Surprises in the 2022-23 Football Season

The NFL is in full swing and a lot has happened for me to unpack. I know the MLB ended with the World Series and the NBA also just got into the swing of things but I thought I’d start with football.

Let’s talk about the surprises that we’re seeing.

The Jets. The New York Jets have a winning record at 6-4 and a +13 point differential. Generally, I’m used to having them be last in the AFC East and being without a competent quarterback. Now they’re third in the AFC East but still without a talented quarterback. Something has to happen in the QB room, as Zach Wilson is not a great team player and with nothing to show for it. The backup is 37-year-old Joe Flacco who’s injured right now. The third string and the guy that will start on Sunday against the Bears is Mike White, who had one week of fame last season and then sunk back down to the bottom of the barrel. The team is playing well though, and we just have to hope it’s not another last-place finish.

The other New Yo-, New Jersey team, the Giants, is the second surprise. They have an even better record than the Jets at 7-4. They’re doing everything even better than the Jets. Their offense is somehow humming along. The QB Daniel Jones is as mediocre as it gets, but isn’t doing as much to hamper his team’s performance. The star on the team is the running back Saquon Barkley who is serving as a workhorse running back, completely contrary to his role. Barkley is a quick, shifty back, not meant to carry the ball 30+ times in a game, but hey, it’s working for them. The Giants do have the hardest schedule for the remaining games coming up. It's tricky to say whether they'll keep it up.

What I don’t understand is why the Los Angeles Rams are doing nothing this season. They’re the reigning Super Bowl champions yet they sit at 3-7. Something is going on with QB Matt Stafford. Is age catching up to him? Is Cooper Kupp not turning into Superman for the second season in a row slowing the Rams down? Is it their lack of an effective run game? Well, I can certainly tell you it’s not their defense as they’ve allowed a fairly decent amount of points this season. Further, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey will never play inconsistently, so it has to be something on the offense. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they can turn it around this season.

The Vikings are making a statement at 9-2. They already have one of the best 1-2 punch wide receivers in the NFL, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Their running back Dalvin Cook is playing at an elite level. But the surprise and the guy lifting this team from mediocrity is Kirk Cousins, a top-10 QB in football this year. It’s ridiculous. Their defense is filled with above-average players, but who’s complaining, they’re at the top of the NFC North and finally beating out the Packers for the 1 spot.

Speaking of the Packers, it turns out they aren’t that good without the best wide receiver in the league. When they lost Davante Adams, their whole season went down the drain. I guess age really is catching up with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers’ defense, usually a solid defense, has not been great this season. They have good numbers individually, but the team stats tell a different story, and that story is not letting Rodgers put up a fight in a game.

Lastly, what is going on in the AFC West? The Raiders and the Broncos, two teams that were supposed to make up one of the scariest divisions in football, are both 3-7. The Raiders traded for Davante Adams who, on paper, would make up one of the scariest offenses in the NFL, but Derek Carr is not making anything happen with them. Although Adams is having a pretty solid season so far, with 10 touchdowns in 10 games, the offense seems to be stuck in place, even with all the injuries. Josh Jacobs had a stint of being the best running back in history, but he went back to sleep. Worst of all, the Raiders’ defense is atrocious. Can’t even talk about them, they’ve just been underperforming.

The Broncos seem to get worse from last year. Russell Wilson came to Denver and has thrown seven touchdowns so far. Their run game has been nonexistent as their leading rusher, Melvin Gordon III, is no longer on the team after they released him. The receiving game can only be weak because of a weak quarterback and the best receiver being injured. But don’t go blame this on Jerry Jeudy for getting injured. Even before his injury, Wilson could only find his two best receivers, Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, for four touchdowns in nine games. On defense, they’ve been just as bad as the Raiders, not getting any pressure to the QB and not defending the pass very well. I was really looking forward to seeing the AFC West terrorize teams, but the Kansas City Chiefs are by far the best team in the division and they’ve been playing like it.

We’re coming up on the home stretch of the NFL season, and things are going to get more exciting as the weather gets colder, maybe we’ll even see some snow games.

Final Points – Tight Ends

Here is my final installment – the best fantasy players at their positions, and I’m going to be breaking down the tight ends.

1: By probably the biggest margin between two players in this whole series, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs is at one. The Chiefs lost their best receiver in the offseason, Tyreek Hill but even if they still had Hill, Kelce would still be the best. He’s the most reliable tight end and the most versatile. He can go get a high ball, he could catch and run with the ball and he could stay home as a blocker. Kelce is going to get a high volume of touches on the Chiefs’ offense. He’s going in the first or very early second round, so if he’s available, pick him up.

2: Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens is at two. Andrews is also a very versatile tight end and similarly to Kelce, the most dangerous weapon on their offenses minus the QB. Andrews plays a very similar role to Kelce, meaning that he could go up and get the ball and run after the catch. He doesn’t block that much, but for fantasy, it doesn’t matter. The only reason Kelce is at one by such a huge margin is that the Ravens like the run game WAY more than the Chiefs do, so that may take away from Andrews’ touches.

3: Kyle Pitts of the Atlanta Falcons is at three. Unfortunately, he will be such a hit or miss this season. We saw this last season as he got a decent amount of catches and yards but only one touchdown the whole season. Pitts is on a very young Falcons offense so I believe that he’ll be one of the focal points of this offense. Pitts is one of the fastest tight ends in the league, and if the Falcons show that they can be an explosive force, then Pitts is a great option, but proceed with caution.

4: By a pretty big margin once again, George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers is at four. Kittle is not a fantasy tight end. Probably the third-best tight end based on actual in-game value, but for fantasy, he’s very average. He’s injury prone, he has a lot of blocking assignments and he’s not very fast, so you’ll just be relying on catches and touchdowns. But, Kittle is one of the best tight ends for his value in the early fourth round, so he’s not terrible.

5: Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders is at six. Waller used to be the second-best fantasy tight end, as early as two years ago, but injury concerns and more offensive weapons in Vegas sent him to lower down the rankings. Waller now has to contend with Hunter Renfrow and Davante Adams, both elite wide receivers. Sure, Waller can use his speed to get open but his injuries frighten me. But, when Waller’s on, he’s ON. He will be getting catches, yards, and touchdowns like no tomorrow. Similarly to Kittle, great value pick.

6: Dalton Schultz of the Dallas Cowboys is at six. This is where the tight end well starts to run dry. Schultz is a very decent pick. But, if you’re in the position to draft him, I expect that you have a pretty well-rounded team in every other department. Schultz is going to be a very intriguing player this year because the Cowboys have weapons in the receiving core and at running back, but Prescott might decide to target Schultz quite a bit. He won’t be a blocking tight end, so that’s just more potential targets for him.

7: TJ Hockenson of the Detroit Lions is at seven. Hockenson has the potential to be one of the best tight ends for fantasy this year at the end of the year. There are a lot of really young weapons on this team, like D’Andre Swift and Amon Ra St. Brown, so Hockenson might be fighting for touches this year but I’m not worried. The Lions don’t have that big imposing receiver on their roster, so I think Hockenson will be getting red zone targets this year. He’s also a tight end that can run with the ball after the catch. The Lions improved their offensive line over the offseason so that will give their subpar QB, Jared Goff more time to find his tight end.

8: Dallas Goedert of the Philadelphia Eagles is at eight. Goedert is not appealing to me in any way fantasy-wise. He’s playing on a really clogged Eagles offense where he never found success and was playing second fiddle to Zach Ertz all the time. The only thing going for Goedert here is that he has a young QB that will want to find his most reliable receivers. One of them being Goedert. He might get an occasional touchdown or two but I doubt he’ll find any success outside the red zone.

9: Zach Ertz of the Arizona Cardinals is at nine. Physically, nothing is really working for Ertz. He’s not fast, he’s not tall and he’s not big for a tight end. Unfortunately, he’s a player that’s going to catch the ball and then get past one guy by bulldozing him and then get brought down. Weirdly so, he’s not a tight end that’s going to get the ball primarily in the red zone, but I see Ertz getting the ball earlier in the drive, and just as a means to move the ball. Ertz is playing on a clogged offense, though, so I’m scared he’s not going to get a lot of targets.

10: Hunter Henry of the New England Patriots is at ten. Henry is a very good tight end for his value. Full disclosure, though: In my main 12-team league, Henry is my backup tight end. Henry has a young QB in Mac Jones, who will want to target the reliable receivers for guaranteed yardage. I don’t think you knew that Hunter Henry had nine touchdowns last year, tied for the league lead among tight ends. Henry is a big guy that also has some speed, a deadly combo as we saw earlier in the list. I don’t see another nine or so touchdown season from him, but he can still have a great one while flying under everyone’s radar.

11: Pat Freiermuth of the Pittsburgh Steelers is at eleven. Freiermuth was a rookie last season and he had moments where he shocked everyone and provided some quality offense for the Steelers. He might take that step forward this year or he might stay put or take a step back. Obviously, he’s a second-year player, so he can’t regress in his performance, but I meant he could take a step back in the Steelers offense. This guy’s a pretty big gamble, but it could pay off. Like I’ve been saying, if you’re taking Patrick John Freiermuth as your starting tight end, you should probably have an elite rest of your team, or else you’re doing something wrong.

12: Cole Kmet of the Chicago Bears is at 12. We are REALLY scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Kmet is a third-year player that had some good moments last year but Justin Fields was pretty bad last year. I believe that if Fields takes a step in his development this year, so will Kmet. This also goes for the rest of the Chicago Bears receivers. Kmet has the potential to be a really solid tight end at some point in his career, but definitely not this year (this also depends on if the Bears will develop him properly). I think Kmet will be used all over the field this year, and after the Bears lost Allen Robinson to the Rams this offseason, Kmet will be a pretty big red zone threat.

Here is my fantasy football team. I’m in a 12-team league with full PPR.

QB: Lamar Jackson

RB1: Austin Ekeler

RB2: Breece Hall

WR1: Deebo Samuel

WR2: Gabe Davis

TE: Mark Andrews

FLEX: Elijah Mitchell

FLEX: Dameon Pierce

Kicker: Matt Gay

Defense: Dallas Cowboys

 

Bench

Ryan Tannehill, QB

Raheem Mostert, RB

James Cook, RB

Garrett Wilson, WR

Joshua Palmer, WR

Hunter Henry, TE

Deshaun Watson, QB

 

Definitely not the best team in the league, although the upside for this team is huge. I’ll be attempting to make trades over the course of the season to fill the obvious holes in the team such as both FLEX positions or WR2.

More Fantasy Football Rankings for 2022-23 Season—Wide Receivers

I’m back with my fantasy football rankings for the 2022-23 season and I’m continuing with the best wide receivers.

1: I was looking at two wide receivers for a period of time before selecting who would be the best on my list. Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams looked better in my mind and he should be the first receiver off the board in your fantasy drafts. Kupp combines size with speed, which is exactly what you need to be a superstar in the NFL. Kupp posted one of the best seasons as a receiver in recent memory last year after a great QB in Matt Stafford arrived in Los Angeles. This just shows what happens when an elite receiver teams up with a great QB. I don’t see him posting the same season this year as he did last year but he’ll still be the best receiver.

2: The second-best receiver for fantasy by the slimmest of margins is Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. Maybe he doesn’t have the size that Kupp has but he has more speed and just more playmaking as a receiver. He might be one of the most valuable deep threats to have in the NFL, which is great for your fantasy team. Although he doesn’t even have an above-average QB in Kirk Cousins, Jefferson showed his superstar potential last season as a rookie. Give him a good QB and he is easily the best receiver in the NFL. But for this season, expect an even better year than last even with other offensive weapons on the Vikings.

3: Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals is next. Like Jefferson, Chase showed his superstar potential last year. Unfortunately, Jefferson is the better player even though Chase has the far superior QB. Chase showed what he can do late in the season and in the playoffs last year. Here’s an interesting stat: Chase was 20^th in receptions last year but fourth in receiving yards. This just shows how explosive Chase is after he catches the ball. The Bengals have a stacked WR core but that doesn’t scare me as I expect Chase to have another dominant season.

4: Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders is at 4. Adams was easily a top 3 receiver in fantasy and the best receiver in football when he was on the Packers with back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers as his QB. I’m taking a risk by putting Adams at 4 here because the Raiders have more of a clogged offense and Adams has a worse QB in Derek Carr this year. Even though they have a fairly clogged offense, Adams is still the best one there. I still believe Adams will work his magic, wherever he is, Carr just has to find him.

5: Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills is at five. Diggs is the slightly worse version of Adams. A fairly big body with elite route running skills and speed. Even though Diggs has the best QB in the NFL in Josh Allen, Adams is still better. Diggs will post a reliable 10-15 points per week with the potential to drop 30+ at least twice per year. He’s the best option on the Bills, so he’ll be getting the majority of the offensive touches. Diggs is a great option for you to get on your fantasy team, and he’s going way later than he should in drafts this year.

6: Ceedee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys is at six. Lamb has the potential to finish as a top-three receiver for fantasy this year, but I’m putting him at six just because he may also not even finish in the top 10. Nobody can figure out the Cowboys’ offense and who their main receiver will be. On paper, it’s Lamb, but what will their game plan be from week to week? Nobody knows. Lamb is a very fun player to watch, but he may not produce at the level people want. The Cowboys have an elite offense so they may decide to spread the ball around. If Lamb falls to you, take him, but don’t reach for him.

7: Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers. Something about Deebo makes me weary of him. He doubles as a running back for the ‘Niners so that’s an instant positive for Samuel but I just don’t think he’s going to deliver as much as he did last year. He surprised everyone last year with the number of touchdowns he scored, both receiving and rushing. The ‘Niners' offense just seems very clogged this season and I don’t like it. The defenses may hone in on Samuel and hamper his performance. By the way, in my main league, Samuel is my WR1, so I don’t hate him.

8: Show Tyreek Hill being the 8^th best fantasy wide receiver to someone in 2019 and they’ll call you crazy. But they’re totally right. Tyreek Hill was traded from the high-powered Chiefs to the “meh” Dolphins. The Dolphins have a better WR core than the Chiefs did and they also have a much worse QB. But it’s still blazing fast and explosive Tyreek Hill. He’ll be a very solid option for you to have and who knows, maybe Tua Tagovailoa has developed over the offseason and will be prepared to hit Hill for a massive completion.

9: Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is at nine. Evans is the best receiver in Tampa and probably Tom Brady’s favorite target this year. Chris Godwin is coming off an ACL injury so the only reliable receiver the Bucs have is Evans. Luckily for the Bucs and you, Evans is a big body that can go up in the red zone and come down with a lot of touchdowns. He will also get a pretty good amount of receptions and receiving yards. The Bucs didn’t supply Brady with a good running back, so Evans will be getting a lot of touches.

10: Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers is at ten. Allen is a big-bodied receiver on the elite Chargers’ offense. Although he’s on a clogged offense, and the main competitor is the WR2, Mike Williams, who’s even bigger, I still think Allen is going to be targeted a lot. The young QB, Justin Herbert will want to get the ball to the reliable guy in Williams and not Keenan Allen in the red zone but that’s why Allen is at nine and not top five; he’s not going to get a ton of touchdowns, but rather a lot of receptions and yards.

11: DJ Moore of the Carolina Panthers is at 11. While everyone was sleeping on DJ Moore last season, I wasn’t. DJ Moore was always an elite wide receiver buried under a below-average QB. He’s a real talent whose development was being hampered by not having one solid (at least average) QB. Moore is on the taller side and he can go up and get the ball, and he has pretty good speed, but he’s an elite route runner and a great playmaker. He had a lot of receptions and yards last season but not too many touchdowns. Moore would be a top 7 receiver if he had that great QB, but with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold as his two options, I don’t see him having a top 7 season.

12: Michael Pittman Jr. of the Indianapolis Colts is at 12. I’ve seen mixed reviews on Pittman this offseason, but I only see one way his season will play out. He is going to play out of his mind this season. Pittman is the only playable receiver on the Colts this season. Every other receiver would be on the reserves of any average team. Someone has to catch the ball in Indianapolis, and that someone is going to be Pittman. Sure, they have the best running back in football in Jonathan Taylor, but they can’t run the ball every play. I’m pretty sure the defense is going to figure them out. Matt Ryan, the veteran quarterback the Colts added this season has played with a Pittman-type receiver before in Julio Jones. And as Ryan’s career is waning, he’s going to want to throw to the big, reliable receiver in the endzone and just to move the ball down the field. Pittman is a great addition to your team and I think he’s going to have a great season. 

Back with Running Backs in Fantasy Football

I’m back with my fantasy football running back rankings. Here are the top 12 running backs you need for fantasy football this season.

1: The undisputed best running back in the league this season is Jonathan Taylor. He combines explosiveness with brute force which easily makes him the number one overall draft pick in most fantasy leagues. The crazy part about Taylor is that he has no injury concerns and in the last weeks of the football season last year, he was playing quite literally out of his mind. He won the league for the lucky managers that started him in those final weeks. Taylor looks like the focal part of his offense and this easily makes him the best running back.

2: Christian McCaffrey is the second-best running back for fantasy. Although he has the most upside in the league, because of his versatility as a pass catcher and a running back, I don’t think he’s better than JT. McCaffrey also looks like the leading player in his offense and should be getting a crazy volume of touches. Let me tell you, though, that I am not drafting McCaffrey no matter what. His injuries over the past few years have told me that it’s bound to happen again this year. I’m putting him at 2 because of his upside.

3: I really like Austin Ekeler as a fantasy option. Although he’s playing in a pretty clogged offense with a young star quarterback, I think he’s a player very similar to McCaffrey in his versatility. I love Ekeler’s upside, just like McCaffrey’s, but Ekeler’s injury concerns aren’t as prominent. Ekeler’s is just plain good and should be getting a lot of touches even in the packed Chargers’ offense. Furthermore, Ekeler is very eager to “carry your fantasy team,” as he’s tweeted in the past.

4: The King sits at number four. The only way to describe Derrick Henry is that he’s a beast. He mows through grown men like they’re little children. The speed at his size is also unbelievable, he’s the perfect combination. I would put him at three but he injured his foot last season in week 10 and I don’t see him regaining that dominant form again. I still see him being an imposing threat, just not 125+ yards per week dominant.

5: Najee Harris is at number five. It’s crazy to think that a second-year player is the fifth-best running back in fantasy football and some people doubt him this year just because there have been rumors he’s not getting as many touches as last year. Najee Harris will easily be the best player on a Steelers' offense that has not found their QB1 or a solid WR1 yet. Although the offensive line isn’t the best in Pittsburgh, look what he did last season with a mediocre offensive line. I see much of the same.

6: Dalvin Cook is at number six. It’s hard to put him any earlier just because of how clogged the Vikings’ offense is. Cook is also not going to be the goal-line running back most likely, that will go to Alexander Mattison. Although the Vikings don’t have a great QB, I still think their offense is going to be pass-oriented with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, so use caution when drafting Cook, but I still think he’s a solid option.

7: Saquon Barkley is at number 7. Everyone is putting him so low in their rankings and I am so confused as to why. Barkley is literally the best player on the Giants and even more so on the Giants' offense. I believe Barkley’s injury concerns are past him and he’ll be back better than ever. He’s an explosive running back and the only way he can go is up in his development. Barkley is going in the mid-late second round which is blasphemy, he’s such a steal.

8: Alvin Kamara would be such a steal if the hand of justice wasn’t looming above his head. His battery charge case was moved to September 29^th so he’s ready to go until that date but proceed with caution because he might be hit with a pretty hefty sentence and/or a suspension from the NFL. This is so unfortunate because Kamara is one of the most elusive running backs in the NFL and his fantasy value is through the roof. Keep this in mind when drafting Kamara.

9: Joe Mixon is a good running back, although I usually stay away from him. First, last year was the only year that he’s done significant damage, he may get injured and the Bengals seem like a very pass-heavy offense with a stacked wide receiver room. There are just so many other options, before and after him, but I think Mixon will be a pretty reliable running back this season. He may not get a large volume of touches, but he’ll get his touchdowns.

10: Aaron Jones is at number 10. I’m so happy he’s finally getting the biggest role he’ll have on the Packers probably in his whole career. Aaron Rodgers is not getting any younger so he’ll rely a little more on his running back. Davante Adams, the best receiver in football was traded to the Raiders over the offseason and now Rodgers is stuck with good ol’ Allen Lazard as his WR1. Jones doesn’t have the explosiveness or the brute force we see from other running backs, so even if he did get a lot of touches, he can’t do much with them. Furthermore, AJ Dillon, the backup running back, is massive, so he’ll be getting most of the goal line touches for the Packers (more touches on the goal line = more touchdowns = more points).

11: D’Andre Swift is at number 11. I’m not going to try to sugarcoat it. The Lions' offense will be comically bad this season. Jared Goff is terrible, the wide receivers are really bad. TJ Hockenson really needs to perk up and show what he’s made of for me to give him any credit. The only weapon in this offense will be Swift, the elusive running back. The offensive line improved over the offseason, but I just don’t like D’Andre Swift for some reason. He was a promising player in his rookie season, but I don’t think it’ll translate into better performance this season.

12: Javonte Williams is such an underrated player. Everyone keeps putting him way too low. Look at last season, even with the starting job being fought for, Williams still performed. He’s a massive guy that will easily get a lot of touchdowns this season. He’s not a pass-catching back, which will hamper his points scored but I just see a massive role for him in the Broncos' offense this season. The only thing stopping me from putting him earlier is two young, talented receivers on the team as well and a new QB in Russell Wilson. It’s also the reason I was considering not even putting him on this list.

Fantasy Football is almost Here

Fantasy football is right around the corner and a lot of people don’t know what they’re talking about. That’s why you need me. You need to win your league or at least not finish last so you don’t have to suffer through the crazy punishments being handed out to the last place finish.

So here are my rankings for the best 12 players at each position, starting with the quarterbacks.

1: This spot easily goes to Josh Allen. He’s a quarterback that can pass as a linebacker if forced to play there. I hope that sums up his physique for you. He’s 6’5” and 238 lbs. and was already seen stiff arming defensive linemen and actual linebackers that were attempting to tackle him. He has great rushing ability at his size has is the strongest arm in the NFL. In fantasy, QBs should be going in the fifth round at the earliest. I’ve seen Allen go in the early second.

2:  Next, and by an unexpectedly large gap is Patrick Mahomes. He lost his number one target in Tyreek Hill over the offseason and is left without an above-average wide receiver. He doesn’t have a useable running back either. The receiver that Mahomes will throw to the most is the tight end, Travis Kelce. Many people have dropped Mahomes in their rankings, but I disagree, Mahomes is just too good and creative to be an average fantasy QB.

3: By the smallest of margins from 2-3, Justin Herbert sits in third place. Herbert has QB1 (best QB at the end of the season, fantasy-wise) potential by the end of the season. He has a great receiving running back and two very reliable wide receivers. A strong point of this team is the offensive line, which will give the young Herbert more time to find his receivers. He doesn’t have the scrambling ability of the two QBs in front of him which obviously hinders his ranking.

4: Lamar Jackson is another QB that has QB1 potential if his elusiveness is on-point this season. If he is scrambling and working off of designed QB runs at a higher volume than last season, the defenses will be going crazy trying to figure out if it’s a run or a throw (which he can do very well). Jackson has explosive receivers and one of the best tight ends in the game, Mark Andrews. If Lamar can revert back to his MVP form, he will be the leading scorer on your team every week.

5: At this spot is someone who is being called Baby Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts. Hurts is the best QB at his value. Someone who’ll probably be picked around the 7^th or 8^th round, Hurts is a dual-threat QB with a very dangerous offense. I believe the Eagles are shying away from the run game this season after Miles Sanders posted a terrible season in 2022 so that just opens up more opportunities for Hurts to work his magic.

6: Next is Joe Burrow. He seems like the smaller and less creative version of Josh Allen unless it’s the playoffs when fantasy football already ended. Now, hear me out, if Burrow can get more creative and confident this season, he can even move up in my rankings, although, I’m going to hold out on moving him up too high on my list. Burrow has all the weapons he needs to be higher, like superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, a few more above-average wide receivers, and an improved offensive line. I think it’s crazy that some rankings have him at #8 or even lower.

7: Here I have Kyler Murray. I know, it hurts even me to put him this low after I won two leagues with him at the helm. Except, I predict that the downward trend he showed late in the season last year will carry over to this season. His number one receiver, DeAndre Hopkins is suspended for the first six games of the year and Hopkins had injury scares last year, which doesn’t bode well for the Cardinals’ offense. They acquired Marquise Brown, but he never made as big an impact on the Ravens as everyone expected, so why should the narrative differ? Murray is still a solid option, though.

8: Russell Wilson will be a very interesting QB for fantasy this year. He was traded from the Seahawks to the Broncos this year but I don’t believe that will make too much of a difference. People underestimate the Broncos' offense. The Seahawks had two good or great receivers, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and the Broncos have the same thing, two good or great receivers, Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. Sure, his offensive line isn’t that great and he still doesn’t have a good tight end. But it’s the veteran Russell Wilson, he’ll still be a very reliable fantasy option.

9: Dak Prescott is a very hit-or-miss QB, but I really like him. He’s leading one of the most dangerous offenses in football this season, with three dependable players to throw to and as usual, a great offensive line, Prescott is shaping up to be a pretty good fantasy QB. Prescott is 29 years old, there is not that much room for improvement, and I predict this is the last season we can rely on him to scramble for a few yards, but if his offensive is humming along, he’ll be a top fantasy scorer. But remember, he is very hit or miss, he can go off for 35+ and then come back the next week and drop 11, believe me, I know from experience.

10: At the ten spot we have Tom Brady, the GOAT of football. Last year he went crazy and tore up the football field and played amazingly, for the umpteenth season in a row. Although, that was with Rob Gronkowski and a fully healthy Chris Godwin. Godwin is still on the team, although he’s coming off of a torn ACL, and who knows how he’ll come back. Although Brady has a good offensive line, he’s going into his 45^th year of life and it’s really hard for me to believe that he will play well, yet again. Brady’s been a statue in the pocket his whole career, and his agility only rivaled by an oak tree, so there’s no potential running upside there. But he’s the GOAT, and Father Time hasn’t caught up to him, and who knows if he ever will, so Brady might feel cute and deliver the best season a QB has ever posted in the NFL.

11: Here’s a controversial one: Trey Lance of the Niners. He didn’t even start last season, but this season I put him higher than Matt Stafford, Derek Carr, and Aaron Rodgers. I believe in this kid. I love watching young players play out of their minds and prove everyone wrong. Trey Lance is a baby Jalen Hurts. Give Lance two years tops and he’ll be Hurts. Give him another two or so years and I think he’ll be up there with Lamar Jackson. He has a lot of weapons around him to throw to and will be protected well in the pocket. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes as the QB7 or higher. Drafting Lance gives you the luxury of stacking up your team so heavily that you can just scoop him up in the 11^th or 12^th round.

12: Matt Stafford is last on the list. Many people will tell you it’s Aaron Rodgers but don’t believe them. Aaron Rodgers is getting older and he just lost the best wide receiver in football, Davante Adams, and his replacement, Allen Lazard, isn’t a quarter of the player Adams is. But Matt Stafford on the other hand is younger and has better teammates. Cooper Kupp, who is one of, if not the best wide receiver in football, Allen Robinson, and Van Jefferson are the wide receivers. Along with this storybook WR room, they also have a very dependable tight-end Tyler Higbee and a great offensive line. Odds are, that if you waited this long for a quarterback, the rest of your team will be so stacked with talent that a solid QB is exactly what you need.

This year, there are a lot of talented QBs for fantasy. Here are my rankings of the top 12 fantasy QBs for the upcoming season to help you win your league.

The running back list coming up next. 

 Why have the Amazins been Amazing?

You can count on three things in life: death, taxes, and the Mets giving their fans multiple heart attacks before the season ends. The Mets have been on an insane hot streak as of late, right after being on a pretty bad losing streak.

So let’s break it down, why have the Mets been so good?

Let’s start with some misconceptions on the topic. Social media will tell you that the Mets are 20-5 with Daniel Vogelbach on the team. This isn’t basketball, though, one player can’t make that great of an impact, especially when he’s not at the superstar level. It’s a cool stat, though, but Big Dan didn’t inject the Mets with any special sauce.

The Mets offense has also been in a slumber, waking up occasionally to put up the rare 8+ spot in a game and then go back to the average 3-4 runs per game. You can group the Mets offense into one group, with their ups and downs but note that each player has ups and downs with freaky consistency. Starling Marte hit two homers last night against the Braves. When will be the next time we see one leave the yard off Marte’s bat? Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, or in three weeks. No in between. To show you I’m not exaggerating, our power hitter, Pete Alonso hasn’t hit a homer in his last 50 at-bats, but watch him go off for a three-home run game tomorrow. The catcher, James McCann’t, hasn’t barreled up a baseball since before I was born (unfortunately, this isn’t going to change). But hey, only like 5% of catchers are used for offense, we use ours for defense. James McCANNON has a registered firearm attached to his shoulder.

The two main reasons for the Mets' success that I can see are the insane squad depth they have and the unreal pitching they have.

Everyone, minus the catchers and the pitchers can hit somewhat. The Mets have no weaknesses. The Mets can afford to platoon players in the right position and rest the starters. That’s a premium not a lot of teams have. Like I said in my last blog, the Mets knew that squad depth wins a lot of baseball games for you, and they made good on that, by trading for a lot of backup hitters. This is even raised to a power when you look at the Mets’ top prospects and you see the first seven are position players. Two days ago, the first eight were position players until third baseman Brett Baty was called up. Boy did that guy make a difference. He hit a home run on the first swing he took as a big leaguer. And this is exactly my point, Baty was called up because Eduardo Escobar and Luis Guillorme, the starting and backup third basemen, were both just put on the IL.

The Mets’ pitching has been top five in the league since Jacob DeGrom made his debut. Whether it be Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard as the supporting cast, or Zach Wheeler and Syndergaard, or the oddballs like Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha, or this year where the supporting cast is the other four starters playing out of their minds, Jacob DeGrom has always been a staple. No, probably not just a staple, more like a nail, but not a regular nail, like a railroad nail, he’s that important. This year, the Mets have the two best pitchers in baseball when they’re at their best, Jacob DeGrom and Max Scherzer, and the three other starters, Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, and Taijuan Walker, the Mets would easily be the top 2 on any team in baseball other than the Dodgers.

Almost every night, you can get a solid 5 innings out of any of the starters, and usually, they’ll give you more. It’s demoralizing for any team to know that you aren’t going to touch any of the starters, especially DeGrom and Scherzer until you finally run them out of the game in the sixth or seventh inning, they have health concerns or it’s the ninth inning and the bulldog in the ‘pen wants to be unchained.

Let’s move on to the bullpen, specifically the closer because there isn’t much to talk about with the rest of the bullpen. As with every bullpen nowadays, the closer is the shining star of every bullpen, without fail, no team has that lockdown set-up, man or 6-7th inning guy.  

The Mets have been blessed with really good closers for a while now. First, it was Jeurys Familia, who would be the most imposing closer in baseball for quite a while, and then there was a limbo period in which no one was really “that guy” for the Mets. Then came Edwin Diaz. He started out rough, but he’s the best closer in baseball now. Period, end of the discussion, no debate. Not only does he have the scariest walk-up song – as a pitcher – that’s going viral everywhere, he will cut you open with only two pitches: his triple-digit fastball or his slider that cuts and drops at 90 MPH and is purely unhittable. 

2022 MLB Trades

Here’s my recap of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline.

Is it just me, being a teenager, or have I not witnessed a baseball trade deadline where so few moves happened?

There was a very small amount of blockbusters and there were not too many small deals.

Starting with the Padres, the undeniable, irrefutable, and indisputable winners of the deadline; they picked up tons of talent over the week leading up to August 2nd.

They picked up Juan Soto, who may very well be the best player in baseball in just a few years. Sure, they’ll have to pay him a lot of money and roll that into their payroll that’s already paying Fernando Tatis Jr. for half a century. But Soto is just that good. He’s not too bad of a fielder, even though that’s his worst quality. What makes him the big bucks, though, is his plate discipline. Soto will take a pitch a half inch out of the zone and not just once a game, but probably once or twice an at-bat. This pitch selection helps him hit the number of extra-base hits he does.

They also traded for Josh Hader, who’s easily a top 3 closer in baseball right now. Along with Josh Bell and Brandon Drury, both of whom will be reliable bats off the bench or in the DH position. One of the most underrated moves the Padres made, however, was shedding a player, not gaining one. Eric Hosmer, whose golden days died out when he was on the World Series-winning Royals, was just clogging up salary on their payroll and San Diego traded him to Boston. Great move.

I mean, yeah, they had to get rid of a small village to get all these players but I think it’s worth it. The Padres are already talented and just got even more upgrades. A++ for the Padres.

Next, we have is the Yankees. How much better can these boys get? Well not too much. They got rid of Joey Gallo and got Andrew Benintendi, a very reliable bat to perfectly fill in for Gallo. They did pretty much everything they wanted to except win a World Series in August. They also acquired back end-of-the-rotation starter Frankie Montas and got yet another outfielder in Harrison Bader. A- for the Yankees.

You haven’t heard the Phillies in headline news, have you? I heard they got Noah Syndergaard and I merely nodded my head at that move, considering how much more Syndergaard has in the tank. They acquired a center fielder in Brandon Marsh (I bet you’ve never heard of him. Check his stats, though) and more bullpen help. Here’s a tip, if you ever find yourself as an MLB general manager and don’t know what to do at the deadline, just get bullpen help. It’s that perfectly average move, no one will praise you yet no one will criticize you either. A- for the Phillies.

It’s unfortunate the Mets couldn’t do anything big. Steve Cohen, a very aggressive owner took over the Mets a couple of years ago and the Mets GM, Billy Eppler, is also a fairly new addition. They were very aggressive in the offseason, but during the regular season, they didn’t trade for anyone great. The Mets got Daniel Vogelbach, Darin Ruf, Tyler Naquin, and Mychal Givens, none of whom are going to have a prominent role in the club, but rather be platooned with other guys and getting a start once every four days. The Mets even had the prospects and the MLB talent to do it. They should’ve easily traded for someone above average to bolster the team. B- for the Mets.

Another blown opportunity comes from Los Angeles. The Dodgers could’ve made a super team. I’m not hoping for that, because that will take over the league, but they could’ve. They still have an insane farm system. They obviously don’t need it, so they could’ve thrown it all to a team with a star. Like the Nationals before Soto was dealt. Some might even say the Dodgers got worse by getting Joey Gallo because we know how Joey Gallo hits and where are the Dodgers going to put him. Terrible deadline from them, all they got was a little depth. C for the Dodgers.

The biggest loser of the deadline, though, is probably the Baltimore Orioles. For the Orioles, being on the losing side of something is not an uncommon occurrence; they actually encounter it quite frequently. They entered the deadline just 2.5 games back of the second Wild Card spot, and they got worse. Finally, after years of waiting, the Orioles could smell a playoff spot, and they haven’t blown it yet, but they are on a good path to doing so. Why would they trade away their best players? It’s definitely not to rebuild, we’ve heard that one before, and they’ve been in “rebuild mode” for five years. Unfortunately, it’s not that they could not have gone “all-in.” They have one of the best farm systems in the league, so it would be right for them to get all the players needed to reach that Wild Card spot. They were so close, but they were about to be so far. D- for the Orioles.

There weren’t a whole lot of moves this deadline, but the moves that were made carried a lot of weight with them.

The Boys of Summer

It’s July, and my last blog was about basketball. Sorry about that, guys, I know July and August are dedicated to baseball. So here’s some baseball.

Let’s talk about Juan Soto.

If you don’t know, Juan Soto just declined to sign a 15-year, $440 million with the Washington Nationals. Who could blame him? It’s the Nationals. The Nationals are, by average age, the oldest team in baseball. Unfortunately for the District of Columbia, the Nationals are also one of the worst teams in baseball.

Well, the Juan Soto sweepstakes can begin. It’s clear Washington wants to get younger, and what better way to do that than to trade a generational talent for teenagers that are good at baseball. Every team’s fan base is begging management for this superstar. The big guns, such as the Yankees, Dodgers, and Mets look like the front runners.

The Dodgers can throw their farm system at the Nationals (which, somehow is really good) and not give up a single player in the majors. The one must for the Dodgers to give up is Bobby Miller and Andy Pages. Sorry for going on a little tangent here but I have to. The Dodgers have a really good farm system, but most of their prospects are 22 years old or older, which is not suitable for any farm system. The reason for this is that the MLB team is so good that the prospects are being blocked from going up in every position. This is perfect for the Dodgers because they can trade their good prospects for even more good MLB players and build a super team. It might be wishful thinking but it could definitely happen. The Yankees would need to give up quite a lot, this would mean Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez, easily, plus more.

My only concern as a Mets fan is giving up Francisco Alvarez. He’s the best prospect in baseball (officially, he’s #2, but Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers is about to graduate), and it looks all but certain the Nationals would want Alvarez in a deal for Soto. So, that’s where I draw the line if I was the GM. Take the farm, but don’t take Alvarez. Some other teams in the mix are the Padres and the Cardinals. For these two teams, getting Soto and giving up the farm shifts their perspective from “on the come-up” to “win immediately or we failed.”

Some teams that I haven’t seen are the bad ones. Like Baltimore, Arizona, Pittsburgh or Cleveland. These teams have the best farm systems because they’re the worst teams. So, to start going on the uphill slope, they should use their massive farm system and trade for Juan Soto. Shell out your best prospect and whatever else the Nationals ask for. A few stipulations for Baltimore and Pittsburgh: similar to the Mets and Alvarez, Baltimore and Pittsburgh shouldn’t trade Adley Rutschman or Oneil Cruz respectively.

Lastly, if the Tampa Bay Rays go out and acquire Juan Soto, the AL East would simply be unfair. The Tampa Bay Rays have an insane farm system, and they don’t have a right fielder. They could give up a lot of prospects for him, and now make the AL East even scarier.

I’m going to end this blog with a story. All-Star and Home Run Derby participant Juan Soto declined the massive proposed contract a few days before he needs to fly to Los Angeles for the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. The Nationals forgot (or didn’t want to) charter a plane for Juan Soto, so he had to fly commercial and got to Los Angeles at 1:30 AM, five hours earlier than the Atlanta Braves players, as paraphrased from Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein.

Guess the Nationals took the rejection to heart. What did Soto do? Throw a chair before he left the room.

“How dare you not offer me $1 billion for 28 years, I’m Juan Soto!”

Nonetheless, a really, really classy move from a professional sports team in the United States. 

Watching the Offseason Jockeying in Basketball

In this blog, I’m writing about basketball – the sport that they aren’t playing right now but it might be the most exciting one in the country. In my opinion, each offseason in every sport is an enjoyable time. I like seeing how rosters get shaken up and where the star players will end up. But as I get older, I also like seeing where the role players end up, because they might not be role players by the end of the season, like Jordan Poole showed us in the playoffs or how Draymond Green has been showing us his whole career.

There have already been a few trade bangers, such as the Timberwolves trading for Rudy Gobert. Now they have to pay a supermax to two big men. They also have to keep some money for Anthony Edwards and, you know, the other players on their roster. I believe 100% that the Jazz won this deal. Yeah, they traded away their DPOY center but look at the return they got: 5 players and 5 draft picks. Now, if they trade away Donovan Mitchell as well, they could have an even better future, but I’ll get to that later. The Hawks traded for Dejounte Murray and after that, some people were saying that the Hawks have no future. Saying that John Collins isn’t going to grow anymore and trading away all of the draft picks was a very futile move isn’t true at all. Even though the Hawks may not have such great draft capital now, they have Trae Young and Dejounte Murray in the backcourt. People underestimate how good this duo could become.

Now to the potential trades…

Donovan Mitchell loves New York. His dad is an executive for the Mets, and he loves them. He’s even hinted at going to New York in the past. Now, the opportunity presents itself. The Knicks are making a massive push to get Donovan Mitchell and they look like the clear front runners. The Jazz want draft picks, and that’s what the Knicks have. The Knicks want to keep RJ Barrett, and they insist on keeping him. From the proposed trades I have seen, it doesn’t look like the Jazz are adamant about getting RJ. If the Knicks could get Donovan Mitchell, then they would turn into an immediate threat in the East, although they won’t have much of a front court, they’ll have more than enough with Jalen Brunson, Mitchell and Barrett to at the least make a play-in spot.

I doubt a really big move like Kyrie Irving to the Lakers is going to happen. That’s just speculation. Even if the Nets were entertaining offers for Irving, what would the Lakers have to offer? Staying with the Nets, it’s obvious Kevin Durant will be traded to a big city, if he gets traded at all. Whether it be Philly, Miami, or somewhere in California, it doesn’t matter too much. Durant has a pretty big say in where he goes, I believe. Do you know who’s got a lot of tradeable assets? The Jazz. But Durant probably doesn’t want to play in Utah to end his career.

The Trailblazers need to shift their focus into win-now mode. No one knows how long Lillard is going to be playable as a superstar, so they need to try to win as many games as soon as possible. Another option for Kevin Durant that I didn’t list was Portland. He can team up with Damian Lillard, who Portland still expects to be really good. If he is good, this is his last year. The Blazers would need to sign Bradley Beal and use all of their young players to trade for KD. Then they would have Lillard and Bradley Beal in the backcourt and Kevin Durant as the PF. Then Jusuf Nurkic would be the center and they could acquire any above-average forward to be the last of the starting lineup.

According to this link, the first eight and nine out of the first ten free agents have re-signed (I don’t know about the situation regarding Miles Bridges and where he stands as a free agent, but I’ll assume the Charlotte Hornets would not care what happened or happens in Bridges’ personal life and would want to resign a player like him, but then again, the Hornets' PR Team might have something against that). The free agent class of 2022 is not exceptional, apart from the top, Bradley Beal and Jalen Brunson. Unfortunately, it was mostly filled with role players or aging players.

This is a great time to be a basketball fan, and even if someone is just starting out in basketball, the league is being owned by exciting young players, and more are coming in each year. 

Happy spectating, sports fans.