Fantasy Football Q1 Review
Welcome back to another season of fantasy football, nerds. 3 weeks in and a clear hierarchy has already taken form, but with an extra regular-season match in the cards, it’s still anyone’s game. That being said, I’m here to judge everyone for what they did through their first three games. Let’s gooooooooooooo!
“Championship Contender” Tier
Benn and Nash faced off in last season’s championship game, and they find themselves pickup up right where they left off. Both at 2–1 and with the two highest points scored through three weeks, these two teams are poised for strong showings once again.
Benn’s two wins came against the bottom two teams in the standings, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s scored 420 (nice) points in three games. A healthy 140 average will be hard to beat on a weekly basis. Led by fantasy studs Kyler Murray, Travis Kelce, and Big Ben’s favorite deep threat, Najee Harris, expect more explosive performances from Benn. After spending his annual $52 stipend on Elijah Mitchell, we’ll have to see if there’s enough in the tank to sustain the extra-long season.
Nash opened the season strong with 166 and 141 point showings but fell back down to earth Week 3 once the heart and soul of his team Christian McCaffrey hobbled off the field last Thursday night. Even without CMC, Nash has plenty of talent to keep him afloat until the all-purpose back returns. An extremely deep WR corp in DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Amari Cooper, and Brandin Cooks should keep Nash in contention in the coming weeks.
“Playoff Hopefuls” Tier
Teams 2–6 in the standings also find themselves at 2–1 and should be able to challenge for a spot in the tier above, and at the very least stay in playoff contention for the weeks to come.
Right on the cusp of greatness, we have Michael. Michael had arguably the pick of the draft by nabbing Cooper Kupp in the 5th round. After three weeks, Kupp is on pace for 2000 yards and 30 touchdowns. And with newly rejuvenated Matt Stafford in LA, that doesn’t sound impossible. The rest of the roster is very strong as well, DeAndre Hopkins, Aaron Jones, and Austin Ekeler are ready to help Michael contend well into the season.
Sean finds himself in 4th place. Even after auto-drafting, Sean has kept all $100 of his FAAB money, proving that the computers know what they’re doing after all and drafting a perfect roster for Sean. His running back group of Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor will have to step up in order to truly contend, but continued explosive performances from players such as Tyler Lockett and Ja’Marr Chase can keep Sean adding to the win column.
Ricky currently holds down fifth place and should be optimistic that he maintains a playoff position throughout the season. Superstars like Lamar Jackson, Tyreek Hill, and Davante Adams propel this team through the ground and air. Ricky also gets the added potential of Chuba Hubbard absorbing all of Christian McCaffrey’s touches for at least the next three weeks. Ricky is however making the questionable choice of flexing Cole Beasley this week, hoping that the power of scrappy, white slot receivers overcomes being unvaccinated while playing a contact sport in a pandemic.
How is Zach at 2–1 and in playoff position while averaging 108 points per game? Oh yeah, I scored 99 points Week 1 to his 101. My bad fellas. Eventually, things should start to average out. Zach does have reason to be optimistic as Derrick Henry just had the best September of his career, and he only gets better as the season progresses. Russell Wilson and Darren Waller should continue to show out as well. The rest of his skill positions are questionable. Allen Robinson is stuck in Matt Nagy’s offense, and Myles Gaskin, Leonard Fournette, and Jamaal Williams’ inconsistent usage create dilemmas on who to flex week in and week out.
“Dennis” Tier
Alone in the “Dennis” tier, we have Dennis at 7th place. The first team on the outside looking in, Dennis has scored a healthy 130 points per game, but finds himself at 1–2. The talent is there with the Bills superstar duo of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs leading the way. Another contender for pick of the draft is Mike Williams, who Dennis was able to nab in the 12th round. The touchdown scoring machine has catapulted himself into a potential weekly WR1 for Dennis. Can Dennis ever escape the “Dennis” tier? That’s for me and only me to decide.
“Consolation Bracket Kings” Tier
The Minnesota Shilps start off this tier at 8th place. Boldly putting all his eggs into the Qirk Qousins, Justin Jefferson, and Dalvin Cook basket, Shilp better hope the curve starts to flatten in Minneapolis. Only 1 game out of the playoffs, it is not out of the realm of possibility for Shilp to make a jump in the right direction come the next write-up.
Perennial consolation bracket contender, David (yes I’m writing in the third person for this), is in 9th place. A week 1 anomaly from Aaron Rodgers left David questioning the meaning of life and losing to Zach. As of now, 9th place looks right for a team full of players that can score around 15 points each, but nothing more. Not even last year’s hero, Younghoe Koo, is doing much this time around.
“Peepee Poopoo” Tier
A round of applause for our only winless team through three weeks, Jacob! 0–3 doesn’t mean it’s over, but unless something changes, Jacob won’t be erasing the donut in the win column any time soon. Heavy investments into the Falcon’s offense has Jacob hemorrhaging and looking for answers. So far, inconsistent play from Alvin Kamara, AJ Brown, Calvin Ridley, and many of the other players on this roster has left Jacob with more questions than answers. Here’s to a quick turnaround and a win soon.
