For those of you who have made the trek to join me here today on my second blog, welcome! This is a much friendlier place than with that mean old Henry on the other blog, who swears like a sailor and makes fun of Jim Duggan. I'm here today to recap the 2020 Dog League Draft, which may end up being a complete waste of time if a football season can't be played, but you can't fault a guy for trying. Settle in, this is going to be a long one. We'll start with the winners of the fifth place game that earned them the first overall pick, Ridiculous Rascals. (Reminder: the Dog League is a custom fantasy football league run on NFL.com)
Ridiculous Rascals
1st Round, 1st Overall- RB Christian McCaffrey
2nd Round, 12th Overall- RB Austin Ekeler
3rd Round, 13th Overall- WR Julio Jones
4th Round, 24th Overall- WR D.J. Moore
5th Round, 25th Overall- WR Kenny Golladay
6th Round, 36th Overall- QB Dak Prescott
7th Round, 37th Overall- TE Zach Ertz
8th Round, 48th Overall- K Justin Tucker
9th Round, 49th Overall- DEF New England Patriots
10th Round, 60th Overall- RB Le'Veon Bell
11th Round, 61st Overall- WR Calvin Ridley
12th Round, 72nd Overall- WR T.Y. Hilton
13th Round, 73rd Overall- RB Raheem Mostert
14th Round, 84th Overall- RB James White
15th Round, 85th Overall- QB Josh Allen
Summary:
I'm pretty impressed with the roster Rascal has assembled, and NFL.com agrees, projecting him to be the best team heading into Week 1. McCaffrey and Ekeler are both perfect for PPR scoring, and pretty much his entire starting lineup and bench are guys with proven track records. I do question the wisdom of taking both Jones and Ridley, the strategy of having two receivers from the same team tends not to work, and his backup running back selections might be a little questionable. Still, this is a really good base for Rascal is his quest to finally win the Dog League title after 4 years of coming up short.
Tug of War
1st Round, 2nd Overall- RB Saquon Barkley
2nd Round, 11th Overall- RB Joe Mixon
3rd Round, 14th Overall- RB Miles Sanders
4th Round, 23rd Overall- WR Chris Godwin
5th Round, 26th Overall- WR Allen Robinson
6th Round, 35th Overall- TE Mark Andrews
7th Round, 38th Overall- QB Deshaun Watson
8th Round, 47th Overall- K Harrison Butker
9th Round, 50th Overall- DEF New Orleans Saints
10th Round, 59th Overall- WR Cooper Kupp
11th Round, 62nd Overall- RB Jonathan Taylor
12th Round, 71st Overall- RB Cam Akers
13th Round, 74th Overall- WR DeVante Parker
14th Round, 83rd Overall- WR Stefon Diggs
15th Round, 86th Overall- QB Carson Wentz
Summary:
Tug of War's roster may not be filled with the biggest of names, but is likely has the most depth of any in the league heading into the season. They went heavy on running backs and made sure they were all super young, an interesting idea, as while these younger players might have some difficulties adapting to the NFL at the start of the year, if Tug of War can stay patient, they will likely have grown exponentially by the end. The receiving corps have five guys who could all probably start if necessary, though it's yet to be seen if any of them have the right quarterback throwing to them. I do question taking Watson and Wentz, two guys with plenty of injuries in their past, especially considering the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees went undrafted. Tug of War haven't quite been at their best the past couple years after winning the first two titles, but this roster is super deep and filled with breakout potential, so they could make some noise.
Rare Woofs
1st Round, 3rd Overall- RB Alvin Kamara
2nd Round, 10th Overall- RB Kenyan Drake
3rd Round, 15th Overall- WR Tyreek Hill
4th Round, 22nd Overall- RB Aaron Jones
5th Round, 27th Overall- QB Patrick Mahomes
6th Round, 34th Overall- WR A.J. Brown
7th Round, 39th Overall- TE Darren Waller
8th Round, 46th Overall- DEF Buffalo Bills
9th Round, 51st Overall- K Wil Lutz
10th Round, 58th Overall- RB David Johnson
11th Round, 63rd Overall- WR Robert Woods
12th Round, 70th Overall- RB Mark Ingram
13th Round, 75th Overall- WR Marquise Brown
14th Round, 82nd Overall- TE Tyler Higbee
15th Round, 87th Overall- RB Tarik Cohen
Summary:
I'm going to be honest, I don't love the roster our defending champions have put together. Kamara is currently in the midst of challenging contract negotiations with New Orleans, Drake has yet to put together a consistently productive season and both Marquise and A.J. Brown were good at points in their rookie campaigns, but hardly seem like top tier receivers yet. That being said, there are positives here for Rare Woofs. If you're going to experiment with a draft, getting Mahomes makes sense, he's so consistent and so good that he gives you plenty of leeway with every other position. Waller and Higbee is a really promising tight end duo, a rarity in fantasy football these days, Lutz is another highly consistent top level guy and both Browns absolutely have the potential to be big stars. So it's not all doom and gloom, but Rare Woofs will likely start the season as underdogs to defend their title, an unfamiliar position to them after dominating for most of last year.
Leaping Girl
1st Round, 4th Overall- RB Ezekiel Elliott
2nd Round, 9th Overall- RB Derrick Henry
3rd Round, 16th Overall- RB Josh Jacobs
4th Round, 21st Overall- QB Lamar Jackson
5th Round, 28th Overall- WR Mike Evans
6th Round, 33rd Overall- WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
7th Round, 40th Overall- TE Evan Engram
8th Round, 45th Overall- DEF Pittsburgh Steelers
9th Round, 52nd Overall- K Greg Zuerlein
10th Round, 57th Overall- RB Todd Gurley
11th Round, 64th Overall- WR Tyler Lockett
12th Round, 69th Overall- WR Keenan Allen
13th Round, 76th Overall- RB Devin Singletary
14th Round, 81st Overall- RB David Montgomery
15th Round, 88th Overall- TE Hunter Henry
Summary:
Emma is on the quest back to the championship game after coming up short against Rare Woofs last year, and took as many proven commodities as she could find. That results in a rock-solid starting lineup and pretty talented bench, a team with very few holes to fill, at least on paper. I do have some slight concerns about her tight end selections, as both Engram and Henry have had plenty of injuries in their short careers and have unproven quarterbacks throwing to them. Certainly though, if those issues are minute in nature, those two could form a terrifying duo. I also will add that there's just a feeling of a very low ceiling for this roster, as most of these players already feel like they've reached their peak and have little room to grow. Will that matter at all for Leaping Girl this season? Probably not, but it's something to keep an eye on.
Tailwaggerz
1st Round, 5th Overall- RB Dalvin Cook
2nd Round, 8th Overall- RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
3rd Round, 17th Overall- RB Nick Chubb
4th Round, 20th Overall- TE Travis Kelce
5th Round, 29th Overall- WR Odell Beckham Jr.
6th Round, 32nd Overall- WR Adam Thielen
7th Round, 41st Overall- QB Russell Wilson
8th Round, 44th Overall- DEF Baltimore Ravens
9th Round, 53rd Overall- K Robbie Gould
10th Round, 56th Overall- WR Amari Cooper
11th Round, 65th Overall- WR D.J. Chark
12th Round, 68th Overall- WR Terry McLaurin
13th Round, 77th Overall- RB D'Andre Swift
14th Round, 80th Overall- RB Jordan Howard
15th Round, 89th Overall- QB Matt Ryan
Summary:
Last year did not go the way Tailwaggerz had hoped, with a disappointing regular season ending with two playoff defeats. The 2018 Champions will try to bounce back this year, and made a splash by taking rookie Edwards-Helaire in just the 2nd Round, above the likes of Derrick Henry and Austin Ekeler. It's a fairly big gamble to make, but at least they complemented him with two proven veterans in Cook and Chubb, plus Howard as a backup. The receiving corps will, at least to start, rely heavily on veterans, with Beckham looking to comeback from his disappointing debut season in Cleveland and Thielen now the top option in Minnesota. The quarterback duo of Wilson and Ryan seems very solid, as does the team in general. This roster definitely has the feel of a potential title contender to me, but the same could be said of Tailwaggerz last year as well.
Bark Force
1st Round, 6th Overall- WR Michael Thomas
2nd Round, 7th Overall- WR Davante Adams
3rd Round, 18th Overall- TE George Kittle
4th Round, 19th Overall- WR DeAndre Hopkins
5th Round, 30th Overall- RB Chris Carson
6th Round, 31st Overall- RB Melvin Gordon
7th Round, 42nd Overall- QB Kyler Murray
8th Round, 43rd Overall- DEF San Francisco 49ers
9th Round, 54th Overall- K Matt Prater
10th Round, 55th Overall- RB James Conner
11th Round, 66th Overall- WR Courtland Sutton
12th Round, 67th Overall- WR DK Metcalf
13th Round, 78th Overall- RB Kareem Hunt
14th Round, 79th Overall- RB Ronald Jones
15th Round, 90th Overall- TE Austin Hooper
Summary:
Picking last in the 1st Round, Bark Force obviously had a strategy in mind, taking four pass catchers in a row to open the draft, a complete opposing idea to every other team, who focused on running backs early. It's the ultimate test of PPR scoring, and sets up a very intriguing storyline for this year. Other than that their stacked receiving quartet, most of the other positions are lacking, especially at running back, which is by far the weakest group in the league. Kyler Murray does certainly have plenty of potential, but I question the wisdom of not getting him a quality backup, as he's still young and hasn't quite proven himself at the top level just yet. Still, considering the position Bark Force found themselves in, this was a pretty good draft, and their unique drafting strategy will put them in the spotlight immediately to start the year.
That, finally, is that, all six rosters in their complete form, with my thoughts on how each of them will fare. But even though I've been playing fantasy for a while, I still can't predict everything, so who knows if I'm really on track with any of them. I'll be back here September 9th, to preview the Week 1 matchups and let you know of any changes in the week in between. See you soon.
- Henry
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