Tag Archives: Christian Watson

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: Down Goes Cousins

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Well, I beat Champagne & Sweats 181.45 to 164.25. That brings my record to 4-4. I’m in fifth place, but I have the third-most points scored in the league. That’s the good news, I guess.

The bad news is that Kirk Cousins tore an Achilles, and he’s out for the year. This might do irreparable damage to my fantasy chances this year. I don’t know if I’ll be able to recover. For starters, I have three other Vikings on my team, who all suffer an immediate impact as a result of this injury. Besides that, Cousins has been one of the best fantasy QBs in the league this year! He’s right there with Tua (and would probably be ahead of him had he not gotten hurt during the last game), with only Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts ahead of him (and not by a ton).

So, that’s one of the best quarterbacks – and, indeed, one of the best players overall – lost for the rest of the year. That’s a hit to Addison significantly, a hit to Hockenson moderately, and practically kills Mattison’s value (which was already diminishing as Akers eats into his carries) because the Vikings are sure to be playing from behind the rest of the way.

On top of which, my depth at QB is sus as hell. Jordan Love is Just A Guy, but now he’s thrust into my every-week lineup for the foreseeable future, so I have to pray that he figures it out. Justin Fields can be great when he’s healthy, but who knows when he’ll be able to grip a football again? I already know he’s out this week; it might be two more on top of that, given a 6-week timetable for thumb injuries, then he has his BYE in Week 13. It feels like best case scenario is I have Fields for the final four weeks, but who knows how effective he’ll be after such a layoff? Then, there’s Bryce Young, who immediately becomes my second starter. I had no intention of playing him EVER, or at least until he took a significant step forward in his development. That might not ever happen! Not with how bad the team is around him (especially his O-Line). He’s averaging about 19.48 points per in his last three games, which is probably the best I can hope for. He’s also missed a game with injury and has two other games with fewer than 10 points, which is my nightmare right now.

I tried to make a waiver claim for Will Levis – who had his rookie debut last week, to the tune of 4 TD passes – but sadly not even my #2 waiver priority was enough to get me there. I’ve clung to that waiver priority all season (as a result of where I finished the previous year), but the #1 guy – who also has significant quarterback concerns – was able to leapfrog me. Levis will surely go on to have a Hall of Fame career, and this will be yet another back-breaking setback in a fantasy football career full of them.

Who else is available? Well, shockingly, Mac Jones is still out there. He’s the only legitimate starter I could grab. But, I’ve had him since he was a rookie (sans this season, of course), and he has NOT developed one iota since then. There are a couple of 26+ point performances, but also three games well under 10 (two of those being in the negative). I’m not thrilled, but I had to pick him up just to give myself a little depth for the time being, since my quarterbacks are apparently dropping like flies.

Of course, I dropped him within a couple hours yesterday, when it was announced that the Raiders are absolutely cleaning house. I decided Aidan O’Connell would be a higher-upside sort of guy. Considering he’s a 4th round rookie … probably not going to end up being the next Kirk Cousins (who was, himself, a 4th round draft pick at one point).

What a downer, for an otherwise excellent week. I got 40+ out of CeeDee Lamb, and a combined 40+ from Addison and Hockenson. Everyone but my starting running backs contributed in a legit way! I’m going to need that kind of collective effort A LOT going forward if I want to hang around. Otherwise, it’s the Consolation Bracket for me once again.

This week, I’m facing the other 4-4 team, Korky Butchek. I’m up on him by less than 10 points, so this is quite the Battle For Mediocrity! Here’s my (sigh) lineup:

  • Bryce Young (QB) vs. Ind
  • Jordan Love (QB) vs. LAR
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR) @ Phi
  • Jordan Addison (WR) @ Atl
  • Kenneth Walker (RB) @ Bal
  • Tony Pollard (RB) @ Phi
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE) @ Atl
  • Terry McLaurin (WR) @ NE
  • Dustin Hopkins (K) vs. Ari
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF) vs. LAC

If Young can’t get it going against Indy’s terrible defense, I’ll have much bigger concerns about his abilities going forward. I would also love to see Love get it going against a beat-up Rams defense, the way the Cowboys were able to shred them. Predictably, when I dropped Christian Watson, he was picked up by the guy I was going up against last week (the same guy who’s a Packers fan and had been trying to trade Love away from me). He didn’t start Watson, but it’s only a matter of time before Watson starts blowing up like he did last year.

The only start/sit decision I had to make was McLaurin vs. Downs. Given the way Scary Terry has been utilized in recent weeks, combined with how often they have to throw the ball, he should be good for solid points. I may change my mind though. Indy throws the ball a lot, but may have a huge lead and decide to run it to death against the Panthers. We’ll see.

Lotta road games. Lotta bad matchups in those road games. I’m going to get crushed. Here’s Korky’s team:

  • Joe Burrow (QB) vs. Buf
  • Baker Mayfield (QB) @ Hou
  • A.J. Brown (WR) vs. Dal
  • Puka Nacua (WR) @ GB
  • Bijan Robinson (RB) vs. Min
  • Breece Hall (RB) vs. LAC
  • Dalton Kincaid (TE) @ Cin
  • D.J. Moore (WR) @ NO
  • Jason Sanders (K) @ KC
  • Kansas City (DEF) vs. Mia

Thankfully, Trevor Lawrence and George Kittle are on BYE for him, otherwise I’d get smashed into oblivion. Baker is obviously a HUGE step down, but nothing about Houston’s defense scares me too bad; I think he gets right this week. His RBs are studly and lethal; I also own them in other leagues where my teams are better, so that’s a bad sign. A.J. Brown is up there for best WR in the game right now; no way that doesn’t continue. Moore is a little iffy, but he’s got other capable backups on his bench if he decides to swap him out. I would be a little worried about KC’s defense against the Dolphins, but this game is in Europe, so anything can happen. They’ve also proven to be a fantastic fantasy defense this season regardless of opponent, so I expect nothing to change there either.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: Finally A Monday Night Miracle!

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131.35 to 65.9. That’s what I was losing by heading into Monday night. AND he had Brock Purdy going against what looked to be a fairly mediocre Vikings defense.

Who did I have going? A bunch of players I likely wouldn’t have been playing if I didn’t absolutely have to. Kirk Cousins, for starters. Alexander Mattison for another. T.J. Hockenson is my tight end, so I’m ride or die there. And Jordan Addison, who very well might’ve been sitting this week if CeeDee Lamb wasn’t on BYE. That’s four Vikings players, going up against the 49ers’ defense, a week after losing their first game of the season, so you figure they would’ve been extra pissed off.

How did the game start? How about with a Kirk Cousins interception? If you think I wasn’t expecting that to be the first of many, you’re crazy. By my calculations, going into this game, I needed 4 Cousins TDs, 2 to Addison, 2 to Hockenson, maybe with a rushing TD for Mattison. The game ended with a 22-17 Vikings victory over the 49ers; I decidedly did not get the bonanza I had hoped for.

BUT, I did get two TDs to Addison (7 catches for 123 yards), I got 11 receptions to Hockenson for 86 yards, and 378 passing yards from Cousins (who did not, in fact, turn the ball over again after the first drive).

Even still, I wouldn’t say things were looking super fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, the first half was amazing! But, the Vikings’ offense stalled in a big way in the second half, just as Brock Purdy was starting to get things going. My saving grace, ultimately, was two fourth quarter picks by Purdy – each worth -4 points – to pull my team ahead once and for all: 149.80 to 144.85. If anything went differently on either of those drives, I’d probably be on here lamenting another bad beat.

Ultimately, I think my team is going to go as far as the Vikings can take me. I can win it all if these guys are going to continue being lights out on offense. But, when they shit the bed, I’m going to shit it as well.

Jordan Love was mediocre (and threw another late pick), Christian Watson got hurt and otherwise had a bad game, and the Packers’ defense did next-to-nothing against an inept Broncos team. Suffice it to say, my team will NOT be going as far as the Packers take me.

I did get decent points from Walker and McLaurin, and just enough out of the Jags’ kicker. Now, I get the Jets’ defense and my Cowboys players back for the stretch run. Boy, will I need ’em!

I’m now 3-4 and clinging to sixth place in the standings, but I need to pile on some wins – and some quality scoring weeks – if I want to hang around playoff contention.

This week, I’m going up against Champagne & Sweats, the current last place team at 1-6. He’s the reigning league champion, so obviously I can’t take him lightly. But, this is fantasy football, and I just won a game I very much wasn’t projected to win, so literally anything can happen.

Here’s my lineup:

  • Kirk Cousins (QB) @ GB
  • Jordan Love (QB) vs. Min
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR) vs. LAR
  • Jordan Addison (WR) @ GB
  • Kenneth Walker (RB) vs. Cle
  • Tony Pollard (RB) vs. LAR
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE) @ GB
  • Terry McLaurin (WR) vs. Phi
  • Dustin Hopkins (K) @ Sea
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF) @ NYG

Mattison returns to my bench this week, for the foreseeable future. Cam Akers is munching into his carries to the point where they’re practically in a 50/50 timeshare; who didn’t see THAT coming? To be fair, the Vikings’ running game in general has been pretty mediocre, so for now he’s just an injury replacement/BYE week fill-in.

Christian Watson got hurt at the tail-end of that Broncos game. He has, decidedly, been a bad keeper through seven weeks. Obviously, he was out injured for most of that time, but also Jordan Love isn’t great, and the Packers in general keep games close enough where they’re rarely in a super-negative game-script. And when they do pass, they tend to spread the ball around. Watson has not proven to be the TD machine he was last year.

Bryce Young is still a Wait & See for me. He’s looked moderately improved over his last two games, and just went through his BYE week; here’s hoping he used that time wisely and heads into the back-half of the season as a viable option for me. Justin Fields looks to be out for another week, so who’s crazy for rostering four quarterbacks all season NOW?

On Wednesday, after players left waivers and reverted back to free agents, I had the opportunity to pick Evan McPherson back up. But, instead, I opted to go with Dustin Hopkins, kicker for Cleveland, who has been absolutely kicking ass this year in general, and especially over the last two weeks – where he has 39 points – in hopes that his good fortunes will continue. The Browns seem to have an offense that’s struggling to score touchdowns, but isn’t so inept that they can’t move the ball at all. Of course, now that he’s on my team, watch them totally fall apart.

I had been in a back-and-forth trade negotiation with Champagne & Sweats for a couple weeks in there. He’s been trying to trade me Geno Smith for Jordan Love. At this point, neither one has been all that enticing. He’s a Packers fan, so he just wants to root for his guy; I’m a Seahawks fan and I don’t trust Geno as far as I can throw him. Unfortunately, I think we’re a poor fit for this, as all the guys I like on his team are too good for Love, and it’s hard to find an evenly-matched deal. Here’s his team:

  • Jalen Hurts (QB) @ Was
  • Geno Smith (QB) vs. Cle
  • Stefon Diggs (WR) vs. TB
  • Christian Kirk (WR) @ Pit
  • D’Andre Swift (RB) @ Was
  • Javonte Williams (RB) vs. KC
  • Evan Engram (TE) @ Pit
  • Gabe Davis (WR) vs. TB
  • Justin Tucker (K) @ Ari
  • Philadelphia (DEF) @ Was

See, I like Hurts and Diggs, but those guys are practically untouchable. I don’t care for Davis – after last year’s debacle, where I drafted him in every league – nor am I high on his running backs or any of his bench guys. Our whole trade dalliance commenced with me trying to get Deebo Samuel from him for Mattison, but as you can see, Deebo just can’t stay on the field. Now, I don’t know if I even want THAT headache. Even when he’s good enough to play, he could get knocked out in the first quarter, and then where will I be?

Other than Hurts, Philly’s D, and Kirk, I don’t really love his matchups. This is a game I probably SHOULD win, but when have I said that before? And how did that actually end up? I’m not super thrilled that I’ve got two quarterbacks going up against one another again; what are the odds the Packers/Vikings game is another slugfest just like the Bears/Vikings game a couple weeks ago? Would’ve been REAL nice to have Fields going up against the Chargers, so I could bench Love.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: I Never Had A Chance

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Sometimes you go up against the guy who scores the most points in the league. Shit happens. 181.15-142.25.

Sometimes, it just so happens to coincide with your two quarterbacks combining for 16.05 points, in a game where they’re going up against one another (Minnesota @ Chicago) and it was projected to be something of a shootout. To be fair, Cousins and Fields would’ve needed phenomenal games for me to pull this one out. But, to finish with such shitty numbers is really demoralizing for someone who’s spent the better part of half a decade trying to fix his quarterback problem.

I got good-enough points everywhere else to give myself a chance. Everyone except my kicker hit double digits; everyone got close to their projection, or beat them by a pretty good margin (good on the Jets’ defense, Kyren Williams, and Kenneth Walker). But, how can I compete when guys like Tyreek Hill, Raheem Mostert, Jared Goff, and Adam Thielen are absolutely going OFF?

The good news is: enough people around me also lost, and I scored a good number of points to give myself a fighting chance with the standings. I’m still in fifth place (the best of the five 2-4 teams), but I have the third-most points in the league.

The bad news is: Week 7 is upon us. It’s my BYE-armageddon.

No Tony Pollard, no CeeDee Lamb, no Bryce Young, no Evan McPherson, no Jets’ defense. And, thanks to injuries, no Fields or Williams. I’m in BAD shape. I’m going to have to (hopefully temporarily) drop my kicker; thankfully, I can use an IR spot finally, so I won’t have to lose my precious Jets.

There’s six teams on BYE this week. Unfortunately, my opponent isn’t NEARLY as throttled as I am. He loses Nico Collins and Chuba Hubbard; I have to imagine one of those guys was destined to be benched anyway since he’s likely getting Aaron Jones back this week. Also, his team name is Car Talk With Josh Allen, so you can guess who one of his quarterbacks is.

I have penciled this game in as a loss since the draft (which has made losing the last two games all the more agonizing). Here’s my M.A.S.H. unit:

  • Kirk Cousins (QB) vs. SF
  • Jordan Love (QB) @ Den
  • Christian Watson (WR) @ Den
  • Jordan Addison (WR) vs. SF
  • Kenneth Walker (RB) vs. Ari
  • Alexander Mattison (RB) vs. SF
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE) vs. SF
  • Terry McLaurin (WR) @ NYG
  • Brandon McManus (K) @ NO
  • Green Bay (DEF) @ Den

The last thing I wanted to do was load up on Vikings this week, especially with the 49ers coming off of a loss. My intended lineup was to include both Fields and Love for the first time this year, to give my team some semblance of the look it might have in 2024 and potentially beyond. Instead, I have four Vikings in my lineup. Mattison will surely be stuffed all day, Addison and Hockenson will likely cede receptions to whoever’s left on that team that I don’t currently own, and Cousins should be good for 3-4 picks.

On the plus side, give me all your Packers against that Broncos defense; this will hopefully be a rebound day for Love and Watson. Walker has been very steady for me this season, and McLaurin has been up and down.

I had my pick of some pretty good defensive options once Wednesday rolled around and all the waiver claims had gone through. The only defense claimed on waivers was the Rams. The top projected defense this week in free agency was Las Vegas, at Chicago. Believe me, I was tempted! I’m probably going to look back on this decision and really regret what I did. But, I dunno. The Raiders on the road? They’re boom or bust on defense; they’ve boomed the last two weeks, but that was at home. I could see the Bears actually doing something without Fields out there constantly giving the ball to the other team. There was also Washington at the Giants; for as bad as the Giants’ offense is, though, I think the Commanders are worse on defense. If I wanted a home team, I could’ve nabbed Indy who’s hosting Cleveland. But, I opted to go with the Anti-Denver strategy. Green Bay, in general, has put up good points every week; they’re far more reliable in my mind. There’s been no negative weeks (in spite of playing the Lions), there’s three double-digit points weeks, including a couple up around 20. Denver’s offense is always a trainwreck ready to happen, so I’ll take my chances here. Even though I kinda sorta feel bad for Russell Wilson, I still get a giddy little thrill when he stinks up the joint.

Not a ton of great options for kicker. Jason Myers got snapped up in a waiver claim early Wednesday morning. Of available free agent kickers, the Raiders’ guy was projected highest, but I don’t trust them to move the ball well without Jimmy G. I dunno, it’s a lot of the usual suspects; I’m sure I got it wrong. I usually like a kicker who’s on a good offense (we’ll see, but Jacksonville seems okay), going up against a good defense (so they’re not just scoring TDs at will). I feel like the Jags should move the ball on New Orleans, but maybe stall out in the red zone. It’s indoors, which I love. My biggest concern is that it’s a Thursday night game, so watch the Jags get shut out or something.

I guess the one thing I have going for me is the fact that my bench is unavailable to me, so I don’t REALLY have to make any decisions (other than the aforementioned rentals I picked up at kicker and defense).

But, I’m really banking on my opponent having an uncharacteristically bad week. Considering he’s 5-1 on the season, he hasn’t had too many of those. Here’s his lineup:

  • Josh Allen (QB) @ NE
  • Brock Purdy (QB) @ Min
  • D.K. Metcalf (WR) vs. Ari
  • DeVonta Smith (WR) vs. Mia
  • Brian Robinson (RB) @ NYG
  • Aaron Jones (RB) @ Den
  • Travis Kelce (TE) vs. LAC
  • Amari Cooper (WR) @ Ind
  • Tyler Bass (K) @ NE
  • New Orleans (DEF) vs. Jax

If it all wasn’t bad enough for me, he’s got the best QB, the best TE, a loaded receiver room, and Jones will probably steal all the points I get out of Love and then some. He’s also got Cleveland’s defense against Indy, if he wants to shuffle two amazing options at that spot.

I’ll be particularly focused on the D.K. Metcalf Revenge Game. He was on my team last year, and I ended up keeping Watson over him. So, I only have myself to blame when D.K. scores two TDs and thoroughly embarrasses me.

The silver lining of this past weekend is that I won my other two matchups pretty handily. I’m going to need them to continue that trend if I want to enjoy this weekend at all, from a fantasy perspective.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: I Lost The Stupidest Game Possible

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How annoyed was I that I left Justin Fields on my bench last week (or, the last TWO weeks, for that matter)? Pretty fucking annoyed! Considering I lost 141.3 to 125.9, I definitely could’ve used his 43.8 points. Nevertheless, heading into Monday night’s showdown between the Packers and the meh Raiders, all I needed was 16 points and change from Jordan Love and I would’ve prevailed. That was LESS than his projected points. I just needed AH game from him.

Instead, I got 3 of the dumbest interceptions I’ve ever fucking seen, and he finished with less than 1 point. I don’t even know what he was trying to do with those picks; I’m too blinded with rage to actually remember all of them, but the first one seemed like he was intentionally throwing to the Raiders defender, and I think the other two were thrown into 12-on-1 coverage.

It doesn’t help that I’ve been holding Love hostage from the Packers fan in our league, who has been trying since before the draft to trade me Geno Smith for him. The way I see it, Love has longer-term upside, and if he’s adamant about aligning his fantasy team with his favored NFL team, he’s going to have to pay a premium. That’s all there is to it.

To be fair, this is only Love’s first truly awful game. He’s surpassed his projected points three times by a pretty decent margin, and met his projected points once; that’s not someone I’m looking to just give away. But, I’ve noticed some distressing trends through five weeks. First and foremost: whatever decision I make about Fields (sit vs. start), I’m GOING to get it wrong. I’ve played him in his three very worst weeks, and I’ve sat him when he’s finally resembled the late-season breakout from last year. But, that’s neither here nor there. Regarding Love, he’s a tricky fantasy play. The Packers have a good defense, and seem to be content with slowing down their offense and keeping these games relatively low scoring. It was evident from the jump on Monday night that they were bound and determined to establish their run game, even though Aaron Jones was out. Love has a high of 259 in passing yards, and a high in completions of only 23. It tells me he’s not super accurate (his receivers also looked like they left points on the table with drops), and that he’s touchdown-dependent.

Since I have no intention of keeping Cousins beyond this season, though, so far Love is locked into one of my two quarterback keeper spots heading into the 2024 season. But, a lot can obviously change between now and then.

We had our first decent Bryce Young week (22.75, after a high of only 17.05 prior to that). Fields, as I mentioned, has back-to-back 37+ points scoring weeks, so he’s locked into my lineup for the foreseeable future.

Christian Watson looked better last week – after playing in limited duty in week 4, coming back from injury – though he dropped a tough deep ball in tight coverage that could’ve made everyone’s lives better. The Packers are heading into a BYE week this week, but I won’t be afraid of throwing him into my lineup on an as-needed basis.

The loss drops me to 2-3, and in fifth place in the standings. Still a long way to go, and thankfully the top 6 make the playoffs, so I’m not pushing the panic button quite yet.

This week, I go up against The Lance Petemans, who is 4-1 and in second place overall. He has the most points scored in the league, so this is a frightening proposition. My lineup:

  • Kirk Cousins (QB) @ Chi
  • Justin Fields (QB) vs. Min
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR) @ LAC
  • Jordan Addison (WR) @ Chi
  • Tony Pollard (RB) @ LAC
  • Kyren Williams (RB) vs. Ari
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE) @ Chi
  • Kenneth Walker (RB) @ Cin
  • Evan McPherson (K) vs. Sea
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF) vs. Phi

As I mentioned above, both my Packers are on BYE. Terry McLaurin is never going to be a confident play for me, and might be the next guy I waive, if I have to waive someone for any reason. Mattison is out based on a roster crunch (I have too many healthy RBs at the moment … which shouldn’t be a problem for much longer, now that I’ve jinxed myself). And Bryce Young has an interesting matchup at Miami; I wonder if he’ll get some good garbage-time points this week.

You know what I never particularly look forward to? When the majority of my players are involved in the same game. Both quarterbacks are going head-to-head in this one, which means – for me to win this week – I need the Vikings/Bears game to be high-scoring. Thankfully, neither defense is much to write home about. We’ll see what the Vikings look like with Justin Jefferson on IR. Will Addison ascend to be a true #1? Will Hockenson pick up some of the slack? Or, will Cousins suffer as a result? I kind of dread the answers to these questions.

The Cowboys have a juicy Monday night matchup against the Chargers. I am perennially unlucky when I’m tasked with a Monday night comeback, though, so my only hope seems to be taking a huge Sunday lead and not needing Monday’s points at all. Indeed, all my players seem to have good matchups this week – save the Jets defense, who has to tangle with the Eagles – so with that confidence firmly in place, watch my team royally shit the bed.

Here’s who The Lance Petemans will toss in front of me:

  • Jared Goff (QB) @ TB
  • Matthew Stafford (QB) vs. Ari
  • Tyreek Hill (WR) vs. Car
  • Keenan Allen (WR) vs. Dal
  • Raheem Mostert (RB) vs. Car
  • David Montgomery (RB) @ TB
  • Cole Kmet (TE) vs. Min
  • Adam Thielen (WR) @ Mia
  • Jake Moody (K) @ Cle
  • Dallas (DEF) @ LAC

It’s the week I always dread, when I’m reminded of the dumbest fantasy trade I ever made. Back in Tom Brady’s last year with the Pats, I needed a quarterback, and so I traded Tyreek Hill for him (there may or may not have been other players involved, who I’ve since forgotten about). Brady was cooked, and did nothing for my playoff chances; meanwhile Hill has turned into the most dynamic and important fantasy receiver in the history of football. The gift that keeps on giving. I’ve been in a perpetual rebuild ever since.

Allen is a target hog. Mostert’s value just skyrocketed thanks to the injury to Achane. Montgomery has been taking the lion’s (!) share of snaps and goalline carries. This is just a rock-solid team from top to bottom, with Dallas being the envy of just about everyone. I fully expect them to bounce back in a big way after being embarrassed by the 49ers.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: A Pillow Fight For The Ages

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If I was unlucky in Week 3, I’d say luck was on my side in Week 4, as Fight The Mattriarchy defeated Toot Cannons 115.85 to 96.65.

Neither team, clearly, blew the doors off of this week. I got a good game out of Kyren Williams, a few okay performances here and there, but I also got a 0 from Jordan Addison, sub-5 games from Hockenson and my kicker, and my quarterbacks got a combined 29.05 (while Justin Fields and Terry McLaurin got 37.25 and 22.6 for my bench). He, on the other hand, had a good game from Justin Jefferson, but also was saddled with very bad weeks from Olave, Higgins, Goedert, the 49ers’ defense, and his quarterbacks totalled even fewer points than mine (while leaving De’Von Achane’s 27 points on his bench).

That props me back up to a 2-2 record, which is good for fifth place a month into the season. Even though I’ve been wildly inconsistent, I’m looking more and more like a playoff team if I can keep my guys healthy.

This upcoming Week 5 is where I start to see some BYEs take effect. It’s by no means devastating (save that for Week 7, when I have to fill my defense, kicker, and two Cowboys), but Kenneth Walker will definitely be missed.

No roster moves this week, unless someone comes down with an ailment and I’m able to add someone to my IR spot, so let’s get right to the lineups.

  • Kirk Cousins (QB) vs. KC
  • Jordan Love (QB) @ LV
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR) @ SF
  • Jordan Addison (WR) vs. KC
  • Tony Pollard (RB) vs. NE
  • Kyren Williams (RB) vs. Phi
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE) vs. KC
  • Terry McLaurin (WR) vs. Chi
  • Evan McPherson (K) @ Ari
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF) @ Den

We’re at the point I was dreading: flip-flopping between Love and Fields.

It’s obnoxious that it took Fields four weeks to finally blow up. It’s also obnoxious that I opted to sit him against that feeble Broncos defense (and against the allegedly less-feeble Guardians defense). What’s encouraging is that Fields did the vast majority of the damage with his arm, throwing for 335 yards and 4 TDs, while rushing for only 25 yards on 4 attempts (vs. the Broncos) and 282 yards and 4 TDs, while rushing for only 57 yards on 11 attempts last night. Grain of salt and all that, but here’s hoping that he’s able to keep that going against superior opponents.

Love, to his credit, looked fine on Thursday night, until a late interception thoroughly ruined my night. I was more taken aback by Cousins having such a terrible game against the Panthers of all teams; but, you’re gonna get at least four of those a year. We managed to withstand it this time, let’s hope it’s a while before it happens again. Let’s also hope Love and Fields eventually entrench themselves as my two starters, so I don’t NEED to use Cousins against better defenses. For now, though, Cousins has to be my #1, and I’ll continue to mix and match with Love and Fields.

Love is an interesting case, because he seems to be touchdown-dependent. The Packers actually have something resembling a competent defense, so they should be involved in much closer games; whereas the Bears are still kind of a disaster, and figure to find themselves in more negative game scripts. For this week, I don’t love the Fields matchup against Washington, nor do I love playing a guy like him on Thursday night. Love has the Raiders this week, followed by a BYE; during that BYE, Fields plays the Vikings, so the next two weeks could be very instructive. Not for nothing, but Love also has a matchup against the Broncos coming out of his BYE, so that’s definitely encouraging (Week 7 is also a game where Cousins has to play the 49ers, so I’ll be more than happy to bench him that week).

As for this week, I have to hope for a Cousins bounce-back. He’s playing the Chiefs, so they should be throwing a lot. I also have to hope for an Addison bounce-back, as he’s too talented to be this ignored.

My Flex spot goes to McLaurin, though I’m not thrilled with it. I’m sitting Mattison because I think the Chiefs have a solid D-Line. I’m sitting Watson because he’s still working his way back from injury, and might be limited. Scary Terry isn’t sexy, and he’s coming off of a very good week (which gives me pause, because what are the odds he has back-to-back solid performances in that offense?), but the Bears are atrocious, and I don’t see any reason why the Commanders should struggle offensively, even on Thursday night.

Bryce Young returned to the fold and struggled against the Vikings, scoring less than 10 points. He had a season high in yards with 204, but that’s obviously not saying much.

I’m going up against Sloane N Steady, who has this to say:

  • Anthony Richardson (QB) vs. Ten
  • Josh Dobbs (QB) vs. Cin
  • Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR) vs. Car
  • Brandon Aiyuk (WR) vs. Dal
  • Travis Etienne (RB) @ Buf
  • Isiah Pacheco (RB) @ Min
  • Kyle Pitts (TE) vs. Hou
  • Michael Pittman (WR) vs. Ten
  • Younghoe Koo (K) vs. Hou
  • Baltimore (DEF) @ Pit

So, he’s 1-3 and in 8th place. That being said, you could argue I’m pretty close to that fate, so I’m not counting my chickens in this one.

Richardson looks like a stud; he’s going to be a handful. Dobbs looks surprisingly competent, and should have a high floor. St. Brown and Aiyuk are two of my favorite non-Seahawks receivers (I have them in another league and they’re phenomenal). Baltimore looks like they’re going up against the Steelers’ backup QB, so that could be a nightmare for me.

You’ll know I’m destined to lose this one if Pitts and Pacheco have breakout games. Pitts has been a disaster in that offense (it’s not his fault), and Pacheco is a guy who can do everything, but isn’t necessarily their top scoring weapon. If he has a couple touchdowns, it’s going to be a LONG day for me.

If I REALLY expect to be a playoff team, this is a game I should win. But, fantasy is a fickle beast, so you never know how it’ll all shake out.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: An Unlucky Start To The Season

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I am 1-2 to start the season, thanks to losing 205.70 to 175.72 to Turd Sandwich. He, of course, scored the most points in the league, thanks to the Buffalo defense (53), Davante Adams (42.2), and Mahomes (34.4). I mean, what can you do?

I had a pretty good week, all things considered. I made the right choices at quarterback; Cousins and Love had 33.35 and 26.85 respectively. Alexander Mattison was on my bench and would’ve been my second-leading RB at 17.5, but even my ideal lineup would’ve lost.

With my 1-2 record, I still have the second-most points scored in our league, which is super frustrating. But, you just gotta keep plugging away and hope to catch some breaks. If I can keep scoring points like this, I’ll definitely make the playoffs (fast forward to me continuing to score points like this, languishing in 7th place).

Who am I kidding; there’s no way I’m going to continue scoring like this.

This week, I go up against Toot Cannons. I’m projected to lose by a fair amount, but I also don’t feel like Yahoo has figured out how to project a lot of these players (Kenneth Walker is projected to only get 11.82 points, yet he’s 3rd among all RBs through three weeks). My lineup is going to look the same as last week:

  • Kirk Cousins (QB) @ Car
  • Jordan Love (QB) vs. Det
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR) vs. NE
  • Jordan Addison (WR) @ Car
  • Kenneth Walker (RB) @ NYG
  • Tony Pollard (RB) vs. NE
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE) @ Car
  • Kyren Williams (RB) @ Ind
  • Evan McPherson (K) @ Ten
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF) vs. KC

Justin Fields had another shit game, this time against the Chiefs. It’s tempting to throw him in there against Denver’s crappy team, but I loved what I saw out of Love in the second half against the Saints last Sunday. He was on point and looks like he could be a great QB. I’m going to continue sitting Mattison for now, because I don’t know what that run game is going to look like once Cam Akers gets into the mix. I feel like they’re looking for any excuse to make a change – you don’t make a mid-season trade like that, for a guy who has proven he’s very capable, if you’re not looking to give him an extended opportunity – and I still believe in Kyren Williams’ usage rate in that Rams offense. It’ll be tough sledding for the Cowboys against the Patriots, but I just gotta hope Lamb and/or Pollard finds a way to break out at some point.

Christian Watson is looking close to returning, but I still want to see him play in a game before I throw him in. It was great of the Panthers to sit Young against the Seahawks; keep taking it slow with him and let’s ramp him up for the second half of the season. I’m looking for any excuse to ditch Joshua Kelley (who has been worthless as the Chargers’ #1 back, in Ekeler’s absence), but I also have the #2 waiver priority, so I have to save it for something important (and not just throw it away on Miami’s De’Von Achane – who had 50+ points against the Broncos, but otherwise has done nothing in a serious time-share that’s only going to get more muddled once Jeff Wilson returns from IR).

Toot Cannons, of course, has a lot of great players. Here are many of them:

  • Tua Tagovailoa (QB) @ Buf
  • Daniel Jones (QB) vs. Sea
  • Justin Jefferson (WR) @ Car
  • Chris Olave (WR) vs. TB
  • Najee Harris (RB) @ Hou
  • Jerome Ford (RB) vs. Bal
  • Dallas Goedert (TE) vs. Was
  • Tee Higgins (WR) @ Ten
  • Harrison Butker (K) @ NYJ
  • San Francisco (DEF) vs. Ari

He’s also got Saquon Barkley, if he’s ready to return from his injury. I would have to imagine – if it looks good for Barkley – we’ll see Harris on the bench.

It’s bittersweet to see both Tua and Danny Dimes doing so well (at least fantasy-wise), since I’m almost positive I had both of them as rookies and promptly gave up on them when they looked like disasters. Jefferson is sure to gobble a ton of points from Cousins, which will (at best) cancel each other out. Higgins seems to be on an Every Other Week schedule of being good, so this figures to be a good week. And, can ANYONE score against the 49ers? I’m guessing NOT the Cardinals (even though they’ve looked relatively impressive through three weeks).

I can’t say I’m very confident. It would be nice if Buffalo came to play defense, but for some reason I doubt it. They only kick fucking ass when they’re going up against MY fantasy team.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: Play Your Studs!

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Couldn’t quite get to 2-0. Had every opportunity, but my needless tinkering did me in.

Fight The Mattriarchy lost to Beasts 163.75 to 155.85. If you do the math, there’s an argument to be made that I lost thanks to Russell Wilson’s hail mary touchdown pass at the end of the game. KNOCK THE FREAKIN’ BALL DOWN!!! 50 yards (2.5 points) plus a TD (6 points). That’s 8.5 points; I lost by 7.9.

But, really, I shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. I sat Kenneth Walker (18.4) and played Joshua Kelley (3.9); that was my true blunder. I also needed to realize that Justin Fields (14.85) is simply worse than Jordan Love (27.85), but I was a week too late.

I did end up making Kirk Cousins a last-minute addition (40.2), which gave me a nice little Thursday Night boost that was quite unexpected. So, I wasn’t a TOTAL ass.

I also made a shrewd Sunday morning pickup of Kyren Williams, running back for the Rams, when it was announced that Cam Akers is on the trade block again. I don’t know how he was out there as a free agent for so long, but I’m happy to add him to the team! Zay Jones was an early morning pickup for an open spot thanks to Christian Watson being on the IR for a second week; he wasn’t long for my team (thankfully).

I am going up against Turd Sandwich this week (I’m actually playing this guy in two leagues, which is going to add an extra bit of anguish to my bachelor party this weekend, when he beats me twice). I went ahead and set my lineup early – taking advantage of Watson remaining in my IR slot, even though he will probably end up playing – so I can’t make any moves lest I want to drop someone from my bench.

Bryce Young Watch: I got to see my top draft pick play on Monday night. He … didn’t look great. But, there’s definitely potential there (much more potential than with Justin Fields, if I do say so myself), but it’s still WAY too early in the season to start him, even in a 2 QB league. Did I consider it? With him coming to Seattle and playing against that wet paper bag of a defense? I certainly did! But, I’m going to need to see him do it, across multiple weeks, before I can trust him.

Here’s my Week 3 lineup:

  • Kirk Cousins (QB) vs. LAC
  • Jordan Love (QB) vs. NO
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR) @ Ari
  • Jordan Addison (WR) vs. LAC
  • Kenneth Walker (RB) vs. Car
  • Tony Pollard (RB) @ Ari
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE) vs. LAC
  • Kyren Williams (RB) @ Cin
  • Evan McPherson (K) vs. LAR
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF) vs. NE

Give me every single Viking. Well, give me every single Viking in the passing game. I’m far from sold on Mattison at this point; he’s looked exceedingly underwhelming thus far. I’m expecting that game to be a passing bonanza for both teams, so watch the Vikings continuously fall down at the 1-yard line and have to plunge it in with their running back three times. That being said, I don’t think we’re very far from whoever Mattison’s backup is being given an equal amount of touches/snaps. You can’t have too many running backs on your fantasy roster, which is why I’m going to try to hang onto Kelley for a while. They just had a rough matchup against the Titans’ stout run defense. I guess I expected him to be as involved in the passing game as Ekeler was. Wrong on my part.

I don’t love the matchup with Love against the Saints. Odds are, I will have chosen wrong once again, and it’ll be Fields running all over the place. But, I also don’t love the matchup Fields has with that Chiefs defense. They’ve been GREAT this year, especially last week holding Jacksonville down on the road the way they did. Love has been making a lot out of a little; he’s not throwing for a ton of yards, but he’s getting a ton of TDs. Hopefully, his playmakers can continue making plays!

Here’s what Turd Sandwich is throwing at me:

  • Patrick Mahomes (QB) vs. Chi
  • Brock Purdy (QB) vs. NYG
  • Davante Adams (WR) vs. Pit
  • Chris Godwin (WR) vs. Phi
  • Rhamondre Stevenson (RB) @ NYJ
  • James Cook (RB) @ Was
  • Hayden Hurst (TE) @ Sea
  • JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR) @ NYJ
  • Riley Patterson (K) vs. Atl
  • Buffalo (DEF) @ Was

Mahomes will light it up, no doubt. Adams will destroy Pittsburgh. Hurst will probably score a bunch against the Seahawks. And Purdy will probably look good against a not-great Giants team. Other than that, I’m not totally quaking in my boots. Which probably means I’ll lose by 50.

He also has Dameon Pierce on his bench; I have to imagine he’ll be playing in place of JuJu. Why would you start a receiver against the Jets if you didn’t have to? That game should be a low-scoring slug-fest. But, I worry that Stevenson will catch 15 balls in the process, which is my nightmare.

The projected scoring has this one razor-thin. I’m nervous! I’m always nervous. But, I also lose to this guy all the time, so I’m sort of resigned to my fate.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: Draft Results May Vary

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I completed three fantasy football drafts in about an 80-hour span; is it possible to feel terrible about every single one of them?

Before we dive into my Dyntasy League 5-round draft, I’ll talk a little bit about my other two teams, as I seem to have stumbled into a couple of different strategies without even trying.

Every draft is different. You never know where you’re going to land in any given draft (assuming it’s randomly selected for you), you never know who’s going to be available (who people reach for, or who people steal from you at the last moment), and so you can go into a draft with one plan, but circumstances force you to go another way.

I try to be adaptable. I’m just looking for as many good players as possible. If it comes down to one of two guys, I’ll simply take the player I want to root for more. And I definitely tend to skew towards younger players, especially at running back and wide receiver.

Yet, I think I have two wildly different teams! To wit, the True League, and my team, RUM HAM:

  • Jalen Hurts (QB)
  • Aaron Rodgers (QB)
  • James Conner (RB)
  • Dalvin Cook (RB)
  • Breece Hall (RB)
  • Elijah Mitchell (RB)
  • Jonathan Taylor (RB)
  • Jahan Dotson (WR)
  • Treylon Burks (WR)
  • Zay Flowers (WR)
  • Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR)
  • Cooper Kupp (WR)
  • Jameson Williams (WR)
  • Travis Kelce (TE)
  • Kicker TBD
  • New York Jets (DEF)

There’s injury concerns (Conner, Hall, Mitchell, Taylor, Kupp), there’s age concerns (Rodgers, Kelce, Conner again), and then there’s just an endless array of first- and second-year players (Hall, Dotson, Burks, Flowers, JSN, Williams). This is more of a standard scoring league, with half-PPR I believe, but I don’t know if I have enough TD-power to cut the mustard. Will Taylor return to playing football this season? How bad is Kupp’s injury? How many games will I get out of Conner? When will Hall have his inevitable set-back? Will I be able to hold onto Williams through his entire 6-week suspension?

There’s a lot of questions swirling around my team. On the one end of the spectrum of possibilities, I’ll be spending every week scrambling to field a healthy team, constantly worried about and second-guessing injury reports. On the other end, my hurt guys get healthy, and I’m able to field a juggernaut by season’s end that will take me all the way to the championship. High variance, high reward!

Also, I should say, I do like Dotson and Burks more than most. And, really, the Cardinals ONLY have Conner, so he should feast as the only dude on that offense.

Now, here’s my other team, The Annexation Of Puerto Rico, in my beloved Splinter League:

  • Josh Allen (QB)
  • Dak Prescott (QB)
  • Matthew Stafford (QB)
  • Bijan Robinson (RB)
  • Rachaad White (RB)
  • Tyler Allgeier (RB)
  • Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR)
  • Tee Higgins (WR)
  • Christian Kirk (WR)
  • George Pickens (WR)
  • Brandon Aiyuk (WR)
  • Treylon Burks (WR)
  • Jameson Williams (WR)
  • Pittsburgh Steelers (DEF)

On the flipside, not a lot of injury issues here, at least out of the gate. But, I also don’t have the glut of running backs to pull from in a pinch. Thankfully, I have the Falcons guys to fall back on, but if White is a bust, I’m kind of screwed.

In the True League, I had the fifth pick in the draft. After the usual suspects went 1-4, I made Kelce my top overall pick. By contrast, in the Splinter League, I had the second pick. Last year, I won it all by having the 10th pick, so this was a VASTLY different experience for me. My Splinter League is even more quarterback-crazy (2 QB league, 1 point per 15 passing yards, 6-point TDs, -4 INTs), and I’m happy to say I got to take Josh Allen for the first time ever. That’s a recipe for him having an uncharacteristically-down year if I’ve ever heard one!

Anyway, I guess we’ll see. I should point out that in the True League, I got an A+ grade by Yahoo, second overall in the league. And, in the Splinter League, I also got an A+ grade, first overall. Will that mean anything? We’ll see. I had a high grade last year in Splinter as well, and ended up winning the whole thing. But, there’s a lot that goes into a championship season; you need to get extremely lucky along the way.

In my Dynasty League, my team – Fight The Mattriarchy! – got a D grade, 8th out of 10 teams. Since everyone’s 10 keepers get slotted randomly into the draft rounds 1-10, I don’t know how much of that grade is outside of my control. But, with the way AI has been trending, I think Yahoo is probably able to take a global view of every team’s quality and depth of players and make an honest assessment. I mean, I’ve been kind of bottom-feeding for a while now; maybe my keepers aren’t up to snuff.

I wrote about my dilemma last week, so you can read that HERE. That link will also tell you who my keepers were. Without further ado, let’s talk about my 5-round draft! Or, rather, my 3-round/5-person draft.

As expected, the two rookie running backs went 1 and 2 (Bijan and Jahmyr Gibbs). That left one guy standing between me and the quarterback of my dreams/nightmares. He ended up taking Anthony Richardson, which left me no choice but to take Bryce Young. Here’s hoping that #1 overall NFL draft pedigree accounts for something!

By the time I selected with my second pick in the first round, I sadly missed out on re-acquiring D.K. Metcalf, who went two picks earlier. I also missed out on Joe Mixon, C.J. Stroud, Calvin Ridley, and Daniel Jones. So, I made my pick, and I made it Kirk Cousins.

He was already on my radar as a potential pick at #4, because I’ve got Fields and Love, so why not have a little leeway in case of injuries or ineffectiveness? Now, I get to have both my cake and eating it too! I get my rookie lottery ticket, AND I get the veteran who’s mostly good, but occasionally terrible when you least can afford it. I’m not saying I love having Cousins on my team; I’m just saying he should be better than Young and Love, at least in the early going.

I’M FIELDING A FANTASY TEAM WITH TWO COMPETENT QUARTERBACKS IF IT FUCKING KILLS ME!

The second round went pretty well for me: JSN, Sam Howell, and Isiah Pacheco with the top three. I had pretty much my pick of the rookie receivers, and opted to go with the guy from the Vikings, Jordan Addison. I would’ve taken him even if I didn’t have Cousins, but I love having them both, for obvious Double Touchdown reasons! The rest of the second round went Miles Sanders, James Cook, Dotson, Mac Jones, and Mike Williams before I selected again. I would’ve only wanted Dotson, or MAYBE Cook, out of that group. I’ve had Mac Jones for the last couple seasons, and good riddance!

With my second pick in the second round, I got to FINALLY draft Scary Terry McLaurin! I’ve wanted him since he was a rookie, but he was snagged out from under me. Having him fall to me couldn’t have gone better; I’m very happy with my receiver depth now!

Finally, the third round went like this: Dalton Kincaid, Christian Kirk, and Aiyuk. That left me with Dalvin Cook as my final draft pick of the evening. I don’t love him as a long-term prospect, but early on he should get the bulk of the carries as Hall returns from his injury. Cook is also insurance against Alexander Mattison, in the event a starter’s load doesn’t suit him well. As long as Cook stays healthy, Aaron Rodgers is going to want him in there, and that offense should have enough meat on the bone for all their stars, including Cook for an occasional TD. Who’s to say Cook couldn’t be the Ezekiel Elliott in this offense, vulturing touchdowns left and right?!

For Week 1, I’m starting Fields & Cousins, Lamb & Watson, Walker & Pollard, Hockenson & Cook (though, I may put McLaurin in there as a last-minute replacement, if it looks like he’s fully healthy, because that Arizona defense looks like straight garbage).

We’ll see how it all goes! I’ll be on here every week lamenting my losses and celebrating my victories.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2023: Anthony Richardson vs. Bryce Young vs. ???

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Our draft in my dynasty league is this Friday, September 1st, and so much is hinging on what happens in these five rounds. Rookies, players left over from last year; playing for this year while keeping an eye towards the future. It’s a lot to grapple with!

For those unaware of how this league operates, I ask you, why are you reading this? You don’t want to hear about my fantasy team! Nobody wants to hear about anyone’s fantasy team! But, if you’re interested in continuing, here’s the jist: this is a 2-QB PPR league with adjusted scoring to make quarterbacks more important (6-point TDs, 1 point per 20 yards passing, -4 points for INTs). Every team keeps 10 players, one per position, with one regular flex. Here’s the roster I kept:

  • Justin Fields (QB)
  • Jordan Love (QB)
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR)
  • Christian Watson (WR)
  • Tony Pollard (RB)
  • Kenneth Walker (RB)
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE)
  • Alexander Mattison (RB)
  • Evan McPherson (K)
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF)

I had one decision to agonize over, and that was leaving D.K. Metcalf off of my team. For starters, he was a prior trade acquisition of mine, so part of me feels like I gave up a lot to get him, and then threw him away for nothing. Granted, I don’t remember what it cost to bring him to my team, but I remember it being somewhat significant. It more or less came down to Metcalf vs. Watson. I was committed to keeping three running backs, especially when Dalvin Cook was released by the Vikings and Mattison was there to pick up all those extra snaps. Now, Mattison might be mediocre, and he might get hurt or eventually lose his starting job. But, I couldn’t resist keeping a bona fide lead running back in a high-powered offense.

The Watson vs. Metcalf debate might haunt me all season long, though. My rationale for only keeping two receivers is simple: you can always find a quality receiver late in the draft or in free agency during the season. It’s how I got Watson in the first place. I like Watson’s upside as the #1 receiver with relatively little competition from any other Packer; whereas Metcalf has to contend with Lockett and Smith-Njigba and a quarterback who likes to spread the ball around. The obvious downside is the fact that Metcalf is a proven 1,000-yard receiver, who’s going to get the lion’s share of attention in red zone situations (and, not for nothing, but he’s also got big play abilities to score from anywhere on the field). Watson is a second year player, catching balls from a quarterback in his first year as the starter. He could be a total bust! But, the big plays he was making, and his pedigree out of the draft last year, made him intriguing. You don’t win fantasy football leagues on intriguing players, I get that. But, ultimately, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have both Love and Watson on my team. Double touchdowns!

In lesser decision-making news, I decided to keep Love over both Stafford (old, injured last year, on a terrible team) and Mac Jones (might be good for a bounce-back under better offensive coaching, but I’ll have to see it to believe it), going for upside.

As has been the case for the last half-decade, if not longer, Quarterback is my weakest position. In a league where quarterbacks are – again – the most important position. The difference here is that I feel like I finally have someone viable in Justin Fields. If he stays healthy, he’s a strong bet to turn into a Jalen Hurts type. If that’s the case, with the rest of my team looking pretty strong, that means I need to focus on the second quarterback spot.

I’m drafting fourth this year. I also have extra picks in the first two rounds (in a deal made last season), while having given up my picks in the final two rounds. So, every team drafts their bench, essentially. Five rounds for five spots (or, in my case, three rounds for five spots).

I have it on reasonably-good authority that both Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs will be selected ahead of me. These could be lies, of course. Competitors gaining an edge by throwing me off the scent. But, I know for a fact that one of the teams has two loaded quarterbacks and has no need to take another rookie. So, even if the other guy goes rogue and both Anthony Richardson and Bryce Young are gone by the time I select, then I have no problem whatsoever grabbing Gibbs and further bolstering my running back stable.

Based on the information I have, and knowing who the #3 pick has at quarterback heading into the draft (Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr), I am reasonably sure he’s 1,000% taking a quarterback.

There’s one interesting wrinkle to this debate, and that’s the fact that Kirk Cousins is available as well. Of the quarterbacks not kept by teams from last year, the top holdovers are Cousins, Stafford, Daniel Jones, Sam Howell, and then the likes of Jimmy G, Ryan Tannehill, Baker Mayfield, Mac Jones, and Desmond Ridder. So, the quality is falling FAST. If #3 is looking to play for this year, and wants a safe, pro-ready option to gobble a lot of points, he could very well roll with Cousins and take his chances. If you believe Aaron Rodgers is destined for a bounce-back, on a new team, with a familiar coordinator, and a stable of studs at the skill positions around him, then you could do a lot worse choosing between Carr and Cousins every week based on matchups. I like the rest of #3’s team, so he could definitely make that work and ride it into the playoffs.

My take on this year’s rookies is pretty well set in my mind. For fantasy purposes, I think Anthony Richardson is the clear top dog. I think Bryce Young is the safest bet, even though he’s too short and doesn’t run and has no weapons and a suspect O-Line (for what it’s worth, I think they all have suspect O-Lines). And I think C.J. Stroud is the worst of the three, in the worst situation (even worse weapons, with a first time head coach who might be bad at the job, in an organization that has no idea what it’s doing). I was never taking C.J. Stroud, even if the other two guys were taken ahead of me; he’s off all my draft boards (so, knowing me, maybe bet the farm on Stroud being a Hall of Famer when it’s all said and done).

They all have drawbacks, of course. I think the hype train is a little too inflated for Richardson. He’s getting A LOT of Josh Allen comparisons. But, Josh Allens don’t grow on trees! He’s kind of a unicorn. Most quarterbacks don’t improve their completion percentages that significantly from the college to the pros. With Richardson, obviously he’s projected to be a points hog because he runs so well. And now it appears the Colts won’t have any competition for him, if they ultimately trade Jonathan Taylor (or he holds out). But, the downside is, his value is mitigated if he can’t also throw for touchdowns, or worse, if he throws a lot of interceptions (the -4 for INTs is the great equalizer in our league, and should be standard for all fantasy football leagues). Also, on a personal level, do I really want both Fields and Richardson? Two guys who run a lot, can’t throw, and are one big hit away from sinking my season?

If I were to talk myself into Bryce Young, I’d talk about his leadership, his poise, his intangibles. He’s also very accurate and he’s a winner. There’s a reason why he was the #1 pick in the NFL. Young really bridges the gap for me when it comes to being ready THIS season. Richardson might have more upside, and a higher longterm outlook for fantasy purposes. But, if I want to win THIS year? Young might be the better way to go.

My second pick in the first round isn’t until the very end, at number 10. I highly doubt Cousins will be there for me in this scenario. But, I don’t want to throw all my eggs in the Cousins basket for this year at pick 4, because he’s 35 years old, he’s on the final year of his deal, and I have no idea where he’ll be going forward. Also, it’s never fun to have to rely on Cousins; he takes a dump at the most inopportune times!

Once I have my quarterback locked in at 4, I need to scramble and get a receiver at 10. Because if I wait until the second round, it might be too late. My secret hope is that D.K. Metcalf is still there at 10, but that might be a longshot. How confident am I in Calvin Ridley? Yeesh. That’s either going to work out spectacularly or blow up in my face. I’ve always wanted Scary Terry McLaurin, and he’s out there again for me!

Of the rookie receivers, I dunno. JSN is probably the most talented, but not in a situation to showcase his talents. Do I want to trust a receiver for the Ravens? Or the third receiver on the Chargers? Or the #2 to Justin Jefferson’s #1? I wouldn’t mind terribly seeing who’s left over of those four, and taking that guy in the second round.

Then, it’s just Best Player Available. Don’t have to worry about kickers. I could always look into keeping a second defense, though I like the Jets a lot and they don’t have a BYE until Week 7. We’ll see. A lot riding on this one! I’ve been in rebuild mode for the last 3-4 years; now it’s time to see if I can take that next step.

Nobody Wants To Hear About My Fantasy Team 2022: The Worst Possible Outcome

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This season’s previous fantasy football posts:

Of course.

It’s not just that I came in last – ONCE AGAIN – in the Consolation Bracket, leaving me with only the 4th overall draft pick next year, but my trade partner – whose top two picks I get next year – also won the entire league, meaning those picks are 10th overall. The 4 and 10 picks. Fucking super. Maybe there’s some way I can trade for literally everyone’s first picks in 2024, that way I can guarantee myself a shot at a decent QB.

The only silver lining to this year is that I finally did win the championship in my Splinter League. It was a runaway. My team was great from the jump. I was projected to go 14-1 on draft day, I ended up going 11-4 through the regular season, and smoked both of my opponents in the playoffs (204.44 to 150.49 in round one, 178.30 to 147.90 in the championship). Shoutout to Christian McCaffrey and Austin Ekeler, my top two picks. Special shoutout to Jared Goff who probably saved my season. Honorable mention to CeeDee Lamb and Travis Kelce, stalwarts throughout. Even my bench rocked and rolled for me when I needed them! It’s nice to see Gabe Davis win at least one league, after such a disappointing season.

My other playoff team – in my third league – finished in fourth place, and was a colossal disappointment in the second half of the season.

All that’s left is choosing my dynasty roster for next year.

Quarterbacks

  • Justin Fields
  • Mike White
  • Mac Jones
  • Jordan Love
  • Matthew Stafford

Fields is a lock. Mac Jones is definitely out. Mike White is definitely out. Jordan Love is a wild card, but it all depends on what the Packers end up doing with him. If he remains Aaron Rodgers’ backup, then obviously he’s not going to be on my team next year. That leaves me with Matthew Stafford, who has already said he’s coming back in 2023. He’s definitely worth a shot, though obviously I’ll be drafting a quarterback with my top pick.

Running Backs

  • Ezekiel Elliott
  • Tony Pollard
  • Brian Robinson
  • Kenneth Walker
  • Alexander Mattison

I’m all in on Kenneth Walker, I think he’s just going to get better and better. My dream scenario involves the Cowboys cutting Zeke and handing the keys to Pollard, in which case I’m keeping Pollard. But, that would require a Pollard extension, which might not fit in the budget. On the plus side, maybe he lands with another run-heavy team that appreciates his talents. Mattison is another guy who will be a free agent, who could land with a run-heavy team (I mostly just picked him up so no one else could keep him). If all else fails, the Commanders seem to like Brian Robinson, and it might be interesting to see what he turns into with a full offseason of NOT getting shot in the leg in a robbery.

Wide Receivers

  • CeeDee Lamb
  • D.K. Metcalf
  • Christian Watson

Lamb is a guaranteed keeper. We’ll see with the other two. Watson has a high upside, but D.K. is already established. I could keep both, but that might be silly. Wide receivers are a dime a dozen; it’s probably more prudent to keep three running backs, what with injuries and everything.

Tight End / Kicker / Defense

  • T.J. Hockenson
  • Evan McPherson
  • New York Jets

I couldn’t be happier with where Hockenson landed. For whatever reason, the Lions just never figured him out, even though they pass a ton. The Vikings also pass a ton, but they seem to remember they also have a good tight end every once in a while. He actually finished #2 behind Kelce, which is kind of crazy, but also good on me for keeping him.

McPherson, on the other hand, REALLY took a step back in his second season. He finished 19th in kicker scoring. There were 11 guys on the scrap heap ranked ahead of him! I’m chalking that up to kicker randomness and hoping for better things in year three.

I’m cautiously optimistic with the Jets. They finished 7th in defensive scoring, but seem to have a young and talented core on that side of the ball that should continue to play well in 2023 at least. They finished MUCH better than the Rams, that’s for damn sure.

If I had to choose now, I’d go something like this:

  • Justin Fields (QB)
  • Matthew Stafford (QB)
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR)
  • D.K. Metcalf (WR)
  • Kenneth Walker (RB)
  • Tony Pollard (RB)
  • Brian Robinson (FLEX)
  • T.J. Hockenson (TE)
  • Evan McPherson (K)
  • N.Y. Jets (DEF)

My first pick is destined to be a quarterback. My second first round pick might ALSO be a quarterback. Then, it’s best player available the rest of the way (likely non-quarterbacks), with probably my early second rounder being another wide receiver.

I’ll be back with an update before next year’s season starts, where I should have a better idea of who I’m keeping.