Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season is in the books, and while football brought out plenty of exciting storylines, the WTBU Sports Fantasy League has its own narratives to sort out. Certain players, and by proxy certain teams in this league, excelled while others were slow out of the gate. Here are the Power Rankings for the WTBU Sports Fantasy League heading into Week 2.
#10 Philadelphia Pigeons (0-1) — Ben Silver [Last Week: 9]
Added: RB Kareem Hunt (trade), RB Leonard Fournette (trade)
Departed: RB Duke Johnson (trade), WR CeeDee Lamb (trade)
Kyler Murray impressed everyone with his ability to run through the 49ers strong defense and connected with new star WR Deandre Hopkins fourteen times. However, the rest of his team had a lackluster Week 1 against easier matchups. Week 2 presents a tall order for key players like Murray, Melvin Gordon III and Zach Ertz. The two positives to note are the hopeful return of Miles Sanders to the field to galvanize the Eagles after a tough loss, and the acquisition of Kareem Hunt from the Danny Dimes (my team).
#9 The Ladies Love Sosi (0-1) — Perry Sosi [Last Week: 10]
Added: TE Dallas Goedert
Departed: TE Mike Gesicki
Other than RB Ezekiel Elliot and TE Travis Kelce, no one on Perry’s team came close to meeting expectations in Week 1. Starting Carson Wentz over Cam Newton at QB turned out to be a mistake after Newton looked strong against the Dolphins. However, Mike Evans should be a bigger factor for Tampa Bay in Week 2, and over half of his starters will face cake-walks of matchups. Perry’s climb up the rankings could get a big boost this week.
#8 Flavortown Trash Can Lids (0-1) — Akshai Wadhwani [Last Week: 6]
Added: None
Departed: RB Marlon Mack
Akshai’s team raises concerns to me. Kareem Hunt outshone Nick Chubb in Week 1 and because Hunt does more in the passing game, this pattern might persist. Kenyan Drake lost running opportunities to Chase Edmonds and Kyler Murray. Philip Rivers did not heavily target T.Y. Hilton. Akshai possesses a lot of players in the starting lineup and on the bench who could have big weeks, but could also flop like his starters did last week. Due to the tough decisions he has to make and the risks they carry, I am weary of his team’s success.
#7 Baby Chark (0-1) — Ethan Fuller [Last Week: 8]
Added: WR Courtland Sutton (trade), TE Noah Fant (trade), TE Austin Hooper, QB Drew Brees (trade), RB Saquon Barkley (trade), RB Malcolm Brown
Departed: RB Leonard Fournette (trade), TE Mark Andrews (trade), QB Brian Hoyer, QB Lamar Jackson (trade), RB Jonathan Taylor (trade), WR Robby Anderson (trade)
Ethan’s team did not have a great Week 1, and then he made the most lopsided trade I have ever seen. Ethan acquired Saquon Barkley, who was consistently stuffed on runs in Week 1, and Drew Brees from Brady in exchange for Lamar Jackson, rookie RB Jonathan Taylor, and speedy WR Robby Anderson. More on this trade to come when we see Brady’s rank.
Still, the trade I made with him — Courtland Sutton and Noah Fant for Mark Andrews and Leonard Fournette — looks mutually beneficial. However, Michael Thomas will miss some time with a high-ankle sprain after a subpar first game. My other major concern with his team is his running back depth. Austin Ekeler did not excel against a weak Bengals defense and Devin Singletary might keep losing work to rookie Zach Moss.
Ethan’s team enters Week 2 with a very tall mountain to climb. He’s relying on a shaky passer, and apparently shaky runner, in Josh Allen, as well as two WR2s and two RBs who disappointed in Week 1.
#6 New York Danny Dimes (1-0) — Daniel Multz [Last Week: 7]
Added: RB Leonard Fournette (in a trade, then traded), TE Mark Andrews (trade), RB Duke Johnson (trade), WR CeeDee Lamb (trade), WR Parris Campbell, Saints D/ST
Departed: RB Leonard Fournette (trade), WR Courtland Sutton (trade), TE Noah Fant (trade), RB Kareem Hunt (trade), Chargers D/ST
I move my team up one spot because the strengths excelled, but the one glaring weakness also presented itself. Clyde Edwards-Helaire lived up to the hype in his NFL debut, and Josh Jacobs was the highest scoring RB. Mark Andrews caught two TDs for me, and Dak Prescott did well enough against a tough Rams defense. With five RBs on my bench, I traded Hunt and Fournette to the Pigeons for CeeDee Lamb for some much needed WR depth. The rookie from Oklahoma might go off against a porous Falcons defense next week. WR depth in general is still an issue for me, but there’s potential for a better performance that last week.
#5 Hannah’s Bananas (1-0) — Hannah Yoshinaga [Last Week: 4]
Added: None
Departed: None
Hannah’s team moves down with a few, but possibly more, of the strong pieces not coming back after Week 1. George Kittle’s knee injury might nag and impede his ability to be a top pass-catcher. James Conner might not play against Denver with his ankle injury. A.J. Brown was underused by Ryan Tannehill, and Matthew Stafford has to face a solid Packers secondary.
Christian McCaffrey and Julio Jones will be 100% after stellar first weeks. Rookie Diontae Johnson is establishing himself as a valuable piece in the Steelers’ offense, but there are a lot of concerns surrounding Hannah’s key players. Fortunately, the matchup against Baby Chark might have been the right opponent for a short-staffed week.
#4 Senior on JV (1-0) — Chad Jones [Last Week: 5]
Added: None
Departed: None
There’s less movement with the top half of the ranking as four of these five teams won their Week 1 matchup and one loser who still looks stacked.
Chad’s team moves up past the 5th spot after he outscored everyone with a 160.5-point effort. His QB, and starting RBs and WRs, are all elite and are due to dominate in week 2. However, his bench looks increasingly depleted. Odell Beckham Jr’s situation in Cleveland is worsening on top of his bad Week 1 against Baltimore, and Hunter Henry fell flat like the whole Chargers offense did.
Maybe he should start Darius Slayton, who is demonstrating great connectivity with Daniel Jones, after a monster Week 1? All told, Chad’s top-heavy roster sill looks solid for this week in a favorable matchup against the Trash Can Lids.
#3 Suh-Tang Clan (1-0) — Patrick Donnelly [Last Week: 3]
Added: None
Departed: None
Patrick stays at the No. 3 spot due to the pros and cons on his roster. Davante Adams almost won him Week 1 by himself, so expect slight regression from that to normal productivity. Aside from him, Patrick Mahomes should accrue more yards (and points) as the Chiefs’ offense shifts into fifth gear. Dalvin Cook, Todd Gurley II and Robert Woods should all repeat their great starts.
But, Evan Engram was barely a factor, so maybe T.J. Hockenson should get the start. His Week 1 FLEX in Le’veon Bell has hit injured reserve, and much of his WR depth is questionable for next week. Make no mistake, Patrick’s team will still be great this week, but a tough opponent in Hannah’s Bananas awaits and there are question marks after the top five players.
#2 The Catalina Wine Mixon (0-1) — Joe Pohoryles [Last Week: 2]
Added: Bears D/ST
Departed: Eagles D/ST
Joe stays at two, even though the one major flaw with his team might get exposed this week. With three Seattle Seahawks starting for him, Russell Wilson, D.K. Metcalf and Chris Carson, they will all get tested against a still stout New England Defense. The Patriots’ secondary looked great against Miami, and while Wilson is certainly an improvement from Ryan Fitzpatrick, he will likely not dominate like he did against Atlanta. Perhaps this is a week to start Raheem Mostert at FLEX? The rest of his squad, plus the addition of the Bears’ defense, puts Joe in a solid place for week 2 against the Pigeons.
#1 The Jackson 9 (1-0) — Brady Gardner [Last Week: 1]
Added: QB Lamar Jackson (trade), RB Jonathan Taylor (trade), WR Robby Anderson (trade), Cardinals D/ST
Departed: QB Drew Brees (trade), RB Saquon Barkley (trade), WR Desean Jackson, Lions D/ST
Brady was in danger of dropping out of the No. 1 spot after an underwhelming first week, and then he made this unreal trade with Ethan. He now has a top-2 QB, even more untold riches at WR, and a rookie RB in Jonathan Taylor who already impressed in Week 1 and will now be an even bigger factor in the Colts’ offense with Marlon Mack out for the year.
To make matters worse for the rest of the league, he also still has Deandre Hopkins, David Johnson, Chris Godwin, a solid TE, too many FLEX players to choose from, and one of the very few reliable kickers in the NFL. How funny it is that Brady’s first matchup with his god-squad is Ethan and his newly-designed roster. As long as these pieces all stay healthy and perform to expectations, Brady might be able to get comfortable at the No. 1 spot.
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