Freaks of nature – otherworldly Lamar Jackson, King Henry and Ja’Marr Chase – top the scoring leaders through the first five weeks of the JSFL season.
Keep on the lookout for the Packers' keeper Ja'Marr Chase, who has been among the WR scoring leaders in 2024.
WTF? Who are these guys? Ron and I were joking last week that it might be fun to round up the scoring leaders through the first 5 weeks of the season and we thought we would see a bunch of “no-names” that had popped up on no one’s preseason scoring leaders list.
Nada. What we found were a bunch of protected players (the expected best from the 2023 season) still producing at epic levels. And it should not come as any surprise that players drafted by the Rangers and free agents grabbed by the Band Aids dot this list.
The top scoring trio, so far, are Bob Garcia’s quarterback (Lamar Jackson, 122 points or 24.4 points per game); Matt Pringle’s running back (Derrick Henry, 101 points or 20.2 points per game) and Jeff Lambert’s wide receiver (Ja’Marr Chase, 77 points or 15.4 points per game). The big surprise is the slow start for wide receivers, in general, and tight ends in particular.
So here they are: The best at each position through the early goings, with a few surprises mixed in.
QB – Lamar Jackson, Band Aids; Jayden Daniels, WTNE; Baker Mayfield, Packers
RB1 – Derrick Henry, Spread Beaters; Saquon Barkley, WTNE; Jordan Mason, Tirades (free agent)
RB2 – Alvin Kamara, WTNE; Kyren Williams, Rangers; James Cook, Who Dey
WR1 – Ja’Marr Chase, Pack; Justin Jefferson, Who Dey; Mike Evans, Rangers
WR2 – Nico Collins, Rangers; Jayden Reed, Packers; Brian Thomas Jr., Tirades (acquired last week)
TE – George Kittle, Rangers; Tucker Kraft, Band Aids (acquired last week); Brock Bowers, Gerbils
Def – Minnesota Vikings, Who Dey; Broncos, Packers (acquired last week after being dropped like a one-night-stand by Band Aids); Bears, Band Aids
K – Brandon Aubrey, Invaiders; Ka’imi Fairbairn, Who Dey; Jake Moody, Tirades (may he rest in peace, out with ankle injury)
Another Early Start This Week
The NFL gods won’t let us sleep off that Saturday night bender as we have another 6:30 a.m. start in London again this week. The Thursday night action starts with my 49ers (sans a kicker) traveling to Seattle to take on the Seachickens. The Jaguars (yawn) are the visiting team Sunday this week as they take on the Bears in London. Off this week are the Chiefs, Rams, Vikings and Dolphins (insert joke here about Miami being on a bye for the last three weeks).
Here's a look at the week six matchups.
Game of the Week
Spread Beaters (3-2) vs Recliners (4-1), pick ‘em: It sure seems awfully early to say, “This game might go a long way in deciding who might be playing late into December.” But, it just might be that simple. The two elite teams in the Silent Division square off this week and it is a “pick-em” special as both teams, as I write this early Thursday, are penciled out to finish in a 93-all tie. And, we don’t take any ties in this league. So, it puts a poker in my saddle to pick this one the right way. Yeah, like that is going to happen based on the crappy trend I have been on the last few weeks. The Spread Beaters lose WR Tyreek Hill to the bye and TE Travis Kelce. Of course if you missed the joke earlier, Miami and Hill (because of Tua being sidelined) have basically been on a bye for the past three weeks. Pringle is going with DK Metcalf and Chris Godwin at WR and J.K. Dobbins at flex. Chris counters will the still-injured Joe Mixon at RB, Bijan Robinson at Carolina, Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. at WR and DeVonta Smith at flex. ESPN gives the nod to the Recliners with Mixon, Wilson, the Texans defense and TE Sam LaPorta. Pringle gets the nod with King Derrick Henry and Dobbins. Chris may not need Mixon if Bijan tears a new one through the Carolina defense. But as goes Mixon so go the Recliners. If Mixon starts, the Recliners should be favored. Take the Recliners by 1.
The Close Ones?
Tirades (2-3) vs Who Dey (2-3), Tirades favored by 6: This is starting to sound repetitive, but, is it too soon to say the loser of this game may not make the playoffs? The way the Silent Division is shaping up, it looks like only one team may climb out of the Shitty Teams Division and both of these teams are looking up at the unsightly rear end of the Band Aids. The bye week is cruel to both of these teams as the Tirades lose RB Aaron Jones and the Kansas City kicker, while Who Dey loses RB Raheem Mostert, WR Justin Jefferson and the vaunted Minnesota defense. The Tirades are heavily favored at five starting positions (RB David Montgomery, WRs Deebo Samuel and Darnell Mooney, TE Kyle Pitts and the Colts defense). Who Dey gets the nod only at flex with Chicago RB D’Andre Swift. Both of Matty’s starting RBs (Zack Moss and James Cook) carry “questionable” tags as this is being written. Take the Tirades by 5.
Invaiders (2-3) vs Packers (0-5), Invaiders favored by 7: OK, I always get nervous when my team is favored, and when the “dog” is the Pack. It usually is a forecast that I will tank and lose by 20, or the Pack awakens from the dead and hangs triple digits on the board. The three best WRs this week could take the field in this one, if WR Malik Naybors recovers from his Week 4 concussion. Naybors is the highest-ranked WR this week, followed by Jeff’s Ja’Marr Chase and my token Cowboy CeeDee Lamb. The hospital ward might be busier than the sidelines in this one as Naybors and RB Jonathan Taylor both carry “questionable” tags for the Invaiders and RB Travis Etienne Jr. for Jeff. And the Thursday night game sets the tone for this one (the SF QBs and Brandon Aiyuk go for the Invaiders and Kenneth Walker III goes for Jeff). Take the Invaiders by 5.
WTNE (3-2) vs Rangers (4-1), WTNE favored by 11: The grim reaper took two more players from the Lamberts last week as WR Rashee Rice is lost for the season for Jordan and WR Nico Collins was put on the IR for John. And John may still need to make a move before Sunday morning unless he is OK with Austin Ekeler as a starter this week. But, as we saw above in the breakdown of top-scoring players so far, John’s draft picks dot the position leaders at several positions. And, when it comes to calling this game, we think the deep bench the Rangers have will win out in the end. Take the Rangers and 1.
The Blowout?
Band Aids (3-2) vs Gerbils (2-3), Band Aids favored by 2: Chuck has made his tough choice this week as both of his quarterbacks – Patrick Mahomes and Sam Darnold – are on a bye. Chuck said “adios” to Darnold (sad face among the USC faithful) but it may not matter as the Band Aids are heavily favored across the board in this one. Take the Band Aids by 15.
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