EFL Power Rankings - Week 2, 2020
Elite Fantasy League
Welcome to the Wild World of 2020: Fantasy Football Edition.
For the first time ever (I think), we have a full returning cast, which helps with some intriguing storylines.
But first:
A Rundown on Last Season’s Finale
Through a series of tie-breakers, Josh and Jujus on that Beat fell in the final week to 10th, where they earned the illustrious porcelain throne trophy.
Austin and Lucks Run Out rightfully fought their way into the playoffs after having a season where their luck truly did consistently run out – coming second in a four-way battle for the last two spots in the playoffs. Unfortunately, their luck failed them once again in the first round as they were slaughtered by the eventual champs.
RD and ThrowUpTheX made their yearly surprising run to the championship game, only to be the runner-up for the third straight season.
Ryan and The Falcoholics beat a team scoring over 100 points for just the second time all season in the first round of the playoffs and eventually landed 3rd overall.
Sy and 3rd seeded Cryo Bout That choked again in the first round of the playoffs, this time getting bounced by 6th seeded Ruthlessberger.
Nick and Run CMC took his pole position and turned it into a championship.
Now, back to:
THE FIRST POWER RANKINGS OF THE 2020 SEASON
It’s been an up and down first two weeks for many of us. Through two weeks, whether by varying performances or key injuries, it is clear: nobody is safe.
Spend as much time as you’d like looking at the standings and totals, but know that the stats sometimes lie.
That’s where I come in, armed with my totally unbiased power rankings to keep everyone grounded.
Remember, it’s only Week 2. And you can’t be too mad - I put myself last.
Read ‘em and weep.
1.
Jets Jets Jets (3rd | 2-0)
Manager: Tim Cook
Years in League: 12
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2015)
Much unlike their namesake, Jets Jets Jets has had an impressive start to the season and looks to continue it for the foreseeable future. They have begun the season with the third most points, averaging 132 ppg. They have had no key injuries, and in Week 3 will be facing defenses that have been involved in shootouts. Jets Jets Jets took risks, taking sophomore QB Kyler Murray as his starter, expecting Cardinals new-comer DeAndre Hopkins to keep his same productivity, planning for James Connor to find his early-year 2019 swagger, Diggs to find his connection with Josh Allen, and Amari Cooper to keep his touches with Ceedee Lamb and co. making an impact. So far, all of those risks have paid off.
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2.
ThrowUpThe X (1st | 2-0)
Manager: RD Gallant
Years in League: 11
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2013)
ThrowUpThe X is undefeated and has far and away the most points in the league through two weeks, so why aren’t they in the top slot?
ThrowUpThe X falls in these rankings is because of its injuries. #1 pick Christian McCaffrey will be out for one third of the remaining season. Raheem Mostert also was one of the many 49ers to get injured on Sunday. This means that two of the three running backs on the roster are unavailable. That leaves Josh Jacobs and a waiver wire pickup to carry the load in week 3 and beyond.
Also, while this team is still very good, its points are a bit inflated by Dak Prescott’s THREE touchdowns on the ground last week. Rushing touchdowns are worth 33% more points than passing, and rush yards are 2.5 times more valuable than pass yards. Going forward, we can assume these touchdowns would normally go to a running back or would be passing touchdowns, which lower Dak’s expected contributions in coming weeks.
Will this team be just fine over the course of the year? Absolutely.
Will it be as dominant in the next couple weeks? Probably not.
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3.
Ruthlessberger (5th | 1-1)
Manager: Ian Svendsen
Years in League: 4
Best Finish: 4th (2018)
This team is the best one-loss team in the league, and I expect them to be a quiet sleeper all year. Equate this team to a pre-2018 San Antonio Spurs squad. Always great, understated, and not necessarily the best record in the league. Led by a top QB in Patrick Mahomes, a top TE in Mark Andrews, and a top RB tandem in Derrick Henry and Chris Carson, Ruthlessberger is well-positioned for continued success. It’s weaknesses? 5 solid, but mediocre receivers, and banged up backup RBs. If Ruthlessberger’s starters can stay successful, this team can make a deep run.
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4.
BCE (4th | 1-1)
Manager: Austin Owen
Years in League: 5
Best Finish: Champ (2x – 2016, 2017)
BCE has had a great start, getting the wins that alluded them all of last season. The downside is that this team is a bit top-heavy. It’s Russell Wilson, and the rest. And the rest isn’t a group that will give anyone heart palpitations. Still, it’s hard to argue with its productivity. BCE is taking advantage of the opportunities it has been given so far, and puts up enough points to be above average.
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5.
Cherne’s Champions (2nd | 2-0)
Manager: Jordan Cherne
Years in League: 6
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2018)
2-0 is 2-0. BUT,
In Week 1, Cherne’s Champions rode nearly 30 points from Davante Adams and 20 points from Kamara to a win. In Week 2, Davante Adams hurt his hamstring, and until Kamara went off for 30 on Monday night in a furious comeback to top Tompa Bay, Cherne’s Champions’ top scorer was…..his kicker, Justin Tucker. If Adams’ injury lingers, Cherne’s Champions will be hard-pressed to rely on a Kamara-Tucker tandem to stay undefeated.
Adding injury to injury, Sterling Shepherd and the San Francisco Defense have also suffered injuries. Next man up?
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6.
#Blessed (6th | 1-1)
Manager: Nick Gosney
Years in League: 2
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2019)
The defending champs have gotten off to a concerning start. Josh Allen has been spectacular to start the season and is single-handedly keeping #Blessed in games. With OBJ in an inconsistent Browns offense, Thielen suffering with Kirk Cousins and the Vikings’ slow start, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire struggling to stay involved with the Chiefs playing catch-up in their comeback victory over the Chargers, it’s hard to know what to expect week in and week out with this team.
The bright spot? Marlon Mack’s injury. Jonathan Taylor has stepped up for #Blessed and looks to be consistent with his point production going forward. The other constant? Kicker Younghoe Koo, who is averaging 13 ppg.
The pieces are there. It just hasn’t quite come together yet for #Blessed.
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7.
The Falcoholics (9th | 0-2)
Manager: Ryan Johnson
Years in League: 2
Best Finish: 3rd (2019)
This roster looks menacing. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been.
Julio Jones is hampered with an injury, and Drew Brees looks like a slightly stronger version of Peyton Manning in his last hoorah. If Aaron Jones wasn’t averaging close to 30 ppg, this team might be looking up at the rest of the pack. This roster has many of last year’s stars. We’re just waiting for them to become this year’s stars.
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8.
Taters Tots (8th | 0-2)
Manager: Tate VanEgmond
Years in League: 2
Best Finish: 8th (2019)
Down goes Saquon. Taters Tots’ was already suffering by having the highest Points Against in the league, with teams averaging 135 ppg against them through the first two weeks. Taters Tots fought valiantly on the backs of Lamar Jackson and Calvin Ridley and could easily have been 1-1 rather than 0-2. With a healthy Saquon, this team had 3 players who could go off for 30 points on any given week. Losing him is a huge blow to an otherwise well-built roster with a ton of potential.
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9.
Jujus on that Beat (7th | 1-1)
Manager: Joshuwa Shelton
Years in League: 5
Best Finish: 3rd (2018)
Ahh, bottom of the barrel, we meet again. After a Week 1 thrashing of Tompa Bay, Jujus on that Beat was thrashed by ThrowUpThe X. Unfortunately, sure fire picks like Dalvin Cook and George Kittle haven’t panned out as expected, with the latter dealing with injury and the former being trapped on what has been a terrible offensive performance by the Vikings thus far. The brightside to the Vikings struggles has been Jujus need to turn to Cam Newton over Kirk Cousins, who has thrived (thriven?) under Belicheck so far.
The reality is that Jujus will probably turn this around, but there is concern about its NFC South players. Ronald Jones II looks to share even more time on the field with Leonard Fournette, Scotty Miller will likely see less targets with Chris Godwin returning from concussion protocol, and Emmanuel Sanders’ threat as a deep receiver is much less potent with Brees’ perceived lack of arm strength, especially Michael Thomas’ return looming.
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10.
Tompa Bay (10th | 0-2)
Manager: Sy Gallimore
Years in League: 12
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2010)
Oof. #6 overall pick, Michael Thomas began an injury cascade that hasn’t helped a team that was already severely underachieving. Before week 1, the WR trio of Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, and Cortland Sutton looked to be a top-performing group. Sutton is now gone for the year with an ACL, flex RB Cam Akers is hurt, Sammy Watkins is limping, and backup QB Jimmy G is out, too. Wentz looks like a shell of his MVP candidate self from years prior, and with him, a top TE in Ertz suffers as well. Week 2 was encouraging as Chubb, Tannehill, Evans, and Ekeler had good games and pushed Tompa Bay over the 100 point threshold, but Tompa Bay still gave up a 35 point lead to Cherne’s Champions and has the least Points Scored in the league thus far. The future might be slightly brighter, but this team looks to have a middle of the pack ceiling, barring any major breakouts. Maybe this is the year that Tompa Bay can play the role of first-round playoff upsetter rather than upsettee.
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