1. Run It Back! (0-0)
QB - Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan
WR - Davante Adams, DK Metcalf, Marquise Brown, Julio Jones, Romeo Doubs
RB - Jonathan Taylor, Aaron Jones, Rachaad White, Isaiah Pacheco, Isaiah Spiller
TE - Irv Smith Jr.
K - Nick Folk
DEF - New England
FFNUTHANG's current dyNASTYc GOAT has once again put together a solid team in pursuit of his 4th championship. With arguably the most coveted player in FF right now in Jonathan Taylor as the cornerstone of his team, Gabs was able to also pick up another potential Top-10 RB in Aaron Jones as well as a Top-5 WR in Davante Adams. Add future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers along with what should be a solid New England Defense that starts the season playing the Dolphins and Steelers, and Gabs should be rolling to start the season. His most obvious weakness is TE as well as his unproven young bench. But that bench may end up playing to his favor. I like the odds of at least one of them being productive this season - between Romeo Doubs, Rachaad White, Isaiah Pacheco, and Isaiah Spiller - it’ll just take some time before that production develops. You could argue that Gabs’s WR2 and WR3 aren’t great since DK Metcalf has a terrible QB and Marquise Brown will eventually be less relevant once Hopkins returns, but they are still beast athletes who can probably give Gabs enough production to start the season, at least until Gabs can find more help from his bench or the waiver wire.
2. MulletMinshewMania! (0-0)
QB - Russell Wilson
WR - Justin Jefferson, Jerry Jeudy, Chase Claypool, Michael Gallup, Jarvis Landry, Treylon Burks, Jakobi Meyers
RB - Joe Mixon, D’Andre Swift, Raheem Mostert, Mark Ingram II
TE - Mike Gesicki
K - Rodrigo Blankenship
DEF - Tennessee
At first, I wasn’t sure if Eric would have enough chops to put together a decent team after he landed Justin Jefferson to start the draft. I think he went pretty conservative in not overspending on the big name RBs, and that gave him the muscle to outbid everyone for Mixon and Swift. I think that RB combo is pretty solid - I’m optimistic that Swift will have a breakout season and if Mixon can stay healthy, he’ll get production in the Bengals’s high-powered offense. I like that Eric built the Russell Wilson / Jerry Jeudy stack, and if Jeudy emerges as Russ’s favorite target, that would pay out big dividends for Eric. I do think Russ has a decent chance of vying for league MVP this season. Also, props for the stealth Rodrigo Blankenship pickup - I feel like we’ve forgotten about him after his injury last season, and he was a beast when healthy. But I can’t get excited about the rest of his team. He may struggle filling the Flex position to start, and I doubt Gesicki will be any good if he stays with the Dolphins - Eric’s best hope is he gets traded to a team that will throw to him.
3. Kupp of Joe (0-0)
QB - Kyler Murray
WR - Michael Pittman Jr., Allen Robinson II, Rashod Bateman, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Robbie Anderson, Tyler Boyd, Jameson Williams
RB - Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley, Devin Singletary
TE - Zach Ertz
K - Matt Prater, Brandon McManus
DEF - Baltimore
A lot of Andrew’s outlook hinges on your opinion of Saquon Barkley. There are reports that say he looks as good as he’s ever looked, but that’s easy to say when a guy is in practice. I have some baggage from being burned by Saquon last year, but I’ll admit if he’s anywhere close to his rookie season, Andrew will have the best RB duo in the league in Cook and Saquon. And for Andrew’s sake - to redeem himself from Sacko shame - I hope that happens. Kyler was also a good pickup at QB, and Andrew might even have a (mini) stack with Ertz at TE. I like the potential upside of his 3 WRs - Michael Pittman (with an upgrade at QB), Allen Robinson (upgrade at QB), and Rashod Bateman (no more Marquise Brown). And Baltimore has a pretty cush 2 weeks to start the season against the Jets and Dolphins. I would have thought he’d add a little more depth at RB in case it doesn’t work out for Saquon, but maybe Andrew just has that much confidence in him. If I had more confidence in Saquon, I’d probably have Andrew’s team at the top of the rankings, but 3rd place is pretty generous, considering he was Sacko last year.
4. Breece Mode (0-0)
QB - Tom Brady
WR - DJ Moore, Terry McLaurin, Chris Godwin, Isaiah McKenzie
RB - Alvin Kamara, James Conner, Breece Hall, Kareem Hunt, Alexander Mattison, Darrell Henderson Jr., Gus Edwards
TE - Travis Kelce
K - Justin Tucker
DEF - LA Rams
Haji pieced together a pretty decent team, with his first pick of Travis Kelce establishing his team’s positional dominance at TE. It sucked a lot of resources from his other positions, but I’d say having Tom Brady at QB, DJ Moore / Terry McLaurin / Chris Godwin at WR 1 / 2 / Flex, and Alvin Kamara and James Conner at RBs are all actually pretty good supplements to his Kelce centerpiece. Haji getting Kamara for $48 and James Conner for $29 were two great value picks at that position. He also has some decent depth at RB to buy him some time before Breece Hall breaks out, too. I think if / when that happens, Haji’s team’s stock will go up big time. So while Haji’s team doesn’t have any sexy picks outside of maybe Kelce, I don’t think he has any glaring weaknesses on his team.
5. 第十一 (0-0)
QB - Jalen Hurts
WR - Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, DeAndre Hopkins, Kadarius Toney
RB - Leonard Fournette, JK Dobbins, Dameon Pierce, AJ Dillon, Kenneth Gainwell, Chris Evans
TE - TJ Hockenson
K - Harrison Butker
DEF - Cleveland
I’m sure Abraham doesn’t like seeing Leonard Fournette as his RB1, but I feel like he just needs one of JK Dobbins / Dameon Pierce / AJ Dillon to hit and Abraham will be golden. Personally, I think the chances of one of those players breaking out are pretty high. With Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, and Christian Kirk at WR, Abraham should have enough leeway to wait out Hopkins’s suspension, after which point Abraham could have a very scary team. Add to that Jalen Hurts’s ability to score as a running QB and Cleveland’s Defense starting the season playing the Panthers, Jets, Steelers, and Falcons, and I’d say this may be the season Abraham breaks away from his team name and creates a new rep for himself.
6. AFC West (0-0)
QB - Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford
WR - Ja’Marr Chase, Deebo Samuel, Adam Thielen, Christian Watson
RB - Javonte Williams, Melvin Gordon III, Eli Mitchell, Cordarrelle Patterson, Ronald Jones II
TE - Dallas Goedert
K - Matt Gay
DEF - San Francisco, LA Chargers
I feel like Jeff Chen’s team’s name should actually be NFC + AFC West. He’s got just as many players on his team in the NFC West as he does in the AFC West. Right? Jeff is strong at QB with a red hot Justin Herbert, strong at WR1 with a red hot Ja’Marr Chase, but that’s where my excitement for his team stops. I like Javonte Williams’s outlook for the season, but not as an RB1, and definitely not with Melvin Gordon as an RB2. Sure, it worked out at times last year, but the math of two RBs on the same team in the same position doing well just generally doesn’t add up - it’s definitely more of an exception (a la Kamara / Ingram of old). I’m not sure if this will be one of those exceptions with a new QB and new offense that I’m sure will want to air the ball out more this season. Jeff’s got a little wiggle room at RB with Eli Mitchell and Cordarrelle, but again, it doesn’t get me excited. Deebo Samuel is good, but I think there will be some growing pains with Trey Lance to start the season, and Adam Thielen is just getting old.
7. Terrific Tortoises (0-0)
QB - Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa
WR - Courtland Sutton, Amari Cooper, Drake London, Russell Gage
RB - Austin Ekeler, Travis Etienne Jr., Nyheim Hines, Khalil Herbert
TE - Darren Waller, David Njoku
K - Robbie Gould
DEF - Buffalo, New Orleans
The reigning FFNUTHANG champion surprised me a little with the moniez he paid for Ekeler ($73), Etienne ($31), and Josh Allen ($35). I guess David knew what he wanted and just went for it. Admittedly, Ekeler + Etienne is a solid RB duo. And Buffalo should have a beastly defense this year. And yes, Josh Allen has been a FF beast at QB, but regression at QB after such a big season is almost always inevitable. I do think Courtland Sutton has just as much (if not slightly better) chance of emerging as Russell Wilson’s favorite target than any of the other Denver options, but I can’t really get behind Amari Cooper, Drake London, and Russell Gage as options for WR2 / Flex - that just feels gross. For David’s sake, I hope one of them surprises me. Also, I’m hesitant about Darren Waller, because I think he’s very target-dependent, and targets will be diverted with Davante now as his teammate. So all in all, I think David has some good pieces, but he also has some gaping holes in his roster that make me worried about his chances of repeating as champion this season.
8. Me and MaHomies (0-0)
QB - Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow
WR - Cooper Kupp, Michael Thomas, Brandin Cooks, Gabriel Davis, Darnell Mooney
RB - Nick Chubb, Cam Akers, Tony Pollard
TE - George Kittle, Pat Freiermuth
K - Evan McPherson, Daniel Carlson
DEF - Tampa Bay
With Mahomes and Kupp as the foundation of Jeff Lin’s newly-named team, Jeff is looking to redeem himself from missing last year’s playoffs. But outside of Mahomes and Kupp, I actually don’t love his team. I think it has a lot of potential surprises (Michael Thomas supposedly looks a lot better, Gabriel Davis has the potential to breakout as Josh Allen’s 2nd option, Tony Pollard could outwork / outplay Zeke), but there are also question marks that make me feel uneasy (How bad is the Cleveland offense going to be, and will defenses just hone in on shutting down Chubb? Is Cam Akers actually healthy, and can he stay healthy? Can Trey Lance support George Kittle?). The Bucs ought to have a good defense in a division with crappy offenses, but all the other unknown variables of Jeff’s team prevent me from giving them a bump up in the rankings.
9. Unicorn QueenZ (0-0)
QB - Trevor Lawrence, Baker Mayfield
WR - CeeDee Lamb, Mike Williams, Hunter Renfrow, DeVonta Smith, Robert Woods, Chris Olave, Jahan Dotson
RB - Christian McCaffrey, Chase Edmonds, James Robinson, Brian Robinson Jr., Kenneth Walker III
TE - Mark Andrews
K -
DEF -
I just can’t quit CMC. Even if it will cost me another missed playoffs this season. The optimistic side of me is hoping he will be the reason I (and the Panthers) reach the playoffs this season, but I am well aware of the unfavorable odds of him getting injured again, and will just readily admit that I have an incurable man-crush on him. What about the rest of my team? I don’t mind Chase Edmonds as my RB2, but it doesn’t get me excited. Brian Robinson showed promise before he got shot, so am now just unrealistically hoping that none of my other RBs gets hurt. I do like my WR squad - I think CeeDee’s stock will continue to go up, Mike Williams will eventually out-target and out-perform an aging Keenan Allen, and Hunter Renfrow should be valuable in half-PPR. This is my first year going big on TE, so we’ll see how well that plays out - I’m still on the fence about how I feel about that move. And my QB situation is just a hot mess. So in summary, I’m just hoping for an injury-free CMC, and for Mark Andrews and CeeDee Lamb to dominate and carry my team into FF relevance. The rest will be icing on the cake, including Baker Mayfield’s Week 1 extravaganza against his former team.
10. choubacca (0-0)
QB - Dak Prescott, Justin Fields
WR - Tyreek Hill, Tee Higgins, AJ Brown, Diontae Johnson
RB - Ezekiel Elliott, Antonio Gibson, Rashaad Penny, Damien Harris
TE - Dawson Knox, Albert Okwuegbunam
K - Greg Joseph
DEF - Denver, Green Bay
I know a lot of people are bearish on Ezekiel Elliott, but I thought $31 for him was still a steal. However, I think Dallas’s weakened O-line will not bode well for Zeke, Dak, or Aaron. Antonio Gibson’s stock has gone down since training camp, but he’s still technically a starter (especially with Brian Robinson being out for who knows how long) and will at least get touches. Damien Harris could serve as an RB2 as well. But in general, I don’t love Aaron’s RBs - they just seem serviceable for now. It’s hard to know how Tyreek Hill will fare in a new offense with a young QB, but I still like his chances of putting up elite fantasy points. And Tee Higgins / AJ Brown as WR2 / Flex is pretty good - Aaron’s strength is definitely at WR. Knox could be a value pick at TE, and Denver has a fairly easy starting schedule with Seattle and Houston. But I think Aaron’s struggles will start with Dallas’s offense and extend to finding a reliable RB2, and I don’t think his WRs will be able to help enough to make up for that lost production.
11. Chicken dinner (0-0)
QB - Lamar Jackson, Kirk Cousins
WR - Keenan Allen, Allen Lazard, Tyler Lockett, DeVante Parker, Kenny Golladay
RB - Derrick Henry, David Montgomery, Josh Jacobs, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Miles Sanders, Jamaal Williams
TE - Kyle Pitts
K -
DEF - Indianapolis
Steve is actually really deep at RB - probably the deepest in our league at that position. After Derrick Henry as his RB1, David Montgomery and / or Josh Jacobs and / or Clyde Edwards-Helaire and / or Miles Sanders will probably return some RB2 / Flex value. Kyle Pitts ought to have a great season this year, and I like Lamar Jackson as his QB. Add to that Indianapolis starting the season playing Houston and Jacksonville. But Steve’s WRs are just a mess. Keenan Allen is aging, Allen Lazard could emerge as Rodgers top target, but that’s still TBD, Tyler Lockett is the 2nd option for an irrelevant QB, DeVante Parker has a noob QB in a dysfunctional offense throwing to him, and let’s not even get started on Kenny Golladay. In a half-PPR league, you need to bring more than a bunch of WR2 / WR3s to play. I would argue Keenan Allen is a mid-level WR2, and the rest of Steve’s WRs are low-end WR3s or worse.
12. Spider Pig (0-0)
QB - Derek Carr, Trey Lance
WR - Jaylen Waddle, Elijah Moore, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Brandon Aiyuk, Amon-Ra St. Brown
RB - Najee Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, Michael Carter, James Cook
TE - Dalton Schultz, Cole Kmet
K - Tyler Bass
DEF - Dallas
I know Justina still reads these posts, so I will try not to be too harsh, but it’s hard to deny that Luke ended up with the ugliest team. Outside of Najee Harris, I don’t see anyone that scares me if I were to play Luke Week 1 (lucky Jeff Lin). But let’s try to be optimistic here. At QB - Derek Carr might get a bump up with Davante Adams.. but he’s still Derek Carr; Trey Lance may pan out as a fantasy asset - ok, I could buy that, but I think it will take time. At WR - Jaylen Waddle may get a boost from playing opposite Tyreek.. but realistically, doubtful-to-nah; Elijah Moore looked good in spurts last season and maybe just needed another year to develop.. but he plays for the Jets; JuJu Smith-Schuster may win out the leading role in KC.. but he’s been hurt; Brandon Aiyuk has breakout potential.. but also has an injury history; Amon-Ra St. Brown looked good to end the season last year - and yeah, I can see a pathway for him to be a breakout this year. So there may be a little hope. I guess Luke has some potential sleepers in James Cook and Cole Kmet, but I’m just trying to reach for anything at this point. It looks like Luke will need a miracle to keep himself out of Sacko contention this season. Maybe ask Justina not to watch TV while she’s drafting next year.
