The dust has begun to settle on the pick window madness. There were great trades, bad trades, and plenty in between. It seems like more teams than ever have gone all in on their plan, with every single team making at least one draft pick trade. Get ready because the season is about to heat up, fast. 

-Commish

Tier 1: Standin' on Bidness

1. Slatt's Slimes (+1)

The Slimes cannot stop making good moves. It's in their DNA. I think the top two teams on this list have the most complete starting lineups out of everyone, but grabbing Tua (especially given the double stack with Mostert and Hill) was such a big move. This team has superstars up and down the roster, tons of depth, and has the best pick situation of all teams in the top four after an incredibly crafty move to liquidate Adams despite a terrible season. This guy just gets it. When the margin for error is this close, you have to look at positional advantage, and they are the definition of it. Keeper level QBs, two of the highest PPG RBs, two legendary WRs, the best TE, and some seriously great options at flex. All of this adds up to in my opinion, the best team right now. I think this season hinges on his Dolphins, who have combined for a jaw dropping 57 points this season. If that keeps up, they are the toughest out in the league in my opinion.

2. Zark's Sharks (+1)

The Sharks have had a lot of bad news this season, but this week has been anything but. It looks like Justin Jefferson is going to return sometime within the next couple weeks, and Zach made a huge splash by picking up De'Andre Swift. Again, since the margin for error is so slim, you have to look at positional advantage, and it's clear to me that this team when healthy is easily one of the most unstoppable rosters in the history of the league. That roster could not be enough with the way things have shaped up this season, but with 2 incredible QBs, probably the second best RB room in the league, two absolute superstars at WR, and solid pieces everywhere else, this is another complete roster. It's insane that a roster this good could even be number 2, but you could say the same for 3 & 4 as well. The Sharks have clearly gone anti-draft, but with Zach's deep fantasy knowledge and multiple flippable players, this could be over blown. The toughest thing for the Sharks right now is that they have to face the juiced up, step-bro led WFT two more times. These will be tough games, but with the improvements, and likely return of a fantasy legend, things are looking great. BTW - this team took over the number 1 scoring spot for the season, despite not even having their best player for 4 weeks now. Sheeeeeeeeeesh.

3. Bud Ice Penguins (-2)

I know Noah is raging right now, but hear me out. Yes, the best ever start in Super League history has been seriously impressive, and this roster is still absolutely insane, but with the top 4 getting so good, what's even the point of being 9-0? Getting the number 1 seed looked like it could be a big advantage, but now it's likely they will face a stacked team no matter what in their first playoff matchup. Another reason that this team fell in the rankings is because out of all of the top 4, this team added the least value this week. I will give him this, that is because he already had the most value. I do think there have been some moves that have slightly diminished the value recently, but this team is absolutely still a major threat to win out. 

The tangible weakness I see here is twofold: 1) the starting WR slots simply do not have the pop of the rest of the top 4, especially with Deebo Samuel coming back to take Aiyuk's balls, and 2) while this team absolutely has the best RB room in league history, there's literally no way to play them all come playoff time. This tells me a consolidation trade may need to happen to bring in a big time WR, but that guy doesn't appear to be available. With how much talent is on this roster, lineup decisions will make or break the season. I'm pretty confident that if Noah played the right guys every single week, he'd win the league. Noah has almost completely drained his tradable pick value, becoming the first team in league history to completely trade out of the top 3 rounds. While this feels like a demotion, it shouldn't be. This league has gotten crazy in the past few days, and there is legitimately no right way to predict this shit. 9-0 goes to number 3, but that's Super League for ya.

4. Washington Fantasy Team (-)

I've said this for the last two teams as well, but this is easily the best number 4 on this power rankings ever. Curtis has done what few thought was possible, and built a stacked team from the ashes of a championship run. Curtis is undoubtedly shaping up to be the greatest GM in league history, and it looks like a 3rd straight playoff appearance is in the cards, which will likely be the most of any franchise. This team added the most player value of any team this week, maybe of any team I've ever seen. He picked up Kenneth Walker, Amon Ra St Brown, Tony Pollard, and Keenan Allen all in the same damn week. Add in the league best intangibles, two serviceable QBs, and Jonathon Taylor's return to fantasy superstardom, this team is literally right in it with the best of them. There's still work to be done in the regular season though, and it goes without saying that this team cannot play with its food this week. It would be ideal for this team to split the remaining games with the Sharks, that should guarantee the play-in berth completely. It does look like all paths would lead to Bud Ice Penguins in round 2 at this point, and if that were to happen, a mythological level battle will commence between two of the brightest minds in the league. 

Tier 3: Play-In Fight

5. PGH Crooners (-)

The Crooners were not in the position to match the jaw dropping moves that their rivals made, but they did get better this week too. This team is still pretty banged up, with three key players out or on IR. Achane is obviously a huge X factor, and could be swing force if Raheem Mostert ends up getting hurt at some point. Justin Fields was looking like he was becoming worthy of his selection, and Kyren Williams looked like an absolute beast before he went out. I think this team should be the favorite to lock up the 5th playoff spot, given the remaining schedule, and the fact this team got better while the Orcas sold a few players. I just don't think this team has a realistic chance to do anything but possibly surprise whoever their play-in opponent ends up being, and to collect their entry fee back. This has still been a very successful first season for Nathan regardless of the ceiling, and the keepers this team has acquired could really be a problem for years to come. 

6. Bridge Road Orcas (-)

I'm very proud of Jack for making his first ever draft pick move, and it came to the surprise of some, as he sold some pieces to acquire picks next season, including a future first. It's clear that this is now CJ's team, and I fucking love that. Jack has been solid without extra draft capital, so I'm extremely excited to see how he handles having extra talent alongside his superb keepers. Despite this move, the Orcas are still a very real threat to make the play-in, but they would definitely need some help in my opinion. They would need to win this week for sure, against the newly loaded WFT, and hope that one of WFT or the Crooners have a very disappointing finish to the season. It's possible, and this is the last team that really has the chance to push the current top 5, but I just don't see it honestly. The awareness of Jack to grab that pick when everyone above him goes into pick debt is why he's one of the best in the biz. 

Tier 4: Started From the Bottom

7. Parma Pirates (-)

I may have spent a lot to get him, but I bring AJ Brown back onto the squad to complete the super stack. I also completed my goal of selling my top non keepers, building a solid arsenal of extra picks for next season. With a supercharged draft almost certain to happen, having extra picks will be even better this next season. I don't have the most, but when you combine keepers, picks, and track record, I trust my squad more than the rest of these jabronis. Should be a top 3 team next season or it's a failure. I definitely think this is the best roster today of any of these teams, for what that's worth.

8. StepBurrow Stoppppp (+1)

It feels weird to put this team higher, but it's very hard to ignore the pick accumulation here. I think this team is in a very slightly better position than PAJ, and I do trust this team to identify draft talent based on previous experience with him given a chance to prepare. Where I am beginning to lose trust is in his trading ability, which has significantly dropped the ceiling on the keepers here. Trades are like playing the slots, you gotta know when to take your winnings and stop, and I'm not sure if this team has quite figured that out yet. It's possible that Jacob continues to press his luck and finds something truly groundbreaking, and it's also possible Jacob trades his way into the middle next season. Given all the factors though, you do have to commend the effort being put in here. This franchise has never had this amount of picks ever, and Burrow is still a better keeper than anyone he inherited. I think this team is a shoe-in for top 5 next season, but the trades are a bit concerning.

9. Play Action Jackson. (-1)

PAJ beefed up on future picks, but it came at a significant price. The third keeper on this team will likely be the worst keeper in the league. It's clear that this team has a future bet on Garrett Wilson being a stud, as they made multiple attempts to get him and finally did this week. This being said, that pick situation is very nice indeed. I just don't know if I trust this squad to be able to make sharp draft picks given the lack of experience and knowledge. Some homework will be required, but this team has a crazy ceiling if they can nail a couple of those picks in what should be a supercharged draft. I do consider this team a future contender, even if it looks like at least one half of the ownership will say goodbye after this season.

10. CARTMAN (-)

Some weird moves as usual, but the C man did wake up on Thursday to deliver some bets on the 2024 season. He picks up another first round pick, a major win for this franchise, but also sells quite a bit of value for Adams, a 30 year old who has had an incredibly rough season. The bet is that Adams will return to top 5 status with either a top QB coming to Vegas, or with him finding a new team, but given the consistency and age of Deebo Samuel, I think I would have taken my chances and kept my picks. Out of all of the project non playoff teams, this team has the worst pick situation by far, having 9 picks round 10 or later. That isn't a sustainable formula for success for this franchise, as shown this season, so some more moves will need to be made to re-strengthen this core. The problem is, I trust this team the least with trades, and after a lackluster draft this season, I don't really trust them there either. This team will obviously go back to the drawing board, but for now, I have to keep them last of the rebuilding squads.