Courtesy of J. Tyler Cook
Welcome back to the world of fantasy football where, unlike fantasy baseball and the NFL, the championship is not known six months beforehand (premature congrats to myself, Sam or Corry and my close personal friend Tom Brady). The draft has come and gone and as per tradition I will be doing a power rankings. I struggled to find something to compare all your teams too and haven’t found that one theme that caught my attention (was contemplating using Boston sports team championships but figured that may get more eye rolls than my body comparison ranking). Instead, your are going to dive into the mind of a genius, the smartest fantasy football player you have ever known, J. Tyler Cook. The following are my projections for this season as currently constituted by the team, knowing full well that Alec will not take advantage of his depth and Sam Debaltzo will find some star on the waiver wire. I will also let you know your best and worst picks.
12. Sam DeBaltzo – I’m going to be honest, I am shocked that I am ranking Sam this low. Usually it’s a troll job to get under his skin but this is 100% authentic. If Tight Ends were as valuable as running backs in fantasy, Sam would be #1. Unfortunately, Sam’s running back corps is the worst in the league (Marlon Mack and Phillip Lindsay) and on offenses that will struggle. His big three of Ertz, Kittle, Hill is solid, but most people have an equally good top three. Sam missed the playoffs last year because his RB’s were terrible, and this team is worse than the one he had last year on paper that missed the playoffs.
Best Pick – Round 5 – Robby Anderson – Sam needs WRs with upside, and anytime you can get the best WR on a decent offense in round five you’ll get solid value. Anderson was the last solid available WR around this selection (I was hoping he’d fall to me) and I think he will have a solid floor as a good WR3 and has high end WR2 potential.
Worst Pick – Round 1 – George Kittle – Sam is convinced he is playing chess and everyone else is playing checkers, but at some point you have to draft for need. You already have Ertz, why waste your flex spot this early when there were a TON of good RB’s on the board. If anyone else took Kittle I’d have loved the pick, but then you were forced to take Mack and Lindsay in the next two rounds, you have to wonder if it is worth it. For reference, George Kittle is projected for 12 more points than James White and James White was taken four rounds later.
11. Creighton Hardy – Creighton’s team is better than last year, but his team was starting at an extreme disadvantage due to a severe lack of keepers. Trading for Conner was a solid move, but walking into the draft with Evan Engram as your second keeper is a killer before we even start. That being said, pairing Conner with Freeman round 1 was a good call. Unfortunately, I don’t love his WR picks (Alshon and Jarvis are on my fantasy hate list) and that will be his downfall. That being said I think his team is going to compete most weeks with Watson at QB and he is far from a walk over like he was last year.
Best Pick – Donte Moncrief – Round 8 – Antonio Brown is gone from the Steelers, taking 100 catches and 15 TD’s with him. The Steelers need a WR to take over and right now it’s looking like Moncrief is on pace to be the #2 guy. I’m shocked he fell this far, and I think he may be Creighton’s best WR by the end of the year
Worst Pick – Deshaun Watson – Round 3 – When you don’t have a second rounder, you need to maximize all your picks. Deshaun may be the best QB in fantasy, but there is so much depth at this position every year. If I were him I’d much rather have taken a WR and drafted a QB later (like Lamar Jackson round 8)
10. Corry Smith - Another person I am shocked I have ranked this low but here we are. I’m sure like Sam his fantasy savvy will make up for this though I don’t like his team this year. Yes Aaron Jones, Todd Gurley and Davante Adams led his team to a championship loss last year, but there is no Kittle or Thielen to complement them this year. Gurley has knee questions and Adams is a stud but with a new coach and offensive system in town. Watkins, Crowder and Miles Sanders all have questions week 1 and I’m worried his team will get hot when he’s already out of the playoff race.
Best Pick – Carson Wentz – Round 5 – Corry wanted someone to complain that they stole a guy they liked, where here it is. I was ticked when he took Wentz one pick before I wanted a QB. Wentz was the best QB in fantasy two years ago before he got hurt and I think he will be a top three QB this year
Worst Pick – Sammy Watkins – Round 4 – Ahhh the allure of Sammy Watkins… been there done that. Sammy will be a top 5 WR one week and you’ll wonder how he isn’t the best WR football and disappear the next. He may be the Jeff Green of football. When you don’t have a second rounder and you take Miles Sanders who is more of a late season play round three, I’d prefer someone more consistent/durable.
9. Maraika Rockwood – To me there is a big difference between the bottom three teams and Maraika’s but here we are. Also congrats to Alec as this may be the first time anyone has ever thought he had a better fantasy football than Maraika. Maraika’s team is actually pretty solid, but I knocked her spots because Chubb and Evans, while great, are a notch below most other keepers and I don’t like the Sutton/Drake starting lineup combo. Her team screams solid to me, but I am not sure who will win her the league. Also I saw Drew Brees throw in person at last years NFC championship and I’m convinced his arm is shot.
Best Pick – Courtland Sutton – Round 5. I know I said I didn’t trust him above, but I’m convinced this guy could be a superstar receiving talent. Then I remember Joe Flacco is his QB. But hey, who knows maybe the straight volume he will generate will help take her team to the next level. As for Sutton’s NFL team, they are going to suck again because they are a terrible ran franchise
Worst Pick – Kenyan Drake – Round 3 – Dolphins offense will most likely suck, and Drake will be splitting carries. He has never been a bellcow back and already has injury issues. I am out on Drake and unlike his rapper counterpart, he is going to start from the bottom and stay at the bottom.
8. Sean Rockwood – Man I actually like Sean’s team this year! One of the best if not the best receiving corps (Odell is about to go off) and Sean shocked the world when he took Josh Jacobs at pick three but I like what he did. His RB’s while inexperienced are young with upside and if things break right could take him to the next level. After not having any good RB’s since this league started, it’s nice to see him have some players he can dream on.
Best Pick – Royce Freeman – Round 6. Back to back Broncos on my best pick sections, but everything I am reading is saying that him and Lindsay will be closer to touches than you’d think, with him being the goal line back. He was drafted highly for a reason, and he wasn’t bad last year.
Worst Pick – Aaron Rodgers – Round 4. Aaron Rodgers is the most overrated QB of all time, I’m sick of everyone fanboying over him. Yeah his QB rating is great and interceptions are low because he just sits in the pocket and refuses to throw the ball away and gets sacked. Guy’s a bum. Nothing fantasy related but he is rising up my athlete hate list #Bradyisbetter
7. Charlotte DeBaltzo – Charlotte’s clear superiority to her husband is now manifested in fantasy football and her team name “Brownie Mixon” shows she has finally learned her rightful place is in the kitchen. Charlotte’s team is actually really good and also really fun, with Mixon, Kerryon, Antonio Brown, Stefon Diggs and TY Hilton. She also has Latavious Murray who is one of my favorite picks in the draft on the bench. I think here is where we are starting to see teams that are contenders and if her young RB’s make another leap then her team is up there with the best of them.
Best Pick – TY Hilton/Latavious Murray – Round 4 and Round 7 – Here are two veterans that have good talent and ideal situations for fantasy. Hilton lost Luck, but he’s still a fantasy beast and all around great player and has good chemistry with Brisset (and he was a champion with the Humongous Melonhead’s last year). Murray is taking over the Mark Ingram role and could be a solid RB2 or Flex Player for Charlotte at this point in the draft. She nailed it.
Worst Pick – Russell Wilson – Round 6. I have to reach on a hate pick and Wilson it is. A run first team and he doesn’t scramble like he used to. Luckily for Charlotte, Jameis Winston is on her bench and in my hot take will outperform Wilson this year from a fantasy perspective.
6. Jordan Heeb – A newcomer to football to the dismay of Danee, Heeb started slow with his pick of Thielen but turned out to have a solid team. Heeb did a good job waiting on a QB and has no real weak spots in his lineup. I am huge on David Johnson and Dalvin Cook this year at RB and think the rest of his team supports them well. Jordan also has a solid bench and can withstand injuries which we know are coming.
Best Pick – James White – Round 4 - See the George Kittle above. White was an absolute monster last year and should get around 1000 yards and 7 TD’s this year in the Pats offense. Thielen, Golladay, and Lockett are three very good receivers.
Worst Pick – Adam Thielen – Round 1 Pick 2 – Yuck Jordan, absolutely hate, hate, HATED this pick. Vikings just hired former Bronco Legend Gary Kubiak to help turn this squad into a run oriented team (plus they drafted a Center in the first round). More running means less passing and Thielen and Diggs should both suffer. To me, Thielen would be a solid WR2 and I doubt he will be the best receiver on this team by the end of the year.
5. Dustin Jensen – Dustin’s team is horrible to play against every week because with Kamara and Michael Thomas if the Saints drop 40 you are doomed (he beats me week 1 every single year). Add Mahomes to those two and he has three guys who can go off and beat you single handedly every single week. He took Melvin Gordon round 1 and didn’t draft a third running back until late which means he needs him to play. If Gordon comes back and is healthy all year with Kamara, this team could rise, but fantasy tends to not be so faithful.
Best Pick – Tyler Boyd – Round 4 – I feel like Boyd is a Thielen type player and will do 95% of what those types do, but was drafted three rounds later. He had 80-1000 yards last year, and with a more pass oriented coach I wouldn’t be surprised if he does that or better again this year.
Worst Pick – Melvin Gordon – Round 1 – If Melvin comes back and does what he did last year again then I am dead wrong here. But it sounds like he is holding out. And Dustin doesn’t have an RB2. That is going to be a glaring hole until the Melvin situation gets fixed.
4. Austin Jones – Austin may have the best keeper combo in the league outside of Taylor with Saquon and Kelce, and did a good job supplementing those two with solid veterans who still have upside (Mark Ingram, Amari Cooper playing for a contract, Larry Fitz with that new offense). To me, the key to his fantasy success is Duke Johnson. With Lamar Miller out with a torn ACL Duke could swing fantasy leagues this year and could take Austin’s team to the next level.
Best Pick – Duke Johnson – Round 5 – Duke Johnson could be a top 15 RB this year drafted in round 5 after keepers.
Worst Pick – Calvin Ridley – Round 3 – Julio is the guy, Hooper and Sanu are still around and Freeman is a beast near the goal line. Ridley cooled off after a monster start last year and I’m unsure if he will be the star people think he could be.
3. Alec Rockwood – First let me emphasize that I am 100% confident Alec will screw this up. After getting screwed by Fournette and Leveon last year, Alec is hoping they’ll realize their potential and snagged Julio Jones with the first pick after effectively tanking. With his first second round pick, he snagged Brandin Cooks and then went back to back RB’s again with Guice and Montgomery. Alec has a ton of depth on this team, and I like his combination of floor and upside.
Best Pick – David Montgomery – Round 3. I love Montgomery, I think he is going to be a super good fantasy RB and potential keeper by the end of the year. The Bears are calling him Kareem Hunt Jr, and I’m expecting big things out of him this season.
Worst Pick – Darrius Guice – Round 2. Man, Alec’s team would have been so much better had he taken a WR here. The Redskins suck, and Guice is a two down RB who may have to share touches with Adrian Peterson. If Alec comes close to winning it all this year I have a feeling this will be the pick that comes back to haunt him.
2. Taylor Call – The best keeper duo in the league and Taylor absolutely nailed the draft as well stealing my personal favorite fantasy player this year in Chris Carson, and snagging Edelman after he inexplicably fell to round two. All Taylor had to do was not screw it up. The Watson/Hopkins pairing is going to make you want to pull your hair out and I think Taylor is going to have another season with one of the best records in the league.
Best pick – Chris Carson – Round 1. The Seahawks run the ball more than any team in the league and Carson is only 24. Not only that but apparently they are wanting to throw him the ball more this year. Carson is the guy who I think will swing leagues and I wouldn’t be surprised if he forms a three headed monster with Tay’s keepers to vault him to the championship.
Worst Pick – Tarik Cohen – Round 5. Now it makes sense if I love Montgomery I dislike Cohen, but I think his role will be drastically reduced and our league doesn’t value his pass catching skills like others do. I feel like it’ll be a very up and down year for the human joystick.
1.Tyler Cook – What can I say? The league champ did it again. This team has no real weaknesses and depth to spare. Zeke is a top 4 player once he ends his holdout, and Damien Williams and Sony Michel both offer top 12 RB upside. Pair that with Juju Smith who is looking to have another stellar year, Chris Godwin and a stone-cold sober Josh Gordon and this team has upside you can dream on. I also have all the handcuffs to my guys to withstand any injury and I think the ceiling this team offers is higher than anyone elses. So props to me and just give me the championship now! First ever repeat football championship here I come!
Best Pick – Darwin Thompson – Round 7 – I’ll be honest I was worried about taking Damien Williams round 1 and I am hearing great things about Darwin right now. Damien has had injury problems which makes Darwin an essential handcuff and I have a feeling by the end of the year there is a scenario where he could be a star. Survival of the fittest just like his namesake.
Worst Pick – Cam Newton – Round 5 – Fun fact, last year I took Cam Newton as my QB and he played one game before I turned the keys over to Patrick Mahomes. I honestly think the same thing will happen this year with Cam and Kyler Murray. Cam will be a good QB, but part of me wonders if I could have taken a better player knowing I’d get Kyler or Lamar later. I don’t think it’ll come back to haunt me, but it’s tough to criticize the mind of a genius!
Well folks, good luck! May the fantasy gods be with you!
