The Dynasty Aftermath: A Shocking Result of the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Relationship

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. And I’ll just say it now – yes, this week is weird.

Las Vegas Strip?

The Raiders had stripped Davante Adams of his elite WR1-level status by freezing him out of the offense the past couple of weeks. He still had one fewer target than Jakobi Meyers but 12 targets are nothing to complain about. Let’s see what happens in the coming weeks as Adams looks to be staying in Sin City at least for the rest of the year.

Buffalo Wings

The wings had been clipped off the Buffalo offense the past couple of weeks and while they scored 25 this week, 15 of those came in desperation time and all of them came against a Patriots team that’s been dreadful. Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs are safe starts each week but this offense hasn’t looked like we thought it would for the better part of the past month.

Saquonts to be There

The Giants are going to run everything through Saquon Barkley, for better or worse. He’s saying he wants to stay there through the trade deadline and his 24 touches this week and production that came with it (118 total yards and a touchdown) show he’s healthy, at least for now.

Battering Ram

The Rams running back situation is very interesting to dynasty managers with Kyren Williams on the shelf. This week gave us a glimpse of what to expect with Royce Freeman (66 yards on 12 carries) and Darrell Henderson (61 yards and a score on 18 carries) looking like they may just split the work. This will be a story to track at least one more week before we can realistically suggest using either in your lineup.

Hurts so Good

The Eagles offense had sputtered in recent weeks and needed a big week. They got just that with Jalen Hurts (279 passing yards and three total touchdowns) and AJ Brown (ten catches for 137 receiving yards) leading the charge. It’s just one week but anyone counting on Eagles players are breathing a sigh of relief.

And now to my comments of the week. And like I said, it’s weird.

When I ran my theme by Eric Dickens this week, I told him I wanted to analyze what a baby from Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift would actually be like. When I tried to find some kind of an athlete who could look somewhat like what they would produce, the only thing I came up with was maybe Mike Piazza. Since I couldn’t really sell that (even to myself), I tried to put together their faces and see what I came up with.

The results were shocking.

I’m going to say this publicly. I believe Swift and Kelce may have been together for some time and invented a time machine as their faces together turned out to be Jon Heder from Napoleon Dynamite. I’m not saying he’s theirs but I’m not saying he isn’t, either. I’m going to let it go for a few more weeks but I may call for an investigation.

So, what does this have to do with fantasy football? It’s easy!  Sometimes you have to mash-up your lineup to win but you never know when a D’Onta Foreman or Gardner Minshew can win you a game. Pay attention to the injury reports and never be afraid to be bold – just like Kelce and Swift finding that time machine.

On to week seven!

Fantasy MVP of the Week

There’s obviously a lot of talk about Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift (and now Jon Heder) but the 12 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown reminded us yet again that Kelce is an absolute cheat code at the position. If you have him in your lineup, the point differential alone keeps you in games.

Fantasy LVP of the Week

You can’t expect the Falcons to reveal everything to us but hiding the fact Bijan Robinson was sick just crushed dynasty teams this week. A measly three yards sunk many a team this week and it simply came out of nowhere.

The Unbeatable Lineup of the Week

QB Patrick Mahomes KC = 424 passing yards, four touchdowns
RB Alvin Kamara NO = 62 rushing yards, 12 catches, 91 receiving yards
RB Jahmyr Gibbs DET = 68 rushing yards, nine catches, 58 receiving yards, one touchdown
RB Travis Etienne JAX  = 53 rushing yards, three catches, 24 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR Jordan Addison MIN = Seven catches, 123 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR AJ Brown PHI = Ten catches, 137 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Tyreek Hill MIA = 11 catches, 88 receiving yards, one touchdown
TE Travis Kelce KC = 12 catches, 179 receiving yards, one touchdown

The Underdog Lineup of the Week

QB Gardner Minshew IND = 305 passing yards, four total touchdowns
RB D’Onta Foreman CHI = 89 rushing yards, three catches, 31 receiving yards, three touchdowns
RB Gus Edwards BAL = 64 rushing yards, one catch, 80 receiving yards
RB Jerome Ford CLE  = 74 rushing yards, two catches, 20 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Josh Downs IND = Five catches, 125 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Courtland Sutton DEN = Six catches, 76 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling KC = Three catches, 84 receiving yards, one touchdown
TE Dalton Kincaid BUF = Eight catches, 75 receiving yards

The Disappointing Lineup of the Week

QB Tua Tagovailoa MIA = 216 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception
RB Bijan Robinson ATL = Three rushing yards
RB Austin Ekeler LAC = 45 rushing yards, one catch, one receiving yard
RB Raheem Mostert MIA = 45 rushing yards, one catch, six receiving yards
WR Jameson Williams DET = No catches
WR Calvin Ridley JAX = One catch, five receiving yards
WR Gabe Davis BUF = One catch, six receiving yards
TE Cole Kmet CHI = No catches

Gut Checks

I’d be worried if I wasn’t moving Travis Etienne up my rankings.

I’d be worried if I wasn’t moving Calvin Ridley down my rankings.

I’d be worried if I thought this was sustainable for Alvin Kamara without touchdowns.

I’d be worried if I wasn’t really impressed with Jakobi Meyers.

I’d be worried if I thought D’Onta Foreman couldn’t do that again.

I’d be worried if I had Deshaun Watson on my roster.

I’d be worried if I was ignoring the ascension of Josh Downs.

I’d be worried if I thought Jonathan Taylor was just going to eliminate Zack Moss.

I’d be worried if I was starting Gabriel Davis each week.

I’d be worried if I thought the Patriots could finally score.

I’d be worried if I was ignoring the improvement of Darren Waller.

I’d be worried if I was ignoring the carries from Chris Rodriguez.

I’d be worried if I was souring on Bijan Robinson.

I’d be worried if I was counting on Rachaad White.

I’d be worried if I still wasn’t sold on Puka Nacua.

I’d be worried if I thought Russell Wilson was out of the woods.

I’d be worried if I wasn’t at least a little concerned about Jordan Love.

The Top Rookie Scoring Averages

1.) De’Von Achane RB MIA = 25.93
2.) Puka Nacua, WR LAR = 20.80
3.) CJ Stroud, QB HOU = 20.75
4.) Anthony Richardson, QB IND = 20.36
5.) Bryce Young, QB CAR = 15.37
6.) Jordan Addison, WR MIN = 15.00
7.) Bijan Robinson, RB ATL = 13.90
8.) Jahmyr Gibbs, RB DET = 13.30
9.) Zay Flowers, WR BAL = 13.00
10.) Sam LaPorta, TE DET = 12.96
11.) Tank Dell, WR HOU = 12.94
12.) Josh Downs, WR IND = 12.16
13.) Tyson Bagent QB CHI = 12.03
14.) Rashee Rice, WR KC = 10.64
15.) Jayden Reed, WR GB = 9.85

Just missed: Michael Wilson, Dalton Kincaid, Luke Musgrave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jaleel McLaughlin, Marvin Mims

The Rookie Top 10

Always check our latest rankings to see the updates throughout the week. These rankings are simply my own.

1.) Bijan Robinson, RB ATL
Still holding strong.

2.) De’Von Achane, RB MIA
Just a smidge over Nacua now.

3.) Puka Nacua, WR LAR
Still solid in the top three and I see a tier gap now.

TIER BREAK

4.)  Jordan Addison, WR MIN
Clearly the best of the three most popular receivers taken this year along with Zay Flowers and Quentin Johnston.

5.) Jahmyr Gibbs, RB DET
That’s what we’ve been waiting to see, even in a weird game.

TIER BREAK

6.) Zay Flowers, WR BAL
Building on a solid start.

7.) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR SEA
He scored!

8.) Anthony Richardson, QB IND
I have major concerns now.

9.)  CJ Stroud,QB HOU
I’d rather have him than Quentin Johnston at this point.

10.) Tank Dell, WR HOU
Needs to get back soon as well.

See you on Saturday for the “Five in Five!” and next week for the Dynasty Aftermath.