This year, I thought I would do a little pre-draft power rankings. How is that possible you may ask - well it's not. But I wanted to go over who I expect to do well this year based on past performances. I won't be getting into too much detail, but this is Duke's "way too early" power rankings.
You may be thinking to yourself - how is Kyle on the top of this list with no championships to show for it? Well you are right in a sense, but I believe Kyle is far beyond due for a ship. He finished with 8 wins every season (since recordings began in 2015). He has 2 division championships over the last 3 years, but seems to lose to a team does very well in the playoffs every year. Kyle is the silent killer and has a low-key solid team every year and I don't expect that to change.
Devin has 20 wins over the last 2 years and a championship to go along with it. He's tied for the most franchise wins and has a pretty consistent team every year, however I have to bring up that he does have an Irgin under his belt as well (just as every other champion does). Devin usually has a solid conservative first few rounds in the draft, and goes for a few risks/hopefuls later in the draft. He is one of the most prepared in the league and can show that working for it can get you a championship.
P.J has clearly shown his presence in this league with a 2-1 record in the finals over the last 3 years. He's like the LeBron on the league right now - in that he just isn't going to miss a finals - but some things have definitely gone his way on the luck end. But don't get me wrong, Sexual Misconduct is still a top powerhouse and can't have his back to back championship taken from him. I remember seeing P.J take Crabtree on accident in the draft, and Devin swooping up Cooper, but it ended up working out for P.J much better (besides in the finals). P.J has shown that he can lack attention by playing players who are hurt, or drafting the wrong person, but he still has solid drafts and records to show for it.
It was tough putting Bernie here at 4, but really 4-6 are about the same. These are the "middle of the pack" franchises that finish at around 6 or 7 wins every year. Although Bernie usually claims that somebody goes off on him every week, he was actually 9th in points against this past year, so I don't trust him. Bernie has made the playoffs every year but 1 I believe, and has appeared in 1 finals, where he lost to Sexual Misconduct. Bernie might be giving up giving up this year, as he over used it last year, so he might not win a game, who knows. Bernie usually makes picks in the draft that nobody wants to in the middle rounds. He's a guy that'll take Beast Mode or Aaron Rodgers or Zeke to make his team better. He's a guy that would take Ray Rice in a heartbeat if he were back.
Aside from an atrocious 2-10 season, Duke almost always sits at 7-6. He's been 7-6 in all but that one season, so he has shown that he can make it to the playoffs, just not often be a heavy competitor. Even his championship year, he was 7-6 and in the middle of the pack for scoring. Obviously every year in a new year, and Duke has as good as a chance as any this year, but there need to be noticeable improvements. Playoff appearances are nothing in this league, and a 7 win season might not cut it once again. Duke has a lot to prove moving forward.
So Jordan is another one of those "middle of the pack" kind of teams. He usually has an okay record that gets him to the playoffs, but not much further. Although, looking back, he has had progressively worse seasons every year. Jordan picked Cameron Meredith last year in the mid-early rounds, not knowing that he was ruled out for the year the previous day. Jordan needs to focus a little less about his life and a little more on fantasy. We all make sacrifices. If you need to quit baseball, then so be it. But that's if you want to win a championship. If he wants to stay at a fringe team like the Pistons every year, he can continue what he's doing.
If I remember correctly, this past year was Max's first appearance in the playoffs. I mean it didn't last very long but he did make it and that's something. 5 and 6 win seasons aren't going to cut it in this league. I sometimes get the "poor me" vibe from Don, as he get's depressed about not making the playoffs by 1 game, or losing to a team who went off on a given week, or writing a blog about how lucky some teams are. I agree with much of what he says there but it happens to everyone. Luck is 70% of the game and we all get railed from time to time - look at Jacob in 2016 when he missed the playoffs by 1 point and would have went on to actually win if he had made it. Don needs a big season to prove he is going to continue to contend for a ship.
Charlie didn't have a great start in this league with 5 wins, an appearance in the Irgin Bowl, and some questionable draft picks. However this is all we've seen from the young buck. Almost all teams have had seasons of 5 wins or less, so who's to judge a man by one season? Well when he chose both CLE running backs in the draft, I started to wonder about his motives. Then when I heard he was considering AB at the #1 pick, I once again questioned this man. However I believe he's going to have a big turn around this year and prove that he belongs in this league. Don't sleep on the knowledge of this owner.
There's not a ton I can say about The O. He has 13 wins over the last 3 seasons, which is pretty terrible. Ever since the championship, he has had only bad years. I believe he might have made the playoffs one other time, but that's it. He has an Irgin* under his belt (* because he came in 8th place in the first expansion year with 10 teams). Jake has seen his share of injuries, as all of us have, which have caused his teams to spiral out of control. He usually ends the year with 1-2 of the players he drafted and he makes some trades to try and make up for his poor starts. Let's hope he stays healthy this year.
Well with 1 year in the league and 1 Irgin under his belt, the Beef has to be at the last spot. Right from the start people questioned if he should be in this league and everybody was right to question. Coburn had the least points for and against in his first year to get him to 5 wins. He was the favorite to win the Irgin from the start, and many think he might be on his way to a 2-peat. Coburn is close to being on the hot seat, so this draft could be huge for him. I guess we'll see what he's got come the draft.