Draft Grades for Every Championship Dynasty Team

The 2023 Championship Dynasty Rookie Draft - our sixth! - is in the books. What was touted to be one of the strongest classes of the past decade may have disappointed some, but there were clear strong players and values to be had. Some trades did shake up the order of picks, and after a chalky top 7 there were some reaches and some falls.

We have graded all 12 draft classes - from the teams with one pick to the teams with six - to give a perspective on the draft philosophy of out teams, or at least something to ridicule when the takes are proven wrong in a few years' time.

bdawg

Picks

Bijan Robinson, RB, ATL - 1.01

Devon Achane, RB, MIA - 2.01

Cedric Tilman, WR, CLE - 3.01

You can't go wrong with Bijan wherever you pick him - 1.01 is still great value. bdawg didn't trade out or move off, and Bijan will slot into a solid RB room. Achane at the top of the 2nd and Tilman at the top of the 3rd are both good picks, with each being a 3rd round NFL pick. Achane could be the lead back in Miami and is likely the 4th best RB in the class, and Tilman has a chance to emerge in a thin WR room in Cleveland.

Draft Grade: A

jackmeenan

Picks

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, DET - 1.02

Rashee Rice, WR, KC - 3.02

Israel Abanikanda, RB, NYJ - 3.10 Tyler Scott, WR, CHI - 3.11

Another good draft haul, jackmeenan leaves their first Championship Dynasty draft with a top-tier RB and great value in later rounds. Considering Skyy Moore went 1.07 last year, Rice at 3.02 is excellent value, and Abanikanda was a darling of the pre-draft process. Similar to Tilman, Scott has the potential to become the #2 WR in an emerging offense in Chicago.

Draft Grade: A

RobbieK

Picks

Jaxon Smith-Njigba - 1.03

Dalton Kincaid - 1.07

Michael Mayer - 1.09

The consensus best WR in the class, JSN is a good pick who fits a new need with RobbieK, having traded away 2 receivers in the offseason. Clearly addressing a bigger need, RobbieK traded up to get the class' best TE in Kincaid, and doubled down with Mayer 2 picks later, hoping at least 1 will pan out. With the other TEs in the class lasting til much later, it is likely Mayer was a reach, and giving up a 3rd next year doesn't help the overall value of the class.

Draft Grade: B

MQNKEYMATT

Picks

Zach Evans, RB, LAR - 3.04

With only 1 pick in the whole draft, MQNKEYMATT will likely still be happy - having given up their 1st round pick for Justin Jefferson. Evans wasn't particularly highly drafted, but has a path to touches with Akers' health still being uncertain. MQNKEYMATT will hope the former five-star can carve out a role, and provide points to supplement their elite WRs.

Draft Grade: B

AndyP

Picks

Quentin Johnson, WR, LAC - 1.05

Bryce Young, QB, CAR - 2.05

AndyP addressed their 2 clear needs here, being very deep at RB and set at TE. Johnson was the 2nd NFL WR drafted, so getting him as the 3rd receiver is good value. Young should be able to provide more upside than AndyP's current starter in Kirk Cousins - and at 2.05 is no major loss if he doesn't.

Draft Grade: A-

Wham921

Picks

Jordan Addison, WR, MIN - 1.04

Zay Flowers, WR, BAL - 1.06

Anthony Richardson, QB, IND - 1.08

Jonathan Mingo, WR, CAR - 1.11

Kendre Miller, RB, NO - 2.04

Jalin Hyatt, WR, NYG - 2.11

Having the most picks in the class, Wham921 supplements an already strong roster with more upside. They nabbed two 1st round pick WRs, the first QB in our draft; along with other highly drafted NFL prospects. It's hard to give a bad grade to a class with many high picks like this one - the main question that remains to be answered is was this the class to load up on picks for?

Draft Grade: A-

amccann

Picks

Jayden Reed, WR, GB - 2.03

Tank Dell, WR, HOU - 3.07

Amccann only had 2 picks in the draft, but started with 1 - they moved down form 1.07 to 2.03, and picked up two 3rds in the process. Reed and Dell were both highly drafted WRs - in particular, getting Dell (drafted at #69 overall) at 3.07 is great value. With what was available at 1.07 for them, getting two 3rds and picking a 2nd round WR is a good deal.

Draft Grade: A-

leathershoe4

Picks

Zach Charbonnet, RB, SEA - 1.10

C.J. Stroud, QB, HOU - 2.09

Kayshon Boutte, WR, NE - 3.03

Luke Schoonmaker, TE, DAL - 3.05

Sean Tucker, RB, TB - 3.08

Leathershoe4 had a good number of picks in this draft, and was the only manager to draft a player at every position. They therefore got a lot of players who could fill depth roles but might not serve to be home-runs - Charbonnet is a value at #10 but goes into a timeshare, Stroud doesn't have the mobility that recent successful fantasy QBs have, and Boutte has not nearly lived up to his five-star status. Despite this, their spread of positions may lead to this being a successful draft for what they need - consolidating a strong starting roster that they already have.

Draft Grade: B+

ajcsmit

Picks

Tre Tucker, WR, LV - 3.09

Another class with just one pick, ajcsmit opted for the 3rd round WR out of Cincinnati. 3.09 is (almost) free so there is little risk, but at 5'9'' it's unlikely Tucker carves out more than a gadget or field-stretcher role. Las Vegas has few good options at WR, however, so early opportunity may be there for Tucker.

Draft Grade: B

Scuba_Eli

Picks

Roschon Johnson, RB, CHI - 2.10

Johnson was a riser in the pre-draft process, living in the generational shadow of Bijan. A good player in his own right, Johnson has the rushing, pass-blocking and receiving skills to see early NFL work. With an aging RB corps, Scuba_Eli may be able to slot Johnson in as insurance, and hope he can take over the role that David Montgomery vacated.

Draft Grade: A

HChishty

Picks

Marvin Mims, WR, DEN - 2.02

Josh Downs, WR, IND - 2.06

Tank Bigsby, RB, JAX - 2.07

Sam LaPorta, TE, DET - 2.08

Luke Musgrave, TE, GB - 3.06

In their first Championship Dynasty draft, HChishty made a number of interesting choices. Like RobbieK, they doubled up at TE - but with much lower draft capital to do so. Where RobbieK took Mayer (drafted #35) at 1.10; HChishty took LaPorta (drafted at #34) 10 picks later, then Musgrave (drafted #42) 20 picks later. Mims and Downs are both risks (Mims as an upside athlete and Downs as a small but productive prospect), and Bigsby is an RB with good draft capital - all good risks to take in the 2nd round.

Draft Grade: A

Xuande

Picks

Tyjae Spears, RB, TEN - 1.12

Chase Brown, RB, CIN - 2.12

Evan Hull, RB, IND - 3.12

Our champion clearly looked to shore up their biggest need in the draft. Taking Spears, Brown and Hull, they clearly didn't hold draft capital above all else - Spears having gone at #81, Brown at #163 and Hull at #176. There are opportunities available in those backfields through age and possible injury - but Xuande did pass up on players that may have scored good points at other positions on their team. With the winning roster they have, perhaps Xuande thinks they can do just fine with what they have.

Draft Grade: B