Techmobowl - I think there are a few clear winners from the draft and I feel the ballbusters’ two-headed giant put in a very strong draft. If Jayden avoids the sophomore slump and Chase Brown maintains top 10 RB form then I expect this team to be in the upper part of the power rankings most of the year. That does not mean there aren't a few questions on the roster, can Evans legs hold up? Can Tyreek's QB stay healthy enough to make him a real fantasy weapon? Is a 30 year old RB with a bad knee going to survive the season? A few bad breaks and this rating takes a huge nose dive.
Shaner (2x Champ) - Lamar Jackson + Bucky Iriving is an incredible 1, 2 punch. The thing is, this team continues the combo with a 3rd,4th, and 5th hit, Metcalf, Thomas, and JSN. This team could score 130+ a week easy.
To Infinity & Bijan - if Marvin Harrison Jr. Makes the jump to a WR1, then this team could really compete for the title. The first line on this team are top tier, once you get past RB/WR2 though, there are some questions. Is Golden, really the golden child? How much do we trust the Dallas offense (17th in 2024)? Fun fact, somehow the Eagles fan ended up with more Cowboys (3) than the Cowboys fan (0!).
Burrows Over Hoes - Sometimes being a fanatic for a team is a detriment, sometimes it allows you to transcend the rules of keepers and snag Burrows for a reasonable price (we all know we would have pushed Mader to pay 50+). Alvin and Saquon are a great thunder and lightning RB combo (at least for the first 4 weeks…), incredibly this team has even more depth with Montgomery and Ekler in the wings. WR though will remain a question all year, some weeks Deebo and Devonta will put up 40, some weeks it will be 4.
Jefferson Aeroplane- was keeping Justin Jefferson for 57 dollars worth it? Maybe, or maybe J.J. isn't the truth in Minnesota. Maybe Brock Purdy’s WR corp will be a revolving door all season. This team has an incredible ceiling, it also has one of the lowest floors out there. Chuba does play for the Carolina Panthers and there is a real chance any player on the Browns just puts up a fantasy goose egg.
Hold My Ladds - This team may be named after Ladd but it will live or die on McCaffrey’s legs staying functional most of the year. This team is full of potential, from Murray to Worthy to Henderson to even Ladd. Will some of those mentioned show up? Probably. Will all, doubtful? Murray has only been inside the top 10 once in his career, Worthy was WR15 last year and Ladd was WR12. With two rookie RBs to compliment McCaffrey on this roster. I can already tell the team I am going to have the most trouble placing all year.
Like a Good Nabers - It frustrates me to no end how “fine” this team is. They are going to float around 5th-7th all season, make it to the playoffs based on points and somehow stumble into another championship game. Though I should note, the last time King Henry put up 300+ fantasy points in a season (2020), the next season he only played 8 games.
Mormon Super Soakers - the firepower on this team is stacked; it has Ja’marr Chase, Jonathan Taylor and… wait no, that's pretty much it. This team is going to struggle to stay above .500 but maybe Trevor Lawrence will ascend this year like Baker did last year? They will have a chance to win every week but Taylor isn't playing every game and I don't think Chase can put up 60+ every week. I don’t see any other consistent producer on this team (at this time), maybe by week 7 we will all be raving about George Pickens MVP year…
TakinMyTalens2Manila - Ever ask yourself, how good would my team look if I took all the viable WR2s? Probably not, but here we are (Puka may be 1st on the depth chart but we all know Adams is the WR1). I don’t see how this team consistently crosses the century mark week in and week out (The Avg Fantasy score for 2024 was 106.3) but maybe Ashton Jeanty is the next coming of Marcus Allen?
Gibbs Some - Nix, Gibbs, Jacobs, three solid players to start the roster, then it falls off a cliff into potential land. Is Coleman going to breakout in year 2? Can Michael Penix Jr. throw a deep ball to Mooney? Will Nico stay healthy enough to be the top 10 WR he could be? Lots of questions to start the year that have me hesitant to place this team any higher than 10th at this time.
BucketOFsauce - Team Retirement Home might be a better fit for this roster, with old man Kelce and Mahomes leading the group sessions. This team is a walking IR waiting to happen. Chubb’s rehabbed legs, Higgins ongoing ankle issues, and Williams propensity to suffer high ankle sprains. I hope no player gets injured but football is an incredibly unforgiving game and past injuries tend to lead to more injuries. Even if everyone stays healthy, who is putting up fantasy numbers? Outside Mahomes (18.35 ppg), no player averaged more than 15 ppg, and a QB really should be averaging 20+ a game for a roster to compete for a playoff spot.
Dbacks77 - Trey McBride going for 48 in a salary draft isn’t completely insane. You could make several compelling arguments for this spend. But when you look at the rest of the roster, I am left questioning what the hell happened. Two players from both the Jets and the Saints? (Both ranked in the 30s for team overall power rankings) and a starting RB that will most certainly be a rotation play at best. Allen, McBride, and London may combine for 50+ every week... but putting up 75 points a week isn’t going to get you a lot of W’s in this league.
You cannot have a player as your keeper more than twice
Keeper Value is calculated as: Drafted/kept $ amount last year + ESPN average draft value)/2 = $ kept for this year
The dollar amount is rounded up to the nearest whole dollar total
With keeper lock day coming up, I thought it would interesting to make some guesses as to whom everyone would keep. At the end of the experiment, I realized it was a pretty obvious choice for everyone. Some even got handed their keeper on a platter (big ups to the 2x Champ trading Ja'Marr Chase away for .50 cents on the dollar). The only truly difficult decisions are with Dbacks77, and Gibbs Some. For Dbacks, I think the correct call is Christian McCaffrey over Josh Allen but there is something to be said about not having to worry about McCaffrey's injury history. Gibbs Some must choose between CeeDee Lamb and Jahmyr Gibbs, two players that would be kept right around their projected value. Technically you would be coming under budget with Gibbs at $49 but this is a Cowboy's fan we are talking about, so they will overspend for the flashy WR at $53.
Below are the predictions for Keepers in order of last year's regular season standings
Jefferson Aerorplane: Justin Jefferson for $56
To Infinity & Bijan: Bijan Robinson for $62
Mormon Super Soakers: Ja'Marr Chase for $55
Davante's Inferno: Lamar Jackson for $26
Burrows Over Hoes: Tee Higgins for $27 (Note: Joe Burrow has already been kept twice and therefore ineligible)
Shaner (2x Champ): D'Andre Swift for $17
Ballbusters: Amon-RA St. Brown for $52
Breece's Pieces: Puka Nacua for $37
TakinMyTalents2Manila: Drake London for $35 (Note: Tyreek Hill is ineligible per the >2 time keeper rule)
BucketOFsauce: Jalen Hurts for $22
Gibbs Some: CeeDee Lamb for $53
Dbacks77: Christian McCaffrey at $57
Based on these predictions, I can see a real bidding war happening over WR, with 7 total being kept of the top 11 projected not being available for draft day. It would not surprise me to see Nabers or Brown got for 60+. The other guaranteed bidding war will be over Josh Allen and Jayden Daniels, where I expect both to go for $35+ as Lamar and Jalen will not be options come draft day.