In season · weekly recaps

Gazette

Recaps build themselves from Sleeper as each week goes final. The preseason issue is below.

This week scoreboard

Live from Sleeper. Scores move as games finish.

Recaps

Fills in from Sleeper when a week goes final. Newest first.

Draft night, Aug 29

Issue 2, as written. Trades and waivers have moved players since. Current rosters are on Teams.

Post-draft. Prices from Sleeper. No invented rankings.

Eight chairs at Haute Poppies. One hundred twenty-eight picks. One unused dollar. The inaugural Sunday Scaries auction is in the books, and the room told on itself.

This is an 8-team half-PPR superflex. Starting lineup is 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 2 FLEX, 1 SUPERFLEX, 1 K, 1 DEF, plus five bench. That format makes quarterbacks scarce and running backs expensive. The board followed both rules, then broke a few others.

How the room spent $1,598

Zach Cabra left $2 on the table. Everybody else went $200 even.

Running back was the tax. Thirty-eight RBs sold for $580. Jahmyr Gibbs went for $61 to Connor Zetsche, the high pick of the night. Bijan Robinson went $56 to Brad Bell. Saquon Barkley went $42, also to Brad. Christian McCaffrey went $39 to Barry Rockwood. The room decided workhorse backs still win 8-team leagues.

Wide receiver was the depth position. Forty-five WRs sold for $509. The top of that market was not Chase. It was Jaxon Smith-Njigba at $42 to Ben Bankhead, then Amon-Ra St. Brown at $41 to Zach, then Puka Nacua at $39 to Kevin Kutch. Ja'Marr Chase went $33 to Will Maness. If Chase is still Chase, that is the quietest value on the board.

Quarterback split the room. Twenty-one QBs sold for $376. Jacob Williamson paid the superflex tax out loud: Josh Allen $49, Lamar Jackson $38, Matthew Stafford $13. Brad took Burrow at $33 and Jaxson Dart at $22. Barry took Patrick Mahomes at $10 and stopped. That is the bet to watch.

Tight end died after two names. Trey McBride $24, Brock Bowers $24, then Tyler Warren $10 and Colston Loveland $16. Kickers and defenses were leftovers, except Brandon Aubrey at $13.

The eight rosters

Connor Zetsche, Crazy Broke Achanes, $200. Stars and scraps. Gibbs $61, Achane $35, CeeDee Lamb $33, Dak Prescott $36. That is $165 on four players. After that it is Tyler Warren, Caleb Williams, Jameson Williams, and a row of $1s. If Gibbs and Achane both hit, the name on the team is a warning label. If one of them slips, the bench is not coming to save it.

Brad Bell, $200. Two running backs and a prayer. Bijan $56 plus Saquon $42 is $98 before he paid Burrow $33 and Dart $22. Ladd McConkey at $13 is the only wide receiver who cost real money. Brian Thomas, Diggs, Addison, and Makai Lemon were $1 each. The Superflex is covered. The flex spots are a weekly argument.

Jacob Williamson, Jake from StateFarm, $200. The quarterback factory. Allen, Lamar, Stafford, and Jordan Love for $101. Ashton Jeanty $34 and A.J. Brown $24 are the skill-position spine. After that the running backs are $1 dart throws. In this format the QB room can carry a thin backfield. It has to.

Ben Bankhead, BankCity, $200. The cleanest sheet. JSN $42, James Cook $40, Omarion Hampton $29, Jayden Daniels $25, Brock Bowers $24, Rashee Rice $15. No $60 monument. No empty position. Bo Nix at $8 is the extra starter. This is the roster that does not need a story.

Kevin Kutch, $200. Drake Maye $42, Puka $39, Derrick Henry $35, Brock Purdy $22, Chris Olave $20. Then a wall of wide receivers: DeVonta Smith, Mike Evans, Terry McLaurin, DK Metcalf. Tight end is Tucker Kraft and Mark Andrews for $4 combined. The skill depth is real. The position scarcity is at TE.

Will Maness, Lizard King, $200. Spread the money. Chase $33, Kenneth Walker $31, George Pickens $28, Chase Brown $25, Malik Nabers $20. Five players between $20 and $33 instead of one $60 chip. Quarterback is Trevor Lawrence $17 with Kyler and Baker behind him at $3. Travis Kelce at $2 is a dart, not a plan. The roster is deep and a little quarterback-light for a superflex.

Zach Cabra, $198. Two alpha receivers. Amon-Ra $41 and Justin Jefferson $32, then Drake London $15. Jalen Hurts $26 and Justin Herbert $17 cover the Superflex. The running back after Jeremiyah Love at $24 is Rhamondre, Henderson, and Dobbins. Aubrey at $13 is the luxury pick of the night. The unused $2 does not matter. The thin backfield might.

Barry Rockwood, Rock ’em Sock ’em, $200. Christian McCaffrey $39, Trey McBride $24, then a pile of usable backs: Kyren, Javonte, Skattebo, Breece, Bucky. Nico Collins, Zay Flowers, and Jaylen Waddle are the wide receiver core. The hole is the one that matters in this league. Patrick Mahomes at $10 is the only quarterback. In a superflex with two flexes, that is a season-long tightrope.

Week 1 preview

From before kickoff. Kept for the record.

What is actually in play

Buy-in is $30 through Sleeper. Pot is $240. First place 80 percent. Second 20 percent. Weekly low score shotguns a beer, selfies it, and sends it to the group. Toilet Bowl is lose-and-advance for seeds 5 through 8. Last place does a modified NFL combine. No keepers this year.

Have Fun and Don’t Be a Dick. Lineups lock soon enough.

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