2011 Draft Grades – Batavia Colliders

Well, it’s January, and the Super Bowl is still a week-and-a-half away.  So what better time than now to discuss last year’s Immersion Draft Class?

When the Immersion was founded in 2010 by the brain trust that is Adam Franssen and Josh Hammond, it was determined that the best way to acquire talent would be through an auction.  Winning bids would become the salaries for that player.

We’ve learned a lot since then.  I, for one, learned that getting all excited about the prospect of having defensive players is no reason to go overboard when paying for them.  The Colliders were definitely victims of Enright’s Folly in that regard.

But we also learned that we loved the auction format for player acquisition.  It’s definitely the most fair way to do it.  Still, I love the draft.  I love the NFL draft in April, and I have always loved doing fantasy drafts.

And that’s where the Immersion stands above all other leagues.  We get the best of both worlds, Miley Cyrus style (what’s wrong with a five-year old pop-culture reference every now and then?  I submit that there’s nothing wrong with it.)

When Immersion players find themselves out of contract, then they enter the free agent pool, where they are awarded to the highest bidder in an auction.  The SIPA (SCUFFLE Immersion Player’s Association) loves the auction, as it pits owner against owner in a high-pressure situation…and usually the players are the ones to benefit with exorbitant salaries (see Cassell, Matt.)

The owners get a break, though, with the Immersion Draft.  The draft is where teams can select rookies or any other player who finds himself without a team.  The coup for the owners is that these players are subject to the rookie wage scale, and they are not allowed to hold out during their initial three year deal.  At the conclusion of those deals, they become restricted free agents, and if they are signed away from their teams, then those owners are compensated.  Sometimes an owner can strike fantasy gold in the draft (see Newton, Cam, and his $13 holdout-proof contract.)

And all of that (finally) brings me to the point of this article (or should I say, series of articles?)  Which owners were able to strike fantasy gold?  And which owners are the Jerry Angelos of the league, who continue to strike out?  I’m going to do my best to determine that in my upcoming series of articles.

First up: your 2011 Immersion Champions.

Batavia Colliders

Studs

The Colliders hit on their very first pick. Julio Jones was a big asset when he was in the lineup.  His continued improvement gives the Colliders a nice WR duo with Calvin Johnson.  Third round pick Patrick Peterson was also an impact player, thanks to being a punt returning hero.  The problem with Peterson, however, is that Hammond didn’t sign him to his rookie deal.  Instead, he allowed him to become a free agent and then signed him to just over half of what he would have paid the corner.  Hammond’s miserly ways are being repaid with a contract holdout that he could have avoided had he just sucked it up and signed the man.

But the real gem of this draft was Mr. Irrelevant.  Hammond selected safety Jairus Byrd with the last pick.  Byrd was coming off of a disappointing season and was largely under the radar, but the Colliders boast one of the top talent evaluators in the game (director of Pro Personnel Josh Hammond.)  Byrd, who makes the league minimum and cannot hold out, led all safeties in scoring in 2011, and played a large role in helping the Colliders to the championship.

Misses

Hammond got a little too excited about TE Rob Housler and WR Niles Paul.  Both players garnered a lot of press in offseason, but of course being a hero during the lockout does not necessarily mean anything when it comes to the regular season.  Give Hammond credit for at least recognizing his error and parting ways with the suckbos.

Hammond did sign several other picks that didn’t do much for him in 2011.  Of those, the probable misses are LB Martez Wilson and RB Delone Carter.  Wilson was highly touted coming out of college, but couldn’t beat out the likes of Scott Shanle for a starting LB position in New Orleans.  Hammond was correct in his assumption that Joseph Addai would be hurt, as usual, but Carter didn’t take advantage of his opportunities.  He seems to be a bruiser, but nobody could put him on the field since he loves nothing more than to fumble the football.  If these players don’t step up in year two, they will likely find themselves in the unemployment line.

Too Soon to Tell

Da’Quan Bowers seems to have a lot of talent.  But he didn’t quite hit his stride until the end of the season.  Bowers did show some big play capability, finishing one game with upwards of 25 points (Pierre-Paul territory.)  With a new coaching regime in Tampa, Bowers could end up being a good defensive end, having already shown that he can play the run.  The trick for him is getting into the starting lineup regularly.

Mikell Leshoure is a total wild card.  Hammond drafted him after his season ending injury happened, knowing that he could just stash him on IR and pay him the league minimum salary.  It’s completely unknown if Leshoure can even play in the league, but it’s not like there’s much standing in his way in Detroit.  He should at least get a chance.  If he does something with it, then Hammond’s low-risk pick will have paid off.

The Grade

It’s hard to argue with the word “championship.”  And three of Hammond’s draft picks were big time contributors to the cause.  The Jairus Byrd pick alone deserves a lot of credit.  So, for the time being, let’s go with the grade of A-.  That grade can become a solid A if Bowers turns out to be worth the price of admission.

Hammond goes into the 2012 draft with an astounding 13 picks…3 of which are in the first round.  That should give him plenty of flexibility in terms of moving around to get the guys he wants.  But will he capture lightning in a bottle again?  With so many picks, he definitely has room for error.  As 2011 proved, hitting on a few guys can go a long way in helping you reach the pinnacle of Immersion success.

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© 2012, Josh Hammond. All rights reserved.