2021 Power Rankings-Season Finale

## Introduction

Hey babes. It's been a while. Remember me? Remember the good times we had?

I want to kick this thing off for my two readers by saying that this end of season wrap-up was not delayed because I lost the Glory Bowl and didn't want to think about it. In fact, the first thing I did was write the "how it went down" section before I forgot all the details. You'll be able to tell that it was written half a year ago by the aggressive manner in which this totally unbiased recap was compiled. No, it was a combo of getting busy, being lazy, and Yahoo locking me out of the league page during the off-season. I know it doesn't matter, but I want to make it known me being a sore loser was not part of the equation. Being just a general loser who couldn't finish off the league year strong with my usual mega-writeup is part of the equation (the whole part).

But here we are. It's almost time to fucking go again. Run this shit back. So let's wrap up 2021 (in August 2022) with a slightly-less mega writeup that features my favorite part of the end of the year: the LOC Honors and the 2021 draft analysis rewind! But first...

## The Eight-Time Champion

Without further adieu, let's get down to business and introduce the reigning LOC Champion....

ME!

That's right, for the eighth year in a row the Multiverse of Mattness has won the League of Champions Fantasy Pick'Em Competition.

This year the battle was tougher than ever, but I'm happy to have come out on top.

League Pick'em Wins by Team

Wow, total dominance by Mattness ever since 2014. Back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back. Kings stay kings.

## Glory Bowl XI - How it Went Down

* Heading into the final showdown of the year, Stupid Idiots had very little tinkering to do in order to get the roster set. Mattness was not so lucky, with injuries to both CEH and James Conner. Enter Braxton Berrios and Boston Scott, two players that Mattness felt good about for week 17. Starting both in a Glory Bowl was a scary prospect, but Diggs had the balls to at least start Berrios over that piece of shit Devonta Freeman.
* When the games kicked off, the first half an hour of play was all Mattness. Berrios was lighting it the fuck up, and anyone reading the energies of the rooms for both Commish and Idiots was picking up on the same message: if this bitch Berrios is going to bring it, imagine when his good players take the field.
* There was only one problem, which is that two of his best players took the same field and found themselves in a defense showdown. Miami vs. Tennessee was a snoozer, with Tennessee running the piss out of the ball and Miami not able to get anything going on offense. That neutralized both Waddle and AJ Brown, two men who were a huge part of the semifinals victory for Mattness.
* Where there is a ying, there's a yang. Stupid Idiots got the non-shit end of the stick when his player found himself in a shootout. KC vs. CIN was the game of the week, but you'd excuse Mattness for not enjoying it as he witnessed his season slipping away. Joe Burrow was, in a word, spectacular. A 69.89 (nice) point performance a week after breaking 70 (spoiler: he was THE GUY this year).
* Despite all of that, Mattness came out of the 1pm window in great shape. He was projected to win and several of Idiots' guys had underperformed. Jonathan Taylor may have put up 31.40, but hell he was projected for 36.97. Tyreek Hill and Tee Higgins both failed to capitalize on that big game and combined for 22.50 out of a projected 42.36. Mattness made the right pick at DEF (35 from Chicago) and Idiots made the wrong one (18 for Philly). In many ways, Mattness set a better lineup for this game. They had wheeled and dealed for guys like Noah Fant (25.20) and discovered waiver talent like Hunter Renfrow (28.80).
* But then the 4pm games started, and the nail was hammered into the coffin. Let me introduce you to the 2020 Champion, Paddock 9. All Paddock 9 did was drop Brandin Cooks and Rashaad Penny earlier in the season. Down the river of time these two players traveled, until the babbling brook of fantasy fate landed them on the banks of the Stupid Idiots. On December 12th, after nearly two months of being a free agent, Stupid Idiots picked up Rashaad Penny. And off waivers, after an inexplicable drop by Paddock 9 on December 15th, came Brandin Cooks. The two new additions combined for a whopping 74.30 off a projection of 36.53. It was a disheartening afternoon for Mattness as he watched his third WR stud, Justin Jefferson, shit the bed vs. Green Bay.
* While Mattness had a balanced team and a really decent score of 232.05 - the best all-time for a Glory Bowl loser - it could have been better. Boston Scott got 28.38 compared to Tony Pollard's 10.58, for example. And balance, as okay as it looks, wasn't what got it done in the biggest game of Commish's life.
* Instead, it was Stupid Idiots with studs who were hot at the right time. His top three players combined for 154.39 points. His first round pick came through, as did his late season additions, as did his stud QB. His trade with Sweet Dee was essentially a non-factor, with Tyreek garnering just 11.90, and his two keepers only averaged 9.68. But his 262.74 does not tell the story of a team that had booms and busts. It tells only of a Glory Bowl champion.
* Stupid Idiots has been surging for multiple seasons. He's been on the cusp of greatness for several years, and he finally reached the pinnacle of success in 2021. Regardless of the bitterness of this writer, it can be said truthfully that The Stupid Idiots was a deserving champion.

## The Salty Dolphin Bowl - What the Fuck Just Happened?

A lot of time has passed. I already am pretty much devoid of memory from the last week of the season. But there is one thing that is burned in my memory forever and I want to make sure everyone knows it happened because it's insane.

At the end of the week 17 games, Duck Punchers was leading momma in the SALTY DOLPHIN BOWL 199.59-197.99. I mean, homie won.

Then, the world woke up to a different reality. Yahoo had made a fuck up that was so bad that they issed $5 credits to everyone affected. This fuck up netted Duck -3 points, which meant that he LOST the game! The only reason I noticed this was because I sent Zach the money and (to his credit) he politely texted me "the loser of the third place game...gets paid?" No, no they do not.

This was particularly disappointing for me, let alone Zach, because Jared didn't set his lineup. In this case, Zach must have disappointed Glorio in some other way for him to get punished. I'm not sure.

## Who Will be THE GUY?

Joe Burrow maybe didn't impress as much as Todd Gurley in 2017, but his 170 points is still the stuff of legend. Even Matt Ryan, in the 2011 season where QBs were getting PPC, didn't have a 73 point game. Burrow continued to be THE GUY all the way through to the actual Super Bowl this year (where he was unseated by the regular season GUY Cooper Kupp).

## LOC Honors

Here are the 2021 LOC Honors winners, as voted by me because I don't feel like putting out a poll:

* **2021 Comeback Manager of the Year** - The Multiverse of Mattness (went from competing in the Million Dollar Game in 2020 to playing in Glory Bowl XI)
* **2021 Keeper of the Year** - Papa's Posse (139th overall pick Tom Brady breaks single-season completion record, leads league in yards and TDs at 44-years-old)
* **2021 Manager of the Year** - The Stupid Idiots (first championship win, 2nd in points, 3rd-most roster moves)
* **2021 Michael Thomas Steal of the Draft Award** - The Multiverse of Mattness (101st overall pick Jaylen Waddle breaks single-season rookie reception record a year after Mattness drafts 98th overall pick Justin Jefferson, who broke single-season rookie rec yard record)
* **2021 Game of the Year** - Week 16 Battle for the Bowl: Mattness (240.74) defeats Duck Punchers (237.62) on a last-second INT by his defense
* **2021 Alexis Texas "I Got Fucked" Award** - Duck Punchers (Loses semifinals by 3.12, then loses Salty Dolphin Bowl by 1.40 after Yahoo makes two scoring errors with Buffalo defense that nets him -3 points the day after the game)
* **2021 Forgetting Sarah Marshall "Do Less" Award** - Paddock 9 (120 roster moves, finished 4-12)
* **2021 Inconsistency Award** - RIPDab (5 games over 230, 5 games under 185)
* **2021 Participation Trophy** - Sweet Dee (league low 8 roster moves, 9th in points, 10th in final standings)
* **2021 Tank of the Year** - Paddock 9 (Trades entire team, ends up with 12 picks in the first 7 rounds)
* **2021 Villain of the Year** - Aaron Rodgers (is a general piece of shit and also stole the MVP award from Tom Brady and don't at me)

So there you have it, the 2020 honors. Pain Train is disqualified as villain of the year for a third time for being too villainous to even be worthy of a trophy honoring villains. Paddock 9 remains undefeated in the "do less" catagory. Tom Brady was still a great keeper even though Papa also drafted league MVP Aaron Rodgers which makes zero sense.

Better luck next year to The Shotti Bunch and ma ma momma said who were not good enough or bad enough to earn themselves an award.

## The Keeper Rules

Just a rehash the keeper rules:

1. Every team may take two, one, or zero keepers.
2. Any player drafted between rounds 3-17 are eligible.
3. Keepers will cost you a round higher than they were drafted (a 10th rounder will be kept in the 9th, 6th will be kept in the 5th, etc.)
4. The Saints Rule of 2019 prohibits a player from moving BACKWARDS in the event of a traded pick. Therefore, if you do not have a pick in the round of your keeper, that keeper now moves to a higher pick and not a lower pick.
5. In the event that both keepers are for the same round, as has been the case in the past, the keeper with a higher projection according to the PPR rankings at FantasyPros.com will move up an additional round. In previous years we had it so that whichever player was drafted "first" in the round the prior year was assumed to be more valuable and thus would move up the round. But this got tricky when keepers were re-kept. So this is a revamping of this part of the rulebook.
6. Want to be clear by using some examples: If you have two keepers in the 6th, but you have no 6th. Well, that means one player is worth a 4th and one is worth a 5th. If you have a 6th but no 5th, one can stay a 6th but the other is a 4th. If this is confusing, just bring me your scenario and I'm happy to explain it.
7. Undrafted keepers cost a 7th. If you are keeping TWO undrafted players, they will be worth a 6th and a 7th based on the rule just explained above.
8. In a situation where you have multiple picks in a round, this doesn't necessary apply.

## Draft Analysis

I don't know if people enjoy this but I'm doin' it anyway. It's the Draft retrospective!

### Round 1

* Best Pick: Jonathan Taylor - 8th (The Stupid Idiots)

Only one player selected in the top ten finished top ten in scoring: Taylor. A steal at any pick and the undisputed first overall selection in 2022, unless Chris overthinks it.

* Worst Pick: Christian McCaffery - 1st (The Multiverse of Mattness)

Mattness is not a bad drafter, but he is the absolute worst first round drafter in league history. It's not up for debate. He has fumbled his first pick for more than half a decade.

### Round 2

* Best Pick: Joe Mixon - 12th (Duck PunchersDerrick Henry - 14th (Duck Punchers)

The only second-rounder who finished top-50 in scoring among all players, QBs included. He was the 4th-best RB in the league.

* Worst Pick: Allen Robinson II - 19th (Papa's Posse)

Targeted a career-low 66 times (minues 2017 when he played one game), Robinson was unhealthy, unreliable, and a certified 2021 BUST. The saving grace for Papa was that he was able to fleece Jared in a trade and rid himself of this bum.

### Round 3

* Best Pick: Cooper Kupp - 27th (RIPDab)

Extra game be damned, this was one of the finest seasons ever by a WR. No further explanation needed.

* Worst Pick: J.K. Dobbins - 31st (Mattness)

The biggest victim of the 2021 early preseason draft was Mattness, which is ironic because the draft as early due to his wedding. Narrowly beats out Chris Carson for worst pick because Carson actually played. Sadly, Carson will never be drafted again.

### Round 4

* Best Pick: Diontae Johnson - 39th (Papa's Posse)

This round is loaded with either steals or busts. Joining Johnson here is DJ Moore, Josh Jacobs, and T.J. Hockenson.

* Worst Pick: Julio Jones - 33rd (The Stupid Idiots)

Julio's production in both yardage, targets, and receptions fell off for the third consecutive season. Even in the season where he only played five games, Julio finished with more receptions and yards.

### Round 5

* Best Pick: Kyle Pitts - 48th (The Stupid Idiots)

Among non-keepers, Pitts was this round's top scorer. He finished 5th among TEs and got better as the season went on. Davante is obviously the best keeper here.

* Worst Pick: Raheem Mostert - 42nd (Papa's Posse)

Usually if a player gets injured it isn't on their first play of the season. Well, in this case it pretty much was. Mostert had two carries in 2021 and has played just nine games combined the last two years due to knee injuries.

### Round 6

* Best Pick: Ja'Marr Chase - 58th (ma ma momma said)

A pick that, in hindsight, should have never happened. How did everyone miss on this guy? Momma not only got the rookie of the year, but he got a keeper for the next several seasons. Really strong round with Mark Andrews for Duck and Javonte for Pain Train.

* Worst Pick: Trey Sermon - 60th (Multiverse of Mattness)

Never a good thing when a player becomes a season-long punchline among fantasy players nationwide. Commish was spot-on with his assessment that a rookie RB was due for a massive season in that SF offense, he just couldn't have been more wrong on which RB that was going to be.

### Round 7

* Best Pick: Deebo Samual - 64th (The Shotti Bunch)

1770 yards from scrimmage, league leader in yards per reception, 14 TDs and a monster 136 combined touches, which was 2nd only to Cooper Kupp among wide receivers.

* Worst Pick: Jamison Crowder - 65th (Sweet Dee)

So many lackluster players taken in this round, from the unpredictable Antonio Brown to the boring but semi-productive Mike Davis. But between missing five games and only averaging 4 rec in the games he played, Crowder just narrowly beats out the "competition."

### Round 8

* Best Pick: James Conner - 80th (Papa's Posse)

Really impressive season for Conner, with many doubting his production after being shipped off to Arizona. He lost some steam for the playoff run for Multiverse of Mattness, but he still managed to be one of the last great backs taken in the 2021 draft.

* Worst Pick: Michael Thomas - 77th (The Shotti Bunch)

After Commish decided to cut his ties with the once great Michael Thomas, it was only a matter of 'when' someone would take a chance on the injured Saint. It was worth a dart throw, but Shotti bit too early and got got. MT missed the season.

### Round 9

* Best Pick: Michael Pittman Jr. - 86th (Pain Train) Damien Harris - 89th (Pain Train)

For the second year in a row, Pain Train has the best pick of the 9th round. Pittman more than doubled his output from 2020 and is now considered a top WR selection in 2022 with new QB Matt Ryan. Potential keeper and a huge breakout for PT in 2021.

* Worst Pick: Gus Edwards - 87th (RIPDab)

Pro: it was a really good idea to handcuff JK Dobbins. Con: Not much you can do when the handcuff also tears ACL before season starts.

### Round 10

* Best Pick: Hollywood Brown - 91st (Paddock 9)

Many viewed Brown as a breakout candidate in 2020, but it was his 2021 campaign that established him as a prime Desean Jackson era type deep threat for the Ravens. Broke 1000 yards with an insurmountable number of injuries to that Ravens offense. Curious how he transitions to the Cardinals.

* Worst Pick: Logan Thomas - 93rd (The Stupid Idiots)

FRESH off Logan Thomas actually having a good season for the first time in his career, TSI chased the high and got burned. 18 receptions in just six games.

### Round 11

* Best Pick: Jaylen Waddle - 101st (The Multiverse of Mattness)

From the manager who drafted Michael Thomas as a rookie in 2016, Cooper Kupp as a rookie in 2017, DJ Moore as a rookie in 2018, and Justin Jefferson as a rookie in 2020 comes the next big thing: Jaylen Waddle as a rookie in 2021.

Worst Pick: Jordan Howard - 105th (ma ma momma said)

It's obvious that momma does not have an eye for RB talent. He would end up with the REAL RB1 in Miami, but not through the draft.

### Round 12

* Best Pick: Marvin Jones Jr. - 113th (The Stupid Idiots)

Bunch of riff-raff here but MJJ was the round's top scorer so he takes the cake by default.

* Worst Pick: Henry Ruggs III - 120th (Paddock 9)

Maybe Curtis Samuel is the true worst player in this round from a fantasy perspective, but Ruggs' did some shit off the field that ended lives and his own career so fuck him.

### Round 13

* Best Pick: Dallas Goedert - 130th (Multiverse of Mattness)

Keepers Kittle and Murray steal the show in a round dominated by defenses, but in round 13 you could do worse than the 10th highest scoring TE of the season. When Ertz got shipped to Arizona it opened the door for Dallas to do work in Philly.

* Worst Pick: Jonnu Smith - 129th (Duck Punchers)

When I said you could do worse than the 10th highest scoring TE of the season, this is what I meant. Taken just one pick before Dallas, Jonnu was the 32nd highest scoring TE of the season.

### Round 14

* Best Pick: Rob Gronkowski - 137th (The Shotti Bunch)

Once upon a time Gronk was taken in the first round. Now, relegated to the 14th, Gronk was one of seven TEs to break 200 points on the year. It was his final season of football, and it was fitting that he would end his career with the team that drafted him 7th overall in 2015, giving him his second LOC championship ring (Gronk won his first in 2011 with Papa's Posse).

* Worst Pick: Trey Lance - 131st (Paddock 9)

So many bad picks to choose from, but Lance takes the cake for being a player that few believed would be a starter in 2022 outside of Paddock 9. A little luck with injury led to action in six games for Lance. Other notable disappointments, mostly thanks to injury, include James White, Irv Smith JR., and Robby Anderson.

### Round 15

* Best pick: Tony Pollard - 141st (Multiverse of Mattness)

A true handcuff pick that paid off huge, with Pollard beast-moding during the entire late season playoff push. His legendary Thanksgiving game will live on in Mattness lore.

* Worst Pick:  Travis Etienne Jr. - 149th (Duck Punchers)

It's always tough when it comes to injury. Would this have been a bad pick if Etienne stayed healthy, or an amazing pick? Hard to judge, but 0 points is never a good thing at any round for any reason I guess.

### Round 16

* Best Pick: Bryan Edwards - 153rd (The Stupid Idiots)

Eh, not a lot here.

* Worst Pick: Cam Akers - 152th (Duck Punchers)

Rough couple picks for ya boi Duck.

### Round 17

* Best Pick: Elijah Moore - 168th (The Stupid Idiots)

Just like last season, the steal of the draft here in the 17th got dropped by the drafter. Just after this pick came Amon-Ra, who kicked into gear towards the later half of the season. Redraft leagues offer very little wiggle room for developing rookie WRs.

* Worst Pick: Deshaun Watson - 166th (Pain Train)

A year after drafting Myles Gaskins, who finished with 183 points as the 169th pick (nice), Pain Train has the worst pick of the last round.

## Conclusion

That's all she wrote for 2021. I hope everyone enjoyed the season. Now we have the long, horrible, never-ending offseason. Wait...it's August...football is almost here!? No way, that's awesome. Okay, everybody rest up. It's nearly go time.