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Pierre Camus evaluates each team in the inaugural Hall of Fantasy League (HOFL) for 2021 fantasy football. Which HOFL team is most likely to win and where should interested parties invest to become stakeholders?
The Hall of Fantasy League (HOFL) is a new way to follow fantasy football and support your hometown while having some skin in the game. There are 10 teams from major U.S. markets in the HOFL. Each franchise has a former professional player as Team Captain and well-known fantasy analyst(s) as General Manager.
Our very own Real Talk Raph and Scott "The King" Engel were selected to represent the biggest market of all - New York. Their NFL team representative is former Giants running back Rashad Jennings and their franchise goes under the iconic name (with epic logo) of New York Bodega Cats. You can read all about their draft experience and the team itself right here.
In this article, however, we will focus on the league as a whole and provide a preview of the coming season. It's a bit unorthodox to forecast predictions on fantasy leagues themselves but this is no ordinary league. In the HOFL, you can become a stakeholder and invest in the team you feel has the best shot to win it all. While our money is obviously on the Bodega Cats, this will be an objective overview of each squad to help you make an informed decision on which team to support.
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League Settings
You hear it time and time again - know your league's settings! If you plan on investing real money in someone else's team, the same applies. Here are the league's basic settings and scoring rules.
Starting lineups consist of: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 2 FLEX, 1 SUPERFLEX, 1 K, 1 DEF.
Scoring will be Half-PPR with four points per passing TD.
No bonuses awarded for big plays/games and no positional bonuses.
HOFL Draft Board
Click for full-screen or View the full draft board here
Atlanta Hot Wings
GM: Graham Barfield, Joe Dolan
Captain: Harry Douglas
Atlanta landed the 10th pick which means they selected last in this 10-team format. Drafting from the turn isn't such a bad thing in a smaller league, though. They started with workhorse RB Derrick Henry and last year's WR1 Davante Adams. Barfield and Dolan took a calculated risk at QB by hinging their team's success on second-year man Jalen Hurts and rookie Trevor Lawrence. There's a ton of upside but also a low floor if things go wrong in Philly or Urban Meyer's tenure proves to be a disaster in Jacksonville.
They continued a balanced approach to their roster construction by securing Darren Waller at TE early followed by veteran receivers Amari Cooper and Adam Thielen. DeVonta Smith and Marvin Jones were taken later to produce a pair of QB-WR stacks.
Strengths: No glaring weakness at one position, Smart mid-round picks with upside
Weaknesses: Inexperience at QB, Regression from Henry and Adams could be costly
Boston Barflies
GM: Jennifer Eakins, John Paulsen
Captain: Patrick Chung
The Boston franchise picked Josh Allen, last year's fantasy QB1, from the fifth spot and Aaron Rodgers on the way back. Solidifying the quarterback position early is a common tactic in Superflex leagues since value falls off a cliff quickly. After grabbing a borderline RB1 in Joe Mixon and a tight end in George Kittle, they addressed wide receiver with three straight picks. Although this team lacks a clear WR1, they hope the production at QB makes up for it while at least one of their rookie RBs, Javonte Williams or Michael Carter, will have to hit in order for this team to be a true championship contender.
Strength: Best QB combo in the league, strong WR depth
Weakness: RB could be a big problem if Mixon is hurt again or the UNC duo doesn't pay off
Chicago Hogmollies
GM: Jeff Ratcliffe
Captain: Eddie Royal
While they possess arguably the best team name in the league, the Hogmollies assumed a good deal of risk by waiting until round six to take their first quarterback. That player was Trey Lance, who may not even play in Week 1 due to a chip in his hand and hasn't been named the starter. Kirk Cousins is a safe but unexciting QB2 who presents decent value based on where he was taken at the 7.8 spot. Unfortunately, their third quarterback wound up being Cam Newton since this draft took place before he was cut by New England.
The good news is that breaking up the first-round QB run resulted in landing Alvin Kamara at the eighth spot, which just doesn't happen in a single-QB league. Paired with Antonio Gibson and backed up the deepest set of receivers in the HOFL, this roster could make up for the hole at QB.
Strength: Scary WR corps of Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Mike Evans with great depth
Weakness: A lot riding on rookie Trey Lance, TEs are both sleepers that aren't guaranteed to hit
Los Angeles Sidekicks
GM: Chris Harris
Captain: Ricky Proehl
Despite being stuck in the middle with the sixth pick, the Sidekicks may have landed the QB1, RB1, and TE1 on the season. Of course, that assumes that Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley revert to 2019 form but it's certainly possible. They also landed A.J. Brown in round four and then secured high-floor picks in Josh Jacobs and Matt Ryan, making for one of the most formidable starts. Then things took a turn as the second half of their draft was rife with injury risk. D'Andre Swift, Kenny Golladay, and Marquise Brown enter the season less than 100% and Michael Thomas is a huge unknown. The upside makes these picks worthwhile in a 10-team league but it's hard to gauge what this team will look like by season's end. They ended with a hometown selection of the L.A. Rams defense, standing as the first franchise to take a DST.
Strength: High-end talent at each position
Weakness: Could be relying on David Johnson or Tre'Quan Smith at Flex in Week 1
NY Bodega Cats
GM: Real Talk Raph, Scott Engel
Captain: Rashad Jennings
The Cats had a clear strategy in mind going in. As Scott Engel described in his breakdown of this draft, he and Raph decided they were going to secure two QBs and two RBs right away. They did just that by selecting Kyler Murray and Justin Herbert followed by Jonathan Taylor and David Montgomery. A third RB wasn't far behind in Chris Carson and another came in round seven with Darrell Henderson.
That strategy solidified a relatively thin position at running back but predictably made for a shaky wide receiver group. In full-PPR leagues, JuJu Smith-Schuster can be a solid WR3. Having him as the WR2 in half-PPR is not desirable. The remaining wideouts, D.J. Chark, Mike Williams, Henry Ruggs, and Sammy Watkins are all boom-bust types.
Strength: RB depth and starting QBs
Weakness: Wide receivers - all of them besides Kupp
Ohio Goats
GM: Michael Fabiano, Bob Harris
Captain: Joe Thomas
It remains to be seen if this squad will be the GOAT of the HOFL but the early results are encouraging. Ohio is depending on a pair of Cowboys in Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott which will largely determine the fate of this team. I absolutely love the next few picks they made, especially Najee Harris in round three, D.K. Metcalf in round four, and T.J. Hockenson in round seven. There is plenty of upside in the later picks without the uncertainty of relying strictly on rookies. Picks like Antonio Brown, Nyheim Hines, and Russell Gage don't get the juices flowing but they could all certainly outperform their draft slot.
Strength: Great balance and no holes at any position
Weakness: Too safe? No true breakout candidates
Philadelphia Powderkegs
GM: Adam Caplan, Andrew DiCecco
Captain: Jason Avant
Philly was one of two teams to start RB-RB by selecting Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb. The fact they landed Calvin Ridley and Keenan Allen too is impressive. Caplan and DiCecco made sure not to wait too long before addressing depth at each position and stuck to mostly known commodities, fielding one of the more experienced teams.
This team has some hometown flavor with Miles Sanders and Dallas Goedert in the fold. Both might find themselves behind other options at the position, namely Kenneth Gainwell and Zach Ertz. On another note, the Cleveland Browns sidestack of Mayfield and Chubb is an interesting one that provides a decent safety net but limits ceiling at the Superflex spot, especially since there is no third QB to speak of on this roster.
Strength: Only two QBs on the roster and one is Baker Mayfield
Weakness: Reliance on fringe RBs at Flex early in the season
Seattle Haze
GM: Pat Fitzmaurice, Melissa Jacobs
Captain: Justin Forsett
Seattle owned the second pick and turned it into Pat Mahomes. The Superflex spot was secured with Ryan Tannehill, RB1 held down by Aaron Jones, and four receivers in the first seven rounds make for a solid base. While waiting on a second running back is a common tactic that often pays off, the fact that Travis Etienne was their back of choice is a stroke of bad luck. Melvin Gordon can take his place in the short term but he may be backing up Javonte Williams before long, leaving this team relying on Zack Moss or a waiver wire pick to fill the void. Mid-round selections Jerry Jeudy and Will Fuller might make up for it though.
Strength: No shortage of startable receivers
Weakness: Running back is a crapshoot after Jones
Texas Y'allers
GM: Joe Bryant, Sigmund Bloom
Captain: Darren Woodson
The Y'allers tried to play it safe by hinging their hopes on veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Tom Brady to kick things off. Unfortunately, they made J.K. Dobbins their RB2 before his season-ending injury and later selected T.Y. Hilton. This shouldn't be a major setback since James Robinson was a great value pick at 9.9 and Marquez Callaway might be a steal at 16.2 if he can hold down a Flex spot all year.
Personally, I'm not sold on Clyde Edwards-Helaire as a top-15 running back or Kyle Pitts as a top-five tight end so those might end up being reaches. The receivers are solid as a group but nobody stands out as a potential top-10 fantasy asset, which would be necessary to qualify as a WR1 in this format.
Strength: Three, possibly four starting-caliber quarterbacks
Weakness: Thin at RB, lacking a clear WR1
Vegas Pocket Kings
GM: Jeff Mans
Captain: Pocket Kings
In true Vegas fashion, Mans rolled the dice and took a gamble at the most critical position in a Superflex league by waiting on QB. The Pocket Kings were the last franchise to select a quarterback, waiting until pick 9.1 to take Justin Fields. As if having a rookie who isn't starting in Week 1 as your main QB wasn't dicey enough, the next QB was Daniel Jones. Deshaun Watson also found his way onto this roster in round 15.
Perhaps you can afford to take that risk when you start out with Christian McCaffrey. Picking him first is a nice advantage to have, assuming he stays healthy this year. He and Austin Ekeler are slightly less valuable in half-PPR leagues but both should still finish as top-10 fantasy backs. There are no complaints about this receiving corps either with DeAndre Hopkins, Allen Robinson, CeeDee Lamb, and Courtland Sutton. Nobody is topping that first four.
Strength: Top-shelf talent at RB and WR including CMC
Weakness: Quarterback could be a hot mess all year
Preseason Power Rankings
East
1. Ohio Goats
2. New York Bodega Cats
3. Philadelphia Powderkegs
4. Boston Barflies
5. Atlanta Hot Wings
West
1. Los Angeles Sidekicks
2. Chicago Hogmollies
3. Vegas Pocket Kings
4. Seattle Haze
5. Texas Y'allers
Conclusion
The HOFL, like any fantasy football league, will be filled with surprises throughout the year. Fortunately, those who follow this league can enjoy the excitement without the stress of making tough decisions. Pick the team you want to support, download the app, and become a stakeholder before the season kicks off!
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