Welcome to 2024!

Welcome back to the league!

You all probably forgot but this is what I wrote in last year's intro:

"I know I stopped posting near the end of last year but it was kind of fitting for a season that ended without a champion. Sure, Yahoo may say Jung won but Diggs, Mixon, and whatever kicker Dan had could definitely have scored enough to make up the difference. So if anything, this year feels like we're playing for TWO TIMES THE GLORY. Hopefully everyone is up for the challenge."

Basically, all I'm trying to say is that I won 2 championships with my win last year and it was in dominating fashion thanks to CMC, Kyren, Hock, Josh Allen, and DJ Moore. Too many people to thank, too little time.

I'll finally get off my soapbox to get into this season, but first let's share some good news:

- Simon had a 3rd son!

- Mike had a son (2nd child)!

- David K got engaged and will be married soon!

- Jung is expecting a 2nd!

If there's anybody I missed, I do apologize but it also probably means we haven't talked in a while. Don't be a stranger and reach out any time, especially to share good news!

Now to get into the dirty details, let's just get to some of my favorite teams and my least favorite teams as we enter the season. (Don't forget to change your team name to actually fit your roster)

Favorites:

Jacked Up! (Cho)

It felt like everybody was falling to Cho. Chase might be a top 3 WR? Taken 8th. Kyren who was the overall RB2 last year and still the lead back? Taken 2nd round. Deebo and Waddle who could finish as top 20 WRs in explosive offenses? 3rd and 4th. Some smart but unsexy picks later (Javonte, Singletary, Watson) and then a lottery ticket in Chubb makes Cho's team one of the more complete teams in the league.

In Time (Eric)

Eric needs to change is team name but that's the only nit I can pick about his team. Henry should benefit a ton from Lamar's presence to dominate, even when most RBs fall off a cliff. Garrett Wilson and DeVonta are two young WRs that could both finish as top 12 options. Mahomes feels set to set the league on fire with his best receiving corp since Tyreek left. Pitts could finish as the overall TE1. Some wildcards in the later rounds (Worthy, Polk, Vidal) balance out this top heavy roster. His RB2 might be the weakest spot but once again, might just be a nit.

Dark Horse:

To infinity and bijans (Jon)

I loved the Bijan pick. If you can't tell, I'm high on the Falcons this year (great o-line, cousins feeds his stars, no more Arthur Smith, stars entering their prime ages) and I expect Bijan to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of not having to share a backfield with Allgeier. Jon did reach and take a couple gambles on Kupp, Metcalf, and Kamara, but none are egregious picks. Godwin, Zamir, and Brian Thomas could return great value from his middle/late rounds. His biggest question mark, similar to last year, will be at QB. He's relying on Lawrence (most likely unspectacular, just like he was for Jon last year) and Herbert, but one who is toothless with no proven receivers). If the QB room can be better than expectations, Jon could sneak not only into the playoffs, but into the championship game.

Ra-Dogging It (Paul)

Paul's team had a lot of great safe picks in each round. Amon-Ra and Pacheco should have great volume on good offenses. Nico and Lamar are about as good of floor + ceiling combinations you can get in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Conner and Terry may not be sexy picks but they should produce on surprisingly competent offenses. Even some of his late picks (Shakir, Palmer) may end up starting for him consistently one day. The reason he isn't in the favorites is that his team seems really, really good, but not great. Usually it takes a great team to win the league and unless one of these players really outperform their draft position, it feels unlikely that Paul will really be a contender to win it all. He should make the playoffs but he'll have to do some work to make this a championship team.

Cellar Dweller:

#winnable (Chris)

I feel like it's been a while since someone made a really egregious pick but 2 TEs in the first 5 picks is one of those egregious picks. Not only that, the 2 TEs he took are relatively low ceiling. Kelce feels like he's on a pitch count, waiting for the playoffs to really unleash himself as he's old by NFL standards (34, turning 35 soon). Kittle is a great specimen in a great offense, but there's too much talent that limits his opportunities and he's almost too willing of a blocker. The more confusing part is that he didn't take a WR3 until the 9th round. His team still didn't turn out to be awful but I feel like the ceiling is too low to make a deep run.

BEST TEAM (Mike)

I'm actually so torn on this one. I love the strategy that Mike employed: take the best QB and the best TE because he believes that WR and, to a certain extent, RB are deep enough that he can fill the rest. Unfortunately, I don't think this was the year to do it. QB is super deep this year and TE is the deepest it's been in a long time. If this was Kelce and Josh Allen or Mahomes from 2 years ago, this would be more successful but Josh Allen with no weapons and LaPorta who should suffer some regression? I'm skeptical. If Saquon and White can carry this backfield and his dart throw WRs pan out, Mike could still be really competitive. But I think the reaches will come back to haunt him. 

One Last Head Scratcher:

Buoyed by Jr(s) (David K)

I don't think Geno Smith's own mom loves Geno this much. He already had a solid team by the 8th round and just needed a QB. He passed on Daniels for Spears? He passed on Lawrence, Goff, Purdy, and Herbert for Brian Robinson and Hollywood Brown? He passed on Tua for Corum? I'm honestly a bit confused but maybe he knows something I don't. I get that QB is deep but waiting for the QB16 is not a great way to win the league.

Good luck to all!