Pre-Draft TFLOEG Power Powell Rankings 2015

It's draft week folks, and the anticipation is at a fever pitch. You can tell it's at a near boiling point as  Keith and I have started our usual pre-draft schoolyard bickering of:

"I know who your sleepers are!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't"

"Yes I do!"

But I digress. It's hard to say who will win the league at this point of the season, however after the draft we'll be able to see exactly who has no shot at the title. The draft will make or break your season, take it from me. I've been the scoring leader in the league three out of five years, won the title once and had a second championship slip away from me after a Julio Jones fumble I witnessed live in person:

I coulda, shoulda, woulda been a two time champ... 

Anyway, all I'm saying is I'm decent at fantasy football. There's no real secret to how to do it, you just maximize consistency and choose upside over proven mediocre players. 

Why is this worth reading? It's to prove that if you have a great draft, a title is a higher probability. 

For example:

Andrew:

Andrew was consistently terrible at fantasy. I'm not sure why as he is a bright enough fellow and watched football as often as I do. But, take a look at this:

 

Then:

 What the shit happened????

It's easy. Check out what a calm and collected Andrew produced under pressure:

That's a pretty decent roster by today's standards, but in 2013 it was the best lineup in the league. Andrew changed his normal lot in the league by a great draft.

By comparison:

John:

Then:

What the shit happened???

It's easy. Check out what a stressed, rankings bitch John shat out under pressure:

I did everything right. Two RBs with my first two picks, elite TE and upside younger players. The thing was is that my RBs shat the bed, my younger players took their leap the next year and my TE could only do so much. This draft murdered me. 

The proof is in the pudding. Have a good draft and the sky's the limit, but if you have a bad one you'll be praying to Mecca straight into second base.

So, for the first time in 2015... LET IT BEGIN!!!

1. Clipboard Jesus (Andrew)- Andrew's strong running back core, high upside wide receivers (we'll get to it) and elite tight end have him sitting pretty at the top of our power rankings. It's a shame one of his starting wideouts succumbed to a season ending injury this soon, but all it does for the league is bring Andrew's team a little closer to earth. When I made the huge Seahawks trade to Andrew I told him "I'm trading you a championship" I think when all is said and done he'll have just that.

2. NINERS (Stan)- The runner up to last year's session comes in at number two in the rankings. Stan's team has a dependable core of players. There's really no keeper that shouldn't do well this year. This consistency could very well send Stan to back to back league finals.

3. The Keith-glorius Basterds (Keith)- Keith has another solid keeper roster. I like Lamar Miller more going into this year than I did the last go around. Keith is a drafter that would rather have more picks at the beginning of the draft and that meant dropping Luck. We'll see if his frugality pays off when he nails his secret first or second round pick.

4. NFL OWNER (Shayne)- Shayne has a roster with a lot of boom or bust running backs. If they stay healthy and boom he'll be have an advantage at that position. It also helps that he has the top ranked quarterback and tight end in fantasy.  

5. The Fear Boners (John)- A lot of turnover from last season, time will tell if it will pay off. 

6. Oh That's Nasty (Dawson)- The champ is down this far? Yes. Dawson's lead running back is going to be missing for the first two weeks, so until Bell gets back it will be hard to push him farther up the rankings. With two elite wideouts and a potential number one running back Dawson is playing for keeps this year.

7. Sideliners (Steve)- Steve would have been further up the rankings if his wide receiver one hadn't torn his ACL. He still has the consistency of Charles and some high upside reserves, but losing Jordy makes his draft picks have all the more weight attached. Luckily he has his 2-4 round picks to score his replacement, Devante Adams perhaps?

8. Las Vegas Posse (Clarke)- Surprised to see the new guys so soon? I'm not, Clarke picked two solid keepers in the expansion draft and if he continues to draft well its onwards and upwards for one of our newest managers.

9. No Punt Intended (Travis)- I'm not as huge a fan of Alfred Morris (mostly due to the football team from Washington in general), but I understand he was the best back available after the keepers were finalized. He doubled down on Luck which was smart, as he will have a positional advantage each week. Keep up the good work.

10. BISP (Mike)- The reason Mike is this high is because of the frantic phone call I received yesterday asking to drop three out of his four keepers from the draft. 

11. What Are The Chances (Curtis)- Curt's team has an uphill battle going into the draft, hopefully he's got a list full of sleepers.

12. I Am Like The U In The 80s (Aaron)- Aaron's team is the definition lacklustre. I won't tell you who he plans on taking number one in the draft, but if he goes with his proposed strategy he'd better get comfy down here. 

There you have it. The first rankings in the books, see you fellas Sunday!

-The Commish