With the season upon us, we wanted to unveil our inaugural power rankings for 2017. There are a few surprises -- and a few updates since we wrote this article.
Note: Analysis does not include kickers and defenses.
10. Battle Angels. While we believe the Angels found some sleepers in Meredith and Tyrell Williams, we had to scratch our head at the first two picks
the Angels led off with - Paul Perkins and Josh Doctson. Both are young and talented but their respective consensus expert rankings (in their respective positions) were #31 and #59. Looks like the Angels reached early. Because of this, we rate the Angels starting receivers as the 3rd worst in the league and even more concerning, we believe the Angels have the weakest running game in the league. The Angels have Ajayi anchoring the unit but Perkins and Rawls (the top two picks) hardly inspire confidence. On the flip side, Brees and Kelce are one of the strongest starters for their positions.
Angels make the playoffs IF: They find stars in both Meredeith and Tyrell and are able to discover a serviceable RB2 to pair with Ajayi (we have no faith in Perkins and Rawls).
Update: Meredith is out for the year ... it's all on Tyrell now!
9. Fobsters. We knew
Fobsters were rebuilding and so it may not be that surprising that Jimmy decide to go full Preller with his team. He traded away Jordy and Dez in return for a boatload of picks. With one of the weaker keeper cores in the league (Kevin White caused a few eyebrow raises around the league) - Jimmy is hoping to hit gold on at least 2-3 of his rookies. While the future may be potentially super high wattage, 2017 is likely going to be very choppy. Brady and the running backs make up the strength of this team (Gordon, Hyde and Mixon are young and one of the best) but the receiving game will be really inconsistent. We believe the Fobster receiving core, including tight ends, will be one of the most inconsistent this year. If the team can find 2-3 keeper-worthy pass catchers this year, we can call it a success.
Fobsters make the playoffs IF: Really unlikely but path forward this year is rookie dependent. It's not uncommon but if the rookies (think Mixon, Corey Davis etc.) hit early stardom, there's a sliver of light.
Update: With Ware out for the year, Fobster cashed in his first chip in Hunt!
8. Buffy. Roger annually stocks his team with veterans, loads up on starters early including a defense and K a few rounds earlier than most and rarely chases rookies. This year is no different. Buffy had the oldest keeper core in the league (29) and somehow, the average age got older with the draft. 7 of Roger's 13 picks were 'veterans' - 30 years or older. Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson - this looks like an all-star team .... of 2012. Buffy's forte (no pun intended) is in its pass catchers. Gronkowski is the best tight end in the league and AJ Green, Julian Edelman and Doug Baldwin make a top 3 pass catching stable in the league. The team's weakness is the team's running backs and quarterbacks. Roger got Andy Dalton as his starting QB in the 8th round and need a couple homeruns between Mark Ingram, Gilislee (the Patriots running backs are impossible to predict) and McFadden (great value pick by Roger).
Buffy make the playoffs IF: Similar to the Phreaks but Buffy needs the team to rediscover the fountain youth except nearly half of the team over 30, this team needs a lot of that juice!
Update: Edelman is out ... did this make Buffy younger?
7. Gang Green. Despite executing
one of the better drafts, Green entered the season handicapped by his keeper quality. Like Jimmy's selection of Kevin White, we puzzled over Derrick Henry. Henry is a talented back but has no clear path to full touches with Demarco in town. We loved GM Greg's early draft picks - McCaffrey is projected to be a star, Martavis can be a WR1 as long as he stays on the field and Ryan is a bonafide top 5 QB this year. However, we think this team will be outside looking in come playoff time. Even with McCaffrey, Green has one of the weakest running units in the league. Combined with a middling passing game, we see this as a middling team overall. There is a youth movement happening -- the average for Greg's first 5 picks were a hair over 24. Next year will likely bring a bit more production than this year.
Green make the playoffs IF: McCaffrey and Martavis go full super nova mode. If McCaffrey can take Henry's slot and if Bryant can star in the WR3 slot, we are looking at a playoff team.
6. Chunky Monkeys. Oh how the Monkeys have fallen. It's a shock that the team even made the playoffs last year. With some insider knowledge, we know that the Monkeys will continue to push to field a competitive/playoff caliber team despite the roster turnover. The Monkeys drafted with starters in mind so despite the youth movement across the board, GM Evan sprinkled in some veterans that he's hoping will produce now - think Greg Olsen, Pierre Garcon, Kenny Britt and Jacquizz Rodgers. The Monkeys will need Hill and Pryor to outperform their ADPs to really have a shot but realistically, the Monkeys will likely need to find 1-2 keepers this draft. In looking at expert rankings, the Monkeys have an improved running game with the acquisition of Howard, the progression of Ty Montgomery and the addition of Spencer Ware. We think the running game is underrated. Same with the QB position - we think Mariota has top 5 potential and obviously GM Evan did too after investing a 2nd round pick in Mariota (the first QB drafted). It's hard to project the Monkeys this year but we'll know in a few weeks whether we have a contender or pretender on our hands.
Monkeys make the playoffs IF: Really murky path but it really depends on if GM Evan's bet on unproven talent like Tyreek Hill, Terrelle Pryor, Spencer Ware, and Marcus Mariota. All of these guys have shown the tools but haven't proven it over a season.
Update: Ware is out for the season. Monkeys likely re-ranked to worse team in the league.
5. Athena Nike. Frank, before openly declaring his intention to defer competition to next year, actually has a solid team including one of the best keeper cores in the league. Outside of Rodgers who is locked in as QB1, Frank's keepers including Amari, Hopkins, Ezekiel Elliott and newly discovered Michael Thomas are young yet proven fantasy stars. With a flurry of trades, Frank traded up to get Leonard Fournette who appears to be another Elliott-in-the-making prototype. Frank was handicapped the rest of the draft but if he can make it through the first 6 weeks relatively competitive, Nike might have a decent shot at making the playoffs - with their keeper alone. We like Danny Woodhead who is clearly a win now player and the receiving core is decent, mostly anchored by Hopkins, Thomas and Cooper.
Nike make the playoffs IF: Emerge from the first 6 weeks with a .500 record or better. Zeke can carry them the rest of the way. ** Update. Zeke may be back sooner -- hold on to your helmets!
4. Phreaks. The Phreaks have been playing better than .500 ball ( last year was the first sub .500 regular season since 2013 and they just missed by one game) and so no surprise that we have Phreaks playing well this year. Health is key for more teams but more so than ever for the Phreaks. GM Ping invested his first pick in former Phreak, Marshawn Lynch. The rest of the draft were littered with established veterans including Emmanuel Sanders (why is he drafted 2 rounds after Demaryius), Russell Wilson, Desean Jackson, Frank Gore, Randall Cobb. There's going to be nagging injuries for this veteran crew but if Ping can mix and max appropriate, we think this is a sure playoff team. The passing/receiving game is strong and if Marshawn can come back to its former glory, the running game will be more than strong enough.
Phreaks make the playoffs IF: Same as Buffy but a little clearer path since the team is a full 2-3 years younger. Team needs to rediscover some of its former success and stay healthy. Especially Marshawn.
3. Fat Jubas. Last year's champion seemed like they had to do a bit of catch up. GM Eric traded for Crowell and Nelson right before the draft and had a pretty savvy draft despite handicapped by later picks. Like the Jammers, the Jubas feature a top flight running and receiving unit. Evans, Jeffrey, Jordy and Wilie Snead is a top shelf unit. David Johnson is the unquestioned #1 this year and alone makes the running effort stellar. Crowell gives GM Eric a young and talented #2 though they' appear to be pretty thing outside of the starters ... there are question marks around Tevin Coleman and Terrance West who don't have clear starting roles. The big question marks however are the QB and TE position. They'll need find consistency in Stafford and the TE position which currently anchored by Coby Fleener.
Jubas make the playoffs IF: Stafford needs a near-career year and they'll at need at least a consistent, serviceable performance from the new TE position.
2. Dirty Birds. Our first (and only) surprise! Jon was all over the place,
trading in and out of picks, turning over his young stars, ending up with too many keepers (somewhat stupidly), but the end product looks pretty attractive. First, this is a top 3 keeper unit - young and proven. Fingers crossed on OBJ's injury but this new unit is built to win now more than ever with McCoy, Dez, and TY Hilton. The Birds went young in the draft but we like the overall picks here. Dalvin Cook's hype arrow has grown white hot and we think Jaminson Crowder and Ameer Abdullah are more than starter quality. Jon certainly took some shots later on in the draft but nothing that'd we really raise an eyebrow at given how late the picks were. We like this team to be this year's runner up!
Birds make the playoffs IF: OBJ and Hilton stay healthy! Rest will take care of itself
1. Jammers. Last year's runner up but if you dig under the cover, the Jammers were the best team in CTDB and it wasn't close. This is an offensive juggernaut. Let's start with the keeper core of Antonio Brown, Demaryius Thomas, Demarco Murray, Leveon Bell and newly acquire Julio Jones. The Jammers field the best of receivers and running backs and it starts with the keepers. Golden Tate, Bilal Powell and even CJ Anderson (Jamaal Charles may not even make the team) look like easy starters Like the Jubas, the Jammers waited until later for a QB and is counting on Jameis Winston to turn in a career year --
and explain geography. Tyler Eifert was a sneaky good pick in round 4 and is more than serviceable in the TE position. Jammers just need to repeat last year and they are a shoe-in for the crown. Our only concern is that this team is clearly built to win now - the window likely narrows quickly in the next year or so. Let's just proclaim this the year of the Jammers now and get it over with!
Jammers make the playoffs IF: Don't piss off the fantasy god. This team has a pre-built inside tracks to the Super Bowl!
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