EFL Power Rankings - Week 6, 2020
Elite Fantasy League
POWER RANKINGS || WEEK 6
Ahh, yes. Unpredictability is rearing its old head. Decisions that you made knowing they were the right move were upended by injuries, random 30-point breakout performances, and, as always, COVID.
We knew it was coming, but I don’t know that any of us thought about what COVID might do to our rosters, when, on Saturday, we’re finding out two of our players won’t be playing until the following week.
The waiver wire has been necessarily active. Between injuries and COVID, many of us are now starting players we hadn’t heard of before the season started. If one thing is certain, it’s that nothing is.
With that said, where you are today could be totally different from where you’ll be. So keep your head up...even if it’s just barely above the water.
Read ‘em and weep.
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1.
Jets Jets Jets (1st | 6-0)
Week 2 Ranking: 1 (no change)
Manager: Tim Cook
Years in League: 12
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2015)
The last remaining undefeated team is averaging 122+ points per contest - something nobody else in the league has done more than twice this season, which contributes to wins even against high-scoring opponents like BCE in Week 5. Jets Jets Jets is getting great production from all levels of its team and has been largely unaffected by injuries, with its latest “crisis” being benchwarmer Le'Veon Bell’s release...only to be picked up by the Chiefs. Barring changes, Jets Jets Jets is well on their way to a special season.
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2.
ThrowUpThe X (3rd | 4-2)
Week 2 Ranking: 2 (no change)
Manager: RD Gallant
Years in League: 11
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2013)
As predicted, ThrowUpThe X’s injuries caught up to them over Weeks 3 and 4 as they fell to 2-2. With Dak’s injury, it looked like the slide would continue. However, some key waiver pickups (including a heavily-underrated Ryan Tannehill) and a trade with Tompa Bay helped stem the tide and win Week 5 and 6's games. Week 5 was a nailbiter that shouldn’t have been: Buffalo DEF recorded -4 points on a rare Tuesday game against the Titans. It almost did ThrowUpThe X in, but they won by 0.38 points to avoid a 3-game skid.
The story of these weeks: Justin Jefferson - a prime candidate for WPOTY (Waiver Pick-Up Of The Year). His 30 points last week helped ThrowUpTheX avoid being mired in the .500 club.
If Tannehill can keep up his production, ThrowUpThe X won’t lose any ground with Dak gone for the year.
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3.
Cherne’s Champions (5th | 3-3)
Week 2 Ranking: 5 (+2)
Manager: Jordan Cherne
Years in League: 6
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2018)
Interesting Stat of the Week: Deshaun Watson scored as many points as every other starter on the team combined not named Justin Tucker. The Texans’ firing of Bill O’Brien seems like it’s been great for Watson, who looks like his old self again. It was a down week, but Kamara was on the bench, and we don’t expect the rest of the role players to roll over like they did last week. This team gets contributions from all levels. Best .500 team in the league.
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4.
Ruthlessberger (4th | 3-3)
Week 2 Ranking: 3 (-1)
Manager: Ian Svendsen
Years in League: 4
Best Finish: 4th (2018)
Ruthlessberger scored the second most points in the league this week. The problem? Their opponent scored the most.
TE Mark Andrews and RB Derrick Henry combined for 40.50 points on Sunday. Henry had 38.40 of those points. Even on a week without Tyler Lockett and Chris Carson, Ruthlessberger put up 115 points in a loss on the backs of Mahomes and Henry. With a little bit of support, those two should be able to carry Ruthlessberger well above .500.
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5.
BCE (7th | 2-4)
Week 2 Ranking: 4 (-1)
Manager: Austin Owen
Years in League: 5
Best Finish: Champ (2x – 2016, 2017)
The Waiver Wire has been the undoing and the redoing of BCE.
Backstory:
BCE lost starting RB Marlon Mack to IR in Week 1 and has been trying to replace him since.
Kenny Golladay started the season out and BCE had a WR carousel to fill the void.
A Timeline:
Marlon Mack heads to IR.
BCE Picks up RB Nyheim Hines.
He scores 0.4 points the next week.
BCE Picks up WR C. Claypool.
He scores 2.4 points the next week.
BCE Picks up RB D. Freeman.
He scores 1 point the next week.
BCE Picks up RB Rex Burkhead and drops D. Freeman.
Burkhead can’t play because of COVID.
Freeman has 14.7 points for another team.
BCE Picks up RB M. Gaskin and drops C. Claypool. Gaskin is re-dropped for the Houston DEF before Sunday.
Houston scores 2.0 points.
Claypool has 35.6 points on waivers.
Gaskin has 15.1 points on another team.
Then the tide turns.
BCE Picks up WR T. Higgins, T. Fulgham, QB Fitzmagic, and THE RETURN OF C. Claypool.
Players combine for 60 points in Week 6.
BCE has scored 100 points in 3 of their 4 losses this season. They’re better than their record suggests. They just need a little more of whatever luck Week 6 brought.
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6.
Jujus on that Beat (2nd | 4-2)
Week 2 Ranking: 9 (+3)
Manager: Joshuwa Shelton
Years in League: 5
Best Finish: 3rd (2018)
Brain exercise for you: Should Jujus on that Beat be ranked higher or lower?
Tell me if you’ve seen this before: A team averages less than 100 points per week but is still 2nd in the league because its opponents perpetually underachieve against them (591.90 points against. Next lowest: 649.48). To put it in perspective, 8th place Taters Tots averages 11 more points per game than Jujus. Seem familiar? Jujus on that Beat is last year’s Falcoholics! The thing about last year’s Falcoholics, though? They finished 3rd overall. A win is a win is a win. Just ask the Bears.
Still, Cam, Dalvin Cook, RoJo, Metcalf, and Kittle have low floors and high ceilings. We just haven’t seen them all put it together in the same week yet.
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7.
#Blessed (6th | 3-3)
Week 2 Ranking: 6 (-1)
Manager: Nick Gosney
Years in League: 2
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2019)
Listen, Josh Allen had an off-week in an otherwise MVP-caliber season. Jonathan Taylor, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kenyon Drake, and Kareem Hunt are the best RB quartet in the league, and TJ Hockenson is one of the few good TEs this season. The problem? #Blessed can only play 3 RBs per week, the WR corps is hit or miss, and the defense can’t always be trusted. Still, you can’t expect this team to keep performing 40 points under projections like it did last week. The playoffs almost feel like a lock.
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8.
Taters Tots (8th | 2-4)
Week 2 Ranking: 8 (no change)
Manager: Tate VanEgmond
Years in League: 2
Best Finish: 8th (2019)
After Week 1, Taters Tots has won or lost exclusively in blowouts, with none of their next 5 games being within 13 points. The problem? They’re boom or bust. We know that Lamar Jackson is a fantasy star, and the tandem of Calvin Ridley and Will Fuller is no slouch. Other than Lamar Jackson, though, all of the rest of the position players play for teams with losing records. That results in their performances being very spotty and difficult to rely on. Next week Lamar is on Bye… the return of Matty Ice?
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9.
The Falcoholics (9th | 2-4)
Week 2 Ranking: 7 (-2)
Manager: Ryan Johnson
Years in League: 2
Best Finish: 3rd (2019)
This team is down, but not out. The problem? WR corps. ENTER: JULIO JONES. The Falcoholics have their 25-point man back in form. This team is solid at QB* and above average at TE and RB. If Julio can cover enough for the lack of performance of the rest of the WR corps, Falcoholics could pull itself up these rankings.
*Solid at QB as long as they play the right one. Through the first 5 weeks, Falcoholics benched the higher scoring QB 4 times. Getting that right could mean a 10-point upswing.
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10.
Tompa Bay (10th | 1-5)
Week 2 Ranking: 10 (no change)
Manager: Sy Gallimore
Years in League: 12
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2010)
2020, man. The problem? Not one of Tompa Bay’s original 16 draft picks escaped injury or waiver drop. Tompa Bay’s performance through 6 weeks is putrid, with the worst PF in the league. Still, after a league leading 21 waiver wire moves and a trade with ThrowUpThe X leading to key additions like Aaron Rodgers, Chris Godwin, James Robinson, and the Tampa Bay Defense, there is some hope. As Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, Nick Chubb, and Austin Ekeler get healthy, this roster can match up with the best in the league. It’s just a matter of whether it will get healthy before it’s too late to make a playoff push.
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