The annual NFL Celebrity League draft was held on Thursday, Aug. 23, and it had its share of surprises (as you'll see in the full draft below). This 12-team league includes myself, Jerry Cantrell and defending champion Mike Inez from Alice in Chains, actors Jerry O'Connell and David Boreanaz, WWE Superstars The Miz and Nikki and Brie of the The Bella Twins, Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, former NFL greats and fantasy football superstars LaDainian Tomlinson and Maurice Jones-Drew and Big Cazz from Big Time Wrestling.
The league has a PPR format that also rewards players points for return yards and touchdowns. It requires each owner to start one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, two flexes (RB/WR/TE), one kicker and one defense. Each owner will have six bench spots and two reserve spots, which can be used for five designations based on NFL.com guidelines.
Here are the draft results. Who had the best draft?
Round 1
Notes: This round went chalk for the most part, though Boreanaz surprised everyone with his selection of Hopkins at No. 6 overall ahead of Kamara and Barkley. Miz landed the Giants rookie running back at No. 9, which is the lowest I've seen him go in a re-draft. Kamara came off the board at No. 7 to the Bella Twins. Tomlinson's selection of Allen ahead of Julio Jones was a bit of a surprise for me, though he could just be staying faithful to his (San Diego/Los Angeles) Chargers roots.
Round 2
Notes: O'Connell will have the best duo of wideouts in this league, as he followed up his selection of Beckham Jr. in Round 1 with Jones in this stanza. The fact that Hunt fell out of the first round of a 12-team league was a surprise. Cantrell scooped him up and will pair him with Fournette in one heck of a fantasy backfield. Some might see Mixon in this round as a reach, but I like him to break out this season, Furthermore, he'd have been long gone if I waited until Round 4 to grab him.
Round 3
Notes: There were a few surprises in this round, none greater than Engram going this high and ahead of Zach Ertz. Boreanaz took Collins a full two rounds earlier than his average draft position, though his selection of Hopkins and Thomas in the first two rounds made drafting a runner almost a no-brainer at this point. Tomlinson selected his second player from the AFC West, grabbing Cooper at the end of the round. He should have a far better campaign in 2018 than last season.
Round 4
Notes: The most telling selection of his round was Tomlinson taking Freeman, whose ADP is more than a round higher. I'd have targeted him in this round or the next if he were still on the board. Overall, a total of three rookie backs went off the board and you could argue each of them was a reach at some level. This draft happened before the announcement of Jeffery being out at least the first two weeks, so he'll fall a round or two in most drafts. Jones went a bit higher than expected.
Round 5
Notes: Big Cazz took the first quarterback (Rodgers) at the top of the round, which might have triggered a small run later that included Wilson, Watson and Brady. Boreanaz landed Smith-Schuster, who he'll pair with Hopkins and Thomas at wide receiver. That's a strong trio for the SEAL team star. Gordon's talent was had to pass up here, as MJD grabbed him at No. 53 overall despite the risks. We also saw a pair of tight ends come off the board (Graham, Olsen) in this round.
Round 6
Notes: Half of the picks in this round were running backs, most of them of the pass-catching variety. Duke Johnson went first, followed by Lynch, Lewis, Thompson, Michel and Mack. Thompson could end up being a steal for Betances, who will use him as his RB2 until Ingram returns from a four-game suspension. Michel, who is back at practice, went ahead of Rex Burkhead. Miz landed a potential gem in Sanders, whose value is rising with Case Keenum under center for the Broncos offense.
Round 7
Notes: Three different Patriots came off the board in this round, led by Edelman. Despite his four-game suspension, he's still a valuable asset and could be a WR2 in PPR leagues upon his return to action. Crowell was drafted ahead of his teammate, Bilal Powell, despite being behind him in preseason action. Inez took Woods one round after Brandin Cooks came off the board. Cantrell could have landed a nice value in Cohen, who has a shot to catch 50-plus passes this season.
Round 8
Notes: The top of the draft started with two potential draft steals in Williams and Anderson. The former looks like a surefire starter in Green Bay's backfield to start the season. Goodwin could also be a nice bargain for Betances at No. 94 overall. This round also saw three straight quarterbacks drafted, including Goff who went ahead of Brees and Roethlisberger. With 10 tight ends off the board, I rolled the dice with Reed despite his proneness to injuries. I'll keep my fingers crossed all year.
Round 9
Notes: This draft happened before Lee went down for the season with a torn ACL, so Big Cazz will have to work the waiver wire to replace him. He was one of four straight wideouts to come off the board to start the round, including potential value picks in Cobb and Crowder. Proving that you can wait on quarterbacks and still get a solid starter, Boreanaz (Wentz), Inez (Cousins) and Cantrell (Stafford) all landed top-10 fantasy signal-callers from one season ago in this round.
Round 10
Notes: Agholor and Garcon could turn into nice draft values for O'Connell and Miz. I was surprised to see Barber still on the board at his point. While rookie Ronald Jones still looms, it's Barber who projects as the Week 1 starter in Tampa Bay. Wainwright didn't draft a single quarterback until this round, and he still landed maybe the biggest breakout candidate at the position in Garoppolo. Good value. Teammates Funchess and Moore both went in this round, but the rookie has more upside.
Round 11
11.121) Big Cazz - Kenny Stills, WR, Miami Dolphins
11.122) Fabiano - George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
11.123) Betances - Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions
11.124) Wainwright - Stephen Gostkowski, K, New England Patriots
11.125) Jones-Drew - Jeremy Hill, RB, New England Patriots
11.126) Boreanaz - Ty Montgomery, RB, Green Bay Packers
11.127) Bella Twins - DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11.128) Inez - Minnesota Vikings defense
11.129) Miz - Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
11.130) Cantrell - Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
11.131) O'Connell - Baltimore Ravens defense
11.132) Tomlinson - Philadelphia Eagles defense
Round 12
12.133) Tomlinson - Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens
12.134) O'Connell - David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns
12.135) Cantrell - T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
12.136) Miz - Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks
12.137) Inez - Cameron Meredith, WR, New Orleans Saints
12.138) Bella Twins - Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders
12.139) Boreanaz - Greg Zuerlein, K, Los Angeles Rams
12.140) Jones-Drew - Matt Bryant, K, Atlanta Falcons
12.141) Wainwright - D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
12.142) Betances - Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
12.143) Fabiano - Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
12.144) Big Cazz - Doug Martin, RB, Oakland Raiders
Round 13
13.145) Big Cazz - Dez Bryant, WR, free agent
13.146) Fabiano - Devontae Booker, RB, Denver Broncos
13.147) Betances - Latavius Murray, RB, Minnesota Vikings
13.148) Wainwright - Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions
13.149) Jones-Drew - Houston Texans defense
13.150) Boreanaz - O.J. Howard, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
13.151) Bella Twins - Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders
13.152) Inez - Wil Lutz, K, New Orleans Saints
13.153) Miz - Charles Clay, TE, Buffalo Bills
13.154) Cantrell - Chris Boswell, K, Pittsburgh Steelers
13.155) O'Connell - Case Keenum, QB, Denver Broncos
13.156) Tomlinson - Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Round 14
14.157) Tomlinson - Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
14.158) O'Connell - Quincy Enunwa, WR, New York Jets
14.159) Cantrell - New Orleans Saints defense
14.160) Miz - Michael Gallup, WR, Dallas Cowboys
14.161) Inez - Ted Ginn, WR, New Orleans Saints
14.162) Bella Twins - Denver Broncos defense
14.163) Boreanaz - John Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens
14.164) Jones-Drew - Rishard Matthews, WR, Tennessee Titans
14.165) Wainwright - Los Angeles Chargers defense
14.166) Betances - Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
14.167) Fabiano - Alex Smith, QB, Washington Redskins
14.168) Big Cazz - Cameron Brate, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 15
15.169) Big Cazz - Allen Hurns, WR, Dallas Cowboys
15.170) Fabiano - Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15.171) Betances - New England Patriots defense
15.172) Wainwright - Jordan Wilkins, RB, Indianapolis Colts
15.173) Jones-Drew - Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
15.174) Boreanaz - Geronimo Allison, WR, Green Bay Packers
15.175) Bella Twins - Christian Kirk, WR, Arizona Cardinals
15.176) Inez - Javorius Allen, RB, Baltimore Ravens
15.177) Miz - Cleveland Browns defense
15.178) Cantrell - Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
15.179) O'Connell - Tyrod Taylor, QB, Cleveland Browns
15.180) Tomlinson - Carolina Panthers defense
Round 16
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for all of the latest fantasy news, notes and analysis!
