"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." - Sun Tzu

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Welcome back. If you hadn't noticed, June is 2 weeks away and with it comes the most significant event for the rest of 2024: The Rookie Draft.

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The first rookie draft in the Colosseum's short time as a league should not disappoint, with 1st round predictability balanced with guaranteed pandamonium in the middle and later rounds. Not only that, but this NFL draft had one of the most offensively loaded top 40s of our lifetimes. We should have 1st round NFL draft picks going in the 2nd round of our rookie draft. Who's horny?

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Now, if you're a casual dynasty player with no care for/sense of where we exist in the timeline of FF history, stop reading (and go choke your chicken). However, if you're fiend - enjoy.

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Have you found yourself thinking the current crop of NFL talent just isn't what it was a few years ago? I'm looking at Malik Nabers valued at WR9 before playing a snap and had to see what it was like 10 years ago. Obviously the NFL is more pass happy now, but still. The 2014 draft is famously legendary, with OBJ, Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins, Davante Adams, Brandin Cooks & more entering the NFL. In 2015, Amari Cooper went 4th overall - same pick as MHJ who is valued at WR5 on KTC - yet Amari was WR18 in dynasty rankings. He had 1000 yards and still wasn't top 10 the following year.

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You might be thinking, like I was, "that's gotta be because rookies weren't getting as much playing time" or that dynasty players didn't value them properly. Probably part of it, but it's mostly because the players in front of him were insanely fucking good.

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In 2015, the top dynasty wide receivers were:

1) 26 year old Antonio Brown in god mode

2) 26 year old Julio Jones throwing up 1600 yards in his sleep

3) 26 year old Dez Bryant averaging 14 TDs per year

4) 22 year old Odell Beckham JR coming off the craziest fucking catch and rookie season ever

5) 27 year old Demaryius Thomas catching passes from Prime Broncos Peyton

6) 21 year old Mike Evans coming off an insane rookie year

7) 26 year old AJ Green in the middle of his prime

8) 24 year old Randall Cobb coming off 1300 and 12 with Rodgers

9) 23 year old Alshon "Jump Ball Jesus" Jeffery

10) 23 year old Deandre Hopkins still hadn't even hit his stride

11) 29 year old GOAT Calvin Johnson

12) 29 year old Jordy Nelson dominating with Rodgers

13) 25 year old Ty Hilton being thrown to by prime Andrew Luck

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and that's just WR. At RB, we had Lev Bell, Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, rookie Todd Gurley and even more ridiculous shit. Point is, the league was DEEP. Don't get me wrong, these rookies should be sick, but young players are cracking the top 10 due to lack of superstar talent. It ebbs and flows and we're getting desperate for some got damn flow.

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All of that to say, we're due and the 2024 class should begin the party for the next few years (tank for 2025 anyone?). Be a victorious warrior like Sun Tzu said and win before the battle by securing 2024 Colosseum draft pick(s). With that out of the way, enjoy your 2024 regular season schedule.‍