The Dynasty Aftermath: Growing up in the 98609 (The Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card Threat)
Welcome to DLF’s Dynasty Aftermath. This staple article is our longest running signature piece as we have a little fun after a tough week at the Dynasty League Football office. You’ll find this article will review the week’s happenings in a variety of ways and help set you up for the coming weeks as we spin around the league in the way we know best.
“Ken, get up here quick. He’s going to jump off the roof!”
Those were the immortal words of my best friend’s Mom in the Summer of 1989 when she called me on our land line in a tizzy. I’ll hide his name to protect his identity, so let’s just call him Brian Calliope. Young Brian was authentically threatening to jump off his house tragically. I ran up there and realized quickly I should have just finished my grilled cheese sandwich and walked. There are two things you need to know:
1.) Brian’s Mom had a tendency to overreact
2.) Brian lived in a converted old church. This house had a first floor kitchen addition off it and rested against a hill. Yep, Brian was on that part of the roof about seven feet off the ground. Had he jumped, he would have suffered a low ankle sprain (love how we fantasy footballers can distinguish that) at best. This was not exactly someone hanging from a bridge.
Once I realized there was no imminent danger, I asked him just what he was doing. He just sat down and shook his head. “I didn’t get one. Not in the whole box.” Then I knew it – Brian had raced to the local general store before the rest of us, bought a box of 1989 Bowman baseball cards and didn’t get a Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie card in the box. The devastation was all over his face. Life as he knew it, was over.
You see, I live in the Pacific Northwest and when “The Kid” arrived in Seattle, the world went bonkers, especially in my region. As Donruss, Topps, Bowman, and Upper Deck produced the coveted Jr. rookie cards, kids everywhere went hunting at their local card shops and general stores, especially us near Seattle. Little did we know, these companies were mass producing these cards (look up the junk wax era on Google) and while they were taking advantage of unprecedented demand, they were subsequently driving down future value. We didn’t realize this at the time, nor did we realize the 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie Card for $25 was a pretty good value sitting next to the Jr. cards. We were simply that dumb.
The overreaction of Brian highlighted the Summer of hunting for Ken Griffey Jr. cards. We had stacks and stacks of Griffey, Gary Sheffield, Greg Jefferies and Hensley Meulens rookie cards, thinking we had struck gold. Uhh, nope. I can still picture him up on that roof, clearly in no imminent danger, but feeling sick to his stomach at the same time. I had four different Bowman Griffey rookie cards, so I did what every best friend would do – I taunted the crap out of him for about a month…more on how he got me back later this year.
So, what does this have to do with fantasy football? If you have Derrick Henry on your dynasty team, you probably feel like Brian Calliope. Just hold it together. There are better days to come…but I’ll probably taunt you if you’re in my league.
Fantasy MVP of the Week
The Jets have been putrid all year, but they’ve finally realized giving rookie running back Michael Carter the football might be a good idea. He shined in their upset win over Cincinnati with 77 rushing yards, nine catches, 95 receiving yards and a touchdown. Carter has now had four straight games with double-digit scoring and 17 catches over his past two games – not too shabby. There are going to be some game scripts that really make his production volatile, but he was the RB1 for the week in most scoring formats.
Fantasy LVP of the Week
Travis Kelce has been the undisputed king of the tight end position for a while now, but his four catches, 27 yards and lost fumble in prime time were killers for fantasy teams this week. Most owners needing at least three or four points from Kelce had already chalked up their week as a win, but that’s why they play the games. Brutal. The gap between Kelce and Kyle Pitts to be the dynasty TE1 is shrinking.
The Unbeatable Lineup of the Week
QB Josh Allen BUF = 249 passing yards, 55 rushing yards, three touchdowns
RB Michael Carter NYJ = 77 rushing yards, nine catches, 95 receiving yards, one touchdown
RB Joe Mixon CIN = 33 rushing yards, four catches, 58 receiving yards, two touchdowns
RB Austin Ekeler LAC = 64 rushing yards, six catches, 60 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR AJ Brown TEN = Ten catches, 155 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Michael Pittman IND = Ten catches, 86 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR Chris Godwin TB = Eight catches, 140 receiving yards, one touchdown
TE TJ Hockenson DET = Ten catches, 89 receiving yards
The Underdog Lineup of the Week
QB Mike White NYJ = 405 passing yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions
RB Ty Johnson NYJ = 15 rushing yards, five catches, 71 receiving yards, one touchdown
RB Jordan Howard PHI = 57 rushing yards, two touchdowns
RB Boston Scott PHI = 60 rushing yards, two touchdowns
WR Cedrick Wilson DAL = Three catches, 84 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Jamal Agnew JAX = Six catches, 38 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Randall Cobb GB = Three catches, 15 receiving yards, two touchdowns
TE Dan Arnold JAX = Eight catches, 68 receiving yards
The Disappointing Lineup of the Week
QB Matt Ryan ATL = 146 passing yards, one touchdown, two interceptions
RB David Johnson HOU = Four rushing yards being “featured”
RB Kenneth Gainwell PHI = 27 rushing yards, no catches
RB Alex Collins SEA = 44 rushing yards against JAX. At home.
WR Odell Beckham Jr. CLE (for now)Â = One catch, six receiving yards
WR DeVonta Smith PHI = One catch, 21 receiving yards
WR Friggin’ Mike Williams LAC = Two catches, 19 receiving yards
TE Travis Kelce KC = Four catches, 27 receiving yards, one fumble
Gut Checks
I’d be worried if I had was counting on OBJ again this season.
I’d be worried if I had Sterling Shepard. He just can’t stay on the field.
I’d be worried if I needed anything from Marlon Mack this year.
I’d be worried if I was just ignoring that performance from Derrick Gore.
I’d be worried if I was counting on touchdowns from Jakobi Meyers.
I’d be worried if I had Michael Thomas.
I’d be worried if I had DeAndre Hopkins. This has gone from odd to troublesome.
I’d be worried if I wasn’t noticing the output from Joe Mixon.
I’d be worried if I needed consistency from Evan Engram.
I’d be worried if I was needing anything from Rhamondre Stevenson.
I’d be worried if I had Patrick Mahomes.
I’d be worried if I had Robert Tonyan as my TE1.
I’d be worried if I was expecting something big from Marquez Callaway.
I’d be worried if I was ignoring Bryan Edwards.
I’d be worried if I was needing something from Jalen Reagor.
I’d be worried if I was hoping for the breakout season from Chase Claypool.
I’d be worried if I didn’t think I could start Melvin Gordon or Javonte Williams.
I’d be worried if I had Allen Robinson. He needs a new home.
I’d be worried if I was making my Adrian Peterson Hall of Fame induction plans. It changes every year.
I’d be worried if I had Kenny Golladay.
I’d be worried if I thought there was a quarterback controversy with the Jets.
I’d be worried if I was starting Laviska Shenault.
I’d be worried if I needed Antonio Brown soon.
I’d be worried if I was still holding out hope for Eno Benjamin.
I’d be worried if I needed production from Alex Collins.
I’d be worried if I was starting any Eagles running back.
I’d be worried if I needed anything from Jared Goff.
I’d be worried if I thought Jameis Winston‘s future was set.
I’d be worried if I had N’Keal Harry. He needed to be moved.
I’d be worried if I had Tevin Coleman.
I’d be worried if I didn’t notice the recent performances of Elijah Moore.
I’d be worried if I was ignoring Jeff Wilson. Who knows in San Francisco.
I’d be worried if I was getting down on DeVonta Smith.
I’d be worried if I didn’t love the scoring potential of Pat Freiermuth.
I’d be worried if I was thinking about fantasy football impact in terms of Calvin Ridley. He’s pretty courageous to go public about his mental health battle. We wish him well and hope he wins in the game of life before helping us win in the game of fantasy football. I joked about Brian earlier because that was an attention grab – this clearly is not.
Rookie Scoring Leaders
The averages themselves aren’t changing up and down too much now, so I’ll now add the change in ranking for anyone notable.
1.) Najee Harris RB PIT = 20.31
2.) Ja’Marr Chase WR CIN = 19.94
3.) Trevor Lawrence QB JAX = 19.08
4.) Mac Jones QB NE = 17.48
5.) Elijah Mitchell RB SF = 13.66 (+3)
6.) Michael Carter RB NYJ = 13.56 (+7)
7.) Jaylen Waddle WR MIA = 13.44
8.) Brevin Jordan TE HOU = 13.10 (NR)
9.) Davis Mills QB HOU = 12.96
10.) Trey Lance QB SF = 12.50
11.) Kyle Pitts TE ATL = 12.49 (+2)
12.) Zach Wilson QB NYJ = 11.97
13.) Justin Fields QB CHI = 11.36 (+5)
14.) Javonte Williams RB DEN = 10.43
15.) DeVonta Smith WR PHI = 10.39 (-5)
17.) Chuba Hubbard RB CAR = 10.13
18.) Rondale Moore WR ARI = 9.23
19.) Kadarius Toney WR NYG = 9.04 (-3)
20. Rashod Bateman WR BAL = 8.95
Notable players not in the top 20: Kenneth Gainwell, Pat Freiermuth Amon-Ra St. Brown, Trey Sermon, , Terrace Marshall, Tommy Tremble, Elijah Moore, Nico Collins, Dyami Brown, Anthony Schwartz, Rhamondre Stevenson.
The Rookie Top 20
Always check our latest rankings to see the updates through the week. I take these from the rankers who input their information the quickest after the end of the week.Â
TIER ONE
1.) Ja’Marr Chase WR CIN (Three catches, 32 receiving yards, one touchdown) (Last week: 1)
Crazy when this is his worst game of the year.
2.) Najee Harris RB PIT (91 rushing yards, three catches, 32 receiving yards, one touchdown) (Last week: 3)
Five straight 20 point games for the entrenched RB1.
3.) Kyle Pitts TE ATL (Two catches, 13 receiving yards) (Last week: 2)
One sub-par outing doesn’t change anything.
TIER TWO
4.) Jaylen Waddle WR MIAÂ (Four catches, 29 receiving yards) (Last week:5)
The counting stats weren’t great, but he did have a whopping 12 targets even with DeVante Parker back.
5.) DeVonta Smith WR PHI (One catch, 15 receiving yards) (Last week: 4)
There have been a ton of uneven performances, including this one.
6.) Javonte Williams RB DEN (35 rushing yards, two catches, 13 receiving yards) (Last week: 6)
He really needed Melvin Gordon to be moved.
TIER THREE
7.) Travis Etienne RB JAX (Last week: 8)
James Robinson isn’t going anywhere, regardless of if Urban Meyer does.
8.) Rashod Bateman WR BAL (BYE) (Last week: 9)
DNP
9.) Rondale Moore WR ARI (Three catches, 24 receiving yards) (Last week: 7)
It’s been three weeks now since we’ve seen a solid outing.
10.) Kadarius Toney WR NYG (Four catches, 26 receiving yards) (Last week: 10)
Just what the Giants needed – another receiver who can’t stay on the field.
11.) Michael Carter RB NYJ (77 rushing yards, nine catches, 95 receiving yards) (Last week: 17)
Biggest riser of the week as he’s starting to look the part. Can he do it again tonight against the Colts?
12.) Elijah Mitchell, RB SF (137 rushing yards, one touchdown) (Last week: 19)
Any passing game usage would be huge. Regardless, I’m moving him as fast as I can since things change quick in SF.
TIER FOUR
13.) Trevor Lawrence QB JAX (238 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception) (Last week: 11)
Doing the best he can with what he has. Neither is much.
14.) Trey Lance QB SF (DNP) (Last week: 12)
Still needs some seasoning.
15.) Justin Fields QB CHI (175 passing yards, 103 rushing yards, two touchdowns, one interception) (Last week: 13)
I’m sure Matt Nagy will take credit for his performance since he’s “involved in everything.”
16.) Elijah Moore WR NYJ (Six catches, 67 receiving yards)(Last week: 14)
If you’re a believer, now is the time to buy.
TIER FIVE
17.) Terrace Marshall WR CAR (DNP) (Last week: 15)
Lost season so far.
18.) Kenneth Gainwell RB PHI (27 rushing yards) (Last week: 16)
Wait. I thought he was the pass catcher!?!
19.) Mac Jones QB NE (218 passing yards) (Last week: 18)
Again, better in reality than fantasy this season.
20.) Chuba Hubbard RB CARÂ (82 rushing yards, one catch, nine receiving yards, one touchdown) (Last week: 20)
His 3.6 yards per carry is showing us he’s really just an average player.
Knocking on the door: Trey Sermon, Nico Collins, Dyami Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Rhamondre Stevenson, Larry Rountree, Pat Freiermuth, Tylan Wallace, Amari Rodgers, Jaret Patterson and more.
See you next week!
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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- 2024 Rookie Bust Mock Draft (Pre-Draft Edition): Round Two - April 21, 2024
