Devin is right back where he left off in the 2017 season. He has 3 solid running-backs, a solid receiving core, and some depth to add on to that. I do have to say this about this years BTOP team: He has thus far had some things swing his way, and I don't know how long it'll last, which doesn't take anything away from the skill he has across the board. Let's start with the Steelers offense... Conner was a good pickup, and honestly might luckily see more than 3 weeks of playing time because of Bell's holdout, but NOW AB is not even showing up to practice, leaving JuJu and Conner as their only real threats. That's the lucky draw he has been given, but I mean he still has McCaffery, Gordon, Tate, and T.Y. This team looks like a powerhouse right now averaging about 158 points a week.
Jacob is finally atop the rankings after years being in the lower half. He has a pretty legit team with possibly some of the best steals in the draft. It seemed like players would just keep landing in his lap, and he had no problem taking them. Michael Thomas is looking godly in terms of just even his workload that he's getting. Through 2 games, he has 28 receptions... Jesus. My issue with Jacob's team is how terrible the Arizona offense looks and how it effects DJ. I don't want to say he's a bust, but he's not looking like a top 5 running back. Also, Chris Thompson is a top 5 back and getting some crazy receptions for Washington, making him a strong RB2 option. Jacob can prove himself this week by going 2-1, instead of dropping 2 in a row.
Max has a solid squad this year, flat. Let me first go over some of the guys that I have some questions about moving forward: Desean Watson, Tevin Coleman and Nelson Agholor. Watson had a solid 22 last week, but I think even Max can see that he just looks different this year. Like he's tired or something. He has 3 touchdowns thus far, but also 3 turnovers. Tevin Coleman in my personal opinion is just as good, if not better, than Freeman. But I don't coach the Falcons, and he is slated for a week 3 or 4 return, which would diminish Colemans value. As for Agholor, I love him, but with Alshon coming back soon, I don't know where that puts his value. He'll definitely still be a WR2, but he will lose a lot of targets to Alshon. Other than that, Gurley and Hill are fantasy beasts and his bench offers some possible subs if needed, but the depth isn't quite there yet. This is a fringe powerhouse team, averaging 143 a game.
Kyle is one of the two 0-2 teams in this league right now, which is not a good look for a team who leads the west in points. Honestly, just like every year, Kyle has a low key really good team (aside from maybe running back depth). Brees is almost always going to give you top 5 QB numbers, Hunt is on the most explosive offense in the league, and I believe he's on the verge of exploding because of the respect teams are going to have to give Mahoms in the passing game. I knew in the beginning of the year people would sleep on Mike Evans because he's kind of scum, and Kyle got handed him in the draft at #28. Hopkins and Ertz are both top 5 at their positions as well and will continue to have a ton of work. I mean you just go down the line and see pretty good consistency in his lineup, but no #1 guys. I think kyle will continue to put up around 130 a week, which is almost average for a team this year with all the scoring we've had. But it'll come down to matchups for this team.
I had high praise for this team after the draft, and even after week 1, but week 2 has me questioning everything. But here's the thing, I think Cooper is back. He is going to play a big role in Bernies team moving forward, probably filling in for sanders or Fitz in the WR or FLEX spot. As for RB's, Kamara is clearly a stud, but Collins might not be so trustworthy. He only had 9 rushes and 3 receptions, but still managed the squeak out 12 points, which is pretty average, but that will do for a RB2. Bernie is averaging about 122 a game, which is pretty close to but below the average in the league thus far (~127pts/week). I don't see Bernie having as bad of a week as he had because of a lot of the matchups he had which caused some of his top guys to be shut down including Gronk and OBJ. I see a bounce back week for the Brigade this week against the struggling Team 10.
Once again Jordan sees himself basically where he found himself all of last year - right in the middle of the pack. Jordan actually ranks 4th in points for in the league, and won a close one in week 2 to move him to 1-1. I'm not a HUGE fan of this team because of a few reasons, but I'm going to push my Green Bay biased aside for this. Aaron Rodgers is amazing, and he makes everyone around him better (including Jimmy Graham). He was up against a very tough D on an injured leg, and still managed 16 points, which he will score more than if he heals up. The RB's are interesting to me because I do like Fournette, but his injury is not uncommon for him. He's very injury prone and honestly might only play half of the season, and Jordans backup plan seems to be James White, who is solid but almost never reliable for consistency. I'm also always worried about Julio because he's in an offense that sometimes just forgets he's on the team. He barely plays inside the 10, which is crazy to me, but it's true. Overall, Jordans off to a good start, but I see a decline eminent.
Sexual Misconduct is back where he is comfortable, sitting at the top of the division at 2-0. Why is a 2-0 team ranked below an 0-2 team? Well these are power rankings, not matchup wins. If I go back to the draft, I can analyze some of the picks. I liked Pj's first two picks, and they were honestly guys he couldn't not pick, so there was no mistake taking AB and AJ to solidify his receiving core. The questions I started to have was when he took Derrek Henry at 25 and Will Fuller at 36. I'm not trying to be mean, but I had no idea what the plan was, but I do have to say Fuller looks pretty good right now. But Henry was on Pj's bench by week 2, which is not good for your 3rd rounder. Aside from the draft, I mean his team hasn't looked awful, but he's also been helped along by having the least points against (averaging 104 points against per week). But that's fantasy football, matchups matter and sometimes you get lucky, but that doesn't take away from the points you put up, and he put up 132 in week 2. I mean he can't count on AJ getting 3 TD's every game, but I mean at least that means he's a favorite target. He also had a scare with AB not showing to practice, but everything seems to be in order now and he'll continue to be a top guy. In the end, average RB's might be the hole in this team and this week can prove huge for Sexual Misconduct.
Clearly this is my team, and I know my team better than any other team, but I didn't want to be biased. That doesn't mean I should be ranked higher, because my weekly high was 121, which many teams would've beaten. However, there's a lot of hope here. Saquon looks like a stud and a reception magnet, giving him amazing value in a PPR, and Dalvin Cook is showing some strong promise, even without a TD in the season yet. The receivers are becoming the issue for this team with Robinson and Enunwa becoming the new starters. They are both probably considered WR2's, and thats the tradeoff for having a good backfield. Both of those guys seem to be getting more and more targets and are the #1 options at each of their teams, but I don't know if it'll be enough for either to break out as a WR1. Kelce looks to be back, and the Rams D is pretty outstanding to top off this team, not mentioning decent QB's at Alex Smith and Carson Wentz. This is a week for - Duke - to prove himself against the powerhouse of the 0.
Let's break down Coburn's team and I'll explain why I have him at the 9 spot. Well firstly, Joe Mixon getting hurt does not help his cause. He's looking at Breida to fill in his spot at RB2, but I honestly think he's over valued. He had a huge week 2 against the god awful Lions D, but has only had 11 attempts in each of his week. Keenan Allen and Zeke are going to be the workhorses for Coburn moving forward and he doesn't have too much depth to fill in any spots in a case of injury. Honestly Coburn ranks close to the middle in points, but I don't believe he will stay that way. His 104 this week might be a sign of things to come, but he could prove all the doubters wrong this week against the powerhouse BTOP.
I don't want to believe that Team 10 will remain here at the bottom of the rankings, but I had no choice but to have him here. At 0-2 and having the least points in the league, averaging under 100 points a game through week 2, he is not sitting in a good place. It has clearly been unfortunate with the whole Lev situation and that leaves him with a whole at the RB spot. The pickup of Bernard will actually really help Team 10 in the coming weeks without Bell, but won't be a long-term asset, and he probably knows that, but the idea is that Bell will be back by the time Mixon is back. Cooks has been pretty good in a great offense, but he doesn't even crack the top 15 of receivers right now. In fact he doesn't own a top 15 running-back, quarterback, or receiver through 2 weeks of the season. I never root for an owner to be screwed by an off the field issue, so I do hope he can start to compete more with a Le'Veon return.