the luck reverses this year.