The Dynasty Aftermath: Growing up in the 98609 (Learning How to Drive)

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.

When we started DLF back in 2006, I had just had my first baby. Actually, I didn’t. My wife did. Still, it seems unbelievable to me that I’m now trying to teach her how to drive. If I was to describe in three words what this is like, I would choose the following:

1.) Terrifying
2.) Tiring
3.) Tense

Just the other day, we were doing a practice drive. She turned left to go down a semi-busy road and did a great job yielding at the green, then proceeding. She asked if that was good and I responded with, “Yes, that’s perfect if we’re driving in Europe,” as we were going the wrong way into oncoming traffic. I was that close to losing all my dynasty teams and my life at the same time and we had to quickly change lanes to look as if we weren’t attempting to kill other people. If I was to describe the feeling, it would be this:

As I continue to channel my childhood this season, I can’t help but think of the first time I drove a car. My sister had a 1980 Honda Prelude that looked just like this:

I was only 14 at the time and she thought it was a good idea for me to take the wheel and attempt to drive home down a short road into our driveway. Me, being extremely confident at the time, was up for the idea. I took control of the pimped out Honda and started on my way. As I got close to the house, I turned the wheel in an attempt to park behind my Mom’s car nestled in the carport. One problem – it was stick shift and I had no idea what I was doing.  As I pumped the clutch instead of the brakes, this scene comes to mind:

I finally just hit every peddle, finally found the brakes, swerved to the right, clipped the carport, and spun out into my Grandparent’s lawn. When all was said and done, my Mom and Dad rushed out of the house and asked what happened. My Sister was calm, cool and collected and simply said, “Well, I think he’s getting it!”

So, how does all of this relate to fantasy football this week? Easy. You may feel like everything is going out of control and feel as if you’re headed down the wrong side of the road or asleep at the wheel. In the end, it’s only week eleven and you still have time to recover. Stop, re-analyze your team and make the best decision you can to get back on track. And if you’re attempting to teach a child how to drive, God Bless you for it!

With that in mind, let’s review the week that was and look forward to tomorrow.

Fantasy MVP of the Week

We’ve been waiting to see Patrick Mahomes finally look like himself and he did just that last week with a whopping 406 passing yards and five touchdowns. While we need to see that more consistently, the Chiefs are quietly starting to put things together.

Fantasy LVP of the Week

While it was just a blip on the radar, one catch for 16 yards was not what we had hoped for from AJ Brown. I love his honesty about his battle against depression and sharing his thoughts on actually committing suicide and that was the bigger story of the week. Good on you, AJ Brown, that’s not an easy thing to disclose. We hope for better things all around this week!

The Unbeatable Lineup of the Week

QB Patrick Mahomes KC = 406 passing yards, five touchdowns
RB Christian McCaffrey CAR = 95 rushing yards, ten catches, 66 receiving yards
RB Jonathan Taylor IND = 116 rushing yards, six catches, one touchdown
RB D’Ernest Johnson CLE = 99 rushing yards, seven catches, 58 receiving yards
WR Deebo Samuel SF = 36 rushing yards, five catches, 97 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR Stefon Diggs BUF = Eight catches, 162 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR CeeDee Lamb DAL = 12 rushing yards, Six catches, 94 receiving yards, two touchdowns
TE Travis Kelce KC = Eight catches, 119 receiving yards

The Underdog Lineup of the Week

QB Trevor Siemian NO = 298 passing yards, two touchdowns
RB Darrel Williams KC = 43 rushing yards, nine catches, 101 receiving yards, one touchdown
RB Rhamondre Stevenson NE = 100 rushing yards, two touchdowns
RB AJ Dillon GB = 66 rushing yards, two catches, 62 receiving yards, two touchdowns
WR RayRay McCloud PIT = Nine catches, 63 receiving yards
WR Bryan Edwards LV = Three catches, 88 receiving yards, one touchdown
WR Marcus Johnson TEN = Five catches, 100 receiving yards
TE Tyler Conklin MIN = Three catches, 11 receiving yards, two touchdowns

The Disappointing Lineup of the Week

QB Matt Ryan ATL = 117 passing yards, two interceptions
RB Mike Davis ATL = 18 rushing yards
RB Adrian Peterson TEN = 21 rushing yards
RB Cordarelle Patterson RB ATL = 25 rushing yards, one catch, 14 receiving yards
WR DK Metcalf SEA = Three catches, 26 receiving yards
WR AJ Green ARI = One catch, four receiving yards
WR DJ Moore CAR = Four catches, 24 receiving yards
TE TJ Hockenson DET = No catches

Gut Checks

I’d be worried if I had Amari Cooper.

I’d be worried if I was ignoring the play of Albert O.

I’d be worried if I was still valuing DeVante Parker highly.

I’d be worried if I was down on Jerry Jeudy.

I’d be worried if I missed out on D’Onta Foreman.

I’d be worried if I still rostered Le’Veon Bell.

I’d be worried if I was relying on any Panthers player other than CMC.

I’d be worried if I was needing anything from Trevor Lawrence this season.

I’d be worried if I had Aaron Jones.

I’d be worried if I was still not sold on Deebo Samuel.

I’d be worried if I didn’t think AJ Dillon could help win a league.

I’d be worried if I was still holding on to Jared Goff.

I’d be worried if I was needing anything from Denzel Mims.

I’d be worried if I had Baker Mayfield.

I’d be worried if I was relying on Jamal Agnew every week.

I’d be worried if I had Josh Jacobs as anything other than a flex player.

I’d be worried if I  let go of Dallas Goedert.

I’d be worried if I was starting Cole Beasley.

I’d be worried if I needed Antonio Brown any time soon.

I’d be worried if I though CEH was just going to take back over.

I’d be worried if I still rostered Mike Davis.

I’d be worried if I was still thinking Taysom Hill was going to be real thing.

I’d be worried if I was relying on Myles Gaskin.

I’d be worried if I missed out on the window to get DeVonta Smith.

I’d be worried if I was still 100% sold on Jalen Hurts.

I’d be worried if I had Chase Claypool. This just hasn’t been what we expected.

I’d be worried if I thought Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to heat back up.

I’d be worried if I had Lamar Jackson. He sure does get sick a lot.

I’d be worried if I was relying on friggin’ Mike Williams. It’s maddening.

I’d be worried if I had Darren Waller as my TE1. It’s a weird year for him.

I’d be worried if I needed weekly help from Marvin Jones.

I’d be worried if I was ignoring Tyler Conklin.

I’d be worried if I had DeAndre Hopkins. The dynasty sell high window on him may have closed.

I’d be worried if I didn’t think Hunter Henry could be a real solid weapon the rest of the way.

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 = 19.59
2.) Ja’Marr Chase WR CIN = 18.93
3.) Mac Jones QB NE = 17.20
4.) Trevor Lawrence QB JAX = 17.03
5.) Michael Carter RB NYJ = 13.63
6.) Jaylen Waddle WR MIA = 13.39
7.) Davis Mills QB HOU = 12.96
8.) Elijah Mitchell RB SF = 12.90
9.) DeVonta Smith WR PHI = 12.83
10.) Justin Fields QB CHI = 12.54
11.) Trey Lance QB SF = 12.50
12.) Zach Wilson QB NYJ = 11.97
13.) Kyle Pitts TE ATL = 11.84
14.) Rhamondre Stevenson RB NE = 10.62 (+10)
15.) Rashod Bateman WR BAL = 10.53 (+3)
16.) Javonte Williams RB DEN = 10.16
17.) Elijah Moore WR NYJ = 9.88
18.) Chuba Hubbard RB CAR = 9.43
19.) Pat Freiermuth TE PIT = 9.29
20.) Rondale Moore WR ARI = 8.44

Notable players not in the top 20: Kenneth Gainwell, Kadarius Toney, Kenneth Gainwell, Amon-Ra St. Brown,  Trey Sermon, , Terrace Marshall, Tommy Tremble,  Nico Collins, Dyami Brown, Anthony Schwartz,

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.

TIER ONE

1.) Ja’Marr Chase WR CIN (DNP) (Last week: 1)
He’s special.

2.) Najee Harris RB PIT (105 rushing yards, four catches, 28 receiving yards) (Last week: 2)
How many running backs would you rather have in a dynasty league. You won’t need both hands to count.

3.) Kyle Pitts TE ATL (Four catches, 60 receiving yards) (Last week: 3)
He’s going to go as Matt Ryan goes. Disappointing season for Atlanta.

TIER TWO

4.) Jaylen Waddle WR MIA (Four catches, 61 receiving yards) (Last week:4)
Four of five games in double digits now for Waddle and he gets the Jets tomorrow.  Tasty.

5.) DeVonta Smith WR PHI (Four catches, 66 receiving yards, two touchdowns) (Last week: 5)
He’s heating up now with two back-to-back star performances.

6.) Javonte Williams RB DEN (48 rushing yards) (Last week: 6)
Melvin freaking Gordon.

TIER THREE

7.) Travis Etienne RB JAX (Last week: 7)
Out for the season.

8.) Rashod Bateman WR BAL (Six catches, 80 receiving yards) (Last week: ) 8
Getting better each week.

9.) Rondale Moore WR ARI (Two catches, ten receiving yards) (Last week: 9)
We’re expecting more with Hopkins out. Let’s see tomorrow.

10.) Kadarius Toney WR NYG (Bye Week) (Last week: 10)
Starting to fade a touch.

11.) Elijah Moore WR NYJ (Three catches, 44 receiving yards, one touchdown) (Last week: 11)
Amazing he can do anything with this kind of quarterback play.

12.) Michael Carter RB NYJ (39 rushing yards, four catches, 43 receiving yards, one touchdown) (Last week: 12)
Bit of a letdown this week. I’m still not sure he’s a long-term asset.

13.) Elijah Mitchell, RB SF (91 rushing yards) (Last week: 13)
His injury could open the door for another runner. A truly non-shocking Shanahanian development.

TIER FOUR

14.) Trevor Lawrence QB JAX (162 passing yards) (Last week: 14)
It seems being a quarterback in the NFL is tougher than being one at Clemson.

15.) Trey Lance QB SF (DNP) (Last week: 15)
Redshirt season.

16.) Justin Fields QB CHI (Bye Week) (Last week: 16)
Let’s see how he fares against the Ravens.

TIER FIVE

17.) Terrace Marshall WR CAR (No catches) (Last week: 17)
The addition of Newton can’t possibly make this worse.

18.) Mac Jones QB NE (198 passing yards, three touchdowns) (Last week: 19)
He’s been a bit of a game manager, but we’re getting there.

19.) Pat Freiermuth, TE PIT (Five catches, 31 receiving yards) (Last week: 20)
Cooled off a bit, but no concern here.

20.) Rhamondre Stevenson RB NE (100 rushing yards, two touchdowns)
Splitting work with Damien Harris now.

Knocking on the door: Trey Sermon, Nico Collins, Dyami Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Rhamondre Stevenson, Larry Rountree, Tylan Wallace, Amari Rodgers, Jaret Patterson and more.

Rookies I’m Buying Before the Trade Deadline

Javonte Williams, Rashod Bateman, Travis Etienne, DeVonta Smith, Trey Lance.

Rookies I’m Selling Before the Trade Deadline

Michael Carter, Elijah Mitchell, Rhamondre Stevenson

See you next week!