“Oops!” and “Oh, yeah!” — Top mistake and success of each team January 17, 2020 Every general manager has hits and misses. Sometimes the misses are minor in scope and are met with a shrug of the shoulders. Other times the misses are so egregious that there aren’t enough hits for him to save his job. Either way, the teams that seem to have the most success are the ones that best mitigate their mistakes while capitalizing off the hits. Here’s a look at the biggest mistake and best success from each team for the 2019 MFFL season. Bangkok Blitz Oops! — Declined to match contract offer to Derrick Henry The Blitz left auction day with plenty of cash remaining in their account, but they might have been better served matching the contract offer on restricted free agent running back Derrick Henry. Henry went on to have a tremendous season, finishing fourth among running backs in scoring, and averaged 23.5 points per game. Ultimately, the Blitz entered rebuilding mode and the extra cash helped to pay down future salaries. But the veteran running back might have made an attractive trade deadline piece to a contending team. Oh, yeah! — Drafted Devin Singletary at Pick 16 The Blitz selected N’Keal Harry with the fourth-overall pick in the 2019 MFFL Draft, and injuries caused him to have a non-existent rookie season. However, the Blitz landed a gem with the 16th overall pick in running back Devin Singletary, who finished 10th among rookies in scoring — 8th among FLEX rookies. The best news of all is that Singletary’s contract will be cheap moving forward by virtue of where he was selected. Christmas Island Crabs Oops! — Traded away A.J. Brown The eventual Super Bowl champion Crabs were not happy with their running back depth chart leaving the auction — and, truthfully, outside a handful of teams, who really was satisfied? That spurred the Crabs to trade away rookie receiver A.J. Brown for running back Ronald Jones and a 3rd Round Pick, a move they later regretted. Brown exploded as the season wore on and looks to be a valuable piece for the foreseeable future. Oh, yeah! — Drafted Miles Sanders … two picks later The Crabs acquired the first overall pick in the 2019 draft during the offseason. Most experts would agree that there were three players worthy of being selected in the Top 3. The Crabs moved down two slots to Pick 3, with eyes on Miles Sanders. David Montgomery and Josh Jacobs went 1 and 2, respectively, and that allowed the Crabs to secure the back they wanted all along, plus it netted them an extra pick — Pick 17. (That pick was used on A.J. Brown … Shhh! we won’t mention what happened after that. See above.) Ecuador Ewoks Oops! — Matched contract offer to David Johnson … and signed him to a two-year deal The Ewoks acquired the free agent rights to running back David Johnson last offseason and placed the Non-exclusive Franchise Tag on him. Ecuador’s plan all along was to match whatever contract Johnson received in the auction. Nagasaki made that decision difficult when they offered a lucrative, $26 million offer to Johnson. The Ewoks chose to match that offer and the veteran back went on to have a miserable season. The only thing that made Ecuador’s “oops” even more glaring was that they signed Johnson to a two-year deal. Oh, yeah! — Acquired Mark Andrews via trade The Ewoks landed one of their most productive players of the 2019 season via a trade on the eve of the season. The Ewoks sent Corey Davis and the Cleveland Browns defense to Russia for Andrews, Ito Smith, the Atlanta Falcons defense, and receiver Cole Beasley — who just happened to be one of Ecuador’s top performers as well. Andrews finished fifth in tight end scoring and helped the Ewoks win some early games — including an upset victory over Ukraine. Egypt Pharaohs Oops! — Traded first-round pick for rights to David Njoku Egypt looked to solidify the tight end position when they sent their 2020 1st Round pick to Ukraine for the free agent rights to David Njoku, and $2.50 cash in 2019 and 2020. Njoku appeared in just three games this season and likely wouldn’t have outperformed whomever is to be selected with that first-round pick this coming August, anyway. Egypt did make the postseason this year, but after their first round exit, they received the highest draft pick among playoff teams (Pick 5) — which Ukraine will now be using to solidify their already strong base. Oh, yeah! — Signed DeVante Parker Usually players don’t wait until their fifth season in the league to have a breakout campaign. If, after four years, they haven’t had a great deal of success, that’s generally a bad omen. But don’t tell that to Parker. The Pharaohs inked Parker to a 3-year, $3 million deal in the 2019 auction and they reaped the benefits from it. Parker finished 11th in scoring among wide receivers. And, assuming health and consistency, Parker’s contract becomes an attractive piece over the next two seasons. Jamaica Jerks Oops! — Traded away Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler Jamaica was the hottest team in the MFFL at the start of the 2019 season. Centered around one of the league’s best run games, the Jerks burst out to a 7-1 start. Then, Melvin Gordon returned from a holdout and things got complicated for Jamaica. The Jerks wound up packaging Gordon and Ekeler and sending them to Russia in a deal before the trade deadline. The only problem is that two of the key pieces they received in the deal — running back Tevin Coleman and receiver Emmanuel Sanders — played erratically the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Gordon posted some big games for Russia, and Ekeler — whom the Renegades traded to Christmas Island — was instrumental in the Crabs’ late-season run. Oh, yeah! — Acquired Dalvin Cook via trade Last offseason, the Jerks acquired from Ukraine running back Dalvin Cook — on a very favorable, $3 million salary — along with Keenan Allen and a 2nd Round Pick. They gave up Matt Breida and Tyreek Hill. Hill not only missed four games due to suspension, but his production dropped from 21.1 points per game in 2018 to 15.8 points per game this past year. It wound up being a very advantageous deal for the Jerks, who saw Cook go on to finish fifth in points among running backs, and second only to Christian McCaffrey in points per game among FLEX players. Nagasaki Kamikazes Oops! — Failed to solidify the WR2 position The Kamikazes entered the 2019 season with one of the strongest lineups in the MFFL, and were among the favorites to win it all. Through no fault of their own, injuries took a heavy toll on their team. But perhaps what wound up hurting them most of all was the lack of production from the WR2 position. JuJu Smith-Schuster was set to be that guy when the season began but he wound up woefully underperforming. Nagasaki did not have a suitable backup to supplant him. The Kamikazes eventually jettisoned him and spent the rest of the season searching for the right lineup combination. They acquired Stefon Diggs before the trade deadline, but he posted a trio of single-digit performances. That, combined with a problem finding a steady RB2 down the stretch, led to their demise. Oh, yeah! — Acquired Aaron Jones via trade After the 2019 auction and prior to the start of the season, the Kamikazes acquired the extraordinarily favorable contract of running back Aaron Jones. Not only did the move give the Kamikazes financial flexibility moving forward, but Jones wound up surpassing many experts’ expectations and finished third in scoring among running backs, and fourth among all FLEX players. Russia Renegades Oops! — Traded away Austin Ekeler and D.J. Moore The Renegades entered the 2019 season with extraordinary depth but with the dilemma of making tough lineup decisions. Prior to the trade deadline, they looked to alleviate that problem by dealing four young wide receivers, two in a deal for DeAndre Hopkins and two for future first round picks. One of those players they traded was D.J. Moore, who flashed ability early but wasn’t consistent. Russia traded Moore and Austin Ekeler — who was already jettisoned by Jamaica — to Christmas Island for Tyler Boyd and a 1st Round Pick. Ekeler went on to have success in Christmas Island while Moore had an outstanding second half of the season. And the first round pick the Renegades received from Christmas Island wound up being the very last pick of the round, as the Crabs went on to win the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah! — Acquired Lamar Jackson via trade The Renegades looked to free up cash last offseason when trading a trio of stars — Michael Thomas, David Johnson, and Odell Beckham. The combined moves of Thomas and Johnson helped Russia land rookie running back Josh Jacobs. But it was Beckham who perhaps landed the bigger catch. Russia acquired quarterback Lamar Jackson in the Beckham deal, and Jackson went on to have the best season among quarterbacks — and essentially amounted to an additional running back in the lineup. San Juan Scorpions Oops! — Had too much money invested in “Big 3” receivers San Juan entered the 2019 season with 54% of their budget allotted to their “Big 3” receivers — A.J. Green, Alshon Jeffery, and T.Y. Hilton. Through no fault of their own, Green missed the entire season, Jeffery missed half the season, and Hilton was victimized by the retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck. But, as a side effect of all that cap space being eaten up, the Scorpions lacked the firepower to ultimately repeat as Super Bowl champs. San Juan did have some young receivers step up, which helped, but needed some more scoring to keep up with Ukraine. They tried to light a spark before the trade deadline to upgrade the position, bringing in Adam Thielen and Robert Woods, but the former was injured down the stretch and the latter was inconsistent. Oh, yeah! — Drafted Terry McLaurin with Pick 35 As San Juan owned the final two picks in the 2019 MFFL Draft, they essentially selected “co-Mr. Irrelevants.” The player they took at Pick 35, receiver Terry McLaurin, was anything but irrelevant. McLaurin put on a show in his rookie season, putting up three games of more than 20 points, and four others of more than 15 points. He had some duds, as well, but not a bad performance for the 35th pick in the draft. Fun fact: McLaurin scored 7 more points than fellow rookie receiver DK Metcalf — whom the Scorpions selected 8th overall. Switzerland Squirrels Oops! — Signed Robert Woods for $18 million The Squirrels were looking for added firepower when they inked receiver Robert Woods to a 1-year, $18 million contract last offseason. Woods was the 10th-highest scoring receiver in 2018 and was arguably the best available option on the market. He was going to pair with Adam Thielen to form a solid receiver combo. Unfortunately, quarterback woes led to a slight decline in Woods’ production. In Woods’ eight games with the club, he recorded one game over 20 points, and two games in the teens. The other five games resulted in single-digit points, and the Squirrels, rebuilding by midseason, traded Woods to the Scorpions. The cash that the Squirrels invested in Woods could have helped alleviate some of the team’s other shortfalls. Oh, yeah! — Acquired D.J. Chark via trade Switzerland traded dynamic playmaker Cooper Kupp, who finished fourth in wide receiver scoring. At the time, it was a bit of a head-scratcher, but given that the Squirrels ultimately entered rebuilding mode, it worked out to their advantage. All’s well that ends well, as they say. The Squirrels ended up acquiring young wideout, D.J. Chark, who only finished about 44 points (and 1.8 per-game average) behind Kupp. But Chark is on an extremely affordable rookie contract and is locked up for two more years. Turkey Jerky Oops! — Selected David Montgomery with Pick 1 Turkey had an interesting offseason a year ago. They at one point had the second overall pick in the 2019 draft, before trading down to acquire Picks 5 and 6. Then the Jerky moved back up to the first overall pick. With that selection, they had their choice of three promising running backs — Josh Jacobs, Miles Sanders, and David Montgomery. The Jerky ultimately went with the latter, who had the worst season of the three. Montgomery’s performance was so unsatisfactory to the organization that he didn’t last a month with the team. They gave him the boot and traded him to Ukraine for receiver Mike Evans. Oh, yeah! — Acquired Derrick Henry via trade Midway through the season, the Jerky shipped running back Tevin Coleman and a 2020 1st Round Pick to Russia for running back Derrick Henry and receiver Calvin Ridley. The acquisition of a young receiver like Ridley was a good bump, but it was Henry who became the prized piece of the transaction. Henry finished fourth in scoring among running backs and looked dominant down the stretch. The Jerky ultimately missed the postseason, but Henry certainly pulled his own weight. Ukraine Grainers Oops! — Traded away Aaron Jones Yes, even the league’s highest-scoring, and most victorious team can have “oops” moments. There was the trade of quarterback Lamar Jackson in the offseason — but the Grainers had Deshaun Watson, who finished third in quarterback scoring, anyway. There was the trade of Dalvin Cook, who finished fifth in scoring among running backs. And then there was the acquisition of Odell Beckham, whose erratic play ultimately led the the Grainers to bench him in the championship game. But every team makes lineup mistakes, so that doesn’t fit the billing. The biggest mistake likely was trading away running back Aaron Jones, who was on a two-year, league minimum salary. Jones was third in the league in scoring among running backs and would have formed a terrifying duo with Christian McCaffrey in the backfield. And, Jones likely would have secured the championship as well. Furthermore, Jones’ league-minimum salary would have helped Ukraine retain some of their impending free agent talent. Oh, yeah! — Acquired Egypt’s 2020 first-round pick Ukraine dealt the rights to free agent tight end David Njoku, plus $2.50 cash in both 2019 and 2020, to Egypt for their 2020 1st Round Pick. The cash was a drop in the bucket for the overflowing pockets of the Grainers given that they acquired $8.00 cash in consecutive years from Jamaica in the Aaron Jones deal (see above). The Grainers, of course, did not need a tight end as they had George Kittle already locked up. And they signed Darren Waller during the auction, who turned out to be one of the biggest bargains of the offseason. Egypt lost in the first round of the playoffs this year and the pick that they sent to the Grainers turned out to be 5th overall. Wake Island Wookiees Oops! — Had too much invested in the tight end position Wake Island was the third-highest scoring team in 2018, and they had most of their roster returning for the 2019 season. Unfortunately for them, they were missing a WR2 for the entire season as Brandin Cooks failed to produce in that role. And they also lacked a dependable RB2 — until at least Week 9 when Kenyan Drake burst onto the scene. Part of the reason the Wookiees were short on depth was because their tight end position accounted for about 20% of the team’s budget ($15.25). Eric Ebron and Greg Olsen were the fourth- and fifth-highest paid tight ends, respectively, but finished nowhere near that kind of production. Ebron dropped from 15.1 points per game in 2018 to just 8.8 points per game this past year. And Greg Olsen actually improved — and stayed mostly healthy — from the previous year, but he finished just 13th in scoring among tight ends. Oh, yeah! — Signed the New England Patriots defense to a contract The Wookiees had a rather uneventful offseason. Returning most of their roster from the previous season, they didn’t have much activity on draft/auction day. The Wookiees had one draft pick, which they used on quarterback Daniel Jones — who showed flashes of promise with a few huge performances. And they spent the auction acquiring minimum-salaried players to fill out their depth chart. Perhaps the best move of their auction was acquiring the New England Patriots defense for league minimum. The Patriots actually won the Wookiees a few games, most notably when they knocked off the defending champion Scorpions behind 36.7 points in Week 2. The Wookiees also took down Turkey behind 31.35 points from New England in Week 4.