Week 9 #PowerRankings

Sorry, no theme this week - NFL trade deadline excitement was hopefully enough to give you guys a hit. I’ll send out a video I made with my Unicorn QueenZ predicting which teams will do well, though.

1. Terrific (Taylor’s Version) (David) (7-2) [2]

Getting 2nd highest score for Week 9 with only 4.3 points from Jahmyr Gibbs is impressive. David’s team has figured something out, and much of that figuring-out had to do with Rashee Rice. All the shade I threw on David’s team has been proven wrong, and I am genuinely glad to see his team at the top of the #PowerRankings.

2. Run It Back! (Gabs) (6-3) [1]

Week 9 showed Gabs’s team is beatable, and if Jacksonville’s move to get Jakobi is any indication, Brian Thomas may miss some time. Not that Thomas was doing all that well for Gabs to start with. Gabs may have avoided Quinshon Judkins missing any time due to injury, which should bode well for his Week 10. But I saw Week 9 as just a lucky break for me, and not indicative of future trends. I think Gabs’s team will be ok.

3. Just Didn’t Catch D’Achane (Haji) (6-3) [4]

Great win for Haji with incredible production from newly-acquired CMC. As long as CMC stays healthy, that Achane / CMC combo will be vicious. It’s sad Haji lost Jayden Daniels to injury for the foreseeable future, but hopefully Brock will be healthy enough to play. I think Rashid Shaheed’s move to Seattle will mean more production for him, given Darnold > Rattler / Shough. Haji will just need to figure out what to do at Flex, but I have confidence in his managing abilities.

4. ToInfinityandBijan! (Eric) (5-4) [3]

Eric did offer me Etienne instead of Swift, and at least for Week 9, it looks like I should have taken that bait. Eric is still strong at RB, and bolstered his WR corps with the addition of Sutton. Jakobi’s move to Jacksonville will be interesting to follow, given injuries to Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter. Eric’s loss to Haji means I had to bump him down in the rankings, but he still has a very solid team.

5. Lamar You Ready? (Jeff Chen) (5-4) [5]

Even Lamar’s return ultimately couldn’t save Jeff Chen’s team from continuing its losing streak. It’s now been 4 losses in a row now after 5 wins to start the season. Javonte had a disappointing MNF showing, and Kittle was relatively unproductive as well. At least Jeff should be getting Egbuka back soon. I still like Jeff’s team, so I won’t bump it down further in the rankings, but if he finds a way to lose to Jeff Lin in Week 10’s Battle of the Jeff’s and extend his losing streak to 5 games, then we’ve got trouble brewing.

6. 第六 (Abraham) (4-5) [6]

In spite of a poor performance from Mahomes, Drake London put up 34.3 points, and the 10.9 from Pickens on MNF was enough to secure the victory for Abraham. Tracy didn’t produce like Skattebo, but Kyren continues to be solid, and I think Abraham will be fine moving forward. I was surprised to see him drop Kyler, though. I guess Abraham’s confidence in Mahomes is that strong. Or maybe Kyler is just that bad. Probably the latter.

7. Spider Pig (Luke) (5-4) [9]

Luke didn’t need Monangai’s bench points to beat Jeff Chen, but he might need those points in the future if Swift remains injured. Jacory is not cutting it as RB2, and while Tyjae Spears may get more opportunities in the future, he’s still on a terrible team. Luke is still pretty solid at QB / WR / TE - even though Puka got injured again, it hopefully is nothing major. If Monangai gets more opportunities moving forward, that would help Luke’s team continue on an upward trajectory.

8. Unicorn QueenZ (Tim) (5-4) [7]

I lucked out with a win against Gabs, but I’ve realized now my team looks objectively worse than before my trade extravaganza. I guess I avoided losing Jayden Daniels to injury, but Jordan Love was not even close to being a satisfactory replacement, and losing Tucker Kraft will hurt. Rome Odunze played me so bad, and Alvin Kamara is a shell of his former self. At least I got some value from two of my new pieces - Higgins and Jeanty - but who knows if that will be prescriptive moving forward, or if it was just a lucky week for me. I think the latter.

9. chinaballa (Andrew) (3-6) [8]

Andrew lost a close one to Abraham. I went to sleep Monday night seeing Andrew’s team up with MHJ’s early score thinking he’d be able to secure the win, but I guess somehow Pickens came back for Abraham. Andrew’s team really isn’t that bad on paper, he just hasn’t gotten consistent production across the board (outside of JSN). Some weeks it will be one or two guys and no one else shows up, and another week it’ll be two different guys. I’m confident he’ll get more wins down the road, but it just doesn’t seem like a recipe for long-term success.

10. choubacca (Aaron) (2-7) [12]

Rico Dowdle will single-handedly keep Aaron out of Sacko. Sure, Brock Bowers came back from injury swinging with 37.3 points, but if Carolina lets Rico cook (which they should), Aaron’s team will be safe from Sacko. That man is not afraid to hit people and runs with that dawg mentality Dan Morgan is looking for in players. The rest of Aaron’s players will play important roles, especially JaMarr, Hurts, and Bowers. But Rico will save Aaron’s season.

11. Maybabyboo (Laura) (4-5) [10]

Rico’s success for Aaron has an inverse relationship with Laura’s un-success with Chuba. Chuba looks like he’s still hurt, and now that the trade deadline is over, I wouldn’t be surprised if either the Panthers just keep him off the field and rest him more. Or if he stays on the field, I think he’s going to remain unproductive. Regardless, that’s not good news for Laura. At least she’s getting solid numbers from Justin Jefferson and Chase Brown as of late. And JJ McCarthy returning will hopefully be a plus. I think Laura’s team has enough wins to protect her from Sacko for now.

12. 大展鸿图 (Jeff Lin) (2-7) [11]

Jeff Lin really has had some bad luck this season, and another piece of that luck came with Tucker Kraft’s season-ending injury. Sure, LaPorta should do a serviceable job filling in at TE, but Kraft had been pretty dominant at TE this season. I had almost forgotten Jeff traded Jacory away to Luke for Kraft, which was a great trade for Jeff up until Week 9. Arguably, Jeff still won that trade even with Kraft out for the rest of the season. At least Jaxon Dart is proving to be a productive QB for FF, but like I mentioned before - I don’t think I’d want anyone on Jeff’s team. Even Breece Hall, who didn’t get the trade he wanted, will probably be disgruntled enough to affect his FF production moving forward.