EARLY SEASON REVIEW
It’s only Week 3 of the NFL season but even a few games can shed some light on how NFL teams and our fantasy teams will perform throughout the year.
After two weeks @DFF_JoeMem is leading the pack at 2-0 and 65.7 points ahead of @BombadilFantasy who is currently in second place. Joe picked from the 10th spot in the draft. His strategy to fade quarterback and tight end in favor of loading up on top tier running backs and wide receivers the first five rounds has certainly paid off early on. Gardner Minshew has been getting the start for the “New York Joes” showing you just how easy it is to find a startable quarterback in 1QB leagues. He’s avoided the injury bug thus far so we’ll see how he fairs the rest of season.
We also have some shockers and disappointments just a few weeks in. @DynastyDiagnos1 has fallen to last place even though he picked second overall and his roster consists of Patrick Mahomes, Saquon Barkley, and Travis Kelce. Barkley’s underwhelming start and devastating injury really put a damper on his chances this season.
Our very own content machine and redraft guru, @DFF_Karp, has also struggled early on and he can definitely place some of the blame on bad luck and poor draft position. He didn’t choose to draft 11th overall but that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes. “The Content Machine” finds himself in seventh place at 1-1 with a team full of upside but little week-to-week consistency led by Amari Cooper, Kenyan Drake, and Odell Beckham.
My team looked great coming out of the draft. It wasn’t too difficult considering I had the 1.01, however, my roster is slowly being decimated due by injuries. I’m sixth in the standings at 1-1 with three players on IR (CMC, Marlon Mack, and Sterling Shepard) and George Kittle who suffered a knee sprain and bruise in his Week 2 matchup. Hopefully, I can withstand the CMC injury until he returns and maybe I can salvage the season.
The season is so young but so much has already happened. Let’s take a look at the rest of the league and whether they’re pretenders or contenders going forward.
CONTENDERS
Rookie Whisper has constructed a beast, although currently in fifth place, his team is built for the long haul. Not only is he rolling out the Kyler Murray/DeAndre Hopkins stack but also have Dalvin Cook, Mark Andrews, Allen Robinson, and David Johnson. He also has the A.J. Green upside card in his back pocket. The depth of top tier talent on this roster sticks out compared to the rest and should be tough competition all year long.
Corey is 0-2 but his roster contains a bunch of studs who have either been injured or underperformed. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure he’s had a healthy receiving corps since the season began. Kenny Golladay and Brandin Cooks have missed time already this year for him Adam Thielen has been virtually nonexistent. The good news is he has a strong running back room led by Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon. Corey lost his Week 2 matchup 145.82 to 146.26. Not much you can do about that.
He may be 0-2 but he did go up against our league leader last week who put up 223.26 points and would’ve wiped the floor with any one of us. This team was built for the second half of the season (his record agrees) but it might catch fire sooner than expected. Jonathan Taylor has emerged as the clear lead back in Indy and Alvin Kamara looks like the volume hog we know and love. Terry McLaurin is once again overcoming the odds and producing like a true WR1 and Mike Gesicki is getting the valuable red-zone targets. This base is made from largely unproven talent outperforming expectations. I can see a young productive roster like this making it deep into the playoffs.
My good buddy Zach is coming off a tough loss to yours truly but still remains one of the stronger teams in the league led by Derrick Henry, Tyler Lockett, Mike Evans, and Michael Gallup. The lack of production from Todd Gurley and T.Y. Hilton could be tough to overcome but the core is formidable.
PRETENDERS
Derrick is currently in third place but I see some potential holes in this squad that may not show until the playoffs roll around. Derrick drafted a fun team including players like Lamar Jackson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and D.K. Metcalf. I see a ton of upside but also a lot of risk. It could prove tough for CEH to carry the load or Metcalf to staff healthy. Jackson is another injury concern because of playstyle alone. This team also contains players like Leonard Fournette and Zack Moss who I’m not sure will sustain the needed production all season long.
@DynastyWalrus has done well so far but I’m not sure his team has the legs to go the distance. Julio Jones, Marquise Brown, Austin Hooper, and James Conner each make me anxious. I wouldn’t want to rely on them for consistent production of any kind. The Browns have rubbed off on Hooper, no telling what’s going on with Jones, and James Conner could miss the rest of the season if he stubs his toe. Look, this team could stay healthy and turn it all around the rest of the season but it’s hard to see it at this point.
I like a lot of players on @FantasySaviour’s teams but his wide receivers are the issue. I’m not sure another team has a position this depleted. Current starters are Robby Anderson, Cole Beasley, and Will Fuller. That simply won’t cut it. This roster looked much better with Michael Thomas healthy, but he isn’t, and his team may suffer significantly for it.
TRADES
Surprisingly, we’ve had just one trade in the DFF Redraft Championship league thus far but it sure didn’t disappoint. Get ready for this one.
@Fantasyfreezer gives: Le’Veon Bell, Mike Davis, Tyreek Hill, and Mitchell Trubisky
@BombadilFantasy gives: Dak Prescott, Terry McLaurin, and James Robinson
This was a heady move by @Fantasyfreezer in my opinion. He was able to take advantage of the CMC injury and use Mike Davis as a trade piece to increase value. Moving an underutilized Bell and Davis for James Robinson seems ideal at this point and Dak/McLaurin is an upgrade from Hill and Trubisky for me. He’s also set at RB with Kamara and Jonathan Taylor as his starters. I understand @BombadilFantasy’s idea of moving “hype” pieces for real value but I’m not sure that’s actually the case here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The season has truly just begun and while we think we know a lot, we probably don’t. I’m having a ton of fun reviewing and analyzing this league (and trashing my DFF mates whenever possible). Keep an eye out for more DFF Redraft Championship content throughout the season as we’ll be focused on trying to take the crown!
Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or would like to discuss, you can find me on Twitter @WillieBeamanDFF.
