I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving holiday. As we enter the final three week stretch of the regular season, there are many playoff races heating up and a couple that are getting away.
Playoff Races
FFC West
We start with the strongest division in fantasy football this season: the FFC West. Currently this division has three teams ranked inside the top six and there is a strong possibility that is what we’re looking at come fantasy playoff time in December. The obvious favorite is Lin Sanity who looks like the overwhelming odds on favorite as the league highest scorer with a strong outlook on finishing as the #1 seed. The one thing we learn in this league is you can’t win without an elite quarterback and there is no safer bet at the position than Patrick Mahomes. Combined with some amazing playmakers like Davante Adams, Jaylen Waddle, Kenneth Walker and David Montgomery this team is stacked to the gills and should win this division outright.
Not to be left behind, the Spartans and Wolfpack are both strong wildcard contenders but a couple of games out of the division lead with just three games remaining in the regular season. The Spartans who I had as a playoff team early in the season are poised to make a strong playoff run in search of championship number four. Their depth and strong floor/combo are elevated by players like Stefon Diggs, Tua Tagavoiloa and a strong supporting cast. The only question remains if they will be able to get consistent WR3 production from George Pickens and if Brandin Cooks is in the doghouse or not in Houston. The Wolfpack similarly are battling some injury and depth issues but have witnessed the emergence of Justin Fields who has saved the season. Fields enters Thanksgiving week as QB#5 which is remarkable considering how low volume this pass offense was at the beginning of the season. I believe the Spartans are a lock for the #5 seed and I think the Wolfpack are fringe wildcard contenders. Their current one game lead in the #6 seed but their injury plagued wide receivers are holding them back from unleashing their full potential. If they get healthy, this team can also make a run.
FFC South
Another year, another three horse race going into the home stretch. And this year the gap between the three teams are razor thin. Currently the leader is Doctor Jenious who holds a one game lead. The Jenious had one of my favorite teams entering the season and I still believe they are a top 3 roster despite some running back concerns. The emergence of Isaiah Pacheco (helped by CEH going to the IR for four weeks minimum) will provide a solid RB2 but Dameon Pierce will be the key player to get that run game going. The rest of the roster is rock steady and this team can confidently rely on Jalen Hurts, Travis Kelce and Justin Jefferson to provide a sky high ceiling each week.
The other two teams in the race are Da Moon’s Huge Craters and Bruce Almightys. After holding the division lead for over half the season, the Craters find themselves just outside the wildcard bubble looking in. Their offensive upside has taken a dip and they find themselves relying on Christian McCaffrey who was traded midseason to produce some monster games down the stretch to keep this team’s playoff hopes alive. This team is hurting at receiver and despite having the TE3 on the year, Mark Andrews has been quiet as of late which coincides with Lamar Jackson’s downfall. Michael Pittman has been quiet this season and a disappointment given his preseason hype. If this team can get some big touchdown games from Andrews down the wire as well as contributions from playmakers like Miles Sanders and Treylon Burks, they are fringe wildcard contenders. Bruce started off the season with a slow 1-3 start but has battled back to above .500 and in the mix. Aaron Rodgers has been disappointing after back to back MVP campaigns but the real problem lies in the injury concerns of Joe Mixon and James Conner who keep going in and out of the lineup and are hard to project for a playoff push.
FFC North
Back to back years we see the Pool of the Dead claim the division crown and this year it is a runaway. After a strong 4-0 start, the Pool of the Dead is a team who have gutted out close games but haven’t seen the great upside in scoring potential like the other top teams in the league. Joe Burrow has had a fantastic year 2 leap in fantasy and is exactly what you need at the position to be a contender. The team is stocked with great WR talent such as DeAndre Hopkins, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tee Higgins. They also rely on a steady workhorse back who has played consistently well all season in Aaron Jones. On paper this is a much better team than some of their recent box scores and should be treated as a top shelf contender.
FFC East
The FFC East is a two horse race with HIKYM taking a one game lead over the defending two time champion Gandalf the Goat. HIKYM has a very talented roster and was a darkhorse pick to bounce back after a slow start, and they have done exactly that. The key piece to this team isn’t the elite receiver core, but in fact the fantastic running back depth that has panned out and provided week to week RB1 performances. Players like Rhamondre Stevenson, Tony Pollard and Jamaal Williams were all taken with relatively low draft capital but have provided top 10 positional weeks consistently when given opportunities. The other key piece is the free agent addition of Geno Smith which will go down as one of the best moves of the season. This team has overtaken Gandalf in scoring and has not slowed down for the last six weeks.
I thought Gandalf the Goat was one of the early season favorites and they still have a strong roster, but it’ll be challenging to overtake HIKYM in the home stretch. They still have a divisional game left they can catch up with in Week 13. That might be our first playoff game of the season in fact. The concerns for this team are Mike Williams in and out of the lineup, entering a game healthy and leaving after one catch. Can you rely on that going into the playoffs? After a strong start, the Goat has lost four in a row but will get some major playmakers back such as Chris Godwin and Tyler Lockett. And you can bet the house Josh Allen is going to get out of this slump.
Fantasy Award Tracker
These reflect my personal opinion on who is leading the field right now and is in no way an official ballot or vote. Fantasy MVP is an interesting award as it comes down to a consistently good player on a winning team. And it’s usually just the top of the position. If you apply that formula, the frontrunner has to be Patrick Mahomes currently.
Fantasy GM of the Year is an interesting race. I think it comes down to the top two GMs currently between Lin Sanity and Pool of the Dead. But I can see How I Kmet Your Mother make an interesting case down the stretch.
Breakout Player of the Year is a wide open race. To me I think Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields are the top two contenders.
Never Say Never GM of the year is too early to tell. There are some interesting wildcard races going on and I think the Wolfpack, Craters, Bruce Almightys, Isla Sorna Raptors and a few others are all in the mix.
Draft Steal is another wide open race where you can point to many examples. At this point it comes down to how big of a bargain did you get. Jamaal Williams in the 10th round is currently leading the league with 12 rushing touchdowns and is probably my favorite. Justin Fields in the 8th round is the current fantasy QB5.
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