Welcome to the second entry in our twelve-part series counting down the days until we can once again sit and watch this sport that we love (and dominate our fantasy leagues in the process). If you missed the first article, you can find it here. The premise is simple: each article will have a numeric theme, counting down as each day is ticked off the calendar. There are just eleven days left until we are blessed with meaningful football and the sweat of Week 1 fantasy football matchups. Eleven days, eleven players on offense. See the pattern here?
In this article, I’ll attempt to construct the best starting offense in football. The catch? I can only use one player per NFL franchise. Let’s see who made the cut.
QB – Patrick Mahomes (KC)
This pick is a no-brainer. Since Mahomes became the starter for the Chiefs, no quarterback has more passing touchdowns (114), and he ranks first in adjusted yards per attempt (Stathead). The best player, at the most important position in all professional sports. Nothing more is required.
Dynasty Note – Mahomes is my QB1 in dynasty and should be the first pick in every Superflex start-up draft. Anything else is pure negligence.
RB – Saquon Barkley (NYG)
The overreaction to Barkley’s injury this offseason has been strange to observe from the outside. From a sheer football perspective, there isn’t a more talented running back on the planet:
He is one of a handful of running backs with a true three-down skill set and is also the most gifted athlete at the position with burst, long speed, and elite lateral movement.
His 2,028 yards from scrimmage in 2018 is third all-time for rookie running backs, which he followed up with another 1,441 in just 13 games in 2019. Unfortunately, Barkley didn’t get out of first gear in 2020 before he was hurt. Look for him to bounce back in 2021, especially with a positive injury prognosis.
Dynasty Note – Barkley’s dynasty value has dropped lately. This is a mistake in my opinion. At just 24 years old, Barkley has multiple RB1 seasons ahead of him and is likely to be given a bumper new contract by Dave “Donkey” Gettleman sooner rather than later. There aren’t three running backs I would draft ahead of him in start-up drafts.
LT – David Bakhtiari (GB)
Bakhtiari might be hurt as we enter the 2021 season, but his body of work as one of the premier elite tackles in football speaks for itself. This incredible rep from 2016, is just one of many dominant examples he has put on film over the years.
His rehab from a torn ACL is underway, and I expect him to pick up where he left off in 2020 – the gold standard in pass protection (#1 in PFF positional grade). That year wasn’t an outlier either. Bakhtiari has finished as the second-highest graded tackle in three of the past five seasons, with an average of fifth.
Of course, his presence excludes the possibility of Davante Adams appearing on this list. But with so many elite receivers playing football now, this was an easy choice to make.
LG – Joel Bitonio (CLE)
The first of three linemen in this team to play on one of Brandon Thorn’s elite offensive lines. The entire Browns offensive success is built off their offensive line play, and Bitonio was a key member of the unit grading in the top 7 in both pass and run blocking (per PFF). I expect him to have another strong season, with both Nick Chubb and Baker Mayfield set to benefit from his play.
C – Ryan Jensen (TB)
Tampa Bay is another one of Thorn’s elite offensive line units, with talent at all five positions.
Other candidates could take this spot. Frank Ragnow has played excellently for Detroit over the past couple of seasons, as has David Andrews of the Patriots. Ultimately, I went with Jensen here because 1) he’s mean, and 2) this team would feel incomplete without a representative from the Super Bowl champions.
RG – Zack Martin (DAL)
In his seven-year career to date, Martin has been awarded First-Team All-Pro honors four times and voted to the Pro Bowl for the first six years. It surely would have been seven straight years had he not missed six games through injury, grading out as the second highest guard (PFF) in 2020.
Perhaps most impressively, is that Martin is yet to be credited with a sack in 104 games. No wonder he’s ranked as Brandon Thorn’s number one guard for the 2021 season.
RT – Ryan Ramczyk (NO)
The final piece of the offensive line puzzle is Ryan Ramczyk, who anchors the right side of the New Orleans Saints offensive line (ranked #1 in Thorn’s pre-season unit ranks). With a First-Team All-Pro berth to his name in 2019, and Second-Team honors in 2018, and 2020, Ramczyk has made a strong start to his young career. I expect him to take another leap forward this year and establish himself as one of, if not the premier right tackle in the game.
TE – Darren Waller (LV)
Since Travis Kelce is ineligible for selection under the rules this article is playing by, Darren Waller gets the call up to starting tight end. You might think there is a significant drop off in talent, but over the past two years, their production has been very similar and in a clear tier of their own:
This is even more impressive when you consider the paucity of other receiving options on the Raiders, and the quality of the quarterback play. Waller is an elite tight end and his big-play ability is a welcome addition to this all-star team:
George Kittle was also under consideration for this roster spot, but with five monsters on the offensive line, and A.J. Brown offering more yards after catch (YAC) than you will ever need, I valued Waller’s ability to dominate up the seam and out wide over Kittle’s run blocking and YAC ability.
Dynasty Note – Waller is a special talent and has the best chance to end Kelce’s six-year streak as the overall TE1 (2016-2020). It won’t take Kyle Pitts long to leapfrog everyone into the dynasty TE1 rank, but Waller should remain in the top three for many years to come. I would feel very comfortable trading Kyle Pitts away for Waller plus a future first-rounder or equivalent, and I think there are plenty of people who would pay that price for Pitts.
WR – DeAndre Hopkins (ARI)
Production. Consistently. Spectacular catches. These three adjectives sum up DeAndre Hopkins perfectly.
Since 2014, he has had the second-most receiving yards despite playing with a series of brutal quarterbacks over much of that period. He was just 46 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season in 2016, which would have given him seven straight seasons of at least 1,000 yards receiving. As it turned out, there are limits to even his powers as he could not overcome Brock Osweiler at quarterback despite seeing 151 targets that year.
A true hallmark of an elite receiver is changing teams and not skipping a beat. Hopkins was traded to Arizona and proceeded to have an outstanding season, equaling his career-high of 115 receptions which he turned into 1,400 yards and six scores. Not only did he change quarterbacks and offensive schemes, as well as going through a virtual offseason due to COVID, but Hopkins was also double-teamed at the second-highest rate in the NFL behind only Kenny Golladay (who ran 125 fewer routes due to injury). We have seen DeAndre Hopkins perform at an elite level for many years, but the best may be still to come.
Dynasty Note – Hopkins is an elite receiver whose dynasty value will start to drop as he approaches age 30 later this season. As the inevitable fever pitch for rookie picks reaches its crescendo, Hopkins will become one of my favorite dynasty targets.
WR – A.J. Brown (TEN)
All hail the YAC King.
There are plenty of talented receivers in the NFL, but A.J. Brown brings a skill set unlike any other.
His YAC per reception of 7.3 ranks second in the NFL. That lofty rank is made more impressive by his average depth of target (aDOT) of 12.3. Contrast that against YAC per reception leader Deebo Samuel (9.8), whose aDOT is a lowly 4.85.
Brown isn’t a one-trick pony either. He brings a legitimate alpha wide receiver skillset, ranking third against man coverage and fourth against press coverage in Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception. He also had an 82.4% contested catch rate (8th) in 2020, made more impressive by the fact over 25% of his targets were deemed contested. Only Kenny Golladay had a higher contested target rate and catch rate, but he could only muster an average of 3.3. YAC per reception.
Dynasty Note – WR1 or WR2 is the only acceptable rank for AJ Brown. Don’t overthink this.
WR – Stefon Diggs (BUF)
Diggs was already arguably the best deep threat in football in 2019 (17.9 yards per reception for 1,130 yards), but in 2020 he proved that he was also one of the best all-round receivers in football posting career highs in receptions and yards. Not only that, he ranked first against man and press coverages per Reception Perception:
Like Hopkins, Diggs changed quarterback and offensive scheme via trade and still was able to thrive. His talent is undeniable, and there is a legitimate argument for him to be crowned as the best receiver in football.
Dynasty Note – Diggs has entered the elite tier of dynasty assets and has developed a mind-meld with quarterback Josh Allen. Losing OC Brian Daboll would be a blow for this offense, but until that happens, Diggs remains in my top 5 dynasty receivers. At just 27 years old, he has many more productive years ahead of him, as well as the skillset to be a dominant slot receiver when he slows down in his early 30’s.
Thanks for checking out this article! What changes would you make to this offensive 11? Let me know on Twitter @FF_DownUnder and be sure to check at Dynasty Football Factory tomorrow to check out the third installment in our Kick-Off Countdown series!
