AFFL Team Pre-Draft Preview '15: Jaj Cousteau
Raffi Lalazarian
Jaj Cousteau manager Chris Sirounian
For the next twelve days, the AFFL will give you a break down of each manager and preview their 2015 Fantasy season. We will take a look at what the team has done up to this point, their current keeper situation, and take an early look at how the difficulty of their schedule. Teams will be previewed in reverse draft order, starting with 12 and ending at 1. You can further see more about each manager and team by clicking on the teams tab and visiting each team page.
12. Jaj Cousteau
History:
- Current AFFL Champion
- Has made playoffs 4 of last 6 years
- Has only won seven or more games twice in a regular season
- Drafted Arian Foster 4 rounds early the year he broke out
- Traded for Antonio Brown in losing season for keeper purposes. Helped win title.
- Weekly waiver pick-up fiend
For the past several years, Jaj Cousteau has been the wild card in the AFFL Fantasy deck. When you think he will zig, he zags. When you think you've got him figured out, he changes. Cousteau is one of the rare fantasy managers that doesn't play by any given ranking system or rules. He marches by the beat of his own drum and isn't afraid to do what he feels is best.
However, the history of his managerial skills produce a mixed bag. He began his AFFL career making the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. He also became the fifth team to win an AFFL title last season, sneaking into the postseason as a sixth seed and running the table. Despite the few years of success, Cousteau has managed to only have a "winning season" (seven wins or more) in only two of his six years in the league. Two of his playoff births were garnished with six wins seasons, and one can argue that this was more a product of luck than of true strength of roster.
But luck can't account for the skillful moves of manager Jaj when it comes to drafting and trading. It was his foresight (and perhaps being a Texan homer) that brought him to nab Arian Foster the year he broke out four rounds before anyone would consider taking him. It was also that same foresight that pushed Jaj to get Antonio Brown in a trade during the 2013 season to retain as a keeper in the third round, which eventually lead him to his AFFL title. Cousteau's best attributes are his in-season management, particularly his weekly roster moves. He has been known to make great pick-ups for his roster the week a player goes ballistic. (see Marvin Jones '13). It's this skill that has helped him turning disappointing seasons around and stay afloat through turbulent times.
His overall record to this point hovers just above 50% (40-38), but there is no doubt that that Cousteau has established himself as a yearly player in the merry-go-round that is the AFFL fantasy season. With shrewd trading and drafting tactics, along with his "luck of the Jaj," Cousteau is a better than average bet to make some noise in any given season.
2015 Preview
Potential Keepers = Very good
- Jamaal Charles Pick #12
- Antonio Brown Pick #24
Schedule = Difficult
- x2 = Prime Time and Cobra
Draft
With two of the top keepers in the league at great value, Champ Cousteau already has a leg up on the rest of the league. He won't be drafting in the first two rounds should he keep Jamaal Charles and Antonio Brown as we think he should, but that won't matter; those two players have great value at those spots. Charles and Brown are both very likely to finish in the top five of their respected positions. Getting them for nearly 9 and 15 picks later than their ADP's respectively is amazing. The key for Jaj will be how he builds off these center pieces. He'll more than likely choose more depth at RB/WR in the 3rd round, but don't be surprised if he picks up a QB between rounds 4-6. If he can manage a few late round gems, and putting injury aside for a second, Cousteau should exit the draft with a fairly strong roster, and be an immediate threat to make a return trip to the playoffs.
Schedule
The Mazoon division was extremely tough last season, with four teams making it to the post-season and three of those teams finishing in the top three. While predicting strength of schedule is impossible before the draft, we can examine which team Cousteau will have to play twice, namely Prime Time and Cobra Kai. Ouch. The two teams that finished in second and third place respectively are going to be a tough out most weeks. Prime Time has a solid keeper in Le'von Bell, and Cobra is one year removed from winning the AFFL title. Neither team will be severely effected by bye weeks, meaning teams will clash at full strength barring injury. Both Prime and Cobra are highly skilled in setting line-ups and will surely give Jaj all he can handle. You can bet that wins will be difficult to come by for at least four games during the season.