The room spent Tuesday night playing chicken at quarterback, and the market has an opinion about how that went. Price all 210 selections against an independent valuation of the player taken and one number does the talking: the 21 quarterbacks drafted gained 11,265 points of value against their slots. Every other position lost. Receivers gave back 4,675. Team defenses gave back 5,033. Only 4 of the fourteen first-round picks beat the slot they were taken at.
How the grades are built
Player values are FantasyCalc redraft market values calibrated to this league — 14 teams, one quarterback, full-point PPR. Kickers and defenses carry no market value and are treated as replacement level. Draft efficiency measures every live pick against a rank-order baseline: the nth selection is compared to the nth most valuable player actually taken, so the fourteen figures sum to zero and the number is strictly who took value from whom. Starter value is the best legal lineup (QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, flex). Roster value is all fifteen players, keeper included. The grade is a composite — 40% efficiency, 40% starters, 20% roster — expressed against the league average of 26,123 starter value and 28,898 roster value, and curved across fourteen teams.
The board
| # | Team | Manager | Grade | Efficiency | Starters | Roster | Keeper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lowly Gents | Anthony | A+ | +2,143 | 30,460 | 35,717 | Justin Jefferson |
| 2 | The Magicians | Jonathan | A | +1,026 | 30,647 | 32,707 | Amon-Ra St. Brown |
| 3 | Sugar Coats | John E. | B+ | +1,271 | 27,778 | 29,344 | Ja'Marr Chase |
| 4 | Coonie's Goonies | Josh | B | +1,661 | 25,009 | 28,707 | Colston Loveland |
| 5 | Bijan Mustard | Timothy | B- | −1,709 | 28,706 | 30,405 | Bijan Robinson |
| 6 | Pla-ket-ket-ket-ket | Sean | B- | +685 | 25,464 | 28,882 | CeeDee Lamb |
| 7 | Touchdown There | Nick | B- | +1,690 | 24,154 | 27,621 | Christian McCaffrey |
| 8 | Royal Rodents | Owen | B- | −809 | 27,166 | 28,222 | Nico Collins |
| 9 | Tomato Heads | mike | C+ | −821 | 25,204 | 28,672 | Puka Nacua |
| 10 | American Football Team | Jeff | C+ | +1,073 | 23,105 | 25,724 | Derrick Henry |
| 11 | Romo's Rotisserie | Kevin | C+ | −1,580 | 25,848 | 28,618 | Jonathan Taylor |
| 12 | Pocket Dogs | John P. | C | −2,665 | 26,830 | 29,061 | Jahmyr Gibbs |
| 13 | SKOL MF | Tim | C- | +1,088 | 20,510 | 24,470 | Rome Odunze |
| 14 | Mike's Merry Mates | Michael | D+ | −3,053 | 24,835 | 26,427 | James Cook |
Eight of the twelve best picks were quarterbacks
The league collectively decided to wait — no quarterback in round one, the run stalling out after pick 47 — which meant every manager who moved in the middle rounds bought a starter for a fraction of its market price. Caleb Williams at 67 was the single best pick of the night. Eight of the top twelve values were passers; so were ten of the top fifteen and twelve of the top twenty.
| Gain | Pick | Manager | Player | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1,138 | 67 | Sean | Caleb Williams | QB |
| +1,107 | 47 | Josh | Joe Burrow | QB |
| +1,033 | 19 | Jeff | Josh Allen | QB |
| +958 | 29 | Jonathan | Travis Etienne | RB |
| +944 | 83 | Timothy | Dak Prescott | QB |
| +933 | 33 | Owen | Zay Flowers | WR |
| +859 | 161 | Tim | Baker Mayfield | QB |
| +765 | 72 | Anthony | Justin Herbert | QB |
| +727 | 97 | John E. | Trevor Lawrence | QB |
| +710 | 11 | Sean | Ashton Jeanty | RB |
| +709 | 107 | Kevin | Bo Nix | QB |
| +700 | 24 | Owen | Javonte Williams | RB |
| Position | Picks | Total | Per pick | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 21 | +11,265 | +536 | The only position that paid |
| RB | 58 | +1,858 | +32 | Break-even in bulk |
| TE | 22 | −602 | −27 | A wash |
| WR | 66 | −4,675 | −71 | Quietly overpaid all night |
| K | 13 | −2,839 | −218 | Thirteen picks, no market value |
| DEF | 15 | −5,033 | −336 | Most wasteful position on the board |
Where the value went to die
Of the twelve worst picks, four were running backs inside the first five rounds, four were receivers, and three were team defenses in rounds six and seven. Twenty-eight picks went to kickers and defenses and burned 7,872 points between them — Owen the worst offender at 1,753, then Sean at 1,638 and John P. at 1,376. Jonathan, who drafted no kicker at all and signed one off the street after the draft, handled the position best by ignoring it.
| Loss | Pick | Manager | Player | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −1,711 | 17 | mike | Bucky Irving | RB |
| −1,693 | 58 | Timothy | Alvin Kamara | RB |
| −1,529 | 22 | Michael | Davante Adams | WR |
| −1,355 | 9 | John P. | Kyren Williams | RB |
| −1,212 | 80 | Owen | Los Angeles Rams | DEF |
| −1,160 | 39 | Sean | Josh Jacobs | RB |
| −942 | 93 | John P. | Houston Texans | DEF |
| −942 | 14 | Nick | DeVonta Smith | WR |
| −889 | 95 | Sean | Seattle Seahawks | DEF |
| −854 | 62 | Kevin | Jake Ferguson | TE |
| −797 | 35 | Michael | Jameson Williams | WR |
| −757 | 91 | Michael | Tre Tucker | WR |
Report cards
The Lowly GentsAnthony
A+Won the draft outright — first in efficiency, first in roster value, second in starting lineup, 6,800 points clear of the league average. Jefferson kept, Nabers at fifteen on Nick’s pick, Chase Brown and Breece Hall behind him. His worst pick cost 162 points, which is to say he never missed. Tight end is the hole: Goedert at 695.
The MagiciansJonathan
AThe best starting seven in the league, built on the best receiver room — Smith-Njigba (8,847) and St. Brown (8,255) are a 17,100 pairing where the average team carries 11,700 total. Etienne in the third was the best non-quarterback value of the night. Thin behind it: Kraft at tight end, Lloyd in the flex, and a kicker he had to sign as a walk-in.
Sugar CoatsJohn E.
B+Chase and McBride are as good a two-man core as exists here, and Lawrence in the seventh was a steal. Then the backfield: 6,644 total running back value, last in the league by nearly eight hundred. He traded his fifth and sixth-round picks away last November — exactly the rounds where you fix that.
Coonie's GooniesJosh
BThird-best process, tenth-best team. Burrow in the fourth was the second-biggest steal on the board and Achane is a real anchor. The keeper is the drag: Loveland at 3,784 is the second-cheapest asset anyone protected, in a round where the rest of the room banked eight and nine thousand.
Bijan MustardTimothy
B-Bijan kept, Saquon at two, a 17,495 backfield — best in the league by a distance — and the third-best lineup. He paid over the odds to get there: twelfth in efficiency, with Kamara in the fifth the second-worst pick of the night. Eleventh-ranked receiver room.
Pla-ket-ket-ket-ketSean
B-Made the single best pick of the draft (Caleb Williams, +1,138) and one of the six worst (Josh Jacobs, −1,160) two rounds apart. Lamb, Olave, McLaurin is a top-three receiver room. His entire tight end holdings are worth 363 points. Burned 1,638 on a kicker and two defenses.
Touchdown ThereNick
B-Drafted from slot fourteen with no second-rounder and still finished second in efficiency, which is the most Nick sentence available. It did not produce a good roster: twelfth in starters, eleventh in total, Parker Washington starting at receiver, and Goff at 942 the least valuable starting quarterback in the league. Two picks on defenses. He is 4-0 in finals, so nobody will believe a word of this.
Royal RodentsOwen
B-Fifth-best starting lineup, assembled with the worst pick discipline in the room: a defense in round six and a kicker in round nine cost him 1,753 points, more than anyone. Hampton, Javonte, Nico and Flowers is a real top four. Kyle Pitts in the fourth is an act of faith entering its fifth year.
Tomato Headsmike
C+Made the worst pick of the draft — Bucky Irving at seventeen, 1,711 under the slot. Nacua and Pickens keep the receiver room fourth-best; the backfield is serviceable. The bet is Jaxson Dart at quarterback. Led the league in points last year, finished third, and has the worst luck rating in league history. He drafted a soft spot on purpose.
American Football TeamJeff
C+Blinked first at quarterback and was right: Allen at nineteen was the third-biggest steal, and his QB room is the league’s best at 5,960. Then almost nothing, because his third and fourth-round picks were traded away in November. Thirteenth in starters and roster, oldest haul in the league at 5.5 years average experience.
Romo's RotisserieKevin
C+A.J. Brown at six was the steal of the top ten and Taylor kept at 8,776 is a top-five asset. Jake Ferguson in the fifth cost 854 points at a position he could have filled six rounds later, and the quarterback room is worth 1,365 — last — even though Bo Nix at 107 was itself a bargain. Seven receivers is a shape, not a plan.
Pocket DogsJohn P.
COwns the most valuable asset in the league — Gibbs at 10,251, kept for the 205th pick — and the second-worst draft process. Kyren Williams at nine cost 1,355, the Houston defense in round seven cost 942, and his best pick of the night was a backup running back in the eleventh. Receivers rank thirteenth.
SKOL MFTim
C-Bowers and Lamar are the best tight end room and second-best quarterback room in the league. Everything else is a problem: last in receivers (5,146), last in total roster value, last in starting lineup by 2,600. Took Baker Mayfield at 161, the seventh-best value of the draft, and released him ninety seconds after the horn.
Mike's Merry MatesMichael
D+The worst pick-by-pick draft in the league, by four hundred points. Adams at 22, Jameson Williams at 35, Tre Tucker at 91 — three of the twelve worst picks, all his, all receivers. He does have a backfield: Cook kept and Walker at seven is the second most valuable in the league. After 1-13 it is still a major step forward. It is also a D+.
Power rankings, priced
This is a ranking of teams, not drafts — seventy per cent best lineup, thirty per cent full roster. The ± column is movement from the gut-feel rankings this desk published on draft night, before pricing anything. Two teams moved eleven and twelve spots. That is on us.
| # | ± | Team | Manager | Starters | Roster | Draft | The read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +2 | The Lowly Gents | Anthony | 30,460 | 35,717 | A+ | Most valuable roster by 6,800. |
| 2 | +11 | The Magicians | Jonathan | 30,647 | 32,707 | A | Best starting seven; a 17,100 receiver pair. |
| 3 | −2 | Bijan Mustard | Timothy | 28,706 | 30,405 | B- | Best backfield in the league, at a price. |
| 4 | +6 | Sugar Coats | John E. | 27,778 | 29,344 | B+ | Chase and McBride carry it; no running backs. |
| 5 | −1 | Pocket Dogs | John P. | 26,830 | 29,061 | C | Gibbs is the best asset in the league. |
| 6 | +8 | Royal Rodents | Owen | 27,166 | 28,222 | B- | Better top four than anyone credited. |
| 7 | +1 | Romo's Rotisserie | Kevin | 25,848 | 28,618 | C+ | Good skill players, worst QB room. |
| 8 | −2 | Pla-ket-ket-ket-ket | Sean | 25,464 | 28,882 | B- | Elite receivers, a 363-point tight end room. |
| 9 | +3 | Tomato Heads | mike | 25,204 | 28,672 | C+ | Nacua and Pickens are real; Dart is the bet. |
| 10 | −3 | Coonie's Goonies | Josh | 25,009 | 28,707 | B | Achane and Burrow, then a thin middle. |
| 11 | — | Mike's Merry Mates | Michael | 24,835 | 26,427 | D+ | Second-best backfield, worst draft. |
| 12 | −7 | Touchdown There | Nick | 24,154 | 27,621 | B- | Value board says twelfth. He is 4-0 in finals. |
| 13 | −4 | American Football Team | Jeff | 23,105 | 25,724 | C+ | Best QB, second-thinnest roster. |
| 14 | −12 | SKOL MF | Tim | 20,510 | 24,470 | C- | Bowers and Lamar and then nothing. |