Amateur Hour League Draft Recap

Hello Everyone and welcome to the 10th year of the Relegation Fantasy Football Association. This league is full of new people to the league so best of luck to all of you. I’m writing this while watching the Seahawks and Patriots. So some teams are definitely going to get marked down from some of the injuries. I’ll give where I think each team will finish. For this league is either the top 4 (Minor Leagues - Playoffs), middle 4 (Minor Leagues - No Playoffs) , or the bottom 4 (Amateur Hour League)

Hayesd4 - 1st Pick (Minor Leagues - No Playoffs)

This is a fairly strong team but it all hinges on 1 player in my eye. Josh Allen followed by Jeanty and Walker is a good start. Then Rashee Rice is the WR1n and I am not sure about that. I haven’t seen many good reports on him this year but he could easily return to form as there isn’t much new competition for targets on that team. I do like picking up Willis at QB for the upside. Plus Tucker Kraft is a good pick at TE in the mid rounds. The bench is a little weak. Rodgers probably won’t add much as QB3. A second TE seems like a bit of wasted pick. And the rest just aren’t that exciting. I don’t have faith in Rice or this bench so I don’t see a playoff run for this team. 

Bigkt1220 - 2nd Pick (Minor Leagues - No Playoffs)

This team went heavy RB early with 3 of the 4 first picks going to the position. I actually love D. Smith coming in as the WR1 in this case. Shough and Kittle are nice pick ups. But then this team takes a nose dive. WR2 is Metcalf or Sutton. I don’t think either of them have a great situation and they probably both have disappointing years. Then the bench is again a little boring. Even if those 3 RBs light up the league, I don’t think this WR room is going to get the team into the playoffs. 

BlackTurner24 - 3rd Pick (Minor Leagues - Playoffs)

Where the first two teams struggled with the bench, BlackTurner hits multiple good picks late in the draft. Dowdle could become the 1A in Pittsburgh. Makai Lemon and Diggs could definitely return on their late value. And Bill and Woody Marks have a path to RB relevance. Of course the bench is just a bonus. Black Turner also navigated the top of the draft well. Start out with two strong RBs in Bijan and Chase Brown. Dak and Goff are capable QBs. And Nabers, McLaurin, and Adams make a nice WR trio when you wait a bit at the position. Easy playoff team.

HumanGrowthHormone - 4th Pick (Amateur Hour Leage)

A hero RB build is pretty common but this is the less common hero WR build. After getting Chase in the 1st, this team picks up 2 QBs and 3 RBs. Unfortunately 1 of those is Josh Jacobs. You could do worse with Parker Washington as your WR2 at that point. Then a couple more RBs in Hubbard and Monangai. Then 5 of the 6 last picks are WR to try to help that position. A hero RB build works because those late RB picks could be very relevant with 1 injury. Most of those late WRs tend to not have a huge rise in the season. These really aren’t the worst picks at that stage of the draft for those WRs, but overall I think this build won’t work especially with Jacobs missing.

Pazzo8 - 5th Pick (Amateur Hour League)

I had this team right in the middle but I am going to keep them down for now. I liked the Maye/Brown one two at the start until Brown had his ankle rolled. And now Maye is throwing picks. Montgomery and Price feel like a risky lead RB pair. Price has looked good in this game but limited touches in the first part of the game. Maybe they are just getting him up to speed. The part I like on this team is BTJ and Alec Pierce offering some upside in the middle of the draft. Hopefully AJ Brown is back sooner rather than later for the sake of this team. But it might already be 0-1 in the first week. And I don’t know if the RBs get it done at the end of the year. 

BladeMaker88 - 6th Pick (Minor Leagues - Playoffs)

A few really questionable picks won’t keep this team out of the playoffs this year. This team loads up with RB early in Saquon and Kyren. Then threads 3 good WRs in Flowers, Tet, and Tate going into the mid rounds. I like Tuten and Gainwell as backup RBs on the bench. And Brissett and Carson Beck may just work out as a QB2. But why pick Kelce after you have Loveland? And why take 2 defenses? BladeMaker pretty much said this league is so weak, I can throw away 2 picks and still win this thing.   

OceanScott777 - 7th Pick (Amateur Hour League)

Another hero WR build. Maybe it is more common than I think. Or maybe you don’t see it much because it doesn’t work well. Puka is great as long as he plays which seems to be the case so far. Achane and Etienne are an interesting pair considering they say their name the same way and neither is the way you would expect. But football wise I am worried about Achane in a different offense that probably struggles. And Etienne seems propped up by situation. But lets talk about the WR2. Marvin Harrison Jr. has been disappointing. Granted he had sky high expectations but still. Then the bench is Pittman and Wan’dale. I actually like both, but not as a potential WR2 every week. Then Bowers is already out the first few weeks. Tough start. 

MustSeeEV - 8th Pick (Minor Leagues - No Playoffs)

Overall I think it is a good team ignoring situations. Jonathan Taylor is a really good RB, but I am worried about that offense looking like the second half of last year and not the first half. Swift has a great situation but I don’t think he is really that good. Egbuka and Hendo are both injured. And hopefully Brooks can play the season but he hasn’t proved he is able to do that. I think all of these little issues compound as we get into the season more and this team just can’t put together enough wins to get to the playoffs.

Nucleogenesis - 9th Pick (Minor League - Playoffs)

Nucleogenesis goes with the early TE in Trey McBride. With this strat you really need to hit the RB and WR picks. Garrett Wilson is a great WR2 in the 5th. And I think Bucky plus Judkins could be a nice pair in this situation. Sure Darnold went out early and probably doomed this team in week 1. But I think they pull it back together with Geno and knock out some wins. I would like a little better depth but if this team is active on the waiver wire, I think they can fill in the little gaps here and there during the bye weeks.    

Slimjurgeson - 10th Pick (Amateur Hour League)

JSN, Burrow, Mahomes, no complaints up top. But Breece Hall as the RB1 marks me a little nervous. I think he is good but its still the Jets. Then I really like picking up McConkey and Burden. But then instead of looking for a RB, we get DJ Moore, PItts and Daniel Jones. This leaves a lot to be desired in RB2. Jordan Mason and Mike Washington are nice late round picks. But I don’t know if either will have a lot of use in the first few weeks unless Jeanty isn’t ready. Side note as I am watching the game. JSN is really good. Back to the rest of this team which is not. No RB2 in the first couple of weeks puts this team in a hole that they won’t dig themselves out of. 

Samrjs - 11th Pick (Minor Leagues - No Playoffs)

Another team that waited to pick up RB2. But it starts with a stronger RB1 in McCaffrey and I think there is a little more in the late rounds to try to make a RB2 work. Plus you get a stronger WR core in JJ, London and Olave. Warren could really shine this year with Indy at TE. And Getting Murray and Bryce Young isn’t the worst if you wait that long. Then Christian Watson and Stribling are great trade pieces for a RB potentially. 1 or 2 big weeks from those two may get some good returns on the trade market. RB2 is a little weak still to get this team to the playoffs but it is a better hero RB build than the previous team.  

RickVanGo - 12th Pick (Minor Leagues - Playoffs)

Despite being RickVanSlow, this manager drafted a nice team. Lets start with RB. James Cook and Javonte should hold down the position and Rhamondre is nice as a RB3. Then this team gets lucky as the one to be on the clock as the Jacobs news breaks. Nix and Mayfield should be solid QBs and I think Penix gets some starts this year. Not sure if he scores any useful points but he should play. Then WR is solid with Lamb, Waddle, Evans and Godwin. I feel like Godwin is being forgotten and everyone is talking about Waddle playing the Z in Denver and getting tons of targets. Mark Andrews and Brenton Strange aren’t bad if you are waiting on TE. And Sadiq sneaking in at the end could be nice. A solid team going to the playoffs