Heading into tonight’s Colts-Broncos matchup, we are at what historically was the quarter point of the NFL season. So with that mark met, I thought I’d take a look at where we spent our money in the draft, and if those picks seem warranted as of now or not.
There were 16 players who we spent at least $40 on during the draft; 8 RBs, 5 WRs, 2 QBs and TE. Let’s break them down…
The $60 Tier
This top-level contains only one player, Jonathan Taylor who cost Dave $63. This was almost a third of the total budget for Sir, This is a Wendy’s – and after week one it seemed like a worthwhile investment. However, despite scoring 245 points in his first game, after week four Taylor’s per-game average is 111. He is RB20 in total points and RB24 in ppg. Additionally, he will not be playing in tonight’s Week Five matchup due to an ankle injury.
To this point, Dave can’t be happy with the outcome.
The $50 Tier
Two men make up this tier, Ekeler and Henry ($55 each) – two of the most consistent fantasy backs of the last few seasons, they each took a few weeks to get going. Ekeler averaged only 108 ppg through the first three weeks but bumped that up to a more respectable 152 ppg with a big week four that saw the Chargers’ back drop 284 points on The Tim Bradys.
Henry was drafted by Timmo, who after getting off to a bit of a rough start, traded Henry away for some help at QB. Through the first two games, Henry was averaging only 76 ppg, but exploded for 218 in week three. This raised his value enough to become tradable, and he dropped another 212 for Sanchez this past weekend.
Ekeler is currently RB6, while Henry (146 ppg) checks in at RB9. Ryan is probably not thrilled, but content with Ekeler at this point, while Sanchez has to be happy with his trade, which seems to have helped both sides.
The $45 Tier
This tier has four guys; Aaron Jones ($49), CMac ($46), Josh Allen ($45) and Cooper Kupp ($45).
Let’s start with the backs – Jones currently ranks as RB13, while MacCaffrey is RB5. CMac has run well, but Carolina’s offense is horrendous and he’s not getting the targets that made him such a monster early in his career. Jones is RB13 and Kaiser can’t be happy with him thus far, with games of 91, 285 37 and 130 this guy is all over the board and its hard to know what to expect from him week to week. CMac on the other hand has had a very respectable floor of 125, with one game over 200 so far. Not the 200-point average Trigger was probably hoping for, but still real solid so far.
Josh Allen was our expected QB1 all offseason, (barring Kyle getting too drunk too early at least) and $45 probably is about what he was always going to go for, if not more. Thus far, with an average of 414 ppg, he remains our QB1 and Chris should be pleased, he seems to be getting exactly what he paid for to this point. There’s not a man amongst us who wouldn’t take a 328-floor from our QB.
And the first WR off the board went to the King of Mattressland, Cooper Kupp’s 209 ppg make him WR1 through four weeks. However, he played only one game for Josh (258, his high mark so far) before being traded to Jones for Diggs and Kirk. This is a spot where Josh has to be happy, and while the production is there for Jon, I’m not sure he knew he was giving up WR3 (Diggs only 4 points back of Kupp at 205 ppg) AND WR8 in Kirk (150 ppg). Overall it seems a good deal for both sides though.
The $40 Tier
This is where a bulk of the guys land; Cook, Swift, Mixon, Herbert, Kelce, Chase, Jefferson, Adams and Hill.
Dalvin Cook and Ja’marr Chase are the priciest dudes in this section at $44 each. I have to assume Matt is just as disappointed as I am to this point. Chase checks in at WR20, while Cook is RB24. Chase came out of the gates hot (245 in week one), but since that point is averaging only 93.6 ppg. Cook, who also had his best output in week one, is at 99 ppg. These are solid numbers for the third RB or WR on your team, but not for a guy you shelled out that much capital for.
Next, the Skippers spent $43 on Justin Jefferson, who was thought to be the WR1 favorite headed into the year. And while he currently checks in at WR6, much like Aaron Jones, he’s been inconsistent AF. In weeks one and four, he averaged a monster 299.5 ppg. But in weeks two and three that average was 53.5 – ouch. Jefferson will likely finish closer to his season average of 177 most weeks headed forward, but thus far has been a true Boom or Bust start, and given Jon’s frugal nature, I assume he’s more pissed about those low games than he is enthralled by the big ones.
D’Andre Swift ($42), Davante Adams ($41) and Joe Mixon ($40) are next.
We’ll start with the RBs, both of whom were drafted by the Mallrats, and neither of which will be playing for them this week. First, Swift. The knock on him has been the same for three years – health. And while it’s not been as catastrophic in the past as with players like Barkley and CMac, Swift will have only played in parts of 3 games this year by the time we hit week seven. He currently ranks RB16 in total points, but he’s RB7 in average (156 pg) after missing all of week four. The Mallrats are now 3-0 when he plays, 0-1 when he doesn’t. As for Mixon, he was perfectly serviceable, ranking in at RB16 for total points, and he’s getting alot of carries, he just isn’t doing a ton with them. I may come to regret giving away a back who is averaging 118 ppg for an injured WR, but time will tell there. So far, I’m not thrilled with either pick, but still have high hopes for Swift.
Adams reunited with his college QB in Las Vegas and currently sits at WR11 with an average of 144 ppg, which is a solid number. Considering he was the 4th WR taken, Tan is probably hoping for a little more, but at least he gets his new hometown guy to watch every week. Like several others we’ve talked about, Adams had his biggest game in week one (average weeks 2-4; 109.6 ppg), but the Raiders should get better as the year goes on.
Finally, Travis Kelce, Justin Herbert and Tyreke Hill all went for $40. Hill currently sits at WR2, with an average of 208 ppg, only 1 point behind Kupp. His range has been all over the place however, with games of 43, 135, 234, and 420 he’s a real wild card. Also, with Tua now out (maybe forever), his value might be taking a further hit. We’ll see what Teddy can do, but to this point, Steve has to be pleased with the production I would think. Kelce goes to Josh as the first TE off the board, and currently ranks as TE1, with 163 ppg – which for the position is fantastic. For reference, TEs 2&3 are about 30 ppg lower, and TE is 60 points lower. Josh has to be happy with this pick thus far. And then there was Justin Herbert. The 2nd QB drafted, he sits at QB6, with a ppg of 357, but it likely going to have to deal with a rib injury for the rest of the year, so we’ll see how long he lasts. So far though, he’s been rock solid, with games of 370, 390, 279, and 390, he’s been very steady. Through the first 2 weeks he played for Kaiser, before being traded to the Mallrats, where he rode the bench in week 3 (Ribs + no Keenan Allen), but put up a good game in week four.
Given it to do over, Kaiser might have held onto Herbert seeing as Javonte and Tua both suffered serious injuries in week four, but such is fantasy football.
SC League Forever 