Good morning everyone, we are two weeks away from the NFL Draft, and an undisclosed number of months away from the Pot Cakes Dynasty Draft, and there is no greater time than the present to dive into some team needs. We will dive into each team and their needs for next season. We will work our way down from the top.
Touchdown Guy
Fresh off of a (re-draft) Championship, Touchdown Guy is trying to stay on top. He has some big names that take a lot of pressure off of the rest of his team. Locked up at QB is the Tall Josh Allen. For RBs he has Saquon coming back, D-Henry with no sight of slowing down, and Melvin Gordon who has the backfield all to himself. A trade for George Kittle gives him a top 5 TE. The weakness lies at WR. Now weakness is in part overstated. Mike Evans, Julio, Thielen, and Mike Williams all are starters. But this is a dynasty league and the age is showing. Julio and Thielen will keep TDG in the mix for this year, but the future is also important. Depth is important too. MVS, Anthony Miller, and Tim Patrick all had roles last year, but the Packers may finally draft a WR, A-Rob resigned and Mooney showed promise, and the Broncos WR core should be healthy next year. With the 19th pick of the draft, having traded his first as part of the D-Train trade, he is going to need to hit on a WR. This lands him somewhere in the Amon-Ra St. Brown of USC, Tamorrion Terry of FSU, and Seth Williams of Auburn range. All guys for TDG to see where they end up come Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
PeePaw
PeePaw made an incredible push to finish second. This ultimately cost him a few spots in the draft. PeePaw is set at WR, DaVante, A.J. Brown, Justin Jefferson, Aiyuk, Lamb, and even Brandin Cooks. At Tight End PeePaw is hoping Blake Jarwin lives up to last year’s hype before his injury. PeePaw will have to wait and see how Jonnu Smith is used in the Patriots two tight end system, with Hunter Henry likely to take away from Jonnu’s production last year with the Titans. Either way, he has two tight ends that are good at football, so that helps. The issues, QB and RB. QB, Drew Lock, Big Ben, and Jared Goff. Big Ben is done after this year, Lock may lose his job, and Goff is on a new (but really bad) team in the Lions. None of these guys are long term solutions, Goff has potential, but does he as a Lion? RBs we have Miles Sanders, which is a solid RB1 Gus Edwards is back and should see a fair amount of playing time as the Ravens #2, but you really need at least two RBs and then Gus to fill in for bye weeks. The good news for PeePaw is that he has picks 11 and 12 of this year’s draft. He does not have a 2nd. Depending on the draft, PeePaw may have his pick of QB, maybe Lawrence goes earlier, but then he should be able to pick the next best available. Maybe he waits on QB and tries to roll with the hot hand this season. The RBs available will range from Hubbard of Oklahoma State, Trey Sermon of Ohio State, Kylin Hill of Mississippi State, or maybe Kenneth Gainwell of Memphis falls to him. PeePaw is going to need a little help in the rookie draft and the right fit to help out his team this year.
Daddy Wombat
Daddy Wombat was the best team all year just to fall short in the playoff. The off-season has helped and then hurt their team. Good news, Jalen Hurts is QB1 in Philly, Higbee has Stafford as a QB, Will Fuller is WR1 starting the second week of the season. More good, Adam Trautman should be the Saints TE1 or at least see a good amount of snaps. Bad news, Brees, Olsen, retired. Gurley is used up, Metcalf and Russ are a run first team. Claypool is in the same spot as last year. Gabriel Davis was promising for a week and then Emmanuel Sanders joined the Bills. Mims chance at snaps goes down due to Corey Davis. So positions that are ok, QB, TE. Positions that need some depth, WR, but the position that needs immediate help is RB. Daddy Wombat has pick 10. The RBs available will range from Hubbard of Oklahoma State, Trey Sermon of Ohio State, Kylin Hill of Mississipi State, or maybe Kenneth Gainwell of Memphis falls to him. PeePaw Daddy Wombat is going to need a little help in the rookie draft and the right fit to help out their team this year. Then D.W. will have to take some shots at WRs at the end of the second and third round.
Teach
Teach closed the season strong. Finished 4th and has Pick 9 of the draft. How his team finishes is up in the air for next season. Teach has one more year of Rodgers, and should consider looking for another option. Chris Carson is back in Seattle, Joe Mixon should be healthy and may get a new lineman to block for him in the draft. But that’s it for RB. For Tight Ends T.J. Hockenson is good, but has a new QB, but I expect him to still receive a lot of touches. WR wise Tyreek is good. Now we have the mystery. A.J. Green is a Cardinal, does this give him one last season as a good option? DeVante Parker will be the WR1 for the first week, but then Fuller will be back and I presume the Phins take a rookie WR in the draft that will pass Parker at some point in the near future. D.J. Moore had an up and down season, and just finished as a WR2, will CMC hurt or help Moore? That’s a lot of questions. Not necessarily bad questions. But the tides could turn quickly this year. Teach is in a decent spot. He can really just let the board fall to him. At Pick 9 he should have his choice of QB if he wants to spring for one in the first. He should have an option at a WR that is a late first or early second round pick. He should also have a RB4/5 to choose from. His targets include QB – T-Law Clemson, RBs Kenneth Gainwell – Memphis, Javonte Williams – North Carolina, and Chuba Hubbard – Oklahoma State, or WRs
Reshod Bateman – Minnesota, Kadarius Toney – Florida, or Rondale Moore – Purdue. A combination of these players will be available. Maybe Teach is lucky and Pitts falls to him here and he can trade back.
CrossFit
CrossFit put together one of the most confusing fantasy football seasons of all time. He had injuries, but still managed to close the season strong. He was a lead dog for a bit before he was passed by Daddy Wombat at the tail end of the season. Good news for CrossFit is that he will get Dak back, or even if Dak needs a rebound season, he has Brady with all his weapons. Long term, Dak at QB is good. At RB CrossFit has CMC returning, Ekeler fully healthy, Mostert without Coleman, Coleman is a Jet so he may have a consistent role as a backup rather than the 49ers hot hand approach. Mike Davis is in ATL, and we have no idea who might be the starter/what the workload will be. At WR CrossFit has Tyler Lockett who is locked in for four years in Seattle, but they are run focused. Bob Anderson who finished one spot behind D.J. Moore in fantasy production as WR24. Cooper Kupp has a QB that can sling it. Amari Cooper gets his guy Dak back. Jamison Crowder has to compete with Corey Davis, but who will get those two the ball is the bigger concern in New York, and Cole Beasley came off of a great season and should be open with guys covering Diggs and Sanders. WR wise CrossFit is ok. TE is an issue. Ebron finished outside the TE1 position. Zack Ertz who knows. CrossFit has Pick 8. Drafting a tight end in a rookie draft is a risk. BUT Kyle Pitts of Florida seems to be a great pass catching option for whoever drafts him. Seeing as this is a need for CrossFit, and he looks to have his other positions under control, or at least manageable. I like Pitts as the pick here.
Bottom Bunk
Bottom Bunk just snuck into the playoffs. A season full of head scratching trades, but playoffs. The trades have long term effects. B.B.’s picks this year are Pick 25, then a mid 4th and 5th Rounder. Not a lot of room to add depth. B.B. has 4 QBs rostered, but all of them have concerns. Deshaun Watson is currently has multiple lawsuits filed against him. Whether or not this will impact his NFL career is yet to be determined. Tua, Teddy, and Taysom Hill, what a group. Tua should be the Phins starter and should get help this year. This is a prove it year for Tua. Teddy2Gloves likely lost his job to Sam Darnold, and the Panthers are looking to trade Bridgewater. If traded, I would put Bridgewater’s destination as a backup to a rookie QB, so he will be buried on the depth chart. Maybe B.B. gets lucky and Teddy goes mile high and has all those Broncos receivers to throw to, maybe. Taysom Hill, who knows, I would start Winston and just let Taysom play WR, but that’s me typing on a keyboard. At RB B.B. has Dalvin Cook, and Houston’s probable starter in either David Johnson or Philip Lindsay. Chase Edmonds, Jamaal Williams, Darrell Henderson, and Malcolm Brown all provide some form of plug and play situation fantasy value. One or two of those backs, likely Edmonds and Williams, will receive work as a pass catcher and be able to add a little value to the team. At WR B.B. made a trade for Calvin Ridley. That’s his best option. T.Y. is a Colt, probably his second best option. That is a tough look. Keelan Cole went to the Jets, who have better receivers now. Christian Kirk will be behind A.J. Green and D-Hop, Sterling Shepard will lose touches to Kenny G, and Kendrick Bourne is a Patriot, but if you thought the 49ers passing game was bad, sheesh. I do think Cam will be much better, so maybe things even out for Bourne, but that is a pretty rough group. At Tight end B.B. has Goedert and Hurst, so he has decent options there. B.B.’s problem is pick 25. He will be looking at a WR that was drafted late second at best. Seth Williams of Auburn or Amari Rodgers of Clemson might be some options for him this late in the draft. B.B. needs WR help bad.
Pistol
Pistol made a good push at the end, but he just missed the big dance. Pistol had injuries last year to two of his top WRs. Courtland Sutton and OBJ. Also, Mikey T was on and off the field. Those three can help Pistol pat his points in the regular season. Pistol also has a trio of tight ends, Broadway Bob (Robert Tonyan), Gronk, and Kelce all love finding the end zone. This puts Pistol in a good spot for one of the flex positions. Plus, Harrison Bryant is stashed away for the long haul to replace Gronk and Kelce after/during the season. At RB it’s not great, but it’s good. David Montgomery finished as a top 5 RB, and Kareem Hunt a top 10 RB. He just needs one more. Nyheim Hines played last year, and played well, the issue is I can see things going 100% Jonathan Taylor this year. So an RB would be nice. At QB, Kyler Murray, so Pistol is good for a long time. Pistol has Pick 5, and two 2nd Round picks. Pistol should eye up one of those RBs. Whether it is Kenneth Gainwell from Memphis or Javonte Williams – North Carolina, those guys seem like a good fit for his team. Then in the second he can add depth at WR and maybe elsewhere.
Mush’s Mongrels
What an absolute stinker of an end of a season for Mush. He went from a lock in the playoffs to odd man out. Good news for Mush, it’s a new year. Let’s look at his team. Mush has good RBs. He has Gibby, J.K. Dobbins, Clyde Frog, and James Robinson, all young RBs. He also has Josh Jacobs, the bell cow of the group. The bad news for Jacobs is that Kenyan Drake is now the 2 to the Raiders one two punch. This may take away from Jacobs hopes of being the third down back. Diontae Johnson is a WR, could be the new longterm #1 in in the Steel city. Deebo Samuel is another good option for Mush. He has a lot of other big hitters, but they need to hit. Hollywood Brown, Ruggs, and Hardman can be big hitters if they get the ball. Target share is a big issue for these guys. Can Gallup get back to who he was? Dak is back, will this help? Mush has some tight ends, Knox, Herndon, and even Mike Gesicki. Mike Gesicki is the best option, Tua now has Will Fuller and likely a top rookie WR to throw the ball too, how much will that hurt Geisicki. Mush is missing a QB. That’s a problem in a 6 point passing TD league. Mush has pick 5, no second. Mush will likely have to play the QB carrousel this year. What Mush needs is for two or three RBs to go before his pick. Mush needs a top tier WR. Will he get Smith or Waddle? I think Mush is a lock for one of those guys.
Trashman
Pick 4 for Trashman. Trashman had a tough year. But Trashman has some upside for this upcoming season. Trashman has three promising QBs, Cam is in his second year of a new offense with some weapons. Baker is on a playoff team with a great defense. OBJ is back for Baker and Trashman has Jarvis Landry to get some of that juice. Trashman has Kenny G, the #1 WR for the Giants. Trashman has a trio of RBs, Nick Chubb, Aaron Jones, and the up and coming Cam Akers. Cam will likely be the lead back for the Rams. Stafford likes to check down to RBs. Cam Akers has a great shot at being a top 10 RB, he finished the season with a bang, injuries and being a rookie kept him out of the spotlight. Trashman has Evan Engram and Mark Andrews at tight end, so he has that locked up. The big issue is rounding out that WR position. But Trashman could lock up a solid RB as well to add to his flex depth. Pick 4 puts Trashman in a good spot. He will have his pick at the #2 RB or WR of the rookie draft, what he chooses is up to him.
JonnyDIII’s Joyful Demons
JD3 has Pick 2, 3 and the 15th pick. JD3 has QBs locked up. He has Austin Hooper at tight end, so he could use some help there. WR wise he has good players. Diggs, Allen, McLaurin, Davis, Pittman, and Mooney, are a good group of WRs. He even has Hamler and Donavan Peoples-Jones who could grow into something. The problem is RB, Kenyan Drake is the backup for the Raider, Singletary is struggling for snaps especially for red zone snaps, and Sony Michel? That is a bad group of guys. But with these high end picks JD3 should be able to grab a good RB and maybe find another RB in the second round. JD3 is locked for a WR or RB 1 in the draft and will follow that up with the second best in the opposite position. JD3 is in a rebuild. He will probably shop a WR for picks, there will be trades, there will be gambles, JD3 is in for a fun ride this year, let’s all join in for the journey, I know I will.
Batman
Batman ended the season strongly winning the consolation bracket. Batman traded his first in exchange for James Conner. He has pick 13 of the draft. Batman has decent young talent. He has his QB in Lamar Jackson. He has D’Andre Swift, James Conner (new RB for the Cardinals), A.J. Dillon, and even Myles Gakskin. It will be interesting to see if Gaskin stays as the Phins RB1 for another year. Batman has Bob Woods, Nelson Agholor who is the WR1 for the Pats, Juju, and utility receiver Laviska Shenault. He has a promising young team. He has tight ends Darren Waller and Noah Fant, great tight ends. I think he just had some bad luck last season, James Conner was injured. Swift didn’t hit until late in the year, and Juju was a letdown. Batman could go from a worst to first. Batman is in a good spot. Having Pick 13 and then pick 16, Batman just needs to go best available and hope one of those two picks hits for this year. Batman really is in the driver’s seat. I like Batman to be the manager of the year for 2021.
Bruce
Bruce has the first pick, he really had a bad year. It has got worse for Bruce as Jules retired, and he has some old RBs on his squad. The good news is that he should be able to ride Tannehill or Matt Ryan through the season, and wait for Burrow to come back late in the season or the next year. Bruce has some good backs, he has JT, Zeke, and maybe Damien Harris. WR wise he has Godwin, Chark, and even Emmanuel Sanders with the Tall Josh Allen. The issue is that is it for WRs. At Tight End he has Hunter Henry, the question is whether or not Hunter Henry will get the ball. But he can play. If we look at this team, there is a clear cut WR problem. Rumor is that Bruce is going best overall with pick 1, who he thinks that is, well it’s up to him. It’s rumored to be an RB, but maybe he will have a change of heart by the time the draft comes around. Bruce has been known to pull a fast one in the draft. Maybe Bruce goes RB and then shops Zeke to a contender, which would be the move to make for a team in a rebuild.
That does it for the Team needs. We are officially two weeks away from the draft. Things will pick up. Maybe a team will make a move or two before the draft, maybe they will make a move during the draft. It’s an exciting time, all the hoeps and dreams of what the future holds. It’s our Christmas morning. Enjoy it, soak it all in. It’s draft month baby!
Let’s Go!
JonnyDIII
DIII Digest 