WTBU Sports Fantasy Football: Week 10 Power Rankings
By Daniel Multz
We have reached Week 10 in the WTBU Sports Fantasy League. By this point it has become abundantly clear which teams appear the strongest, and which division features either a majority of heavyweights or lightweights. This week’s power rankings feature stagnation and great movement with teams either moving only one or two spots or seven spots. Without wasting any more time, off we go with this week’s power rankings.
No. 10: The Flavortown Trash Can Lids (2-7) Akshai Wadhwani [Last Week: 9]
Added: RB Zach Moss (Waivers)
Dropped: RB Mike Davis (Waivers)
Akshai’s team may have pulled off the win against Hannah’s Bananas if he started the right QB. While no one thought Tom Brady would lay the most enormous goose-egg of his career against the Saints in a 38-3 onslaught, it seems foolish to not count out Aaron Rodgers this season after another strong game. With the rest of his squad, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Christian Kirk led the charge as the rest of his team fell short of projections.
This week, his RBs are weak without Nick Chubb in the lineup, his WRs are no guarantee to repeat, and his only locks for big games are Travis Fulgham and Rodgers. That, plus sole possession of the league’s worst record, puts him at No. 10.
No. 9: Happy Golladays (3-6) Daniel Multz [Last Week: 10]
Added: RB Jordan Howard (Free Agency), WR Darnell Mooney (Free Agency, later dropped), Bears D/ST (Waivers), WR John Brown (Free Agency)
Dropped: WR Parris Campbell (Waivers), RB Matt Breida (Waivers), Giants D/ST (Waivers)
My team will not be able to escape the bottom of the rankings until this ghastly losing streak (now five games) comes to an end. Between the players on byes and no one on my team reaching 20 points, ‘twas another unhappy week for my group. That may change with favorable matchups for James Robinson and my corps of WRs. All my team needs is for the starters to all put up strong weeks in the same week. With a tough, but not insurmountable, opponent in These Ladies Love Sosi waiting, a win is possible, but only time will tell.
No. 8: Dobbins the Free Elf (Formerly Baby Chark) (3-6) Ethan Fuller [Last Week: 7]
Added: WR D.J. Chark Jr. (Waivers), RB Mike Davis (Waivers), TE Irv Smith Jr. (Waivers)
Dropped: Patriots D/ST (Waivers), WR Mecole Hardman (Waivers), RB Jordan Wilkins (Waivers)
Ethan’s team picked up a surprising win against Senior on J.V., with Josh Allen providing the necessary propulsion to make up for half his team stalling last week. Justin Jackson sat out the game, Michael Thomas did not get much action before the Saints hit cruise control, and Damien Harris saw little action dispute the Patriots scoring 30 and winning.
Fun fact, Ethan’s team used to be called Baby Chark in honor of D.J. Chark Jr. After cutting the Jaguars WR, he brought him back after a stellar Week 9. Snagging Mike Davis could be big this week with Christian McCaffrey back on the shelf, and Brandon Aiyuk will look to stay hot. With all this in mind, the matchup with D-Hop’s Pancakes looks surprisingly interesting.
No. 7: The Phillips Heads (5-4) Joe Pohoryles [Last Week: 5]
Added: K Michael Badgely (Free Agency, later dropped), Eagles D/ST (Free Agency)
Dropped: K Randy Bullock (Waivers, later re-added), Chiefs D/ST (Waivers),
None of Joe’s non-Seahawks excelled last week as his team got blown out by last week’s No. 1 squad in Suh-Tang Clan. The Bears routinely stuffed Derrick Henry, Justin Jefferson saw little action as Dalvin Cook burned through the Lions’ defense, and the Chiefs defense cost him points. On top of that, Russell Wilson got cooked as the Seahawks offense looked off.
Combine all that with the fact that Joe Mixon will still be out (he has Giovani Bernard but the Steelers await), and only Eric Ebron faces a defense that does not rank top-five in fewest fantasy points allowed to respective positions. That’s why Joe’s team falls all the way to No. 7.
No. 6: These Ladies Love Sosi (4-5) Perry Sosi [Last Week: 4]
Added: Giants D/ST (Waivers)
Dropped: Rams D/ST (Waivers)
Perry’s team moves down two spots despite a win last week for two main reasons. First, his team did not explode for 150+ points as I hoped. Do not let that take away from the major performances by Terry McLaurin, Travis Kelce, as well as solid weeks from Allen Robinson II and Chase Claypool.
The second reason combines the fact that two key players have byes this week in Ezekiel Elliot and Kelce with the fact that two other teams needed to be moved higher up. This week, he will now have to play some WR-roulette with picking who to start and who to leave on the bench.
No. 5: D-Hop’s Pancakes (6-3) Brady Gardner [Last Week: 2]
Added: WR Cole Beasley (Waivers, later dropped), RB Duke Johnson Jr. (Free Agency), Vikings D/ST (Free Agency)
Dropped: WR D.J. Chark Jr. (Waivers), Titans D/ST (Waivers)
Another tough week came to a close for Brady’s team in Week 9. David Johnson left the game against Jacksonville very early with an injury, and DeAndre Hopkins finished third in receiving on the Cardinals behind Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk. On top of that, Darren Waller and Todd Gurley II did not meet projections, and he had no better alternatives sitting on the sidelines.
Adding Duke Johnson for this week is a nice steal, but having to start Ryan Tannehill against Indianapolis this week is a very tough matchup. Jerick McKinnon must face a surging Saints run defense, Hopkins will face a nasty Bills secondary, and Chris Godwin will only do well if Tom Brady shakes off his worst game of 2020. Dobbins the Free Elf has a chance for the upset here, but only time will tell.
No. 4: Hannah’s Bananas (7-2) Hannah Yoshinaga [Last Week: 6]
Added: TE Austin Hooper (Waivers)
Dropped: RB Nyheim Hines (Waivers)
I realize that Hannah’s team won and now sits at 7-2 with the best record in the league. However, I cannot move her team into the top-three for this week. James Conner must shake off struggling against Dallas of all teams, Julio Jones has his bye week, and Christan McCaffrey returns to the bench with injury after a dominant one-game return.
Her starters face a mixed bag of matchups this week that total a low projection. In summary, her dominant record does not correlate to the strongest or hottest team in my book. That’s why her team makes it back to the top-five, but only to No. 4
No. 3: Senior on J.V. (6-3) Chad Jones [Last Week: 3]
Added: None
Dropped: None
Chad’s team flatlined last week. Calvin Ridley was ruled out so late that he could not change the lineup. Darius Slayton, Adam Thielen and the Washington defense all did very little to help the cause, and Aaron Jones and Alvin Kamara both underwhelmed fantasy-wise as their teams won so dominantly that their services were not needed.
Regardless of that ugly upset loss to Dobbins the Free Elf, Deshaun Watson, Jerry Jeudy and his duo of elite RBs all have the potential to have great weeks in Week 10. If they take off while the rest of his team meets projections, the lofty projection of over 130 points can be met. This leap of faith, like I took last week with Perry’s team and am also taking for the No. 2 team, is why Chad’s team sits at No. 3.
No. 2: Philadelphia Pigeons (4-5) Ben Silver [Last Week: 8]
Added: RB J.D. McKissic (Free Agency), TE Mike Gesicki (Waivers)
Dropped: TE Jordan Reed (Waivers),
This move is the definite shocker of the rankings. Everything went right for Ben’s team in Week 9 as he blew out Happy Golladays. Kyler Murray’s dual-threat game kept him atop the fantasy QB rankings while Tyreek Hill, Keenan Allen, Stefon Diggs and the surprising performances of J.D. McKissic and Jimmy Graham led to the highest score of the week.
Further, his team also projects for 135 points with cakewalks of matchups for everyone on his team. I have bought into the hype surrounding this team in the past and immediately been proven wrong, so my choice to move Ben’s team to No. 2 may backfire, or finally prove right what I said about his team in Week 4.
No. 1: Suh-Tang Clan (6-3) Patrick Donnelly [Last Week: 1]
Added: Saints D/ST (Free Agency), WR Curtis Samuel (Waivers), QB Jared Goff (Waivers), RB Devin Singletary (Waivers)
Dropped: WR Henry Ruggs III (Waivers), WR John Brown (Waivers), Texans D/ST (Waivers), QB Gardner Minshew II (Waivers)
Patrick’s team continued its surge, and that’s why he remains atop the power rankings for the second week in a row. His big three of Patrick Mahomes, Dalvin Cook and Davante Adams brought him over 100 points by themselves for the second week in a row. Brandin Cooks and T.J. Hockenson both also played well as he cruised to a win over The Phillips Heads.
He gets Robert Woods back this week, but loses Mahomes to his long-anticipated bye. Adding Jared Goff as the backup can pay off against a weak Seattle secondary… or he could play like Jared Goff. Either way, Patrick’s team remains stacked enough that a win over the No. 10 ranked Flavortown Trash Can Lids should be possible either way.