Week 1 #PowerRankings

Week 1 has finally come and gone, for better or worse. While I was glad to have football back, I was also not glad to have football back. To have waited 8 months for what was supposed to be an improved team and end up being sorely disappointed with how much things have not improved - in fact, they have gotten worse - is definitely demoralizing. And the sad thing is you probably don’t know if I’m referring to the Panthers or to my fantasy team. Both. It’s both. But alas, the #PowerRankings are not all about me, so on to the important stuff..

1. choubacca (Aaron) (1-0) [1]

Aaron’s team had a solid showing in Week 1, as expected. CeeDee + Tyreek will continue to be the top WR duo in our league. Dak didn’t need to throw much since Dallas was beating Cleveland so badly, so better days will be ahead of him. LaPorta will also be fine. Rachaad White, James Conner, and Zack Moss look to be serviceable RBs as well, until further notice. With what ought to be an easy Week 2 against Jeff Chen, I expect Aaron’s team to continue to cruise.

2. Hawk Tua (Jeff Lin) (1-0) [3]

Jeff Lin makes a statement in Week 1 by putting up the highest score in the league. Cooper Kupp with 21 targets is ridiculous, and with Puka out for a while, Kupp will continue to roll if he stays healthy. Tua’s schedule gets harder the next few weeks, so picking up Baker as some insurance was smart. Marvin Harrison’s poor Week 1 performance might be a little concerning, but I would expect things to turn around for him. If Achane misses time, Jeff will be a little weak at RB, but he’s got a decent enough bench to move things around and make it work. Kyle Pitts’s potential may finally end up being unlocked this season, too. Jeff has a way of winning, and this season has started off accordingly. Of course, it helps to get 20+ each from your Kicker and Defense too.

3. Run It Back! (Gabs) (1-0) [2]

Gabs got just what he needed from Garrett Wilson and SF Defense to eke out a win against Andrew. While the production from Wilson should have been better, the number of targets he’s receiving is at least encouraging. Jonathan Taylor and Kenneth Walker will continue to be a solid RB duo for Gabs, and Anthony Richardson should continue to produce with his running ability. Props to Gabs for starting rookies Brock Bowers and Brian Thomas Jr - their futures look bright. Diontae Johnson (I should say, the Panthers in general) probably isn’t a viable start in the near future, but I can see Gabs shuffling some things around to maximize his team’s potential, including bumping Ezekiel Elliott into the Flex position while he still has some juice early in the season.

4. PleaseGiveMeSomeWRs (Eric) (1-0) [9]

The position I thought was Eric’s weakest ended up showing up Week 1. Not only did Stefon Diggs and George Pickens have above-average weeks, Eric got impressive WR production from his bench in Ladd McConkey and Jameson Williams. Bijan, Josh Jacobs, and Kamara should continue to anchor his RB corps, and Lamar Jackson will get his. The biggest concern for Eric now is Mark Andrews - can he continue to be relied on as a startable TE? But otherwise, his team is looking pretty solid moving forward, especially if he can continue getting good production from his WRs.

5. Breece Mode (Haji) (0-1) [5]

Haji was probably encouraged to see the production from his team this week, but was just in an unlucky matchup against Laura. Josh Allen (who hopefully will be ok with his finger injury) was the 2nd-highest scoring QB in Week 1. Justin Jefferson appears to be QB-proof. Breece Hall had solid numbers in spite of his inefficiency. And Deebo Samuel will continue to put up numbers if he’s healthy. Haji’s weakness at RB2 was on full display this week, and Chuba is not going to get the job done. Amari Cooper got 9 targets, but only caught 2 of them - he ought to be fine, but there’s definitely some concern about whether the Cleveland offense can figure things out. Michael Pittman Jr. ought to be serviceable as a Flex option. I’m not too worried about Haji’s team outlook moving forward.

6. Terrific Tortoises (David) (0-1) [6]

David was smart and quick enough to swap out Jordan Mason for CMC on Monday Night, avoiding what could have been an even worse Week 1, which would have landed him at the very bottom of the league standings. Who knows how long CMC will be out, but at least Mason provides a bit of insurance moving forward. Tony Pollard’s usage made him seem like the preferred RB in Tennessee, so he might be a decent play at RB2 moving forward. Rashee Rice’s involvement in KC’s offense was very encouraging to see, and Amon-Ra St. Brown is too good to have a repeat dud performance like he did in Week 1. Jalen Hurts did decently enough, but David will need a lot of help at TE and even Flex. It was a rough week for David with CMC out, and it didn’t help that his K and DEF got him next to nothing. Brighter days are ahead, though - David still has a solid team.

7. Go DJ that’s my CJ (and AJ) (Andrew) (0-1) [7]

It was a close loss for Andrew, but the encouraging thing was he got solid production where he was expecting it from - AJ Brown, Rhamondre Stevenson, Derrick Henry, and CJ Stroud all had significant contributions to help Andrew’s team break triple digits, but it just wasn’t enough for the win. I would have expected more from DJ Moore and Terry McLaurin as WR1s on their respective teams, but both have rookie QBs throwing to them, so this year may be a rollercoaster ride for those players. At least he has some help on the bench, with Shaheed seeming to be Carr’s favored deep target, and Doubs getting a decent target share (once Love returns).

8. Maybabyboo (Laura) (1-0) [10]

Laura got points where she needed it. Her kicker Jake Moody saved the day with 26 points in MNF, and getting 17 from Dallas D helped as well. Joe Mixon looks to be a solid RB1 moving forward, with James Cook as a decent RB2 option as well. Kelce will have better games, but I’m not so sure about Christian Kirk and D’Andre Swift. At least Zay Flowers got the bulk of targets from Lamar, which should make him a reliable starting option. Laura’s team is definitely trending up, and we’ll see if she can continue the momentum against Eric this week.

9. Unicorn QueenZ (Tim) (0-1) [4]

I admittedly ranked my team too high in the preseason rankings. I overvalued Pacheco, Kyler, McBride, and Ridley. I thought Davante still had something left. I didn’t think JaMarr Chase’s contract-whatever-he-was-trying-to-do would affect much. I guess it also would have helped to start the players that actually scored the most points. The silver lining is that there is potential on my bench, now it’s just a matter of when to pull the trigger on starting, say, a Xavier Worthy or Jayden Reed over a Davante Adams or Calvin Ridley.. sigh.

10. Spider Pig (Luke) (1-0) [11]

Luke got the win in Week 1, but it wasn’t pretty. Outside of Saquon’s impressive performance and Devonta Smith’s solid showing, there wasn’t too much Luke could get excited about. Puka’s injury deals a big blow to Luke’s already weak team. If Kenneth Walker misses time, Charbonnet will be a nice asset for Luke. Mahomes does have the potential to blow up on any given week, but Luke’s got a lot of work to do if he wants to three-peat.

11. 第六  (Abraham) (0-1) [8]

Abraham had some solid production from his RBs, as well as Chris Godwin. But losing Jordan Love for at least a few weeks will be tough. It doesn’t look great for Drake London and Chris Olave either, and I would have expected more from Kincaid. I’m sure they’ll have better weeks, but Abraham’s got an uphill battle to climb.

12. I am not sacko! (Jeff Chen) (0-1) [12]

I’m not sure if much elaboration is needed, but Jeff Chen’s team needs some work. In spite of rostering 3 QBs, Jeff’s QB situation looks to be in dire straits. Even if he was able to combine the scores of all 3 QBs each week, that would probably make a high-end QB2. Raheem Mostert and Gus Edwards did not get the job done, and even though there was some good bench production from JK Dobbins and David Montgomery, I don’t know if that will be enough for Jeff to rely on. There was good production from Mike Evans and Nico Collins, but he’ll need much more than that.