It’s your favourite time of the year, football season.

The draft is complete, the line-ups are set. The first NFL Sunday kicks off tonight, and I cannot wait.

Welcome back to the Sheep Bowl, where no matter how good your pick was, it doesn’t matter… because Shane is inevitable.

Pick 1: sKittles

Key Players: Ja’Marr Chase, Josh Allen, George Kittle
The Big Risk: De’Von Achane
Sneaky Snake: Jayden Higgins

Fresh off his Sacko Bowl win (basically being the best of the worst), Tom came into this draft with the first overall pick and a chance to prove himself.

Opening with Ja’Marr Chase (fresh off a Triple Crown), followed by Josh Allen (fresh off MVP), and George Kittle, who has TE1 potential this season with Deebo Samuel traded and Brandon Aiyuk expected to miss time.

That’s a WR1, a top-tier fantasy QB, and a powerful red-zone TE, all in the first three rounds. Hard to argue with the start.

Then we dig a little deeper, and that’s where things get interesting.

Tom’s RB1 is De’Von Achane, who’s electric when healthy… but has the durability of Ava’s paper straws. Great for the first minute, then a tantrum is thrown. His calves are made of paper. Keep your eyes on him.

You drafted Brian Robinson Jr., recently traded to the 49ers to be CMC‘s backup. Was this your play? We know you’ve been burnt by CMC before. Has your PTSD made sure you got his backup? It’s a pretty smart play, as the recent Defcon 2 news means you may have bagged yourself an RB1.

Austin Ekeler in the 12th is clever, but Washington‘s backfield competition makes him more of a stash than a sure starter. He’ll kick off the season as number 1, then we’ll see what happens.

And Cam Skattebo? Could be spicy if he leapfrogs Henderson.

The WR room is where you’ve really built something. Chase is elite. DeVonta Smith is steady (he’s finished as a top 20 PPR receiver in each of the last three seasons), and Jayden Higgins looks fantastic after coming off his final season at Iowa State, posting 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine TDs.

The risky ones are Stefon Diggs (who averaged 68 yards per game before ending the season with a torn ACL), and Chris Godwin (who’s yet to play since he dislocated his ankle). The upside is there if they bounce back, but we’ll have to wait and see.

This team could go in two completely different directions. If your RB gambles pay off (or CMC misses time), you’re a playoff problem. If the injuries stack up, you might be holding that Sacko trophy again.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 9–5 | Playoff bound | Boom or bust, with real boom potential

Pick 2: Los Pollos Hermanos

Key Players: Bucky Irving, Jonathan Taylor, CeeDee Lamb
The Big Risk: Kyler Murray
Sneaky Snake: Cameron Dicker

We welcomed Los Pollos to the league last year, and he finished 8th. A solid debut, but this year is his time to settle in.

Let’s start with the good stuff. CeeDee Lamb is a legit WR1 after his fourth consecutive 1,000+ yard season.

Jonathan Taylor has the upside to be elite. He rushed 303 times for 1,431 yards and 11 TDs last season. If the Colts keep him healthy and involved, he’ll be a machine.

Bucky Irving is someone everyone is talking about. In his rookie season, he led all rookies in scrimmage yards, carrying the ball 207 times for 1,122 yards and 8 TDs. He should be strong this season.

Then we get to Kyler Murray, your QB1. He finished 12th in fantasy points per game last season. But the Cardinals have said he’s finally healthy, a full year removed from ACL surgery, and ready to run more.

On the right day, he’s a fantasy cheat code. Murray, McBride, and Marvin Harrison Jr. could be dangerous… or not. He has the talent to be QB1. Could it happen? Sure. Will it be easy to watch? Probably not.

Then there’s the sneakiest pick in the league — Cameron Dicker the Kicker, taken in the 9th. You and Lee both went early on kickers. Will it pay off?

There are nice pieces here, but the depth feels a little auto-generated. It’s going to take hustle and waiver magic to make this work. But now that you’ve had a year to settle in, we expect the noise.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 6–8 | A knife’s edge | You’ve got the starters. Now it’s about the moves

Pick 3: Saquon de Replay

Key Players: Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts
The Big Risk: Marvin Harrison Jr.
Sneaky Snake: Kaleb Johnson

BT, my fantasy crush. You’re the manager I’m always impressed by on draft day… and then the season happens.

You’ve Hurts me before (gettit?).

The stack of Saquon Barkley (coming off 2,283 total yards with 15 touchdowns) and Jalen Hurts (2,903 passing yards, 18 TD passes, 630 rushing yards, 14 rushing TDs) is a great call.

If Barkley doesn’t score, Hurts probably will. Between the two of them, they could win you the whole thing.

Then we take a closer look. Ladd McConkey in the second round is bold. He had 82 receptions for 1,149 yards and seven TDs last season. People love him. I admire the confidence. You swung early, and sometimes that’s all it takes.

Kaleb Johnson is exciting. He dominated in his final college season with 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns. He could break out in Pittsburgh, and I’m hoping he does for the Dublin game.

But right now, he’s third on the depth chart. It might take a few weeks before he gives you anything.

And then there’s Marvin Harrison Jr. A player with all the talent in the world, but one who has personally hurt me before. Is this the year he finally delivers? That’s up to Kyler Murray, and that alone makes it hard to feel safe.

This is a team that could start slow, then explode. But if your rookies don’t hit and the flex plays stall out, it could be another case of déjà vu for Saquon de Replay.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 5–8 | Misses playoffs | Talented but fragile, again

Pick 4: Lenny’s Luncheonette

Key Players: Lamar Jackson, Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams
The Big Risk: Travis Kelce
Sneaky Snake: Denver Defense

Could this finally be Ian’s year to make the playoffs?

Every season, the draft looks interesting. Then comes the slow collapse. But this year… this year might be different.

Every single starter Ian picked is ranked in the top 10 at their position.

Lamar Jackson leads the Super Bowl favourite Ravens and is fresh off an MVP season for the ages.

In 2024, Jackson became the first player in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards (4,172) and rush for over 900 (915) in the same year. He racked up 41 passing touchdowns with just four interceptions. On the ground? Another four rushing TDs.

If you believe in momentum, there’s no better QB to ride into 2025.

Justin Jefferson remains a top-three WR. He hauled in 103 receptions for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, averaging nearly 15 yards per catch and once again proving he’s matchup-proof, quarterback-proof, and fantasy gold.

Davante Adams is now with the Rams (news to me). He finished 2024 with 85 catches, 1,063 yards, and 8 touchdowns.

He’s a steady WR2 with real WR1 upside on any given week.

Then there’s the newly engaged Travis Swift (I mean Kelce). Could this be his final fantasy year? Possibly.

With Rashee Rice suspended to start the year, Mahomes might lean heavily on Kelce again.

While 2024 was a down year statistically (97 receptions, 823 yards, 3 TDs), he’s still a threat, especially early in the season.

And then my favourite pick: the Denver Defense.

Last year, they were quietly elite — allowing just 17.9 points per game (3rd fewest), forcing 25 turnovers (7th), and leading the league with 63 sacks.

This could be the sneaky difference-maker.

Everything about this team looks playoff-ready. But we’ve been here before. All the pieces are in place. Now we just have to wait and see if it all stays upright.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 10–4 | Super Bowl bound

Pick 5: Raven All Night

Key Players: Bijan Robinson, Ashton Jeanty, Jayden Daniels
The Big Risk: Tyreek Hill
Sneaky Snake: Dylan Sampson

Jesus Christ. How do you have both of the best running backs in the league?

Bijan Robinson and Ashton Jeanty in the same lineup is unfair. Two apparent elites locked in early.

Robinson’s second NFL season was as advertised — 304 carries, 1,456 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, and 61 receptions for another 431 yards and a score.

The Falcons leaned on him heavily, and his 82 rushing first downs speak to that. He’s a rock.

And Jeanty? I’m so high on him. He just came off one of the greatest seasons in Boise State history — 2,601 rushing yards, 29 touchdowns, and 2,739 yards from scrimmage.

If he was in the NFL last year, he’d have been a fantasy RB1.

Then you backed that up with Jayden Daniels at QB, a dual-threat monster. In his rookie year with the Commanders, he threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns with only 9 picks.

But it’s his legs that make him scary — 891 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns.

If Washington let him run wild last year, imagine what he’ll do with confidence in Year 2.

Then there’s Tyreek Hill. Still the most terrifying man in fantasy football.

While he didn’t hit the 1,700-yard heights of 2023, he still managed 81 catches for 959 yards and 6 touchdowns — and that was with a rotating cast at QB and a few knocks.

If Tua stays upright and Tyreek stays out of trouble, you’ve got the most dangerous weekly flex bomb in fantasy.

What’s wild is that even with those RBs, you didn’t stop. Bhayshul Tuten in the 15th — the guy who went for 1,240 scrimmage yards and 17 total touchdowns in just 11 college games before being drafted by Jacksonville.

You could lose a starter and still be fine.

This is a draft that screams confidence. No wasted picks. No panic moves. Just pure, calculated violence.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 10–4 | Super Bowl bound

Pick 6: The Burrowers

Key Players: Jahmyr Gibbs, Brock Bowers
The Big Risk: Chris Olave
Sneaky Snake: Jacory Croskey-Merritt

This is a trust-your-gut kind of draft. And honestly, it might work.

Jahmyr Gibbs is electric, and now we have proof.

In 2024, he racked up 1,412 rushing yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and punched in 16 rushing touchdowns. Add another 517 yards through the air and 4 receiving TDs, and you’ve got nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

If the Lions let him eat again, he’s a top 3 back all day.

Brock Bowers was a monster from day one.

In his rookie year, he led all tight ends with 112 receptions and 1,194 receiving yards, adding 5 touchdowns and a First-Team All-Pro nod.

Taking a TE early is risky, but this one’s already paying off.

Then we get to the head-scratcher: Chris Olave.

Talented? Absolutely. But he only managed 32 catches for 400 yards and 1 touchdown before landing on the NFI list with ongoing concussion issues.

We’ve seen this story before, and it doesn’t end well.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt was a reach on paper, but the paper doesn’t play football.

He only had one game in 2024 due to eligibility issues, but he made it count: 106 yards and a TD.

Washington looks set to let him loose this year. Could be fireworks.

Alvin Kamara is still hanging on in New Orleans.

With no QB help, he logged 950 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns, and 68 catches for 543 yards. That’s solid work on a shaky team.

JSN is the pick everyone loved.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba finally broke out with 100 receptions, 1,130 yards, and 6 touchdowns. This is the year he becomes the guy in Seattle.

And of course, Joe Burrow.

The team’s namesake and its heartbeat.

After a brutal 2023, he bounced back in 2024 with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns.

Unreal numbers. He just needs to stay upright.

This team could go on a tear if a few things break the right way. But it also feels like one of those rosters where we’ll look back in Week 9 and say, “Well, it almost worked.”

The Appversity Bold Projection: 7–7 | All vibes, no safety net

Pick 7: The Goosers

Key Players: Drake London, Malik Nabers, Omarion Hampton
The Big Risk: Evan Engram
Sneaky Snake: Tyler Warren

After a 3rd place finish last year, Ois is gunning for the crown this time around.

You can see it in this draft — aggressive, youthful, and just chaotic enough to make the rest of us nervous.

The WR room is legit.

Drake London broke out in 2024, catching 100 passes for 1,271 yards and 9 touchdowns. With competent QB play this season, he could jump another level.

Then there’s Malik Nabers, who as a rookie last year put up a monster stat line: 109 catches, 1,204 yards, 7 touchdowns, and a whopping 179 targets.

He ranked second in the league in targets and receptions per game.

The upside between these two is terrifying.

Omarion Hampton is a big swing at RB, but a smart one.

He dominated college in 2024 with 1,660 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns, 373 receiving yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns.

The Chargers offense looks explosive, and while it may take a week or two to settle, Hampton could be a top-tier weapon by midseason.

Josh Jacobs adds experience and floor to the backfield.

Now in Green Bay, he returned to form with 1,329 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. With Green Bay likely leading many games this year, that’s a sneaky strong pick.

Tyler Warren is your hidden gem.

A rookie tight end who caught 104 passes for 1,233 yards and 8 touchdowns at Penn State last year, he’s already getting buzz in Indianapolis.

By Week 5, he might be your starter.

For now, though, your TE1 is Evan Engram, a player with serious upside but serious injury risk.

He played just 9 games last year, posting 47 receptions for 365 yards and 1 touchdown — far below his 2023 peak.

If he stays healthy, he can be elite. If not, Warren could step in without missing a beat.

Then there’s Bo Nix, who you grabbed in the 11th.

As a rookie in Denver, he threw for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns last year — not bad for someone expected to be your backup.

Having him and Dak might be a weekly headache, but it’s a good one to have.

You’ve built a high-ceiling team here, Ois.

But after finishing 3rd last year, anything less than a final appearance will feel like a disappointment.

The pieces are here — now it’s about your boys surviving the season.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 8–6 | Playoff bound | Pressure on

Pick 8: Nuovo Vesuvio

Key Players: Puka Nacua, Brian Thomas Jr.
The Big Risk: Justin Fields
Sneaky Snake: J.K. Dobbins

I honestly don’t know if this was Lee or the robots again this year.
We saw a kicker drafted in the 8th — it smells of autodraft. Or is it Lee playing 4D chess?

The double WR start was strong. Puka Nacua and Brian Thomas Jr. are both PPR machines. Nacua put up 79 receptions for 990 yards and 3 touchdowns in just 11 games last season. When he plays, he’s the Rams’go-to guy.

BTJ (new nickname?) is coming off a monster season, racking up 69 receptions for 1,088 yards and 9 touchdowns. If either of them clicks early, you’ll be racking up points while the rest of us look on in shame.

Then Justin Fields at QB, which is… interesting.
I feel the New York mindset has got to you. Are you a Jets fan now?
Either way, it’s a bet on upside.

Fields had 1,106 passing yards, 5 passing TDs, and 231 rushing yards with 5 rushing TDs in just 6 games with the Steelers, but then got dropped for Wilson. He’s now on the Jets, who are a wild team with minimal offense in the past.
This is the kind of pick that either wins a week or sinks it.

J.K. Dobbins in the 12th is a nice one.
He had a quietly solid year — 905 rushing yards, 9 touchdowns, and 32 catches — and could be a steal if he holds up physically.
He’s currently charted before RJ Harvey, but for how long? RJ had a beast of a college season at UCF, logging 1,577 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on 6.8 YPC. A true stash-and-watch player.

There are a lot of familiar names on this team:

• James Conner, who put up 1,094 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, plus 47 catches for 414 yards
• Baker Mayfield, who had a career-best 4,500 passing yards and 41 touchdowns
• Scary Terry McLaurin, who caught 82 passes for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns

Some really solid, proven pieces across the board.

But I feel the management just isn’t all there…
You have a kicker on IR taking up a bench spot. It’s pure chaos.

I’d love to be wrong here. I’d love to see you take this team and burn the league down. But I feel you may have your hands full in the coming months, so expectations aren’t huge — and that’s OK.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 4–10 | Misses playoffs | Minimal chance… but prove me wrong.

Pick 9: CeeDees Nuts

Key Players: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Derrick Henry
The Big Risk: Cooper Kupp
Sneaky Snake: Caleb Williams in the 13th

Let’s just get this out of the way — we were wrong last year.
Eoghan’s 2024 squad made it all the way to the final, and that 5–9 projection looks laughable in hindsight.
So we’ll tread a little more carefully this time…

This year, the build starts with Amon-Ra, one of the safest high-volume WR1s you can get.
He caught 115 passes (second in the NFL) for 1,263 yards (fifth) and 12 touchdowns in 2024, earning First-Team All-Pro honours again.
He’s as bankable as they come.

Then there’s Derrick Henry, who somehow keeps defying age and logic.
In his first year with Baltimore, he carried the ball 325 times for 1,921 yards (second in the league) and 16 rushing touchdowns (tied for first).
At 31, he’s still bulldozing defenses and proving doubters wrong.

And of course, Mahomes.
Still a name, still reliable, but something tells me he’s no longer that guy in fantasy terms.
His 2024 totals — 3,928 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions — were his lowest in years.
He finished as QB12 in fantasy scoring, his first time outside the top ten.
You can still win with him — just not because of him.

As for Cooper Kupp, the injuries didn’t let up.
He managed 12 games in 2024, finishing with 67 receptions for 710 yards and 6 touchdowns.
A far cry from the Triple Crown version of 2021.
And now he’s moved on from the Rams. Can he do the same with Seattle, or dissolve into nothingness?

But we can’t ignore the upside play at the bottom of the draft: Caleb Williams in the 13th.
He started all 17 games as a rookie for Chicago, throwing for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, while adding 489 rushing yards.
He broke Bears rookie records for passing and total yardage, and even went 353 consecutive attempts without an interception during the back half of the year.

He’s no guaranteed star yet, but there’s more than enough to think he could turn into a legit fantasy starter by mid-season.
A lottery ticket with real numbers.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 6–8 | Misses playoffs | The doubt still lingers… fool us once…

Pick 10: Fat Clowns

Key Players: Christian McCaffrey, Tee Higgins, Trey McBride
The Big Risk: Christian McCaffrey
Sneaky Snake: Braelon Allen

What can we even say anymore?
Shane has won this league three years in a row, and he’s back with a team that looks solid, calculated, and somehow still under the radar.

I’m still confused by this team name, but ok.

CMC at pick 2 was a steal on name value alone, but there’s a real question this year… can he actually stay healthy?
Last season, he played only four games, managing 202 rushing yards on 50 carries with no touchdowns, plus 15 catches for 146 yards.
That was a massive drop-off from his 2023 Offensive Player of the Year campaign, where he put up 1,459 rushing yards, 21 total touchdowns, and 564 receiving yards.

He’s already on the Week 1 injury report for his calves… maybe just maintenance, maybe more.
If he misses time again, this build takes a hit.

The rest of the early picks were tidy.

Trey McBride might end up as the TE1 overall by season’s end, and the stats back it up.
In 2024, he caught 111 passes for 1,146 yards (both franchise records for an Arizona tight end) with two receiving scores, plus one rushing and one fumble-return touchdown.
He led all TEs in target share (29.6%) and yards per game (71.6).

Tee Higgins in the 4th feels like great value if Burrow stays healthy.
He just signed a four-year extension with the Bengals and last season produced 73 catches, 911 yards, and 10 touchdowns in only 12 games.
Efficiency and red-zone usage were both career bests.

Then, in the 15th round, Shane somehow lands Braelon Allen, a 21-year-old back who had 111 touches for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns as a rookie in 2024.
He’s bulked up to 240 pounds this offseason and is pushing for more work in a run-centric Jets offense.
That’s the definition of a stash.

We all know how this goes.
Shane will make about 9,000 waiver moves, quietly win low-scoring matchups, and show up in the playoffs with a team that looks completely different from the one he drafted.
Three titles already — now chasing a fourth.
And yeah, this team probably isn’t even at its final form yet.

The Appversity Bold Projection: 9–5 | Playoff bound | It never looks scary. Until it’s too late.

2025 Sheep Bowl was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The draft is complete | The teams have been selected | Week one is nearly in the books.

You know what that means —it’s time for the “way too early predictions” — brought to you by the Appversity team of experts*.

*these experts have done zero research this season so the following content is complete dribble and should not be taken as anything other than words on a page. We also take no responsibility for misspelled names.

Let’s begin!

My Kupp Runneth Over

Key Players: CMC and Davante Adams
The Big Risk: Kyle Pitts
Sneaky Snake: Khalil Shakir

After losing to Ois in the 2023 Toilet Bowl, and after finishing 4–10 in the regular season. Tom got the luxury of the number one pick for this season. Is it a blessing or curse, that remains to be seen.

With the first pick in the 2024 Sheep Bowl draft, Tom’s robot picked the one and only CMC – of course. The most handsome man in football (in our opinion of course) has a naggling calf and achilles injury. Will he suit up in week one, or week two?

Tom’s robots then went on to take Davante Adams, who has Minshew mania throwing to him, and Kyren Williams (who’s been under a lot of scrutiny recently for being added as punt returner). These three rounds felt the team was setting itself up for the perfect season.

But as the draft went on, the robots began to bug out. They picked Justin Tucker in the 8th round (don’t get us wrong he is the best kicker in the league ) and the Chicago Bears in the 9th. Two big picks, but left players like Zay Flowers and Javonte Williams on the board.

Our overall opinion is that the robots set up this team nicely for the season, and we expect them to be playoff bound. But forgive us if we’re repeating ourselves, the only thing that can let Tom down is Tom.

Having already dropped his QB, and picked him straight back up in some Sunday morning madness — it remains to be seen who will be next on Tom’s chopping board.

The Appversity bold projection: 8–6 | Playoff bound, only Tom can stop them.

The “I watched week 1” update:
The Bears are awesome — and Kyle Pitts was such a risky pickup, but it looks like the Falcons want him to play this season. This is good. I like this.

The Goosers

Key Players: CeeDee Lamb and Nico Collins
The Big Risk: Joe Burrow
Sneaky Snake: Brock Bowers

After also finishing 4–10 last season, Ois has revenge in mind this year. Beating Tom in the Toilet Bowl kept his name out of the sewers, but still bagged him the second overall pick.

Ois had a very well balanced draft. Taking CeeDee Lamb (who remains to be seen if the better pick between Tyreek), Derrick Henry who should be a monster on the Ravens, Nico Collins and their insanely high powered offence, and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend in the first four rounds.

Ois made a bold call to wait to the 5th round to draft a QB — and when he did, he chose the blonde bombshell of Joe Burrow. Here at Appversity, we think Burrow risk/reward type player — the season he stayed healthy he went to a Super Bowl..could this happen again?

Not only is he injury prone, his schedule includes a lot of Ravens, Steelers and Browns defences.

But there’s huge upside in this team, and lots of talent — Kelce, Rice, Nico, CeeDee, a late round pick of Higgins, and now Ford on this team, Ois could, and should go far.

We especially like Brock Bowers as the sneaky pick — the one podcast we listened to before the draft told us Brock is one of the best TE prospects to come out of college. So if he can get healthy, he might be fighting for a spot agains Travis Swift.

The Appversity bold projection:: 9–5 | Playoffs.

The “I watched week 1” update:
Jesus Burrow didn’t look good out there.

Lenny’s Luncheonettes

Key Players: Tyreek Hill, Chris Olave and Drake London
The Big Risk: Tyreek Hill
Sneaky Snake: Keon Coleman

One of the biggest changes to the league this year is to remove the divisions — that’s because Ian was robbed last season. After going 6–8, and having more points scored than anyone in the NFC, finishing 6th wasn’t enough to get him to playoffs. Instead Charlie (RIP) made his way in and the rest is history. #NEVERFORGET

Anyway, with that Ian got the third pick in the draft.

Ian chose the AI way — I mean Hugo and Oscar chose the AI life for him. The bots drafted in an interesting way, having Ian take 3 WR in the first 4 rounds, choosing to wait on RBs. This tactic seems to have worked as Tyreek the freak, Olave (who Ian picks every year, so the AI was trained well) and Drake London are very highly ranked.

We’re not too sure about the RBs, but we know the names Isiah Pacheco and James Cook, they’re mid-tear RBs who never seem to light the world on fire, but should keep your head above water each week.

Like Tom, the bots took your defence and kicker early, meaning missing out on players like Tank Dell and Rome Odunze.

Overall, we feel it was a very solid draft. Risky business is Tyreek Hill, who’s had a hand injury all summer. But it’s Tyreek, he’s a freak. It’s high reward when he plays — it’s worth the risk.

It’s good to see that even when the bots were finished, Ian started picking up players. Adding Jordan Mason, the main backup to CMC, who has the niggling injury— this could be the sneaky snake pick up of the year.

The Appversity bold projection: — 7–7 | 50% shot at playoffs.

The “I watched week 1” update:
Tyreek is class, I don’t see any risk here I apologise.

Nuovo Vesuvio

Key Players: Jalen Hurts, Jonathan Taylor, Travis Etienne and Ja’Marr Chase
The Big Risk: George Pickens
Sneaky Snake: Jordan Love

Fuck me I like this team. Ja’Marr Chase who’s holding out but when he’s back will be a king, Jonathan Taylor who can run riot when the right game happens, Travis Etienne who just seems to constantly get the ball, and Jalen Hurts in the first 4 rounds — with Jordan Love as the backup QB.

There’s a lot of depth too with Tank Dell and Najee Harris falling to you in the 8th and 10th rounds. These two are tipped to be big this year, even though Harris has previously a stud for his team, but a dud for fantasy.

My risk reward feeling is on George Pickens, he should lead the attack for the Steelers this year — we saw a lot of last year when Diantae Johnson was out, and resulted in huge plays. But the QB room is the risk — Russell Wilson has hurt his calf, and then it’s down to Justin Fields to run the show. This could be huge, as Fields is high risk high reward, but could also mean the worst for Pickens.

But with the rest of the team being so stacked, to say, if one player has a bad week, the others should keep you high.

The Appversity bold projection: 10–4 | Super Bowl.

The “I watched week 1” update:
Jordan Love, my beautiful boy. Your team had a nightmare, but we still have faith. Super Bowl or bust.

CeeDees Nuts

Key Players: Bijan Robinson, Cooper Kupp and Sam LaPorta
The Big Risk: Anthony Richardson
Sneaky Snake: Caleb Williams

Welcome to the league Eoghan. Your team is very good.

Bijan Robinson , Cooper Kupp with the first 2 picks, and then Sam LaPorta in the third. Sneaky sneaky that’s a good first 3 rounds. Bijan is going to be huge with the new offence. Kupp is one season removed from his injury. And LaPorta had an incredible season last year. These are all great picks.

We really like the risk/reward of Anthony Richardson at QB, the man is one big hit away from a season ender— but the sneaky pick up of Caleb if (when) Richardson gets hit and is gone for weeks.

The only downfall is your RB room — waiting on a RB could prove costly as D’Andre Swift is likely to be in a committee of Herbert, Johnson and D’Onte Forman. He’s the number one in the depth chart — but that can all change in an instant. At least you have Austin Eckler, who’s pace seemed to drop dramatically after his leg injury last season.

It could be an idea to keep eyes on the waiver wire for that solid RB2 to get you to playoffs.

Appversity Projections: 5–9 | Misses playoffs.

*The “I watched week 1” update:
I’ve made a huge mistake — Anthony Richardson is a freak! Cooper Kupp is a freak! Your team will do better than I suggested.

Los Pollos Hermanos

Key Players: Amon-Ra St.Brown and Puka Nacua
The Big Risk: David Montgomery
Sneaky Snake: Chase Brown

Hello Barra, welcome to the league. It looks like the bots picked for you too.

This was a strange draft by the robots, waiting until the 6th round to pick a RB. This means your WR core is beautiful of Amon-Ra, Puka Nacua and Mike Evans. The Sun God is destined for great things on the Lions who are suddenly tipped for the Super Bowl. Puka is on an offence that loves throwing. And somehow under Baker, the Buccs still manage massive WR days.

Then Trey McBride and C.J Stroud were solid picks after that. C.J last season was one of the most fun QBs to watch — so even if you’re not doing well, you have that.

Your RB core still isn’t the worst, considering the robots waited. Having David Montgomery is a nice asset. He’s in the 1/2 punch with Gibbs, but in a heavy run offence he still manages to get the bulk of the workload. In this new season, we wonder if Gibbs could take over — leaving scraps for Montgomery.

James Connors on the other hand is getting old — can he hack another year as the starting RB for the Cardinals?

The best saving grace is drafting Chase Brown, there’s a bit of hype building for this 24 year old — we’re hoping he gets his chance and takes over on the Bengals.

You too had the impact of the bots picking your kicker and defence early — but on the plus side.. you have the 3rd best ranked kicker and defence in the league.

The Appversity bold projection: 8–6 | Playoffs.

*The “I watched week 1” update: Pukaaaaaa, is he dead? What happened?

Raven All Night

Key Players: Breece Hall, Marvin Harrison and Jaylen Waddle
The Big Risk: De’Von Achane
Sneaky Snake: Rome Odunze

Fun statistic for you from 2023. Cillian finished the regular season 9–5 and made playoffs. He finished the regular season on a 7 win streak. That means we has 2–5 to start, and crushed it. That consistency and management skill scares me.

Now, here he is in 2024, and what the fuck is this team? It’s terrifying.

Breece Hall could be mega this year with Aaron Rogers as QB.

Then we have Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers, Kenneth Walker and Joe Mixon. This team is stacked to the brim. I don’t understand how Cillian has managed to get his self proclaimed “embarrassment of too many good players”. We must have forgot these players all existed.

Marvin Harrisson and De’Von Achane are the riskier picks here — Achane could break in half at any point, and it remains to be seen about Harrisson.

These risky players are the only thing that could keep Cillian away from easily winning this thing.

But with enough depth to cover, we have our favourite for the season.

The Appversity bold projection: 10–4 | Super Bowl

*The “I watched week 1” update: Achance looked sick, Lamar looked sick, Walker looked sick. But where is Harrisson?

The JJs

Key Players: Justin Jefferson and A.J Brown
The Big Risk: Josh Jacobs
Sneaky Snake: Ladd McConkey

As the old saying goes “if you ain’t first, you’re last” and that’s what happened in the 2023 season. The JJs came second overall, after losing to Shane in the final. We just thought we’d remind you all.

But who cares, that season is over. On to a mediocre draft for the 2024 season.

Justin Jefferson was picked first, he has Sam Darnold passing him the ball. Is that a good thing or a bad thing, it remains to be seen. Followed by AJ Brown, if the Eagles stay healthy he could be golden this season.

Josh Jacobs is the only healthy RB on Packers the at the moment, this means great things for the first couple of weeks, until someone steals all his snaps.

Patrick Mahomes was taken early, with Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts still on the board.

There’s some good later picks, Aaron Jones is sneaky, and Jameson Williams has potential (most improved player according to the coaching staff).

Is this enough to take this team to the playoffs, we don’t think so. There’s a lot of waiver wire work to be done, and then

Appversity Projections: 7–7 | Misses playoffs

*The “I watched week 1” update: Ah this team isn’t that bad.

The Duds

Key Players: Jahmyr Gibbs and Garrett Wilson
The Big Risk: Malik Nabers
Sneaky Snake: Rico Dowdle

Shane, the back to back champion. 10–4 last season with 200+ more points than the next player to him. He’s got a target on his back, nobody wants to see the three-peat.

In the 2024 season, the champion selects Gareth Wilson. I love this pick. Solely because Wilson had been great with terrible QBs last season. Now he has the chance to be incredible with Aaron Rogers. We also think he also has the chance to be a stinker. Sounds risky, you should trade him.

Gibbs is another one who can go off, or Montgomery can take all of his touches. Or worse, one week it goes to Gibbs, the other to Montgomery. It’s hard to know. Probably should trade him away too.

The rest of the team, to put it politely, are boring. Sure there’s safety in Brandon Ayiuk, and Raheem Moestart is going to get the ball 40% of the time. Then there’s this Brooks fellow you drafted — I’ve no idea what’s going on here, but he’s probably going to become amazing in 4 weeks time.

Also, who the hell is Jayden Daniels.

It may sound like I’m slating your team.. because I am. Is it because we’re jealous of the back to back? Is it to get in your head? Who knows.

What I do know is that a 2 time winner like yourself has many tricks up your sleeve — so I have faith. But is faith enough?

Appversity Projections: 6–8 | Misses playoffs

*The “I watched week 1” update:
Hard to tell when we still have 49ers and Jets to play..

Too Many Cooks

Key Players: Josh Allen and Saquan Barkley
The Big Risk: Stefon Diggs
Sneaky Snake: Blake Corum

Ohhh baby I’ve now watched week 1 — so this will read a little differently.

SAQUAN BARKLEY is going to be a stud!
Xavier Worthy is going to be a stud.
Reed looked like a stud (but then Love died).
Stephon Diggs has the potential to be a stud.
And Josh Allen too.

Scrap the name, this team is called Too many STUDs.

Last week, I’d have said “this is a good draft BT, well done there is potential” But now I’m hyped.

Anyway, back to earth. Best of luck BT, let’s see what week 2 brings.

Appversity Projections: 14–0 | SUPERBOWL?!

2024 Sheep Bowl was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The 2023 draft is complete and the teams have been selected. Now there’s nothing more to do than take an overly critical look at everyone’s picks.

Oh God What Have I Done
Key Players: The JaysJays — Justin Jefferson and Josh Jacobs

With the first pick in the 2023 Sheep Bowl, Fin selected Justin Jefferson. A solid pick and definitely the most unsurprising pick in the league (except Tom, who at pick 10 was definitely avoiding him).

Once this pick was locked in, Fin took back-to-back running back in Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry, both pretty safe calls.

The robots then fleshed out the rest of the picks, and created one of the most mid-table teams we’ve ever seen. There’s not much more to report here. Basic as fuck, we like it.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: Fin’s team will finish top 6 and make the playoffs.

Neuvo Vesuvio
Key Players: Jamar Chase, Amon Ra St Brown, Jalen Waddle

An interesting draft technique, Lee’s robots picked 3 WR in the first 3 rounds. Waiting a few rounds to select two mid table RB’s in Jones and Etienne.

In doing so, Lee now has 3 of the top receivers in the league, with Chase, Amon Ra and Waddle. Does his late pick RBs let the team down? We know that Jones has Dillon creeping up on him — and Ois has let me know that a man named Tank Bigsby is creeping all over Etienne.

It remains to be seen if this WR risk will pay off. But I like the sound of this team.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: Lee’s team will suprise us all, and if he plays the waivers right, he’ll make the playoffs. Predicting a top 6 finish with playoffs made.

Lennys Luncheonette
Key Players: CMC, Jalen Hurts, Chris Olave

This team scares me a little.

Coming into this draft, Ian was worried about selecting CMC first as it could leave him without a solid WR. But in playing the draft well, he mananged to not only get Olave and Lockett — two WR who are hyped in PPR this year - but he also managed to sneak in the SECOND BEST QB, Jalen Hurts.

The only thing letting this team down is Ian’s RB depth, but Walker III looks to be something solid if he stays healthy. And who knows what Montgomery can do in Detroit behind Gibbs.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: This team has nothing but stars on it. I project it not only making the playoffs, but barring any dodgy trades or Ian overthinking it, this team will be in the final.

The Goosers
Key Players: Tyreek, Nick Chubb, Lamar Jackson

Tyreek the Freak off the board before Kupp. We love to see it.

Ois’s team is stacked. Opting for a Tyreek, Chubb, Lamar triple run - he got a class-A player into each position. With Rhamondre and Waller picked next, this is a solid team.

Our crack team also noted that Ois has opted for depth, and has picked a number of backups this season, with Njoku and Tua there in case Lamar or Waller go down.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: This is a well thought out, strong team. And we feel it will be taking it’s spot in the final against Ian, provided injuries don’t take the team down.

Too Many Cooks
Key Players: Travis Kelce, Davante Adams

This team is so rogue I think I love it.

Kelce in the first, a wild pick but someone had to do it. Davante Adams with Jimmy G as the new QB. Najee Harris who has been all over the place, Justin Herbert on their new high power Kellen Moore offence, and Cook who’s Rodgers new RB.

It’s a complete be fucked, or fuck you team: And I’m here for it.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: Literally not a clue. I want this team to do well, but I fear another mid table result for Mr.Irrelevant Bowl.

Grandma Saracen
Key Players: Cooper Kupp, A.J Brown

At first glance, this is a solid solid team. But there’s something that stands out. Jonathan Taylor has fucked the league once again.

Taylor was holding out for a contract, and is on the PUP list — which he will remain on for another 4 weeks of the season. Charlie might have to get searching for a RB quick, as Swifty is now a second string RB on the Eagles and Zach Chardonnay is unproven.

Apart from the RB problem, the look of this team is very nice. Kupp, AJ Brown, T.Law and Goedert. Charlie even managed to pick up his beloved 49ers D.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: If Charlie can solve the running back issue early, this team can go far. But unfortunately it could be a costly draft. We predict a low end finish for poor Grandma.

Raven All Night
Key Players: Bijan Robinson, Garret Wilson, DeVonta Smith

This is like one of those optical illusions. At first glance it looks like a nothing team, then you look deeper and realise it’s got a lot going on.

Bijan is tipped to be a freak, Garret Wilson has been called ‘something special’ by Rodgers, DeVonta Smith could go nuts this year even with AJ Brown taking half the ball.

From there it keeps going. DK to JK. Burrow and Aiyuk. Even little Flowers is meant to have a massive season.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: Like I said, at first glance this is a basic enough team, but with massive upside if all goes well. We’ve to be cautios here though. We’re not sure Rodgers will get going. We feel A.J will take all the ball. Maybe Flowers loses out to Odell. This is a boom or bust team, and we’ve projected Cill misses the playoffs.

Fear City Duds
Key Players: Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Saquan Barkley, Tee Higgins, TJ Hockinson

This is the team I’d been mock drafting all week.

Shane has gone ahead and bagged a dream team. The Allen and Diggs combo. Saquan who is tipped to be a PPR machine as well as running. Tee Higgins and TJ Hockinson.

Shane’s weak spot seemed to me to be his RB2 spot, but he’s found depth in picking a multitude of potential fits for this, including Kamara — when he comes back from his suspension.

I really like this team, I’m a little jealous, I’m scared of playing against them.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: Will it work out for Shane? Diggs and Allen have been at odds with each other since the end of last season. Could this be costly for the team? We think Shane will have a strong season once again, and make it to playoffs.

Lamar Morghulis
Key Players: Austin Eckler, Patrick Mahomes

After Diggs was taken, we opted for the wild card strategy.

Selecting Eckler in the first and picking the BEST QB in the league second, we’ve fucked ourselves a little and not selected a top tier WR. It seems we found luck with Allen falling to us, but the risk of injury is high.

This team has a lot of hit or miss characters. Allen likes to get injured. Gibbs is a rookie. Watson is boom or bust. McLauren is injured. Bateman forgot how to play football after week 3 last year.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: We’re pretty excited about this team. But we would be, we own it. The optimist in me says it’ll make the playoffs, but our analysis says we’ll fall short.

My Kupp Runneth Over
Key Players: Tony Pollard, CeeDee Lamb, Justin Fields

Also known as The Cowboys.

Tom’s first two picks came back to back. Pollard is an excellent pick, CeeDee is dependant on Dak succeeding. The good thing is, if the Cowboys do well, Tom does well. If The Cowboys don’t… well…

After that, Tom’s team fares pretty well.
Joe Mixon is a machine. Justin Fields could have another great year, if opposing defences haven’t learnt what to watch out for.

Then we have a rag-tag gang of lads who are mid-pack with high upside. Dotson, Geisiki, Williams, Akers. It’s a solid bunch, even if they’re not going to set the world on fire.

Appversity’s expert final analysis: Tom’s team is an under the radar solid team. If The Cowboys do well, this team can go far. If they suck, as The Cowboys tend to do — then it will take a lot for the mid-pack lads to save the day. Tom will make the playoffs, finishing just inside the top 6.

2023 Sheep Bowl was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Recently, the commissioner of the Sh33p Bowl has come under a lot of scrutiny: “He’s too involved”, “He’s got too many rules”, “He’s a snake”, “He’s a bollocks”.
A lot are calling for him to resign, step down, and hand it over.. but none are more upset than Lee Campbell.

This comment, dropped into the NFL WhatsApp group, was dwelled upon by The Commissioner for a long time.
Was it just a throwaway comment, or did it cut deeper?

After a week of overthinking every aspect of it, it dawned upon us — Lee is angry about something deeper. We went back to the early days of the draft, when Lee wasn’t asking for help, but Dave decided to offer it to him anyway.

The talent was always inside Lee, but Dave plunged his head straight into a pile of meat.

We went back to find a top tip that Lee received (which he never asked for) and changed his season forever.

Conversation between Dave and Lee from August 18, 2022.

If Lee had picked CMC, where would he be now?

Well, we asked our Appversity Analytics Team to round up what could have been for Lee Campbell if he had selected CMC over JT.

Join us, as we jump into Appversity’s Multiverse of Madness.

Week 1

In the Week 1 matchup, both JT and CMC scored well.
Player Scores: JT — 29.50 and CMC — 15.70.

Multiverse Scores: Tom 148.98 vs 128.66 Lee

JT outscored CMC, so if Lee had taken CMC, he would have scored less. It remains a loss, taking him to 0–1. Nothing to see here.

Multiverse Scores: Ian 106.82 vs 147.12

If Shane had taken JT over CMC, he would have destroyed Ian by even more. Shane remains 1–0. Boring stuff.

So far, no changes.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 0–1
Shane 1–0

Week 2

In the Week 2 matchup JT dropped off, and CMC scored well.
Player Scores: JT — 7.30 and CMC 18.80

Multiverse Scores: Lee 152.96 vs 167.10 BT

Lee lost to BT this week by 26 points. Meaning the extra 11.5 points he would have got from CMC would have done nothing to change the world. Lee remains 0–2. Exciting..

Multiverse Scores: Shane 145.82 vs 102.28

Shane beat Oisin by 55 points. Once again the switch up would have changed nothing. Shane remains 2–0.

Nothing too exciting yet.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 0–2
Shane 2–0

Week 3

In week 3, the two scored similar points again. With CMC outscoring JT by 3.4.
Player Scores: JT — 12.10 and CMC — 15.50

Multiverse Scores: Fin 88.26 vs 124.34 Lee

In the multiverse, Lee records a win, bringing him to 1–2.

Multiverse Scores: Cill 120.8 vs 118.7 Shane

But for Shane, it gets messy.
Having JT over CMC would mean a drop in 3.4 points, meaning Shane loses to Cill by 2 points.

Causing the first change in the multiverse. Shane becomes 2–1.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 1–2
Shane 2–1

Week 4

Shane vs Lee.

This is the week JT crumbled, with CMC taking over as the stud in RB.
Player Scores: JT — 3.30 and CMC — 25.80

Multiverse Scores: Shane 106.26 vs 128.50 Lee

The 22 point switch up changes a lot this week. Lee runs away with the win, and puts the two at equal measure. 2–2.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 2–2
Shane 2–2

Week 5

In week 5, the scores wouldn’t have changed.
Player Scores: JT — 0 and CMC — 23.60

Multiverse Scores: Lee 180.52 vs 101.80

Lee still gets a win without JT on his team.

Multiverse Scores: Shane 126.26 vs 165.04

Shane still loses to his nemesis Tom, just in an even more dramatic fashion.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 3–2
Shane 2–3

Week 6

In week 6, things get a little spicy.
Player scores: CMC — 22.80 and JT — 0

Multiverse scores: Ian 103.50 vs 109.22 Lee

In the Multiverse, Lee has CMC, bringing his score to 109.22. Beating Ian and taking himself to 4–2.

Multiverse score: BT 115.82 vs 115.20 Shane.

Shane on the other hand, having JT score 0, scores 115.20*
Losing to BT by .62 and dropping down to 2–4.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 4–2
Shane 2–4

Week 7

Not much changes this week, with both teams losing no matter the switch up.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 4–3
Shane 2–5

Week 8

Player scores: CMC — 40.26 and JT — 5.6

Multiverse Scores: Cill 108.02 vs 143.14 Lee.

With CMC on his team, Lee takes a massive 35 point win over Cillian, bringing him to 5–3.

Multiverse Scores: Shane 140.48 vs 152.92 Dave.

Shane, pocketing a measly 5.6 points instead of 40.26 means he loses to Dave, bringing him to 2–6.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 5–3
Shane 2–6

Week 9

Player scores: CMC — bye week and JT — 0

Nothing would have changed this week. I can only imagine that Lee would have plugged someone else in on CMC’s bye week, and beaten Dave. But you’d never know.

Lee would have lost to Dave still, bringing him to 5–4

Shane would have lost to Charlie. Keeping him at 2–7.

Multiverse Standings
Lee 5–4
Shane 2–7

STANDINGS

In this multiverse we’ve created, Lee didn’t listen to Dave and he would be sitting in 4th place with the playoffs in sight. While Shane would be down in last place, making trades and using waivers to try and find his way out of the despair.

What does all this mean?

God knows, we’re just the numbers guys. But basically, it means Lee is out for revenge. How that may come about, nobody knows, but the Commissioner better watch his back.

*we know Shane would have replaced JT with someone, but this is not something we want to talk about

The Multiverse of Madness — Spotlight on Shane vs Lee. was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It’s that time of the year again. The picks are in, the teams are set, the hype is real. Who’s season will this be? Who will be the first to over-react? Who will trade everything just to be ruined by an injury? While we can’t predict everything, we are good at overhyping early.

Our crack team of Appversity fantasy experts have been crunching the numbers all week, and have put together a deep-dive into each team, reviewing their picks, their future, and their final standings.

Welcome to the way too early predictions.

Nuovo Vesuvio: 0–1–0 (6th)

Projected Result: 9–6
Chance of making the playoffs: 66%
Key Players: Jonathan Taylor, Justin Herbert, Devante Adams, Mark Andrews.

With the first pick of the 2022 Sh33p Bowl, Nuovo Vesuvio picks the one and only Jonathan Taylor.

The crowd goes wild.

Indianapolis Colts on Twitter: "Who but Jonathan Taylor for our first TD of the year?📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/oJJMnRWXRv / Twitter"

Who but Jonathan Taylor for our first TD of the year?📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/oJJMnRWXRv

By picking Taylor over CMC, the Vesuviosa’s have chosen the safer option this season, and that really is the theme of their team this year. Safety.

The Vesuviosa’s are safe in the knowledge they have four of the leagues best players on their team. Jonathan Taylor, the league leading rusher last year, with a fresh faced Matt Ryan in steering the ship. Justin Herbert, one of the most hyped quarterbacks in 2022. Mark Andrews, the strongest looking tight end outside of Kyle Pitts. And Davante Adams, one of the leading receivers in the league last year — albeit on a brand new team with Derek Carr as his quarterback.

The team looks strong, safe and strong.

But all it takes is a bad head-to-head match up. You could be the second highest scorer on the week, and still end up 6th in the league. One week and your season is in the bin — thinking back to the good old days, wishing you’d drafted CMC.

That’s the joys of fantasy football.

Far Too Early Prediction: Mid pack finish, 2nd highest overall score, beaten on matchups.

Fear City Duds: 1–0–0 (4th)

Projected Result: 11–4
Chance of making the playoffs: 80%
Key Players: Christian McCaffrey, Jalen Hurts, Jaylen Waddle, Travis Kelce, Gabe Davis.

Wow wow wow.

This was a team that went completely under our radar this draft season.
All through week one our Appversity analysts were asking “who drafted Kelce?” or “who has Hurts?” and “where did Waddle land?”.

Well, looks like the answer to all of these questions is — they’re with the Duds.

Let’s just note the names we have on this team:
Jalen Hurts, the man seems to be the real deal. His legs got put to work on Sunday and the talk around the experts is that he’s going to go nuts this year.
CMC had a quiet enough week for CMC standards, but the good news, he didn’t get injured. Our experts say he’s going to become unstoppable once again.
Jaylen Waddle, how can you not love this man, and with the Dolphins looking strong this year, he could also become unstoppable.
Travis Kelce is Kelce, a million points a week.
And Gabe Davis, who’s become Allen’s second favourite receiver and a long ball target.

Kevin ☔️ on Twitter: "The best celebration in the league right now after the griddy 😂 pic.twitter.com/AcU6f9TIfO / Twitter"

The best celebration in the league right now after the griddy 😂 pic.twitter.com/AcU6f9TIfO

This team should be unstoppable, we truly believe that. In fact the only thing that can stop these boys is injury or a retirement — like the Duds 2021 season — but here at Appversity we don’t talk about that.

Far Too Early Prediction: The Duds to take home the trophy.

Raven all night: 1–0–0 (3rd)

Projected Result: 10–5
Chance of making the playoffs: 75%
Key Players: Josh Allen, Justin Jefferson, Dameon Pierce

Two words, Justin Jefferson. The moment you see you’re up against him, you know you’re in trouble. Cill, a true reader of the game, knew this from the get go— “If I was drafting first I’d pick him first no matter”.

This man is going to ruin his opposition each week, and put fear into his opponents. But will the pressure of being the one true WR on the Vikes take it’s toll. That’s a lot of weight for one man’s back. Let’s hope he can handle it.

The GOAT House on Twitter: "Aaron Rodgers tells Justin Jefferson that he's the best player in the f-ing game. pic.twitter.com/lnNFOiV02k / Twitter"

Aaron Rodgers tells Justin Jefferson that he's the best player in the f-ing game. pic.twitter.com/lnNFOiV02k

This combination of Allen and Jefferson on the same team, our analysts think these guys have a chance at the trophy, but unfortunately the rest of the team is quite a let down, and that it really ends the hype train there.

Playoff Lenny, could be good, could be basic, could be chubs.
Hollywood Brown in Arizona, lots of hype, but we’ll wait and see.
Penny on the new Seahawks, snore.
Diontae Johnson on the new Steelers, who cares.

Basically, we feel the All Nighters are like the real life Minnesota Vikings. Sure they might do well this year. Sure they have a couple good players. But will they be exciting to watch, we don’t believe so.

Far Too Early Prediction: All Nighters make it into the playoffs, but lose by a point after Jefferson has his first drop of the season.

Lennys Luncheonette: 0–1–0 (9th)

Projected Result: 6–9
Chance of making the playoffs: 40%
Key Players: Derrick Henry, Deebo Samuel, Joe Burrow

The Luncheonettes have rebranded, choosing a name that have confused some here at Appversity. Is Fournette on his team? Are they planning on trading for him? Is there something we don’t know yet? We’ve all the questions, but none of the answers on this one.

Either way, this may be a new team name for 2022, but the team itself looks like it’s from 2020. The Luncheonettes have gone for a team of stars from years past, in a hope that they repeat their age old glory.

Will Joe Burrow will keep the pace that brought him to the Super Bowl? Will Derrick Henry pick up the magic he had last season, or will his injury still haunt him? Adam “father time” Thielen is as old as football itself, so can he keep his body in shape for a full season?

San Francisco 49ers on Twitter: "And we back, and we back, and we back. @19problemz 📺 #SFvsCHI on @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/ysg93vGdlo / Twitter"

And we back, and we back, and we back. @19problemz 📺 #SFvsCHI on @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/ysg93vGdlo

Deebo and Sanders are the real focal points of the team here. Deebo, the dual threat RB, WR, sometimes even QB — should put up a serious amount of points a week. We’ll just have to wait and see if his “Lamar Jackson 2.0” quarterback of Trey Lance can hold a game together.

“Booby Miles” looks to be the real thing in Philly, with Hurts leading the charge and taking ownership of the team, Sanders seems to be the safe option that can break big at any moment.

All in all, the Luncheonettes have picked a rag-tag team. The talk around the office is that of the 2002 Oakland A’s - you don’t need a pretty team to score some serious points.

But we don’t read history books, we just make predictions.

Far Too Early Prediction: After their dreams are smashed by aches, pains, and injuries, it’s another mid-table finish for the Luncheonettes.

My Kupp Runneth Over: 1–0–0 (2nd)

Projected Result: 10–5
Chance of making the playoffs: 71%
Key Players: Cooper Kupp, Saquon Barkley, Michael Thomas

After week one, the conclusions have been jumped to.. this years draft class of first round running backs are duds, they wont live up to their expectation.

In drafting a wide receiver first, you’re 50% more likely to make the playoffs. If you drafted Cooper Kupp first, you’re 80% more likely to make the playoffs. Tom knew this when drafting, he knew it was the time to pick Kupp.

There are a number of notable reasons to like this team, Kupp’s team.

You have Saquon Barkley who looks in as good a shape as back in 2018 when the Giants ran over every team they played against.
Michael Pittman who will be a must start every week.
Michael Thomas who looks to be defying the odds and can still play after 100 years of rest.
Gibson, who somehow wants to be a wide receiver again, so long as he doesn’t fumble every week.
And Kirk Cousins who seems ready to make a steady case at being a QB1 each week.

Sideline the Agenda on Twitter: "New York Giants RB Saquan Barkley like a flash 😱💨 pic.twitter.com/XKDyIU9QvT / Twitter"

New York Giants RB Saquan Barkley like a flash 😱💨 pic.twitter.com/XKDyIU9QvT

There is however a flaw, two flaws actually, and they’re both named Tom.
Tom Brady, the 45 year old retiree — and judging by the management skills of week one, Tom Wrynne.

We at Appversity are both shocked and terrified that Tom can choose to play Jacobs and Lockett, leave Saquon and JT on the bench, and still come out with a win.

Either the football Gods are with Team Kupp, or Tom is a bigger genius than we all thought.

Far Too Early Prediction: Tom’s team choices lead him to the playoffs, barely, but Kupp takes him all the way to the final.

Too Many Cooks: 0–1–0 (7th)

Projected Result: 8–7
Chance of making the playoffs: 51%
Key Players: Patrick Mahomes, Dalvin Cook, Aaron Jones, Tyreek Hill.

It’s common knowledge that when you’re QB scores 6 TD’s, you have a 90% chance your team will win the week. Unfortunately, the Cooks fell into that 10%. Patrick Mahomes couldn’t bring that W home.

That’s what happens when you go up against Jefferson.

On paper this team looks incredible, and we’re still trying to figure out how they could pick up Dalvin Cook, Aaron Jones, and still get Mahomes and Tyreek. That’s some masterful drafting of some of the most powerful RB/QB/WR names going this year.

So, this first week was a blip? We think so.

We think this team are destined for greatness. Tyreek and Tua are soon to connect on the deep ball. Dalvin Cook will remember how to run for miles and score TDs. Jones, is in a two headed monster with AJ Dillon, but Jones will come out on top, our data says so. And PatMo is going to score and score and score.

CBS Sports on Twitter: "This throw from Patrick Mahomes is absurd 📹: @NFL pic.twitter.com/gvHftPm3wx / Twitter"

This throw from Patrick Mahomes is absurd 📹: @NFL pic.twitter.com/gvHftPm3wx

It all comes down to the match ups. This week the Cooks play the Vesuviosas and next week the Kupps, the two highest scoring teams in the league. Can BT keep his head if he loses two more weeks in a row. Will there be a rebuild, with players thrown on the trading block willy nilly? Possibly, but only time will tell.

Far Too Early Prediction: A struggle to get things moving, but a solid second half to the season could keep dreams alive. Leaving the Cooks with a chance at playoffs, or a mid table finish.

The Goosers: 0–1–0 (10th)

Projected Result: 7–8
Chance of making the playoffs: 42%
Key Players: Alvin Kamara, Austin Eckler, Jerry Jeudy

The Goosers have had a rough first week. Having Super Bowl champion Stafford start off the week on a Thursday throwing only 1 TD and 3 interceptions, you could sense the mood in the locker room was bleak.

Then comes Sunday and Kamara picks up a rib issue, and Pickens doesn’t live up to the hype expected of him. It’s enough to destroy the heart of any fantasy manager.

But that’s just week one, and there are 14 more to go.

Pinhead Sports®  on Twitter: "Only 2 NFL players since 1980 have 20+ Rush TDs and 20+ Rec TDs in their first 5 seasons:Alvin KamaraAustin Ekeler@A_kamara6 🤝 @AustinEkeler pic.twitter.com/ZWxnFLHF8Y / Twitter"

Only 2 NFL players since 1980 have 20+ Rush TDs and 20+ Rec TDs in their first 5 seasons:Alvin KamaraAustin Ekeler@A_kamara6 🤝 @AustinEkeler pic.twitter.com/ZWxnFLHF8Y

The Goosers bench looks promising. Jerry Jeudy exploded in week one as the connection between him and Wilsons new offence is something to watch. London seems like the real deal, as the world wide web has been saying.
Mike Evans, Eckler and Waller are must starts every week.

The team is poised and ready to come back from this loss, and provided Kamara’s injury is nothing too serious, although the Saints have just signed a new RB to their practice squad. Ignoring that, I back a few big wins incoming.

Far Too Early Prediction: The Goosers miss out on playoffs in the last few games of regular season

Grandma Saracen: 0–1–0 (8th)

Projected Result: 7–8
Chance of making the playoffs: 41%
Key Players: Joe Mixon, Kyler Murray, Kyle Pitts

We love this team, the name, the players. It’s almost perfect.

Move your feet Matthew.

The Grandma’s look great on paper. Kyler Murray is going to get you at least 5 extra points a week from his feet alone. He is a little bit of a risk without DeAndre Hopkins on the other side of the ball, but if they can survive a few more weeks, he’ll be back, juiced up, and ready to go.

Nick Chubb saw a lot of ball on Sunday, even with Kareem Hunt stealing two of his touchdowns. That’s not going to happen every week, so we expect a lot more from him.

Joe Mixon is a route running, pass catching machine. And even with Burrow turning the ball over a million times, and them playing from behind, he still managed to get over 20 points.

Pro Football Culture on Twitter: "On 4th and 1, Joe Mixon takes it 31 yards! #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/f9aMb7N1ij / Twitter"

On 4th and 1, Joe Mixon takes it 31 yards! #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/f9aMb7N1ij

Kyle Pitts has been tipped to be the best tight end in the league this year. It didn’t show on Sunday as he was held to shocking 3 points. You either believe in him, and live with his inconsistency — or trade him early and get a tonne of stock.

The Grandmas are a team that you could ignore, you could write off early. But what we learnt last year when the Cheeseburgers were one win away from the Super Bowl, Charlie plays a quiet game but the man can manage a team .

Far Too Early Prediction: The Grandma’s are playoff bound.

Oh God What Have I Done: 1–0–0 (1st)

Projected Result: 10–5
Chance of making the playoffs: 72%
Key Players: Stefon Diggs, Jamar Chase, Russel Wilson

What a team.

Two of the best wide receivers on the same team is something you rarely hear in fantasy. A lot of thought must have gone into these picks, an almost robotic mindset, and computational decision making. You have to hand it to the the OGWHID’s management, they nailed their first two picks.

Maryland Football on Twitter: "Stefon Diggs' footwork is insane pic.twitter.com/JUUGAUHS14 / Twitter"

Stefon Diggs' footwork is insane pic.twitter.com/JUUGAUHS14

In saying that, taking WR first and second can provide a costly mistake. Having that draft capital invested away from running backs can leave you with a serious hole. But somehow the calculator-esque mindset of management was able to secure determine that waiting on running backs would land you Zeke and Javonte Williams. Incredible thought process here.

The only pot hole to this team seems to have come last week with an injury to Dak Prescott. The Cowboys QB is out for almost half the season with a broken thumb. What does this mean for Zeke, will they feed him, or will he be locked up while they ignore the receivers. Only time will tell.

Stefon Diggs will remain a must start. Russel Wilson should put up pretty numbers, especially if he can get his legs moving again.

We predict good things from The OGWHIDs, but can they make it two SuperBowls in two seasons?

Far Too Early Prediction: Dreams will stay alive until playoffs when The OGWHIDs will be beaten in the final minutes by the Duds.

Lamar Morghulis: 1–0–0 (5th)

Projected Result: 8–7
Chance of making the playoffs: 65%
Key Players: Lamar Jackson, D’Andre Swift, AJ Brown

It would be easy to be biased and say this is the best team in the league. But it’s not. Early predictions is Najee is going to be a bust this year, and rumours of injury to Swifty is making the Morgs look less and less likely to continue their wins into next week.

SNBets on Twitter: "DeAndre Swift 50 yarder leads to a Jamaal Williams TD and the Lions lead early 🤑🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/3oMWLDNlxG / Twitter"

DeAndre Swift 50 yarder leads to a Jamaal Williams TD and the Lions lead early 🤑🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/3oMWLDNlxG

Without Swift, and Najee having a nightmare, this team could end up in the bin. It all comes down to the next few match ups, can they keep their hopes alive with some easy wins? This weeks match up against the Kupps make us feel uneasy for them. But anything can happen on any given Sunday.

The one thing our analysts can do, is compliment the depth to this team, and that might be their only saving grace. Lazard, St.Brown and Cooper on the bench ready to step in when needed.

We’ll see what the next few weeks holds, but for now opinions are low.

Far Too Early Prediction: Hopes shattered by injury, Lamar Morghulis will finish mid table with no hopes at playoffs.

SH33P BOWL 2022 was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The birth of Glass Jaw

A man of many talents, many of which most people know nothing about. An artist, actor, drummer and singer to name a few. But most recently, he’s become a boxer.

Many were surprised that this gentle giant outgrew his Greystonian upper class, protestant roots and picked up his Hayabusa boxing gloves. But as someone who’s been around Wesley most of his life, I could see it from day one.

His childhood

In 1997 when Wesley was 9 his mum asked him what game he wanted for his new games console, the Nintendo 64. Most kids asked for Mario 64, some were lucky enough to get the elusive Golden Eye. But Wesley, born with fight in his blood asked for Street Fighter II.

“We always thought he was a little bitch” said Bruce, Wesley’s father. “But when he asked for that game, myself and Hazel knew he was finally going to be a man”.

From that day on Wesley changed. He wanted to be a fighter.
He began wearing shirts with dragons on them. He wore jeans with skulls on them. He spiked his hair like Guile from his beloved Street Fighter. And most importantly he changed his name to Wez.

The birth of Wez

Wez became a whole new person and secondary school was no match for him. He coasted through the first 3 years under the radar, but by fourth year he had awakened.

Wez, the dummer featured in many bands. Wez, the artist got to the final of the world recycling art championship. Wez, the actor became the lead in the school play where he also showed the world Wez, the singer. He was on the way to stardom.

This was his starting point into boxing, into MMA, into WWE. “All the best stars had their breaks in acting, singing or music. Just look at Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold or The Rock” said Wez in a recent interview.

The turning point

Cut to June 01, 2012. The day Wez will never forget. During a screening of Prometheus, Wez left to go to the bathroom and never returned.

Scenes were described by Rob Reid as “blood and teeth everywhere”, “a fallen giant”, “more gruesome than the movie”.
Wez had fainted and fallen chin first on the concrete floor. Breaking his jaw in two places and knocking out 12 teeth, littering them across the floor of Dundrum cinema.

Wez’s career in fighting had taken a turn for the worst. He thought he would never live out his dream, never fight in a ring, never be the next Stone Cold Steve Austin.

But, as they say…Never say never

Flash forward to August 2019. Wez, with a mouth full of prosthetic teeth and a jaw held together by two metal plates, determined to show the world what he can be, donned his gloves again and began training in secret.

Training for that one big fight to put his name in lights.

When the secret got out, his friends and family had concerns.

“He’s going to get destroyed” Hazel, Wez’s mum.

“That John fella is way bigger than Wez, I’m worried” Emma, one of Wez’s biggest fans.

“Man, he mentioned his jaw to people didn’t he? Ah, this is dumb” Rob, one of Wez’s closest friends.

None of the concerns have swayed Wez, who is due to fight his former housemate John Hills, this Saturday.

We asked Wez how we felt about fighting John this weekend.
“I’ve slightly more reach and was moving a lot better than him this week. It should actually be a good matchup”

We then asked John how he felt.
“I introduced Wez to this. I did it as a joke. I was too used to seeing him eating pizza playing PS4 on my living room couch.”

“When he joined I was shocked, and when he signed up for this fight, I was even more shocked”

“I asked them to match him with me. It’s how I’ll get him back for the times he was late to pay bills, never cleaned up after himself, took over the living room when I wanted to watch tv. This will be the sweetest revenge”

When asked how he felt that John has trained for exactly 25 more weeks than him, Wez replied with “He could do with a couple more if he wants to win”.

Needless to say, Wesley Lennox Evans is confident.

The bookies, not so much. Dodgy Dave’s Bookies have Wez at 300/1 while John sits at an unreasonable 1/850.

Dodgy Dave's Bookies on Twitter

Just in: The latest odds on the Green Hill White Collar Boxing Match. We're not saying it's going to be a massacre, but when everyone is calling you Glass Jaw behind your back, you know you're not going to be the favourite here.

So, can the man with 12 fake teeth, a jaw broken in 2 places, who’s been training for 12 weeks really take down the giant who’s been training to kill him for months? It sure would be a great adversity story if he could.

Want to see it live? Tickets are on sale through Wez.
Or if you can’t make it, donate to the Greenhills Community Centre here.

Wesley Lennox Evans was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Week 6 Appversity Player of the Week.

Darren Waller has been viewed as an underrated star for the Oakland Raiders heading into his second season with the team. With his size, speed, and ability to easily defeat defensive backs in coverage, the tight end from Georgia Tech is viewed by everyone on the team as the very capable replacement for the departed Jared Cook.

However, this journey to hidden gem was not an easy one for Waller. First, he had to fight through some demons.

Originally a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Waller missed the entire 2017 season after being suspended for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. It was Waller’s second suspension since entering the league as a sixth-round pick in 2015 and caused some questions about his mindset during this period of his career.

Waller shared insight into his battle with drugs on Hard Knocks, which painted a troubling picture of what he could get away with during his time in Baltimore.

“I was in Baltimore, I was just like a vegetable,” Waller said. “I was getting high, literally, every day. Whatever I could get my hands on. Like opiates first, like oxy pills, stuff like that. Xanax, cocaine. Not caring about anything, any kind of consequences, or anything like that.”

Despite the concerns of off-the-field issues, Waller has been clean for two years and has become a bonafide playmaker for the Oakland Raiders.

Through six games, Waller has totalled 44 receptions for 485 yards and two touchdowns. Only Travis Kelce and Austin Hooper have more receiving yards, but neither of those teams has had their bye week yet.

And this week, without Tyrell Williams and Zay Jones, the Raiders were forced to rely on their new tight end to carry the offense, and he did just that. Waller caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, but his day could have been much bigger if it weren’t for a holding call that wiped out another long touchdown in the first half.

Congratulations Darren Waller, Appversity’s week 6 player of the week.

Darren Waller — The Walrus was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We wrote about the Raiders’ rookie, Josh Jacobs back in our Draft Picks article, and boy do we feel good about him now.

The Raiders’ first-round draft choice from Alabama ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and caught a 28-yard pass in Oakland’s 24–16 victory over the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

Jacobs became the first player with 100 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in his first NFL game since LaDainian Tomlinson back in 2001.

Oakland Raiders on Twitter

13 plays, 95 yards. All ending in this, @IAM_JoshJacobs' first @NFL touchdown. #DENvsOAK https://t.co/1ljMAEpvIA

Oakland Raiders on Twitter

Won't. Be. Denied. @IAM_JoshJacobs hammers in another! #RaiderNation https://t.co/vgaAU2xCPk

But why is he Appversity’s player of the week, lets recap on his past:

Before Alabama, nobody knew who Josh Jacobs was. He grew up sleeping on motel floors and the back seat of his dads car, and started out with nothing.

Coming from a nothing school called McLain High, in the middle of Tulsa. The school was outside of the recruiting trail, and he was an unknown in all scouting reports.

Jacobs then joined Twitter and began to share his highlights, which Nick Saban happened to catch. Saban believed this 225 pound running back, who ran through defences with ease, was good enough to play at Alabama.

So he signed him.

The day Jacobs signed for Alabama, was also the day he had his first son, Braxton. Every single game he plays is to make sure that Braxton never has to grow up like he did.

During his time at Alabama, when he wasn’t injured, he split carries with two of the top RBs in college football, yet still manages to put up huge numbers.

His final Bama season, he has scored the most touchdowns out of the three.

• 9 rushing, 1 receiving and 1 by kick return.
• Rushed for 384 yards and caught 11 passes for 118 yards.
• Plus his kick-return average of 30.6 yards is tops in the SEC and third in the nation.

So the question we asked back in our draft article “who is Josh Jacobs?”. Well, this is Josh Jacobs. Expect nothing but Pro Bowl numbers from him every week.

Knock on wood if you’re with me.

Josh Jacobs was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Who you need to know in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
“He’s too short, his hands are too small”

We’ve heard a lot from the Kyler Murray naysayers, it goes hand in hand with being tipped as the number one pick of the draft, especially if you’re a quarterback.
Baker Mayfield was a short, unpredictable college walk on. Jared Goff was told he had small hands and a fumble problem.

Now it’s Murray’s time.

Having skipped the combine drills, nobody got to see the man of the hour throw, run or jump. Which means that any team picking him would need to bring him in under scrutiny.

Measuring in at 1.78 meters (that’s 5'10" for the non Americans), he is shorter than every other starting quarterback in the league right now.

Let’s put that into perspective:

• Tom Brady, Andrew Luck and Jared Goff are all 6'4".
• Carson Palmer, Cam Newton and Phillip Rivers are all 6'3".
• Then to the bottom of the scale, Baker Mayfield at 6'1", Drew Brees at 6'0" and Russel Wilson at 5'10".

But reading into it a little more, two of the Super Bowl winners mentioned above are 6 foot and under.

So what’s the big deal?

In comes another problem, his hands. Nobody has a clear measurement of his hands, but sceptics are saying they look to be about 8.75.

To quote a man from the internet: “There’s not a quarterback in the NFL that has a smaller hand than a 9 — a 9-inch hand, the span from the thumb to the pinkie,”

But, once again let’s put this into perspective.

• Patrick Mahomes, the man with the missile arm, who’s one of the most sought after fantasy quarterbacks, measures in at 9.25 inches.
• Then there’s Jared Goff, who you may remember from Super Bowl LIII, comes in at an even 9 inches.

So they can say what they want about hands, it doesn’t seem to change a thing.

Murray is an odd fish though, after finishing college as the 2018 Heisman winner, he entered the MLB draft and was picked at number 9 by the Oakland A’s. With a guaranteed $4.7 million price tag attached to that, he decided to say no to the money and choose football instead.

So, whether it’s his hand size, his height, or his payout, all we can say is that people are talking about him.

The adversity he has to endure before being drafted, when drafted, and until he can prove himself, is through the roof. That’s why we think he’ll go number 1.

Kyler Murray, welcome to the Cardinals.

D.K Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss
“That boy can’t turn”

D.K’s numbers are insane — measuring in at nearly 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds. His broad shoulders, barrel chest and long arms make the man a monster.

He began the combine by repping 225 pounds a massive 27 times, tying the WR combine record.
Following that, he took on the vertical jump, where he finished in the top 95% of wide receivers with a jump of 40.5.
Then he took on the broad jump where he finished in the top 97% of wide receivers with a jump of 134 inches.

But then came the 40 yard dash, where the monster that D.K is came out. He ran a 4.33s, which put him in the top 95% of wide receivers and has him listed as faster than T.Y Hilton and Tayvon Austin who ran a 4.34s, and matched with Brandon Cooks (98 speed in Madden) who also ran a 4.33s.

So this man is a machine, right? That’s where it gets tricky.

His shuttle, in which they measure agility and turning, he posted a 7.38s for 3-cone drill and 4.50s for shuttle. Putting him in the bottom 2% and 3% among WRs.

These are a major concern for teams, and why a lot of massive, beast-like receivers skip the agility drills. They’re all about being speed beast and having the ability to win high balls.

In college D.K was under utilised, but when he was used, he produced. On 40 targets, he had 569 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. That’s over 14 yards a target and 1 TD every 8 targets.

Nevertheless, this type of concern has caused some adversity that D.K will have to overcome, and we think he will. He’ll be drafted first round, in the top 15.

Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State
“He’s got to live up to his brother”

Joey Bosa, you may know the name. The 6'5", 269 pound, two time All American that was drafted third overall in the NFL Draft. Yeah, that Bosa.

Well, now his younger brother is entering the league, and he has a point to prove. Nick Bosa is listed as 6'4" and 265 pounds, pretty much the exact same body type as his brother — although some have said he’s stronger.

So he’s a shoe in for the NFL?

Sure, on paper he’s got what it takes. But every single thing he does will be compared to his older brother. His rookie year stats, his tackle count, sacks, everything.

Unless, of course, he comes out swinging from the start and completely destroys all his brothers stats. Will he be stronger? More charismatic? Will he have a better record?

But first things first, will he be drafted before his brother was?

We think so. We have Nick Bosa pegged to be drafted number 2, right after the short, small handed Kyler Murray.

Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama
“Who the hell is Josh Jacobs?”

Before Alabama, nobody knew who Josh Jacobs was. He grew up sleeping on motel floors and the back seat of his dads car, and started out with nothing.

Coming from a nothing school called McLain High, in the middle of Tulsa. The school was outside of the recruiting trail, and he was an unknown in all scouting reports.

Jacobs then joined Twitter and began to share his highlights, which Nick Saban happened to catch. Saban believed this 225 pound running back, who ran through defences with ease, was good enough to play at Alabama.

So he signed him.

The day Jacobs signed for Alabama, was also the day he had his first son, Braxton. Every single game he plays is to make sure that Braxton never has to grow up like he did.

During his time at Alabama, when he wasn’t injured, he split carries with two of the top RBs in college football, yet still manages to put up huge numbers.

This past season, he has scored the most touchdowns out of the three.

• 9 rushing, 1 receiving and 1 by kick return.
• Rushed for 384 yards and caught 11 passes for 118 yards.
• Plus his kick-return average of 30.6 yards is tops in the SEC and third in the nation.

So the question asked “who is Josh Jacobs?”

Josh Jacobs is one of college football’s most intriguing NFL prospects, and one of Appversity’s favourites in the NFL Draft.

Expect him to go late first round.

Our wildcard pick

Dakota Allen, LB, Texas Tech
“Oh, that boy from Last Chance U”

If you watched Last Chance U, there’s a good chance you already know about Dakota Allen.

Allen began his college career in Texas Tech, who released him following an arrest for burglary in 2016 (although the charges we later dropped).

He spent a year at East Mississippi Community College and appeared on season 2 of the reality TV show, Last Chance U. As part of the show, Allen became a fan favourite, leading the college to an 11–1 record, with a league leading 117 tackles.

This didn’t go unnoticed, as he ended up getting a number of offers from teams around the country.

Texas Tech ultimately welcomed Allen back, and his teammates voted him in as captain.

Now he’s made it to the combine, and has been tipped as having “adequate athleticism and the potential to become a core special teamer” he’s looking like he could hear his name called in the later rounds of the draft.

Appversity’s 2019 Draft Picks was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The lock makes a distinctive click as Isaiah’s key turns the well-lubricated tumblers of the front door to his new penthouse apartment in Denver, Colorado. “Sorry about all the boxes, I don’t bother unpacking them anymore,” explains the 5ft 9in point guard, “who knows when I’ll be on the move again”.

A palpable resignation is evident in Thomas’ voice. No player in the history of the NBA has faced such an uphill battle. No player has ever risen to the challenge so spectacularly. No player has ever fallen from grace so suddenly.

Fresh off a third place finish in the 2016–2017 MVP race, the Boston Celtics traded Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers while his value was at an all time high. His time with the King can be remembered for locker room spats, 15 games, and a persistent struggle with his hip. Following this there was a short-lived career with the Lakers. Now, it’s a minimum contract with the Nuggets.

Eager to get to the core of what has driven Thomas to prove his doubters wrong throughout his career, I begin with asking what motivates the man to put in work day after day. “I first became interested in basketball after I bumped into Dennis Rodman in a Walmart. He reached a can of baked beans down off the top shelf for me. I just thought “wow, that’s what I want to do when I grow up”. There’s something beautiful in just being able to reach things out of high hard to reach places that just lit this burning passion in me.”

While this may not be the most conventional origin story of a professional athlete you’ll hear, it’s fitting for a man whose career has been as unconventional as they come. The final pick of the 2011 draft, there were never any lofty expectations around his career. Getting drafted was enough of an achievement in itself.

Feeling more confident that Thomas is in a good mood, I push on and ask how much did it mean to him and his family to be drafted. “It was a big moment. Everybody told me I wouldn’t make it to the NBA. They either said I was too small or I was just too much of a dick to my teammates that no team would want me in their locker room. I’m proud to say they were wrong about that first one.”

Thomas grows more and more animated as he talks, his hands gesturing while his eyes grow wide and dart excitedly around the room. It’s kind of weird because he’s literally just going on about how he was gaslighting his teammate Kevin Love for 4 months.

I try to change the subject to something a little more positive and uplifting. We talk about Isaiah’s new relationships with the young core of the Lakers squad. He tells me that he feels like a part of the next big thing when he’s with Lonzo and Ingram. I fight the urge to mention that he didn’t get his contract renewed.

Fearing that this interview was going nowhere, I decide to inject a bit of humour into the conversation and ask the age-old question of would he rather fight 100 Isaiah Thomas-sized LeBrons or 1 LeBron-sized Isaiah Thomas. He assures me that he’d rather fight 100 Isaiah Thomas-sized LeBrons. It’s unclear why he would do this when he knows his own weaknesses.

As we had covered the highs and lows of his career thus far, I decided to try and end our conversation on an inspirational note. “So, Isaiah, what does adversity mean to you?”. His brow wrinkles as his brain works, formulating the perfect answer. His nostrils flare as he pieces the words together in his brain. After about 5 seconds he clears his throat and utters the words: “Trying to defend Michael Carter-Williams on the perimeter”.

We’re not sure he understood the question.

*Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction which is not endorsed by Isaiah Thomas.

A Space Jam Story was originally published in Appversity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.