2017 Mid-Season Power Rankings
You’ll never guess who’s on top
**QUICK UPDATE**
If you didn’t already notice, the poll for the consolation playoff restructure PASSED, 11 votes to 3. The new format will go into effect for the 2017 season.
ALSO, I am officially reminding everyone (and myself because I had totally forgotten) about this post from last year. Specifically this:
Team owners will be penalized $15 FAAB for each player that makes a start while being on their Bye Week, or inactive due to injury/suspension/etc.
It’s not a huge penalty but there does need to be something to make sure people are setting their line-ups every week.
Mid-Season Power Rankings
All player rankings are ranked according to average points scored to account for bye weeks.
Tier 1: The Favorite
Kurtis has the record and scoring production to put him in his own tier, whereas the teams below him face some questions going into the second half of the fantasy season.
1. Kurtis
Record: 6–1
Points Scored: 953.22 (1st)
Points Against: 712.10 (8th)
1st Half MVP: Deshaun Watson — 28.10 AVG (QB 2)
Kurtis’ dominant season has been highlighted throughout the weekly recaps, so I’ll keep this simple. He has the QB 2, QB 3 (Smith), RB 2 (Hunt), RB 3 (Fournette), WR 7 (Green), and TE 2 (Ertz). His current point production puts him on pace to score 1770 points this season, almost 200 more than my “record” (only 1 year) of 1578 points last season. Wowza!
Tier 2: Contenders
These teams have a great chance in securing a playoff spot thanks to their record and point production. However, they each face some roster questions that limit their potential. One interesting note is that other than Binh, all of these Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams have had the good fortune of scoring a lot of points as well as facing very soft schedules in terms of Points Against.
2. Lando
Record: 5–2
Points Scored: 824.94 (2nd)
Points Against: 693.82 (10th)
1st Half MVP: Antonio Brown — 17.64 AVG (WR 1)
Lando’s roster isn’t awe-inspiring at first glance, but perhaps they should be considering they’ve scored the 2nd most points despite losing Dalvin Cook in Week 4. Mark Ingram is back to RB1 status after the Saints booted Peterson out of town and Antonio Brown’s scored 30 more fantasy points than any other WR.
3. Tani
Record: 5–2
Points Scored: 769.62 (5th)
Points Against: 630.94 (14th)
1st Half MVP: Le’Veon Bell — 20.26 AVG (RB 5)
Tani hasn’t been the Goliath we imagined coming into the season, but his roster is still strong at every position other than TE. Jacksonville DEF could very well be his MVP over Bell, as they’re the top scoring defense heading into Week 8.
4. Anton
Record: 5–2
Points Scored: 782.52 (4th)
Points Against: 656.12 (13th)
1st Half MVP: Mike Evans — 15.32 AVG (WR 4)
With the possible emergence of McKinnon as a reliable RB2, I’m feeling a little better about my team heading into the second half of the season. Stefon Diggs will need to get healthy if I want to have a chance against Kurtis and the other Tier 2 teams.
5. Binh
Record: 5–2
Points Scored: 821.10 (3rd)
Points Against: 762.68 (5th)
1st Half MVP: Todd Gurley — 22.29 AVG (RB 1)
Binh should have been at the top of Tier 2, but the Rodgers injury pushes him down. Goff has been solid this season, but having to start him instead of Rodgers loses Binh 10 fantasy points a week based on their average production this season.
Tier 3: In The Mix
These teams should be battling for the 5th and 6th playoff spots, and a hot streak could push them up a tier a few weeks from now.
6. Kevin
Record: 4–3
Points Scored: 725.38 (6th)
Points Against: 707.34 (9th)
1st Half MVP: Carson Wentz — 26.88 AVG (QB 4)
Remember when I had Kevin last in the Season Preview? Whoops. He’s still weak at WR, but his RB duo of Gordon and Freeman have been as good as advertised and the emergence of Wentz has given Kevin enough firepower to reel off 4 straight wins after an 0–3 start.
7. Bunghole
Record: 4–3
Points Scored: 686.00 (9th)
Points Against: 689.18 (11th)
1st Half MVP: Kirk Cousins — 24.51 AVG (QB 6)
Cousins has come on strong as of late averaging almost 30 fantasy points in his last 4 games, a span in which the Bunghole has won 3 of those match-ups. If Captain Kirk can keep that up, Bunghole’s sneaky good RB duo of Chris Thompson and Duke Johnson should continue to keep him competitive over the next 6 games.
8. Jeff
Record: 5–2
Points Scored: 637.60 (13th)
Points Against: 666.88 (12th)
1st Half MVP: Lady Luck
I really don’t mean to pick on Jeff all the time, but considering he’s scored the second least points with a 5–2 record, Lady Luck should probably be named his MVP. Unfortunately that luck has run out with the Odell injury, and his streak of winning low scoring match-ups might be coming to an end.
Tier 4: The Hopefuls
These teams aren’t out of the playoff hunt just yet, but they need a winning streak and/or an increase in their scoring output to make a second half push. The teams in Tier 4 and 5 don’t get an MVP or a blurb because they don’t deserve one. (And I’ve ran out of time to write any more this week.)
9. Jason
Record: 3–4
Points Scored: 690.74 (8th)
Points Against: 727.82 (6th)
10. JR
Record: 3–4
Points Scored: 641.88 (10th)
Points Against: 721.16 (7th)
11. Josh
Record: 2–5
Points Scored: 709.72 (7th)
Points Against: 765.06 (4th)
Tier 5: Better Luck Next Year
Never say never — Jeff was 14th on this list last year and won 5 straight to make the playoffs — but smart money would bet on these teams not only missing the playoffs, but missing the Consolation bracket as well. These teams are the inverse of Tier 2 — not only do they struggle to score points, but other teams have scored in bunches against them.
12. Marlo
Record: 1–6
Points Scored: 640.70 (12th)
Points Against: 774.46 (3rd)
13. Joe
Record: 1–6
Points Scored: 585.50 (14th)
Points Against: 824.22 (1st)
14. Mikey
Record: 0–7
Points Scored: 646.38 (11th)
Points Against: 813.52 (2nd)
