For those who thought I forgot to post yesterday, I did not. But when I looked at the matchups and saw no MOTW potential and realized the game on Thursday was Eagles v. Giants, I knew I could wait until later to post an article.
So instead of a MOTW this week, let's break down the league into tiers of teams (Teams listed in a tier are not ranked. They are listed in order of their actual rank)
True Contenders (No major weaknesses, championship potential)
2. BEST TEAM
With the return of AJ Brown and Nick Chubb to return shortly, Mike's team looks ready to go on a monster run. After this week, Henry, Thielen, Brown, and Ben will all have their byes behind them so the impact of missing players should be minimal. The one area he may look to improve is TE but other than that, he just needs his players to stay healthy.
4. Fe-Brees
With 4 of the top 30 wide receivers, 2 top 15 RBs, and 2 QBs that could both finish in the top 8, Jon has a wealth of options at his skill positions. Similar to Mike, his TE situation could be a little bit better and he should be scouring the waiver wire for defenses more often, but if his team can stay healthy, he may be the favorite to win it all.
Playoff Threats (One major hole or a few minor holes, may need a little luck to win it all)
1. Microgement
No disrespect to last year's champ and the runaway leader this year both in wins and PF, but a lot of his run has been fueled by some ridiculous boom performances (Justin Jefferson, Will Fuller, Russell Wilson). The problem with this is, most players will regress to a more normal mean. This is why Jefferson and Fuller aren't regarded as top 10 wide receivers. However, if Russell can keep this up, maybe none of this matters. This reminds me of Brady in '07 or Manning in '13 where they could literally carry a mediocre team by scoring 40 points a week. Not to say that Dan's team is mediocre: he still has plenty of top end talent in Tyreek and Kelce and the other players are no slouches either. But his backfield is a huge area of concern with no true RB1s. If he can keep his magic touch on roster moves for 10 more weeks, maybe he repeats as champ.
5. Jon Sucks
Eric's shakiest pieces are at WR3 and RB2, with an additional question at the man under center. Wentz has performed admirably and has had some great weeks but you wonder if a QB, who has had injury issues in the past, who is playing under pressure on almost every play will even make it through the season. Moore, Claypool, and Fulgham are all interesting options but none of them exude must-start vibes. At RB, Montgomery and Robinson are definitely getting the opportunities to be a high-end RB2 but we'll see if they can do more with the touches they're given.
Dark Horses (Underperforming or unlucky teams with a better outlook ahead)
6. The Glory Hogans
Paul's team has been one of the most consistent teams in the league, scoring over 100 points in every matchup so far. He has a question mark at WR3 and QB (Is Drew Brees even a startable fantasy QB anymore?) but his RB depth and elite TE help to make these questions moot. His team got hammered by byes (Brees, Kamara, Carson, Jackson last week, Gaskin, Brown this week) but that should just make the latter half of the season that much easier. We'll see if he can upgrade his team by dealing one of his RBs or just rides it out with the current squad.
9. David Y Team
David's been a little bit unlucky: injury to McCaffrey, Mahomes being ridiculous on Monday night. However, he does rank in the top half in the league in scoring and when he gets CMC back, should be able to climb out of the hole he's currently in. His RB2 spot was a question mark but RoJo has taken a stronghold in the backfield of an offense that's getting stronger every week. As long as he can prevent getting 7 losses before his team gets back to full strength, I can see David paving a way into the playoffs.
11. #ridethewave
Yes, we all know that Chris has been relatively MIA. However, if he plays a healthy player, even if we believe it's the wrong choice, we have to respect the manager's decision. Chris has dug himself in quite the hole but he's got 2 great, top 20 receivers (and a 3rd who is quite underrated), a decent backfield if Ekeler returns soon, and ARod leading the way with an MVP caliber season. The real question for Chris's team is whether or not he actually plays the stars needed to win.
Outside Looking In (Need major roster renovations or certain players to blow up)
7. Jacked Up!
Cho's position here isn't entirely his fault. Losing your first round pick for the season will hurt anyone's chances, especially when they were supposed to carry your backfield. Additionally, Mike Davis has been a solid fill in but his time as a bellcow back are about to end and Cho hasn't been able to find a suitable replacement. His receivers are talented but have had down years due to various circumstances, and Stafford has been very disappointing, not cracking 30 points in a game this year. I will never count a manager out who has won the league before but the climb into the playoffs is much steeper for Cho than some of the teams below him in the standings.
8. 초록불
How Biggie is 3-3 is beyond me. He only has more points than Chris and David K. His draft didn't pan out so great but it's not like he picked bad players: Julio has been injured and couldn't find the end zone (until he was traded), Juju has had his spotlight taken away from him, Bell's situation has been in flux, and Gallup has been forgotten as he has been overtaken by Lamb. Looking at previous seasons, Biggie is always active on the waiver wire so don't expect him to go away quietly without a fight.
10. Wizzeak!
Jung has had two of the most impressive stars in the league in Hopkins and Zeke but with little behind that to support him, especially melting Matty Ice, he's fallen to 2-4. Will trading Hopkins for more depth and more risk be the answer? While KC looks like a RBBC for now, someone with Bell's skillset could replicate what Hunt is doing in Cleveland and vault him into the top 20, even without being the bellcow. Parker is no Hopkins but he's a solid WR3 with WR2 potential and we'll see how the change to Tua at QB affects his prospects going forward. If Ryan can keep up last week's performance and Zeke can stop fumbling away the ball, he could find his way into the playoffs. 5 of his next 6 games are against teams that are not in the top 4 at the moment.
David Kim (David Kim)
12. DK & Pony Show
What is there to say about David's team? His team actually isn't as bad as his record and points would show. Evans has been a TD machine, Newton and Brady have shown QB1 flashes, and CEH and Kareem Hunt have been top 24 RBs. But so many points are wasted on the bench as David continues to choose the wrong players. Some decisions are easier to criticize in hindsight but others seem less defensible even in the moment. But the real question is, based on his luck in matchups this year, would playing the right choices change anything? His aggregated opponent stats would rank as the 2nd best team in the league with 782 points. I never say a team is out of the playoffs until they get 7 losses but it's hard for me to see David make his way back this year.
Good luck to all!
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