XIII: Season Preview

The season is here! Previewing the season is a fool's errand as injuries and effectiveness will wreck havoc upon our season on a weekly basis. Position projections were pulled prior to yesterday's game, with an eye on overall depth.

The top of the Quarterback heap is, bar none, the Savannah Petes who took a pair of elite passers in Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. If they have an eye on trading one, that might work- but the QB market is fickle and oversaturated- at current, 23 signal callers have roster spots, and no team has a glaring need at the position. Certainly an upgrade is possible, but at what cost is to be determined. 

At running back we gauge each team's top three options- the position is a notorious churn, and there's a good possibility that some of the top ten point getters this season are not even listed on the chart above. That said, there is tiered series of apparent strength here; keep in mind that there's no place for a third RB, so to some extent, if everything goes right, that is wasted value sitting on the bench in all but two bye weeks.

With teams starting up to four WRs each week, it's a volatile position where depth can really be tested- every season injuries and bye weeks force a team to start someone they never expected to, where they could become an unlikely hero, or be the Achilles heel to a playoff push. After a handful of elite Tight-Ends, the position is predominantly touchdown dependent- how teams navigate that (streaming or riding the waves) can easily be the difference between a playoff berth and a consolation game. 

Defenses remain something of an enigma- it's clear when a player produces, but it is not always apparent how to prognosticate when a player will produce. As such, teams are often left chasing points that are already on the board. Because of this, IDPs are often given minimal trade value in exchange for offensive weapons. Ultimately defenses typically provide the production floor for a team, while also having game changing ability: a turnover that goes for a touchdown is only rivaled by a special teams TD in terms of matchup impact. Balancing tackle machines with big-play catalysts is the line we walk.