WEEK 12 HDL POWER RANKINGS
Heading into our last regular season week, we have our final power rankings of the 2018 season! Don’t you fret, we’ll still have playoff content but those will look more like matchup previews and consolation updates. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For this week, I’ll wrap everyone up with a .gif and a few words on their teams long-term outlook.
12 — YOU KNOW NOTHING, ROY (2–10, 12th, E)
After adding three first round rookies last year, Abaum has locked up the 1.01 this year. Whether he drafts there or uses the pick to add multiple pieces remains to be seen. But Ridley, Moore, Cooper, Godwin, Howard, and Mayfield are a core group of players that you can feel good building around. I’m not ready to say Abaum is a playoff team next year, but he won’t be starting Blake Bortles to ensure the 1.01 in 2019.
11 — A TEAM HAS NO NAME (5–7, 11th, E)
Ian and Newmike will likely be drafting around the 1.05 this year. With Dalvin Cook, Derrick Henry, Derrius Guice, and Rashaad Penny — none really sure things — there is a good possibility he’s got a decent run game next year. The trade of JuJu means an already barren WR corp will likely be even worse. But with three picks in 2020, a bad team in 2019 isn’t the worst. I/M are likely in contention for the 1.01 next year, but after the 2020 rookie draft they could be on the upswing.
10 — MALTY FULL BODIED AUTUMNAL MEAD (5–7, 9th, -1)
Shrugging got Billy a playoff appearance and Calhoun is looking to follow suit. We’ll see how it works out for him this week. Going forward, it looks like Calhoun may be stuck in a cycle of mediocrity. He’s got all of his picks (😱) the next two years, but only his picks (😱 😱). OBJ and AJ Green are a really good start, but when you’re drafting John Ross and Zay Jones it’s gonna take awhile to build around those guys. Billy followed up the ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ with more of the same and worse record. We’ll see if Calhoun continues to follow the footsteps of the boomlet.
9 — HOUSE HEAD OF FRANKENFERG (6–6, 8th, -3)
Head could have his first playoff berth this year, but what was the cost? I fear we watched history repeat itself for Head. Right before the start of the 2015 season Head made the “Trade Heard Round the World” moving Aaron Rodgers and Lev Bell for 3 firsts, Monogamous Cromartie, Travis Kelce, and Theo Riddick. Much was made of this trade, but really it ended up being a good — if not really good — return. The problem was two months later Head fell into more wins than expected and traded two of those firsts and a grab bag of goods for Jamaal Charles. Fast forward to 2018 and Head gets a haul for Ertz but then moves Tre’Quan Smith and a 1st for two declining RB. This may have delayed the process until the 2020 rookie draft.
8 — MASTER OF WHISPERERS (3–9, 10th, E)
Ask Billy, and things are starting to round into form. I’m not quite as convinced, but I see the start of something. Nick Chubb was a solid pick this year and Billy has two firsts in 2019 (one likely top-3). Between Cousins and Wilson, he’s set at QB. But outside of Tyreek Hill and the aforementioned Chubb, how many players should he really be confident in entering 2019? Certainly a hesitancy to trade will keep you from making bad trades, but you’ll miss out on the good ones too. I would bet a lot of money that Billy declined trades for Kenyan Drake and John Brown that he should have accepted. Billy’s team will likely have a similar year next year with an outside shot at Übering into the playoffs.
7 — A SARLO NEVER REPAYS HIS DEBTS (4–8, 6th, +3)
When he wants to win, he can’t. When he wants to lose, he can’t. There is some honor to his ignorance with letting Billy set his lineup. Sarlo has a nice base to work with — and on his team too. Mixon, Mack, Kerryon, Njoku, Golladay, Davis, and Luck are solid pieces to build around. He’ll have a top 5 pick this year as well. Blowing up the team was probably the right move, but in hindsight he should have sold Allen and Hilton separately. He got 2 firsts, Luck and Samuel for the pair and then Troy got two firsts and a 2nd for Hilton and Reed. Still a good trade for Sarlo, but perhaps not optimal. Sarlo could be fighting for the Über Wildcard next year.
6 — THE MAHOMES FACED GOD (3–9, 7th, +1)
This guy can’t be accused of shrugging that’s for sure. He now has 4 2019 first round picks including the 1.02 (pending). His current pieces probably aren’t quite as good or deep as a Sarlo or even an Abaum, but add in his draft all and he’s sitting pretty. Mahomes is the dynasty QB1. Breida has done enough this year that he’ll maintain a role even when McKinnon returns. Philip Lindsay the second best weapon on the Broncos right now. Tyler Lockett should see TD regression next year, but will certainly be a viable option. Mike Williams, Tre’Quan Smith, Trey Burton, and Keelan Cole all had their moments this year as well. Marino should be in playoff contention next year.
MUG CONTENDERS
5 — HOUSE FIRSTUTUMUGS (8–4, 4th, -2)
After all but securing the division, dropping two spots may seem unfair. I don’t care. It was a sub-200 performance which puts you in real danger to lose each week in this tier. Losing Melvin Gordon hurts, but as I quipped in Slack having to start Brady instead of Dalton helps. With the three seed, Cleve has the best first round matchup. But he’s gotta hope Gordon is back in time for round 2 or he could be playing for third. Looking into future years, there’s still a really solid core group of players here but fewer and fewer picks to trade (or draft…you can draft) to surround them with talent. There were weeks this year where it felt like cracks were forming. They may start to widen in 2019.
4 — HOUSE WHITE-TYPE (8–4, 5th, -2)
Troy’s built up Mealey’s team into a real contender. The second half of the season, save for last week, Troy has been in the 200 point range consistently. I don’t think he’s quite ready for a championship run. He’s too shallow at RB and beyond his top-3 WR — Thomas, Allen, Woods — he’s too inconsistent. None of Gordon, A-Rob, or Watkins can be counted on as consistent contributors quite yet. Troy has the hardest pathway to the mug having to go through both BPou and Falcone just to get to the championship game. The future is bright and with a 1st and 2nd round pick this year and two 1sts next year, Troy has the ammo to trade or draft for the pieces he needs.
3 — HOUSE HALLAHEDERER (10–2, 2nd, +1)
Hallahederer sold their next two drafts for a shot at their second mug. The good news is Cooks and JuJu are 23 and 22 respectively so while they gave up some handsome pieces they at least stayed young. Despite a Week 10 hiccup (Vikings on bye), Hallahederer seem poised to compete down the stretch with 200+ weeks. If Gordon is out at least three weeks, they could have really hit the jackpot by not getting the first overall seed. But Cleve won’t go down without a fight. Regardless of how this year ends, Hallahederer looks to be just as competitive next year if not more so with McKinnon, Bell, and Kupp all likely to be healthy and rostered.
2 — HOUSE MILPOU (8–4, 3rd, +3)
Much to the chagrin of the league, BPou didn’t stay down long. After a down year, he’s right back in the thick of it. And most weeks he’s more than willing to remind you of it. While having one guy make up 30% of your weekly score isn’t a winning strategy, having two guys make up 60% seems to be working for the Pou. His starting lineup probably isn’t as deep as Hallahan’s, but his top-end talent makes up for that. The league heel has a real shot at taking down his second mug. Looking forward, Barkley and Kamara will cover a lot of wrongs. And they just may need to as BPou doesn’t have a pick in the first three rounds of the 2019 or 2020 draft. He should be a playoff team for awhile, but this may be his best bet at that second mug.
1 — THREE-EYED PIGEON (10–2, 1st, E)
For two seasons now, Falcone has paced the league. He’s still the team to beat and with a plethora of talent — mostly young — he’ll be at or near the top of the year for the next few years. There is hope for those who would like to avoid a repeat champion. The other teams in the top tier have scored more than him in recent weeks, they just haven’t be playing him. Falcone will have to win two more really tough games in order to take home his second mug. Chris Black, on the other hand, may get his second mug before he gets his first.
