The Show Fantasy League: The Defending Champ Starts 0-3 But Calls His Shot With Two Monster Trades

Patrick Smith. Getty Images.

The Show Fantasy Football League's defending Champion, Alex Bregman, who famously drafted four Runningbacks with his first four picks last year is having a rough start to the year. He's 0-3 after a loss to Dave Portnoy (3-0), this past weekend. So he's decided to double down and go all in on Runningbacks again with two trades that have shaken up the league. 

Bregman has decided to trade:
Rams WR Cooper Kupp, Raiders TE Darren Waller, and Eagles RB Miles Sanders

to Mike Napoli for:

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey and Falcons TE Kyle Pitts

As Commissioner, I wanted to ensure this deal was fully agreed upon and ok'd by the league owners, so I sent a note to Bregman and Napoli and received an immediate call from Bregman explaining his strategy and that he had another trade cooking to. A healthy Christian McCaffrey is a potential league winner and Bregman cited his increase in touches recently along with Pitts bouncing back. He also had Derek Carr as his QB so it was a tough stack to rely on. The deal was met without any opposition so it was processed.

Minutes later, another deal was agreed to in principle with current 1st Place manager, Jake Marisnick, who finished in last place in 2021. The deal was:

Bregman acquires:

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys RB Tony Pollard, and Vikings RB Alexander Mattison

to Jake Marisnick for:

49ers WR Deebo Samuel and Jaguars RB Travis Etienne

With the league being full PPR, it is a bold strategy to go so all in on Runningbacks, but Bregman said, "I'm a bold guy". 

This past weekend saw a lot of leveling out as there are now only two undefeated teams (Jake Marisnick and Dave Portnoy) and two winless teams (the aforementioned Bregman, and the combo of Shane Bieber and Austin Hedges). And shoutout to me for going a perfect 6-0 with my pre-game predictions blog on Sunday coming off a 5-1 week, going 11-1 in my last 12. Here's how things shook out in each matchup this past weekend:

The clash of the titans with the 1st and 3rd place teams. This was the first week Moose's team didn't score 163 points. While he was basically right in line with his projection, Jake Marisnick's team came to play with his RBs on Monday Night (Saquon Barkley and Zeke Elliott) both getting in the end zone. He also benefitted from a huge Thursday night from Amari Cooper. Moose got an outstanding day from Lamar Jackson who outscored his projection by almost 21 points, but was let down by his stud WR corps with Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill combining for to be over 30 points below their projections. And I'm certain he's not happy with his decision to sit DeVonta Smith, although that would be risky based on the first two weeks. In my opinion, Moose still has the best team in the league as the ceiling is just sky high.

Dave Portnoy continues to impress with probably the best WR group 1-3 in the league in Stefon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Jaylen Waddle. Portnoy is now the just one of two undefeated teams and is cleaning up on a weekly basis. Breece Hall is also very much trending in the right direction and JK Dobbins caught a couple passes over the weekend, so should have a strong RB rotation even when Brian Robinson returns for the Commanders. Alex Bregman's squad was tied to the success of Derek Carr and Darren Waller and clearly, based on the trades he made after Week 3 shipping off the Raiders TE along with his two first round picks, Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel. He is clearly reshaping his roster and feels like he has WRs on the bench that can get it done. It's hard to argue based on last week with Curtis Samuel and Garrett Wilson only putting up a combined 4.2 points less than Kupp and Deebo. But can that last all year?

Mike Trout's team is turning it all around. From last place after Week 2 to just being on the edge of the playoffs after Week 3. His backfield has come to play with Nick Chubb carrying the mail as RB1 and Derrick Henry as en explosive as an RB2 as there is. Cordarrelle Patterson at FLEX is another scary option. Trout did get burned with his QB carousel this week, but it is nice to have two good options. If DJ Moore can get back on track and his RBs stay healthy, Trout should contend this year. Meanwhile, the new last place duo of Shane Bieber and Austin Hedges are in a world of hurt. The Mike Evans suspension certainly hurt and Mike Williams has been very inconsistent this season as is tough to rely on in a starting lineup. They also haven't benefitted from the explosive stats that could come from Leonard Fournette or Evans yet, so they may need to shake things up. 

Hindsight is 20/20 and it would've been basically impossible to predict, but the duo of Christian Yelich and Jace Peterson left more points on their bench than in their starting lineup. The David Montgomery injury hurts a lot, especially when you didn't handcuff him with Khalil Herbert. But they do have Jamaal Williams who could get some run the next few weeks. Chris Olave and Tyler Boyd both had big time weeks while they left puking Allen Lazard and Breshad Perriman in their lineup. Manny Machado's team is up next. With Mark Andrews providing consistent, elite production from the TE spot, he has a lot more room for error. Romeo Doubs breakout was on his bench, but can step in if needed to an already strong WR corps of AJ Brown, Gabe Davis, and Drake London. He just needs to figure out the QB situation. 

Mike Napoli continues to ride Jalen Hurts' incredible performance, but his best pick may have been Christian Kirk who has been very good as Jacksonville's #1 WR. He handled Eric Hosmer who falls to 1-2 despite getting good performances out of Travis Kelce, Dameon Pierce, and Adam Thielen. Hosmer unfortunately picked the wrong QB and WR and could've really flipped the result had he started Aaron Rodgers and Brandon Aiyuk instead of Matthew Stafford and Allen Robinson. He'll need Joe Mixon to step up a lot for him to have a shot to contend.

Wil's Football Team had the most even performance of the week with everyone except his Kicker getting double digit points. He sat dynamos Devin Singletary and Russell Gage, but still trounced the trio of Joc Pederson, Alex Wood, and Austin Barnes who fell to 9th with this loss. They have a crowded roster with nobody standing out. Their bench is very good, but their starters are big names who have super high ceilings, so who to sit? Can they actually bench Alvin Kamara or Dalvin Cook? Although Cook's injury may make that an easier decision. Especially if Khalil Herbert starts. You can't bench Amon-Ra St. Brown, but will you sit Michael Thomas and miss out on a potentially big game? It's a dangerous game of start/sit roulette for these guys who could benefit from a move. Their QB position has killed them all year and they would use a boost there.

The standings after three weeks are here but looking forward to see how the new look teams do this weekend.