2017 Team Preview — Jason

2017 rankings predict a shocking drop for last year’s runner-up

Anton Sather
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Still haven’t read the intro section to these previews? Check out Kevin, Mikey, or Orlando’s.

Apologies to the first 4 teams, but we have our first big surprise here with Jason coming in 10th according to 2017 rankings! As we get into the next batch of previews though, it’s important to note that the difference between each team is pretty minimal. One of the most exciting parts of fantasy football is that the only thing standing between a team finishing 5–8 and 8–5 is a three week hot streak. That goes for the teams ranked 11th-14th as well. With that in mind, let’s continue!


10. Jason, Overall Grade: B

QB: B [Derek Carr]
RBs: B+[Lamar Miller, Isaiah Crowell]
WRs: B [Demaryius Thomas, Martavis Bryant, Julian Edelman]
TE: C- [Cameron Brate]
K: C [N/A] (Graded as a replacement level K, which are easy to acquire)
DEF: A [Houston Texans]

QB: C- [N/A] (Graded as the average of the top 3 FA QBs in our league)
RB: A+ [Ezekiel Elliot]
WRs: B+ [Randall Cobb, Taylor Gabriel]
TE: B+ [Antonio Gates]

Strengths: RBs, DEF, Backup RB
There’s still a lot of unknown regarding Zeke’s suspension. It could get reduced, the appeal process could push it to later in the season or even to next year, or he could get disciplined further. For now, the 2017 rankings have pushed him down from 3rd overall to to 25th. Subsequently, that’s pushed Jason’s original ranking down from 7th to 10th. Again, we’re splitting hairs here ranking out these rosters. Losing Zeke for 6 games shifts Jason’s RBs from a huge strength into just a good one.

Luckily for Jason, he had the best backup RB in the league in Crowell, who immediately slides in as an above average starter during Zeke’s absence. He also has solid depth pieces at WR and TE that should provide spot starts during bye weeks.

Weaknesses: TE, Backup QB
Cameron Brate turned in a solid TE 6 finish last year for a Buccaneers team that lacked any receiving weapons not named Mike Evans. But with the Bucs additions of DeSean Jackson and OJ Howard, the rankings expect a severe drop in production for Brate, ranking him as TE 16. Backup QB could also be an issue for Jason, as he’d be forced to turn to the waiver wire or trading block should anything happen to Carr.

X-Factor: Martavis Bryant
Jason’s WRs are neither a major strength or weakness of his team, but Martavis could end up swinging the needle to either end of the spectrum. On one hand, his big play ability is self evident: Martavis has averaged a TD for every 6 receptions during his career. Continuing a similar pace would easily push him into the top 20 of WR scoring.

However, his career sample size is small: 95 receptions including playoff games. Not to mention he hasn’t played NFL football since 2015. A slow start and/or regression on his touchdown rate could cause him to underperform vs his current ranking.

Jason’s team trajectory should be fascinating to watch this season. If Zeke’s suspension holds, Jason will need to survive almost half of the fantasy season without a huge piece of his team. This projection could easily look silly in 3 months but for the sake of keeping things interesting, I’ll stick with the rankings and say that Jason will make a late season push after Zeke’s return, but ultimately fall short of the playoffs.


Forgot to read the other previews? Check them out below:

14. Kevin
13. Mikey
12. Orlando
11. Jeff
10. Jason
9. Joe
8. Bunger
7. Kurtis
6. Marlo
5. Binh
4. ???
3. ???
2. ???
1. ???

The D|League

Official website of The D|League Fantasy Football League

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Anton Sather

Written by

The D|League

Official website of The D|League Fantasy Football League

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