NFL Season-in-Review
NFL LEAGUE of LEAGUES FINAL STANDINGS
15 POINTS - Sporty Strauss
12 POINTS - Las Cabras
10 POINTS - The BamO’s
9 POINTS - Shepherd Goods Choppers
8 POINTS - Ornery Otters
7 POINTS - DTC Porkchop Express
6 POINTS - Cooper Troopers
5 POINTS - Wait ‘Til Next Year
4 POINTS - $traight Cash Homie
3 POINTS - Win’s Up Doc
2 POINTS - MN Moose Knuckles
0 POINTS - The Pullies
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RECAP
What a game! A 185-150 point shootout between the two highest scoring teams in the League of Leagues is a fitting end. Sporty Strauss comes out victorious, and he now reigns supreme. He may have the cheesiest logo in the league of leagues. He may have coined the term #Hunk. He may have created the #StraussDraft. But THIS win is his biggest accomplishment to date.
With his season on the brink 4 weeks ago, he thought about selling or tanking, but he didn’t get offers he liked and, by will of the fantasy gods, snuck into the playoffs by the skin of his teeth.
Then he got the ultimate gift: a makeshift 1st round BYE when DTC Porkchop Express had its worst week of the entire season. Strauss also had a bad Week 1 of the playoffs, but nothing compared to Craig.
Then his team took off, scoring over 175 points in 2 straight weeks, both tops in the league. When it’s all said and done, Sporty Strauss beat the TOP-3 SEEDS in the League of Leagues in 3 consecutive weeks, a feat that will go down in history as one of the greatest playoff streaks of all time.
On the other side, Las Cabras have a lot to be proud of. Sure, they needed the win a little more than Sporty Strauss did, because their NBA team is significantly weaker. But this is a team FAR more built for the future than Sporty Strauss’ strategy of going simultaneously VERY OLD and VERY YOUNG in football. Las Cabras have two of the leagues best young (fantasy-friendly) QBs for the rest of their careers. They have great young receivers, and a bedrock for long-term success.
Las Cabras might not the the GOATs this year, but they’ll likely win one of these championships at some point. It might even be next year where they come in with the strongest group of keepers.
POST-SEASON AWARDS
Championship MVP
Tom Brady
Sporty Strauss (Strauss)
27 points
Notes: The GOAT (Cabra?) is surely the GOAT this week. Yes, Najee Harris had more points than Grandpa Tom, but Strauss’ championship matchup was almost wrapped up by then. Tom Brady was down his top receiver and another receiver quit mid-game, and he still got it done for Sporty Strauss. Brady was one of the best picks in the League of Leagues football draft this year, and it shows the power of going for win-now players instead of betting on rookie QBs who we have no idea whether or not will pay off. Yes, Sporty Strauss also took one of those rookie QBs earlier in the draft and it almost cost him dearly, but going BOTH old AND young at fantasy’s most valuable position is still sound strategy. Sporty Strauss’ QB situation also proves that you don’t NEED 3 QBs (or 4) on your roster to win. You just need the right QB1, and Brady was that for Sporty all season.
Championship LVP
George Kittle
Las Cabras (Las Cabras)
4 points
Notes: When this trade went down, it looked like one of the bigger steals of all time. But Kittle was already hurt. Then Edmonds got hurt. Then Darnold got hurt. But Kittle came back with a fury at the end of the fantasy regular season to lock up a BYE for Las Cabras. Unfortunately, that hot streak didn’t extend to the playoffs, where he scored a TOTAL of 7 points in two playoff games. They still won one of them and made the finals, but a huge game from Kittle with the sure hands of Jimmy G could have made things much closer.
Playoffs MVP
Davante Adams
Sporty Strauss (Strauss)
69 points (nice)
Notes: Looking through Strauss’ playoff matchups, there’s one common denominator: dominant performances from Davante Adams. As mentioned before, Sporty Strauss got unbelievably lucky to draw DTC Porkchop Express in Adams’ only “down” week in Week 1 of the playoffs – a week in which he “only” scored 13.5 points, which was still 3rd on Sporty Strauss’ team. In the other two weeks, Davante Adams averaged about 28 fantasy points per week in two dominant performances. It was made even better by the fact that Strauss’ Packers clinched an early 1-seed BYE. It’s been a great season for Sporty Strauss, and he still gets to look forward to his Packers Super Bowl.
Playoffs LVP
Alvin Kamara
DTC Porkchop Express (Craig)
11 points (over 2 games)
Notes: When DTC Porkchop Express made THIS trade, reactions were a bit more muted than the Kittle Deal. For Craig, it wasn’t even a deal he was ridiculously high on. But when you have a chance to get elite talent like Alvin Kamara, you usually take it. Unfortunately, Kamara absolutely shit the bed down the stretch due to the Saints’ QB woes. As the season concludes, DTC Porkchop Express can’t be particularly happy with his investment at this point finishing with the lowest points of any playoff team in the League of Leagues.
However, had he missed the playoffs, he might have gotten 0 points with how bad his team performed.
REGULAR SEASON SUPERLATIVES
Regular Season MVP
Justin Herbert
Wait ‘Til Next Year (Kyle)
337 points
Notes: There may have been clearer players to pick than this, but none of the TRULY dominant performances this year are on the League of Leagues’ best teams. Cooper Kupp or Jonathan Taylor would be no-brainers if they played in the championship, but the teams that made it were built on stellar depth, not dominant stars.
Now, Josh Allen was the #1 scoring player on the year. The aforementioned Tom Brady was a snake pick and finished top-5. But NO PLAYER in the League of Leagues meant more to his team than Justin Herbert, that’s for certain.
Justin Herbert went for a pretty penny: $31 to Wait ‘Til Next Year who only drafted 3 players in the auction. After that, Justin Herbert when on to win 3 WEEKLY MVPs (!!!), which is absurd. That means that Wait ‘Til Next Year had at least 3 close games this week in which Justin Herbert was the difference between winning and losing.
While Kyle was still a bottom-4 team at the end of the regular season, he still won a couple of Consolation games and secured himself 5 points towards the end of season total. Kyle scored the least amount of points of any team in the League of Leagues, and he literally rode Herbert’s back for most of the season. That’s why Herbert gets the accolade.
Regular Season LVP
Justin Fields / Andy Dalton
Win’s Up Doc (Kyle)
109 points / 35 points
Notes: Is choosing two players a cheat for the LVP of the season? Maybe, but Win’s Up Doc’s QB debacle is the primary reason for disappointment and 3-point finish that might destroy his chances of winning or placing. With the deepest group of RBs in the league, Doc should have been a much better team than he was. But not only did Justin Fields let him down with an average of 9 points per game as a fantasy quarterback, Doc didn’t have a reliable QB2 for most of the season meaning he was forced into starting Justin Fields’ or Andy Dalton'‘s poor performances week after week after week. That’s why this duo is the LVP.
There were many other considerations for this award, many of which you’ll see later on in this article. But these weren’t even bad draft picks. These weren’t season-injured players. These were simply players who should have been on benches that were forced to start.
Best Auction Draft Pick
Cooper Kupp
Cooper Troopers (Cooper)
$6 – 357 points
Notes: Cooper Kupp was the SECOND-TO-LAST player taken in the NFL auction draft, and somehow Cooper snuck him on to his roster with $0 remaining. One more dollar and Coop would have been stuck with leftover money with no chance to find another player. On top of that, Win’s Up Doc, Wait ‘Til Next Year and the Shepherd Goods Choppers ALL had money to draft this guy. They could have had the best WR in fantasy history at little cost.
Even more: Coop drafted for only one reason: his name was Cooper. It was a stroke of luck. Going forward, while Kupp isn’t particularly young, he’s still got a few years of great football ahead of him on the Cooper Troopers with Matthew Stafford at QB.
Top-5 Auction Picks
Cooper Kupp (WR1) – Cooper Troopers – $6
Ja’Marr Chase (WR4) – $traight Cash Homie – $13
Jonathan Taylor (RB1) – Ornery Otters – $32
Austin Ekeler (RB2) – Win’s Up Doc – $7
Kirk Cousins (QB11) – Las Cabras** – $3
** traded to $traight Cash Homie
Worst Auction Pick
Allen Robinson
MN Moose Knuckles (Chris Hall)
$11 – 63 points
Notes: The MN Moose Knuckles draft was a disaster, but it’s not completely hopeless for Hall. Allen Robinson could find a much better landing spot somewhere else next season and become productive again, but the production he got this season was non-existent. 5.7 points per game is untenable, and the MN Moose Knuckles correctly benched him early in the season. Altogether, the “Worst Auction Picks” section could be a litany of Hall’s misendeavors.
Worst-5 Auction Picks
(no season-long injured players allowed)
Allen Robinson (WR88) – MN Moose Knuckles – $11
Saquon Barkley (RB33) – Win’s Up Doc – $31
Russell Wilson (QB19) – The BamO’s – $31
Jerry Jeudy (WR89) – Ornery Otters – $4
Trey Lance (QB40) – DTC Porkchop Express – $14
Notes: Surprisingly, there aren’t that many terrible auction picks. Anyone who didn’t return value was hurt, and nobody besides Robinson just plain disappointed. Saquon Barkley would fall into that category as well, but as a starting RB, he still was a player that had use, unlike Robinson.
It also might not be fair to put Trey Lance in this category based on the fact we knew he might not start year 1, but $14 is a lot of budget to spend on a redshirt. Those $14 could have gone to far better causes.
Best Snake Draft Pick
Deebo Samuel
Las Cabras (Trevor/Jordan)
7.10 pick – 142nd player taken
WR2 – 237 points
Notes: 141 players were taken ahead of Deebo Samuel, which is a travesty. To make matters worse, 3 of the 4 teams DIRECTLY ahead of Las Cabras in Round 7 took receivers. Their names were Elijah Moore (Strauss), Curtis Samuel (Ca$h) and Christian Kirk (MN Moose Knuckles). All left the biggest steal of the draft available sitting in the late 7th round of the draft. It looks so silly now.
Top-10 Snake Picks
Deebo Samuel (WR2) – Las Cabras (Rd 7)
Jaylen Waddle (WR21) – DTC Porkchop Express (Rd 5)
Tom Brady (QB3) – Sporty Strauss (Rd 3)
Michael Pittman (WR19) – $traight Cash Homie (Rd 8)
Mike Williams (WR11) – Las Cabras (Rd 8)
James Conner (RB5) – Wait ‘Til Next Year** (Rd 6)
Jalen Hurts (QB8) – SG Choppers (Rd 1)
Elijah Mitchell (RB23) – Win’s Up Doc (Rd 9)
James Robinson (RB22) – SG Choppers (Rd 3)
Brandin Cooks (WR18) – Sporty Strauss (Rd 4)
** traded to $traight Cash Homie
Notes: Deebo Samuel’s draft position was a complete oversight. It’s not that he should have gone significantly higher, but a super young receiver with at least some track record in what is a normal 12th Round of a snake draft is absurd value.
Jaylen Waddle was perhaps an even bigger oversight, however, given that any rookies are traditionally valued much higher in a start-up draft. All of these young WRs were super picks, and Devonta Smith couldn’t even fit on this list. Pittman. Williams. These are the types of players to target in next year’s snake draft.
On the running backs angle, a lot of this is a little bit based on luck. Conner, Mitchell and Robinson are all touchdown-scoring RBs who fell into starting jobs and performed admirably. They are lower on this list, because the future value of each player is far more uncertain than the WRs.
Worst Snake Pick
Tarik Cohen
The BamO’s (Sam)
4.12 – 102nd player taken
0 Points
Notes: Brandin Cooks, Michael Carter and Dallas Goedert were the next 3 picks taken, not to mention any of the Round 4 or later steals listed above. Drafting a player who didn’t play a snap this season like Tarik Cohen is a reason why Sam continually had to mortgage his future to compete this season, and it’ll hurt down the road.
Worst-5 Snake Picks
Tarik Cohen (RB??) – The BamO’s (Rd 4)
Julio Jones (WR105) – The BamO’s (Rd 1)
Tyler Higbee (TE20) – The Pullies (Rd 2)
Mike Davis (RB38) – The Pullies (Rd 1)
Larry Rountree (RB105) – MN Moose Knuckles (Rd 5)
Trey Sermon (RB89) – Cooper Troopers (Rd 4)
Michael Thomas (WR??) – Ornery Otters (Rd 2)
Mecole Hardman (WR60) – The BamO’s (Rd 2)
Greg Zuerlein (K12) – MN Moose Knuckles (Rd 9)
Darren Waller (TE18) – Wait ‘Til Next Year (Rd 1)
Notes: We’ve discussed the Mike Davis-Tyler Higbee first round snake turn that destroyed The Pullies ad nauseam, but a TE in the first round of the snake was simply a terrible decision by any team that did that. TEs are simply not that valuable in the League of Leagues. Darren Waller was the 3rd pick in the snake draft, and he just didn’t make a difference for Wait ‘Til Next Year before getting hurt. Season-ending injuries don’t usually count in these rankings, but Waller seemed like he could come back for most of his injury and the nagging wound makes it feel different.
Beyond that, there are three BamO’s picks in here. Julio Jones is also an injury problem, but he played in plenty of games and hurt The BamO’s in almost every single one.
The MN Moose Knuckles’ baffling picks of Rountree in the 5th and a kicker in the 9th help round out this list with the additional entry of Michael Thomas who didn’t play a snap and was drafted in the 2nd round. If you know someone is injured prior to the season, especially with the negative whispers of Thomas’, that’s still on the team that drafted him. It’s not a fluke injury.
Best Waiver Addition
Cordarrelle Patterson
Shepherd Goods Choppers (Jordan)
RB9
WR2 – 237 points
Notes: Was there any doubt it’d be RB1?
Top-10 Waiver Additions
Cordarrelle Patterson (RB9) – SG Choppers
Hunter Renfrow (WR17) – SG Choppers
Dawson Knox (TE5) – Las Cabras**
Zach Ertz (TE10) – SG Choppers
Devonta Freeman (RB31) – The Pullies
** traded to $traight Cash Homie
Notes: The SG Choppers are the KINGS of the waiver wire. Their team was built on it. Renfrow and Patterson were his best players down the stretch, and Ertz was an excellent contributor. However, this is not a recipe for future success, and Jordan is going to have his hands full trying to bring this roster back to the playoffs next season.
TEAM RECAPS
** denotes a season-ending injury for a ‘worst draft pick’
1st – Sporty Strauss (11-6)
Points For: 2nd
Points Against: 5th
Passing Rank: 9th
Rushing Rank: 5th
Receiving Rank: 4th
D/ST Rank: 5th
Best Draft Pick: Tom Brady (3rd Rd)
Worst Draft Pick: **Chris Carson** (1st Rd)
2nd – Las Cabras (10-5)
Points For: 1st
Points Against: 10th
Passing Rank: 1st
Rushing Rank: 7th
Receiving Rank: 1st
D/ST Rank: 1st
Best Draft Pick: Deebo Samuel (7th Rd)
Worst Draft Pick: **Henry Ruggs** (5th Rd)
3rd – The BamO’s (10-5)
Points For: 3rd
Schedule Difficulty: 3rd
Passing Rank: 3rd
Rushing Rank: 1st
Receiving Rank: 11th
D/ST Rank: 3rd
Best Draft Pick: Mike Evans ($3)
Worst Draft Pick: **Tarik Cohen** (4th Rd)
4th – Shepherd Goods Choppers (9-7)
Points For: 7th
Schedule Difficulty: 4th
Passing Rank: 2nd
Rushing Rank: 11th
Receiving Rank: 5th
D/ST Rank: 6th
Best Draft Pick: Jalen Hurts (1st Rd)
Worst Draft Pick: **Christian McCaffrey** ($43)
5th – Ornery Otters (9-6)
Points For: 6th
Schedule Difficulty: 12th
Passing Rank: 3rd
Rushing Rank: 5th
Receiving Rank: 3rd
D/ST Rank: 7th
Best Draft Pick: Jonathan Taylor ($32)
Worst Draft Pick: **Michael Thomas** (2nd Rd)
6th – DTC Porkchop Express (8-7)
Points For: 8th
Schedule Difficulty: 11th
Passing Rank: 10th
Rushing Rank: 3rd
Receiving Rank: 8th
D/ST Rank: 8th
Best Draft Pick: Jaylon Waddle (Rd 5)
Worst Draft Pick: Trey Lance ($14)
7th – Cooper Troopers (8-8)
Points For: 5th
Schedule Difficulty: 9th
Passing Rank: 4th
Rushing Rank: 10th
Receiving Rank: 2nd
D/ST Rank: 10th
Best Draft Pick: Cooper Kupp ($6)
Worst Draft Pick: Trey Sermon (Rd 4)
8th – Wait ‘Til Next Year (7-9)
Points For: 12th
Schedule Difficulty: 2nd
Passing Rank: 7th
Rushing Rank: 12th
Receiving Rank: 10th
D/ST Rank: 2nd
Best Draft Pick: James Conner (Rd 5)
Worst Draft Pick: **Darren Waller* (Rd 1)
9th – $traight Cash Homie (8-6)
Points For: 4th
Schedule Difficulty: 8th
Passing Rank: 8th
Rushing Rank: 6th
Receiving Rank: 6th
D/ST Rank: 8th
Best Draft Pick: Ja’Marr Chase ($13)
Worst Draft Pick: Kenny Golladay (Rd 3)
10th – Win’s Up Doc (6-9)
Points For: 10th
Schedule Difficulty: 6th
Passing Rank: 12th
Rushing Rank: 2nd
Receiving Rank: 12th
D/ST Rank: 4th
Best Draft Pick: Austin Ekeler ($7)
Worst Draft Pick: Saquon Barkley ($31)
11th – MN Moose Knuckles (4-11)
Points For: 11th
Schedule Difficulty: 7th
Passing Rank: 11th
Rushing Rank: 9th
Receiving Rank: 7th
D/ST Rank: 9th
Best Draft Pick: Mark Andrews (1st Rd)
Worst Draft Pick: Allen Robinson ($11)
12th – The Pullies (3-12)
Points For: 9th
Schedule Difficulty: 1st
Passing Rank: 8th
Rushing Rank: 8th
Receiving Rank: 9th
D/ST Rank: 12th
Best Draft Pick: Joe Burrow ($23)
Worst Draft Pick: Mike Davis (1st Rd)