“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn” is a quote from American author Hal Borland. As we sit inside our houses with a cold front that makes us think of the movie The Day After Tomorrow, there’s nothing on about football except Super Bowl coverage.

If you’re looking for something other than coverage of the Patriots and the Rams, let’s talk spring football — not your local college’s inner squad game, or spring practices, or the NFL draft. Let’s talk AAF fantasy football ADPs.

That’s right, it’s time to start diving into the players being drafted and where you should be scouting them when it comes to your own draft. Many of these players are people we’ve never heard of, so when gauging these ADPs, take them with a grain of salt. Nobody has any clue how people are going to perform in this league.

Breaking down the quarterback position first is tough to do. There are teams like the Memphis Express, who have Zach Mettenberger, Christian Hackenberg, and Ryan Mallet, each one of whom could be the team’s starter. When it comes to drafting one of them, you’ll have to just go with who you think is best. After enough drafts have been compiled, here’s how it looks.

1. Trevor Knight – QB – Arizona Hotshots

2. Mike Bercovici – QB – San Diego Fleet

3. Aaron Murray – QB – Atlanta Legends

4. Dustin Vaughan – QB – San Antonio Commanders

5. Christian hackenberg – QB – Memphis Express

6. BJ Daniels – QB – Salt Lake Stallions

7. Stephen Morris – QB – Orlando Apollos

8. Garrett Gilbert – QB – Orlando Apollos

9. Josh Johnson – QB – N/A

10. Mike Fafaul – QB – N/A

11. Josh Woodrum – QB – Salt Lake Stallions

12. Zach Mettenberger – QB – Memphis Express

13. Luis Perez – QB – Birmingham Iron

14. Ryan Mallett – QB – Memphis Express

These will start to work themselves out once we get depth charts announced and final team cuts, but even going into week one, it’s still a mystery. Trevor Knight, who had a good sophomore season with the Oklahoma Sooners, leads the QB list. He transferred his senior year to Texas A&M, where he passed for 2,432 yards and 19 touchdowns. He never got a chance to play in an NFL game, but many seem to think he will win the starting spot in Arizona. However, another player to keep an eye on, someone who hasn’t even been drafted in an AAF league yet, is John Wolford, who went 9/14 with 116 yards a touchdown and a two point conversion in Arizona’s preseason game.

Aaron Murray is the first big name, coming in as the third-most drafted QB. Yet as more drafts start to unravel, I assume he’ll jump to the pole position. He may have to step his game up, though, with Matt Simms out performing him in the preseason game. Murray finished 9/14, 88 yards and two interceptions, whereas Simms went 6/9, 63 yards and a two-point conversion.

Dustin Vaughan is getting some attention as the possible starter for SA.

Hackenberg leads the three Memphis QBs for now, but since Mallet is a late entry, he may see a huge uptick in draft stock. We’ll see if he’s ready for week one though. In their preseason game, Hackenberg went 9/15 with 128 yards and a touchdown and looked better than Mettenberger, who went 2/2 for 8 yards and two sacks.

Josh Johnson lands at 9th on this list after being the first QB taken in the AAF QB Draft. However, after leaving for the Redskins, it’s up in the air if he’ll return to the AAF to play this season.

The running back position is loaded with some more familiar names, but you’ll still notice a few of the less-known players have been drafted more often than the old guys we used to know.

1. Denard Robinson – RB – Atlanta Legends

2. D’Ernest Johnson – RB – Orlando Apollos

3. Zac Stacy – RB – Memphis Express

4. Trent Richardson – RB – Birmingham Iron

5. Matt Asiata – RB – Salt Lake Stallions

6. Larry Rose – RB – Arizona Hotshots

7. Ladarius Perkins – RB – Birmingham Iron

8. Bishop Sankey – RB – San Diego Fleet

9. John Crockett – RB – Arizona Hotshots

10. Akeem Hunt – RB – Orlando Apollos

11. Daryl Richardson – RB – San Antonio Commanders

12. Akrum Wadley – RB – Atlanta Legends

13. Justin Crawford – RB – N/A

14. Mark Herndon – RB – Orlando Apollos

15. Kenneth Farrow – RB – San Antonio Commanders

16. Branden Oliver – RB – Salt Lake Stallions

17. Trey Williams – RB – San Antonio Commanders

18. David Cobb – RB – San Antonio Commanders

19. Jhurell Pressley – RB – Arizona Hotshots

20. Khalfani Muhammad – RB – N/A

21. Marshaun Coprich – RB – Birmingham Iron

22. Tim Cook – RB – Arizona Hotshots

23. D’Maujeric Tuker – RB – N/A

It’s easy to look at this list and immediately note that Shoelace Robinson is number one, but that’s not the only thing I notice. Looking at the Atlanta Legends team, they have the third-most drafted QB, along with the most-drafted RB. Robinson finished with one yard on one carry for one touchdown in their preseason game.

We also notice that D’Ernest Johnson is favored over teammate Akeem Hunt.

Memphis has three potential starting QBs alongside Zac Stacy, a veteran RB. Even though Stacy is one of the more highly-regarded players, he finished the preseason game with just two rushes for a loss of one yard and one catch for 23 yards.

It seems as if people are drafting Ladarius Perkins in case Richardson can’t handle the full workload of a 10-game season, even though Richardson is the clear starter. He finished the preseason game with four carries for 15 yards and one catch for 11 yards.

Looking at names like David Cobb, Branden Oliver, Kenneth Farrow and everyone else brings back great memories.

When it comes to the receivers, a lot of the well-known names are in the middle of the pack, apparently thought of as too old for this position. As you can see, this list is littered with newcomers at the top.

1. Sam Mobley – WR – Salt Lake Stallions

2. Kyle Lewis – WR – San Diego Fleet

3. Josh Stewart – WR – San Antonio Commanders

4. Josh Huff – WR – Arizona Hotshots

5. Mekale McKay – WR – San Antonio Commanders

6. Stephen Hill – WR – Atlanta Legends

7. Frankie Hammond – WR – Orlando Apollos

8. Kenny Bell – WR – Salt Lake Stallions

9. Dres Anderson – WR – Salt Lake Stallions

10. Jaelen Strong – WR – Arizona Hotshots

11. DeQuan Hampton – WR – N/A

12. Charles Johnson – WR – Orlando Apollos

13. Bug Howard – WR – Atlanta Legends

14. Francis Owusu – WR – San Diego Fleet

15. Jordan Reid – WR – N/A

16. Daniel Williams – WR – N/A

17. Alton “Pig” Howard – WR – Memphis Express

18. Chris Givens – WR – Memphis Express

19. Dontez Boyd – WR – Memphis Express

20. James Quick – WR – Atlanta Legends

21. Speedy Noil – WR – San Antonio Commanders

22. Quinton Patton – WR – Birmingham Iron

23. Marquis Bundy – WR – Arizona Hotshots

24. Brandon Shed – WR – San Antonio Commanders

25. Freddie Martino – WR – Arizona Hotshots

26. Donteea Dye Jr – WR – Orlando Apollos

27. Rashad Ross – WR – Arizona Hotshots

28. Seantavius Jones – WR – Atlanta Legends

29. Lonnie Outlaw – WR – Birmingham Iron

30. Fabian Guerra – WR – Memphis Express

31. DeAndrew White – WR – N/A

32. Wyatt Demps – WR – N/A

33. Chris Black – WR – N/A

One of the first guys I will mention, and my favorite receiver entering the year, is the fifth-most drafted WR, Mekale McKay. He looks to be the real deal. He has speed and a catch radius and caught two passes for 45 yards and a touchdown in his preseason game. He is the second Commander being drafted in the top five receivers. Teammate Josh Stewart is being taken third after the Fleet’s Kyle Lewis and the Stallions’ Sam Mobley.

The 30th-ranked receiver, Fabian Guerra, was a star in the Arena Football League and may have made one of the best catches of the year last year. Go look it up if you haven’t seen it. He is a phenomenal receiver who caught three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown in Memphis’s preseason game. He is my sleeper of the year.

We all remember Charles (Chuck) Johnson. Currently the 12th-most drafted receiver, he left the Orlando preseason game with three catches for 19 yards and one touchdown.

The tight ends are a lot harder to predict than the other positions. A few are recognizable names, but after those, it’s picking blind.

1. Stehly Reden – TE – San Antonio Commanders

2. Gavin Escobar – TE – San Diego Fleet

3. Joseph Fauria – TE – Arizona Hotshots

4. Larry Donnell – TE – Memphis Express

5. Deandre Goolsby – TE – Orlando Apollos

6. Cole Hunt – TE – San Antonio Commanders

7. Thomas Duarte – TE – Arizona Hotshots

8. Colin Jeter – TE – N/A

Larry Donnell is currently sitting as the fourth-most drafted TE, but he just recently joined. I believe as more drafts unfold, he’ll be the far and away best tight end.

Joseph Fauria was known for his amazing dance moves in the end zone and was a top target for the Detroit Lions before an injury left his NFL stardom in the past. With a chance to redeem himself, I expect a big year from Fauria, which is one of the main reasons I drafted him in the fourth round of our draft.

I won’t talk about the kickers and defenses, but here is the list of the most-drafted players from those positions.

1. Andrew Franks – K – N/A

2. Nick Novak – K – Birmingham Iron

3. Elliott Fry – K – Orlando Apollos

4. Cole Murphy – K – San Diego Fleet

5. Younghoe Koo – K – Atlanta Legends

6. Nick Rose – K – San Antonio Commanders

7. Nick Folk – K – Arizona Hotshots

1. SAN DIEGO

2. MEMPHIS

3. ORLANDO

4. ARIZONA

5. SALT LAKE

6. SAN ANTONIO

7. BIRMINGHAM

8. ATLANTA

Now that we’ve seen where these players are being drafted, it’s time for you to go change the ADPs by participating in your AAF fantasy league.

*Mandatory Photo Credit: www.fbschedules.com

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