Can Jeff City 3-peat?

The new season is finally upon us. As the preseason winds down, the Chug League is ramping up. With both the NFL and ASMC rosters coming into shape this week, we will look towards the future and give a preview for the 2022 season.

We will highlight new additions and key departures, as well as looking at the most likely best-case and worst-case scenarios for each team, including projected season finish. At the end of the article, you will also find the 2022 league projections.

Franchise Outlooks

Jeff City Leprechauns

The 2-time champ embarks on 2022 looking to cement his legacy as a dynasty. With a proven anchor in QB Josh Allen, the Leprechauns may have their best roster to date. Projections suggest likely 7-9 wins, a roughly 70% chance to make the playoffs, and a 31% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Stefon Diggs
• Elijah Mitchell

Key Departures

• Tee Higgins
• Leonard Fournette
• Likely Top 3 2023 1st Round Pick

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Another season, another championship. The Leprechauns win 11 games, secure a bye, and defeat the Slayton Slayerz for a 2nd straight year in the Chug Cup behind QB1, WR1, WR11, & TE3 finishes from Allen, Diggs, Michael Pittman Jr., & Dallas Goedert.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

Disaster strikes in Jeff City as the Bills offense takes a step back with Brian Daboll out of town and Allen misses a multiple games for the first time since his rookie year after a brutal hit by TJ Watt in Week 5. Josh Jacobs, David Montgomery, and Damien Harris all cede playing time and become unreliable in fantasy. The Leprechauns finish 8th and miss the playoffs for the first time in league history.

2022 Prediction

Record: 8-6

Finish: 5th

Slayton Slayerz

Last year's Chug Cup runner-up appears to be going all-in to bring home the Cup after an offseason filled with trading picks and depth for stars. Projections suggest likely 7-9 wins, a roughly 69% chance to make the playoffs, and a 29% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• George Kittle
• Tyreek Hill
• D'Andre Swift

Key Departures

• Justin Jefferson

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

The Slayerz finally get over the Chug League hump in 2022. After making the playoffs in the league's first 2 seasons, the Slayerz win 3 straight playoff games against the Outkasts, Redbirds, and Direwolves with multiple 25+ point games from D'Andre Swift, a 3 touchdown performance from A.J. Brown fresh off a small hamstring injury, and a 5 touchdown game from Joe Burrow in a shootout loss to the Bills.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

Brutal QB play (from the likes of Tua, Jalen Hurts, and Geno Smith) supresses the Slayerz wide receivers to only 1 top-24 finish (Hill, WR17), nagging injuries to Kittle, Swift, and James Conner, and a disappointing fantasy finish from Burrow (QB10) lead to a trade deadline sell-off and 7th place finish, causing the Slayerz to miss the playoffs.

2022 Prediction

Record: 9-5

Finish: 4th

Direwolves

The Direwolves made an incredible 180 in 2021 going from the league's worst team to semi-finalist in the span of one offseason. Anything is possible with the 2022 Direwolves as they have one of the more wide range of possibilities. Projections suggest likely 7-9 wins, a roughly 72% chance to make the playoffs, and a 37% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Mike Evans
• Christian McCaffrey
• Marquise Brown
• Tom Brady

Key Departures

• Saquon Barkley
• Deebo Samuel
• Keenan Allen

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Christian McCaffrey puts his injury woes behind him and leads the Direwolves to their first Chug Cup victory. CeeDee Lamb finally lives up to his hype that saw him drafted in the top 20, while Evans catches double digit touchdowns again during his 9th straight 1,000 yard season, and the Hollywood-Kyler magic comes back like it never left. The Direwolves defense also finishes 10th in the league, proving yet again that IDP (mostly) doesn't matter.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

The Direwolves miss the playoffs for the 2nd time in 3 years. McCaffrey misses 11 games, Lamb fails to put up 1,000 yards, and the James Cook hype turns out to be just that. The brightside, however, is now the Direwolves will have 3 top-6 picks in the upcoming rookie draft.

2022 Prediction

Record: 10-4

Finish: 2nd

Outkasts

The Outkasts turn to 2022 in hopes of their first Chug League playoff berth. A disappointing start to the league has seen the Outkasts finish 8th and 9th. The time is now, however, with a starting line-up that will surely strike fear of the opponents. Projections suggest likely 8-10 wins, a roughly 78% chance to make the playoffs, and a 38% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Keenan Allen
• Dalvin Cook

Key Departures

• Kadarius Toney

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Not only do the 2022 Outkasts break the playoff curse, but they bring home the Chug Cup. The 3-headed monster of Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, and Dalvin Cook stays healthy and prove that youth isn't everything. All 3 Outkast running backs end the season as top-12 options. Justin Herbert finishes the season as QB3, the Allen Robinson resurgence is complete in his new LA home, and Darren Waller still got it.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

Age catches up with the Outkasts and half of the team finds itself on the IR for at least 5 games. Derrick Henry is in fact human as he can't regain his former self on a Titans team that can't seem to find their way and the lights finally go out on the illustrious careers of Adam Thielen and former WR1 Michael Thomas. The Outkasts sell off their vets to teams going for the Cup and end up missing the playoffs once again.

2022 Prediction

Record: 9-5

Finish: 3rd

Kingston Kraken

Fresh off a complete tear-down and rebuild, the Kraken are looking to take it to the next level. Unlike previous years, the Kraken finally have a team worthy of the postseason. Projections suggest likely 6-8 wins, a roughly 62% chance to make the playoffs, and a 17% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Deebo Samuel
• Javonte Williams
• Diontae Johnson
• Nick Chubb
• Saquon Barkley

Key Departures

• Elijah Moore
• J.K. Dobbins
• Jerry Jeudy

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Everything finally breaks the Kraken's way in 2022 as they find a way to win 3 straight playoff games to become the 2nd manager to hoist the Chug Cup. With Melvin Gordon's injury, Javonte Williams saddles the load for the Broncos as Saquon regains his pre-injury form to finish as the RBs 1 & 2. Deshaun Watson comes back in Week 12 to suck hard, but fortunately for the Kraken, Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford leads playoff charge with 3 straight 30 points games.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

Trey Lance, Kenny Pickett, and injuries become massive roadblocks for the fantasy seasons of Deebo and Diontae. Saquon solidifies himself as a massive bust, Mike Williams puts up all his points in 2 games, and no tight end emerges from the group to finish as a TE1. And in an utter disaster, the Rabbis first round pick turns out to be the 4th overall pick, despite having the best odds at number 1.

2022 Prediction

Record: 7-7

Finish: 7th

45ers

The 2022 45ers ought to be coming for blood after the outright disappointing finish after an absolutely dominate regular season that can only rival the utter failures of the 2021 Indianapolis Colts weeks 17 & 18 collapse. The 45ers still employ 2 of the best receivers in all of football and 2 of the best fantasy running backs in all of fantasy. Projections suggest likely 7-9 wins, a roughly 65% chance to make the playoffs, and a 22% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Dameon Pierce
• Treylon Burks

Key Departures

• Mike Evans

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Revenge is a dish best served cold. And cold (as ice) is the 2022 45ers. The Chug Cup winner features Cooper Kupp, who repeats as the WR1, and Davante Adams, who proves the shower narrative true after putting up gaudy numbers from Derek Carr as the Raiders find themselves down and throwing a lot. Najee Harris and AJ Dillon put up RB1 numbers and Aaron Rodgers proves that you don't need a top wide receiver to dominate.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

Not only do the 45ers miss the playoffs, but they finish 11th and win the lottery. Unfortunately for the 45ers, they don't sell at the deadline and are unable to recoup any real value from their older players as they all show signs of decline and lose tons of value.

2022 Prediction

Record: 8-6

Finish: 6th

River City Redbirds

The Redbirds have been nothing short of a major disappointment through the league's first couple seasons. There are different vibes in the River City for 2022, however, as the Redbirds are the odds on favorites to win the Chug Cup and have the highest of aspirations. Projections suggest likely 9-11 wins, a roughly 89% chance to make the playoffs, and a 62% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Justin Jefferson
• Mark Andrews
• Aaron Jones
• Leonard Fournette
• Tee Higgins

Key Departures

• T.J. Hockenson
• Brandon Aiyuk
• Rashod Bateman
• Elijah Mitchell
• D'Andre Swift

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Absolute domination. The Redbirds win 13 games in route to a first round bye and the Chug Cup. River City finishes the season with the number one overall player at 6 of the 7 main positions. The Redbirds finish the season averaging more than 15 points per game more than the 2nd place team. In addition to the Chug Cup, River City finds themselves with 2 of their 4 1st round picks in the top-6.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

Utter failure. Mismanagement and bad luck leads the Redbirds to a 3rd straight postseason-less campaign. Injuries to Kyler, Jefferson, and JT prove to be enough to keep the Redbirds down and out. The Redbirds will very likely never recover.

2022 Prediction

Record: 10-4

Finish: 1st

Quarantine Cowboys

The Cowboys are fresh off of the 2022 rookie draft where they walked away with 4 of the top 7 rookies. Will the Cowboys be able to fend off time and get themselves into playoff contention while their rookies get up to speed? We will find out, but a stacked wide receiver corps and young Konami QB could do the job. Projections suggest likely 5-7 wins, a roughly 49% chance to make the playoffs, and a 10% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Gabriel Davis
• Garrett Wilson
• Chris Olave
• Drake London

Key Departures

• Tyreek Hill

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Lady luck is on the Cowboys side as they find a way to squeeze into the playoffs and a playoff game. Unfortunately, the Cowboys fall short of the Chug Cup, but with the huge leaps that Trey Lance, London, Wilson take in the second half of the season will surely put the Cowboys in contention talk for the 2023 season.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

Lance gets benched Week 10 as the 49ers find themselves in the playoff hunt despite Lance's poor play, leaving the Cowboys needing to send one of their 1st round picks to the Macdaddys for Russell Wilson. Cam Akers is not the outlier of achilles injuries and Miles Sanders gets surpassed for playing time by Trey Sermon, among others. A step-back in efficiency from both Ja'Marr Chase and Gabe Davis leave the Cowboys on the outside of the playoffs yet again.

2022 Prediction

Record: 6-8

Finish: 9th

Goathouse Alums

The Goathouse Alums feature 2 of the NFL's best (or soon to be) players in Patrick Mahomes and Kyle Pitts and are coming off two straight playoff appearances, including a Chug Cup loss to the Leprechauns. The Alums will be leaning on many impressive, but unproven players this upcoming season. Projections suggest likely 6-8 wins, a roughly 43% chance to make the playoffs, and a 11% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Amon-Ra St. Brown
• Tua Tagovailoa

Key Departures

• Dalvin Cook
• Marquise Brown

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

The Goathouse Alums may not have the talent to have a realistic shot at the Chug Cup, but there's easily enough there to play spoiler. Another QB1 finish from Mahomes, the emergence of Kyle Pitts as the number 1 dynasty asset in fantasy football, a healthy Travis Ettiene, and the growth from Amon-Ra St. Brown into a star help the Goathouse Alums to their 3rd straight playoff appearance.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

The absence of Tyreek Hill is notable as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs supress Mahomes' fantasy output and the lack of a true threat across from Kyle Pitts sees him facing bracket coverage all season as he fails to finish in the top 4 of tight ends. A market never develops for the Alums and they are unable to add any draft capital before the trade deadline.

2022 Prediction

Record: 7-7

Finish: 8th

White Panthers

Alongside the 45ers, the White Panthers have set the standard for regular season success. The White Panthers will be expected to be on the outside of the playoffs looking in come this December, but they are always just one trade away from righting the ship. Projections suggest likely 5-7 wins, a roughly 29% chance to make the playoffs, and a 4% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Brandon Aiyuk
• Antonio Gibson
• Rashod Bateman

Key Departures

• Stefon Diggs
• Chase Edmonds
• Aaron Jones
• Terry McLaurin

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

The league is heavy at the top in wins, which allows a 7-win White Panthers team to sneak into the playoffs. Melvin Gordon shows he isn't dead, while Rashod Bateman joins the WR1 club with 1,200 yards and 9 touchdows as Lamar's 1A reciever. After getting revenge on the Slayerz in the wildcard game, the Panthers eventually lose to the Direwolves in the semifinals.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

An 0-5 start to the season put an end to what the White Panthers' playoff ambitions. Tony Pollard proves to be the Panthers lone bright spot finishing as RB7 on the season after Zeke tears a hamstring Week 4. The Antonio Gibson experiment goes from bad to dead, Dak Prescott fails to eclipse 4,500 yards as the Cowboys take a step back, and Dawson Knox's touchdown efficiency falls off the face of the earth with the emergence of Gabe Davis, James Cook, and a Zack Moss goal line resurgence.

2022 Prediction

Record: 5-9

Finish: 10th

Unorthodox Rabbis

The new team on the block in 2022, the Rabbis take over a pretty lackluster roster. Expectations are low, but spirits are high. Whether or not the Rabbis can rise from the Yagas ashes like a Phoenix will be a storyline worth following this season. Projections suggest likely 3-5 wins, a roughly 8% chance to make the playoffs, and a <1% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• Kadarius Toney
• Chase Edmonds

Key Departures

• Mark Andrews
• Mike Williams
• David Montgomery

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

Without a legitimate path to the playoffs or their own first round draft pick, the Rabbis play spoiler. Week 13 and 14 wins over the Leprechauns and Slayerz allow the 45ers and Goathouse Alums to sneak into the final 2 playoff spots. The Rabbis also finish with 6 wins and end the season in 8th place, giving the Kraken low odds as holder of the coveted Yagas '23 1.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

A season that sees Ezekiel Elliot run out of tread and JuJu Smith-Schuster unable to find the AB magic with Patrick Mahomes leaves the Rabbis winless in the 2022 campaign. Adding to the pain, the Slayerz 1st round pick received from the Cowboys in exchange for Lamar Jackson turns out to be the last pick of the first.

2022 Prediction

Record: 3-11

Finish: 11th

Macdaddys

Year 1 of what the Macdaddys hope is a short rebuild will inevitably lead to a long season. There is not much hope for the Macdaddys at this time, but they will continue to look at ways to keep scoring in 2022 low, but upside in 2023 and beyond high. Projections suggest likely 2-4 wins, a roughly 4% chance to make the playoffs, and a <1% chance to clinch a 1st round bye.

New Additions

• T.J. Hockenson
• J.K. Dobbins
• Elijah Moore

Key Departures

• Nick Chubb
• Diontae Johnson
• George Kittle

2022 Season Best Case Scenario

The Macdaddys nearly miss out on a perfect season, handing the Redbirds one of their 2 losses in Week 14. The 1-13 record gives the Macdaddys a 33% chance at Bijan Robinson, while the Outkasts finish 11th and give the Macdaddys a 25% chance at Ole Miss RB Zach Evans. During the season, the Macdaddys were also able to stack some top-24 picks after trades of Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Rachaad White.

2022 Season Worst Case Scenario

With the Outkasts losing in the Chug Cup final, the Macdaddys are faced with lost value in their two first round picks after an unbelievable 6-win season. The loss of Bijan helps set the Macdaddys franchise back multiple years and will have to be cunning in finding a way out of the bottom of the standings.

2022 Prediction

Record: 2-12

Finish: 12th

Season Projections

Franchise	Wins	Loss	Pct.	PF
River City Redbirds	10	4	.714	2311.91
Direwolves	10	4	.714	2197.49
Outkasts	9	5	.643	2067.66
Slayton Slayerz	9	5	.643	2084.18
Jeff City Leprechauns	8	6	.571	1991.19
45ers	8	6	.571	1933.87
Kingston Kraken	7	7	.500	1998.33
Goathouse Alums	7	7	.500	1954.99
Quarantine Cowboys	6	8	.429	1811.39
White Panthers	5	9	.357	1876.67
Unorthodox Rabbis	3	11	.214	1720.97
Macdaddys	2	12	.143	1348.10

Playoff Projections

Wildcard Round

(4) Slayton Slayerz def. (5) Jeff City Leprechauns, 143.02 - 130.11

(6) 45ers def. (3) Outkasts, 121.83 - 120.30

Semifinals

(1) River City Redbirds def. (6) 45ers, 179.65 - 132.78

(2) Direwolves def. (4) Slayton Slayerz, 148.12 - 141.02

Chug Cup

(2) Direwolves def (1) River City Redbirds, 139.11 - 137.53