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For some, conducting a league-wide fantasy-style re-draft during their Madden franchise is the way to go. It is, after all, an interesting concept and one that leads to fierce debate over the value of not only the players themselves, but positions.
It’s a topic those at ESPN’s NFL Nation recently decided to take on, likely just looking to fill the sports void brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Although they did not re-draft full 53-man rosters for all 32 NFL teams, they did draft four “foundational players” for each team using the 2020 NFL Draft order — one quarterback, one non-QB offensive player, one defensive player and one wildcard.
The Giants, drafted by Jordan Raanan, ended up with Deshaun Watson as their quarterback and Yannick Ngakoue as their edge rusher.
Here’s how the entire team shook out:
Round 1 (4): Deshaun Watson, QB
Round 2 (61): Yannick Ngakoue, DE
Round 3 (68): Terron Armstead, OT
Round 4 (125): Allen Robinson II, WR
That certainly is an interesting compilation of players, but there’s little denying that Watson has game-changing ability in him and may be one of the NFL’s most underrated players.
If you don’t have a quarterback, you don’t have a chance. It’s really that simple. And Watson has produced 64 total touchdowns in the past two seasons — only Mahomes and Wilson had more — and did it behind a really bad offensive line.
After that, I had to wait awhile (57 picks) but still tabbed one of the league’s best pass-rushers in Ngakoue. Again, positional value was key. I got the most important offensive position with my first pick and the most important defensive position with my second. An All-Pro tackle in the third round helps give Watson’s line talent he hadn’t seen in Houston. And put fourth-rounder Robinson with Watson instead of Mitchell Trubisky and you’ll see the star ability. This is a core that would win multiple Super Bowls.
Mike Clay graded Raanan re-draft as “tier 1,” citing Watson as the foundation pick and the rest as having strong value.
Tier 1. It feels like Watson remains a bit underrated by the general consensus, so I’m glad he got some respect here. And then Raanan found good value the rest of the way.
Running back Saquon Barkley landed with the Houston Texans at No. 39 overall, while quarterback Daniel Jones ended up with the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 70 overall.
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