Exit Interviews: The Bunghole Teams
What went right and wrong for our bottom four teams.
Gonna attempt something new this year: Exit Interviews. Essentially, a quick recap of everyone’s season. First up: our bottom four teams that competed in the Bunghole playoffs.
Note: Positional Ranks are based off 2018 fantasy points scored by each team’s QB1, RB1–3, WR1–5, and TE1 at the end of the season. It’s far from perfect since it doesn’t factor in any mid-season trades, but I think it’s still a decent snapshot into how each team performed vs the rest of the league this season as well as identifying potential strengths heading into next season.
14. Bunger (Take a Kaeperkneeck)
Preseason Power Ranking: 10th
Mid Season Power Ranking: 14th
Final Position Ranks
QB: 3rd
RB: 11th
WR: 12th
TE: 4th
What Went Right
Bunger would likely say that landing the 1st Overall Pick is what went right this season and well, it’s hard to argue with that. In terms of his roster, Big Ben passed his way to a beefy QB 3 season and Joe Mixon had a breakout sophomore year — finishing as RB 8 overall. Lastly, Cooks had a respectable first season in the Rams offense and ended the year at WR 12.
What Went Wrong
WR was the concern from the beginning and as expected, Bunger finished the season ranked 12th in WR scoring. However, outside of Mixon, Bunger’s RBs disappointed as well. Duke Johnson was severely underutilized compared to previous seasons and Rashaad Penny spent his rookie year getting outplayed by Chris Carson. Bunger also spent most of the season with a disappointing year of Gronk at TE. Simply put, there just wasn’t any firepower behind Big Ben, Mixon, and Cooks.
The Path Ahead
Acquiring Eric Ebron and a 1st Round Pick for Gronk (and moving back 11 spots in the 2nd Round) looks like an extremely savvy move by Bunger and essentially signaled his rebuild to the rest of the league. With two 1st Rounders — one being the 1.01 — he has ammo to revitalize his roster. We’ll see if he breaks away from his usual draft strategy and selects a WR at No. 1 since there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut RB to take there.
13. Jason (Big Black Zeke)
Preseason Power Ranking: 12th
Mid Season Power Ranking: 13th
Final Position Ranks
QB: 14th
RB: 4th
WR: 14th
TE: 12th
What Went Right
With a preseason ranking of 12th, this was always likely going to be a rebuilding year for J Tong and from that viewpoint, there were some nice developments for his team this season, specifically with his young RBs. Tarik Cohen was used perfectly in the Bears offense according to his skillset and finished as RB 15. Sony Michel (RB 25) dealt with injuries but the rookie looked impressive when healthy. Jason was also able to nab Philip Lindsay (RB 12) off the waiver wire and flipped him for a 2020 1st Rounder.
What Went Wrong
Again, in terms of (FantasyPros) expectations, not much. He had the lowest WR grade in the preseason and subsequently finished last in the league this year in WR scoring. At TE, Jason finished 12th in the league, but that was a known weakness heading into the season as well. The obvious answer you’re waiting for is that Jason doesn’t reap the benefits of his poor record since Kevin owns his 1st Rounder. However, that trade occurred in 2017, so the fault there lies further back.
The Path Ahead
Not owning his 2nd Overall Pick is rough, but it appeared to be the wake-up call J Tong needed to place a higher emphasis on accumulating draft capital. In addition to the Lindsay trade, Jason was able to regain a 2019 1st from Kurtis in the Edelman trade. A couple more trades like those and J Tong will be in good shape to build some talent around his talented young RBs. Don’t sleep on his last ranked QB position either. Lamar Jackson claimed the starting gig ahead of schedule and Wentz should presumably rebound in 2019 as well.
12. Jeff (Kendamakong Suh Dude)
Preseason Power Ranking: 14th
Mid Season Power Ranking: 11th
Final Position Ranks
QB: 12th
RB: 12th
WR: 9th
TE: 14th
What Went Right
Jeff exceeded expectations yet again, although not by as much this season. He got there through an assortment of veteran fantasy cast-offs like Doug Martin and DeSean Jackson, who had productive stretches in various parts of the year. More importantly for Jeff’s long-term prospects, Courtland Sutton is way ahead of schedule, Zay Jones took a major step forward after an awful rookie year, and Dallas Goedert looks like he could easily replace Ertz in a couple years as a top fantasy TE.
What Went Wrong
Jeff might have avoided last place, but he couldn’t avoid the Bunghole crown. He also missed some golden opportunities to squeeze some trade value out of the veterans previously mentioned, although it’s of course unknown what teams would’ve actually been willing to give up. The worst development for Jeff has to be the Emmanuel Sanders’ Achilles injury, as it derailed the value of Jeff’s best veteran trade asset and puts Sanders’ 2019 production in serious question.
The Path Ahead
As mentioned in his season preview, that next couple years will likely be rough for Jeff. The good news is that his recent draft picks look to be on the right path. The bad news is that sitting idly by and watching his veterans age into fantasy purgatory will only delay his rebuild further.
11. Orlando (Throwin Fitz)
Preseason Power Ranking: 5th
Mid Season Power Ranking: 12th
Final Position Ranks
QB: 9th
RB: 10th
WR: 13th
TE: 11th
What Went Right
Not a lot considering Lando was supposed to be a playoff contender, but there were still some positive developments for a team hoping to bounce back in 2019. Dalvin Cook was finally healthy to close the year with a 16.5 fantasy point average in the last six weeks and Aaron Jones averaged an even more impressive 19.2 fantasy points taking over the Packers backfield in Weeks 8–14 before getting injured. Along with Kenyan Drake, who was utilized frustratingly by the Dolphins this season, Lando has a trio of running backs that could put it together in 2019.
What Went Wrong
Lando could just never get his season rolling. Young stars like Dalvin Cook and Evan Engram struggled and missed games due to injury. Ol’ reliables like LeSean McCoy and Pierre Garcon were just old instead of reliable. Mark Ingram was suspended for the first four games. Mike McCarthy confusingly refused to commit to Aaron Jones until Week 8. Etc, etc, you get the idea.
The Path Ahead
Lando has two 1st Round Picks coming up, 1.04 and 1.10, and he’ll need them to replenish a WR group that finished 13th in the league in scoring with no clear star-in-waiting as Antonio Brown grows older. This roster still has talent at other positions though. Rivers looks revitalized and hovered around QB 5 for most of the year (before admittedly cratering in Weeks 16 and 17). The RBs were discussed earlier. And while Engram didn’t quite dispel the concerns about being able to produce when OBJ is healthy and on the field, there’s still not many young TE’s you’d take in Dynasty over him.
