PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS
So, for power rankings this year, Malinn and I will each be doing our own version, which we’ll be releasing together. The goal is to update them roughly every 2-3 weeks. Both of our lists will only be 11 long because we aren’t going to include ourselves in our own rankings. We’re hoping that releasing two lists will add a nice little wrinkle to the ole rankings. Also, future updates will not be this lengthy…so bear with us here. For this turn, the rankings will be accompanied by a brief draft write up highlighting both the particularly good and particularly bad picks in each round. Complaining loudly about the rankings is encouraged…..hope you enjoy.
POWER RANKINGS - Tighe
11. Sean – would have been quite an accomplishment for a team starting from scratch to figure out a way to get out of the basement of my initial power rankings. Sean’s team looks to boast competitive QB play with Ryan, Freeman, and EJ Manuel….but not much else behind it. Extremely thin at both RB and WR, Sean’s squad appears to have some tough times ahead in his inaugural season, but that was to be expected. After showing some good trading savvy, as well as solid drafting ability (highlighted by Manuel and some flier WRs later) in his first auction, Sean looks to have a bright future in the league…..just not immediate future.
10. Wiseman – much like his fellow newbie, Wiseman’s team doesn’t appear like it will be all that competitive in his first year. The main difference between the two new teams, to me, is that it looks like Wiseman was able to spread his wealth a little more, and thus his starting lineup appears a tad more complete overall. Front lining this squad will be Andre Johnson, Welker, Golden Tate, and company, which will give him an above average WR core. Unfortunately, what will probably more than offset that are his thin group of RBs behind Lynch and what projects to be no better than average QB play with Manning and Smith. Bernard, Eifert, Wilson, and Bailey give Wiseman a decent first draft class to build on, as well.
9. Curran – Currans main weakness heading into the season is the running back position where he is depending enormously on the one fantasy football player you probably don’t want to depend on….Darren McFadden. An inconsistent QB2 and the lack of a true number one WR puts Curran towards the back end at the moment. A bunch of question marks behind McFadden doesn’t help the matter, either. This team is certainly capable of causing some damage and rising up the rankings when Gronk returns to help his WR/TE grouping, but this is his spot for the time being.
8. Thompson – I think teams 4-8 in my rankings are essentially even at this point and were extremely hard to rank. AP and a strong starting WR trio will anchor this team, and the real wildcard is Eddie Lacy who has top 15 upside if everything goes right. Unfortunately, a starting QB duo of Schaub/Locker could severely limit the upside this team seems at have at other positions. Schaub is a mid-to-low end number 2 QB and Locker is probably one of the 5 worst QBs in the league. As I said before, Thompson could be ranked a few spots higher at this point, but tie goes to the better QBs in my mind. Expect Thompson to dangle a WR (Marshall/Jackson) to try to upgrade his QB position.
7. Malinn – Not your typical Malinn team here, as the normally WR strong team finds that it has no guarantees whatsoever behind Dwayne Bowe. Sanu and Hartline, quite possibly, are his two next best WRs….and the WR/TE grouping would be lost if not for the savior of TE stud Jimmy Graham. An above average QB group and an average RB group with questions at RB3, are the strengths of this team. I am always notoriously low on his RB2 Forte, but a reemergence out of him in a new offense would do wonders for this squad. Malinn continues the trend that began with Curran where the team is strong for the most part, barring a single lacking position. Count on Malinn to work the trade wire by dangling Peyton, Graham, or Forte to address his WR needs. I am ending Malinn’s write up here, because the more I look at his team, the higher I think it should be on this list.
6. Nemo – A team I saw as nearly dead even with Malinns, gets the slightest of edges here…..and sort of brings a new wrinkle to the trend of “weak positions”. Martin and Rice are the only two running backs in Nemo’s stable, and an injury to either would be nuclear for this squad. So, while those two RBs are up there with anyones top 2 RBs, I do not feel comfortable with his RB position as a whole. Of course Dalton could break out, but he, Flacco, and Rivers have limited upside and give him no better than an average QB group. This will likely be a team that starts four WRs every week and can choose between 4-5 high upside guys he has at the position. Another downside for this team is a Packers slide or an Aaron Rodgers injury would kill his trio of Cobb, Jones, and Finley
5. Concannon – a really hard team to rank due to a muddled RB situation. Foster is just about as good as it gets (although is hurt), but the next group of Matthews, Jackson, and Hillman is shaky. Matthews has looked rejuvenated and is running hard in the preseason, which may or may not be a good thing because every time Matthews has run hard in his career it has resulted in a broken bone. Hillman has seen his stock rise a bit, predictably, as Montee Ball has failed to take the reins. Jackson will get carries, but the question will be “how many?” going week to week. His WR grouping is excellent, and could feasibly run a 4 WR weekly lineup, while he hopes for his RB situation to settle. Can Matthews prove he is capable of being a starter or dare I say fantasy stud? Can Bradford finally break out? Can either Nelson or Britt shake injuries and return to stardom? Lots of questions here with this team, we can probably anticipate lots of up and downs with this team going forward.
4. Dflam – Team Dflam will start what are probably the two fastest QBs in the league in Vick and Kaepernick, so plenty of extra point potential there, but of course plenty of injury risk to go along with it. Gore and Jackson provide a bunch of TD opportunity at RB, although I would temper my expectations of upside with either. We also need to see what Mendenhall can do in Arizona to hold of their rookies, in what looks like an improving offense. I can understand critique of his WR/TE grouping with guys who rely on big plays like Jackson and Wallace, but he balances those with two Falcon rocks in Gonzalez and White. Much like Nemo, Dflams team is highly dependant on a single offense, albeit a high powered one. It is early, but for now I (somehow) have cautious optimism for this personnel group.
3. Brett – I feel that this team is the most balanced team on the list thus far and is the first team that doesn’t have a glaring weakness. Luck and Cutler gives him a strong duo at QB. CJ2K, Murray, and Ivory do present some risk for a variety of reasons at RB, but Brett also has some really good break out candidates/backups on the bench, waiting for an injury to their respective starters. Megatron immediately gives him a step up on most at WR and he rounds his starters at that position out with Amendola and Brown, both of which have top 15 upside. Josh Gordon and Chris Givens, both big play break out WRs, could step into the starting lineup in case of a Murray injury or Ivory realizing he is on the Jets. Brett is firmly in the top half of the league, as it stands, and with a few key starters at RB going down, this team will continue to rise up this list.
2. Tmac – really like what Tmac has going on here as his running duo of Newton/Wilson tells Dflams duo (or maybe just Vick) to go fuck themselves. After only getting one RB, albeit a good one in MJD, in the auction, Tmac followed up by drafting Montee Ball. While I am not overly hyped about Ball, he will more than likely get the goal line carries for the Broncos, which there will be plenty of. The third RB spot does bring some questions in Vereen or Richardson, but both are in line for increased roles. Tmac has a rock solid grouping of WR/TE and is another team (third so far?) that at least has the potential to sport a 4 WR lineup. An improvement from Rusell Wilson in year 2 would make Tmacs team one of the most dangerous in the league.
1. Jae – King Jae Lee opens the season sitting on the iron throne, sneering down at the peons below him, killing prostitutes, and no doubt doing more Joffrey-like things. His QB tandem appear to rival anyones in the league, although relying on Stafford is a slipppppery slope lemme tell ya, as we have seen how good and how bad he can be in the least two seasons. RB stable is very good with Ridley, Morris, Bush, and adding Bell in the draft. Jae’s weakness is behind Dez Bryant at WR where he has a bunch of misfits. While not my favorite group of guys, you would have to figure some pairing of Vincent Brown, TY Hilton, Sidney Rice, and Kenbrell Thompkins will turn out to be serviceable. Jae’s team is by no means complete, which highlights the depth change our league has experienced by adding 2 extra teams. In the end, Jae’s strength at QB, RB depth, and breakout WR potential have him sitting pretty in the top spot heading into week 1.
POWER RANKINGS – Malinn
11-Wiseman - Wiseman and Sean both had the unfortunate duty of having to build a team from scratch with zero keepers and zero rights. All in all, it went a lot better than it could have due to some balanced drafting by the two of them. Wiseman does not have the best QB situation with Eli and Smith , but it is certainly not the worst combo in the league. A top RB in Marshawn and a respectable WR core will keep Wiseman competitive. Lack of RB talent after Marshawn(except Mr. Bernard) could become an issue for the leagues newest member as well as Rob Housler being the go to tightend, however pieces are in place to shake things up in the NFFL.
Best Auction Player Marshawn Lynch - Is it highway robbery, no! But it seemed to be good value and right what Wiseman needed. A true number one running back that can be built around or traded for more balanced pieces.
Worst Pick- Andre Johnson- Tough to pick on poor Andre Johnson here. All the guy does is ball out when on the field. A guy that consistently used to go for close to 20 dollars at 15 appears to be great value. However, poor health, age and other options at the position made me second-guess this selection. Roddy White went for 14 and Colston for 10, both seem like better values at the moment. However, if Andre stays healthy I will be eating my words
10- Sean - Trade one new NFFLer for another. The brother of the commish was welcomed to the auction with open arms and 100 dollars to drop in the auction. Like his counterpart Wiseman Sean was able to lock up a top RB in McCoy at 33 while also locking down the high flying Matty Heisman. With only 10 dollars spent at WR in the auction (all colston), Sean was able to lock down an interesting/promising group on young WR including Baldwin, Pettis and Louis murphy. Sure not the sexiest group but they were 0 dollars. Bradshaw will make things interesting in Indy and certainly supplies Sean with much needed depth in the new 12 team era.
Best Auction Pick - Lesean Mccoy- Again 33 dollars is not phenomenal value, but good value at a position where teams that could lock up a top 10 guy were lucky. Just a blue chip pick here.
Worst Pick- Matty Heismans breakout year led to some price inflation. 36 dollars for Ryan could have gotten you any QB/RB/WR/TE you wanted with exception of Brees and Rodgers(who would have been a couple more bucks). Nonetheless Ryan is a upper tier QB that Sean can build his season around
9- Curran - Curran is led by Brady again, but cost him a pretty penny in the auction. Paired with a healthy Gronk, Currans team could easily take over any random week. However, with 44 dollars tied up in Brady and a banged up gronk pressure was placed on the other positions. Mcfadden is as explosive as any RB when healthy, but when is he ever healthy. WR have some promise, but seems to right now have a lot of 2’s and 3s without any studs. With that said if curran finds a buyer for brady or gronk or gets mcfadden healthy for the year he may make my ranking a whole bunch of dirty horse poop.
Best Auction Player - Steve Smith- At only 5 dollars steve smith appears to be a fairly underpaid receiver. A big play threat with a team that has a QB that can air it out and a team that typically is playing from behind
Worst Pick- Brady- Now this seems like a bunch of bullshit as I write it. Over 5000 yards last year! Clearly a top 5 fantasy QB. However, given Brady’s age, WR core and Curran’s needs at other positions 35 dollars at the top signal caller position seems stiff. Again, that seems harsh considering Curran has a QB that allows him to remain competitive week to week regardless of other positions
8- Thompson -Thompson has a steady WR crew including Marshall, Shorts and Jackson that is one of the most competitive in the league. Peterson is a true number one. Stewart and Sproles should nicely round out thompsons 2 and three spots with Pierce looking to make strides and hopefully becoming at the least a high end flex play in Baltimore. Things get slippery at QB, very slippery. I would have ranked Thompson much higher if it was not for the combo of Shaub as a number 1 qb combined with locker or henne/gabber. Had Thompson had grabbed a QB the 15-20 range to play with Shaub I have no doubt I would have ranked him close to the top 3. With that said, drafting another QB means losing one or two other players he selected. Thompson has a lot of promise this season going forward and will be an interesting team to watch. People seem to be down on Shaub this year and Henne/gabbert(prob Henne, gabber blows) or Locker could make minor strides that will make thompson one of the more competitive teams in this league and rush him up the power rankings
Best Auction Pick- Jonathan Stewart -Yea he is all banged up and on the PUP list and yea the RB situation is the same as always in Carolina this year but 3 dollars is a really good all around value for still only 26 year old back(Drafted in 2008, which is insane to me seems like he has been in the league since 1991!)
Worst Pick -Brandon Marshall- There did not seem to be a ton of overpaying this year and Marshall warrants a hefty price tag for sure but given the need for a qb to pair with shaub now in hindsight seems likes a top priority.
7 Nemo- Nemo was a really really difficult team to rank for me. He looks weaponized at some spots including RB combo of Martin and Rice with woodhead in the three hole. Solid QB depth with Dalton, Rivers and Flacco a good TE combo and Cobb Stevie Johnson and Nicks. It looks like a really promising team, I just cannot get by the fact that everything rides on Martin Rice and Woodhead with no real guys to spell in the event of an injury. Do not get me wrong, this RB core is locked and loaded, but one injury, even if its to woodhead could be devastating. Nemos team probably DESERVES a better ranking, but where our league already gobbled up some much depth it will be a tough sell to snag a true RB to work into the mix.
Best Auction Pick- Rivers at 8 and Flacco at 10. Not sexy picks at all. Blue chips though. Kid locked down two starting NFL QBs who are not in danger of losing their job in the immediate future for a total of 18 dollars. At 8 and 10 dollars respectively they were bought at their DOWNSIDE value and have plenty of upside.
Worst Pick- Stevie Johnson - Just not for me is all. 7 bucks seems a smidge to much for a guy that can have a rookie QB that wasn’t a force to begin with or Kolb a guy who takes diggers coming out of the shower. Nothing wrong with having him on your squad however.
6.Brett- Another tricky team to rank, Bretts team consists of blue chippers Calvin Johnson Chris Johnson and Andrew Luck ready to jump full bore into the fantasy season, but also looks like its grooming itself for future NFFL runs with the emphasis on young talent and explosive spending on solid names. QB combo of luck and cutler may not have a great ring to it, but I am betting it’s a top 5 combo in our league with potential to be top 3(Remember picks don’t count ladies and gentleman). Demarco Murray CJ and Chris Ivory look like starters for Brett this year with lots of young up and coming guys including Rodgers, Ingram, Tate, Bryce Brown(all names that could make for great trade bait). Calvin remains the top WR in the league and plays like RB with amendola and Antonio brown who are both stepping into new roles either with new teams or being the new man at their position with departure of Mike Wallace. I have no doubt Bretts team will be competitive as is, but he has room to upgrade with the young talent he has collected.
5 Flam - So Flams RB average age is like 54.4 years old between Gore and Jackson, but are none the less solid options. Gore looks like he may be headed for the back 9 but I think has more than people think (except flam who spent 25 bones on G face killa.) Jackson however looks poised to be a contributor. The best offense he has now played on and is a threat to both get in the endzone down at the goaline and catch some passes. Mendenhall is a solid number 3 option in Arizona and has a chance to be a fantasy contributor if not by volume of touches alone. Tony Gonzalez remains a top 5 tight end in my book. WR look to have some depth White, Wallace, Austin, Jackson, Floyd and Kendall Wright could make a very respectable corps this year. Kapernick is clearly a game changer who can do as much with his arm as his feet. And although the QB situation is in flux in philly Vick/Foles will hopefully step up and be the number 2 QB Flam hopes them to be. I think Flams team is uglier on paper than it will be once the season starts.
Best Auction Pick- Vick - I hate Vick, but locking up the philly situation with Foles and Vick seemed like more a necessity than anything and for that I give Flam credit. He could have spent the 13 on a lower end RB or high end WR but took care of the hole he had at QB
Worst Pick - Desean Jackson- GUYS A DICKHEAD!
4. Tim - The commish! Romo and Bradford are solid QB combo to have and is the only factor that kept him out of the top 3 in my ranking. Rudolph Witten seems to be a stud in witten and possible trade bait if Rudolph can avoid stinkers early. Foster, Matthews are appropriate number 1 and number 2s with the number 1 being high end and Matthews being low end 2 with upside. Flex there are plenty of guys who could step up between Hillman(could be number 2), Powell, Turbin, Pead, Jackson. The list goes on. Depth at RB is something he has and I think someone in our league should snag some guys from (NEMMMMMMOOOOO). WR AJ Green, Nelson, Decker with Britt and Jeffery seems like it has the making of a potentially explosive group.
Best Auction Pick Bradford - See my theme here with the QBs. Bradford at 10 is another situation of a guy coming into his own on a team that’s offense is evolving. 10 dollars leaves plenty of room for upside.
Worst Pick - Romo- I just don’t like Romo, little credibility to me here.
3 Tmac - May be a controversial rating as Tmacs RBs look fringe as of now with MJD leading the group, but if Ballard plays like last year he should have little problem finding a number 3 back. Torrey Smith, Lance Moore, Cruz, Fitz, Jennings is a top 3 receiving corps with Davis really solidifying the group. Tmacs separation comes from his young QBs, of Newton and Wilson. Fantasy stars Newton started slow last year and as long as Wilson does not have a slump in year 2 there is no reason to believe that Tmacs team will be among the elite.
Best Pick - Jennings- 5 dollars. Downgraded QB situation by a long shot, but this was a 20 dollar guy just a year or two ago. If cassel or ponder figures things out this could be a steal in the auction
Worst Pick-MJD - I like MJD a lot an could very well be a top 5 back. But if I was going to pay that much I would have paid a little more to get the Lynch or Foster guys on my squad
2 Lee- It sickens me to have to write this but Lee gets my number two spot. Rodgers and Stafford make lee competitive weekly as a top 3 combo. RBs Ridley Bush and Morris are probably a better combo than the names sound on paper. WR Hilton Bryant and Brown look well rounded. And Bennet and Olsen look just fine. Maybe Flynn steps up early and Lee demands 3 first rounder’s and a bus ride home for NYC, but Lees team looks solid so long as he does not fuck it up.
Best Pick - Did not pick many guys but Rodgers at 39 looks to be the best. A lot of meat on the bone nope, but paid the premium for what I think is the best fantasy QB.
Worst pick - Did he spend 3 on Bennet or was that a keeper.? If he spent it in auction worst pick, if not than no worst pick for lee looks like everyone was kept.
1. Tighe - Greasing Tighes Dick with a number one ranking as I try to get a sweet deal in some trades. I mean what do you want RG3 and Brees. BOOM top 3 combo. Wilson, spiller, Charles, miller/Thomas BOOM top 3 combo. Thomas, Jones, Sanders boom top 3 combo. And……….he can work on the TE position. The only team I felt that was safely a top 3 team in each of the main three categories and TE was tough to come by anyways this year so I could not hold it against him. Again these are rankings based on bias towards certain players, but Tighe has it right now in my book until its taken from him
Best Pick/Worst Pick Combo- Brees. Great to get a top 2 guy in his situation just could have saved two bucks I guess and got Rodgers. Nit picking! Good luck to all, except Lee! May you tumble down my list like a drunken sailor!
BEST/WORST Pick Each Round - Tighe
Round 1 Best Pick – Eddie Lacy #5 to Thompson – tough to really name a “best pick” in round 1, as there are naturally plenty of good options to go around. Lacy was the 4th running back taken and it wouldn’t even be mildly surprising if he ended up as the leading scorer amongst that group.
Worst Pick – Matt Barkely #10 to Dflam – I understand the thought of grabbing the last Eagles QB to add to Vick/Foles, but he probably could have AT LEAST waiting until his pick at 14 to grab him, if not with one of his two selections in the third round (or packaging them to move up). Understand the reasoning, but think there was some potential talent on the board that was passed up.
Round 2 Best pick – Marcus Lattimore #20 to Concannon – pretty much without question would have been the first player taken in this draft if healthy, lets see if a redshirt season can get Lattimore back up to those heights. At number 20 overall, I think it was a pretty good spot to take that chance.
Worst Pick – Knile Davis #23 to Nemo – Davis has been given poor reviews at best in his first camp, which isn’t the end all be all, but certainly isn’t a good start. I feel he would have been better served at this spot with John Randle or maybe even Latavius Murray, who he picked up a round later.
Round 3 Best Pick – Quinton Patton # 32 to Lee – although currently battling a hand injury, there is plenty of room for Patton to have an impact this year with Crabtree out and a thin San Fran WR core. Will fully admit, like the player, and like both his short/long term future.
Worst Pick – Tavaress King #36 to Lee – by the time theres any sort of opening or chance to make a lasting impact for King in Denver, Manning will be gone. Not to mention, Lee certainly has a soft spot with shitty Georgia players….so I might as well just lump him in.
Round 4 Best pick – Zach Ertz #42 to Brett – Ertz has the potential to make the highest impact of any player in this round, at their respective position. Should do some damage in the years to come as the Eagles best receiving tight end.
Worst pick – Chris Polk #44 to Concannon –I think Timmy could have gotten his man crush a round or two later.
Round 5 Best Pick – Stedman Bailey #50 to Wiseman – Bailey strait up produced in college and has as good a chance as any of the Rams receivers to emerge.
Worst Pick – Montario Hardesty #51 to Malinn – stiff competition here between fellow stiff AJ Jenkins to Concannon and Jae’s pick of Spencer Ware, whose existence he was seemingly reminded of by another LSU RB being taken the pick before. Hardesty ultimately wins the stiff competition between stiffs due to the fact that he is probably not going to make the Browns roster.
Round 6 Best Pick – Jacoby Jones #71 to Nemo – Jones is a starting WR in a capable offense, which, sadly, is good enough at this point to be the best pick.
Worst Pick – Aaron Hernandez #65 to Sean – although a decent speculative pick for 25-30 years down the road, nonetheless real tough to call this one a “value” pick.
Round 7 Best Pick – Marcel Reese #77 to Thompson – McFadden will go down at some point, that is a near certainty, and we saw Reese provide some solid value last year.
Worst Pick – three way tie between TJ Yates #76 to Wiseman, Chad Spann #80 to Lee, and Charlie Whitehurst #84 to Malinn – if I find out that “Chad Spann” doesn’t exist then he takes the cake, otherwise a three way tie remains.
So, for power rankings this year, Malinn and I will each be doing our own version, which we’ll be releasing together. The goal is to update them roughly every 2-3 weeks. Both of our lists will only be 11 long because we aren’t going to include ourselves in our own rankings. We’re hoping that releasing two lists will add a nice little wrinkle to the ole rankings. Also, future updates will not be this lengthy…so bear with us here. For this turn, the rankings will be accompanied by a brief draft write up highlighting both the particularly good and particularly bad picks in each round. Complaining loudly about the rankings is encouraged…..hope you enjoy.
POWER RANKINGS - Tighe
11. Sean – would have been quite an accomplishment for a team starting from scratch to figure out a way to get out of the basement of my initial power rankings. Sean’s team looks to boast competitive QB play with Ryan, Freeman, and EJ Manuel….but not much else behind it. Extremely thin at both RB and WR, Sean’s squad appears to have some tough times ahead in his inaugural season, but that was to be expected. After showing some good trading savvy, as well as solid drafting ability (highlighted by Manuel and some flier WRs later) in his first auction, Sean looks to have a bright future in the league…..just not immediate future.
10. Wiseman – much like his fellow newbie, Wiseman’s team doesn’t appear like it will be all that competitive in his first year. The main difference between the two new teams, to me, is that it looks like Wiseman was able to spread his wealth a little more, and thus his starting lineup appears a tad more complete overall. Front lining this squad will be Andre Johnson, Welker, Golden Tate, and company, which will give him an above average WR core. Unfortunately, what will probably more than offset that are his thin group of RBs behind Lynch and what projects to be no better than average QB play with Manning and Smith. Bernard, Eifert, Wilson, and Bailey give Wiseman a decent first draft class to build on, as well.
9. Curran – Currans main weakness heading into the season is the running back position where he is depending enormously on the one fantasy football player you probably don’t want to depend on….Darren McFadden. An inconsistent QB2 and the lack of a true number one WR puts Curran towards the back end at the moment. A bunch of question marks behind McFadden doesn’t help the matter, either. This team is certainly capable of causing some damage and rising up the rankings when Gronk returns to help his WR/TE grouping, but this is his spot for the time being.
8. Thompson – I think teams 4-8 in my rankings are essentially even at this point and were extremely hard to rank. AP and a strong starting WR trio will anchor this team, and the real wildcard is Eddie Lacy who has top 15 upside if everything goes right. Unfortunately, a starting QB duo of Schaub/Locker could severely limit the upside this team seems at have at other positions. Schaub is a mid-to-low end number 2 QB and Locker is probably one of the 5 worst QBs in the league. As I said before, Thompson could be ranked a few spots higher at this point, but tie goes to the better QBs in my mind. Expect Thompson to dangle a WR (Marshall/Jackson) to try to upgrade his QB position.
7. Malinn – Not your typical Malinn team here, as the normally WR strong team finds that it has no guarantees whatsoever behind Dwayne Bowe. Sanu and Hartline, quite possibly, are his two next best WRs….and the WR/TE grouping would be lost if not for the savior of TE stud Jimmy Graham. An above average QB group and an average RB group with questions at RB3, are the strengths of this team. I am always notoriously low on his RB2 Forte, but a reemergence out of him in a new offense would do wonders for this squad. Malinn continues the trend that began with Curran where the team is strong for the most part, barring a single lacking position. Count on Malinn to work the trade wire by dangling Peyton, Graham, or Forte to address his WR needs. I am ending Malinn’s write up here, because the more I look at his team, the higher I think it should be on this list.
6. Nemo – A team I saw as nearly dead even with Malinns, gets the slightest of edges here…..and sort of brings a new wrinkle to the trend of “weak positions”. Martin and Rice are the only two running backs in Nemo’s stable, and an injury to either would be nuclear for this squad. So, while those two RBs are up there with anyones top 2 RBs, I do not feel comfortable with his RB position as a whole. Of course Dalton could break out, but he, Flacco, and Rivers have limited upside and give him no better than an average QB group. This will likely be a team that starts four WRs every week and can choose between 4-5 high upside guys he has at the position. Another downside for this team is a Packers slide or an Aaron Rodgers injury would kill his trio of Cobb, Jones, and Finley
5. Concannon – a really hard team to rank due to a muddled RB situation. Foster is just about as good as it gets (although is hurt), but the next group of Matthews, Jackson, and Hillman is shaky. Matthews has looked rejuvenated and is running hard in the preseason, which may or may not be a good thing because every time Matthews has run hard in his career it has resulted in a broken bone. Hillman has seen his stock rise a bit, predictably, as Montee Ball has failed to take the reins. Jackson will get carries, but the question will be “how many?” going week to week. His WR grouping is excellent, and could feasibly run a 4 WR weekly lineup, while he hopes for his RB situation to settle. Can Matthews prove he is capable of being a starter or dare I say fantasy stud? Can Bradford finally break out? Can either Nelson or Britt shake injuries and return to stardom? Lots of questions here with this team, we can probably anticipate lots of up and downs with this team going forward.
4. Dflam – Team Dflam will start what are probably the two fastest QBs in the league in Vick and Kaepernick, so plenty of extra point potential there, but of course plenty of injury risk to go along with it. Gore and Jackson provide a bunch of TD opportunity at RB, although I would temper my expectations of upside with either. We also need to see what Mendenhall can do in Arizona to hold of their rookies, in what looks like an improving offense. I can understand critique of his WR/TE grouping with guys who rely on big plays like Jackson and Wallace, but he balances those with two Falcon rocks in Gonzalez and White. Much like Nemo, Dflams team is highly dependant on a single offense, albeit a high powered one. It is early, but for now I (somehow) have cautious optimism for this personnel group.
3. Brett – I feel that this team is the most balanced team on the list thus far and is the first team that doesn’t have a glaring weakness. Luck and Cutler gives him a strong duo at QB. CJ2K, Murray, and Ivory do present some risk for a variety of reasons at RB, but Brett also has some really good break out candidates/backups on the bench, waiting for an injury to their respective starters. Megatron immediately gives him a step up on most at WR and he rounds his starters at that position out with Amendola and Brown, both of which have top 15 upside. Josh Gordon and Chris Givens, both big play break out WRs, could step into the starting lineup in case of a Murray injury or Ivory realizing he is on the Jets. Brett is firmly in the top half of the league, as it stands, and with a few key starters at RB going down, this team will continue to rise up this list.
2. Tmac – really like what Tmac has going on here as his running duo of Newton/Wilson tells Dflams duo (or maybe just Vick) to go fuck themselves. After only getting one RB, albeit a good one in MJD, in the auction, Tmac followed up by drafting Montee Ball. While I am not overly hyped about Ball, he will more than likely get the goal line carries for the Broncos, which there will be plenty of. The third RB spot does bring some questions in Vereen or Richardson, but both are in line for increased roles. Tmac has a rock solid grouping of WR/TE and is another team (third so far?) that at least has the potential to sport a 4 WR lineup. An improvement from Rusell Wilson in year 2 would make Tmacs team one of the most dangerous in the league.
1. Jae – King Jae Lee opens the season sitting on the iron throne, sneering down at the peons below him, killing prostitutes, and no doubt doing more Joffrey-like things. His QB tandem appear to rival anyones in the league, although relying on Stafford is a slipppppery slope lemme tell ya, as we have seen how good and how bad he can be in the least two seasons. RB stable is very good with Ridley, Morris, Bush, and adding Bell in the draft. Jae’s weakness is behind Dez Bryant at WR where he has a bunch of misfits. While not my favorite group of guys, you would have to figure some pairing of Vincent Brown, TY Hilton, Sidney Rice, and Kenbrell Thompkins will turn out to be serviceable. Jae’s team is by no means complete, which highlights the depth change our league has experienced by adding 2 extra teams. In the end, Jae’s strength at QB, RB depth, and breakout WR potential have him sitting pretty in the top spot heading into week 1.
POWER RANKINGS – Malinn
11-Wiseman - Wiseman and Sean both had the unfortunate duty of having to build a team from scratch with zero keepers and zero rights. All in all, it went a lot better than it could have due to some balanced drafting by the two of them. Wiseman does not have the best QB situation with Eli and Smith , but it is certainly not the worst combo in the league. A top RB in Marshawn and a respectable WR core will keep Wiseman competitive. Lack of RB talent after Marshawn(except Mr. Bernard) could become an issue for the leagues newest member as well as Rob Housler being the go to tightend, however pieces are in place to shake things up in the NFFL.
Best Auction Player Marshawn Lynch - Is it highway robbery, no! But it seemed to be good value and right what Wiseman needed. A true number one running back that can be built around or traded for more balanced pieces.
Worst Pick- Andre Johnson- Tough to pick on poor Andre Johnson here. All the guy does is ball out when on the field. A guy that consistently used to go for close to 20 dollars at 15 appears to be great value. However, poor health, age and other options at the position made me second-guess this selection. Roddy White went for 14 and Colston for 10, both seem like better values at the moment. However, if Andre stays healthy I will be eating my words
10- Sean - Trade one new NFFLer for another. The brother of the commish was welcomed to the auction with open arms and 100 dollars to drop in the auction. Like his counterpart Wiseman Sean was able to lock up a top RB in McCoy at 33 while also locking down the high flying Matty Heisman. With only 10 dollars spent at WR in the auction (all colston), Sean was able to lock down an interesting/promising group on young WR including Baldwin, Pettis and Louis murphy. Sure not the sexiest group but they were 0 dollars. Bradshaw will make things interesting in Indy and certainly supplies Sean with much needed depth in the new 12 team era.
Best Auction Pick - Lesean Mccoy- Again 33 dollars is not phenomenal value, but good value at a position where teams that could lock up a top 10 guy were lucky. Just a blue chip pick here.
Worst Pick- Matty Heismans breakout year led to some price inflation. 36 dollars for Ryan could have gotten you any QB/RB/WR/TE you wanted with exception of Brees and Rodgers(who would have been a couple more bucks). Nonetheless Ryan is a upper tier QB that Sean can build his season around
9- Curran - Curran is led by Brady again, but cost him a pretty penny in the auction. Paired with a healthy Gronk, Currans team could easily take over any random week. However, with 44 dollars tied up in Brady and a banged up gronk pressure was placed on the other positions. Mcfadden is as explosive as any RB when healthy, but when is he ever healthy. WR have some promise, but seems to right now have a lot of 2’s and 3s without any studs. With that said if curran finds a buyer for brady or gronk or gets mcfadden healthy for the year he may make my ranking a whole bunch of dirty horse poop.
Best Auction Player - Steve Smith- At only 5 dollars steve smith appears to be a fairly underpaid receiver. A big play threat with a team that has a QB that can air it out and a team that typically is playing from behind
Worst Pick- Brady- Now this seems like a bunch of bullshit as I write it. Over 5000 yards last year! Clearly a top 5 fantasy QB. However, given Brady’s age, WR core and Curran’s needs at other positions 35 dollars at the top signal caller position seems stiff. Again, that seems harsh considering Curran has a QB that allows him to remain competitive week to week regardless of other positions
8- Thompson -Thompson has a steady WR crew including Marshall, Shorts and Jackson that is one of the most competitive in the league. Peterson is a true number one. Stewart and Sproles should nicely round out thompsons 2 and three spots with Pierce looking to make strides and hopefully becoming at the least a high end flex play in Baltimore. Things get slippery at QB, very slippery. I would have ranked Thompson much higher if it was not for the combo of Shaub as a number 1 qb combined with locker or henne/gabber. Had Thompson had grabbed a QB the 15-20 range to play with Shaub I have no doubt I would have ranked him close to the top 3. With that said, drafting another QB means losing one or two other players he selected. Thompson has a lot of promise this season going forward and will be an interesting team to watch. People seem to be down on Shaub this year and Henne/gabbert(prob Henne, gabber blows) or Locker could make minor strides that will make thompson one of the more competitive teams in this league and rush him up the power rankings
Best Auction Pick- Jonathan Stewart -Yea he is all banged up and on the PUP list and yea the RB situation is the same as always in Carolina this year but 3 dollars is a really good all around value for still only 26 year old back(Drafted in 2008, which is insane to me seems like he has been in the league since 1991!)
Worst Pick -Brandon Marshall- There did not seem to be a ton of overpaying this year and Marshall warrants a hefty price tag for sure but given the need for a qb to pair with shaub now in hindsight seems likes a top priority.
7 Nemo- Nemo was a really really difficult team to rank for me. He looks weaponized at some spots including RB combo of Martin and Rice with woodhead in the three hole. Solid QB depth with Dalton, Rivers and Flacco a good TE combo and Cobb Stevie Johnson and Nicks. It looks like a really promising team, I just cannot get by the fact that everything rides on Martin Rice and Woodhead with no real guys to spell in the event of an injury. Do not get me wrong, this RB core is locked and loaded, but one injury, even if its to woodhead could be devastating. Nemos team probably DESERVES a better ranking, but where our league already gobbled up some much depth it will be a tough sell to snag a true RB to work into the mix.
Best Auction Pick- Rivers at 8 and Flacco at 10. Not sexy picks at all. Blue chips though. Kid locked down two starting NFL QBs who are not in danger of losing their job in the immediate future for a total of 18 dollars. At 8 and 10 dollars respectively they were bought at their DOWNSIDE value and have plenty of upside.
Worst Pick- Stevie Johnson - Just not for me is all. 7 bucks seems a smidge to much for a guy that can have a rookie QB that wasn’t a force to begin with or Kolb a guy who takes diggers coming out of the shower. Nothing wrong with having him on your squad however.
6.Brett- Another tricky team to rank, Bretts team consists of blue chippers Calvin Johnson Chris Johnson and Andrew Luck ready to jump full bore into the fantasy season, but also looks like its grooming itself for future NFFL runs with the emphasis on young talent and explosive spending on solid names. QB combo of luck and cutler may not have a great ring to it, but I am betting it’s a top 5 combo in our league with potential to be top 3(Remember picks don’t count ladies and gentleman). Demarco Murray CJ and Chris Ivory look like starters for Brett this year with lots of young up and coming guys including Rodgers, Ingram, Tate, Bryce Brown(all names that could make for great trade bait). Calvin remains the top WR in the league and plays like RB with amendola and Antonio brown who are both stepping into new roles either with new teams or being the new man at their position with departure of Mike Wallace. I have no doubt Bretts team will be competitive as is, but he has room to upgrade with the young talent he has collected.
5 Flam - So Flams RB average age is like 54.4 years old between Gore and Jackson, but are none the less solid options. Gore looks like he may be headed for the back 9 but I think has more than people think (except flam who spent 25 bones on G face killa.) Jackson however looks poised to be a contributor. The best offense he has now played on and is a threat to both get in the endzone down at the goaline and catch some passes. Mendenhall is a solid number 3 option in Arizona and has a chance to be a fantasy contributor if not by volume of touches alone. Tony Gonzalez remains a top 5 tight end in my book. WR look to have some depth White, Wallace, Austin, Jackson, Floyd and Kendall Wright could make a very respectable corps this year. Kapernick is clearly a game changer who can do as much with his arm as his feet. And although the QB situation is in flux in philly Vick/Foles will hopefully step up and be the number 2 QB Flam hopes them to be. I think Flams team is uglier on paper than it will be once the season starts.
Best Auction Pick- Vick - I hate Vick, but locking up the philly situation with Foles and Vick seemed like more a necessity than anything and for that I give Flam credit. He could have spent the 13 on a lower end RB or high end WR but took care of the hole he had at QB
Worst Pick - Desean Jackson- GUYS A DICKHEAD!
4. Tim - The commish! Romo and Bradford are solid QB combo to have and is the only factor that kept him out of the top 3 in my ranking. Rudolph Witten seems to be a stud in witten and possible trade bait if Rudolph can avoid stinkers early. Foster, Matthews are appropriate number 1 and number 2s with the number 1 being high end and Matthews being low end 2 with upside. Flex there are plenty of guys who could step up between Hillman(could be number 2), Powell, Turbin, Pead, Jackson. The list goes on. Depth at RB is something he has and I think someone in our league should snag some guys from (NEMMMMMMOOOOO). WR AJ Green, Nelson, Decker with Britt and Jeffery seems like it has the making of a potentially explosive group.
Best Auction Pick Bradford - See my theme here with the QBs. Bradford at 10 is another situation of a guy coming into his own on a team that’s offense is evolving. 10 dollars leaves plenty of room for upside.
Worst Pick - Romo- I just don’t like Romo, little credibility to me here.
3 Tmac - May be a controversial rating as Tmacs RBs look fringe as of now with MJD leading the group, but if Ballard plays like last year he should have little problem finding a number 3 back. Torrey Smith, Lance Moore, Cruz, Fitz, Jennings is a top 3 receiving corps with Davis really solidifying the group. Tmacs separation comes from his young QBs, of Newton and Wilson. Fantasy stars Newton started slow last year and as long as Wilson does not have a slump in year 2 there is no reason to believe that Tmacs team will be among the elite.
Best Pick - Jennings- 5 dollars. Downgraded QB situation by a long shot, but this was a 20 dollar guy just a year or two ago. If cassel or ponder figures things out this could be a steal in the auction
Worst Pick-MJD - I like MJD a lot an could very well be a top 5 back. But if I was going to pay that much I would have paid a little more to get the Lynch or Foster guys on my squad
2 Lee- It sickens me to have to write this but Lee gets my number two spot. Rodgers and Stafford make lee competitive weekly as a top 3 combo. RBs Ridley Bush and Morris are probably a better combo than the names sound on paper. WR Hilton Bryant and Brown look well rounded. And Bennet and Olsen look just fine. Maybe Flynn steps up early and Lee demands 3 first rounder’s and a bus ride home for NYC, but Lees team looks solid so long as he does not fuck it up.
Best Pick - Did not pick many guys but Rodgers at 39 looks to be the best. A lot of meat on the bone nope, but paid the premium for what I think is the best fantasy QB.
Worst pick - Did he spend 3 on Bennet or was that a keeper.? If he spent it in auction worst pick, if not than no worst pick for lee looks like everyone was kept.
1. Tighe - Greasing Tighes Dick with a number one ranking as I try to get a sweet deal in some trades. I mean what do you want RG3 and Brees. BOOM top 3 combo. Wilson, spiller, Charles, miller/Thomas BOOM top 3 combo. Thomas, Jones, Sanders boom top 3 combo. And……….he can work on the TE position. The only team I felt that was safely a top 3 team in each of the main three categories and TE was tough to come by anyways this year so I could not hold it against him. Again these are rankings based on bias towards certain players, but Tighe has it right now in my book until its taken from him
Best Pick/Worst Pick Combo- Brees. Great to get a top 2 guy in his situation just could have saved two bucks I guess and got Rodgers. Nit picking! Good luck to all, except Lee! May you tumble down my list like a drunken sailor!
BEST/WORST Pick Each Round - Tighe
Round 1 Best Pick – Eddie Lacy #5 to Thompson – tough to really name a “best pick” in round 1, as there are naturally plenty of good options to go around. Lacy was the 4th running back taken and it wouldn’t even be mildly surprising if he ended up as the leading scorer amongst that group.
Worst Pick – Matt Barkely #10 to Dflam – I understand the thought of grabbing the last Eagles QB to add to Vick/Foles, but he probably could have AT LEAST waiting until his pick at 14 to grab him, if not with one of his two selections in the third round (or packaging them to move up). Understand the reasoning, but think there was some potential talent on the board that was passed up.
Round 2 Best pick – Marcus Lattimore #20 to Concannon – pretty much without question would have been the first player taken in this draft if healthy, lets see if a redshirt season can get Lattimore back up to those heights. At number 20 overall, I think it was a pretty good spot to take that chance.
Worst Pick – Knile Davis #23 to Nemo – Davis has been given poor reviews at best in his first camp, which isn’t the end all be all, but certainly isn’t a good start. I feel he would have been better served at this spot with John Randle or maybe even Latavius Murray, who he picked up a round later.
Round 3 Best Pick – Quinton Patton # 32 to Lee – although currently battling a hand injury, there is plenty of room for Patton to have an impact this year with Crabtree out and a thin San Fran WR core. Will fully admit, like the player, and like both his short/long term future.
Worst Pick – Tavaress King #36 to Lee – by the time theres any sort of opening or chance to make a lasting impact for King in Denver, Manning will be gone. Not to mention, Lee certainly has a soft spot with shitty Georgia players….so I might as well just lump him in.
Round 4 Best pick – Zach Ertz #42 to Brett – Ertz has the potential to make the highest impact of any player in this round, at their respective position. Should do some damage in the years to come as the Eagles best receiving tight end.
Worst pick – Chris Polk #44 to Concannon –I think Timmy could have gotten his man crush a round or two later.
Round 5 Best Pick – Stedman Bailey #50 to Wiseman – Bailey strait up produced in college and has as good a chance as any of the Rams receivers to emerge.
Worst Pick – Montario Hardesty #51 to Malinn – stiff competition here between fellow stiff AJ Jenkins to Concannon and Jae’s pick of Spencer Ware, whose existence he was seemingly reminded of by another LSU RB being taken the pick before. Hardesty ultimately wins the stiff competition between stiffs due to the fact that he is probably not going to make the Browns roster.
Round 6 Best Pick – Jacoby Jones #71 to Nemo – Jones is a starting WR in a capable offense, which, sadly, is good enough at this point to be the best pick.
Worst Pick – Aaron Hernandez #65 to Sean – although a decent speculative pick for 25-30 years down the road, nonetheless real tough to call this one a “value” pick.
Round 7 Best Pick – Marcel Reese #77 to Thompson – McFadden will go down at some point, that is a near certainty, and we saw Reese provide some solid value last year.
Worst Pick – three way tie between TJ Yates #76 to Wiseman, Chad Spann #80 to Lee, and Charlie Whitehurst #84 to Malinn – if I find out that “Chad Spann” doesn’t exist then he takes the cake, otherwise a three way tie remains.
