Part 1.02: Any Way the Wind Blows
By: All Outta Bubble Gum (@aobgsports)
This was an eventful couple of weeks for our two orphan teams. I’m hoping that you had as much fun with your teams as I did with mine.
In my case, given the preferences of the individual Dynasty Owners in each league, the teams took two very different directions. That’s part of the fun of picking up orphan teams, and why I encourage you all to snatch those teams up for just $10 in the Dynasty Owner Orphan Store. Not just because you can do your rebuild and show me how much better you are at this than I am, but because it’s just plain fun and a tiny price to pay for seasons worth of fun and bragging rights (and maybe even real money).
Today, we’re going to talk about a couple different things. First, the flexibility needed to rebuild a team and one possible way to construct your value system for maximum flexibility. Second, we’ll go into where my first orphan stands now. This is the fun part about taking on an orphan. That initial big bang of moves that gets you to the skeleton of the team you’re going to run with.
And trust me, for both teams it was a very big bang. Especially for the one that we’re covering in this article. We’ll move to Team 2 with the next article.
You wrote too much, didn’t you?
No! Of course not! Covering only one team is a strategic move! It’s meant to… uh…
You wrote too much.
Fine. I split it into two parts because I wrote too much.
But if you leave this article with nothing else sticking in your head, I’d like for you to leave with this. The key to rebuilding orphan teams is to be easy come, easy go. Little high, little low.
Any way the wind blows…
Really?
It doesn’t really matter…
How dare you get that song in my head!
I think you get the point. So, as I was sayi-
Aren’t you going to finish the line? Any way the wind blows, doesn’t really matter…
I don’t think I need to.
No! You can’t just leave that last line hanging! It’s just two words! Doesn’t really matter…
I think I will leave it hanging. Just to annoy you, oh invisible guy typing in the middle of this article.
That’s evil! You can’t!
Well, I’m going to do it anyw-
TO ME! TO ME!
Feel better now?
Sure. Whew. Okay, go on.
Back to my point. You have to be flexible. There may be a plan that you’ve dedicated some time to, but when opportunity knocks, it’s important to leave your plans behind and face the truth.
That’s where flexible player valuation comes in.
Before I get started, I have to say that this is not a case of me telling you that this is the only way, or the best way, or the optimal way to build a roster.
It’s important that you see the methodology here. Nothing is done in a vacuum, so when trades and pickups happen, you’ll be able to see my thought process a little better. This is how I do it, and I’m hoping that some of you will see the value in this and either steal this method entirely, or take some of the suggestions and think about how you’re rebuilding those orphan teams that I know you’re going to run out to get. Just to test your new strategies out.
Or they can ignore it.
Well, yes. And if you think this is stupid, if you think I’m wrong, then I’ll have a way to get a hold of me near the end of this article and you can tell me so.
I’m sure they will. If people got past the Bohemian Rhapsody stuff, they’re really desperate for content and/or human interaction.
I’m going to carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters now.
So, whether it’s the NFL Draft or fantasy football drafts, there is a concept for player valuation based on tiers, rather than hard rankings. There are a couple advantages to using a tier-based system:
- How often are pre-season ranking projections correct when it comes to picking who is going to be valuable in any given season? In the aggregate, Average Draft Position (ADP) has been found to not be predictive of end-of-season success. No qualifiers in that statement. No “except when”. Period. End of discussion. It is not predictive. A great study by Fantasy Labs actually shows that ADP rankings have become even less predictive over the last few years. (see the study here). So much of our idea of “value” comes from the herd mentality and common ADP. But the truth is that no hard ranking system is going to be able to tell you who the #1 person will be versus #2, #3, or even #10.
- Hard ranking systems lend themselves to less flexibility in free agency and trades, and they do not take into account the team’s needs. I have a team with three absolute top WRs, yet I consistently got a variety of trade offers from another Dynasty Owner with the main pieces being they give me Mike Evans ($16,500,000) in exchange for J.K. Dobbins ($1,432,359). This is an extreme example, but if I had Evans rated higher than Dobbins in a hard ranking system, and if I were to be wedded to my hard ranking system, I might figure out a way to make that work. However, in my case I have Evans and Dobbins on the same tier. And when I look at players at those positions at those tiers on my team, I quickly see that trade would leave me with a deficit at RB.
You have Evans and Dobbins on the same level? Are you feeling alright?
Let’s not focus on specific player values right now. In fact, that kind of judgment is exactly my point. I guarantee that there are people reading this right now who are saying the opposite. They can’t believe I’d have Dobbins lower than Evans.
It makes no sense to have a hard ranking system when rankings are so subjective. Rather, especially as you rebuild an orphan team, it’s important to make sure that you’re building a system that can provide you with the most opportunities to find trades that help your rebuild. If you’re holding hard and fast to a specific valuation, it’s much harder to make those trades.
So, no values. Everything’s equal. That sounds like some hippie stuff.
That take sends shivers down my spine.
You really do commit to the bit.
Body’s aching all the time.
Okay now, get on with it.
Right. Back to the point. What exactly am I talking about here? What is the core of my strategy? You actually got introduced to it a little bit last week, and now we’re going to expand on it. I’m talking about formulating a Dynasty Owner roster to fit this grid:
| Position | Player | Annual Salary | Years Left on Contract |
| K1 | |||
| K2 | |||
| K3 | |||
| QB1 | |||
| QB2 | |||
| QB3 | |||
| QB3 | |||
| RB1 | |||
| RB1 | |||
| RBFLEX | |||
| RB2 | |||
| RB2 | |||
| RB3 | |||
| RB3 | |||
| RB3 | |||
| TE1 | |||
| TE2 | |||
| TE3 | |||
| TE3 | |||
| WR1 | |||
| WR1 | |||
| WRFLEX | |||
| WR2 | |||
| WR2 | |||
| WR3 | |||
| WR3 | |||
| WR3 | |||
| EXTRA | |||
| EXTRA | |||
| EXTRA |
Let’s go over what all of that means.
Player Levels
Level 1 Players (K1, QB1, RB1, WR1, TE1): These players are guaranteed contributors at the level of a championship-level starting player at that position. Or they are potentially that level of player and are on an affordable contract for beyond this season, so that they could reach that potential within the duration of that contract.
The subjectivity begins in a couple of ways here. First, “championship-level”. I’m going to pick on Jerry Jeudy ($3,798,244). He is currently projected as #24 at the WR position on the Dynasty Owner platform. Given a 12-team league, with two starting WR per team, #24 would be a starting WR, so you would think he would be a Level 1 guy. But here are Jerry Jeudy’s career stats to this point:
| Year | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs | Ranking | Dynasty Owner Fantasy Points |
| 2020 | 52 | 856 | 3 | WR46 | 155.6 |
| 2021 | 38 | 467 | 0 | WR90 | 84.0 |
| 2022 | 62 | 818 | 6 | WR27 | 179.9 |
Given the state of the Broncos’ quarterback room, and the fact that they just drafted Marvin Mims ($1,517,159), those numbers don’t add up to someone who’s going to be a championship level starting WR. Maybe you can make a case for a FLEX position if you believe in Jeudy’s upside, but I don’t see him as a Level 1 player.
The subjectivity of this approach is apparent. There may be someone who has Jeudy as a breakout candidate, others who view him as barely rosterable. It’s really up to you. Some people may have only 5 QBs, 10 RBs, 15 WRs, 3 TEs, and 5 Ks who fit this category for them. Some may double that. It’s all in your estimation of what is a championship-level player, given your beliefs and the context of your league.
Level 2 Players (K2, QB2, RB2, WR2, TE2): These players are people who can adequately fill the starting role on bye weeks without tanking your stat lines, and who are either consistently good contributors, or who have upside but need to show it before you move them up to Level 1.
A good example here is Zay Flowers ($3,509,109). He’s fast, and he’s made a lot of plays in college. However, he got drafted to the Ravens, and they don’t have a remarkable record with productive WRs. He also is small, and it’s not certain whether that size will hamper him in the NFL. He has all the potential in the world, and he may pop, so he’d be a good person to have on your Bench. You can collect 25% of his fantasy points on the Bench due to Dynasty Owner’s scoring rules. Have I mentioned before how awesome that rule is, by the way? It encourages more engagement than a best ball league, but it allows you to profit at least a bit when a player has an unexpected, good day. And it makes people put players on their team who can get points if they want to win, rather than hanging onto a bunch of flyers on the Bench.
Quarterbacks are a little different here. Because QB is so thin, I tend to grade out any quarterback with a guaranteed, or near guaranteed, starting role as a QB2 at minimum. Same with kickers. Again, that’s my subjective choice and your opinion may differ.
Level 3 Players (K3, QB3, RB3, WR3, TE3):These players are likely not going to contribute many points on a week-by-week basis. These are your handcuffs, your QBs in precarious situations, your rookie kickers who may or may not win a job. The idea here would be to get players who may not have a role now, but if they get a role, they’ll go up to Level 2 or even Level 1. The key here is to bank on upside. If you have players at Level 3 who have a high salary, or who you can’t project to possibly be a real contributor, those players are expendable and should be moved in favor of higher-upside players. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A Level 3 to you may be a contributor to someone else. Trading is your friend.
Also, QBs have a different rule here. I recommend keeping anyone who can get into games at QB on your roster. Even if they have minimal upside. If you have roster space and need to have a QB, Colt McCoy ($3,750,000) would fit in this category. Do I think he’s going to produce? No way. But if he gets some starts and if one of my top two QBs gets hurt, I might get a few points from him on my Bench at least. Every little bit helps.
There are a couple position classifications that warrant explanation:
RBFLEX/WRFLEX: In the grid, I have positions for both an RB and a WR as a FLEX player, even though we only start one in Dynasty Owner leagues. This is a way to ensure that there are enough players on a team who are either starter-level, or near-starter level, in order to contend. FLEX players would be someone like the aforementioned Jerry Jeudy, if you thought he was due to break out. Someone who you’re not certain will provide you championship-level outputs, but who you have a substantial belief in for that season.
EXTRA: There are three spots for “EXTRA” players. These can be left blank, or be filled with additional Level 3 players in the event that your team needs them due to a shortage of Level 1 or Level 2 players at a position. For example, if I only have one Level 1 RB and one Level 2 RB, I might choose to add three “EXTRA” RBs at Level 3, hoping that one of my many Level 3 RBs will end up contributing.
Two more notes:
- These values are fluid. As more information arises, players will move between levels. Before the NFL Draft, it should only be the very top performers who are listed on Level 1. The NFL Draft can change a lot, and players who look like guaranteed contributors may get competition that could knock them down a level.
- You should be projecting your roster a year from now, and maybe have an eye out on two years from now. Remember that football is a fickle game. With a few notable exceptions, it’s difficult to project two years into the future. I’m not saying to ignore long-term strategies. If you have a long term rebuild (and I definitely do with the team we’ll get to here in a moment), start by projecting one year into the future and getting longer-term deals when possible. However, if your long-term strategy relies on your roster projection a couple years out, you’re relying on very incomplete information.
Constantly re-evaluate players, then re-evaluate your roster. When you find gaps or when circumstances change, work the Free Agent Auction and throw out trades.
So that was a lot.
Too much?
Probably. If someone’s reading this right now they should get a prize.
I think that’s a great idea. If you’re reading this right now, go to www.dynastyowner.com and pick up an orphan team for only $10! What a prize!
You fit that in nicely.
Thanks.
Look, I’m not the end-all, be-all of fantasy football strategy. I don’t have all the answers. Everything you’ve just read is a suggestion, and I would love to hear how you do it differently. Near the end of this article, I’ll share my Twitter information where you can get in contact with me and tell me how you go about building your roster.
Or how wrong you are.
I’m sure there will be a bit of that too.
Before I get to the first team, there is something I want to put out there.
That people can buy an orphan team for the cost of a burrito bowl with avocado at Chipotle.
Sure. That’s important.
Can’t mention it too many times, right?
Right.
But here’s what I really want to discuss.
There is absolutely no way to write these articles without completely giving away my player ratings and strategies. I fully expect to have all of this used against me in the numerous Dynasty Owner leagues I’m in.
If someone uses it against you, maybe it shows that they actually read this stuff. Which would be a surprise.
That’s true.
In the end, it’s much more fun to engage everyone in real conversation than to hide behind fake values, or composite values.
You’re getting my thoughts and my strategies. For better or worse.
Probably for worse.
I really hope you take what I’m doing here and get excited about plugging your own strategies in and doing better than me.
Probably way better.
I love the encouragement.
With all that said, let’s get to Team #1.
TEAM UPDATE: PRE-ROOKIE DRAFT
You’re going to see a couple of different charts here, both based on the earlier chart. One shows the roster as I inherited side by side with the roster I have now. The second chart shows the key data points for managing the teams I started with side by side with where I am now.
I’m also going to go over pre-rookie draft strategies for the team as part of the analysis.
TEAM #1 – $1,200 PRIZE POOL LEAGUE
TEAM NICKNAME: NEXT YEAR’S BUBBLE GUM
I see a little silhouetto of a man… and he doesn’t know how to do nicknames. Help me with this, will you?
Yeah, that nickname is awful.
Just not in my skill set.
| Position | Player | Annual Salary | Years Left | Player | Annual Salary | Years Left |
| K1 | Justin Tucker | $6,000,000 | 5 | Justin Tucker | $6,000,000 | 5 |
| K2 | Jason Myers | $5,275,000 | 4 | Greg Zuerlein | $2,600,000 | 1 |
| K3 | Cairo Santos | $3,000,000 | 1 | Cairo Santos | $3,000,000 | 1 |
| QB1 | Trevor Lawrence | $9,198,372 | 2 | Jared Goff | $33,500,000 | 2 |
| QB2 | Mac Jones | $3,896,588 | 2 | |||
| QB3 | Sam Darnold | $4,500,000 | 1 | |||
| QB3 | Zach Wilson | $8,787,670 | 2 | |||
| RB1 | Derrick Henry | $12,500,000 | 1 | |||
| RB1 | ||||||
| RBFLEX | ||||||
| RB2 | ||||||
| RB2 | ||||||
| RB3 | Cordarrelle Patterson | $5,250,000 | 1 | Jerome Ford | $995,537 | 3 |
| RB3 | Michael Carter | $1,071,842 | 2 | Hassan Haskins | $1,088,055 | 3 |
| RB3 | Boston Scott | $2,000,000 | 1 | Isaiah Spiller | $1,099,238 | 3 |
| EXTRA | Justin Jackson | $1,035,000 | 0 | Leonard Fournette | $7,000,000 | 0 |
| EXTRA | Julius Chestnut | $750,000 | 1 | Ezekiel Elliott | $15,000,000 | 0 |
| EXTRA | Ty Chandler | $989,710 | 3 | |||
| EXTRA | Ty Johnson | $1,232,500 | 0 | |||
| EXTRA | Leonard Fournette | $7,000,000 | 0 | |||
| TE1 | ||||||
| TE2 | Chigoziem Okonkwo | $1,041,085 | 3 | Tyler Higbee | $7,250,000 | 1 |
| TE2 | Gerald Everett | $6,000,000 | 1 | |||
| TE3 | Mike Gesicki | $4,500,000 | 1 | |||
| WR1 | ||||||
| WR1 | ||||||
| WRFLEX | ||||||
| WR2 | Jerry Jeudy | $3,798,244 | 1 | Allen Lazard | $11,000,000 | 4 |
| WR2 | Drake London | $5,383,617 | 3 | Elijah Moore | $2,235,107 | 2 |
| WR3 | DeVante Parker | $7,625,000 | 1 | Marvin Jones | $3,000,000 | 1 |
| WR3 | Jauan Jennings | $940,000 | 1 | DeVante Parker | $7,625,000 | 1 |
| WR3 | Chase Claypool | $1,654,156 | 1 | Khalil Shakir | $1,001,787 | 3 |
| EXTRA | John Metchie | $2,017,543 | 3 | DJ Chark | $5,000,000 | 1 |
| EXTRA | Curtis Samuel | $11,500,000 | 1 | Kyle Philips | $993,331 | 3 |
| EXTRA | Josh Reynolds | $3,000,000 | 1 | |||
| EXTRA | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | $10,000,000 | 2 | |||
| EXTRA | David Bell | $1,273,726 | 3 | |||
TOTAL SALARIES | $127,323,465 | TOTAL SALARIES | $112,284,643 | |||
| Team #1 – 2023 Outlook Before | Team #1 – 2023 Outlook After | |
| 2023 Draft Picks | 2.04, 3.11 | 1.07, 1.11, 2.04, 2.09, 2.12, 3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 3.04, 3.07, 3.10, 3.11 |
| # of Players for 2023 | 28 | 18 |
| Amount Under Cap | $30,036,535 | $45,075,357 |
| Dynasty Dollars | 6.4 million | 12.0 million |
| Amnesty Provisions | 4 | 4 |
| Team #1 – 2024/2025 Outlook Before | Team #1 – 2024/2025 Outlook After | |
| 2024 Draft Picks | 1st (1), 2nd (0), 3rd (1) | 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (2) |
| Players Signed for 2024 | 11 | 10 |
| 2024 Salaries | $51,038,565 | $61,809,643 |
Summary: I had to leave it all behind and face the truth.
Oh no.
Mama! Ooooh ooooh ooooh!
Get a hold of yourself, man!
Um. Yes. Right. Carry on, carry on.
Commentary: This was a complete overhaul. We’ll go over some of the trades that led to this overhaul, but to go over them all would take forever. We’ll focus on the deals involving the big ticket folks. Trevor Lawrence, Derrick Henry, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Jerry Jeudy, and Drake London.
First, a big shoutout to the other Dynasty Owners in this league. They’re super active, very talkative, and willing to be open about what they’re looking for in trades. I’m an open book in trade talks, and I like it when others are as well. It helps get people to a win-win situation.
And I’m not “grading” these trades. If I think I did well, I’m not here to gloat about it. Mostly because I can’t count the amount of times I’ve thought I won a trade only to look back and wonder what the heck I was thinking.
I will tell you if I know that I blew it. And there’s one trade down here that, yeah, I think I blew it.
So, without further ado.
Further ado? Further adieu?
Further goodbye? In French? It’s further ado. Like, much ado about nothing.
That would be the perfect name for this article!
You set me up.
Or for your life!
Good one.
Let’s just take a look the trades on in the order that they occurred:
| THEY GET | I GET |
| Jerry Jeudy ($3,798,244) | Isaiah Spiller ($1,099,238) |
| Hassan Haskins ($1,088,055) | |
| 2023 Picks: 3.04, 3.10 | |
| 2025 Pick: Round 2 |
This was the first big splash. My goal here was to take a player on a one year deal in Jeudy and get something of value for him. In the last article, I wrote about how Jeudy was someone I was most likely lower on than the consensus. Much lower. This is a case of not dealing from my valuation, but from the consensus’ valuation and getting a good return. Spiller and Haskins are cheap flyers, that 2025 pick is nice to build on. Those 2023 picks are the real value. We’ll see if I’m right.
| THEY GET | I GET |
| Trevor Lawrence ($9,198,372) | Elijah Moore ($2,235,107) |
| Mike Gesicki ($4,500,000) | Romeo Doubs ($1,085,979) |
| Mack Hollins ($2,500,000) | 2023 Picks: 1.11, 3.01 |
| Chase Claypool ($1,654,156) | 2024 Pick: Round 1 |
The big prize went early. Trevor Lawrence and the two years remaining on his rookie contract at under $10,000,000.
You’ll see me deal people who most would consider keepers and unmovable. There are different reasons why I did that. In this case, I looked at the situation and I’m not going to contend for a title this year. So, one of those two years of Lawrence’s contract is going to be spent on a non-contending roster. Then going into next year, I’ll have that great bargain, but his trade value will plummet because his next deal is going to be $50,000,000+ per year. I would be trading him as a one-year rental rather than a two-year building block. The next trade will show you what a one-year rental, no matter how great, is really worth.
Lawrence got dealt for two WRs who I like very much, a low first round rookie draft pick (1.11), and the first pick of the third round in this year’s rookie draft (3.01), along with a first round rookie draft pick next year. The rest of the players I gave were just to balance the rosters out.
You can say I undersold by only getting a low first and another first along with two players who may pan out and a third rounder. I liked the haul, and I think the other Dynasty Owner team filled their biggest need and got some roster depth. Truly a win-win in my book, and that’s what I’m all about.
| THEY GET | I GET |
| Derrick Henry ($12,500,000) | Geno Smith ($25,000,000) |
| 2024 Pick: Round 3 | 2023 Picks: 3.03, 3.07 |
| 2025 Pick: Round 3 |
Derrick Henry just isn’t worth much on the open market.
I found that out the hard way.
First, after trading Lawrence I wanted to snag a starting QB with a couple of years under contract who wouldn’t break my bank. There really are only two who fit that bill (maybe three, we’ll get to him later).
Picking up Geno means that I’m not going to have a team that is just a total walkover. And it gives me a QB who had a good year last year and is very affordable.
I flat out couldn’t find a buyer for Henry. Given the context, I was happy to walk away with what I did. Though I do believe Henry should warrant more of a haul than this.
You may notice that Geno is not on my roster in the grid up above. We’ll get to that.
| THEY GET | I GET |
| Drake London ($5,383,617) | Mac Jones ($3,896,388) |
| Jerome Ford ($995,537) | |
| Kyle Philips ($993,331) |
Now this is the trade where I just didn’t do so well.
To trade away Drake London without getting a pick is idiocy.
This is a case where I traded based on my valuation, rather than based on the consensus valuation. I am very low on London. I don’t like his QB situation. I don’t like the run focus that the Falcons are going to have. And I don’t really think $5,000,000 a year is a huge bargain.
Ford and Philips are two dart throws. And while I’m very high on Mac Jones (now that he actually has a real offensive coordinator), and while his price is dirt cheap, this trade just screams out for a first round pick to be included. I targeted Mac, I got Mac, but in the process I lost sight of the consensus valuation and probably left a lot on the table.
| THEY GET | I GET |
| Romeo Doubs ($1,085,979) | Khalil Shakir ($1,001,787) |
| John Metchie ($2,017,543) | Tyler Higbee ($7,250,000) |
| Chigoziem Okonkwo ($1,041,085) | 2023 Picks: 2.09, 2.12 |
| 2024 Picks: Round 2, Round 3 |
Now this is one that may have people scratching their heads. The three players I dealt away are all seen as “keepers”, and affordable ones at that. Why would I trade them?
First, let’s get Tyler Higbee out of the way. You can see on the chart that I have him as a TE2. I don’t see him as a starter. However, I want to have a competitive team, and Higbee is at least going to contribute sometimes on a team that really doesn’t have a whole lot of options for pass catching besides Cooper Kupp ($26,700,000) and him.
That out of the way, I think the best player in this deal is Khalil Shakir.
I’m trying not to butt in on all this… but what in the heck are you talking about?
Look, disembodied typing person. I really have to find a nickname for you.
How about “Nick”?
Nah. Too obvious.
Player evaluation isn’t the point of this set of articles, but when I look at the Bills and their moves this off-season, I see Shakir being the clear #3 WR. And maybe #2, with Gabriel Davis ($998,595) not living up to his lofty expectations. Any Bills WR, with that offense, is going to be valuable. Combine all that with stories about Stefon Diggs ($24,000,000) being unhappy with the Bills and the opportunity for a boom for Shakir is there.
The three players I gave up all have their own barriers to success, but it’s also possible that they all really pan out.
That’s where 2.09 and 2.12 rookie draft picks come in. The TE depth in this draft is insane. I’m banking that I’ll find a TE at that point in the rookie draft who’ll have about the same value and upside as Chig, but with one year extra on his deal. Same for Metchie and finding a WR in that pick range. When you add the 2024 picks in, I like what I got here. And the other Dynasty Owner definitely got a high upside for themselves in this deal as well.
| THEY GET | I GET |
| Geno Smith ($25,000,000) | Jared Goff ($33,500,000) |
| 2024 Draft Pick: Round 1 (not mine) | DJ Chark ($5,000,000) |
| 2025 Draft Pick: Round 2 | 2023 Pick: 1.07 |
The final trade to go over. Remember that whole “cheap QB” spiel above? I went $8.5 million more and took Goff over Geno. I have them valued on the same tier, but the cost savings to the other team, plus the picks I gave, got me the 1.07 rookie draft pick. That pick is, in my estimation, the last pick where you’re guaranteed to find a first-round graded player in this rookie draft.
It cost me what will probably be a low first round rookie draft pick next year, and a 2025 second round rookie draft pick. This is a trade that could go either way, and the value of this trade is going to entirely depend on what I do with that 1.07 pick this year.
Which leads me to…
DRAFT STRATEGY
For this team, it’s all about the best player available. In my estimation, I have exactly one player who has a “1” grade on the entire team. And that’s Justin Tucker. However, there are quite a few young players who may pop.
With that said, there is no position, except kicker, where I’d say that I will be fussy about positions as I draft. Whoever is the best player at that moment is the player that I’m taking.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Lots of holes to fill. The draft is really going to determine the fate of this team. I like the draft capital I added, both this year and next. And though I only have 10 players under contract for next year, with 12 (TWELVE!) draft picks this year, I’ll be looking at entering next season with 22 players signed and probably a good $60,000,000-plus in cap room to deal for high-priced starters. With Elliott and Fournette on this roster as free agents who are most likely going to sign more affordable contracts, I have two more pieces to potentially deal and get more young players with.
While I made a couple of errors, I feel good about where this team is positioned. I have two QBs I believe in under contract for next season, and lots of draft capital. What more could I want?
You could want that Drake London trade back.
Sure. Yeah. Thanks for the reminder.
It’s kind of like the Browns trading their future for a guy who had been injured, had a year off of football, had all kinds of allegations…
You’re hitting kind of close to home.
… and then signing that guy to a record amount of guaranteed money, thereby blowing up the entire quarterback pay scale…
Sure.
… and paralyzing their salary cap for the foreseeable future…
I don’t think this is going to get approved.
… and dwindling the window of winning down to just one or at best two years, only IF that quarterback plays well coming off of a year off and a horrible end of the previous season, and at the same time as dominant teams crop up in Kansas City, Buffalo, and Cincinnati.
Are you done?
One more. And because of signing that controversial player, the Browns drove a whole segment of their fan base away. Including a middling 43 year old fantasy football player who’s desperately trying to fill the gaping hole left in his football fandom by writing columns about his attempts to build mediocre teams out of slightly less than mediocre beginnings. This guy is so upset that he refuses to even write the name of the player in an article, much less ever pick him up for any of his teams.
Man, this is all going to tick some people off.
And that writer? He just feels like a poor boy, nobody loves him.
Sigh.
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family.
Let’s move on.
BISMILLAH! NO! WE WILL NOT LET YOU GO!
I’m just going to shut this down awkwardly.
No! No more fun?
I think we’ve given folks enough to chew on here.
In my next article, we’ll dive into Team #2, the team that may actually contend this year.
And you’re going to keep up with the Queen tribute?
Of course, I will. I can’t let it go now! Mama, life had just begun!
Great…
Until next time!
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