Happy New Year to those who celebrate, and congratulations to all you winners. Also, congratulations to all of you who came one win away from the championship. A lot of managers came up just short. It happens. It stinks. And hopefully it makes us hungrier for next season.
Speaking of which, I'm very hungry for next season. And because some of you are still competing in Week 18, and because it would be pretty ridiculous to sign off now while there's still football to be played, I'll be here 'til the end of the regular season. My final column will be next Monday. To those who like this page (hopefully at least 10% of you), and to those who'd like me to spend more time doing research and delivering more extras (like weekly RB handcuff rankings), stay tuned for next Monday's announcement. Not a huge announcement. But something that some of you have been asking about for years.
In the coming days I'll dive into preliminary player assessments for 2024 -- specifically, players we might anticipate being significantly undervalued or overvalued next summer. There are a ton of variables, including for players with expiring contracts (where they'll play next, and what role they'll have), the NFL draft, free agent signings, etc. But we can begin mapping out a loose strategy.
For example, by the end of last season, based on research, I was fairly convinced that Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs would be way overvalued this past summer. So I had an idea of where I'd rank them before ADPs even came out. Then when the first ADPs were publicized, I didn't get caught up in the noise. Comparing my rankings to their market rankings made my decision easy: I was going to fade them like a polaroid picture abandoned in the desert sun. (That's my first and last attempt at a desert-themed simile.)
In other words, if you still want to read about fantasy football -- and hopefully content that matters, rather than just content for content's sake -- then this next week should be at least somewhat useful/interesting. I generally write about the things I care most about -- the topics that inform, fascinate, and challenge.
Can we trust Josh Allen to either (a) improve his passing numbers, or (b) maintain his incredible rushing-touchdown clip? Will Raheem Mostert be one of next year's biggest RB busts? Are managers too excited about Garrett Wilson catching Aaron Rodgers' passes? Will David Njoku go back to being a tertiary option in a Deshaun Watson-led passing attack?
You get the idea.
Also, a quick and well-deserved shout-out to the winners of the FF4W Premier Fantasy Football League. As most of you know, I started the PFFL a few years ago. Originally I'd planned to serve only as its commissioner. My old friend Justin Koplin (the biggest Jets fan I know) convinced me to put up or shut up. Basically, put myself on the line each season versus some of the toughest members of this community. I trust Justin. We've known each other since we were first graders. And not the Billy Madison-type of first grader. The kid-type.
This season's PFFL featured 12 divisions, 14 teams per division. That's 168 managers fighting it out for league-winner glory. But this year I added another competition that pitted the season's top weekly and overall scorers against each other for the ultimate PFFL championship.
Congratulations to the 12 league winners: Yemi Onibokun, Anthony Waddle, Chris Williams, Steele Walukones, Matthew Kennedy, Howie Shack, Doug Harrison, Jan Mahnke, Rich Paul, John Morris, Adal Galvan, and Kevin Gillen. And Kevin also happened to be the big winner of the first-ever PFFL championship, edging out John Morris (second place) and regular-season top scorer Matt Follo (third place).
The PFFL has capacity to grow to about 200 managers, and by capacity I mean "how much time I can devote to managing the operation." So . . . if you want to compete in 2024, ping me here or anywhere you can find me. The only requirement is a commitment to winning. And since you're part of this community, you're already there.