CRFL Keeper Rankings 3/20/17

It's draft season in dynasty/keeper leagues across the fantasy footballing world, but I think I'm overdue on releasing the official CRFL keeper rankings. They are below. Abbreviation of NFL teams in gray, CRFL team names are in parenthesis. I did include rookies based on talent alone.

The keeper rankings are based on a combination of talent, situation, and age. I've kept true to that, but of course this is just my opinion. In addition to the keeper rankings, at the bottom of the page is a "future rankings" that ranks the future prospects each CRFL team has going forward based on the keeper ranks. I did it Roto style, so #1 rank = 50 points, #2 rank = 49 points, #3 rank = 48 points, #4 rank = 47 points, etc.

Keeper Rankings

1. RB Le'Veon Bell PIT (Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors)
2. RB Ezekiel Elliott DAL (Gem State Bruins)
3. RB David Johnson ARI (Wind River Bison)
4. WR Odell Beckham NYG (Gem State Bruins)
5. WR Julio Jones ATL (Gem State Bruins)
6. WR Antonio Brown PIT (Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors)
7. RB Leonard Fournette Rookie 
8. WR Mike Evans TB (Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors)
9. RB Melvin Gordon LAC (Northern Lights)
10. RB Jordan Howard CHI (Vito's Vikings)
11. WR Amari Cooper OAK (Huskerfan)
12. WR Michael Thomas NO (Vito's Vikings)
13. WR A.J. Green CIN (Gem State Bruins)
14. WR DeAndre Hopkins HOU (Gem State Bruins)
15. RB Jay Ajayi MIA (Huskerfan)
16. RB Devonta Freeman ATL (Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors)
17 WR Dez Bryant DAL (Vito's Vikings)
18. RB Todd Gurley LAR (Gem State Bruins)
19. WR Sammy Watkins BUF (Northern Lights)
20. TE Rob Gronkowski NE (Northern Lights)
21. WR Jarvis Landry MIA (Badgerhawks)
22. QB Aaron Rodgers GB (Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors)
23. WR Jordy Nelson GB (Spokane Spartans)
24. RB LeSean McCoy BUF (Spokane Spartans)
25. RB DeMarco Murray TEN (Wind River Bison)
26. QB Andrew Luck IND (Gem State Bruins)
27. WR Mike Williams Rookie 
28. WR Corey Coleman CLE (Vito's Vikings)
29. WR Allen Robinson JAC (Northern Lights)
30. RB Lamar Miller HOU (Northern Lights)
31. WR T.Y. Hilton IND (Brucey's crew)
32. WR Kelvin Benjamin CAR (Huskerfan)
33. WR Davante Adams GB (Northern Lights)
34. QB Derek Carr OAK (Wind River Bison)
35. RB Spencer Ware KC (Badgerhawks)
36. TE Travis Kelce KC (Spokane Spartans)
37. RB Dalvin Cook Rookie
38. WR Corey Davis Rookie
39. RB Mark Ingram NO (Huskerfan)
40. RB Derrick Henry TEN (Juice Box Heroes)
41. QB Cam Newton CAR (Juice Box Heroes)
42. WR John Ross Rookie
43. TE O.J. Howard Rookie
44. WR Alshon Jeffrey PHI (Free Agent)
45. RB Tevin Coleman ATL (Juice Box Heroes)
46. RB Eddie Lacy SEA (Free Agent)
47. WR Keenan Allen LAC (Wind River Bison)
48. WR Doug Baldwin SEA (Wind River Bison)
49. RB Alvin Kamara Rookie
50. QB Tom Brady NE (Vito's Vikings)

Future Rankings

1. Gem State Bruins (322)
2. Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors (202)
3. Northern Lights (166)
4. Vito's Vikings (138)
5. Huskerfan (107)
6. Wind River Bison (97)
7. Spokane Spartans (70)
8. Badgerhawks (46)
9. Juice Box Heroes (27)
10. Brucey's crew (20)
T11. Connell Conquistadors (0)
T11. The Valley Bulls (0)

Analysis: Quick glance at the point totals suggest that Gem State and Kaneohe are good bets to be top contenders for the foreseeable future. Connell and the Bulls are definitely looking to the draft for help, but things change quickly in fantasy football. Vito's Vikings would have been ranked near the bottom of this list last year.

The real surprise to me was reigning Cascade Conference champion, Brucey's crew, registering near the very bottom. I'm guessing the crew would have a lot of players ranked in the 51-70 range, however based on these rankings need to keep one eye on development for the future.

Overall, this maps out which teams are likely to be a factor in playoff races for years to come, and who need to start mining the draft for future talent.

Next update to these rankings will likely come in the summer post-NFL draft.

2017 Post-Combine/Free Agency Mock Draft v3

The combine has come and gone and free agency has taken its toll on NFL rosters. This is a good time to do another fantasy mock draft. This time I'm going to use the 2-round mock draft produced by the Bleacher Report's Matt Miller. This complicates things, cause sometimes 3rd or even 4th round picks in the NFL draft get taken in the 1st round of our rookie/free agency draft. That said, this is all in good fun, not to be taken seriously. With this details in place, Badgerhawks ends the suspense (or lack thereof) at 1.01.

1.01. Badgerhawks select...RB Leonard Fournette SF (LSU)
Badgerhawks might have all the time in the world to make this pick, but it's unlikely he has much to think about. Unless something crazy happens, Fournette is the clear #1 overall pick in dynasty/keeper rookie drafts. His 4.51 40 time despite being "out of shape" backed up his highly-praised ability. In Miller's mock draft, he has Fournette going 2nd overall!

1.02. Gem State Bruins select...RB Dalvin Cook BAL (Florida State)
The Bruins traded up two spots from 1.04 to 1.02, parting with their 2018 1st to do so. Why such a drastic decision? The answer: to ensure that a 1st round RB goes to Gem State. Will Dalvin Cook still qualify as a 1st rounder despite his poor combine? For now the mock drafters say yes. If he's the second RB off the board in the NFL draft, he'll be the second RB off the board in the CRFL draft.

1.03. Huskerfan select...WR John Ross CAR (Washington)
Oh my. What a blunder of a trade by The Valley Bulls to allow Huskerfan into this #3 slot. Huskers don't really have a weakness at RB or WR, so he'll go BPA (best player available). John Ross turned in an excellent and historic combine. In Miller's mock, he goes 9th overall to Carolina. With two 1st round picks at his disposal, he'll favor the highest selected RB or WR.

1.04. Juice Box Heroes select...RB Christian McCaffrey DEN (Stanford)
Juice Box deposited an extra 2018 1st rounder in exchange for moving back two spots to 1.04. It's looking like a wise move after Dalvin Cook's poor combine last week, surrounding the 1.02 pick with more questions than before. The Juice Box has several pressing needs, but I think RBs go off the board fast this year like past years.

1.05. Connell Conquistadors select...RB Joe Mixon KC (Oklahoma)
The CRFL Buccaneers moved back to 1.05 from 1.04 after acquiring Doug Martin in a trade. Miller is obviously buying a ton of stock in Mixon. While I will be surprised if he goes this high, Miller projects him there so I'll play along. In this case, Connell can't ignore a talent of Mixon's caliber to Kansas City in the 1st round.

1.06. Huskerfan select...RB Alvin Kamara NYJ (Tennessee)
The 1st round haul continues for the Huskers. Taking Ross at 1.03, I'm guessing he would balance things out and draft a RB here. In this 2-round mock draft, Kamara is the only RB remaining. Husker could double down on WR here, but I think he'll aim for balance. 

1.07. Brucey's crew select...WR Corey Davis ARI (Western Michigan)
At this stage in the draft, owners start picking the best player available instead of by need. It's debatable, but Mike Williams would have Corey Coleman to deal with in Cleveland, whereas the future belongs to Corey Davis in Arizona. For that reason, the crew go with Davis.

1.08. Wind River Bison select...RB Brian Hill ??? (Wyoming)
The Bison finally broke out! After years of being in the CRFL cellar, the 10-3 campaign came as a shocker. I have it on good authority that the Wyoming-based Bison are really, really high on Brian Hill. Hill does not show up in Miller's 2-round mock, hence the ??? marks, but I fully expect the Bison to take Hill.

1.09. Vito's Vikings select...WR Mike Williams CLE (Clemson)
The Lonestars, while finishing at 5-8, have rebuilt this poor roster in a very short time. A 2017 breakout is in store for this team under new owner Vito, and their depth only gets bolstered by having this 1st round pick. The good fortune continues with 1st round WR selection Mike Williams falling all the way to 1.09.

1.10. Brucey's crew select...TE O.J. Howard TEN (Alabama)
Bruce could definitely double down here with another 2nd round WR, but the crew absolutely love to hoard TE talent. With no 1st or 2nd round RBs remaining, Brucey grabs what might be a generational talent at TE.

1.11. Northern Lights select...WR Cooper Kupp GB (Eastern Washington)
As stated earlier, the talent starts to thin out at this point in the 1st round. Northern doesn't need another WR, and would have really liked for O.J. Howard to fall to this spot, but Cooper Kupp going to Green Bay in the 2nd round of the NFL draft is far too enticing for the Lights to pass up on.

1.12. Juice Box Heroes select...TE David Njoku MIA (Miami Hurriances)
JBH found his franchise RB, now he needs help at WR. However, Zay Jones in Cincinnati isn't going to move the needle, so I think Njoku being the other freak 1st round TE seems about right to close this round.

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Again, this mock draft will change throughout draft season, but it's a fun exercise. For now, the only certain is that Badgerhawks is on the clock...