2023 Division Recap Record Book
Democratic Order of Players Preview
Good Trade Charmander! Preview Archduke Machop Preview
Magikarp That Only Knows Flail Preview
22nd, 2024
By: er Charles
2023 The Flying Magikarp Division Recap
This week the Post Button p Magikarp division; while this i division previews, the Flyin definitely the least of the div has been for years now
Each of the teams in the Flyin began the season with reason for optimism. Defending division champions Good Trade Charmander! and Magikarp That Only Knows Flail were annual playoff contenders, while Archduke Machop’s lengthy rebuild seemed to be nearing completion and the Democratic Order of Players’ roster appeared to be as strong as it had ever been - yet none of these teams would find success in 2023.
Good Trade Charmander!’s status as the defending division champions masked many weaknesses the team had. Ironically, the team’s recent success in the division had come despite having committed to rebuilding, something that has become a running theme in the division. With the Democratic Order of Players’ history calling them a “paper tiger” almost seems too complimentary, but they were
struggled so mightily that they decided to blow up their roster and trade away their best player in Josh Allen
That enormous decision was followed by a four game win streak, and the team winning seven of their final nine games. Following two years of Good Trade Charmander! winning the division after trading away Christian McCaffrey, the Flying Magikarp division was won for a third consecutive time by a team that wasn’t even trying to compete.
It is without controversy safe to describe the Flying Magikarp as the least successful division throughout the UDL’s first decade The members of the division share a vision of a second decade where they are on top of the league. Their efforts to get there have already begun.
Democratic Order of Players
2023 Recap
Record: 3-11
Division: 4th
League: 12th
PPG: 99.53 (11th)
Team MVPs
Calvin Ridley: WR17 (191.9 pts)
Geno Smith: QB19 (226.64 pts)
Jordan Addison: WR21 (186.3 pts)
It oh so briefly looked like things might be different in 2023 for the UDL’s least successful team. The Democratic Order of Players’ roster appeared to finally have a healthy combination of returning production and potential for growth. At quarterback Daniels Jones was coming off of a career year while Tua Tagovailoa was poised for the best season of his career. At wide receiver Calvin Ridley returned to the field for the first time in nearly two years while Garrett Wilson got a massive upgrade at quarterback. Running back Jamaal Williams was coming off of a season where he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns while Alexander Mattison was finally getting the opportunity to be the starter in Minnesota And at tight end the Democratic Order of Mark Andrews.
Players began their season with a win me, but in scoring 133 points in defeat together two strong performances to looked like the team was finally on the osses started mounting. The week 2 even game losing streak that ended the ers’ season almost as soon as it began.
ho were expected to play a key role for Players wound up disappointing for one missed parts of the season with injury, ews and Diontae Johnson. Some were the field, as Mattison was. Daniel Jones new quarterback as soon as the season Rhamondre Stevenson simply didn’t om previous years
cratic Order of Players’ most promising y became a death spiral as they lost 11 What could have been a good year for their worst as they finished last in the e ever. Now they have to go right back
2024 Draft Recap
1.01: Caleb Williams - QB
1.03: Marvin Harrison - WR
2.01: Trey Benson - RB
4.01: Braelon Allen - RB 4.04: Brenden Rice - WR
It’s hard to go wrong when you have two of the top three picks in the draft, but the Democratic Order of Players did well to get the top players at two different positions as they begin their latest rebuild. Williams, Harrison, and Benson could form the team’s nucleus for years to come.
AIf there is a silver lining to be had in the Democratic Order of Players’ latest rebuild, it’s that General Manager Kilroy84 has a lot of experience handling rebuilds. This latest round of rebuilding began near the end of the 2023 season when the team shipped out Tua Tagovailoa and Rhamondre Stevenson for a blockbuster bounty of picks and players that already looks like a major win for the team.
The biggest acquisition in the trade for the Democratic Order of Players was the third overall pick in this year’s draft. With the first overall pick they “earned” with their last place finish, the Democratic Order of Players became the first team in the UDL to make two selections within the first three picks of a draft since 2020. Those draft picks became Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. Expectations are high not just for their potential as foundational pieces for years to come, but their ability to produce at a high level as soon as this season
Williams and Harrison are the most important players on the team, but they shouldn’t have to do everything themselves this year. Geno Smith, also acquired in the aforementioned trade, Daniel Jones, and Will Levis give the Democratic Order of Players nothing if not options at their SuperFlex position.
At wide receiver the team is surprisingly well off. Garrett Wilson and Harrison should be a strong 1-2 combination this season, provided Wilson doesn’t lose his quarterback four plays into the season again. Beyond the two clear cut starters the Democratic Order of Players also has quite a few others who could make a big impact this season. Jayden Reed, Calvin Ridley, Diontae Johnson, and Jordan Addison should provide plenty of talent to slot into the Flex positions And then there is the case of Rashee Rice, who has of this writing has still not been suspended by the NFL.
Tight end Mark Andrews has been with the Democratic Order of Players through better, worse, and worst. Now healthy again, he should have another big season ahead of him this year.
That brings us to the biggest hole on the Democratic Order of Players’ roster: running back. If the rest of the team is a work in progress, work has yet to begin filling this hole. No running back on the team is currently being drafted as even a RB3 in redraft leagues as of this writing Second round pick Trey Benson may help eventually, but this hole isn’t getting filled anytime soon.
Rashee Rice
Assuming Rashee Rice is available this season, he figures to play a large role for the Democratic Order of Players this year. As a rookie he was second on the Kansas City offense in receptions and receiving yards, while leading the team in touchdowns. Travis Kelce turns 35 during the season, and is coming off of a down year by his standards. All of that sets the stage for Rice potentially taking over as Patrick Mahomes’ top receiver in the near future. He just has to escape a lengthy suspension first.
It’s likely going to be more of the same for the Democratic Order of Players this year, but at least the trio of Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Garrett Wilson are the most talented players DOOP has had since Saquon Barkley was in his prime. Don’t be surprised if the team becomes an increasingly difficult out for better teams to secure as the season progresses, and the rookies develop.
Good Trade Charmander!
2023 Recap
Record: 6-8
Division: 3rd
League: 9th
PPG: 109.83 (9th)
Team MVPs
Sam LaPorta: TE1 (196.3 pts)
James Cook: RB11 (210.7 pts)
Ja’Marr Chase: WR13 (212.72 pts)
2023 was a long season for Good Trade Charmander!. After eight consecutive playoff appearances and seven division titles in that time, for the first time since the UDL’s inaugural season in 2014 they finished a season with a losing record and found themselves out of the playoffs.
In a year where they would never truly gain traction, Good Trade Charmander!’s shortcomings became apparent as soon as the season began. In a week 1 loss to Archduke Machop the team scored just 64.52 points, their worst performance in a game since their last losing season in 2014. Quarterbacks Joe Burrow and easons for der!, and nal callers camp, and month of en just as n was cut ’s injuries ’s season slow start pped on a nization to hance for d disaster picks on season all am in the ost six of ate in the , but with ter heavy ere never that was
2024 Draft Recap
1.04: Malik Nabers - WR
3.04: Audric Estimee - RB
3.12: Malachi Corley - WR
After whiffing with the fourth overall pick in 2023 Good Trade Charmander! hope they’ve found an immediate impact player in Malik Nabers with this year’s selection. Nabers has reportedly looked the part in practice. Audric Estimee and Malachi Corley could join Nabers in the starting lineup sometime in their rookie season if the cards break their way.
BGood Trade Charmander!’s rebuilding efforts enter their fourth season this year, evidence enough that the rebuild has stalledand it’s not immediately clear how the team will take the next step needed to return to contention.
Wide receiver has historically been Good Trade Charmander!’s strongest position, but the team has experienced a decline at the position in recent years. Fortunately for them, they have reason to believe they can reverse that trend this year. Ja’Marr Chase represents these expectations well. Chase had a down year last year, but that was due to quarterback problems, something that shouldn’t be an issue again this year DK Metcalf is one of the most reliable players in fantasy football, and should turn in another strong season this year. The biggest reason for optimism for the team this year is rookie first round pick Malik Nabers. One of the best wide receiver prospects to enter the league since Chase himself, the only thing that might hold Nabers back as a rookie is the lousy quarterbacks he’ll be catching passes from.
Chase and his teammate, Joe Burrow, form one of the most formidable stacks in fantasy football for Good Trade Charmander!, but beyond Burrow the team’s quarterback situation is murky. Good Trade Charmander! traded for a new
quarterback of the future in rookie Bo Nix during the offseason, but until he is ready to start the team will continue relying on Russell Wilson That’s an unappealing prospect considering that there is no guarantee that Wilson will even start in week 1.
Sam LaPorta is coming off of arguably the greatest rookie season for a tight end ever - not only was he the rare tight end to be productive as a rookie, but he was the TE1 - and is now the consensus top tight end in fantasy football.
Unusual for the team, Good Trade Charmander! has plenty of potential starters to work with, but no true star to anchor the team. James Cook is the closest thing the team has to a workhorse back, but he always loses work near the goal line. One of the best all around running backs in the NFL between the 20s, Cook does have a shot at repeating his 2023 performance as a low end RB1. With Cook locked in as a starter, Najee Harris and Zamir White will compete for the other starting job. Harris is seemingly stuck in a committee backfield these days, so the opportunity is there for White to lock down the job by seizing a heavy workload in real football with Las V
Prediction
Good fortune contributed to two division titles in Good Trade Charmander!’s first two rebuilding seasons, but their luck ran out last year in what was an injury marred season. Now healthy again, Good Trade Charmander! has enough talent to make a run at returning to the playoffs - but there are still lingering concerns that threaten to develop into major holes that could rip the team apart.
Record: 6-
Wildcard
Zamir White
After two years mostly spent backing up Josh Jacobs, Zamir White is finally getting his chance to start in Las Vegas. White got to start four games at the end of last year, and the results were tantalizing with White rushing for nearly 400 yards. We’ve seen fantasy darlings fail to deliver before, but with Las Vegas not making any major investments at the running back position this offseason, White might just be different - at least, that’s what Good Trade Charmander! will be hoping.
2023 Recap
Record: 7-7
Division: 2nd
League: 5th
PPG: 116.44 (6th)
Team MVPs
Travis Etienne: RB3 (253.4 pts)
Jared Goff: QB7 (290.94 pts)
Jake Ferguson: TE8 (141.6 pts)
Archduke Machop
2022 was the year Archduke Machop hit rock bottom. The team had spent years in free fall as their placement in the league standings annually got worse following three consecutive playoff appearances in the 2016-2018 seasons. But if nothing else, Archduke Machop was productive with their time in the league’s cellar. And heading into the 2023 season Archduke Machop had spent a lot of time being productive.
Archduke Machop’s week 1 roster was loaded with players acquired with the vast draft capital the team had amassed over the years. Headlining the lineup was Bijan Robinson, Archduke Machop’s prized acquisition in the 2023 draft, selected with the eam successfully tanked the 2022 ion of Robinson Archduke Machop ep in their grand rebuilding effort
uke Machop’s rebuilt roster to flex eam scored 152.4 points in a week 2 er of Players in what was their best nearly four years Robinson gained layers in the victory.
ill had growing pains ahead of them. eam went on was followed by an hough Archduke Machop never had ar season, their record dropped to jekyll and hyde routine persisted all hed a strong 5-0 vs Bobby team by ey lost to a middling Franny9 team ke Machop ultimately qualified for in five years, but after losing their n they had to back their way in.
k ‘N’ Ginger in the first round of the formances from quarterbacks Jared wo holdovers from all of the losing fell below 500 for the first time in
2024 Draft Recap
1.08: Brock Bowers - TE
1.11: Bo Nix - QB
2.08: Xavier Legette - WR
3.08: Ja’Tavion Sanders - TE
4.0: Kimani Vidal - RB
Archduke Machop continue to amass talent. Tight end Brock Bowers is a classic best player available pick. Widely seen as one of the most talented players in the draft, he could keep Archduke Machop from needing to rebuild again anytime soon
BArchduke Machop has an unusual roster construction, with a nearly equal number of quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends on the roster. It’s perhaps fitting, as Archduke Machop appears to have one of the most well rounded teams in the UDL this season
First among equals are the running backs. Travis Etienne and Bijan Robinson were the dynamos that powered Archduke Machop’s return to the playoffs last year and they’ll be key for another playoff run this season. Bijan Robinson in particular should be a standout this season as the focal point in the Atlanta run game that he always should have been Isaiah Pacheco also returns for his third season as the starter in Kansas City. The Chiefs had a down year offensively by their standards last season; a return to form for the defending NFL champions could propel Pacheco into the RB1 ranks. Etienne, Robinson, and Pacheco have a chance to be the best running back group in the UDL this season.
Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield beat expectations last year with both of them turning in QB1 seasons. Despite the success they enjoyed, neither player is being drafted as a top-12 quarterback as of this writing - and Archduke Machop isn’t content with their
past achievements either. The team acquired former 4th overall pick Bryce Young in the offseason. Young has a lot to prove after a disastrous rookie season, but Carolina has made heavy investments in giving him a second, this time fair, chance to succeed.
Wide receiver is Archduke Machop’s thinnest position with just five players on the roster DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and Drake London are all established starters in their primes, but they all look more likely to finish the year as WR2s than true difference makers at the position. Should anything happen to the three of them Archduke Machop would likely need second round rookie Xavier Legette to step up.
The arguments for and against Brock Bowers making an impact as a rookie are as clear as they are tired. On the one hand, Bowers is the most talented tight end to enter the NFL in years. On the other, even the best rookie tight ends are rarely all that productive. Working in Bowers favor is that a rookie was the TE1 just last year If Bowers does struggle as a rookie, Archduke Machop does have the reliable Jake Ferguson to fall back on.
Prediction
Archduke Machop has never won a division title before, but they open the season 2024 season as clear favorites in the Flying Magikarp division. Across the entire league they may be the heaviest favorites to win their division, even more so than the unstoppable Saquon my Chubb B2B. This has something to do with the weakness of their division rivals, but mainly it’s a reflection of how far Archduke Machop has come. The division, and more, is there for the taking. Now they just have to seize it.
Record:
9-5
Wildcard
Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield was an unlikely QB1 in 2023. He threw for over 4,000 yards for the first time in his career and had a career high 28 touchdown passes This poses a problem for Archduke Machop. Can Mayfield repeat his strong 2023 campaign, or will his career year go down as an outlier in what has otherwise been a middling career thus far? 2023 being the new normal for Mayfield would go a long way to helping Archduke Machop take the next step as a team
Magikarp That Only Knows Flail
2023 Recap
Record: 9-5
Division: 1st
League: 2nd
PPG: 115.49 (7th)
Team MVPs
T.J. Hockenson: TE4 (171.5 pts)
Joe Mixon: RB5 (241 pts)
Tua Tagovailoa: QB11 (270.36 pts)
The strangest story of the 2023 UDL season was that of Magikarp That Only Knows Flail. Underachievers in the box score and overachievers in the win column, the team spent the entire season failing at their apparent goals. But as these failures mounted throughout the season they coalesced into something greater than the sum of its parts.
Magikarp That Only Knows Flail began the season by winning just two of their first five games, despite not playing a team that would finish the season with a winning record in that span. The team’s struggles began as soon as week 1 with superstar quarterback Josh Allen going on a turnover spree, costing rp That Only Knows Flail what should have been a win a Democratic Order of Players team that would go on to ast in the league Allen improved his play, but the rest of m did not, and by October it became clear that Magikarp nly Knows Flail needed to make changes.
ange the team settled on was one of the most dramatic in UDL history Allen was traded to 5-0 vs Bobby for a of players and picks. The intent was clear; tank the 2023 in order to better prepare for future years. But those were dashed by a four game win streak. Magikarp That nows Flail surged into first place in their division. In week y won a pivotal game against 5-0 vs Bobby, largely thanks vs Bobby erroneously benching Allen, which pushed the head in the race for a bye week in the playoffs. Magikarp Only Knows Flail’s play had hardly improved since the ng of the season, but they found themselves with the seat in the playoffs all the same
am saved their best performance of the season for the als - the 154.78 points they scored in their wild shootout over Gingervitis was nearly 15 more than they scored in her game in 2023. Improbably, illogically even, Magikarp nly Knows Flail advanced to the championship game. But am could not capitalize on a down performance by ng champions Saquon my Chubb B2B, and fell just short of completing the greatest underdog run in UDL history.
2024 Draft Recap
1.06: J.J. McCarthy - QB
2.03: Blake Corum - RB
3.01: Marshawn Lloyd - RB
3.11: Devontez Walker - WR
4.11: Rasheen Ali
Magikarp That Only Knows Flail begin their rebuild with a pair of Michigan Men. Unfortunately McCarthy will miss his rookie season following a knee injury, but perhaps that suits the team fine if they prefer to tank for a season and get more high value picks to pair with this class.
CNow that Magikarp That Only Knows Flail’s unlikely championship run is over the team must now face the reality of life without Josh Allen. Allen was by far the team’s best player, and without him the team is short on top tier players.
But that is not to say the roster is completely barren. In Allen’s absence Amari Cooper stepped up to be the playoff hero for Magikarp That Only Knows Flail last year. The venerable Cooper has been one of the most consistently productive wide receivers in football for the past decade, and even at the age of 30 he should have at least one more good year in him. Chris Olave has quietly emerged as one of football’s bright young stars after going over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons. Brandon Aiyuk has developed into a fringe WR1, but as of this writing he is demanding a trade away from the powerful San Francisco offense. It would probably be best for his fantasy value if he stayed put this season
Tight end would be a strength for Magikarp That Only Knows Flail if 2023 TE4 T.J. Hockenson hadn’t torn his ACL and MCL late last year. Unfortunately, the injuries are expected to keep Hockenson out for much of the 2024 season Until Hockenson returns the team will likely rely on Pat Freiermuth in his stead.
Freiermuth does have a 700 yard season on his resume, so he may make for a strong substitute for Hockenson this season.
Tua Tagovailoa is being asked to replace Allen in the starting lineup. It’s a challenging role to fill, and so far Tagovailoa’s performance has left something to be desired. Tagovailoa has had plenty of big games this far in his career, but consistency has never been a strong point for him Derek Carr will join Tagovailoa in the starting lineup. The platonic ideal of competency at the quarterback position, it is difficult to imagine Carr producing anything more or less than a QB2 season. First round pick J.J. McCarthy is a key part of the plan for Magikarp That Only Knows Flail’s future, but he will spend his rookie season on Injured Reserve.
Joe Mixon was the key player in Magikarp That Only Knows Flail’s championship run last year, but he is now 28 and on a different team. Behind him there is little proven production. Tony Pollard is coming off of a disappointing season and also changed teams this offseason, while Blake Corum and MarShawn Lloyd are both rookies likely to begin their careers as backups.
Prediction
Now the rebuild can begin. Hopefully. If the fantasy gods don’t have anymore pranks in store for Magikarp That Only Knows Flail. But should they be merciful, there is little reason for optimism regarding Magikarp That Only Knows Flail this season. The roster remains well balanced with viable starters across the board, but “viable” is doing some heavy lifting there The lack of top tier talent limits what the team can accomplish this year, even if they should avoid bottoming out completely.
Wildcard
Rhamomdre Stevenson
Rhamondre Stevenson has looked the part of a potential RB1 at points in his career, but he has always been held back by split workloads and an ever decaying New England offense. The Patriots have finally begun overhauling their offense however, and in June gave Stevenson a big contract extension. The stage appears to be set for Stevenson to have a career year in the new look Patriots offense.
