Bracketology: The Worst Draft Pick of All Time (Round 1, Part I)

And finally we begin our quest to find the worst draft pick of all time in the LOC! We're going to zip through the first couple of rounds so we weed out the picks that were bad, but not mega busts. So here we go, part 1

Round 1, Part I

(29) Hakeem Nicks, 2013 ADRZ 2nd Rnd v (2) Hines Ward, 2010 Ashley's Steelers 2nd Rnd
Come 2013, Nicks' injury troubles had been well documented. Coupled with the emergence of Cruz, Nicks didn't score a single TD in '13, only getting 896 yards. Ward meanwhile was an ageing player nearing his last legs, who at least scored some TDs.

Winner: Hakeem Nicks
Reason: Ashley's Steelers didn't know any better


(10) Andre Johnson, 2011 Gridiron Gang 2nd Rnd v (20) Hakeem Nicks, 2012 Gridiron Gang 3rd Rnd
GG having a tough time here. Johnson was an elite WR back in '11, but due to an injury marred campaign where he played only 7 games he only got 61 points. Nicks was just coming off a great season when Coach Stubbs Jr. nabbed him in '12. But an injury plagued year meant he'd only achieve 87 pts.

Winner: Hakeem Nicks
Reason: Johnson was at least useful in the limited games he played


(65) Adrian Peterson, 2016 Forge Flyers 1st Rnd v (66) Jamaal Charles, 2016 IKNAN 1st Rnd
Two stars in the twilight of their careers, with very similar stories. Both of them would only play three games before going down with season ending injuries. Both were ageing backs. The only difference was Peterson had a good '15, while Charles tore his ACL the year before and had issues all offseason.

Winner: Jamaal Charles
Reason: There were many red flags on Charles entering last season


(58) Andre Ellington, 2015 IKNAN 4th Rnd v (40) C.J. Spiller, 2014 Forge Flyers 3rd Rnd
'15 was the famous year where Coach Sherwood's first 3 picks were receivers. Ellington was his first RB in round 4, but lost his job early to Chris Johnson and only got 60 points over 10 games. Meanwhile, Spiller had teased his fantasy value for years. '13 he finally delivered. Coach Leach took the bait in '14 and predictably he got 47 points over 9 games. 

Winner: C.J. Spiller
Reason: injury scuppered Ellington, Spiller was always just a tease


(54) Alshon Jeffery, 2015 Jeff's Seals 3rd Rnd v (67) A.J. Green, 2016 ADRZ 1st Rnd
Jeffery has had many an injury over his career, but when he's on the field he's effective, only playing 9 games he got 87 fantasy points. Green is usually on the field, and just as effective. But he was limited to 10 games in '16, still delivering 120 points.

Winner: A.J. Green
Reason: Jeffery was an auto draft pick, Green didn't deliver 1st round value


(61) Melvin Gordon, 2015 Jeff's Seals 4th Rnd v (50) C.J. Anderson, 2015 Forge Flyers 1st Rnd
Gordon was a rookie in '15 and was a tough player to predict. As it would turn out, he did ok in yardage (833) but not a single TD. Anderson meanwhile was tipped to be Denver's starting RB, and he was. He was just rather ineffective, getting only 110 points in 15 games.

Winner: C.J. Anderson
Reason: Anderson did not come close to living up to the hype


(3) DeAngelo Williams, 2010 The Tuckfards 2nd Rnd v (19) Fred Jackson, 2012 Burdettinators 3rd Rnd
Williams has been an explosive player his whole career, and in '10 he was a home run hitter. But he also had the reputation of being a glass cannon. This was the case here, he got 46 points in only 6 games. Fred Jackson meanwhile has been an eternal steady contributor. But due to injury and a committee backfield, he only got 81 points in '12

Winner: DeAngelo Williams
Reason: higher pick, higher injury risk, lower production


(52) Justin Forsett, 2015 The Dream Team 2nd Rnd v (60) Andre Johnson, 2015 The Tuckfards 4th Rnd
Forsett treated Coach Nathwani well in 2014, so he thought he'd go back to the well and catch lightning twice. But as we know, lightning rarely behaves that year. Forsett wound up with only 91 points in 10 games. The Andre Johnson pick is however an early favourite for worst pick of all time. A pick with much back story, not only was Johnson awful in a colts uni (74 points playing all 16 games), Coach Merritt had already drafted Hilton just 2 rounds prior, a fellow colt receiver.

Winner: Andre Johnson
Reason: production alone would have won this, but the astounding decision to take both colts receivers in the first 4 rounds boggles the mind

Bracketology: The Worst Draft Pick of All Time (Honorary Mentions)

Here it is, at long last! I made you wait for it, but that just means it's gonna be that much sweeter! And you'll get to OD on it cause it's gonna come out thick and fast. It's the off-season series back for a third and perhaps final year! And this year we're looking at a good one, perhaps to most interesting one yet: the worst draft pick of all time. It's going to be ugly, and hilarious, and I had a lot to chose from, but it's gonna be fun. Let's kick it off with the honorary mentions that didn't quite make the cut. 

Honorary mentions

(9) Jamaal Charles, rnd 1 pick 3 2011, 13.2 pts, 2 games, ADRZ
So, yes, in terms of value gained for the third overall pick in the draft, this was a colossal bust. But up to this point Charles was a superstar, and you can never predict injuries like a torn ACL. Not the fault of Coach Wells.

(11) Darren McFadden, rnd 2 pick 12 2011, 104.8 pts, 7 games, Bear Necessities
I mean wow. This is a bust because naturally, you do expect more points than that from a second round pick. But jeez, you are reading that right. 100 points over SEVEN games. It was a tail of what could have been for Bear Necessities, but here we are.

(15) Miles Austin, rnd 4 pick 35 2011, 99.9 pts, 10 games, Forge Flyers
Another bust that was due to an injury shortened season. Miles Austin was on pace for 160 fantasy points in 2011, but due to missing 6 games through injury he didn't quite crack 100. Not ideal, but not the end of the world.

(16) Darren McFadden, rnd 2 pick 14 2012, 112.5 pts, 12 games, The Tuckfards
Ahh our first familiar face of the offseason series already. Get used to it, there's a few of them. Seriously, go check the bracket. I'm looking at you Arian Foster. But McFadden was having a good-not-great 2012, not really getting the production you'd want from a 2nd rounder.

(18) Greg Jennings, rnd 3 pick 21 2012, 60.6 pts, 8 games, Bear Necessities
The "my players are always injured" card is holding up for coach Stubbs sr. so far. Greg Jennings wasn't having the best of seasons, but when your season is cut in half that never helps. Only a third round pick, but you would have hoped for more.

(22) Maurice Jones-Drew, rnd 5 pick 42 2012, 62 pts, 6 games, Touchdown Syndrome
This may have been the year jones-drew held out before the season, I can't remember someone fact check for me. But either way, what looked like a steal in the 5th round ending up going the other way. He was having an alright season too. Pity.

(24) Arian Foster, rnd 1 pick 6 2013, 84.5 pts, 8 games, Bear Necessities
There was a time when Arian Foster wasn't known as a walking injury. But that time ceased to exist after 2013. Alas, he was having a pretty good year before the injury troubles started.

(26) Julio Jones, rnd 1 pick 8 2013, 68 pts, 5 games, Tom's Tyrants
Julio Jones has been a fan favourite of coach barnes both on and off the fantasy gridiron for years, and for good reason. Jones was averaging over 13 points a game on 2013. Sadly though, he only had 5 games. A bother that...

(37) Adrian Peterson, rnd 2 pick 18 2014, 9.3 pts, 1 game, The Dream Team
Note to self: when playing professional football, don't hit child with a branch. Should be easy enough to remember right? Coach Nathwani obviously thought so in 2014 when they drafted A.D. Oh boy, how wrong they were. But yeah, can't really fault Viv for not seeing that one coming.

(44) Stevan Ridley, rnd 4 pick 39 2014, 48 pts, 6 games, Jeff's Seals
It's incredible to think that Stevan Ridley is still in the league. I'm not joking, he plays for the broncos currently, look it up. Once upon a time who was a really good running back. This was not one of those times, though a part of that was due to playing 6 games. Ok it's mostly that.

(44) Ray Rice, rnd 5 pick 46 2014, 0 pts, 0 games, The Dream Team
Kind of hard to believe that Viv had both a child beater and a wife beater on his team in 2014. I'd say what are the odds, but the more I think about it, it's probably harder to find someone who doesn't do either of those things in the NFL nowadays. Anyway, Rice wasn't useful unless the NFL suddenly turned into a boxing league in 2014. Spoilers, it didn't. 

(47) Jamaal Charles, rnd 1 pick 5 2015, 80.1 pts, 5 games, ADRZ
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Both times ADRZ invested a 1st round pick in Charles, he tears his ACL. And he was really tearing it up before he went down too. But yeah, once again not really coach wells' fault.

(62) Joseph Randle, rnd 5 pick 54 2015, 64.1 pts, 6 games, The Tuckfards
Look, we all love ragging about Phil's team whenever something unfortunate happens (which has been quite often the last few years might I add), but this is probably one of the more sensible picks Phil ever made, only for it to go wrong in the most bizarre fashion of an arrest. The irony is poetic. 

(63) Arian Foster, rnd 5 pick 57 2015, 55 pts, 4 games, IKNAN
This guy again? I had to take this one out because we all remember coach Sherwood's heroic 3 receiver strategy to start the draft, and when he scooped up Foster he looked like a genius...for the first 4 games until he inevitably got injured. But this was just bad luck really. 

(72) Keenan Allen, rnd 2 pick 24 2016, 6.3 pts, 1 game, The Brady Bunch
And to round out the honourable mentions, Keenan Allen. Coming off a lacerated kidney the year before (which was for some reason the new hip injury everyone wanted to get in the NFL in 2015) Allen looked poised to bounce back in 2016. Unfortunately his knee ligaments disagreed, and they got into a bit of a tussle. Needless to say it didn't end well for anyone involved, least of all Ross, the innocent bystander in all of this. 

2017: A year in review, 2016

Despite some technical issues on the first attempt, rest assured we weren't going to let you go without an episode of the LOC Report this week! Much credit to Co Host Chris Leach who delivered a stellar performance the first time round, but now it's up to Commissioner Stubbs and Coach Burdett to deliver another good performance. Join us today as we spend 5 minutes (ish) discussing how each team did last season.

The comprehensive playoff preview

With Week 14 in the books, we now have our confirmed playoff teams, and also our confirmed forfeit playoff teams. Regardless of what has happened to this point and how the teams got there, each coach faces only one task now - win. In the case of the playoffs, for glory, in the case of the forfeit playoffs...well, we'll have to see - these have added spice don't forget, as it's a two week long match up. On that note, please submit your "forfeit" or "reward" once agreed with your opponent to the commissioner. Here we go.

Playoffs

(1) Patistan v (4) IKNAN
This is a great match up. Two division rivals all year long, who played each other in the final week. IKNAN had to win to make playoffs, and make playoffs they did. They've been good all season long, and they just squeaked their way in. Patistan meanwhile started out 0-4, went 8-0. then went 1-3 down the stretch. Have Patistan peaked too early and lost their edge? Or were they simply resting up for the playoffs? They absolutely still have the great roster they did before, but make no mistake this is going to be a competitive game.

(2) The Dream Team v (3) ADRZ
A rematch of round 1 of the playoffs last year, and The Dream Team has a chance to get revenge. Not only this, they have a shot to return to the final after losing it in 2014. ADRZ however is fighting to become the first coach to win two seasons in a row. Three teams have gone to the Corona Bowl twice in two years, all of them left with an L the second time. And this is an even match up, both teams have moments of brilliance, and both have been disappointing at times. Both teams have cooled a bit the last couple of weeks, so this will be one heck of a game to watch.


Forfeit Playoffs

The Special Brew Bowl: (11) Burdettinators v (12) The Tuckfards
After the Corona Bowl, this is the bowl game people are most interested in. And boy, it even gives the Corona Bowl a run for its money. These two LOC greats, who met each other in the Corona Bowl only 3 years ago, now face each other in the losers bowl. I can't wait to find out what the forfeit will be with these guys. We all know the story, The Tuckfards has Burdettinators number, but Burdettinators got the trophy from them. This is going to be one heck of a game.

The forfeits: If Burdettinators win, Phil has to change his team name to Tanky McTankface. If The Tuckfards win, Ollie has to let Phil change his team logo, permanently.


The Fruit Bowl: (5) Cash4Gould v (6) Bear Necessities
Two division rivals, and two playoff hopefuls, face off for the Fruit Bowl. Both these teams had a shot at the wildcard, but both fell just short. Now they face each other to clamour for the right to 5th place. It's a dynamic match up between one of the league's most experienced and least experienced, a Rookie against a Veteran. Both teams are evenly matched as well. Here's a little sweetener though, both of them are Bears fans, so at least it should be a friendly game.

The forfeits: If Cash4Gould wins, Coach Stubbs Sr has to say well done to Coach Gardner. If Bear Necessities wins, Coach Garnder has to say well done to Coach Stubbs Sr...thrilling right?


The Fish Bowl: (7) The Brady Bunch v (8) Gridiron Gang
Two teams that fought each other tooth and nail to even get a chance at the playoffs...ultimately came no where near. Despite being two of the highest scoring teams this year, both didn't bring home the wins they needed. Now they'll face each other, meaning we'll have 3 weeks of fantasy football between these two. Coach Stubbs Jr isn't thrilled about facing Brady 3 weeks in a row...this could be a vengeance game for taking the QB in the draft.

The forfeits: If Gridiron Gang wins, Coach Nunn has to go to the draft in a dolphin costume. If The Brady Bunch wins, Coach Stubbs Jr has to wear women's underwear over his suit at the draft.


The Soup Bowl: (9) Forge Flyers v (10) Tom's Tyrants
A tale of two seasons in the Soup Bowl. Forge Flyers started slow and caught fire late on, only to flame out near the end. Tom's Tyrants meanwhile had a hot middle, but it turns out they were just travelling from one cold pole, as they had a cold start and finish. None of that matters now though, as the Co-Host of the LOC Report goes toe to toe with the EDOTLOCCA. Coach Leach will just be happy he's not playing in yet another loses bowl, while Tom's Tyrants would love to win it to end a disappointing season on a high.

The forfeits: TBC

Power Rankings: The playoff hopefuls

Instead of the traditional power rankings, which at this stage of the season is a bit moot, we'll transition to my usual playoff hopefuls article, where I pluck numbers out of the air and guess the likelihood of the playoff teams. Only ADRZ and Patistan have confirmed playoff places, while The Tuckfards, Forge Flyers, Burdettinators and Tom's Tyrants have been eliminated. But don't forget for those of you already eliminated, we have the forfeit playoffs this year, so start thinking of punishments/rewards for beating your opponent - there is still plenty to play for!

The following rankings are based on the most likely scenarios, meaning the top 2 are likely to be your remaining playoff teams. However, I will also include my own personal % chance of the scenario panning out, just to add a bit of flavour. Next to the team name is that team's possible routes to the playoffs. Please note that I've ignored the possibility of Gridiron Gang or The Brady Bunch tying...if this happens neither has a chance at playoffs, and Cash4Gould, IKNAN and Bear Necessities would be the only eligible teams for the wildcard.

The Hopefuls

1. The Dream Team 8-5: Division winner (99.9%) or wildcard (99.99999%)

- Coach Nathwani's team is on this list really in name value alone. They've achieved a playoff berth, they just need the games to happen on Sunday to confirm it. With one more win than any of the other contenders and a far superior point total, they are basically in.
- The only way they don't make playoffs is if they lose and are outscored by 2 of Cash4Gould, Bear Necessities and IKNAN. Those teams would  all need to win, and to outscore The Dream Team by 78, 123, and 85 respectively.

- So yeah, unless Viv benches all his players, he's made the playoffs. Just to add a tiny bit of spice, they're also playing Cash4Gould in the last week, which should be a good game.


2. Cash4Gould 7-6: Division winner (0.1%) or wildcard (60%)

- As mentioned above, Coach Gardner's chances of winning the division are slim to none, so I won't go into this.
- However, the wildcard is a distinct possibility. If Cash4Gould win and Bear Necessities and IKNAN lose, they make playoffs.
- If IKNAN and Bear Necessities win, Coach Gardner must win and maintain their point lead of 7 and 45 respectively over IKNAN and Bear Necessities, then they get the wildcard
- If they lose, they would need both IKNAN and Bear Necessities to lose, whilst also outscoring the winner of Gridiron Gang v The Brady Bunch (which would require them to outscore them by 86 or 44 respectively).

- So really, Cash4Gould just need to win and outscore IKNAN and Bear Necessities and their chances are good. As stated, they are playing The Dream Team, so it should be a competitive game.


3. Bear Necessities 7-6: Division winner (0.000001%) or wildcard (55%)

- Bear Necessities chances of winning the division are even slimmer than Cash4Gould's because they are so far behind in points. It's just not going to happen.
- The wildcard however is quite possible. A win for Bear Necessities and a loss for Cash4Gould and IKNAN would see Coach Stubbs Sr. returning to playoffs.
- If either or both of those teams win, Bear Necessities would have to win and out score Cash4Gould by 45 and IKNAN by 38.
- If Bear Necessities lose, they would need Cash4Gould and IKNAN to lose, then to outscore the winner of Gridiron Gang v The Brady Bunch by 131 or 89 respectively.

- So again, Bear Necessities needs to win first and foremost, and get some points to boot. They are helped by the softest match up of all these playoff hopefuls, they play The Tuckfards.


4. IKNAN 7-6: Wildcard (50%)
- With Patistan having won their division, Coach Sherwood's only hope is the wildcard, which they are firmly in the race for. If they win and Cash4Gould and Bear Necessities lose, they make the playoffs.
- If IKNAN lose, they need Cash4Gould and Bear Necessities to lose, whilst outscoring Cash 4 Gould by 7 and maintaining their 38 point lead over Bear Necessities. They would also need to outscore the winner of Gridiron Gang and The Brady Bunch by 93 points or 51 points respectively.

- Put simply, IKNAN just needs to win and outscore Cash4Gould by 7, that is their easiest route to the playoffs. They face the toughest match up of the lot however, the league leading Patistan.


T5. Gridiron Gang 6-7: Wildcard (30%)
- Due to ADRZ locking up the division this past week, Gridiron Gang can only achieve a wildcard. This is actually a simpler scenario, as Coach Stubbs Jr. just needs to win and for Cash4Gould, Bear Necessities and IKNAN to all lose. Gridiron Gang are leading the league in points, so they just need to maintain their point lead over the aforementioned (86, 131, 93).

- As I said, simple. Win and get some help is all Gridiron Gang need. They play The Brady Bunch in a show down for a chance at the playoffs.


T5. The Brady Bunch 6-7: Wildcard (30%)
- Coach Nunn is in the exact same boat as Gridiron Gang. They need to win and for Cash4Gould, Bear Necessities and IKNAN to all lose. Their point totals are not as good as Gridiron Gang's, but are substantially higher than the other playoff hopefuls, needing to maintain a lead of 44 over Cash 4 Gould, 89 over Bear Necessities, and 51 over IKNAN.

- Another simple one. They need to win and get some help in a division thriller against Gridiron Gang.


Summary
- The obvious choice is The Dream Team, they've made playoffs. Past that, it's really tough to call. I think it's fair to say if either IKNAN or Cash4Gould win it's a bit of an upset, so I'd say Bear Necessities probably have a good chance of getting the wildcard. However, if IKNAN or Cash4Gould win, one of them will be the wildcard team. In the unlikely event that all three of them lose (though in the league this year it wouldn't be too surprising), the wildcard team would be Gridiron Gang or The Brady Bunch. These two have both looked marvelous and average at times this year, so this should be a thrilling game. As always, stay tuned for the results on Sunday.

Power Rankings: Week 13

While my will to write these seems to be waning with every passing weeks (most likely due to my own team's misfortunes), I am determined to not miss an edition of the power rankings this season! And, begin!

Power Rankings

1. Patistan, 9-3 (1): The League's finest is one small step closer to 10 wins, and one giant leap closer to the playoffs. Sorry couldn't resist the word play, Coach Allen has actually achieved a playoff berth in only his second season, congratulations. What more can be said? They get to enjoy the next two weeks of fantasy now (a rare reward).

2. ADRZ, 7-5 (3): The continually perplexing case of ADRZ finds itself in second this week. This team is capable of brilliant performances and absolute stinkers. But to Coach Well's credit, they've had more of the former than the latter in recent weeks. They're a stones throw from the playoffs as it stands.

3. The Dream Team, 7-5 (4): The now fully established, definitely not under the radar Dream Team are flourishing with their bad luck now transferred to others. They came up with a huge division win last week, and find themselves one step closer to a return to the playoffs. While not bullet proof, they are very good.

4. IKNAN, 6-6 (2): I'm really not sure what to make of them. They are very similar to Burdettinators, albeit with significantly better luck. Last week was not a good week, and it's not the first like it, but they got the win and find themselves in prime position for a wildcard. Whether they can pull it off or not, we shall see.

5. Burdettinators, 5-7 (5): Boy. This team is 5th purely cause of the bad luck. Look, we know Coach Burdett has channeled my own ability to consistently pick the wrong players, but in a 12 team league that's just bad luck as opposed to bad judgement. They've been above average for them lately, and that might be enough to sneak it.

6. Forge Flyers, 5-7 (6): Forge Flyers has cooled a tad the last couple of weeks, but they've still posted over 100 points each outing so that's jut fine. But they didn't bring home the W, and it's put them on precarious footing when it comes to playoffs. They've got every chance to make it, but they're up against it. 

7. Cash4Gould, 6-6 (7): The Rookie coach has really had a nice resurgence in the last few weeks, and they are squarely in the running. It's no secret why, Aaron Rodgers has been fire, Elliot is a rookie sensation, and cooper is a beast. The holy trinity can fail at times, but as far as trinities go there are few better.

8. The Brady Bunch, 6-6 (9): The continuously hard to predict Brady Bunch continues to surprise. Like I say all the time, Brady gives the team the floor they need, and Coach Nunn relies on the rest to bring it home. That is absolutely not a given, but they've got a mean streak, and it could take them to the playoffs.

9. Gridiron Gang, 5-7 (8): This team just ran out of steam I think. They had a few bitter losses over the last two months, but at this point the team just looks a bit gassed. They have great options at many positions, but a glaring weakness at one, and that's what is letting them down right now. Maybe i could play receiver for Gridiron Gang...

10. Bear Necessities, 6-6 (10): Another team that just looks a bit gassed. I'm a crucial division game last week, Bear Necessities just weren't up to it, and it casts a large shadow over their playoff hopes. They are still in play for a playoff spot, but with the other competition it's a tall order.

11. Tom's Tyrants, 5-7 (11): You'll forgive me for perhaps speeding through these last few, because for the first time this season, the cutlery is coming out. While they can still achieve a playoff berth, Tom's Tyrants have not been good lately, and I can't see that changing enough to save their season. Stick a fork in them, they're done.

12. The Tuckfards, 5-7 (12): Another team in the same situation as above. This team does have the Shaman himself, but even Coach Merritt doesn't have enough power to save The Tuckfards season. Stick a fork in them, they're done.

2016: I hope you like 5 and 6

Welcome to a historic episode of the LOC Report, as it is the first where we will be doing a live stream! Commissioner Stubbs and Co Host Chris Leach are here to talk you through the incredibly tight LOC, taking a look at least week and a preview at next. Don't forget to comment and we'll read them out live!