BOLD PREDICTIONS
Buckle up! I’ve got some bold predictions for each team. I asked Natalie Portman to review this, as I do with all of my articles, and asked her how bold is this article?
You’ve been warned. Let’s not waste anymore time…wait! I will also be naming the teams that have not named themselves yet.
Master of the Whisperers — Billy Davis
Like a castrated eunuch Billy has lost his drive and while this can lead to being made fun of, he is deftly able to shrug off these sneers and all adversity thrown his way.
Kirk Cousins will be this teams highest scoring QB. Cousins is the #7 ranked QB according to FantasyPros, but what makes this take so sizzly is that Russell Wilson is FantasyPros #2 ranked QB. Cousins has always been one of the leagues most efficient quarterbacks and now in Minnesota he’ll see the best supporting cast of his career. He’ll also have John DeFilippo as his OC. Former QB Coach will skew his offense more pass heavy and be more creative that Washington ever was. Add this to Russell Wilson having a diminished talent group from pass catchers to running game to offensive line and Cousins will finish better than Russell Wilson this year.
Rich As A Lannister — Steve Calhoun
Never one to back away from betting the opposite of BPou simply because it’s the opposite of BPou, or buy a subscription that people may or may not pay him for, or Venmo you money for a half baked idea, or shy away from treating himself to the finest of beers, Calhoun may well just be as rich as a Lannister.
Ben Roethlishberger will be a top-5 fantasy QB and Greg Olsen will finish outside the top-10 fantasy TE. Natalie didn’t think the Olsen one was hot enough on its own so I added the Big Ben take. Olsen missed a lot of time due to injury last year and while he did flash in the playoffs, I think the dude is washed. Carolina keeps adding other offensive weapons and Olsen keeps getting older. Even if healthy, I think this will be a said swan song for Greg Olsen.
Speaking of old white guys who have lost mobility, Roethlisberger has top tier talent in Lev Bell and Antonio Brown. JuJu Smith-Schuster showed in a big way during his rookie campaign and James Washington’s pre-season caused many a drafter (or at least one) to grab him far too soon. Add to the the departure of long-time OC and Big Ben Nemesis, Todd Haley, and look out for a big season from Ben.
A Sarlo Never Repays His Debts — Nick Sarlo
Just ask Sallie Mae.
Good news/bad news. Alex Collins, Royce Freeman, and Jay Ajayi will outscore Joe Mixon. Ranked as RB18, 20, and 22 respectively, Collins, Freeman and Ajayi will all outscore the pre-season RB13. Mixon will have to play behind one of the worst O-lines in the league and contend with one of the best satellite backs in Gio Bernard. While the other three also have players to contend with, they’ll breakaway from their competition and work their way into the mid-RB2 tier while Mixon struggles to stick in the top-24.
House MilPou — BPou
Tyrell Williams finishes as a top-30 WR and Emmanuel Sanders will be a top-20 WR. Last year’s WR45 and FantasyPros WR64 for 2018, Williams will benefit from Hunter Henry’s injury and will see 100+ targets and an uptick in red zone usage. Manny Sanders will benefit from being Denver’s primary slot WR and his top-20 finish will outpace Demaryius Thomas. Case Keenum loved Adam Thielen working out of the slot last year and this year it will be Sanders who benefits from those intermediate targets from Keenum.
House White-Hype — Troy Altbaum
Christian McCaffrey improves upon his RB9 finish and Vance McDonald finishes as a top-18 TE. Both Ron Rivera and Norv Turner have said they want to get McCaffrey the ball 25–30 times a game. That’s not going to happen. But CMC will have more attempts than the 117 he had last year, improve upon his 3.7 ypc, and get more red zone looks. Vance McDonald has gotten a bit of hype throughout camp and is expected to have an increased role. With only 14 rec and 1 TD from last year, it’d be hard not to have an increased role. McDonald will finish with roughly 45rec, 450yd, and 5 TD.
You Know Nothing, Roy — Mike Altbaum
Calvin Ridley is not a top-5 rookie WR and Jamal Williams is a top-20 RB. Ridley was running behind Mohammed Sanu and Justin Hardy in the pre-season. Despite Abaum taking him as the second WR off the board, Ridley will struggle to get the snaps necessary to be top-5 rookie wideout. On the other hand, while Joe Williams was just cut Jamal Williams is looking like he’ll be the lead back in GB for the year. Aaron Jones, suspended for the first two games, missed most of the pre-season due to injury. Even though Jones is the superior athlete, Williams will be able to produce early and keep Jones off the field when eligible.
Note: I didn’t want to be too negative, but know that I think really poorly of Ronald Jones and Josh Doctson.
The Night King — Cleve Bryan
Melvin Gordon is a top-3 RB and Demaryius Thomas is not a top-24 WR. That’s right BPou, Gordon will outscore many running backs this year including, but not limited to, Saquon Barkley and Alvin Kamara. Gordon has improved each of his first three years. His carries increase, receptions increase, and obviously yardage in both phases have gone up. San Diego should be a high-powered offense and Gordon will see a lot of redzone work. Over in Denver, Demaryius will be outscored by teammate Emmanuel Sanders and rookie Courtland Sutton will also eat into his target share seeing his production dip to career lows.
The Three-Eyed Pigeon — Dave Falcone
Todd Gurley not a top-5 RB and Mike Evans not a top-20 WR. Gurley is ranked as the RB1 after his huge year last year. But thanks to offensive regression, spreading of the ball, and actually have a capable backup Gurley will see a step back. He’ll be more than useful, but he won’t pace the league like he did in 2017. Evans is ranked as WR9. That makes this take hot, but he’s actually only finished within the top-12 once in his career. In 2017 he lead the NFL in targets, but was outside the top-65 in yards after catch. That’s impressive. It’s like he’s intentionally catching the ball and falling. No Jameis for at least the first three games and the rise of more weapons will knock Evans down past the WR20 mark.
House Head of Frankenferg — Andrew Bartell
Rex Burkhead is a top-12 RB. In 2017, Burkhead and Dion Lewis played five games together. In those games Burkhead had more snaps, targets, and goal-line touches. Burkhead also averaged 14.03 ppg played, had he stayed healthy for all 16 that would have been good enough for RB12.
A Team Has No Name — Ian Crosby
Albert Wilson and Willie Snead both finish in the top-50 of WR. Generally, top 50 isn’t that bold but Wilson and Snead are both being taken just outside the top-80 right now. Wilson was paid a big contract by Miami and with Devante Parker’s injury he only has to beat out Danny Amendola to be the teams second option. Wilson has the ability to win deep, but thrives in the middle of the field where Tannehill is used to find Jarvis Landry. Willie Snead is going to benefit from Joe Flacco’s angry season. Snead’s most comparable player on PlayerProfiler.com is actually Jarvis Landry and he’s easily the Ravens primary slot receiver.
The Meh Faced God — Dan Marino
Chris Hogan is this teams highest scoring WR. That puts him above Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, and Michael Crabtree. He will also outscore the aforementioned Demaryius Thomas and Mike Evans. Before his shoulder injury in 2017, Hogan was a top-10 WR. Heading into 2018 the Patriots will be without Julian Edelman for the first four games leaving Hogan as the only WR worth mentioning.
House Hallaheder — Dave Hallahan
Jerick McKinnon is a top-10 RB and Jamison Crowder is a top-24 WR. I’m doubling down on both of these players!McKinnon was RB16 last year despite having a minimal role the first four weeks. In 2018, the 49ers made him one of the highest paid running backs in the league on a rising offense. Worst case scenario is that he plays the same role as he did in Minnesota last year with Alfred Morris playing the Latavius Murray role, but Alfred Morris isn’t good.
Is there a QB/WR combo more perfect for one another than Alex Smith and Jamison Crowder? I say there is not. Even if Smith takes his 2017 bold mentality with him to Washington, Crowder will still receiver plenty of looks in the intermediate part of the field and will see his 104 targets and 66 receptions from last year increase.
#bebold
