Post-Draft #PowerRankings
So.. that was a stressful draft. The wacky prices threw me off and I felt like values just had to go out the window and people just ended up paying up for whoever they wanted. I didn’t think keepers would throw that big of a wrench into the draft process, but I guess the economics of securing certain players at a discount played itself out in many unique ways. Anyways, I’m glad that’s over and now on to the #PowerRankings!
(Note: these are the rosters after the draft. Any waiver pickups were not included.)
1. choubacca (Aaron)
QB: Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Kirk Cousins
WR: CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Hollywood Brown, Gabe Davis
RB: Rachaad White, James Conner, Zack Moss, AJ Dillon, Antonio Gibson
TE: Sam LaPorta
K: Cairo Santos
DEF: Buffalo
Aaron’s team has a pretty strong starting group right now, but the dropoff on his bench is super steep. Tyreek and CeeDee are arguably WR #1 and #2 overall, and LaPorta is a top-tier TE as well. The Dak-CeeDee stack ought to play to Aaron’s favor, but I don’t see the need to have 3 QBs when he needs to bolster his WR depth in case something happens to one of his WRs. While Rachaad White and James Conner may not be sexy picks at RB, I think they’ll get the job done. Overall, Aaron should have a pretty solid start to the season.
2. Run It Back! (Gabs)
QB: Anthony Richardson, Jared Goff
WR: Garrett Wilson, Tee Higgins, Diontae Johnson, Christian Watson, Brian Thomas Jr
RB: Jonathan Taylor, Kenneth Walker III, Ezekiel Elliott, Zamir White, Bucky Irving
TE: Brock Bowers
K: Jake Elliott
DEF: New York Jets
Gabs ended up with a low-key great team. If Anthony Richardson stays healthy, he will run his way to fantasy QB stardom, but Jared Goff as a backup isn’t bad either. Garrett Wilson has elite WR potential, Tee Higgins will be motivated to play well in the last year of his contract, and maybe I’m too high on Diontae Johnson, but it seems like the Panthers want to make him a focal point of their offense. Christian Watson and Brian Thomas Jr are good “wait and see” players on the bench, too. Jonathan Taylor and Kenneth Walker are a pretty solid RB duo, Zeke could serve as a decent spot start at the beginning of the season, and Zamir White is worth a dart throw. The biggest weakness is at TE, where an unproven rookie Brock Bowers may end up being Gabs’s Achilles Heel. But who knows, maybe LaPorta has paved a way for rookie TEs to finally have fantasy relevancy.
3. Hawk Tua (Jeff Lin)
QB: Tua Tagovailoa
WR: Cooper Kupp, Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers, Tank Dell
RB: De’Von Achane, Travis Etienne Jr, Najee Harris, Aaron Jones, Tyler Allgeier
TE: Kyle Pitts, TJ Hockenson
K: Brandon Aubrey
DEF: Chicago, Houston
Jeff Lin is deep at both RB and WR, which are critical positions to be deep at. Achane may be unpredictable, but his highs will be very high for Jeff. Etienne at RB2 is nice. While Najee and Aaron Jones have fallen out of favor as of late, they are still starting RBs in the NFL who could easily be slotted in as a RB2 / Flex on most fantasy teams, and Jeff has the luxury of flexing either of them when needed. Having 2 rookie WRs as potential starters - in Harrison and Nabers - could be dangerous (lots of boom-bust potential), but I like Tank Dell’s outlook this season. Tua is up against some tougher defenses to start the season, so who knows what we’ll get out of him. And I’m not sold on Kyle Pitts, either. But Jeff has shown he knows what he’s doing, so I think he’ll be able to work his way around his weaknesses at QB and TE as the season progresses.
4. Unicorn QueenZ (Tim)
QB: Kyler Murray, Jayden Daniels
WR: Ja’Marr Chase, Davante Adams, Calvin Ridley, Jayden Reed, Xavier Worthy, Keon Coleman, Adam Thielen
RB: Isiah Pacheco, Brian Robinson Jr, Jerome Ford, Jonathan Brooks
TE: Trey McBride
K:
DEF: New Orleans
After some time of reflection, I’m pretty satisfied with my team. I had some #regretz drafting Davante Adams again - as Jeff alluded to, you’d think I’d learn from last year. But the difference is he was my WR1 last year. Having paid WR2 price for him, I think I can live with his volatility. Maybe. I do like my depth and variety at WR, including some rookies who I hope will hit, and Thielen who I think could plug in at WR2 / Flex for at least the first month of the season. I really wanted the Kyler-McBride stack, so I’m glad I got that. And if Kyler doesn’t work out, Jayden Daniels isn’t a bad backup option. My biggest weakness is RB depth. I can live with Pacheco as RB1, but Brian Robinson / Jerome Ford are weak RB2 options, and who knows when Jonathan Brooks will return.
5. Breece Mode (Haji)
QB: Josh Allen, Justin Fields
WR: Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel, Michael Pittman Jr, Amari Cooper, Khalil Shakir
RB: Breece Hall, Devin Singletary, Chuba Hubbard, Jaylen Wright, Jamaal Williams
TE: Dallas Goedert
K: Ka’imi Fairbairn
DEF: Atlanta
Haji has a solid core of players in Josh Allen, Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel, and Breece Hall. I think Jefferson’s production will still be solid even with sub-par QB play, and Breece Hall has the talent to be a league-winner. MPJ / Amari Cooper should be solid flex plays, but he struggled to draft a reliable RB2 or TE. While Singletary and Hubbard are current starters on their respective teams, those teams aren’t very good.. so getting reliable production from them is questionable. Jaylen Wright and Jamaal Williams need someone to get hurt before becoming relevant. So Haji has some holes to fill as the season progresses, but I think he’ll be off to a decent start.
6. Terrific Tortoises (David)
QB: Jalen Hurts
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Rashee Rice, Joshua Palmer, DeAndre Hopkins
RB: Christian McCaffrey, Tony Pollard, Nick Chubb, Tyjae Spears, Jaylen Warren, Elijah Mitchell
TE: Pat Freiermuth, Cole Kmet
K: Younghoe Koo
DEF: Philadelphia
Jalen Hurts, Amon-Ra, and CMC are as good of a QB-WR-RB trio as you’ll see in our league. David also really believes in Rashee Rice stepping up as WR1 for Mahomes, but the rest of his team is pretty bad. I guess Pollard could rebound from last year, Chubb will need time but even after time, his fantasy relevance will be questionable, and the rest of his RBs are backups waiting for an injury to happen. Joshua Palmer and DeAndre Hopkins are hard passes for me at the Flex, and Freiermuth / Kmet are mid at best. David will need a lot of production from his superstar trio to make up for where he lacks everywhere else. I guess it’s hard to draft from a mountain in Alaska.
7. 加油! Sam 好极了! (Andrew)
QB: CJ Stroud
WR: AJ Brown, DJ Moore, Terry McLaurin, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Brandon Cooks, Romeo Doubs, Rashid Shaheed
RB: Derrick Henry, Rhamondre Stevenson, Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin
TE: David Njoku
K: Justin Tucker
DEF: Kansas City
Andrew’s WRs are his strong suit, with AJ and DJ anchoring that corps. McLaurin will be a really good Flex play, and that’ll give Andrew some time to evaluate JSN, Doubs, and Shaheed. CJ Stroud as his QB is solid - he’s definitely got the potential to be an NFL superstar, which often translates to being fantasy relevant, even if he’s not known for running. His RBs are a bit concerning - I have doubts about how much Derrick Henry has left in the tank, but he could surprise me. Rhamondre is a solid RB2, and between Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin, I could see one of them emerging as an RB2 / Flex option as well. It’s not pretty, though. Njoku at TE may continue his hot streak that ended last season, fingers crossed.
8. 第六 (Abraham)
QB: Jordan Love
WR: Chris Olave, Drake London, Chris Godwin, Josh Downs, Xavier Legette, Luke McCaffrey
RB: Kyren Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Braelon Allen, Ray Davis, Tank Bigsby
TE: Dalton Kincaid
K: Jake Moody
DEF: San Francisco
Abraham went for two big RBs in Kyren and Gibbs, a bunch of NFC South WRs, an up-and-coming 2nd year TE in Kincaid, and believes that Love can make the leap to becoming an elite QB. Whether this will be a winning formula is TBD. I do like his RBs, but after those 2, there is no depth, which is concerning with Gibbs’s recent injury. At WR - Drake London could make that leap, but Olave will be a harder bet to make because Derek Carr showed us last year he doesn’t know how to throw. I’m not all that jazzed about Chris Godwin or Josh Downs, and Xavier Legette will need time before emerging, if he even does this year. I’m probably a little less bullish on Love and Kincaid, which is why Abraham’s team landed here in the rankings.
9. Mr. Irrelevant (Eric)
QB: Lamar Jackson
WR: Stefon Diggs, George Pickens, Ladd McConkey, Jameson Williams, Jakobi Meyers, Jerry Jeudy, Adonai Mitchell
RB: Bijan Robinson, Josh Jacobs, Alvin Kamara
TE: Mark Andrews
K: Evan McPherson
DEF: Pittsburgh, Detroit
Eric actually has one of the better RB corps in our league, but it lacks depth - he only has 3 RBs. Many teams would be happy with either Kamara or Jacobs as their RB2s, and Eric can use both of them as RB2 / Flex. He should be set at QB with Lamar Jackson, and I do like the Lamar-Mark Andrews stack to boot. But his WRs are turrible. Stefon Diggs would have been a great WR1 a year ago. Now I’m not even sure I’d want him as a WR2 or Flex. George Pickens is in what looks to be an awful Pittsburgh offense, and Ladd / Jameson / Adonai are all unproven. Jakobi Meyers might surprise, but Jerry Jeudy? No thanks.
10. Maybabyboo (Laura)
QB: Brock Purdy, Bryce Young
WR: Jaylen Waddle, Zay Flowers, Christian Kirk, Courtland Sutton, Rome Odunze
RB: James Cook, Joe Mixon, D’Andre Swift, Chase Brown, Blake Corum
TE: Travis Kelce, Evan Engram
K:
DEF: Dallas
Laura was at a disadvantage going into the draft without a keeper, which she can 100% blame on Steve. Price inflation on mid players was real. I do think Brock Purdy should be a solid play at QB. Waddle should bounce back if he can stay healthy, and Zay Flowers has the potential to be a WR1 in his 2nd year (I was hoping to re-draft him). Christian Kirk should continue to be a reliable option at the Flex position. At RB, I think James Cook could end up being better than people expected, and Joe Mixon has a chance to start over in Houston. Swift should have the starting job in Chicago, which is of some value as well. Kelce is one of the best TEs to ever play, and until he actually slows down, I don’t think you can count him out. Dallas Defense has a pretty cush schedule to start the season. I also really like Laura’s rookie pickups in Rome Odunze and Blake Corum. I would just suggest she be patient with them and not get rid of them too quickly as the season progresses. I could easily see either of their stocks going up with an injury or given the right opportunity.
11. Spider Pig (Luke)
QB: Patrick Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence
WR: Puka Nacua, Brandon Aiyuk, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Addison
RB: Saquon Barkley, Zach Charbonnet, Trey Benson, Austin Ekeler
TE: Jake Ferguson, Dalton Schultz
K: Harrison Butker
DEF: Miami, Minnesota
Luke got screwed by Yahoo Autodraft. Whatever AI program he was using didn’t understand what us humans were doing during the draft, but to be fair, neither did I. It left him with $38 unused by the end of the draft, so more like Artificial Dumbness. Mahomes, Puka, and Saquon make up a good trio to build from, DeVonta Smith could be good, but the goodness ends there. Whether Aiyuk will actually play to start the season is questionable, Addison has too many off-field issues and a bad QB situation, all of Luke’s RB2s are not even starters on their teams, and his TEs are low-end at best. I guess Butker ought to score a decent amount of points.
12. I am not sacko! (Jeff Chen)
QB: Joe Burrow, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye
WR: Nico Collins, Mike Evans, DK Metcalf, Keenan Allen
RB: Raheem Mostert, Gus Edwards, JK Dobbins, David Montgomery, Rico Dowdle
TE: George Kittle
K:
DEF: Baltimore, Cleveland
I honestly am trying to find a way to paint Jeff’s team in a positive light. He really believes in Nico Collins. I’ll give him that possibility - I can see a world where Nico becomes a WR1 by the end of the season. Mike Evans was good last year. DK Metcalf is a physical specimen who ought to be a focal point of Seattle’s offense. Joe Burrow is a good QB whose value dipped after an injury-plagued season last year. He could very well bounce back in a big way. George Kittle is a good TE. Raheem Mostert is an undervalued RB who ended up as a top fantasy RB last season on an explosive Miami offense. Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins may surprise us. David Montgomery will be a big-ticket pickup if Jahmyr Gibbs gets hurt. Maybe the same applies to Rico Dowdle if Zeke gets hurt. Baltimore and Cleveland ought to be really good Defenses. Trying to stay positive, but that’s all I’ve got.
