Week 1 HDL Power Rankings
Week 1 brought us some clarity and some trends. Plenty is sure to change, but we know more than we did after an off-season with little news and even less action. Let’s see what Week 1 has done to our Power Rankings.
12 — Kangaroo on the Barbie (0–1, 11th pts, E)
Calhoun’s team may actually lose a matchup to a kangaroo. It’ll be curious to see what Calhoun does with the few guys who are performing well — Andrews, Fant, Green — package them for picks or hang on in hopes they don’t accidentally lead to too many wins?
11 — Yeezy 2020 (0–1, 12th pts, -3)
Never great to be outscored by the guy who’s tanking. Marino’s week 1 was a mixed bag, plenty to be encouraged by — Swift, Lazard, and Hockenson’s usage — and plenty to be concerned about — Akers and Hardman’s usage, Swift’s big drop, Lindsay’s injury.
10 — CDC Lamb (0–1, 9th pts, E)
In my mind, Ian was the forgotten team of the week. Perhaps that was because he was outshone by the three 200-point scoring teams in his division, having Wentz at starting QB, or having a several starters not play until 10pm on Monday. Marlon Mack’s injury has given Taylor an early opportunity and could mean Ian starts to get our attention and move up the rankings.
9— Masked Marauders (1–0, 6th pts, +2)
Head moves up two spots this week and he could have another few spots to climb before peaking. Ridley, Slayton, Watson, Dobbins, and Snell were all encouraging. But the loss of Jarwin and LVE are going to put a shallow roster to the test early.
8 — Corn Pop’s Pool Party (0–1, 10th pts, E)
Head will likely be apoplectic at seeing Sarlo ranked ahead of him. But take heart! I very much had this team in mind when I said you had room to move up. I think Sarlo’s starting roster is a little deeper and with Golladay returning to full health we’ll see if that’s true or not.
7 — NH4NO3 or Bust (1–0, 6th pts, -1)
Chris appears to have the sleepiest of walks to the playoffs. Which is good because there are still some questions for this team. Some of those questions have been around for awhile — Is Tom Brady finally done? — and others are newer — Is Allen Robinson going to be traded? Is that a good or bad thing? Is David Johnson actually back? Can Robby Anderson keep up this usage?
6 — Fantasy Football Team (0–1, 5th pts, -4)
The Pigeon has fallen in farther in the ranks than he has in a really long time. I still think his team can compete, but the other team makeups and/or Week 1 performances put them in better positions. Like the next team in the ranks, QB play appears to be back at a guessing game for Falcone. Zeke, Nuk, and Kelce did what they are supposed to but just about everyone else left a little to a lot on the table. We’ll see if they can bounce back or if this is a trend.
5 — Bacon, Lettuce, ‘Matos (1–0, 4th pts, -1)
This win was brought to you by the IDP. This may not be sustainable, but in my very unbiased research, Hallahan consistently puts out one of the best IDP lineups week-to-week. The bad news is Bell and Conner both left the game early and could be out for weeks. The good news is there were plenty of RB bench points.
4 — Führerdelphia Eagles (1–0, 3rd pts, +3)
After seeing himself outside the top-6 in the initial power rankings, Abaum made some moves. The immediate returns were good with a top-3 score and a three spot rise in the rankings. It’s easy to see this team continue ascending with Jacobs passing game work increasing, CEH only having room to grow in the passing game, and Mixon having room to grow as well. Mike can’t stand too many more WR injuries though.
3 — OBJ #2 Receiver (0–1, 2nd pts, E)
Billy’s team may still be able to fly under the radar thanks to losing to the top score. But if you were sleeping on Billy’s team, you may want to spot. His running back performances left a lot of room for improvement and that’s the strength of this team.
2— Wu-Han Clan (1–0, 7th pts, -1)
Another dropper in the rankings. I didn’t want to overreact but the injuries to Thomas and Kittle have me thinking the low points total could be around for longer than Troy would want. I initially had Troy at 4 and then looked at his starting roster. Losing Kittle and Thomas obviously hurt, but Troy winning a week against anyone in the league without those two wouldn’t surprise me.
1 — Black Mamba Down (1–0, 1st, +4)
Another team that apparently took the initial power ranks personally, because BPou has made a lot of moves since then. I joked about Adam Thielen and Davante Adams being WR1 and WR2 by the end of the year. The joke was, I wasn’t joking. This is very real possibility. If BPou had the balls to start his boy Minshew, he’d have an even higher score.
