Author: Commish

About Commish

I am the Commissioner of the DynaBowl Fantasy Football Dynasty League. What I say goes.

2017 DynaBowl Mock Draft

At James ‘Goody’ Goodson’s behest, he, Chris Braithwaite and Ian Kulkowski have mock drafted for their puny insignificant lives and come up with the following opening three rounds of the 2017 Dynabowl Rookie Draft.

 

1.01 1. East Flanders Dungeoneers

Pick: Leonard Fournette, JAX, RB

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: The consensus 1.01 of Dynasty Drafts, Fournette ticks more boxes for any of the RBs drafted in 2017. He has the talent and opportunity to be an immediate starter for the Dungeoneers, and will easily justify the 1.01 tag. The Jags are already building around him by drafting an OT and FB, negating any concerns over their poor RB gradings last year. Probably the easiest pick in this mock.

Opinion: Chris: pretty obvious pick with a high floor. He should get a ton of volume.

Ian: I’m happy with this pick.

 

1.02 2. Tamworth Two

Pick: Christian McCaffrey, CAR, RB

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning : No.2 pick seems to be between McCaffrey and Davis.  T2 biggest need is arguably RB (just).  Plus who wouldn’t want to pair run CmC with CAP?!  They also have pick 5 so can probably take the WR they want there.

Opinion: Goody. Interesting pick here! I’m not overly enamoured with Mccaffery’s landing spot to warrant 1.02, based on Carolina’s power offence, Cam and J-Stew hogging TD opportunities this year, plus the arrival of second round pick, and CMC double, Curtis Samuel.

Chris: I agree with this pick


1.03 3. Here Comes The Brees

Pick: Craig David, WR, Tennessee

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: Davis seems to be the consensus top WR. He was the highest drafted WR, has a clear path to being the #1 WR (in that he already basically is). He has a fairly high bust potential as there’s not a great deal of evidence that he can play against NFL quality corners, but from the combination of draft pedigree and situation, it’s difficult to ignore his upside.

Opinion: Goody: I would have probably gone for Williams here. Better red zone target and higher calibre of opposition faced, plus no/fewer injury concerns.

Ian: Exactly who I would have picked here.  Best WR available and brees have a desperate need!


1.04 4. Dynasore Losers

Pick: Mike Williams, WR, LAC

Chosen by: Goody

See my comment above for Davis. We know Slatz isn’t a Davis fan, with good reason, so he’d be thrilled to pick Williams here.

Opinion: Chris: probably a fair pick, but Williams has a fair few concerns: sub-optimal athleticism, very crowded situation and an aging QB with no succession plan in place.

Ian: Sensible pick, probably BPA.  But I just don’t think Slatz has a need at WR so I would expect him to go RB here.

 

1.05 5. Tamworth Two

Pick :John Ross, WR, CIN

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: Ah, so the two stand out WR’s have gone?!  I was convinced one of them would still be available – maybe you should consider trying to trade up for one of them?  I would say it’s between Cook, mixon & Ross at this point.  Based on need and as you took McCaffrey with pick 2 (remember?) then I’m going to go for Ross here.  Should be in a decent position opposite AJ Green with an opportunity to make a big impact early.

Opinion: Goody: I like this pick based on need. Ross will go in as WR2 with a high ceiling and good opportunity.

Chris: i think with the board like this, trading down would be a strong consideration. Given the need, Ross makes sense, but this is pretty awful value. Much like the pick of Ross in the reality.


1.06 6. Champions of the Sun

Pick: Joe Mixon, CIN RB

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: The bigger need is probably WR, but the value is probably at RB at this point. For me, Mixon is a better player on a better team, so should get more carries and more TDs, especially early on. He’s also shown less of a pattern of being a dick (although his acts of being a dick are worse).

James: This is a nice pick, although I think Cook may surprise more this year. Hill is in his final year and Bernard is coming back off injury.

Ian: Maxx doesn’t really have any pressing needs so may look to trade down if he can get value.  Otherwise I would say it’s between Cook & Mixon here.  Cook probably has the better immediate opportunity but Mixon is the better long term bet so Maxx will be fine with this.


1.07 7. The People’s Republic of the 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness

Pick: OJ Howard, TE, TEN

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: Two picks out of three give a good opportunity for the Sadness to pick up their targets. OJ Howard fills a longer term need and will produce a likely pro-bowl appearance at some point.

Opinion: Ian: I have no issues with this pick here, Howard is a solid first round pick who should have a top tier career at TE.

Chris: I’m not a fan of Howard here. I think he’ll be a fantastic real NFL player, but i think his blocking may limit his impact as a fantasy player. Especially as he is at best the third receiving option on the team for the next year or two (and may be behind Sims and Brate). Lot of upside, but i think the other TEs have a better floor.

 

1.08 8. Here Comes The Brees

Pick: Ju Ju Smith-Schuster PIT WR

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: This is where it becomes tricky, it feels like we’re now into the 2nd tier.  Brees may be looking to trade up from here (Hello Maxx!).  Their big need remains WR so I’ll go with Ju Ju S-Schu.  I have him as the best of the 2nd tier of WR’s and he should have a decent opportunity in a good (for now) offence.

Opinion: Chris: Not a fan of him landing with the Steelers for a few reasons: he’ll never be their #1, there’s good competition at WR with Bryant, Coates and Rogers, and by the time JuJu battles his way through that competition to be the #2, Landry Jones might be the QB.

James. I can see JJSS having an Boldin type of role, he may not get you 150 yards but his solid hands and redzone presence will mean he will be a sound fantasy option.


1.09 9. The People’s Republic of the 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness

Pick: Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: RB is a pretty big need, Dalvin Cook should be a pretty good RB. He might not be an RB1, but between Cook, the Detroit backs and Dixon, it should be possible to cobble together an RB2 and 3 most weeks.

Opinion: Ian: Manboob will be happy Cook has fallen this far after passing on him with pick 7.  Fills a big need on his roster with a rookie who should get a decent number of touches immediately.

James. Solid pick here. I’ve cooled on Cook since the combine but the Vikings have also improved their O-line and Cook will supplant Murray by end of year 1.


1.10 10. Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules

Pick: Alvin Kamara, RB, NO

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: RB is definitely the need here, so I could even see Kelkowski trying to trade up if they want to nab their man. A sharp drop off with the potential elite RBs leave Kelkowski having to make a judgement call. Kamara provides a bit of safety with 28 year old Ingram on their roster and a future plan to accommodate the recent arrival of Adrian Peterson.

Opinion: Ian: Finally we have a pick!!!  Kamara makes sense I guess as we already have FHTWMIJ although I would rather take hi with pick 20!

Chris: I agree that this seems high for Kamara, but i feel there’s a fairly long tier here where people can justify taking a wide range of players depending on need. Picking up two bits of the Saints backfield makes sense, and Kamara has shown some good skills. However, if we’re looking at getting the whole backfield, i think Kareem Hunt would have been a better pick.

 

2.01 11. East Flanders Dungeoneers

Pick: David Njoku, CLE TE

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: Having secured the RB he needs I think Pete goes TE here to compliment HH.  It’s a toss up between Njoku and Engram.  Both are good prospects who have landed in good situations as the likely no.1 TE on their respective teams.  I’ll go with Njoku as he seems to be the guy with most talent.

Opinion: Goody: Another real Dynasty option, Njoku will take time to settle but I see him with a better initial opportunity than Engram.

Chris: he certainly doesn’t have much competition, so should get a lot of snaps pretty quickly. My concern is that it’ll take him a couple of years to really produce, but i think Pete is ok not going all-out win-now.


2.02 12. Dynasore Losers

Pick: Kareem Hunt, RB, KC

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: Slatz loves his WRs, but there are probably enough guys there to hope that he can get three or four contributors each week. RB is looking a lot barer. I think Hunt is probably the guy with the clearest route to a starting job that’s left available, given how Ware didn’t produce much in the second half of the season.

Opinion: Ian: Fair pick.  Slatz is all about buying Running Back tickets at this point and Hunt has talent and reasonable shot of getting touches in a run heavy offence.


2.03 13. Here Comes The Brees

Pick: Jeremy McNichols, RB, TBB

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: This was such a hard pick. There are a few RBs in a tier of their own at this stage, mostly based on the chance to them becoming the primary back to a starter with contract (Doug Martin), age (Frank Gore), injury (Carlos Hyde) or ability (Ty Montgomery) issues. The Brees try to solidify their Tampa backfield with a RB who fell in the draft due to recent surgery issues. That’s not an immediate problem in Dynasty and McNichols grades well at pass protection and has a path to a starting position in a high powered offence in a year or two.

Opinion: Ian: Wouldn’t have him this high but makes sense for Brees given their monopoly on the TB running game.

Chris: i think this is way too early for McNichols. If they want to consolidate a running game, Donta Foreman for the Texans is a better player. McNichols might have been available in the next round.

Update: Goody: I didn’t realise that Martin may be suspended for the first 4 games of the season so I still stick with this pick.


2.04 14. DynaForOne Firebirds

Pick: Samaje Perine, RB, WAS

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: And so Neil finally enters the draft with back to back picks.  He has needs all over his roster but I think RB is where he has the biggest hole so I’m going Perine here.  He has a chance to be productive straight away in a good offence so can help fill a gap for Neil.

Opinion: Goody. Good pick. I probably would have had Perine higher at 2.03 if not for the Brees tentative situation with Martin linked to being cut.

Chris: Perine is in the same boat as McNichols, in that I’m not sure about his talent, but his situation is decent enough. Good upside pick.

 

2.05 15. DynaForOne Firebirds

Pick: D’onta Foreman, RB HOU

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: Even with Perine, Neil doesn’t have a lot at RB, so double dipping seems reasonable. Foreman is probably the RB with most upside and a decent floor, so i think he makes sense here.

Opinion: Ian: I might have been tempted to go WR here but Neil could definitely do with more depth at RB which Foreman could provide.


2.06 16. Champions of the Sun

Pick: Zay Jones

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: A tough one again, as there are a number of RB’s on the board with a lower floor but higher ceiling. Max could also be tempted by Mahomes, (who coincidently autocorrects to Manholes) as Big Ben is on his way out. But Jones enters a Buffalo team in dire need of a receiver. Watkins has injury concerns and there are a number of targets available with the release of Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin and Justin Hunter. I think this is a very safe pick at 2.06

Opinion: Ian: A good prospect in a decent position to contribute straight away is a good fit for maxx at this point.  Could be real value next year if the Bills move on from Watkins.

Chris: I’m not a huge fan of Jones, his college production and draft position make this pretty good value.


2.07 17. The People’s Republic of the 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness Pick: Deshaun Watson

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: Manboob’s quarterback situation is a total mess.  He has the unenvious task of choosing between Bridgeater, Glennon, Goff, Man Penguin Boy, Brockules and Smith each week.  I mean Wow!  That’s brutal!  So he’s definitely going to complicate things further by taking a chance on one of this year’s crop of uninspiring rookie passers. Watson is the pick because of he has the highest likelihood of making an immediate impact – I mean, no one believes BOB’s bullshit about Savage being the starter, Houston needs to win NOW!

Opinion: Chris: i like this pick. Watson’s should be the starting QB, and his combination of passing and rushing should make him a viable starter.


2.08 18. Dynablaster Bombermen

Pick: Chris Godwin, WR, TB

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: The Bombermen don’t really need a win now contributor, so they can pick a guy who has the best chance of having a WR1/2 upside. He should also work as a decent handcuff to Desean Jackson if age hits him.

Comment: Goody: Godwin could see himself come in and play the perimeter and Jackson is the wrong side of 30, so good Dynasty value here.

Ian: I can see the logic in taking a stash here as the B men don;t have any pressing needs.  They might think about breaking the seal on D here.

 

2.09 19. Live Free or Dyna Hard

Pick: Evan Engram, TE, NYG

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: I originally had Marlon Mack here, but I now pick Evan Engram who Chris would be delighted to pick. With an ageing Bennett and Gates on the DynaHard roster, Engram is the perfect Dynasty grab.

Chris: I’d be very happy if things worked out like this. Engram wouldI be excellent value here.

Ian: Probably best player available at this point so good pick for Chris


2.10 20. Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules

Pick: Curtis Samuel, WR, CAR

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: Kelkowski probably need some more depth at WR, and Samuel is probably the best player available. It’s difficult to know how he’ll be used in Carolina, but if he gets used from the slot and gets return work, he should be quite a consistent scorer.

Opinion: Goody: Samuel has big play ability so Kelkowski will hope for some Tyreek Hill style matchups. Ian: I’m okay with this.  WR depth is certainly a requirement and Samuel gives us a monopoly of the 2nd tier of receivers in Carolina behind Benjamin & Olsen.

 

3.01 21. East Flanders Dungeoneers

Pick: Joe Williams, RB, SF

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: The Flanders roster is just horrible at RB depth. Hyde is likely out after this season and Williams is openly loved by Kyle Shanahanahanahan. Shanahan loves runners who can go outside and Williams excelled at that in College. He could be RB1 at the 49ers at the end of the year so this represents great value.

Opinion: Ian: RB is definitely the major need for Pete so Williams works here as a backup and eventual successor to Hyde.

Chris: This is a decent pick. Works as a handcuff to Hyde and a player with potential in his own right.


3.02 22. Dynasore Losers

Pick:Myles Garrett, DE, CLE

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: With offensive talent thinning out at this point I think Saltz will be happy the best defensive option in the draft has fallen this far.  With his 3 top DE’s in their final year this pick will help him for years to come.

Opinion: Goody: I could see Slatz staying with offence. If there is a position he is definitely stacked in, its DE, and he’s got such a generous salary cushion he doesn’t really need to worry about renewals. I’d have probably said that Slatz goes for someone like Carlos Henderson as a long term replacement for Sanders, or trade down a few spots for a bigger defensive need – LB, so maybe Reddick or Foster.

Chris: I think this is a good spot for Garrett, but I’m not sure Slatz would take him. Even if Quinn moves to LB, the 3 guys he has at DE are fine for this year.

 

3.03 23. Here Comes The Brees

Pick: Cooper Kupp, WR, LAR

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: Even with Davis, the Brees probably still need a WR, preferably one with WR1 upside. Kupp probably has the clearest route to that of the people left, due mainly to lack of competition.

Opinion: Goody: I think ‘doubling-down’ here for the Brees makes really good sense and could leave them with the primary target on team with a QB looking for a safe target.

Ian: Agree with the others here, Brees need to be all in on WR and Kupp is about the best option still available.


3.04 24. DynaForOne Firebirds

Pick: Marlon Mack, RB, Ind

Chosen by: Goody

Reasoning: Arguably RB and DE was a massive need for the Firebirds coming into this draft. CJ Anderson will now share carries with Charles, Blount is without a team, Mathews is likely to be dropped, and Rawls will share backfield duties with ‘obese mode’ Eddie Lacy. It doesn’t look great and they’ve only effectively picked up Foreman and Perine so far. There is also a need for a DE, but most evidence suggests that rookie DEs are hit and miss. The 2017 class is regarded as a good and deep one, but not great in relation to potential elite (Garrett). Even Garrett, if he was available now, only picked up 3 of his sacks against a NFL based O-line. In this case, Barnett, who picked up 16 of his sacks against similar opposition, could be an acceptable pick. Therefore, Firebirds may think they can pick up some DE depth later on with someone like Barnett, McKinley or Charlton. Now the case for the prosecution, Mack is a good receiver and has high home run potential. Gore is old. So very old. With the Firebirds a bit away from ‘win now’, getting a potential starting RB with the 24th pick is immense value. Come 2018, they may have some of their 3 RBs hit and become competitive.

Opinion: Ian: This is now Neil’s 3rd RB of the draft after taking Perine & Foreman in the 1st so he’s certainly going all out to address his major need.  I might have gone WR here instead but as a third round pick in his own right Mack is okay.


3.05 25. Tamworth Two

Pick:Rueben Foster, LB SF

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: Time for T2 to start addressing their defensive needs.  Foster is the best LB available and will be an immediate contributor in San Francisco so will continue to build on T2’s good young LB core.

Opinion: Chris: i think this is a solid pick. I think T2 need an elite defensive player. My only quibble is whether DE is a bigger need, but Foster might be the best defensive player available and T2’s LBs have a lot of question marks.

Goody. Foster is an elite prospect but I’m concerned by his injury, and recent failed surgery. There is also chat about a number of hidden concussions at College, plus, I’m all for hydration, but Foster takes it too far.

 

3.06 26. Champions of the Sun

Pick: Pat Mahomes QB, KC

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: CotS need a QB for when Big Ben retires, which could easily happen next year. Despite being the 2nd QB picked in the NFL draft, Mahomes has a better fantasy outlook than Trubisky due to his athleticism, his head coach and the fact he should have a chance to learn for at least a year, rather than being thrown in straight away.

Opinion: Goody:A solid gamble, Mahomes is likely to have a very high ceiling but will have to learn a much more complex playback. Andy Reid has a good track record of elite QBs so Max could get a diamond here.

Ian: I would have considered a QB in R2 for Maxxx so am fine with taking one here.  With a year of Rapistberger remaining Maxx has no immediate need so P Homes is the perfect development opportunity.

 

3.07 27. The People’s Republic of the 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness

Pick: Jonathan Allen, DT. WAS

Chosen by: Goody.

Reasoning: With a need at DT, the Sadness Pick the best one on the board, who is in a great landing spot at Washington.

Opinon: Ian: Having addressed his need at RB & QB and taken Howard as a potential superstar Manboob has plenty of options here.Williams and Conner are still available for added RB depth and another QB ticket wouldn’t hurt.  However, I agree there are needs in the D also.  Davis would be an option here at LB but DT as arguably the more pressing need so Allen makes sense as the best DT in the draft (he may however end up as a DE).

Chris: I think Allen will be a great player. But I think he’ll be a DE, which will hurt his value.

 

3.08 28. Dynablaster Bombermen

Pick:Adam Shaheen. TE CHI

Chosen by: Ian

Reasoning: With no immediate pressing needs Bendy has the luxury of taking the best player available.  I have no clue who that is at this stage so I’ll go with Shaheeeeen.  There’s not much ahead of him in Chicago (although that’s not saying much) and there’s a good development opportunity here behind Bendy’s existing starting TE’s.

Comment: Goody: I think this is a bit early for the remaining TEs, who drop off after the 3 main guys. I’d have probably seen a bit more value in going defence, especially at LB.

Chris: I agree it’s early for Shaheen, but i think if a team wanted a TE at this stage and took Gerald Everett, that might be defendable

   

3.09 29. Live Free or Dyna Hard

Pick: Haasan Reddick, ARI, LB

Chosen by Goody.

Reasoning: DynaHard have an opportunity to pick someone up who has been identified as an athletic specimen, albeit no experience at playing ILB. Although the jury is still out if Reddick will be able to develop this way, Chris may see this as a pretty low risk appointment.

Opinion: Chris: Reddick is a pretty nice pick. I’m not sure LB is a big need for me though, with Miller, Ragland and Jatavis Brown on board for the next 2 years. But he does seem like BPA at this point. Apart from the next guy…

3.10 30. Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules

Pick: Solomon Thomas, DE, SF

Chosen by: Chris

Reasoning: Thomas is the clear BPA here in my opinion. He might not get gaudy sack numbers like Garrett, but his ability against the run should give him a lot of tackles and TFLs, so he should be a fairly consistent scorer. Kelkowski don’t have a need at DE, but Thomas and Bosa would make them set at the position for the long term.

Opinion: Goody: Solid pick here. No complaints from me.

Stew’s Pot Luck – Don’t Take Offence, It’s The Offensive Previews

Dynabowl offensive previews

 

East Flanders Dungeoneers

2015 record: 5-8 (8th)

 

With a lacklustre finish in 2015, EFD needs a strong start to have a shot at improving their record. There will be no better way to do this than with Cam at QB in the season opener. He’s a beast in the 4 point-per-passing TD format (amassing 636 rushing yards and 10 TDs in 2015) and Tannehill won’t get a look in.

 

The depth at WR is the other bright light. Allen, Cooper (1,070 yards, 6 TDs in 2015) and Marshall (1,052 yards, 14 TDs in 2015), are easy locks for starting at WR and should produce big things. Floyd is on a lot of breakout lists this season, though he could be anywhere from the 1st to 4th best receiver in an offence that brimmeth over with talent. White’s breakout hopes seem to be dwindling, so these starters need to stay healthy.

 

The RB core is a big of a dumpster fire. Carlos Hyde could be decent and showed some brilliance at the beginning of the 2015 season (182 yards and 2 TDs in week 1!). Rashad Jennings is probably a bit short of RB2 material, though he ended 2015 strongly (over 100 yards in each of the last four weeks) and should have more of a feature role in 2016 and improve on his 20th best RB ranking in 2015.

 

Fleener, while no Graham circa. 2014, is an excellent starting TE and an upgrade over Watson – he should take a good chunk of the points production at N’Orleans.

 

Final offensive prediction: 1-12 (10th place).

 

Here comes the Brees

2015 record: 6-7 (9th)

 

With a reasonable regular season record, I’m left wondering what happened in the post-season to finish 9th overall? I’m assuming it was horrible to watch and may have been, at least in part, due to the hubris and nemesis of Freeman (1,056 rushing yards, 11 TDs but only 4 yards per carry in 2015).

 

Things are looking bright at QB. Tom Brady (2nd best QB in 2015) is the single greatest player (nay person) to pick up a football and Andrew Luck should have a much better 2016 with an improved O-line and time to recover form the spate of injuries in 2015. With two starters after week 4, also potential for a nice trade here to help out at WR.

 

I love the RB depth with this team. Lamar Miller was wasted in Disneyland and is going to be a stud this season in Houston. Doug Martin (1,402 yards, 6 TDs) had an excellent 2015 and should pick up where he left off. There are question marks over whether Freeman can re-find the promise he showed pre-concussion but should be excellent. Sims is a quiet sleeper for me to pick up good all-purpose yards production, while Hightower is a valuable back-ups if Ingram goes down.

 

With the exception of TD machine Allen Robinson (14 TDs in 2015), the WRs are quite thin on the ground. Fitzgerald should have another nice 1,000 yard+ season and Dorsett is worth keeping an eye on, if Luck gets going and spreads the ball around to more than Hilton and Moncrief. I like Ertz at TE this season, a solid stand-in for Tylenol Eifert while he gets back to full health.

 

Final offensive prediction: 4-9 (8th place).

 

Tamworth Two

2015 record: 7-6 (2nd)

 

Oh to be back in 2015, when McFadden (1,089 rushing yards, 3 TDs) was doing what Randle couldn’t in Dallas, Stewart was over-delivering in Carolina (989 rushing yards, 6 TDs), Crabtree was dominating catches in Oakland (85 rec vs. Coopers 72), and we still assumed Peyton would be able to throw a ball to Thomas (1,304 yards, 6 TDs). At the start of the 2016 season, the team is looking a bit less shiny.

 

The position at QB is looking strong with two starters. Rodgers’ Packers will feel they deserve a Superb owl appearance, so should be … well, superb. I like Tyrod Taylor in 4 point-per-passing-TD formats. As long as Watkins (11 yards per target and 17 yards per reception in 2015) can remain healthy and productive, he will be a good starter, leading to some difficult starting line-up options some weeks.  

 

At RB, LeSean McCoy (17th best RB in 2105, but a disappointing 3 rushing TDs over 12 games) should be a solid RB1. After that, there’s a bumfight for RB2 spot. Duke Johnson could be a sleeper if Cleveland can remain competitive and he dominates touches in favour of Crowell.

 

There are two good starting WRs in Thomas and Jeffrey (807 yards, 4 TDs over 9 games), though both have their risks – new QB and injury/offensive ineffectiveness respectively. Crabtree is likely to be the third best receiver, but should take a step back in 2016 as Cooper shines. As long as he can keep the bulk of the redzone work, he should be ok though.

 

Not much to shout about at TE. Eric Ebron (537 yards, 5 TDs in 2015) is the obvious starter and should get a bump following the departure of Megatron but difficult to get too excited about based on an unexciting 2015.

 

Final offensive prediction: 2-11 (9th place).

 

TPRot4thD: Dynasty of Sadness

2015 record: 4-9 (6th)

 

The recent injury to Teddy Bridgewater was gruesome (flailing knee anyone) but with Brees (averaging 20+ fantasy points per game in 2015) taking the starting QB position  the fantasy impact for this team should be nil. Osweiler is a nice back-up if needed and has looked promising in the preseason. Goff will probably forget his own name so probably want to steer clear. Sweet tank though.

 

The depth at RB looks much improved with the addition of Elliot and Dixon (a good stash for week 4+). Elliot has all the signs of being a stud taking advantage of that O-line. I got burned by the Abdullah (pathetic 597 rushing yards and 6 fumbles) hype in 2015, so don’t have too much confidence in the Detroit RBs. Riddick’s (80 rec in 2015) role is pretty well defined on the passing plays and Zenner seems unlikely to provide enough production to start on a week-to-week basis, despite looking like the best RB in Detroit before getting injured.

 

At WR, “ODB” (1,450 yards, 13 TDs in 2015) is the shining light and should be amaze-balls. Despite no obvious number two, there is good sleeper value. Kenny Stills has been getting some attention in Miami, while Michael Thomas, Treadwell and Diggs are all good candidates to step into sizeable roles in 2016.

 

Delanie Walker (94 rec, 1,088 yards and 6 TDs) should be excellent this season in an improved Tennessee offence and Dwayne Allen should bounce back and be more productive following the Fleener departure – a nice decision to have to make each week.

 

Final offensive prediction: 8-5 (4th place).

 

Dynasore Losers

2015 record: 6-7 (7th)

 

This looks like a team that can grind out wins in 2016, but it won’t be pretty.

 

With about 1/10th of the salary cap going on four mid-range QBs, it might be time to rationalise with some blue-sky thinking to create a new paradigm. Carson Palmer (close to leading with 4,671 passing yards and 35 TDs in 2015) seems like the obvious starter, if he can stay healthy and take advantage of the WR talent in Arizona, though Carr (15th in 2015) and Winston (13th in 2015) may also be worth starting in a given week.

 

This team is shallow at RB. Peterson (1,707 all-purpose yards, 11 TDs in 2015) should get a lot of work to start the season, though I’d want McKinnon too should age and workload catch up with AP. I’m not optimistic about the rest. Forte (< 900 rushing yards, 7 TDs) seems likely to take another step back in 2016 and Blount (only 746 yards, but 7 TDs in 2015) might be a good starter but you really will have no idea week-to-week. I don’t see Washington doing much without an injury to Murray.

 

To balance this, the team looks great at WR. Jordy is back and will be a stud in the Bay. Moncrief (only 733 yards and 7 yards per target in 2015), seems to be on all sleeper lists everywhere always and his ADP has been creeping up, with good reason. Landry (1,270 all-purpose yards, 5 TDs in 2015) is a great pick in Miami, as long as Tannehill and the O-line hold strong in 2016. Gordon is an unknown, but after a promising preseason he could be great. To round it out, the WR2 position in Pitt is up for grabs and Coates seems a good candidate to run with it.

 

Nothing to shout about at TE – Graham (74 targets over 11 games) could be productive but needs to prove he can play a sizeable role in Seattle and Walford showed some promise and rapport with Carr in 2015, but would need to take a large step up to be worth starting.

 

Final offensive prediction: 6-7 (6th place).

 

DynaForOne Firebirds

2015 record: 4-9 (10th)

 

A disappointing 2015 record shouldn’t discourage this team for 2016 – they’re definitely my favourite to get a most improved award.

 

At QB, Russell Wilson (4,024 passing and 553 rushing yards in 2015) will be excellent with his hands and feet and should have a good shot at ending the season at number 1 and MVP. Rivers (4,792 passing yards in a league leading 661 attempts) throws a tonne is a decent stand in for the bye week and a sneaky choice when the match-up suits.

 

This is a damn fine bunch of RBs. The new, leaner Lacy (only 946 all-purpose yards in 2015) should be back on form after a disappointing 2015. Hopefully CJ Anderson (903 all-purpose yards in 2015) has shaken off his ankle troubles from last year. And despite the naysayers, I like Mathews – he has an inexperienced QB who will want to hand off and while he faces injury risk, this seems far overblown. Plus a mint week 1 match-up. Gore (12th best RB in 16 games and 260 attempts in 2015), could still be a workhorse in Indy and Rawls (6 yards per rushing attempt) could be useful, despite Seattle’s backfield shaping up to be an RBBC.

 

The WR bunch seems well thought through. Julio (1,871 yards in 20150 is the sole stud, and Edelman (37th best WR despie only playing 9 games) is great but with some patience there is a great chance that a few of the other WRs will emerge as top 20 WRs in 2016. My money is on Snead (984 yards in 2015) with a pass-heavy New Orleans offence, though Jackson and Sharp both have 2nd year QBs in offenses that should be productive in scoring points and chasing games. DGB is probably not going to do anything, but it would be cool to see him get going in Philly.  

 

Gronk-party boat-owski (1,176 yards and 11 TDs in 2015) is amazing, but you knew that.

 

Final offensive prediction: 11-2 (2nd place).

 

Dynablaster Bombermen

2015 record: 6-7 (5th)

 

When you’ best QBs are Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins (8th best QB in 2015 with 4,166 passing yards and 70% competion), difficult questions will be asked. Dak had a nice pre-season but I think Cousins will be the go-to guy, with a nice receiving core and an improving O-line. RGIII got named team captain, which is nice for him. Still, it’s the Browns though.

 

David Johnson (1,038 all-purpose yards, 12 TDs in 2015) will be fun to watch in Arizona and, if he lives up to anywhere near his ADP, will be a lock for 1500+ all-purpose yards and 12+ TDs. So that’s all good then. The memories of 2015 disasters past seem to be fading for Gordon (not a top 50 RB in 2015) and Hill (794 rushing yards, but 11 TDs!), though they might be difficult to trust week-to-week given the bust potential. Gio (21st best RB in 2015, 1,200 all purpose yards, 5 TDs)  should emerge as a decent match-up proof RB2 or flex behind that O-line.

 

At WR, AJ “turf toe” Green (1,297 yards off only 132 targets in 2015) is one of the most fun players to watch, as long it’s not prime-time. Cooks (12th best WR, 1,138 receiving yards in 2015) and Decker (10th best WR, 1,027 receiving yards but 12 TDs in 2015) should be very productive again in 2016. Benjamin may start slower than Funchess and Olsen, and rumours are he’s chubbed up a bit and is losing snap counts, so not sure what to expect there.

 

Greg Olsen (1,104 yards and 7 TDs in 2015) should have another solid season with plenty of red zone targets, you pretty much know what you get at this stage. It’s a shame, therefore, that Butt-catch Barnidge (1,043 yards and 9 TDs in 2015) will probably warm the bench.

 

Final offensive prediction: 9-4 (3rd place).

 

Champions of the Sun

2015 record: 11-2 (1st)

 

Congratulations to this team on their dominant record in 2015 and championship. However, I can see the crown slipping in 2016.

 

Big Ben (21st but almost 4,000 yards in 12 games in 2015) had an excellent 2015 and will be a fine fantasy starter in 2016, despite slipping in fantasy rankings. Not much in terms of back-ups here though, with Lynch losing the starter job to Siemian and may be third behind Sanchez also.

 

Bell is the clear RB1 from week 4, and Williams (1,274 all purpose yards, 11 TDs in 2015) should be an excellent fill in, with a great week 1 match-up to boot. I love Stradivarius Murray (10th best RB in 2015, with 1,298 all-purpose yards but only 6 TDs), who should pwn with an excellent O-line and a lot of production. Booker and McKinnon are both valuable handcuffs/trade bait for their respective starters. Like orange is the new Black, could White be the new Dion i(4 TDs in only 7 games in 2015) n New England? A good looking bunch.

 

And the fun doesn’t stop there. Hopkins (3rd most receptions and 1,521 yards in 2015) was a monster in 2015, despite a poor QB situation, so should see a great 2016 with the upgrade to Osweiler. Mike Evans (1,206 yards, 3 TDs) is the easy number WR2 despite a slightly disappointing 2015 on TDs and will be the clear centre-piece for Tampa Bay. Choosing the WR3 between Brown (21st best WR in 2015), Shepard and Tate (34th best WR in 2015) is a nice problem to have. At least one should emerge as a clear starter by week 3.

 

Jordan Reed (952 yards, 11 TDs in 2015) will be an excellent starter at TE, with Kelce (875 yards, 5 TDs) a decent replacement if the usual injuries hit.

 

Final offensive prediction: 7-6 (5th place).

 

Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules

2015 record: 6-7 (4th)

 

I think the decent showing in 2015 and I can see the good times keeping on rolling …

 

While the Bortles (4th best QB in 2015, with 4,428 passing yards but 18 interceptions in 2015) hype train is starting to slow down, he should be a reliable starter each week and, some weeks, will be great. Fitz-magic can be swapped in when the match-ups favour the beardy man. Kaep won’t be worth starting, but nice to have him on your team as a point of principle.

 

The shrewd addition of fantasy expert love interest Derrick Henry adds some great depth to the RBs, to back up Murray (1,024 all-purpose yards and 7 TDs in 2015). One of them should be a good producer in 2016 and my money’s on Henry. Mark Ingram (1,174 yards, 6 TDs in 2015) is a solid starter and, with the lingering knee issues for Charles, Ware will be a great starter for the Chiefs. Don’t fancy Blue (39th best RB in 2015), Foster or Yeldon (26th best RB in 2015) to do much given their all in backfield timeshares, but hopefully won;t need to start them unless things get desperate.

 

This team is loaded with high to low range WR2s. Cobb (28th best WR in 2015, 829 rec yards) should have a better 2016 since he should draw less coverage. Funchess is a good shout to lead the Panthers in receiving yards, Baldwin (7th best WR in 2015 with 14 TDs!) is just brilliant and Aiken (944 yards, 5 TDs) should produce again in Baltimore. Rookie Will Fuller is a neat addition to the team. His draft report warned he has skinny legs though, so watch out for that I think? I don’t really understand the excitement about Maclin (1,088 yards, 8 TDs in 2015) given the Chiefs’ running game will have improved significantly from 2015, but I might be an outlier here.

 

Either Jared Cook or Julius Thomas should be fine TEs this season, but nothing special.

 

Final offensive prediction: 5-8 (7th place).

 

Dyna Hard With A Vengeance

2015 record: 10-3 (3rd)

 

I love this team almost as much as the name. It’s not a Christmas movie though.

 

At QB, Manning (10th best QB in 2015), Mariota (22nd best QB in 2015, but only 12 games in 2015) and Stafford (9th best QB in 2015) are all viable starters in 2016. Mariota is especially valuable in the 4-point-per-passing TD format and Stafford will probably only get better without the pressure to keep Megatron involved.

 

The depth at RB is attractive, with Gurley (1,294 all-purpose yards, 10 TDs in 2015) and Charles as two clear RB1s. Langford (816 yards, 7 TDs in 2015) has the chance of remaining productive if the Bears can keep games close enough to run the ball. Christine Michael could be the leading rusher in Seattle at the end of the season, though we’ve heard the hype before. Smallwood and Drake are neat additions, though Miami and the Eagles might be offenses tto avoid in 2016.

 

This is a team with two WR1s – Brown (1,834 yards and 10 TDs in 2015) and Dez; two WR2s – Hilton (1,124 yards and 5 TDs in 2015) and Watkins (15th best WR despite playing only 13 games in 2015); and two WR3s – Hurns (14th best WR in 2015) and Lockett. Plus Pryor! Absolutely loaded. TE is fairly thin, with a bumfight between Bennett or Rodgers to start. Neither will be great in 2016 though.

 

Final offensive prediction: 12-1 (1st place). Probably not a surprise, but this is my team to dominate and take home the Owl.

IMPOSTER – 2016 Chatterbowl Preview

Dyna Hard GM Chris Braithwaite is here to provide a preview of the 2016 Chatterbowl on the day after the draft:

All position groups were ranked out of 16 and scored accordingly. The scores for running backs and wide receivers were doubled due to the size of those groups.

Running Outta Shrimp

QB – 10/16 – Brees is generally reliable (6th last year, projected 5th this year), but he’s at the age when a QB starts to decline, and as Manning showed last year, when a QB declines, he really falls off. Therefore I’ve dinged a mark for the lack of a backup plan, even if it may never be used.

RB – 32/32 – This is the first team I’ve looked at, but I suspect it may be the best RB stable in the league. There are risks (Elliot may take time to get the pro game, Martin may not try as hard now he has a big contract, Stewart might get hurt, Jones might lose his starting job, Ajayi probably won’t be a starter unless Foster goes down), but there’s also a chance there might be 5 worthy starters in any given week.

WR – 2/32 – As the RB is strong, WR is weak. Tate has the potential to be a #1 WR, but its likely that at best he is WR1.5 alongside Marvin Jones. White has draft pedigree, but he’s lost a year to injury, has looked bad in preseason and, frankly (in my opinion), wasn’t a great prospect from a production standpoint anyway. Charles Johnson has looked good in preseason, but he did last year too and caught about 4 passes.

TE – 6/16 – Tough call. If Graham is back to 80% of his best, he’s an every week starter at TE. If he’s where he was last season… well, to be honest, he’s still probably an every week starter in a 16 team league. Just not a great one.

K/D – 15/16 – The Seahawks have the potential to start every week and the Patriots produce pretty well when they have easy matchups. Catanzaro is a dreadful kicker (5 missed XPs last year) but he’s on a good offense so should get at least average (if not higher) points just from the opportunities.

Overall – 65/112 (5th) – This is a good team, but somewhat brittle. If we were back in the days of the 2RB league, they’d be a point higher, but needing 2 of those 3 WRs to produce each week is a risk. Trading an RB for a decent WR would be a good move.

Shire City Barons

QB – 16/16 – Cam is about as reliable as a QB can be. He’s shown durability and he runs well. He’s unlikely to be outside the top 4 QBs this year.

RB – 10/32 – Sneakily not bad. The talent level is probably better than the likely production though. Hyde has potential (especially in Chip’s RB friendly offense) to be a top 5 back, but he’s not always been healthily and has a concussion at the mo. A handcuff might be worthwhile here. Yeldon looks like he could be very good, but will be splitting carries with Chris Ivory, which probably caps his output at about 800 yards. Despite Freeman’s season last year, Coleman still has a good chance for a decent volume in Atlanta, but like Yeldon his situation probably limits him to about 800 yards. Vereen has a similar limit, but more due to his skill set than his situation. If one of Yeldon or Coleman breaks out and Hyde stays healthy, this is a good group. In all likelihood, it’ll be kinda average.

WR – 2/32 – Nothing really needs saying about OBJ. Lockett has a hell of a lot of upside, but there aren’t a great deal of targets to go around in Seattle if the running game is working, so he may underperform a little. Or he may break out as the most physically talented receiver in that offense. Snead is fairly mediocre but the high volume offense gives him an outside shot at around 1,000 yards. Fuller seems to have been doing well in preseason, but he’s likely to be a boom or bust option most weeks, which makes him a tough play in fantasy. Boyd seems like he might be quite a reliable producer (but with a lower ceiling). Kearse is Lockett insurance. There’s good talent here, but only one reliable producer, which means one of the three rookies or sophomores will need to produce.

TE – 10/16 – Ertz is a perfectly fine tight end, but he’s unlikely to threaten to step up into the Gronk sort of region.

K/D – 7/16 – Prater has been fairly unreliable in his career, as has the Detroit offence. He could be fine,  but a week-to-week streaming tactic seems likely here, which can be tricky in a 16-teamer. The Jets D is good, potentially very good. They have a division with some tough offenses though, so a backup might be necessary.

Overall – 55/112 (11th) – There’s good talent here, but a lot of it is handicapped by situation or experience. Newton and OBJ should guarantee at least a middle of the pack finish, but at least one RB and one WR will need to breakout for there to be much of a shot at the title.

The Factory of Sadness

QB – 1/16 – Griffin is an interesting gamble. If he starts running again, even if he’s average in reality he should be a good in fantasy. Tannehill is a fairly reliable backup if Griffin flames out, but neither of them is likely to be a top 8 guy.

RB – 2/32 – Duke Johnson is a good player, but he’s unlikely to be a major fantasy factor in a non-PPR league (this is non-PPR, right?). The rest of the RBs (Derrick Henry, Bilal Powell, DeAndre Washington) could all be good, but require an injury to the starter first. Henry might at least be a TD vulture. If he’s not, I suspect this team is starting 1 RB and 4 WRs each week.

WR – 28/32 – Evans is good and will likely improve on his terrible TD output from last season. Baldwin isn’t quite as good and will likely regress from his amazing TD output from last season. Between them, that should even out to about similar to last year’s production. Floyd is in a contract year in a good offense. He might be the most reliable WR in that group too. Diggs has been getting great reviews during camp and seems to be the clear #1 in Minnesota. But #1 in a Shaun Hill run offense isn’t doing much.  Treadwell is good insurance against a Diggs injury, but again, he’s not going to do much in a Hill-run offence.

TE – 16/16 – Gronk.

K/D – 6/16 – Boswell is similar to Catanzaro, in that its not clear if he’s any good, but he’s in a great situation for volume in the Pittsburgh offense. Unless they go for two regularly (I believe they led the league in this last season). The Titans D? That’s a streaming strategy if every I saw one.

Overall – 53/132 (13th) – Good WR and TE situations, but the QB and RB are likely to drag them down.

Brett Favre’s Junk Calls

QB – 6/16 – Everything I said about Drew Brees applies to Carson Palmer, except he has a lower ceiling. If he doesn’t get old or hurt, he’ll be fine. If he does, it’s an ugly situation.

RB – 26/32 – It’s a thin group, but a damn good one. Both Miller and Murray could easily rank in the top 5 RBs this year. Neither has a great injury history, but if both can be healthy its a great pairing. If only one does, it’s still better than some other teams. CJ Prosise is unlikely to be a factor though. I’d rather have a handcuff for either of the top guys.

WR – 26/32 – Dez, if healthy, should be good for a least 1,000 yards, even with Dak under centre. He might well blow up once Romo returns too, which would be good for the likely playoff challenge this team will be mounting. Edelman is very reliable, but might be slow out of the gates while Brady is suspended. Parker was very good at the end of last season, but seems to have slipped to number 3 on the depth chart and has his coach criticising him. As a third WR though, he’s pretty good. Matthews should be a fairly reliable guy, although his ceiling is quite low. He should be good for 5-8 points a week though, which isn’t bad as a backup. Coleman is a wildcard who could be great and could be terrible this year. Lack of competition seems to dictate that he’ll get decent volume. Ginn is likely to be relegated to number 3 this year and isn’t likely to be much of a factor.

TE – 11/16 – Bennett should be a good play most weeks, but he’ll probably be shut out occasionally. Cook has been very good in preseason, but he’s done that many times before. He’s very unreliable, so with the return of Nelson and Cobb being healthy again, he’s likely to be a distant third option at best. A lot of upside though.

K/D – 12/16 – Cairo Santos should be perfectly acceptable. The Panthers D is probably one of the best in the league. Both positions can probably be happily ignored outside of byes.

Overall – 81/132 (1st) – This is a very good team. QB and RB are fragile groups, but if they can stay reasonably healthy this should be a strong contender.

Woah Woah Woah Fitzmagic

QB – 12/16 – Rodgers is an elite option, but doesn’t have quite the upside of the likes of Newton or Wilson. Fitz is a perfectly adequate backup, but not really worth a roster spot unless Rodgers has a very early bye.

RB – 8/32 – McCoy is very good but possibly declining, Jennings is very average but in a decent situation at least for this year. Kenneth Dixon will be a non-factor early on and its a crowded backfield anyway. I feel this group is fairly reliable, but lacks much chance of outperforming expectations.

WR – 4/32 – One of the weaker groups in the league. Decker is probably a good second WR, Fitzgerald is probably a good third WR, but there’s definitely a lack of top WR here. I can tell you that from a year or two of watching him, Kenny Britt is a big sack of crap. Even with little competition, he’s not going to do much.

TE – 7/16 – I guess that you have two likely every week starters, which is good. However, it seems that the plan is to play one as the FLEX starter, which is not good. Witten could hit that old man wall any day now (and is likely in a much lower volume passing attack for the first half of the year).  Fleener has the physical skills, but hasn’t been getting great reviews in training camp. Both could be good. Both could be perfectly mediocre TEs (and bad FLEX options).

K/D – 16/16 – Crosby is a good kicker on an excellent yet conservative offense. Denver’s D is brilliant. Two reliable options who will likely be around the top 5 in the season. Josh Brown should be cut by this team, and by the Giants. For fantasy purposes, he’s not great and there’s no need for a backup kicker to Crosby (again, unless there’s an early GB bye I guess).

Overall – 47/132 (15th) – I’m not a fan of this team. Rodgers is good, but the RBs and WRs are fairly poor, the TEs aren’t great. When the best groups on your team are QB, D and kicker, in reality you’ve got a good team. In fantasy you don’t.

McLovin It

QB – 4/16 – You like that? Not massively. Cousins is a big risk, as he really only has half a season of good performance. Smith is a fairly adequate backup, but if Cousins doesn’t produce, you’re not going to want Smith starting every week.

RB – 16/32 – Freeman did well last season as a receiver, but I’m still far from convinced. Ivory should be good, but the likely splitting of work with Yeldon does limit him a bit. He’ll probably get the goalline work though, which is good. Sproles tends to be good for about 4-6 points a week, which makes him a nice reliable fill in. Morris has little upside outside of a Elliot injury or the Cowboys running an Exotic Smashmouth West offense.

WR – 14/32 – Not an inspiring group, but a pretty reliable one. Marshall and Maclin should fairly easily be top 30 WRs, and Jackson could easily perform to that level too. Aiken produced well last season, but it remains to be seen whether that was a function of there being no one else to pass the ball to in Baltimore.

TE – 13/16 – Greg Olsen is a generally excellent and reliable TE. He’ll finish somewhere between 3rd and 6th without ever having a great week or a bad week. ASJ feels more like trade bait to me. Let him have a decent week 1 and trade him to a TE needy team for another WR.

K/D – 13/16 – Gostkowski is the number 1 kicker. The Chiefs D is good, but is likely to be without its best player all season, which I think will limit its potential a bit. They should still be a perfectly fine every week start.

Overall – 60/112 (7th) – This team feels like more than the sum of its parts. There are bits and pieces that I’m not a great fan of (Cousins particularly), but this feels like a pretty strong and reliable team. It’s unlikely to blow the league away as there is no one who is going to wildly outperform expectations (beyond Morris in the event of Elliot getting hurt on the season’s first snap), but it’s likely to be there or thereabouts by the end.

Dan Sayles’ Bounty Program

QB – 9/16 – Neither Manning or Carr are likely to be elite players, but between them they make a pretty strong platoon. At least one should be close to top 10 points most weeks. Picking the right one will be the challenge.

RB – 14/32 – Lacy looks primed for a bounceback season after spending last season at the buffet line. Gordon looks like he has a chance to breakout too. Of course, both could flame out quite easily. Isaiah Crowell could end up being the main back in Cleveland, but that’s only because I could also end up being the main back in Cleveland. Jordan Howard looks like he’s 4th string at the moment and can probably be relegated to a watch list to pick up again once he starts climbing the depth chart.

WR – 20/32 – Watkins and Brown both have a chance to be top 20 WRs, if not higher. Watkins will need to dominate the Bills’ targets in that low volume offense, Brown will need to emerge as at least a 1b target in that high volume offense. If the Rams continue to be creative in forcing Tavon Austin the ball (and have a QB who can get the ball to him when he gets open deep), he could also force his way into the top 20. Tajae Sharpe has been getting rave reviews in preseason and might well end up being the second most-targeted Titan (behind Delanie Walker). If it all breaks right, that would leave a WR corp with 4 strong starters and Dorial Green-Beckham sitting on the bench watching.

TE – 9/16 – Gates should still be perfectly fine for another year, especially in a 16 team league

K/D – 5/16 – McManus is a good kicker in a good environment, but the offense isn’t likely to be much better than last year. He’s trusted to be allowed to attempt long field goals, so might be as boom and bust as a kicker can be (not very). The Steelers D is not good, but the quality of the offense should force opponents into taking risks and there are enough playmakers there to force some big plays. Streaming seems like the best bet here.

Overall – 57/112 (9th) – Each position group here has a hell of a lot of potential. However, QB is probably the only one which will reliably meet it. If everything breaks right and the RB and WR groups play to their potential this team could run away with the league. If it doesn’t, the league could run away from them.

Ballad of Ju-Halo Jones

QB – 15/16 – Russell Wilson is probably second only to Cam in fantasy QBs. If the running game doesn’t recover from the loss of Lynch, his increase in volume could make him the #1 QB. Even if it doesn’t, he’s very likely to be top 5.

RB – 6/32 – CJ Anderson should be pretty good, and if he isn’t it’ll be because Booker has taken his job. That’s one starting RB right there. Williams should be good for the first three weeks then fairly useless. White should be good for the first 6-8 weeks, then fairly useless. Chris Johnson seems like he’d have more value by being traded to the David Johnson owner. This group could easily get off to a fast start, but I can’t imagine them being great by the end of the season.

WR – 8/32 – Julio is obviously excellent. Sterling Shepard looks to be, at worst, the #3 target in a good offense. Jackson looks likely to a fairly reliable #2 and Stills could also nail down a #2 role. Even if Sammy Coates does nothing, this should be a fairly good group, but its unlikely to be outstanding.

TE – 12/16 – Delanie has become a pretty reliable TE. He should be fine every week.

K/D – 10/16 – The Bengals offense should be good enough, Nugent is good enough. He’ll probably be around #12 for the season. The Rams D is good, but fairly inconsistent. They should reliably get sack numbers, but losing Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod might mean the INTs take a hit.

Overall – 51/112 (14th) – There are good bits and bad bits, and I think they end up coming to around average.

Large Hadron Colliders

QB – 3/16 – Stafford was great at the end of last season, but has been bad in preseason. He feels like the kinda guy who needs to be paired with another reasonable starter, rather than being expected to produce every week.

RB – 22/32 – Forte is a solid every week starter. Sims should continue to chip in with a decent enough amount of receiving yards to be fine as the final FLEX starter. Mathews should be a perfectly average starting RB and could easily end up being a reliable every week starter. Smallwood probably isn’t worth the roster spot as a handcuff though. McKinnon is a decent lottery ticket to have if Peterson goes down.

WR – 30/32 – Robinson, Jeffrey and Landry can all easily be started every week. The only thing stopping this group being a 10 is total lack of depth. Pryor is unlikely to be much of a factor.

TE – 15/16 – Thomas and Clay should both be somewhere between 10th and 20th at TE this season. Thomas is more likely to be a reliable every week starter, but this group should be able to muddle through even if they only produce at the same level as last year.

K/D –11/16 – Gould and the Jags D are perfectly average options.

Overall – 66/112 (=3rd) – This team should be around the playoff picture, but feel unlikely to one of the top teams in the league.

Legion of Gloom

QB – 5/16 – I’m quite bullish on Tyrod Taylor and running QBs generally, so I think he’ll be an above average every week starter. However, he’s still a fairly big risk. Dak could be equally good, but the odds are that you won’t want to play him for the first few weeks until you know what he can deliver, and then by the time we get near the playoffs he’ll be back on the bench after Romo returns.

RB – 18/32 – Peterson is very good and should get a ridiculous amount of work this year with Bridgeeater down. He’s fine to start every week. The other two guys drag the group down, because I’m not sure either can be relied on to be in the FLEX role in any given week. If Rawls goes down Michael should be worth a start. Blount is unlikely to be a safe option to rely on in any week.

WR – 10/32 – Cooper should be a pretty reliable starter. I’m not a massive fan of the rest of the group, but they all have a chance to be equally reliable starters. Moncrief hasn’t produced much thus far, Dorsett has produced even less, and Agholor is somewhere in between. None are proven starters that you want to rely on yet (although all could become that). Sanders has been a proven starter, but its tough to project his likely production with Siemian at QB. I suspect he’s going to finish as this lot’s second best WR though. It should be possible to get a good group, but I think, when you also factor in Blount’s TD dependency, there may be a lot of PLOBing.

TE – 15/16 – Kelce is excellent and Rudolph is a reliable backup option with some upside. This is about as good a group as you can have without having Gronk.

K/D – 11/16 – Both Bailey and the Vikings D are good players in fairly bad situations. The Vikings D should do ok on points allowed simply because all the running on offense is going to keep scores down. But offenses probably won’t want to take too many risks against them, which might hurt their chances at big plays. Bailey is a good kicker who is likely to spend the first half of the year struggling for opportunity.

Overall – 59/112 (8th) – I like most of the team, but the WR2 and FLEX situation make it difficult to project success. There are 5 guys who need to produce to cover those 3 positions, and I’m not convinced that’s likely.

Sou’Westkuntry Pasty Pounders

QB – 14/16 – Rivers and Brady seems like a brilliant pairing. After week 4, they’ll be able to platoon the two against the best matchup.

RB – 4/32 – Ingram has been good the last couple of years, but I still don’t trust him all that much. He should be fine though. Woodhead and Riddick would be great options if this was PPR, but outside that they are only borderline FLEX options at best. Starks has very little value unless Lacy goes down.

WR – 22/32 – Brown will be top 10, Hilton should be top 20 and Crabtree should be top 30. That’s a very good trio. Unfortunately they are knocked down a bit by that being it. Cutting Bruce Ellington and grabbing any other WR is a must.

TE – 1/16 – Walford could be good, but I wouldn’t want to be relying on him as my only option right out of the gate.

K/D – 4/16 – Both Gano and Walsh are very good options. Walsh is a better player, Gano is in a better situation (depending on how much Carolina goes for two). Having two kickers is kind of a waste though and I think they’d be better cutting or trading one for extra WR or TE help though. The Colts D is pretty much bang average. Streaming beckons.

Overall – 45/112 (16th) – The WR trio and the QB duo might carry this team to respectability, but I don’t there’s enough here to carry them any further than that.

Hundley Like The Wolf

QB – 8/16 – Bortles is a good option. Even if he regresses a bit from last year, he should be a nice solid starter.

RB – 24/32 – I actually really like this group. Its looking like Langford is going to get a shot at an every down role in Chicago and Foster looks like the lead back in Miami. Either one of those should be a reasonable FLEX play for most of the season. Once Bell comes back from suspension, that should be a really strong group.

WR – 24/32 – Again, this is a strong group. Cooks and Benjamin should be perfectly reliable for every week of the season. Wheaton has a good role, although may be lacking in talent. He did have an excellent second half of last season. It seems likely that one of the young trio of Doctson, Thomas and Crowder should be able to emerge as at least a half-decent option if Wheaton isn’t up to it.

TE – 2/16 – Jordan Cameron has been dreadful in Miami and is barely worth a roster spot at the moment. Ebron has yet to live up to his draft status, but there are lots of targets to go around in Detroit now that Calvin Johnson is gone. He should be able to be at least a top 12 TE, which would just about justify starting him every week.

K/D – 8/16 – I’m not sure if the Texans D is actually going to be that good, but they will probably make a lot of big plays which should make them a perfectly serviceable option every week. Matt Bryant is a below average kicker but if Atlanta’s offense plays the whole season like it did the first few weeks of last season, he’s in a very good situation. If not, streaming will have to do.

Overall – 66/112 (=3rd) – There’s a strong core of QB, RB and WR here. If one or two of the younger players can fulfil their potential, this could be a really good team. I suspect its more likely that they end up getting knocked out in the playoffs.

Spunky Beans

QB – 2/16 – Going with just Winston is bold. My feeling on him is similar to Cousins – he’s shown he can be good for a period, but I’m not convinced he can be worth an every week start just yet. He seems like an ideal candidate for platooning with another veteran, rather than relying on him every week.

RB – 30/32 – This is an outstanding trio. Like Adrian Peterson, Gurley is going to get a tonne of work this season. At his very worst, Jamaal Charles will be a much better version of Darren Sproles. At his best, he’s a second feature back. Frank Gore should be perfectly reliable, but he is very old as RBs go, so he may fall off a cliff this year. No sign of that happening yet.

WR – 6/32– There are far more questions at WR. Both Matthews and Smith have talent, but its unclear how much production they will actually have. Matthews’ floor is probably as a mediocre FLEX play. Smith’s floor is absolutely zero. Travis Benjamin and Mike Wallace have similar profiles to Smith, although with a bit less upside. Sanu could be a fairly reliable FLEX play, although he has historically been quite TD dependent. Boldin is a big question mark. I can’t imagine him doing too much this year, but then I’ve thought that for about the past 4 years.

TE – 14/16 – Jordan Reed is an elite TE with some questions about his ability to stay healthy. Dwayne Allen is a good TE with some questions about his ability to stay healthy. If one went down, the other should be fine to play every week. There’s even potential to play both if Allen can rediscover his early career form.

K/D – 2/16 – The rarely seen Buffalo Buffalo. Carpenter is a fine kicker on a fine offense. He should be perfectly acceptable in a 16 team league, although not a whole deal better than streaming. The Bills D is a big unknown. If it plays to its potential, its elite. If it plays to last year, its crap.

Andover Anteaters

QB 13/16 – Luck is worth a 9/10 on his own. Ryan isn’t in his league, but if he can rediscover his past form, this could be an elite pair to play the matchups. Or just plug Luck in most weeks.

RB – 12/32 – Hill should be ok to start every week, although its likely that Gio Bernard will outscore him. Ware looks likely to get, at minimum, the goalline work in KC along with 5-10 carries a week, so he could be a viable flex play, especially if KC has a decent matchup. West might end up being the Ravens leading back, but he might also end up getting 0 carries. Regardless, Hill and West are a strong pair.

WR – 32/32 – This is a strong group. Green and Allen are clear #1 WRs. Jones has a chance at being similar, and should threaten 1,000 yards anyway. Funchess has been getting excellent reviews in the offseason and should have more production in his second year with an actual other WR on the field with him. Gordon could end up doing nothing, but if he hits the field and doesn’t get suspended again, he also has the potential to be a #1 calibre WR. They might not be able to get everyone on the field, but there may be trade potential here too.

TE – 3/16 – A fairly uninspiring group. Both Miller and Green are perfectly average players who are clear starting TEs, but I’m not sure how much upside there is. I feel that this will be a very TD dependent group, with lots of PLOBing.

K/D – 14/16 – Tucker is excellent and should get more opportunities with Flacco healthy again. It’s still not a great offense though. The Cardinals D is just a monster, but they’ve got a fairly tough schedule which might limit them slightly.

Overall – 74/112 (2nd) – A very strong team. The only weakness is TE and RB depth and frankly, if you’re going to have a weakness that’s a good one to have.

Coach Taylor’s Khakis

QB – 11/16 – Roethlisberger is a solid top-10 option apart from the game or two he misses due to injury. Mariota should be fine to fill in for that game. If he develops his running, this could be a great pairing.

RB – 20/32 – Rawls showed a lot of ability last year, but might end up in a job share if he doesn’t show that he can stay healthy. He has a lot of upside, but a lot of risk too. Murray should be one of the most used RBs, but he’s pretty average. Still, that’s a good enough combination to be a solid FLEX play. Abdullah flashed some good skills last year, but I’m not sure what role he has on the offense. Riddick has shown he is an excellent receiver and Abdullah doesn’t really profile as a high volume runner. He might end up just doing a lot of not very much. Javorius Allen looks like Baltimore’s 3rd RB and probably doesn’t have much value.

WR – 16/32 – Hopkins is elite and will see a tonne of targets. Nelson should also see a lot of work, but he’s quite old and coming off an injury, so there’s a bit of risk there. Still, both should be solidly top 30. Steve Smith is similar to Nelson but with far less upside. Chris Hogan is a good pickup, especially with Amendola not being healthy, and should be a borderline flex play. Strong is probably Houston’s 4th WR, so doesn’t have much value.

TE – 4/16 – Eifert is very good, but he’s going to miss the first 2/3 games at best and hasn’t showed the ability to stay healthy after that. The total lack of backup is alarming.

K/D – 9/16 – The Raiders D should be perfectly fine and the offenses in the division are fairly poor, which helps. Vinatieri’s range seems to decrease by the minute, but he should be fairly reliable.

Overall – 63/112 (6th) – This looks like another team that should make the playoffs but may struggle to produce once it gets there.

Kuhn on the Cobb

QB – 7/16 – Dalton has a fairly well established floor of being a perfectly acceptable QB and should be fine to start every week. Osweiler doesn’t strike me as a particularly appealing platoon buddy though.

RB – 28/32 – Johnson should be a feature back, Gio Bernard should get a good amount of work between rushing and receiving and Justin Forsett looks like he’s going to be the starter in Baltimore. That should translate to at least one good starter and one good FLEX every week. Kenyan Drake looks like he’s worthless this year. Reggie Bush has more value in a PPR and return yards league, but he might ok, especially if McCoy goes down.

WR – 16/32 – Thomas is a risk with a new QB, but he should be able to struggle his way to around 1,000 yards regardless. Cobb should see fewer targets but be more productive this year. Hurns will probably fall off a bit from last year, but he should still be a pretty strong FLEX play most weeks. Garcon is aging very quickly and might lose targets to Doctson and Crowder as the season goes on, but should still be borderline playable most weeks.

TE – 4/16 – Barnidge was excellent last season, but its really hard to see him repeating that with an improved WR corps. If he falls back to anywhere near his career average production (i.e. nothing) tight end will be a big black hole.

K/D – 1/16 – Aguayo should be absolutely fine. The Packers are fairly average. Streaming for both is probably the plan.

Overall – 56/112 (10th) – Great RBs, but the rest of the team is pretty much average or worse. If Barnidge recaptures last year’s form they could outperform this though.

 

Commish Addition

I tabled up the figures in the above piece. Some of the maths was a bit dodgy. This is the actual ranking…

Rank Team QB RB WR TE K/D Overall
=1 Brett Favre’s Junk Calls 6 26 26 11 12 81
=1 Large Hadron Colliders 3 22 30 15 11 81
3 Andover Anteaters 13 12 32 3 14 74
4 Hundley Like The Wolf 8 24 24 2 8 66
5 Running Outta Shrimp 10 32 2 6 15 65
=6 Coach Taylor’s Khakis 11 20 16 4 9 60
=6 McLovin It 4 16 14 13 13 60
8 Legion of Gloom 5 18 10 15 11 59
9 Dan Sayles’ Bounty Program 9 14 20 9 5 57
10 Kuhn on the Cobb 7 28 16 4 1 56
11 Spunky Beans 2 30 6 14 2 54
12 The Factory of Sadness 1 2 28 16 6 53
13 Ballad of Ju-Halo Jones 15 6 8 12 10 51
14 Woah Woah Woah Fitzmagic 12 8 4 7 16 47
=15 Shire City Barons 16 10 2 10 7 45
=15 Sou’Westkuntry Pasty Pounders 14 4 22 1 4 45

DELO Ratings 2016

Maybe you’re familiar with Elo ratings, but I’m going to assume you’re not. Arpad Elo was a Hungarian-born American physics professor who developed a ratings system, originally for chess but later applied to all sorts of sports, including American football, baseball and snooker. It’s now used frequently (in a variety of adapted versions) on fivethirtyeight.com to try to find the best team in history in various sports, amongst other things.

The idea is relatively simple, but the methodology is much more complicated. All competitors, be they individuals or teams, start with a ranking – often 1000 or 1500 – and each time they play they add on points or lose points, according to the result. That can just be a win/lose/draw based metric or it can get much more complex to try to account for home field advantage and scale of victory. If the team you beat is very good you score lots of points, if they’re not so good, fewer points. Likewise, lose a game and lose points based on the skill of the opposition – the better the opposition, the fewer points lost.

In order to try to compare eras, previous results from previous years/decades/whatever have to be removed in some manner so the rating only applies to the team of now and ensure they’re not getting false credit for performance too far in the past. Another adjustment 538 have mentioned they make is between seasons. In all sports, the team line-ups change one year to the next. In American sports, the system is set up to try to even the playing field, with the worst teams getting to draft players first. As this is supposed to be a return towards the middle, they adjust their rankings between seasons by reducing above average teams slightly and increasing below average teams slightly so that next season they all start a little closer together.

All this got me thinking, could we develop an Elo system for the Dynabowl? A DELO system, if you will. So I gave it a shot. I’m going to outline my methodology, share my results, and the provide a means to download my source spreadsheet so you (YES, YOU!) can see if you can improve on it.

The first problem I encountered was that Elo is specifically designed for situations where two teams are playing each other with the result changing a teams ranking. While that does occur in fantasy football, the teams aren’t directly influencing each other’s performance. If the top scoring team one week played the second top scoring team, it would be harsh to penalise the second team DELO points when they would have won any other game.

What i decided to do was look at a teams scored in comparison to the weekly average score achieved. If you beat the weekly average your rating goes up. If you drop below the weekly average your rating goes down. I also (pretty much arbitrarily) decided to exclude the top and bottom scores each week from the average. This was a gut based decision where I felt one or other of the numbers being an outlier could sway the overall average too much in one direction or the other so I felt it better to take the middle 8 scores and average them. This may be the wrong approach – I didn’t check it against an average of all 10 – but it’s the one I decided to take and I think I made a working system in the end. You may decide otherwise.

The next step to decide was how to calculate the points. I decided, again arbitrarily, to start every team with 1000 points. It felt like a high enough total that I could get some big enough variation, and it felt in keeping with the Elo rankings I’d seen produced elsewhere.

So how many points should get added on or taken away? The obvious answer is however many points above or below average the team scored that week. However, I needed to reflect the way Elo works. As I said, with Elo you get more credit for beating a good team than a bad team and so on. Here I thought that if a team has a lower DELO rating than average and scores well it should get ‘extra credit’, while a poor team scoring poorly shouldn’t be penalised as much as a good team performing badly.

This led me to produce a weighting spread. I said that if a team has a DELO between 950 and 1050 whatever their points difference from average gets added or subtracted at a rate of 100% (i.e. if you were 10 points above average you would get 10 points x 100% added to your DELO. If you start at 1000, your DELO would go up to 1010). The scale then was for every 100 points further away from this central spread you got credited with 10% more or less points. Another example: A team has a DELO of 800, falling in the 750-850 bracket. If this team scores 10 points above average, their DELO would go up by 10 x 120% = 12 points. However, if they scored 10 below average it would only go down by 10 x 80% = 8 points. So a bad team gets more credit for performing well than they lose for performing badly. And vice versa.

Finally, I decided I needed to perform the same between-season adjustment to bring teams back to closer to the 1000 starting point. At first I moved teams 10% closer, but then decided this wasn’t enough so moved it to 20%, which seemed to work. Again, it’s pretty arbitrary, but I’m trying to make a system that seems to represent team skill pretty accurately and this seemed to work. So what do I mean by moving teams 20% closer to 1000 points? I mean if a team had 1100 points at the end of the season, they would lose 100 x 20% = 20 points from their total and begin the next season at 1080. Each team would stay in the same order, but teams with a bigger lead over others would lose more points and the field would close up again, pending the next season’s battle commencement.

Now, I said finally, but there is a final, final step I made, but I applied this later, after I decided the system wasn’t working properly. Before that, I was still pretty happy, but I needed to leave it for a while and come back with a fresh mind. When I did, I decided that, despite the intra-season adjustment, not every team quite matched up by the end of the season to where their talent seemed to lie. I thought some more about 538’s Elo system for eras of sports and how they had to be removing old activity from the ranking to make sure they were appropriately evaluating the current team and I realised my rankings still included too much residual effect. I played around with some options until I found one that appeared to work.

I hit upon a formula which removed half the ranking points earned (or lost) in the same week of the previous year. Again, this feels arbitrary, but again it seems to reach the point where teams are fairly evaluated for their most recent performances. Specifically, their most recent season long performances (i.e. 16 games).

So what does all this show? Here’s a table:

2014 2015
Low Week High Week Final Low Week High Week Final
East Flanders Flahutes 754 16 998 2 754 724 6 799 1 760
Here Comes The Brees 873 16 1021 5 873 760 15 928 7 793
Tamworth Two 968 10 1100 6 976 926 5 1106 14 1087
The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness 739 14 953 1 782 836 7 922 14 856
Dynasore Losers 988 1 1185 12 1156 885 14 1149 3 905
DynaForOne Firebirds 907 4 1254 16 1254 1021 16 1255 1 1021
Dynablaster Bombermen 967 9 1041 12 1021 903 12 1065 4 997
Champions of the Sun 1000 6 1149 14 1144 1120 1 1395 16 1395
Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules 1040 1 1166 8 1161 1022 4 1121 14 1049
Dyna Hard 1005 2 1126 11 1086 1087 6 1280 14 1265

 

Remember, these scores essentially represent the the sum total of performance over the previous 16 weeks. They should kind of link to the total points scored, but when you scored them matters. Scoring a lot of points in a week when, overall, comparatively few points were scored will net you a lot more DELO ranking points than scoring them in a high scoring week. But sure, you could use points scored as a measure. But would that be a fair way of comparing teams across seasons? A high scoring team in a high scoring year may be less impressive than a slightly lower scoring team in a much lower scoring year. This accommodates for that.

And what’s the first thing it tells us? That Max’s winning team in 2015 was quite significantly better than Neil’s winning team in 2014, and even Dyna Hard in 2015 were better than Neil’s team. However, the context that needs to go with that is that Firebirds had a shocking start to 2014. In week 4 they had the second lowest DELO in the league (907), and they recovered from that point. They scored DELO 347 points from week 5 to week 16. Champions of the Sun, by comparison, scored only 198 across the same 12 weeks in 2015. So the Champions were more consistently good. They won 11 regular season games scoring over 3800 points in the process. The 2014 Firebirds, by comparison, snuck into the last playoff slot on the last week of the season with a 7-6 record, scoring 3480 points, before producing an incredible post-season. In fact, the 100 DELO points scored in week 16 is the greatest gain or loss by any team in any given week.

From this, perhaps we can say that the Firebirds produced the most dominant stretch, but for the season as a whole, Champions of the Sun were the better team.

Tune in next time for a breakdown of Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams DELO!

Access the file of data HERE!.

Guest Mock Draft by James ‘Goody’ Goodson of the Tamworth Two

MOCK DRAFT! Get your MOCK DRAFT here! Roll up, roll up, ladies and gentlemen, see the astounding sights of the mock draft up close and personal (don’t worry, he won’t bite, but do keep your hands out of his cage…). Drum roll please, if you will, and introducing for your pleasure and delight, the mock draft stylings of Mr James ‘Goody’ Goodson.

Pick 1.01 and… The Sadness choose…
Ezekiel Elliot, RB.
Elliot will be the handcuff to Darren McFadden so taking the most pro-bowl likely RB makes sense. This means they’ll look at a franchise RB, and with Elliot they have a RB who does everything well. He’s in a tier on his own above everyone else on my board so he’s the 1st overall pick in this mock. They just hope DMC avoids getting injured so Elliot can secure RB1.

With pick 1.02 the Firebirds choose…
Corey Coleman, WR.
Another tough one as I think the Firebirds have better strength at WR than RB, but there is a real limited quality in long term value in RB, especially in this year’s draft. A dynasty franchise is set up around WR talent and Coleman pips Doctson. The latter being a better dynasty target as both Racist’s receivers are are expected to be FAs in 2017

With pick 1.03 the Dungeoneers pick..
Josh Doctson, WR.
As above, and if Doctson can bulk up I think he’ll be a very good solid receiver. He has good height and will offer good long term value offer excellent value

With pick 1.04 the Losers choose
Laquon Treadwell, WR.
Treadwell is my number 4 receiver, and I think David loves Treadwell. He’s a very good receiver. His tape shows off some fantastic competitive plays, from blocks to contested catches but, I just don’t think he is quite as good as Michael Thomas. While the Losers RB and WR depth is weighted towards the latter, a potential WR1 is too good to turn down in a dynasty league. He’s a good fit for the WR1 at the Vikings, usurping last year’s surprise package, Diggs as the season goes on. His lower speed won’t be an issue with Teddy’s noodle arm and short passes.

With pick 1.05 the Champions pick…
Michael Thomas, WR.
I love Thomas. I think Thomas could be better than Coleman, but he I think initially, he won’t be a viable fantasy option. He is great with contested catches and will be a nice addition to the Champions’ roster.

With pick 1.06 the Sadness choose…
Sterling Shepard, WR.
I love Sterling Shepard. He will be a legitimate WR 2 for the Giants and will be the perfect foil for OBJ. With the ability to play in the slot but underestimated outside, the best route runner in the draft will likely have a very high floor. The Sadness improve on their 2016 monopoly with an excellent safe pick.

With pick 1.07 Kelkowski pick…
Derrick Henry RB
While the landing spot of Henry won’t result in Kelkowski doing flips, the ability for him to take a lot of the possible red zone touches will be gratefully received at the Mahoney Memorial Stadium. While they haven’t replaced megatron, there is a clear dearth or top tier rookie relievers so this pick is a case of BPA. Don’t be surprised to see Kelkowski attempt to trade up a few spots.

With pick 1.08 The Sadness choose…
Kenneth Dixon, RB.
With Dixon joining Booker in, arguably, one of the best two landing spots, the Sadness make a sensible pick and choose my no. 2 RB.

With 1.09 The Firebirds select…
Devontae Booker, RB.
It’s a bit of a tough pick for the Firebirds. Booker allows them to secure the Denver running game, but doesn’t add much to their depleted RB personnel. They’ve already nabbed the best receiver on the ball and a great landing spot helps them take this pick with little fuss.

With 1.10 the Champions of the Sun pick…
CJ Prosise, RB.
This pick was to be either Prosise or Kenyan Drake of Miami. However I’m going for the upside that Prosise offers as Rawls may not be as fancied as previously thought. Procise can play all 3 downs, is a bit of a freak athlete and can be the receiver Rawls isn’t. 6th round Rawls can be cut with no cost next year at Seattle. 3rd Round Prosise makes sense here. Will Kenyan Drake hang around long enough for the Champions next pick?

With 2.01 The Sadness choose…
Tyler Boyd, WR.
Another freak athlete. With Sanu’s target to go around, the Sadness show can continue.

With 2.02 the Sadness pick…
Hunter Henry, TE.
The best Tight End in the draft who has been compared to Jason Witten. With this pick, the Sadness stockpile depth and take advantage of an ageing Walker on their roster and the expected slow break outs of Tight Ends. Don’t be surprised if the Sadness try to trade down to snag Jaded Goff as Qb is a need.

With 2.03 the Dungeoneers choose…
Paul Perkins, RB.
With a menagerie of backs in New York, Perkins is well suited to take the main carries off an ageing Jennings and a sub par back up committee. Music to the Dungeoneers ears as they have Jennings on their books.

With pick 2.04 The Losers choose…
Malcolm Mitchell, WR.
With superb character and a good landing spot to take on LaFells targets, the Losers pick up one of the safer rookie receivers in this draft who excels at route running, just what Brady likes.

With pick 2.05 the Firebirds choose…
Will Fuller, WR.
Surprised that Fuller fell so low in this draft, the Firebirds snag Houston’s deep ball threat. Fuller had one of the best yards after catch in college and could be a steal at 2.05

With pick 2.06 the Bombermen rock the boat and pick…
Jordan Howard, RB.
Strategically this may be a perfect pick. Langford was not impressive in Chicago with only 3.6 yards per carry and only forcing 7 missed tackles over the entire season. Now with a legitimate powerful back, the Bombermen stop their divisional rival getting stronger and improve upon their only decent RBs of Hill and David Johnson. Another option I was looking at, was Dynaharder trading up to 2.05 to grab Howard to avoid this situation.

At 2.07 Kelkowski pick…
Mike Thomas, WR
This is a great pick for Kelkowski. With very little competition in LA, and the natural ability for a spectacular catch, Thomas (the better Thomas in some people’s eyes) offers superb upside. With only gadget play specialist Tavon Austin to really offer any threat to targets, expect Thomas to perform above his expected pick to be a standout receiver.

At 2.08 Dyna Harder choose…
Wendall Smallwood, RB
With an ADP of 2.09 Wendall Smallwood is moving up boards. A natural runner with a lot of power, Dynaharder pick the Eagles’ Running back and trade with the Firebirds for Mathews to move down later in the draft. This is the best of a bad situation for Dynahard as they were relying on Howard hanging around until 2.08.

At 2.09 the TT choose…
Rashard Higgins, WR
The Cleveland WR graded out as one of the top receivers in 2014 by PFF and this fills a need of arguably the best team in the league who have no weaknesses.

At 2.10 Dynaharder pick…
Tajae Sharpe, WR.
Another well thought of receiver, Sharpe provides Dynaharder with some good depth in a great situation. With Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter only in front of him, Sharpe should get a good amount of targets as the year progresses.