The 28th annual RFFL Draft is in the books! I had three different websites analyze our just drafted teams and combined the rankings from each of them to come up with this list. It’s preseason so take the rankings with a grain of salt because a lot will change once the games begin. Before we start however, here are some draft news and notes from another RFFL draft!  

 

YOUTH GAME: The RFFL drafted 21 rookies this season with the first one being selected at 2.09 in Marvin Harrison Jr. Toronto, the team that took Harrison Jr, didn’t stop there as they drafted a league-high six rookies. Only two teams (Miami and St. Louis) did not draft a rookie.

 

BY THE NUMBERS: The league drafted 160 players total. Here’s how they break down per positions: 16 QB’s, 56 RBs, 61 WRs, 17 TE’s and 10 defenses.

 

IS JOSH ALLEN SUPERMAN? Josh Allen has appeared in the past four RFFL Bowls and has won three of them! The Bills star QB has only been in the NFL for six seasons and while he hasn’t reached a Super Bowl yet, he’s putting together one hell of resume in the RFFL. He was the first QB off the board in the draft with Orlando taking him at pick 3.04 hoping he can recreate the magic another year.

 

NFL FIREPOWER: Which NFL offenses have the most firepower when it comes to fantasy football? Well the Bills and Bears led the way with seven (7) players drafted from each team’s offense. Next up with six (6) were the Ravens, Texans, Chiefs, Dolphins and Packers. The least drafted NFL team were the dismal Patriots and Giants with just two (2) players each.

 

FATHERS AND SONS: We are old. We've been doing this so long that children of the players we used to draft in the past 28 years are now getting drafted. This draft featured two sons of legendary Hall of Fame WRs in Marvin Harrison Jr (Toronto) and Brenden Rice (Orlando). Marvin Harrison was also an RFFL legend as he played from Year 1-12 and appeared in three (3) RFFL Bowls, including two victories in RFFL Bowl II and RFFL Bowl X. Harrison scored twice for Hermann’s New Jersey Snipers in RFFL Bowl X to earn RFFL Bowl MVP honors. He’s one of only six WRs to win RFFL Bowl MVP. I can’t wait to see what Harrison Jr. will do in the NFL and RFFL. Meanwhile, Rice was since recently dropped on the wire by Orlando, but we’ll see if he sticks in the NFL and follow in the footsteps of Jerry.

 

WAITING AND WAITING: The QB position seems to be deeper than recent years and it showed in the draft. Josh Allen was the first QB selected at pick 3.04 to Orlando. That was the latest a QB was drafted since Year 20 in Las Vegas! San Antonio selected QB Cam Newton at pick 4.02 that season. The last time a QB didn’t go in the first two rounds was in Year 21 when the first one went at pick 3.01. Also, while Albert waited and waited on taking his first QB, he may have actually drafted a value in round 15. Charleston selected Brock Purdy at pick 15.03, 44 spots behind Purdy’s ADP. We’ll see how that turns out for Albert as we get into the season. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels was also an ADP value as he was taken by Toronto at pick 122, 21.5 spots behind his ADP of 100.5.

 

RBs OVERDRAFTED? As usual in home leagues, RBs were probably over drafted. Most RBs were drafted prior to their ADP leading to only one real value at RB being Aaron Jones who was taken by Jackson Hole at pick 65, +8.5 spots behind ADP. There were a couple standout picks where backs were taken a round or more ahead of ADP. They are:

 

            James Cook, Charleston, -11.5

            Najee Harris, Orlando -10

            Zach Charbonnet, Albuquerque -37.5

            Raheem Mostert, Miami -14.5

            Nick Chubb, Toronto -13.5

            Brian Robinson Jr., Miami -11.5

            Gus Edwards, Mexico City -24

            Jerome Ford, Arizona -15.5

            Rico Dowdle, St. Louis -14

            Tyler Allgeier, Miami -22.5

            Jaleel McLaughlin, Orlando -25

            MarShawn Lloyd, San Antonio -25.5

            David Montgomery, Albuquerque -15

            Ty Chandler, Orlando -18

 

TIGHT END ADP VALUE: A lot of teams were able to snag their tight ends well past their ADP (average draft position) making them a value on paper. It seemed like the league overall was taking TEs a little later which led to some great values.

 

            Sam LaPorta’s ADP was 31st, but was taken 44th overall by Orlando for a +13 pick value and Evan Engram was selected by Toronto at pick 10.09 for +29.5 pick value! Here are some other TEs that were taken past their ADP.

 

            Mark Andrews, San Antonio +2.5

            Trey McBride, St. Louis +6.5

            Dalton Kincaid, Arizona +8.5

            Kyle Pitts, Jackson Hole +10

            Jake Ferguson, Albuquerque +4

            David Njoku, Miami +8

            Brock Bowers, Jackson Hole +12

            Dallas Goedert, San Antonio +17

            Dalton Schultz, Miami +13

            TJ Hockenson, Mexico City +2

            Pat Freiermuth, Orlando +28.5

            Cole Kmet, Charleston +23

 

Only three TEs were taken after their ADP in this draft:

            Travis Kelce, Mexico City AFC -3

            George Kittle, Charleston -12

            Taysom Hill, Arizona -24

 

BEST PICKS: Wide receivers go early and often so it’s hard to get a value on the position, but a couple teams were able to find what looks to be values according to ADP. Joe drafted Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown at pick 12 which was 3.5 spots after his ADP which is nearly unheard of for a first-round pick. Here are some other WRs values this draft:

 

            Chris Olave, Toronto, +17
            Jaylen Waddle, Arizona +10.5

            Christian Kirk, San Antonio +20.5

            Chris Godwin, St. Louis +18.5

            Jordan Addison, Miami +18

            Josh Palmer, Miami +28

            Davante Adams, San Antonio +11

 

Alright, let’s get into the poll:  

 

1. Toronto – The Storm earns the top spot after being ranked high on all three sites used to evaluate each team. The names and talent are there—Tyreek, Marvin Harrison Jr, Pacheco, Kamara, Olave, Burrow and Jared rounded out the team with some nice depth. Toronto did draft SIX rookies, a high in this draft, so something to watch for to see if that’s a good or bad thing for this team.

 

2. Orlando – The defending champs tried to recreate their team from last year. When CD Lamb, Puka Nacua and Josh Allen are part of that—it’s not a bad strategy. Josh Allen has been to the last FOUR (4) RFFL Bowls while winning three of them, and the Pelicans are hoping he can keep that magic going in Year 28 as they bid to win back-to-back titles. Orlando has a good shot to do considering they may have drafted the top WR (Lamb), top QB (Allen) and top TE (Sam LaPorta).  

 

3. Jackson Hole – The Mountain Men started their draft RB-RB snatching up Breece Hall and the Big Dawg Derrick Henry. That’s a good start especially when paired with Nico Collins, Cooper Kupp and rookie Malik Nabers. Anthony Richardson will be relied on to stay healthy and be that guy that can break fantasy scoreboards this fall and Travis went back to the well one more time with ol’ Kyle Pitts at TE. Solid team overall, but Jackson Hole will need both Richardson and Pitts to produce to take them far this season.

 

4. Miami – Could this be DiNardo’s highest ranking in the Power Poll all season? The Mighty Mullets, a long history filled with misery, busts, injuries and leaving headlights on at the draft, are looking to turn a corner. This was just the second time in 23 years that DiNardo has picked first overall, and he was quick in taking Christian McCaffrey with the top pick. One thing is for sure—knowing the Mullets history, CMC is either set up to lead the Mullets back to the playoffs...or he’ll suffer a catastrophic season-ending injury.

 

5. Charleston – The Confederates team looks good on paper and the websites used all liked this team, but Al waited and waited and waited and waited before finally taking a QB in Brock Purdy while he was running around Costco. Al waited until Round 15 to take Purdy and will rely on the Niners signal caller to do enough with the solid team around him.

 

6. San Antonio – The Salsa opened their draft RB-RB, grabbed QB Patrick Mahomes in Round 3, took some older pass catchers and snatched up TE Mark Andrews. All in all, it looks like a solid team even though it’s an older one. What kind of player will RB Saquon Barkley be in Philadelphia will tell us a lot about where the Salsa end up.

 

7. Arizona – Second-year breakout or sophomore slump? The Scorpions are hoping for more breakouts than slumps as they drafted SIX (6) players (Bijan Robinson, Devon Achane, Dalton Kincaid, Tank Dell, Rashee Rice, Jaxon Smith-Njigba) entering their second season and three rookies to boot. The season is likely hanging in the balance for ‘Zona on those players have big years.

 

8. St. Louis – The Aces picked in the middle at 6th overall and I think had a solid draft. One site graded their team an A- while another site had C. Solid WR core including a top alpha WR? Check. Good top RBs with nice depth. Check. Running top 5 QB? Check. Up and coming TE in any offense that should light up the scoreboard? Check. The biggest question for this team will be how Justin Jefferson does with the QB change. If he can still produce at the level of a high first round pick even with Sam Darnold at QB, the Aces will be rolling this season.

 

9. Mexico City AFC – Bit of a risky draft from Hermann at the 7th overall pick. WR Ja’Marr Chase was his first-round pick and he’s still currently holding out. Kyren Williams is his top back, but the Rams just announced he’ll be returning punts which isn’t a great sign. Travis Kelce is 100 years old, and Chiefs may rest him more in the regular season to keep him healthy for the playoffs, Jonathon Brooks and TJ Hockenson will be on the IR for a portion of the season. Hey, at least Brandon Aiyuk signed, right? This team could be just fine but there are a lot of red flags.

 

10. Albuquerque – For the third straight season, the Atheists draw the number 10 pick so they are no stranger to this situation. Joe went WR-WR at the 1-2 turn and both have the potential to be higher first round picks next season. They added to the elite WR core with DJ Moore and rookie Xavier Worthy. Very nice, impressive. Now let’s see the dead zone running backs. Rachaad White, David Montgomery, Zamir White and Zach Charbonnet. Not the worst group ever assembled, but it needs help. The Atheists also didn’t take a top QB or a top TE either. There’s upside here, but it may be an uphill climb for the non-believers this season.

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