The Dynasty Aftermath: QS Watermelon
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. Expect it each and every week. I’ve written this column for the past seventeen years and I love it. I enjoy combing through the stats of the week on Monday night, putting together ridiculous lineups, picking MVPs/LVPs and discussing things to worry about.
That’s not all. I also really love sharing observations, little bits of entertainment or some stories with the community of DLF and picking a theme for this column each week. You really never know what you’re going to get. This year, I’m doing a “Five in Five” article each week and that previews this article on Saturdays. Let’s recap the storylines from last week before we get into it.
Fields of Gray
It seems more and more likely the Bears are going to end up with the first pick in the NFL Draft this Spring. The Panthers were 1-12 going into the week and are running out of weeks to win games. They ended up winning this week but are still likely going to give Chicago the top pick as the Bears own the Panthers selection as a result of last year’s trade – this put Justin Fields squarely in the crosshairs as we end the season. He needed to put together a few more big games to make the Bears think twice about taking a quarterback at the top of the draft and trade back for a second straight year. This week was a step back for Fields, who failed to impress.
Prediction: Fields continues his “good but not great” season with 250 passing yards, 65 rushing yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Reality: Fields posted 166 passing yards, 30 rushing yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Forever Young
Speaking of the Panthers, they need to find out if Bryce Young really is the long-term answer. Young has just not been very impressive. In fact, he had failed to throw for more than 200 yards in six weeks as they entered their game with Atlanta. Carolina has invested heavily in Young and so far the returns have been pretty dismal.
Prediction: Young throws for 195 yards, with one touchdown and one interception in another so-so performance.
Reality: Young threw for 167 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Hill to Climb
So far this year, Tyreek Hill has been superhuman with 97 catches for 1,542 yards and 12 touchdowns, Hill is right on pace to set the NFL record for most receiving yards in a season and has a very realistic chance to be the NFL’s first-ever 2,000 yard receiver. Hill is battling a nagging injury and his status was in question for this week’s game against the Jets, though it seemed like he would be able to suit up. In the end, he couldn’t. Bummer.
Prediction: Hill burns the Jets for at least one big play and finishes with six catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.
Reality: Hill doesn’t make it through warm-ups.
He’s Purdy Good
Remember the preseason when there was a conversation about the 49ers starting Trey Lance or Brock Purdy? It all seems a bit laughable at this point as Purdy had thrown for 3,553 yards with 25 touchdowns and just seven interceptions going into the week, leading what many believe is the best team in football. Over his last five games, Purdy had thrown for 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions as San Francisco had won five straight. What did he have in store for us next?
Prediction: A lot. Purdy throws for four touchdowns as he makes his case for NFL MVP.
Reality: I love being right.
The Falcon and the Snowman
If you didn’t know, The Falcon and the Snowman was a spy movie from the 1980s. It fit as a headline last week as Atlanta has somehow found a way to make Kyle Pitts (you know, #8 or a snowman) relatively worthless along with many others like Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Pitts had just a 44/549/2 line on the year and now has just five touchdown receptions in his three seasons. We were wondering if we wouild see anything that gave us hope for the stretch run for Pitts and the rest of this group.
Prediction: Pitts catches three passes for 35 yards. London catches six for 70 and Robinson gets 100 total yards but no touchdowns.
Reality: Pitts catches three passes for 37 yards, London catches two for 24 yards, and Robinson gets 14 total yards but no touchdowns. Sometimes I hate being right.
And quickly on to my weekly rant or advice for the week. Have any of you played this QS Watermelon game? If you haven’t, don’t download it because it will control most of your life. The object is to combine fruits to make bigger ones, all the way up to the watermelon. Think of it like Tetris with fruits, Apparently, it’s a big thing now and my High School kids showed me the thing and it’s become my great life challenge to score 3,000 points.
Anyway, there’s a point to this. I always think of things and relate them to fantasy football. In the game, two blueberries make a cherry, two cherries make a lime, two limes make bananas, etc. This is exactly what you need to do with your dynasty roster as we hit the off-season – you need to start combining assets to move up. In other words, two-for-one trades are always something to look at. Do you have two WR2s you can spin for a low-end WR1? Can you take a late second and a late third to move up in the draft? This is the time to evaluate your assets and determine what you can do moving forward. While you may not be able to get all the way to the Christian McCaffrey watermelon, it’s a great time to evaluate your roster, determine what kind value you have, assess your weaknesses and see what and who you can package to improve your roster.
On to week fifteen!
Fantasy MVP of the Week
As with most weeks, it would be easy to go with Christian McCaffrey here. However, 100% of teams trying to win had him in their starting lineups. How about a running back who was likely on the starting roster bubble this week who dominated? Yep, it’s James Cook who had 179 rushing yards, two catches, 42 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the Bills in their blowout win over Dallas. I was personally in a playoff game where my opponent had to take out Tyreek Hill and replace him with Cook. I left the night wishing Hill had played instead – that’s saying something.
Fantasy LVP of the Week
With nine straight double-digit fantasy weeks, Breece Hall was somehow providing value on a terrible Jets offense. However, things finally came crashing down this week as he posted just 12 rushing yards and added one catch for six more receiving yards. It was a dismal performance from Hall, who was the victim of a poor game script and just being on the Jets roster.
The Unbeatable Lineup of the Week
QB Jared Goff DET = 278 passing yards, five touchdowns
RB Christian McCaffrey SF = 115 rushing yards, five catches, 72 receiving yards, three touchdowns
RB James Cook BUF = 170 rushing yards, two catches, 42 receiving yards, two touchdowns
RB Jahmyr Gibbs DET = 100 rushing yards, two catches, eight receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR Jordan Addison MIN = Six catches, 111 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR Jaylen Waddle MIA = Eight catches, 142 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Terry McLaurin WAS = Six catches, 141 receiving yards, one touchdown
TE Sam LaPorta DET = Five catches, 56 receiving yards, three touchdowns
The Underdog Lineup of the Week
QB Baker Mayfield TB = 381 passing yards, four total touchdowns
RB Ty Chandler MIN = 132 rushing yards, three catches, 25 receiving yards, one touchdown
RB Devin Singletary HOU = 121 rushing yards, four catches, 49 receiving yards
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC = 37 rushing yards, four catches, 64 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Noah Brown HOU = Eight catches, 82 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Josh Palmer LAC = Four catches, 113 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Curtis Samuel WAS = Five catches, 41 receiving yards, two touchdowns
TE David Njoku CLE = Ten catches, 104 receiving yards, one touchdown
The Disapointing Lineup of the Week
QB Dak Prescott DAL = 134 passing yards, 27 rushing yards, one interception
RB Najee Harris PIT = 33 rushing yards, lost fumble
RB Breece Hall NYJ = 12 rushing yards, one catch, six receiving yards
RB Javonte Williams DEN = 27 rushing yards, two catches, -7 receiving yards
WR Odell Beckham BAL = One catch, 14 receiving yards
WR Brandin Cooks DAL = Two catches, ten receiving yards
WR Tyler Lockett SEA = Three catches, 21 receiving yards
TE Taysom Hill NO = One rushing yards, one catch, four receiving yards
Gut Checks
I’d be worried if I haven”t I’d be worried if I haven”t played QS watermelon.
I’d be worried if I thought Austin Ekeler was still in his prime.
I’d be worried if I though Aidan O’Connell wasn’t worth a look.
I’d be worried if I thought Jordan Addison couldn’t do that again with Jefferson in tow.
I’d be worried if I thought Tee Higgins wasn’t poised for some big games with Chase out.
I’d be worried if I was underestimating Jake Browning.
I’d be worried if I was counting on Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren.
I’d be worried if I missed out on Sam LaPorta.
I’d be worried if I had two pineapples on opposite sides of the box.
I’d be worried if I wasn’t paying attention to the Colts running back situation closely this week.
I’d be worried if I needed George Pickens to be my future WR1.
I’d be worried if I wasn’t positioning myself for Marvin Harrison Jr.
I’d be worried if I thought Joe Flacco couldn’t keep doing this.
I’d be worried if I was ignoring the heater David Njoku is on at the moment.
I’d be worried if I wasn’t confident in Rachaad White the rest of the way. It’s not pretty but it’s effective.
I’d be worried if I wasn’t really evaluating my roster at the moment as we creep towards the off-season.
I’d be worried if I thought two oranges together made anything other than an apple.
I’d be worried if I was still holding out hope for Dameon Pierce.
I’d be worried if I thought Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane shouldn’t both be in lineups.
I’d be worried if I wasn’t paying really close attention to the emergence of Rashee Rice.
I’d be worried if I was counting on Saquon Barkley. Can he just get out at this point?
I’d be worried if I needed anyone from the Falcons. It’s infuriating.
I’d be worried if I was underestimating Kyren Williams.
I’d be worried if I missed out on Trey McBride.
I’d be worried if I thought Brock Purdy was a temporary solution.
I’d be worried if I had Keaton Mitchell. Late season ACL tears are the worst
The Top Rookie Scoring Averages
1.) CJ Stroud, QB HOU = 22.46
2.) Anthony Richardson, QB IND = 20.36
3.) De’Von Achane RB MIA = 18.97
4.) Jahmyr Gibbs, RB DET = 17.03
5.) Puka Nacua, WR LAR = 16.62
6.) Will Levis, QB TEN = 16.45
7.) Tank Dell, WR HOU = 15.04
8.) Sam LaPorta, TE DET = 14.66
9.) Tyson Bagent QB CHI = 14.39
10.) Jordan Addison, WR MIN = 14.19
11.) Aidan O’Connell, QB LV = 14.09
12.) Bijan Robinson, RB ATL = 13.96
13.) Rashee Rice WR KC = 13.24
14.) Tommy DeVito QB NYG = 13.21
15.) Bryce Young, QB CAR = 13.07
16.) Jayden Reed, WR GB = 12.52
17.) Zay Flowers WR BAL = 11.80
18.) Josh Downs WR IND = 9.44
19.) Dalton Kincaid TE BUF = 9.42
20.) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR SEA = 8.94
The Rookie Top Ten
Always check our latest rankings to see the updates throughout the week. These rankings are simply my own.
1.) De’Von Achane, RB MIA
Until Arthur Smith gets fired.
2.) Bijan Robinson, RB ATL
See Achane, De’Von.
3.) Jahmyr Gibbs, RB DET
Would like to see Montgomery out of the picture at some point.
4.) Puka Nacua, WR LAR
What a year.
5.) Tank Dell, WR HOU
What a bummer. Lost for the season.
6.) Sam LaPorta, TE DET
Again, could make a case for 1.01.
7.) Jordan Addison, WR MIN
Was stellar even with Jefferson back.
8.) Rashee Rice, WR KC
Boy, is he coming on in a hurry.
9.) CJ Stroud,QB HOU
Everyone should take him over Richardson with no hesitation now. The concussion is frustrating.
10.) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR SEA
Made the biggest play of Seattle’s season this week.
See you on Saturday for the “Five in Five!” and next week for the Dynasty Aftermath.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
- Dynasty Fantasy Football 2024 NFL Draft: Veteran Winners and Losers from Day One - April 26, 2024
- Dynasty Running Back Danger Rankings: 8-1 - April 25, 2024
- 2024 Rookie Bust Mock Draft (Pre-Draft Edition): Round Three - April 24, 2024
