FF Almanac Update 3 Now Available

Hello everyone, it’s been another busy week watching games, adjusting rankings and then formatting the rankings to make them usable for you. My beautiful and very understanding wife allowed me to watch a marathon of games between Saturday and Sunday AFTER a long business trip. She’s a saint.

Update 3 can be found here: https://thefantasyfootballalmanac.com/24-fantasy-football-almanac-update-1/

As you know, I target Thursdays to get the updates available and work as fast as I can to get updates up for you to beat that self-imposed deadline because I know we’re in draft season and you need info as fast as I can get it out. I encourage you to continue checking in around Monday night/Tuesday because I do start to upload items as I finish them. The updates usually start with my summary, then I move onto the printable rankings and conclude with the updated strategy guide because that takes the longest and just has to be the last thing I work on (because I need all of the other components to complete it).

I want to note that the preseason is a little tougher to navigate these days. Several teams don’t even play starters, so the bulk of what I’m doing in these instances is watching the depth charts, paying attention to who is getting earlier reps in the position battles and then taking a hard look at rookies (as well as breakout younger players) to see if their performance, in my humble opinion, is due to their ability or due to them playing inferior competition. I’ve tried to quantify this effort over the years, but there’s no great way for me to explain what I’m looking for. For QBs, I want to see the young guys survey the field and be able to move from their 1st and 2nd reads to their 3rd read. So far, I’ve seen Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix display this ability. It looks like McCarthy (before his injury) and Maye are looking at their 1st and 2nd read, then checking the ball down at this point. That’s not a bad thing at all, I’m just relaying.

For running backs, I want to see players decisively pick their gap and run through it. I’m also paying attention to what happens when they hit a pile of bodies. Does the pile move forward 1-2 yards or does the pile stick (or move backward). Ray Davis hasn’t moved the pile forward in the limited action I’ve seen. Tyler Johnson, who is behind Davis on the depth chart, does move the pile forward. Over time, that usually indicates risk for the younger player to lose his hold on the depth chart position. That also explains why these journeyman vets, like D’Onta Foreman, continue to earn carries on their team. When it’s 3rd and goal from the 1, you want to give the ball to the guy that can move 800 lbs of defensive lineman forward a few inches.

Also at RB, I want to see the middle and late round running backs pass block. If a receiving RB can’t pass block, they are doomed. If a power back can pass block, that bodes well.

At WR, there’s less nuance. Can the WR get out of his breaks and create a bit of separation? Does he jump up and try to catch the ball at the highest point? Can he take a hit and maintain possession of the football? Also, being taller and faster doesn’t hurt.

At TE, it’s much the same as WR, except it’s important to see how well these guys block. So many schemes are based on the Shanahan/McVay systems that want to establish the run. This is why I’ve historically been sour on Kyle Pitts because he’s played for coaches that want to have a power running game. He’s not an in-line blocker, so Atlanta has always wanted to rotate blockers in on the goal line. The new offense is McVay-based, but I think the coaching staff will do better to put Pitts in better spots this year for what that’s worth. But I guess I always considered Pitts a big, slow slot receiver more than I’ve considered him a fast TE because of that underrated, but necessary blocking ability.

Anyway, there’s a window into what I’m looking for when two third string offenses are on the field for 60 minutes. It can be painful at times, that’s for sure.