AFFL Auction Draft Recap and Grades: Hartan, Prime Time, Jaj make a case with strong draft. HBK grades out as most epic host.

In a warehouse in Santa Fe springs, at Apelinc headquarters, the AFFL gathered for a four hour marathon of bidding wars. The 2018 AFFL auction draft featured plenty of overbidding, underbidding and even some managers so locked in, they didn't know they were bidding and started to raise themselves. While we can argue about which teams ended up "winners and losers," there was no doubt that everyone agreed the biggest winner of the night was HBK Shant Michaels and his epic hosting job. Fully catered with carne asada and shrimp tacos, civiche as well a host of drinks from whiskey to the horchata barrel, this draft pulled out all the stops. It will be difficult for any hosting job to match these heights, and good luck to those who try. Much thanks from the AFFL to the Apelian family for their hospitality and generosity.

Now let's get to the recap...

Pre-draft Excitement

The draft began with the ceremonial passing of the trophy from last years champion, Vosgee Gyank, to the current champion, the Atomic Bomba. As tradition dictates the winner needs to add a touch of his team to the trophy to represent his title. Vosgee added his iconic "golden knuckles of gyank" along with a goldchain with his face. The bomba? Well, let just say that his teams logo fit perfectly in a certain area.

Following the trophy pass, the AFFL reveled a new trophy: the Ass place award, which is to be worn by the team that finished last the year before. That team would begin the draft by nominating the first player and wearing the trophy around his head for the duration of the pick. Vosgee Gyank happened to be the team that this begins with, as he finished in "ass place." The trophy is a beautifully designed toilet seat, complete with personal decal and message that celebrated just how bad the team was: "Your team took a vosgee in 2017." For 2018, the term Vosgee will be a euphemism for going to the bathroom.

The league also approved a retroactive fine for all co-managers which would be a dollar fee for each co-manager that has been in the league. This proposed and pushed for by Ara, with all his weight. He may finally get what he wants.

Draft Highlights.

There were many great moments in the AFFL draft, from Vosgee bidding against Awesomeness for Fitzgerald and Jaj bidding against himself. But aside from the fluff on the outside, the highlights we want to talk about are some of the great deals that were made. Here are some of the great wins for All teams involved in the draft.

QB Best Buys

With Aaron Rodgers having been bought for $20 early, the quarterback mark was set. A few teams managed to get squeezed out of some of the bargains with purchases of Brady and Watson at $12 and $16 respectively, but there were many deals to be found later for those who were patient. While QB was cheap, we'd have to say that getting top starters at basement level prices renders teams winners. The best deals at QB have to go to the following buys.

Carson Wentz ($1) - Prime Time

Kirk Cousins ($3) - Atomic Bomba

Russell Wilson ($10) - Magnum Sev.i

You could throw in guys like Brees and Cam for the $6-7 range buys, however, those players were typically going at those prices. Wentz and Cousins were ranked in the 6-8 range by most ranks and went for considerably cheaper than guys ranked below them like Andrew Luck, Jimmy Garrapolo, and Phillip Rivers. Honorable mention would go to Russell Wilson. $10 for the 2nd ranked QB on the board in most experts minds is really good.

RB Best Buys

The running back department got inflated quickly, with the over abundance of top tier guys that were available to be picked up. Bidding got out of hand with Gurley and DJ as both sold for $84, more than 40% of an owners budget. That is really pricey. The Beverly Hills bidding on the top RBs rendered some big time values at the middle and lower tiers of the draft. Many managers who waited on RB and were disciplined with their money were rewarded with great value later on. Here are your best RB buys: (Excluding keepers)

Sequan Barkley ($59) - Hartan

Derrick Henry ($13) - Jaj Cousteau

Mark Ingram ($10) - Atomic Bomba

Alex Collins ($18) - Cobra Kai

Barkley looks like a steal at $60 due to the inflated prices with the top four. He is the consensus 5th ranked Rb and has every bit the shot to finish in the top tier at seasons end. Henry and Collins are ranked in the fourth group of RBs, with the likes of Drake, Royce Freeman, Lamar Miller and others. Considering that Collins leads that group and went for less than the three mentioned below him, we'd say that's a good buy. Likewise, Henry went for nearly $10 cheaper than those three and has every bit the upside. Ingram also finds himself at the end of the same tier. While he is a must-handcuff for Kamara, he is at worst a solid RB2 in stand alone value. For $10 he's worth the price.

WR Best Buys

While the RB market was out of sorts, the Wide Receiver market stayed relatively tame. Managers were keenly aware of the depth at WR and waited out much of the position early one. As a whole, there were many more values to be found in the later rounds as it pertained to the WRs. RB rookies were heavily bid on, while the WRs flew a little under the radar. Aside from the heavy bidding on Keenan Allen, we don't believe that there were too many "overbids" on Wrs. Antonio Brown went for $72 and set the market, which was $12 cheaper than the RB market. Brown has every bit as much upside to finish as the #1 overall non-Qb player. That is a pretty good value. Interestingly enough, most the bids were accurate as it pertains to the players pre-draft ranking.

Jordy Nelson ($3) - HBK Shant Michaels

Pierre Garcon ($3) - Awesomeness

Randell Cobb ($8) - Awesomeness

Mike Evans ($30) - Jaj Cousteau

While it was difficult to find true best buys in the WR department, these ones jumped out. Jordy Nelson is just one year removed from a double digit touchdown season and now gets a QB upgrade from last year. It may be he has something left, and if so, HBK may have found a WR2 at a bottom bargain price. Awesomeness snagged two players  that could become weekly WR2s as well for dirt cheap. Cobb will no doubt get more the share of targets with Jordy gone, and Jimmy G is a huge upgrade from CJ Beathard. Mike Evans is on the list due to his ranking and relative price to the players around him. Consistently ranked in the top 10, Evans went for the cheapest of the group. While his upside is limited by QB play, if Winston can turn it around, his numbers may vault him in the top 7 by years end.

Tight End Best Buys

The Tight end department is ruled at the top by Gronk and Kelce, and then there is a huge middle earth of players from 4-10. The position had a market cap of $28, per Gronk's purchase, but there were many bargains found late at the position. It became criminal how cheap the position was being bid at. It seemed with the focus on TE sleepers, many of the higher ranked players were simply overlooked and undersold.

Travis Kelce ($19) - Magnum Sev.i

Evan Engram ($5)  - Jaj Cousteau

JImmy Graham ($4) - Awesomeness

Kyle Rudolph ($2) - Atomic Bomba

Getting the second best TE (and some experts overall #1 TE) for $9 less than Gronk is a very good buy. Kelce will out produce many WR's purchased at the same price. Engram and Rudolph are typically ranked 5-8 on lists, and in the 3rd tier at the position. They both went for significantly less than players in the same tier. Engram was a breakout star and has every bit the upside to finish in the top 5. His $5 was less than Delanie Walker ($8), Greg Olsen ($14), whom are both in the same tier. He also went cheaper than Burton ($8), David Njoku ($6), and Jack Doyle ($6) all players who are ranked well below him. The same is true of Rudolph, whose $2 purchase doesn't fit with where he is ranked and current QB situation.  Graham gets Aaron Rodgers and is another player in the same tier that went cheaper than Engram, Burton, Doyle, and Njoku. Oy vey!

Now that we have gathered up some of the Draft's best buys, lets delve into the specific teams and which teams begin the season with a leg-up on the competition, and which may have their work cut-out for them. While looking at the teams rosters, we looked at how many players does the team have that could boom at any given week? A boom player would be one that could render 30+ points on any given week. This gave us an idea into the upside of the squad. That was just one factor used to give out grades, along with quality of players at positions, depth, and overall construction of the team. So here are the teams grades. (in Alpha Order)

Atomic Bomba

Best buys: Keepers Kamara and Cook. Rudolph. Agholor. Ingram. Hyde. Breida.

Questionable buys: Two TE's, Sanders, Minny stack could bite the team.

The Bomba entered the Draft with the two best keeper values in the league. He could have screwed up the team had he sat back too long and not use that money saved from Kamara toward a top tier guy. While it seemed that the entire league was trying to squeeze him out of getting any top five players, the Bomba managed to nab Julio for $69 and save himself. Baldwin has WR1 upside and gets more targets with Graham and Richardson gone. Thats a great pair. Looking at the depth, Hyde could be a steal for $10 should he hold the job for the entire year. Agholor came on late last season and may get a boost in targets if Alshon is on the Pup. The team is solid at TE with Rudolph and Burton, and has some upside with Breida should MckInnon go down. The one area that may be a concern is Cousins and stacking all the Minnesota players. The O-line is a bit banged up and that could lead to problems with Cousins. All-in-all we'd b hard pressed to find any manager who could look at the squad and objectively say the team isn't one of the five best in the league on paper.

Grade A

Chances of making playoffs with great/good management - 90%

Awesomeness

Best Buys: Keepers Dion Lewis and Jamaal Williams, Garcon, Cobb, Antonio Brown

Questionable buys: Dez Bryant, Jordan Reed with no Vernon., RB core is thin as a wafer

Awesomeness entered the draft with two adequate RB3s on the roster in Jamaal Williams and Dion Lewis. Despite the RB3 designation, the team didn't bother to address the RB situation with any top back. Rather, the collection of Burkhead and Crowell will have to be enough to patch up the RB hole. Maybe Corey Clement can come around and snatch a big share of the work. As it looks now, Awesomeness will need to hope for injuries to players in front of his RBs or snag starters as they become available in FA. On the flipside, the team managed to assemble perhaps the strongest WR core in the league. Brown, Adams, and Fitz are a strong trio, and getting Garcon for dirt cheap may be a boon. We scratch our head at Dez for $3 since he hasn't signed, but who knows. At the end of the day, this is a tale of two position groups that seemingly average each other out to render the final grade. WR's - A, RB's- D

Grade: B-

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 70%

BDiddy

Best Buys: Keepers Melvin Gordon and Sefon Diggs, Aj Green, Stafford

Questionable buys: TE core is a pure gamble, RB depth non-existent except for Ronald Jones

BDiddy typically goes high risk/high reward with the formulation of his line-up and this team is no different. Having two top tier players to start the draft, BDiddy went full bore at the WR position to gather a very strong WR trio of Diggs, Green, and Hill. Impressive indeed. The starting five of Gordon, Miller, Green, Hill and Diggs could perhaps be the strongest in the league. Nicely done indeed. You gotta love Stafford and Luck for a combined $8 as well. They should be okay at the QB position. We don't understand the over abundance of WRs on the roster however. With only Ronald Jones as running back depth, this squad is going to have to rely on Miller and Gordon to stay healthy for a long time. Yes the handcuff is there, but matching-up with other teams will be a disaster should they sit out. We also question the TE choices. There may have to be an upgrade at the TE spot in order for the team to really comfortable. However, we can't hate the starters, so we err on the side of positive regression for the team this season.

Grade: B+ (no Rb depth)

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 80%

Cobra Kai

Best Buys: Corey Davis, Alex Collins, DJ Moore, James Conner

Questionable buys: Aaron Rodgers, Jack Doyle,

The Cobra entered the draft with two keepers that were weekly flex plays. It was obvious that the team wasn't going to rely on those two RBs to carry the core, and so Cobra went out and bought David Johnson for a whopping $84. After spending the farm on DJ, the was bound to be constructed with middle tier players, as there was little financial room to maneuver the rest of the draft due to budget constraints. Goodwin and Davis are both great finds and make for great WR2/3s with upside. The question will be weather they will be able to materialize to those expectations. Alex Collins may have saved the RB2 situation, and given the Cobra some breathing room. It was a central buy for the team. While Rodgers at $20 was a good price for a player who could and should finish in the top 4 at the position, we wonder what would have happened if Cobra elected to wait at QB and use the savings to buy one more stud. The team overpaid for Doyle, but that may have been a product of excess money at the end of the auction. Moore is a nice upside player, and Cobra did manage to get good value for some potential keepers. But the question remains, what happens this year, especially at the WR position?

Grade: C

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 65%

Grabbers United

Best Buys: Golden Tate, Delanie Walker, Josh Gordon, James White, John Brown

Questionable Buys: Demeriyus Thomas, Little depth at RB

$80 for a player who hasn't reported to camp yet is very ballsy. But then again, this is Bell, arguably the strongest RB in the league. You have to pay to play, and we like the aggressiveness. Delanie Walker was a potential keeper for the team at $14, and the team wisely dropped him into the pool and drafted him for half the price. Wise move. James White is a great upside pick late in the draft that could pay off big dividends. Tate is a nice player at well at a great price. He has ever bit the upside of other players in the tier he's in, and was cheaper than players ranked below him. Gordon is the obvious X-factor. He could be a steal for $14, or be a complete waste of a roster spot. This remains to be seen. The Rb core is solid with Drake and Bell, however, we just don't see the depth behind the team as anything exciting. White, Grant, and Montgomery aren't exciting and if the team was going to build up a squad with little Rb depth, we woulda hoped for more pop at the WR position. This team looks a bit of a mish mash of ideas, and nothing clearly set forth as a vision. Will Marriota finally take the leap? Will Gordon return to form? Will any of those bench Rbs materialize? Lots of question marks with answers coming soon.

Grade: D+

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 45%

Hartan

Best Buys: Barkley, Theilen, Hopkins, Brady

Questionable buys: Ertz keeper, Jeffery, Rb2 invisibility, two Houston WRs?

Hartan was without the Har part of the team, but managed to pull off a pretty solid draft. Barkley was bid on before the top 4 players, and in so doing, was bought for $60. That was a steal for where he was ranked and given his top 5 potential. Hopkins was also a great buy and gives the Hartan a strong WR duo with Theilen and Nuke. The team didn't plan to buy Brady, but getting him for $12 isn't all bad. The rest of the line-up is filled with guys that aren't too inspiring. Riddick has upside some weeks and is a nice player, and Barber could be a weekly flex option. The team would've looked so much nicer with Mckinnon instead of Ertz, but that is all in the past. Playing both Houston WRs will be very interesting. This team could be in boom or bust mode with every Watson pass. One word of caution, should Barkley go down with injury, and he's already hurt, this team would instantly crumble. And we know how much luck Hartan has had with New York Giants players. We also question Alshon Jeffery for 11. He is a potential pup candidate and is very touchdown dependent. Perhaps that value could've been put toward an Rb?

Grade: B+

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 85%

HBK Shant Michaels

Best Buys: Mixon, Mike Thomas, Jordy Nelson, Gio Bernard, Mike Williams, Kenny Stills

Questionable buys: David Njoku, Fournette, WR2 uncertainty

It is difficult to grade HBK after the team did an epic job hosting the event. But lets put the tacos and ceviche bias aside and focus on the team. The team came in with a leg-up having Mike Thomas for a great value. HBK may have waited too long at RB and was forced to overpay for Fournette as he was the last RB available. This no doubt effected the teams construction. If he woulda been bought at market value, say $50, the team woulda perhaps had a shot at a much more solid WR2 situation. Trusting Edelman and Jordy to fill that hole, or Stills and Miller may lead to a bit of inconsistency at the position. That said, we like the value of Jordy, who has the potential of producing at a high level with Carr. We get the love for Njoku, but paying up for him with no other TE on the roster is risky. As is the spending for the rookie Rbs who are in very cloudy situations. Gio helps feel more comfortable at the RB2 position. As things stand, the team is a collection of solid players, with uncertain performance values. Will Jordy be Jordy? Will Edelman return to form? Will the rookie Rbs break-out? Will Jimmy G perform at a top level? Much remains to be seen. This team may not be known for a few weeks.

Grade C:

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 50%

Jaj Cousteau

Best Buys: Derrick Henry, Hogan, Mike Evans, Cooper, Engram

Questionable buys: All Cowboys receivers. Ben Watson

Interestingly enough, this Jaj Cousteau team looks very different from years past. Before, Jaj would bid on players that were over valued and overpay for them. This year, Jaj went for it all and came out on top. Zeke is a great piece to build around, and the team has a solid RB core with Henry at RB2 who could be a steal at $13. The Wrs aren't shabby either, with Evans, Hogan and Cooper, all names who can produce at high levels. Hill as a 3rd Rb is really a stretch, and with no true Rb3 on the roster, this team is going to have to find someone to help during bye weeks. Why do you need Ben Watson? Engram was a steal at $5. Is Ben watson just an insult? Was he drafted because of his political views. There is also nice upside with Martavius Bryant, though playing two Raiders at once is a dance with death. Solid D. Solid QB. Did Jaj really put together a championship contender? Its tough to find fault with anything the team did.

Grade: A

Chances of making playoffs with great/good management - 90%

Magnum Sev.i

Best Buys: Russell Wilson, Kelce, Ty Hilton, McKinnon, OBJ, Royce Freeman

Questionable buys: Lack of depth players, or upside on the bench.

Magnum paid up for OBJ, banking on a big comeback year. The only other big purchases on the roster were Ty Hilton and McKinnon. The three of those players should be enough to make the team a threat weekly. The sev.i did a nice job of nabbing Freeman for relatively cheap, as he was the only other rookie besides barkley that has a clear path to becoming a starter. Lynch looked rejuvenated in he preseason and could be a solid RB2. However, the team will mostly hinge on TY. If Luck is back, Ty and OBJ will be carrying the team. If not, this roster has bust potential. We also love Wilson for 10 bucks. That's dirt cheap for a player that is regarded as the 2nd best Qb in Fantasy. Kelce is also a great buy at 19 bux. He has Gronk potential at a tier 2 price. We don't understand what is going on on the bench. We suspect that Sev.i may be dropping many of those players after the week kicks off. However, the team has  plenty of fire power and upside. It also has the most injury prone starting line-up in the league.

Grade: B+

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 80%

Prime Time

Best Buys: Keepers Hunt and Howard, Aaron Jones, Brandin Cooks, Terek Cohen

Questionable buys: McCoy for $26

Prime Time came into this draft with two solid keepers. The team did a decent job of maximizing value on those players. While paying $49 for keenan Allen was a bit high, but getting him to man the WR core was a must. He was the last one left. McCoy is a very big question mark. He is on a bad team and has tons of miles on him. Furthermore, do you really wanna play two Buffalo Bills in your line-up? Benjamin is very risky. Brandin Cooks should be a solid WR3, fortunately Crabtree will provide weekly help at WR2. That said, The team is loaded from top to bottom, with the exception of the TE position. We can't give Ara the straight A for buying cook for $5. That's $5 too high for him. The team is very strong, and has a ton of RB depth with Cohen and Michel. If Foreman comes back to health, this team could be the team to beat.

Grade: A-

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 90%

Shabam Shadiq

Best Buys: Kupp, Gronk, Juju Smith Schuster, Tevin Coleman

Questionable buys: McCaffrey, Weak RB core as a unit

The team as constructed is clearly a bit of a mess. It's difficult to make out where the team is truly dominate. Spending up for Mccaffrey really put the squad behind the eight ball as it pertains to buying power. Gronk is a steal at $28, as most woulda paid up to $35 for him. That said, A WR core of Landry, Kupp, Jones and Juju isn't really gonna pop the top off. With serious problems at the RB2 spot and Rb depth, we don't think the WR core has enough upside to really mitigate the disadvantage presented at the RB position. Gronk will provide some of that, but then again, he hasn't played a full season in a while. A back-up TE may have been a wise investment. The bench has a few upside players in Chubb and Taylor, but this roster is going to have to grow into the year. It may be a few weeks before we really find out if this thing is going to happen for Shabam.  If those Rbs manage to win starting jobs, this team should be okay to compete. If not, it may be a long season.

Grade: C-

Chances of making the playoffs with great/good management - 50%

Vosgereechee Gyank

Best Buys: Freeman, Crowder, Matt Ryan

Questionable buys: WR core is very thin. RBs are both in time shares.

The Vosgee is just one season removed from winning it all, but from the looks of things, we don't know if he'll get back there this season. The Rb core of Gurley, Freeman, and Ajayi on paper looks very strong, however, looking deeper, it is very volitile. Gurley may regress in his numbers, but is still worthy of the price. Freeman however is in a time share, and has been banged-up during the offseason. His body may be breaking down. Ajayi could also be restricted with addition of sproles in the line-up and Clement. Those three will still be fairly solid, but a WR core of Anderson, Woods, Crowder is the weakest in the league. It will be very difficult for the Gyank to match firepower with that trio. Olsen is a top TE yes, but there are many teams that have the same sort of make-up with stronger WR cores. The bench has some nice upside and the Gyank may be able to flip some of that stash for value as the season goes on. He'll need to find a WR or two. If not, it could be the end of the Gyank before things even started.

Grade: D

Chances of making playoffs with great/good management - 40%