Like last year, we surveyed the QSN writing staff for their preseason rankings and solicited thoughts from anonymous QFL GMs on each team. While in agreement on the bottom tier of teams, it was too difficult to rank the top teams as we expect no team to break away from the pack this year.
1st Tier:
QJ : For an auction conducted from the other side of the earth starting at midnight and lasting until he selected Devin Funchess with the 18th overall rookie pick at 4:20am his time, I think Shades did pretty well… Peyton at $12 probably appropriately priced for risk/reward but clearly has a lot of upside there and Eli provides a solid backup, definitely in much better shape at QB… Every year we seem to predict QJ will take the big leap forward to the promise land. But, it seems like one playoff game traps this team, resulting in a disappointing season. Well, this year, could be their year – although we do say that every year, despite the loss of a #1 WR in J Nelson… still a team you don’t want to play and Peyton should ease the Jordy pain at least early on.
ATCQ : After a few years of neglect, Ted aka Wide Receiver Q has a done of nice job of putting himself back into contention year after year. It starts with his amazing set of WRs, even after trading Benjamin… Ted went full homer retard with 6 Eagles starters… He might be a ultra-homer, but a lot dumber strategies have been deployed than monopolizing a Chip Kelly offense that looks set to explode… Didn’t have a great auction overpaying for Pats D and Bradford, getting another stud for that allocation could have been an over-the-top type move… Tannehill, Bradford, and Bridgewater are often referred to in that next echelon of QB’s. One will likely pan out. But until then Ted will have to make sure he chooses the right one from week to week… Brees burned him down the stretch last year, and you can see that was his focus this offseason in attempting to diversify and find the next big thing, trouble is its real tough when you don’t have that stud QB and could be too watered down there.
2nd Tier:
TenQ (): Its really amazing that this team shows up in the preseason top half every year. This year, they just miss the 6th spot in my predictions. I am predicting an average season – they aren’t as good this year as in years past… Its worth noting again how brilliant the Luck trade was, that was as savvy as it gets and reason #1 why he has been on top so much over the years… You want to know why this roster looks so mediocre? The key to the recent run was great drafts, and the last few years he just isn’t seeing the ball. Hyde over all those WRs last year are you kidding me? I would like to say he has great depth, but its the starters after Luck that are the problem. Even AJ, does he scare anybody?…He can say whatever he wants, but leaving the auction with >$5 every year is effing stupid.
Fredneq : Last year’s pre-season #1 looks really good again in the starting spots, all those high draft picks starting to work out. Depth a concern but all the key ingredients are there, altho I like Brees and Gurley a bit less than most. … Despite his best intentions, Jay put together a solid starting line up. Brees has a few years left, and if he does well, so will Cooks. ODB and Tate should round out a decent, not stellar core at WR. Gore, who was on FRDNQ years ago, may give Jay a reliable, if not glamorous RB2. .. A hugely improved roster and only paid $10-$14 per guy for 5 new players (Brees, Gore, Tate, Alf, houston). He even got his homer strategy in there. Outside of Bree and Gore this team is very young with Odell, Cooks, Gurley and gets Eddie Lacy for less than $20 for the next three years guaranteed. Sleeper team again after spending so much time in the basement.
FAHQ : You know what, I have to admit I’m really impressed how he re-built this team. Great end of year trades, great auction. My issue lies with building around a wishbone which just doesn’t win in the 2015 QFL and is so difficult to sustain. You can’t run it with a TY Hilton and expect to contend for a Quince bowl… The team made a trade last year that shaped the teams outlook. This year they Hill and Allen as the foundations, letting go of longtime FAHQ great Stafford. He is replaced by Ryan, who by fantasy standards is his equivalent. Doug martin could be the comeback player of the year. Graham seems like a key target for Wilson. TY will probably be a stud. Shane also grabbed SEA hoping the Legion of Boom returns. All in all, they look good. The back ups seem questionable, but you don’t win fantasy football playing back ups… Shane spent $58 to land 4 players, most were the top ranked at their respective positions (Seattle, Hilton, Graham and ~Martavis). This is the “all-in strategy†in the QFL. No depth. No cap space. 16 players (altho Shane has 17). Shane has been successful at it in recent years but there were very very bad seasons in the past. When you strike out with this strategy, you really strike out.
QTang : The loss of Cobb should really heart this team; Steve Smith won’t make up for the deficiencies. Russell Wilson is ranked super high on fantasyguru (#3 QB) but does he deserve it. Will Benny inevitably start Carson more weeks than not. Despite this question mark, Benny should have reliable seasons from AP and Julio, allowing him to stay in contention most weeks… I LOVED his draft, he was perfectly positioned in the sweet spot of the 2nd round and these picks could really propel him to the top in the near future along with Gordon. Defense and depth might be an issue, but wouldn’t be surprised to see this squad be near the top of points scored when all said and done. .. Didn’t do much at the Auction besides grab Russell Wilson and Carolina D, but didn’t really need to… Benny kept the faith with AP at $24 all 2014, it better pay off this season. 4 nice rookie selections: David Johnson, Phillip Dorsett, Green-Beckham, Melvin Gordon.
3rd Tier:
SOQ: He did it with mirrors last year and looks like he will have to do it again…even the studs, Forte/Forsett/Mega are all guys than just feel like they could fall off a cliff…its hard to love his roster, depth is terrible, but you still kinda expect to see him in playoffs. .. Perpetual rebuilder. Once again did a nice job and ran the 5-hour League Auction at the same time. The Quince Bowl runner-up entered the Auction with nothing but Forsett… remember in 2014, when this team cut Brees, and it sent the league into a spiral. Everyone wrote them off, yet they were in the QB. This year we don’t expect the same level of theatrics. Last year’s cap space allowed the team to add a bunch of people. The result is that the team has plenty of talent – maybe one year wonders – that have to prove themselves again. Forsett, Crowell and Blount present a deep bench to the naked eye, but at least two of those guys will be busts. The addition of Megatron to this team is the real story. Is he past his prime? Yes. Will he be reliable? yes. Forte is in the same boat. Curious to see how the defenses hold up.
QU : A team that has never won the QB has a good, but not great team. Adding three good QB’s could be genius or a nightmare. Will E. Sanders have a year as good as last year? Will Marshawn last a whole season in beast mode. The wild card is the emergence of Duke Johnson and potentially Ertz, who pundits predict may take a giant leap in 2015… I think he needed to put in some effort to get this roster into the top echelon but doesn’t seem interested, so this is the end result. Lynch can’t keep up this pace forever and the WRs after Antonio are not gonna win you anything. Nice stable of QBs and D’s, I will give him that.
OQ : He went for it in 2015 and it paid off, now there’s naturally going to be a bit of a hangover, but it was a great fn party. Still has enough of a base to win games, just needs to rebuild a bit and find a QB. .. Aside from keeping Bortles, I have no problems with what the defending champ has done in preparation for 2015. Rashad Jennings $12 was the steal of the Auction. Brandon Marshall $10 was a desperation reach. Rishi is employing the “patch-and-play†strategy which is where your keepers have filled the starting roles for most positions, now the team just needs to fill 1-2 spots and is will to pay a premium even for a riskier bet. Defense went from weakness to strength… Call us officially concerned for the defending champ. Sure Leveon and Dez will be good, but who else. Marshall? who is throwing to him. Also he has a mess with the NYG RB situation, a crappy roster of QB’s, and a middling TE colelction. Perhaps this teams only saving grace is having 4 defenses. They score points right?
IQ : They coulda been something…. Too many injuries already, and the owner is feeling the pressure. Rodgers is the stalwart on this team. If he gets good performances from two of CJ, Randle, Edelman, A Johnson, and Maclin, the team will be a contender still. Bringing in Colston and Roddy is questionable, as they probably won’t provide the same contributions as they did years ago. Some in the organization are ecstatic over the Sims pick up. Others love the Gray pick up. Time will tell on these sleepers. Overall, the team has a lot of moving pieces. They are ranked this high on the belief that talent rises to the top and the team can’t have any more bad luck… Even with Kelvin, lacks any true studs at WR which really hurts, altho I think Maclin will be a big sleeper this year. AR and the RBs will keep this team competitive but would seem to lack the pieces to make any serious run.
Bottom tier:
Qbola : Taking the zero-RB strategy to a whole new level, looks like much of the same for Qbola. Tough to see where the firepower is going to come from to keep this squad competitive this season. .. Paul’s current starting lineup are all auction acquisitions from this year. Not one keeper is starting, I don’t recall ever seeing that before… They have an embedded strategy. Pile up as many WR’s they can – the shotgun approach – and wait until one or more pan out. This strategy worked incredibly well once, to my recollection. So, he is sitting on Johnson, landry, latimer, White, Conley, Cooper, even veterans Garcon, shorts, Crabtree, Harvin, Wallace and Smith. It will be a long season figuring out who the next Alshon will be. What’s more interesting is the RB area, where the starter isn’t quite clear. It might be Ivory now, but could Sankey be the guy for this team. If you have to ask this question, you probably aren’t thinking playoffs.
QBC : Still the worst team even after picking up Cobb and Ameer Abdullah. This is a team that kept Derek Carr and Decker for $6. This is the team that signed Ray Rice and Cordarrelle Patterson at the auction. And didn’t they already whiff on Tavon Austin with the #2 overall pick in 2013 and now they’ve signed him to a Q1? Shouldn’t you just cut bait at this point? This is the living in the past strategy. Not optimal… Well, at least they are consistent. We don’t expect them to make a giant leap this year, although they are considerably better than last year. Cobb and McCoy are good, and should provide them with consistent points. The rest of the roster is a crap shoot. Decker might sneak into WR2 territory. Cruz might be back to his old self by mid season. Fitzgerald is going to see a reduction in targets. So, whats this team got going for it? Don’t know. Perhaps Ronnie f******** Hillman stealing the back up job in Denver. Great job drafting guys… QBC, don’t ever change.
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Shades