Phase 7: 2023 Season Preview

PHASE 7 - Old God’s & New Beginnings

Peyton’s Forehead Shiner

ESPN: 1st

FantasyPros: 1st

FantasyDataPoints: 1st

Writers Choice: 1st (absolutely no bias whatsoever)

Projected Record: 11-2

Without question, Peyton had one of the best on-paper drafts we’ve seen in league history. Of course, it all means nothing until we see it on the field, as we’ve felt great about a lot of drafts for other managers before. Still, acquiring 3/5 of the best receivers without taking significant hits at any other position makes his roster a behemoth to contend with for other managers. 

Split 1 has him squared off against both of his 2023 playoff matchups, facing a 3rd playoff team in Split 2.

With a frontloaded schedule in terms of difficulty, it’ll be important for Peyton to stay afloat the first month to not fall behind, as he’s historically 2-4 on Opening Day. If last season was any indication, some bumps in the road shouldn’t be a problem for the defending champion. 

Bradshank Redemption

ESPN: 3rd

FantasyPros: 2nd

FantasyDataPoints: 2nd

Writers Choice: 2nd

Projected Record: 9-4

With serious top-end talent, Bradshank is a team we consider a near guarantee to see a postseason appearance. Like all teams, there’s always a chance she could have some down weeks. Even so, we’ll expect her to be around in the final four by season’s end. This lineup is just too elite to elude success.

Split 1 offers a chance to prove her talent in the hopes it will translate talent into victories early in the season.

Odell’s Rusty Hip

ESPN: 7th

FantasyPros: 6th

FantasyDataPoints: 3rd

Writers Choice: 3rd

Projected Record: 8-5

Valkyrie had an underrated draft. Aside from her superstar QB1 in Lamar Jackson, there’s not a ton of names that jump off of the page. On the flip side, there’s not a bad selection in sight. Being a top-to-bottom solid roster each week, coupled with a healthy supply of bench pieces, this was another success draft for the former champion.

We’ll make the wholly unoriginal projection of assuming the winningest regular season manager will be well above average once again. 

Pull The Lever, Gronk!

ESPN: 6th

FantasyPros: 3rd

FantasyDataPoints: 4th

Writers Choice: 4th

Projected Record: 7-6

This is an overall positive draft, with some hiccups in between. She left a lot of meat on the bone in the middle rounds, which could come back to haunt her down the line. Bottom line, there’s more than enough premium talent compared to her counterparts to make her a legitimate playoff contender. 

Getting out of the gate fast and with success is key to her reaching the maximum potential of this squad. This may finally be her rise from the ashes.

Team GMEN

ESPN: 8th

FantasyPros: 4th

FantasyDataPoints: 7th

Writers Choice: 5th

Projected Record: 6-7

With some certainly interesting roster decisions made by this manager (looking at you Taysom Hill in the 9th Round) , we can’t grade him too highly. Without some missteps in the middle rounds, we might have projected him as a championship contender considering how good is premium picks are. Playoffs are certainly well within the range of outcomes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his decision to overdraft positions such as backup QB and TE play a role in him underperforming.

It may take longer than the first Split to measure how effective this strategy was.

Sledge Hammer

ESPN: 4th

FantasyPros: 5th

FantasyDataPoints: 6th

Writers Choice: 6th

Projected Record: 5-8

Another impressive draft from Thanos as usual. If there’s anyone we can expect to outperform their grade considerably, we feel it’s him.

What tempers our expectations are a lot of unanswered questions as to whether some of these players can repeat their past success, as many of these selections have only had one exceptional season so far

. If they hit their ceilings, he’s a playoff team without question. If there’s a handful of setbacks or underwhelming returns on investment that rely him to lean too heavily on CMC/Stroud, its hard to say it’ll be enough to propel him into the final four.

Consider Thanos our biggest wildcard of Split 1 and 2.

Suh-Tang Clan

ESPN: 2nd

FantasyPros: 8th

FantasyDataPoints: 8th

Writers Choice: 7th

Projected Record: 5-8

We’re at the point in our breakdowns where we really don’t like projecting anyone past this point, as it feels like more of a logjam than ever at the 4th-8th place spot. Sadly, we just have to put the 2023 Finalist here, for now at least.

Having a decent team overall, his

top tier talent is still unproven to have an elite ceiling in terms of fantasy production. 

If he’s to return to a championship game with this roster, we’ll need to see it to believe it. Short version; he has a team chock-full of sleepers. If they awaken, expect a return to form. Should they miss their alarm, this ranking may ring true.

Split 1 has him face off against the team that defeated him in the title game. To get past him and through September over .500 will instantly make this projection worth less than the virtual paper it was typed on.

Is This Soccer?

ESPN: 5th

FantasyPros: 7th

FantasyDataPoints: 7th

Writers Choice: 8th

Projected Record: 4-9

Our season outlook for Is This Soccer is a mixed bag. He just might have the best depth of any team this season.

On the other hand, he’ll be relying on the aggregate more than any other manager, with Tyreek Hill likely being his greatest smoking gun in terms of explosiveness. It could work, but there’s just not enough pound-for-pound firepower for us to really love his outlook in 2024. To reiterate, we don’t love having to project a last place. Alas, he appears to be a good candidate if things don’t go his way.

In Split 1, he faces 2 managers with a combined 5 championships. Best of luck to the manager overseas.