Post by Pittsburgh Steelers (Malachi) on Sept 9, 2020 23:00:25 GMT -5
Lawrence Taylor Division Preview:
This division could end up being the deepest division in the league, despite New York looking like they will not be that good this season. Tampa and New Orleans would appear to be the front runners of the division, but Atlanta has the pieces to be up there with them too. There is a lot of RB talent in this division and a battle of old vs young at the QB position with Atlanta and New Orleans having Drew Brees and Big Ben then New York and Tampa Bay having Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, so watching that all play out will be interesting.
Atlanta Falcons (Joe):
In what might be the best division in the league, Joe has built a very strong Falcons team. The roster has a very solid mix of old and young talent, what will that talent be able to do in this rough division and conference? Being led by one of the all time great QBs in Drew Brees, until he retires, will be a good thing for Joe. The RB room for Joe is one to be jealous of, he has lead backs Jordan Howard and Todd Gurley to anchor the position, but then has Phillip Lindsay, Boston Scott, and Benny Snell who are all in good spots to get important touches for their team and should be useful when needed for the team. The rookie AJ Dillon who has a lot of people buzzing rounds out a deep RB room. Like the RB room, it appears the WR room is just as deep. John Brown now being the #2 for Buffalo could open his game up even more and Hollywood is a year further into his career and added some weight so that should help him play physical football better. Olabisi Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Robby Anderson all offer different things and will be solid depth when called upon. TE will be the question mark on the offensive side of the ball for this team, due to the fact that Austin Hooper is in a new situation in Cleveland and has other TEs to battle at the position. Jimmy Graham is also in a loaded Chicago situation and really won’t know what kind of option he will be until a few weeks into the season. The DL unit for Joe is an interesting one, Dante Fowler and Robert Quinn are gonna be big pieces there having DL and LB eligibility, then the other 2 guys Larry Ogunjobi and Derek Wolfe are no slouches at the position and will likely be the higher scoring duo of the 4 guys. The 3 guys that will play at LB for Joe are predominantly OLB guys and more likely to be pass rushers which in this format aren’t the best LBs but they all seem like they are in a spot to have solid seasons and do well enough for Joe. The standout at DB for the team is Jabrill Peppers who will rack up stats in the NYG secondary. Isaiah Oliver, Jaire Alexander, Carlton Davis, and Donte Jackson all project to be solid guys and should be used from time to time at the DP spot for the Falcons. Will the lack of a tackle machine at LB hurt this defense despite having solid units at DL and DB, we will find out.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
New Orleans Saints (Mike):
Mike gets my vote for the most interesting duo at QB with both the Steelers and Bengals QB on his roster. In a brutal division, Mike has built a roster that should matchup well with the other teams in the division and be in the playoff race. As mentioned, Mike currently has both Big Ben and Joe Burrow on the roster at the QB spot, likely giving him a potential top 10 QB for this year and the foreseeable future. Aaron Jones, Kareem Hunt, and Tevin Coleman will be the main 3 guys used at RB for Mike this season. Jones if he replicates last season will be a top RB, while Hunt and Coleman aren’t the lead backs for their teams they both will put up points as their teams plan to use them in a lot of situations. Ty Montgomery is on the roster, but only likely sees time if Kamara holds out or gets hurt or Latavius Murray gets hurt. When your WR core has Julio Jones you are set up nicely, pair that with Will Fuller V, a touchdown machine when healthy, and the consistent Emmanuel Sanders, Mike has a core that will put up plenty of points. Rookie Van Jefferson might see a decent role for the Rams, but that still is not set in stone with other WRs ahead of him and Reynolds fighting for time with him. Riley Ridley still has yet to prove he can do anything of note at the WR spot in the NFL. Evan Engram is a top TE option, so will serve Mike well, then Drew Sample could play his way into a role with the Bengals, if Uzomah struggles this year, but will likely only see time on Engram’s bye week. Calais Campbell will be the lead dog at DL for the Saints, while Everson Griffin and Akiem Hicks are solid options, Griffin currently sits as the backup at DE for the Cowboys, so how much of an impact he will be is yet to be known. The LB core has already taken a hit early this season as Von Miller will likely miss the season after getting hurt on the last play of a Broncos practice. Looking at the healthy options Danny Trevathan is the clear best option. Kwon Alexander unless Kwon Alexander can put together a full season which he has not done either of the last 2 seasons. Alex Anzalone and Jacob Phillips can provide help to the top 2 guys over the course of the season. Harrison Smith and Malcolm Jenkins are clearly solid options at DB and will carry the unit. Until the Eric’s, Reid and Berry sign with new teams Marcus Williams is the only other usable DB on the roster, thanks to Grant Delpit going down for the year. The defense certainly has its questions, but this roster should still be solid enough to play for the division.
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
New York Giants (Jeremy):
Jeremy is one of the few owners that is running a team that he did not draft and has very little say in the make up of. The previous owner did manage to grab some big names while building this roster, but outside of those few names the roster is lacking depth needed to make the team anything more than a team likely playing for the #1 pick next off-season. The young dynamic but turnover prone QB of Daniel Jones is who the LHL Giants will look to lead their team. Easily the best position for the team is RB thanks in part to having Kamara and Bell, but behind them is Ryquell Armstead and Dion Lewis who are both not likely to do much for fantasy. WR is a trouble spot for the team, I like Darius Slayton this year, but not as the WR1 for the team. Willie Snead as the WR2 for the team is also not good, then Antonio Gandy-Golden and Tre’Quan Smith are on the roster, but still need to prove themselves at the pro level. Keelan Doss is there too, but on the Vegas PS. Gerald Everatt is the TE of note for the Giants, but shares the position with Higbee in LA so his impact as a fantasy TE will be up and down likely. Jason Witten is there as well, but with Waller ahead of him in Vegas, I don’t see Witten being relevant this year. On defense, Chris Jones is a big name and will give the Giants a solid option at the position all season, it will be up to Marcus Davenport and Leonard Williams to provide help there to make it a good unit. Anthony Barr appears to be the only useful LB on the roster currently. Preston Smith, Craig Robertson, and Vic Beasley are not gonna provide the needed points to make this LB unit even an average one in the league. The clear best position on defense for the team is DB with the unit having Jamal Adams, Tyrann Mathieu, and Marshon Lattimore as the options. All 3 have proven to be very solid scoring options at the DB position. With both sides of the ball lacking in a number of spots it is hard to imagine the Giants winning many games this season.
Predicted Division Finish: 4th
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Eric):
Eric joined the league mid-vet draft and only made a few picks there, but also was able to make the #1 pick in the rookie draft and used that on CEH. So unlike some new owners, he has had a hand in shaping this roster. Both he and Cameron combined to build a title contending team in Tampa. How far this team goes might rely on how Drew Lock does, if he breaks out like some people think he will, this team will be deadly. The RB room went from decent to great after drafting CEH #1 overall, then has only gotten better as the season has gotten closer, with CEH’s competition Damien Williams opting out and Chris Thompson apparent rise in touches in Jacksonville as things have unfolded there. Chris Carson is also there to make a very strong duo between him and CEH. Easily the best 4 pack of WRs in the league, Eric gets to run out AJ Brown, DJ Chark, DJ Moore, and Tyler Boyd on an almost weekly basis, that group is gonna be hard to beat. Quintez Cephus, KJ Hill, and Jakobi Meyers are on the roster as well and are all 22, 22, and 23 respectively, but with the 4 above them will likely keep any of those 3 from being used by Eric this season and will be held for the future. At TE, Kyle Rudolph will be the best option this season for Eric. Then two youngsters Dalton Keene and Foster Moreau are likely still a bit away from contributing at the position. On the defensive side of the team, Grady Jarrett and Lawrence Guy appear to be one of the better duos at the DL spot in the league, then Christian Wilkins behind them will be useful on the weeks he has to play. The key position on defense, is the one that the Bucs do not have the needed depth at going into the season. Jerome Baker will be high scoring LB, but Chandler Jones being predominantly a pass rusher will minimize his impact as a LB. Akeem Davis-Gaither is the only other LB on the roster, but being a rookie and not a starter for the Bengals will not be useful for the team. The Bucs do have 6 DBs on the roster and 5 of them are projected to be well over the 100 point mark. Kyle Fuller, Marlon Humphrey, Charvarius Ward, Richard Sherman, and Jalen Ramsey are all capable of putting up a lot of points from the DB spot, playing the right ones each week will be the challenge for Eric. This team is well rounded for the most part, lacking a 2nd strong LB might end up hurting this team more than anything, but will it keep the team from a title? We will find out!
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
I will post a full 1st week power ranking tomorrow! Also we have an NFL game tomorrow!!!
This division could end up being the deepest division in the league, despite New York looking like they will not be that good this season. Tampa and New Orleans would appear to be the front runners of the division, but Atlanta has the pieces to be up there with them too. There is a lot of RB talent in this division and a battle of old vs young at the QB position with Atlanta and New Orleans having Drew Brees and Big Ben then New York and Tampa Bay having Daniel Jones and Drew Lock, so watching that all play out will be interesting.
Atlanta Falcons (Joe):
In what might be the best division in the league, Joe has built a very strong Falcons team. The roster has a very solid mix of old and young talent, what will that talent be able to do in this rough division and conference? Being led by one of the all time great QBs in Drew Brees, until he retires, will be a good thing for Joe. The RB room for Joe is one to be jealous of, he has lead backs Jordan Howard and Todd Gurley to anchor the position, but then has Phillip Lindsay, Boston Scott, and Benny Snell who are all in good spots to get important touches for their team and should be useful when needed for the team. The rookie AJ Dillon who has a lot of people buzzing rounds out a deep RB room. Like the RB room, it appears the WR room is just as deep. John Brown now being the #2 for Buffalo could open his game up even more and Hollywood is a year further into his career and added some weight so that should help him play physical football better. Olabisi Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Robby Anderson all offer different things and will be solid depth when called upon. TE will be the question mark on the offensive side of the ball for this team, due to the fact that Austin Hooper is in a new situation in Cleveland and has other TEs to battle at the position. Jimmy Graham is also in a loaded Chicago situation and really won’t know what kind of option he will be until a few weeks into the season. The DL unit for Joe is an interesting one, Dante Fowler and Robert Quinn are gonna be big pieces there having DL and LB eligibility, then the other 2 guys Larry Ogunjobi and Derek Wolfe are no slouches at the position and will likely be the higher scoring duo of the 4 guys. The 3 guys that will play at LB for Joe are predominantly OLB guys and more likely to be pass rushers which in this format aren’t the best LBs but they all seem like they are in a spot to have solid seasons and do well enough for Joe. The standout at DB for the team is Jabrill Peppers who will rack up stats in the NYG secondary. Isaiah Oliver, Jaire Alexander, Carlton Davis, and Donte Jackson all project to be solid guys and should be used from time to time at the DP spot for the Falcons. Will the lack of a tackle machine at LB hurt this defense despite having solid units at DL and DB, we will find out.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
New Orleans Saints (Mike):
Mike gets my vote for the most interesting duo at QB with both the Steelers and Bengals QB on his roster. In a brutal division, Mike has built a roster that should matchup well with the other teams in the division and be in the playoff race. As mentioned, Mike currently has both Big Ben and Joe Burrow on the roster at the QB spot, likely giving him a potential top 10 QB for this year and the foreseeable future. Aaron Jones, Kareem Hunt, and Tevin Coleman will be the main 3 guys used at RB for Mike this season. Jones if he replicates last season will be a top RB, while Hunt and Coleman aren’t the lead backs for their teams they both will put up points as their teams plan to use them in a lot of situations. Ty Montgomery is on the roster, but only likely sees time if Kamara holds out or gets hurt or Latavius Murray gets hurt. When your WR core has Julio Jones you are set up nicely, pair that with Will Fuller V, a touchdown machine when healthy, and the consistent Emmanuel Sanders, Mike has a core that will put up plenty of points. Rookie Van Jefferson might see a decent role for the Rams, but that still is not set in stone with other WRs ahead of him and Reynolds fighting for time with him. Riley Ridley still has yet to prove he can do anything of note at the WR spot in the NFL. Evan Engram is a top TE option, so will serve Mike well, then Drew Sample could play his way into a role with the Bengals, if Uzomah struggles this year, but will likely only see time on Engram’s bye week. Calais Campbell will be the lead dog at DL for the Saints, while Everson Griffin and Akiem Hicks are solid options, Griffin currently sits as the backup at DE for the Cowboys, so how much of an impact he will be is yet to be known. The LB core has already taken a hit early this season as Von Miller will likely miss the season after getting hurt on the last play of a Broncos practice. Looking at the healthy options Danny Trevathan is the clear best option. Kwon Alexander unless Kwon Alexander can put together a full season which he has not done either of the last 2 seasons. Alex Anzalone and Jacob Phillips can provide help to the top 2 guys over the course of the season. Harrison Smith and Malcolm Jenkins are clearly solid options at DB and will carry the unit. Until the Eric’s, Reid and Berry sign with new teams Marcus Williams is the only other usable DB on the roster, thanks to Grant Delpit going down for the year. The defense certainly has its questions, but this roster should still be solid enough to play for the division.
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
New York Giants (Jeremy):
Jeremy is one of the few owners that is running a team that he did not draft and has very little say in the make up of. The previous owner did manage to grab some big names while building this roster, but outside of those few names the roster is lacking depth needed to make the team anything more than a team likely playing for the #1 pick next off-season. The young dynamic but turnover prone QB of Daniel Jones is who the LHL Giants will look to lead their team. Easily the best position for the team is RB thanks in part to having Kamara and Bell, but behind them is Ryquell Armstead and Dion Lewis who are both not likely to do much for fantasy. WR is a trouble spot for the team, I like Darius Slayton this year, but not as the WR1 for the team. Willie Snead as the WR2 for the team is also not good, then Antonio Gandy-Golden and Tre’Quan Smith are on the roster, but still need to prove themselves at the pro level. Keelan Doss is there too, but on the Vegas PS. Gerald Everatt is the TE of note for the Giants, but shares the position with Higbee in LA so his impact as a fantasy TE will be up and down likely. Jason Witten is there as well, but with Waller ahead of him in Vegas, I don’t see Witten being relevant this year. On defense, Chris Jones is a big name and will give the Giants a solid option at the position all season, it will be up to Marcus Davenport and Leonard Williams to provide help there to make it a good unit. Anthony Barr appears to be the only useful LB on the roster currently. Preston Smith, Craig Robertson, and Vic Beasley are not gonna provide the needed points to make this LB unit even an average one in the league. The clear best position on defense for the team is DB with the unit having Jamal Adams, Tyrann Mathieu, and Marshon Lattimore as the options. All 3 have proven to be very solid scoring options at the DB position. With both sides of the ball lacking in a number of spots it is hard to imagine the Giants winning many games this season.
Predicted Division Finish: 4th
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Eric):
Eric joined the league mid-vet draft and only made a few picks there, but also was able to make the #1 pick in the rookie draft and used that on CEH. So unlike some new owners, he has had a hand in shaping this roster. Both he and Cameron combined to build a title contending team in Tampa. How far this team goes might rely on how Drew Lock does, if he breaks out like some people think he will, this team will be deadly. The RB room went from decent to great after drafting CEH #1 overall, then has only gotten better as the season has gotten closer, with CEH’s competition Damien Williams opting out and Chris Thompson apparent rise in touches in Jacksonville as things have unfolded there. Chris Carson is also there to make a very strong duo between him and CEH. Easily the best 4 pack of WRs in the league, Eric gets to run out AJ Brown, DJ Chark, DJ Moore, and Tyler Boyd on an almost weekly basis, that group is gonna be hard to beat. Quintez Cephus, KJ Hill, and Jakobi Meyers are on the roster as well and are all 22, 22, and 23 respectively, but with the 4 above them will likely keep any of those 3 from being used by Eric this season and will be held for the future. At TE, Kyle Rudolph will be the best option this season for Eric. Then two youngsters Dalton Keene and Foster Moreau are likely still a bit away from contributing at the position. On the defensive side of the team, Grady Jarrett and Lawrence Guy appear to be one of the better duos at the DL spot in the league, then Christian Wilkins behind them will be useful on the weeks he has to play. The key position on defense, is the one that the Bucs do not have the needed depth at going into the season. Jerome Baker will be high scoring LB, but Chandler Jones being predominantly a pass rusher will minimize his impact as a LB. Akeem Davis-Gaither is the only other LB on the roster, but being a rookie and not a starter for the Bengals will not be useful for the team. The Bucs do have 6 DBs on the roster and 5 of them are projected to be well over the 100 point mark. Kyle Fuller, Marlon Humphrey, Charvarius Ward, Richard Sherman, and Jalen Ramsey are all capable of putting up a lot of points from the DB spot, playing the right ones each week will be the challenge for Eric. This team is well rounded for the most part, lacking a 2nd strong LB might end up hurting this team more than anything, but will it keep the team from a title? We will find out!
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
I will post a full 1st week power ranking tomorrow! Also we have an NFL game tomorrow!!!
