With Jim, Rich, and Bob completing their 20th WFL draft, CBS sure had some things to say about the picks. Of course, last year CBS gave Rich and Kurt each an A+, and that didn’t turn out so great. Besides, Kurt already lost the #1 overall pick for most, if not all, of this season. And something really looks wrong with the Ted’s Joey Jo-Jos getting a lower grade, but a higher points-per-week projection, than Bob’s Mulligans. But really, the reason we’re here is to determine what Chief noted about this draft, so let’s get to it:
Carson Palmer isn’t just Kurt’s guy, he’s now a Hall of Famer “guy” -- his seventh time as a Pirate matches the record of Drew Brees being drafted by Pat, and Ricky Williams as a Mulligan.
Other “guys” moving up the chart include:
Philip Rivers is a Mulligan for the fifth time.
Eli Manning was drafted by John for the fourth time. He’s also been a No-Name with Jim four times.
Andy Dalton is on the United for the fourth time, including the last three years in a row.
A.J. Green is with Kurt for the fourth time in the last five years.
Adam Vinatieri is on Jim’s team for the fourth time.
Vinatieri’s pick was the kicker’s 17th overall in the WFL, second only to Peyton Manning’s 18 draft day selections. The difference: Manning was drafted in consecutive years, while Vinatieri went undrafted five times. Now that’s longevity.
Drew Brees and Tom Brady were each selected for the 16th time in WFL history -- pretty amazing, especially factoring in that Brees has never been on Rich or Bob’s team, and Brady has never played for Jeff or Kurt. Brees’ selection in the first round marks the ninth straight season of being a #1 pick, which is a new overall record. Peyton Manning was a first-rounder eight times, and now Aaron Rodgers matches that mark with this eighth appearance in the first round. Rodgers is now near the top of the WFL’s all-time “highest average draft pick” chart:
Barry Sanders average draft round: 1.3 (3 selections)
David Johnson: 1.5 (2 selections)
Steve Young: 1.6 (6 selections)
Rudi Johnson: 2.0 (4 selections)
Aaron Rodgers: 2.1 (10 selections)
That chart includes players who have been drafted more than once; otherwise, Jordan Howard and Jay Ajayi would be on the list, as they were each second-rounders this year, the only year they’ve been drafted. Of course, they’d be listed along Steve Slaton, who was once drafted in the second round and was never heard from again, not that this could possibly ever, ever happen again. Ever.
Ajayi and Howard were two of 27 players never before drafted in the WFL... though only five of those players were rookies. Naturally, Jeff led the way by taking two of them, while Bob, Rich, and Jim each took one. All of those rookies were taken before the eighth round.
Other randomness:
Now that Jim drafted Jay Cutler, the QB has been on everybody’s team except Jeff’s.
Ben Roethlisberger was drafted for the 13th time, though he’s never been with the United.
Frank Gore has been drafted 12 times, but never by Kurt.
Brandon Marshall has been selected 10 times, though never by Jim.
Five of our first-rounders have never been first-rounders before: Le’Veon Bell, Julio Jones, David Johnson, Matt Ryan, and Kirk Cousins.
Jim had the opportunity to draft Tom Brady for his sixth time ever, but went with Rodgers instead.
John took Drew Brees before Pat could have taken him an eighth time.
As always, Week 1′s Game of the Week is chosen by selecting the defending Super Bowl champ; but Jim got off to an auspicious start, losing to Jeff, 106-70. Week 2 features the lone matchup of 1-0 teams, in which Rich is blowing out Kurt, 125-70. (While Kurt still has Paul Perkins to go, please note nobody in the NFL is watching out for Paul Perkins, so you shouldn’t either.)
