🤠 Broncos Country: The ride is over

Jason Kelce should have had a keg at his presser...

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Moby:

Broncos Country: The ride is over.

Broncos notified QB Russell Wilson that he will be released after the league year begins March 13.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)
Mar 4, 2024

Wilson’s statement reflects the reality that he certainly gave Denver his all, but it’s tough to deny the ex-Seahawks signal-caller didn’t quite live up to expectations during his two seasons with the Broncos.

Wilson among 46 QBs with 300-plus dropbacks in 2022-23 seasons: 

• EPA per dropback: +0.035 (No. 28)

• Completion percentage over expected: +1.7% (No. 13)

• PFF Pass Grade: 69.8 (No. 24)

• Passer rating: 91.0 (No. 20)

• Yards per attempt: 7.1 (No. 19)

Things got a bit better in 2023 with Sean Payton in town, but obviously not good enough, considering that releasing Russ causes the Broncos to take on an NFL record $85 million in dead money – more than the last two dead money records combined.

The original trade … yikes.

Revisiting the Russell Wilson trade:

#Broncos Give Up

+ Backup-Caliber QB
+ TE Noah Fant
+ DE Shelby Harris
+ 2022 Round 1
+ 2022 Round 2
+ 2022 Round 5
+ 2023 Round 1
+ 2023 Round 2
+ $245 million

#Seahawks Give Up

+ Backup-Caliber QB
+ 2022 Round 4

— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB)
Mar 4, 2024

The Broncos have the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Fantasy Life’s Matthew Freedman has them addressing this roster hole in a hurry via Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy in his most recent mock draft. Surely the mainstream media won’t salivate over two annual matchups between McCarthy and a certain new head coach for the Chargers.

And then there’s Russ, who finds himself in a unique position: The nature of his contract means he’ll receive $39 million in cash in 2024. The 35-year-old triggerman could theoretically sign with a team for the veteran minimum and still make bank (bro).

Three potential suitors:

• Pittsburgh Steelers: ESPN analytics rated both Diontae Johnson and George Pickens as top-10 WRs in 2023. It’s easy to imagine Wilson’s patented moon ball in Arthur Smith’s play-action and downfield-oriented attack.

• Las Vegas Raiders: Pretty damn loaded at receiver thanks to the presence of Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and rising second-year TE Michael Mayer. Weather/dome life is also a plus.

• Atlanta Falcons: Dome life combined with a McVay-inspired offense under new OC Zac Robinson and more than enough high-end weapons to go around in the form of Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson – is that something you (Russ) might be interested in?

We’ve probably already seen the best of DangeRuss, but hey: America loves a comeback.

That said: Russ’s funniest potential outcome is EASILY working as Geno Smith’s backup in Seattle. It won’t happen … but you could imagine what it’d be like if it did.

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🦅 Future HOF Eagles C Jason Kelce officially retires. Second-best sixth-round pick ever?

🤓 Cool reception perception info from the great Matt Harmon. Calvin Ridley truthers rejoice.

🐻 Adam Schefter has thoughts on Chicago’s QB situation. You hear that? Bears.

👀 WR1 upside for Mike Evans in 2024? Age ain't nothing but a number.

✍️ Great info in Ben Solak’s combine notebook. J.J. McCarthy’s hype train isn’t slowing down.

🚀 This WR’s 40 time was arguably more impressive than Xavier Worthy. Size matters, kids.

😮 The Chiefs officially franchise tag one of the game’s best corners. But not so fast my friend.

🙏 Awesome video tribute to the great Chris Mortensen. RIP.

The fantasy football season might be over, but we are NOT ready to unplug. Cooterdoodle is here to keep our minds in check by asking the age-old, evergreen question: “What Now?”

😅 What Now? Study Up

Oh baby oh baby! It’s time to start thinking about fantasy drafts again!

Well, kind of.

No pressure, but we need to at least start considering which types of leagues we want to be in next season. Here are some league styles to study up on. And yea, they get progressively weirder.

🎭 Punishment & Reward Based Leagues

Punishments and rewards are a tame game, but they tend to extend league engagement, especially with groups that are starting to feel stale.

Consider not only league-ending loser punishments but weekly punishment styles! Lowest scorers can be eliminated, or there can be a randomized element to the penalty using, say, a Punishment Generator.

Or maybe you would rather reward your league for their efforts. Some commissioners allocate a portion of the league fees towards a payout for the highest-scoring team each week.

🤏 Small Tweak Leagues

I’m sure some of you have already heard of Tight End Premium leagues, which reward bonus points for receptions to the TE position. Sometimes, a little bonus is all you need to give life to your leagues.

✨ Novelty Leagues

We can get a little weirder here. 

Do you like kickers? (No, that’s not the weird part.) A league with extreme kicking bonuses and additional punter positions could be the place for you.

Or maybe you want to flip everything on its head and introduce abnormally large scoring penalties for interceptions, missed kicks, and/or lost yards. Negative points should be used more, don’t you think?

You could even incorporate some restrictive draft rules that state no one can draft the same position in back-to-back picks. In other words: if you draft a WR in Round 1, you are prohibited from drafting a WR in Round 2.

This ain’t your grandparent’s fantasy league.

😵‍💫 Niche Leagues

I don’t have many suggestions here, as it has a lot to do with personal preferences and extremely niche inside jokes.

But, I will share one small example: I started an Always Sunny in Philadelphia league a few summers ago. Lopsided trades, collusion, and chaos were highly encouraged, as it seemed like something the show’s characters would do.

In the name of chaos, I gave everyone in the league commissioner powers. 

The result? Someone nuked and deleted the entire league 30 minutes after it began. So no, we never drafted. And yes, it was beautiful.

Russell Wilson waiting for his remaining $39mil

— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife)
Mar 5, 2024