Keeper value: +146 vs CPR (#46)

Other notable keeper options:

J.K. Dobbins, Bal RB (+77; could be kept 145th overall, CPR #68)

Javonte Williams, Den RB (+44; could be kept 72nd overall, CPR #28)

As always, I’ll begin with myself and then run through the rest of the league alphabetically.

This is not my first rodeo selecting an injured player late in a draft and hoping for it to pan out the next season. Entering 2022, the outlook seems to give this keeper a much higher probability of hitting than any of my previous attempts. In fact, FantasyPros likes the value on Etienne even more than my own personal rankings do since they have him ranked 35th overall while I have him at 46th.

Some people might argue that Javonte would’ve been the better selection, and there’s an argument to be made there. Even though the projected value isn’t nearly as good, he’s a player who we’ve seen on the field, know is good, and trust will continue to be good at the NFL level.

While I’d love to give myself a pair of pluses on my grade like Evan got last year, with Etienne still being a relative unknown, I can’t be too bullish just yet.

Keeper Grade: A

Keeper value: +38 vs CPR (#16)

Other notable keeper options:

Cordarrelle Patterson, Atl RB (+79; could be kept 174th overall, CPR #95)

Mike Williams, LAC WR (+67; could be kept 102nd overall, CPR #35)

Stephen made his decision early in the month leading up to our draft and didn’t seem to agonize over the decision. This would have been a much more difficult decision if it were mine to make.

On one hand, Andrews is a top tier tight end; most experts, myself included, have the Baltimore tight end projected as the top TE in fantasy for 2022. When you can get an advantage at that position and grab a player, who could easily be drafted in the late first or early second round, in the fifth you have to jump on that, don’t you?

On the flip side, Mike Williams is also a great option. I have him slotted as a high end WR2 and Stephen could have kept him in the middle of the ninth round where I had Christian Kirk going as my WR42 off the board.

Personally, I like Stephen’s decision. I think Mike Williams is the more obvious choice, but I think it’s more important to get the value at a position of scarcity. I expect to spend draft capital on wide receivers, and I also expect to find some diamonds in the rough at the position. Your odds of hitting on a late-round tight end are slim and Stephen’s decision gave him a great tight end without sacrificing top tier running backs and receivers.

Keeper Grade: A

Keeper value: +37 vs CPR (#5)

Other notable keeper options:

Justin Jefferson, Min WR (+95; could be kept 103rd overall, CPR #8)

Los Angeles Chargers DEF (+46; could be kept 186th overall, CPR #140)

Last year Evan got an A++ for keeping Justin Jefferson in the 12th round. He could’ve gotten another A++ for keeping him in the ninth this year, but he instead kept Cooper Kupp in the fourth.

Look, Cooper Kupp had an absolutely incredible 2021 season and it’s hard to pass up keeping the WR1 from a year ago. But Justin Jefferson is also a beast and when you’re talking about the consensus WR1 and WR2 and a five-round difference in keeper value, the answers is obvious. Throw in the fact that FantasyPros, unlike me, ranks Jefferson higher than Kupp, and Evan’s choice makes absolutely no sense.

There’s no such thing as a failing grade when you get Kupp at a value, but I’m obligated to dock Evan a letter grade for passing up more than double Kupp’s value by not keeping Jefferson.

Keeper Grade: B

Keeper value: +133 vs CPR (#50)

Other notable keeper options:

Jaylen Waddle, Mia WR (+66; could be kept 111th overall, CPR #45)

Josh Allen, Buf QB (+5; could be kept 34th overall, CPR #29)

During the lead-up to the draft, Anthony had Josh Allen slated as his keeper due to the question marks surrounding Akers’ health. Allen really wasn’t the right choice as a backup with Waddle representing more than six rounds of value.

Ultimately, it’s a moot point as late-week reports suggested Akers will be healthy enough to go in Week 1 and Anthony slotted him back into his keeper spot and got about 11 rounds worth of value. In fact, if he got an extra six spots of value for Akers using FantasyPros’ ECR.

The only thing that might require a tempering of expectations is Akers’ terrible playoff performances last season. Hopefully for Anthony, 2022 won’t be more of the same.

Keeper Grade: A

Keeper value: +8 vs CPR (#3)

Other notable keeper options:

Tee Higgins, Cin WR (+37; could be kept 60th overall, CPR #23)

James Conner, Ari RB (+37; could be kept 61st overall, CPR #24)

First round players can sure be a doozy. I had Ekeler ranked 4th overall entering the AFL Draft while FantasyPros ECR had him at 3rd overall.

As tempting as three full rounds of value for Higgins or Conner might be, when you have the last pick in the first round and you know there won’t be a running back of Ekeler’s caliber there, it might just be the right pick.

Now, there might be something to be said for pointing out that Conner at the top of the 6th would be a solid running back to build around William would’ve been better served by grabbing a back-end RB1 and somebody like Davante Adams or, if he somehow fell that far, Justin Jefferson at the 1-2 turn.

I’ve got a toe in the waters of both camps in this situation. While Ekeler is probably a more sure-fire thing than either Higgins or Conner, there is no competition for reps in Arizona’s backfield. By taking Conner at his value, William would’ve given himself extra picks early in the draft to hit on players who might not be projected as high as Ekeler but who still have solid upside.

If there were going to be players like Stefon Diggs and Ja’Marr Chase who could also be available in addition to Adams, that would sway me fully into that second camp. But with those two players kept and Jefferson very unlikely to last through the first round, I can’t fault William for putting his eggs in Ekeler’s basket.

Keeper Grade: B+

Keeper value: +70 vs CPR (#13)

Other notable keeper options:

Dawson Knox, Buf TE (+81; could be kept 179th overall, CPR #98)

Lamar Jackson, Bal QB (+19; could be kept 62nd overall, CPR #43)

This was without a doubt the right pick for Sean. While I have Dawson Knox slated as a higher value than Chase among Sean’s keeper options, it’s by less than a full round and we’re talking about my WR4 who I have ranked 13th overall compared to a dart throw at my TE10 who I have ranked barely inside my Top 100.

FantasyPros likes this even more than I do, by the way. They still have Knox as a higher value, but only by one spot because they have Chase ranked five spots ahead of my ranking and they have Knox five spots behind my ranking. This was not only the right decision, but it is fantastic value for a guy with WR1 upside.

Keeper Grade: A+

Keeper value: +6 vs CPR (#2)

Other notable keeper options:

Dalton Schultz, Dal TE (+101; could be kept 161st overall, CPR #60)

Marquise Brown, Ari WR (+47; could be kept 113nd overall, CPR #66)

This is a decision I have a hard time with. It’s a similar situation to William Battle’s. On one hand, Alex’s his other options were not Top 30 players in both my rankings and FantasyPros’ like William’s are.

On the other hand, Dalton Schultz is not Dawson Knox and this is not the same as Sean’s situation that I just praised. Schultz is my TE6, but TE3 is within his range of outcomes for this season. Dawson Knox is my TE10 and I think it’s more likely he falls behind Freiermuth, Kmet, Everett, Njoku, and Okwuegbunam than for him to jump up to the TE9 or TE8 positions. Getting Schultz in the 14th round is amazing value for a guy who could be a league winner even where he’s being taken at the end of the 5th.

While it would mean passing up on Jonathan Taylor, with the 8th overall pick Alex would have had access to at least one of Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, Najee Harris, Alvin Kamara, or Justin Jefferson. Those are all very strong running backs and, while I have Taylor ranked ahead of all of them, it’s not impossible or even unlikely that at least one of those players will outperform him this year.

When the alternative is a tight end, I don’t feel I can dock Alex too much for taking someone as talented as Taylor, but I think Schultz would’ve been the better choice from a roster-building standpoint.

Keeper Grade: B+

Keeper value: +127 vs CPR (#44)

Other notable keeper options:

Pat Freiermuth, Pit TE (+75; could be kept 190th overall, CPR #115)

Jalen Hurts, Phi QB (+33; could be kept 75th overall, CPR #42)

Mitchell is the first player kept in the AFL using the updated Rule 6.5c that allows players to earn value as they remain on a roster. Will picked up Mitchell in the leadup to Week 2 last season and over the rest of the season the undrafted free agent earned seven rounds of value.

So not only does Will get credit for getting incredible value for a player who will be the 49ers’ top guy to start the season and, in the absence of injuries, should remain the top dog at the position, Will also gets credit for getting Mitchell in the first place.

Five AFL managers bid on Mitchell in Week 2 last season. Evan bid $16, I bid $31, Stephen bid $38, and Brandon bid $42. Will clearly saw Mitchell’s value better than the rest of us did as he put up a $55 bid and now he has arguably the best value keeper in the league this year.

Keeper Grade: A+

Keeper value: +17 vs CPR (#11)

Other notable keeper options:

San Francisco 49ers DEF (+43; could be kept 148th overall, CPR #105)

Justin Herbert, LAC QB (+7; could be kept 45th overall, CPR #38)

Last year, Alex kept Diggs in the 5th round. I gave him an A for the decision despite offering a critique about him passing on a 118-pick value in Darrell Henderson.

This year there’s no question that Alex made the correct decision, but it’s not great that his choices were so limited. The value is there for Diggs, but at only a round and a half Alex got significantly less bang for his buck than most of his league mates.

Keeper Grade: B

Keeper value: +86 vs CPR (#12)

Other notable keeper options:

Kadarius Toney, NYG WR (+61; could be kept 167th overall, CPR #106)

AJ Dillon, GB RB (+60; could be kept 119th overall, CPR #59)

While I’m a little more bullish on Fournette this season than FantasyPros is, and they’re much higher on Dillon than I am, even their ECR agrees that Fournette was the best value on Eric’s roster.

Despite a disappointing season that saw Eric go 8-7 and miss the playoffs with a +1 luck rating (three lucky wins to two unlucky losses), eight of his 16 players had position keeper value entering Sunday’s draft. He picked the best of them and got incredible value.

Keeper Grade: A+

Keeper value: +58 vs CPR (#19)

Other notable keeper options:

Zach Ertz, Ari TE (+87; could be kept 173rd overall, CPR #86)

Darnell Mooney, Chi WR (+54; could be kept 116th overall, CPR #62)

For the second year in a row, Andrew kept a 49er receiver. Unlike last year, however, he got positive keeper value.

Last year, Drew was kind of screwed no matter what he did. His best option had a -19 keeper value entering the draft and he kept George Kittle, who had a 3rd round ECR, with the third overall pick in the draft.

This year he had multiple solid options, and I don’t think it’s debatable that he went with the right guy. Ertz represented a few more rounds of value than Samuel, but we’re talking about my WR6 vs my TE8. This is a far cry from Andrew’s well-earned F last year.

Keeper Grade: A+

Keeper value: +74 vs CPR (#31)

Other notable keeper options:

Rashod Bateman, Bal WR (+89; could be kept 153rd overall, CPR #64)

New Orleans Saints DEF (+52; could be kept 160th overall, CPR #108)

Brandon shocked the league last year with the worst season the AFL has ever seen according to our comparison metric that allows us to compare team performances across seasons. Last year his Comp# was -21.4, worse than Andrew’s -13.4 in 2020 that had previously been the worst season in the AFL’s history. That’s a substantial gap representing more than 20% of the difference between the best and worst Comparison Numbers in league history.

It's impressive, then, that Brandon had even one strong keeper option, much less two of them. Either one would give him a great jump start to regaining his stature as a manager who is always in the AFL’s playoff mix. Prior to last season’s 3-12 finish, Brandon had never finished more than a game below .500.

Bateman’s value is about a round and a half better than Pittman’s, but considering Pittman is my WR12 and Bateman is my WR26, I think Brandon went the correct route.

Keeper Grade: A+