And congrats to those playing along with this year’s series of quick quarterly quizzes (QQQs)--designed to help us spot our strengths and weaknesses by position with 10 short questions repeated each month (from preseason through Week 16). With data from the Week 8 games at our fingertips, we can all see how we’re doing at halftime.

I’ll be reviewing my answers from previous versions of this quiz & scoring them as if the 2020 season ended after 8 weeks. Correct answers from the preseason are worth 4 points each; correct answers from the end of the 1st quarter of the season are worth 3 points each; answers for the 2nd quarter of the season are provided below and will be scored in forthcoming QQQs.

Preseason projections from FFToday ranked the top 5 QBs of 2020 as:
1) Lamar Jackson
2) Patrick Mahomes
3) Dak Prescott
4) Kyler Murray
5) Russell Wilson

1st quarter rankings (based on PPR scoring in the FFToday Staff League on 10/7/20):

1) Dak Prescott
2) Russell Wilson
3) Josh Allen
4) Patrick Mahomes
5) Aaron Rodgers

2nd quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 11/4/20):
1) Patrick Mahomes
2) Russell Wilson
3) Kyler Murray
4) Josh Allen
5) Tom Brady

Question 1) Which of these QBs do you consider most likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16? [Note: You can answer any question with ‘none’ or ‘all.’ Answers are updated at quarterly intervals throughout the season and cannot be repeated (except for ‘none’ or ‘all’ which are always available).]

My preseason answer: Mahomes (correct for 4 points).
My first quarter answer: Wilson (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Brady. I guess I’m a sucker for the Antonio Brown hype--or maybe just because Gronk is smashing once again.

Question 2) Which of these QBs do you consider least likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Murray (incorrect for 0 points).
My first quarter answer: Rodgers (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Allen.

Preseason projections from FFToday ranked the top 5 RBs of 2020 as:
1) Christian McCaffrey
2) Saquon Barkley
3) Dalvin Cook
4) Ezekiel Elliott
5) Derrick Henry

1st quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 10/7/20):
1) Alvin Kamara
2) Aaron Jones
3) Dalvin Cook
4) Ezekiel Elliott
5) Chris Carson

2nd quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 11/4/20):
1) Alvin Kamara
2) Dalvin Cook
3) Derrick Henry
4) Ezekiel Elliott
5) James Robinson

Question 3) Which of these RBs do you consider most likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Elliott (correct for 4 points).
My first quarter answer: Kamara (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Cook.

Question 4) Which of these RBs do you consider least likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Henry (incorrect for 0 points).
My first quarter answer: Carson (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Robinson. (My only other option is “none,” which might be the right way to go here because Robinson is good.)

Preseason projections from FFToday ranked the top 5 WRs of 2020 as:
1) Michael Thomas
2) Davante Adams
3) Julio Jones
4) Tyreek Hill
5) DeAndre Hopkins

1st quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 10/7/20):
1) Amari Cooper
2) DeAndre Hopkins
3) Calvin Ridley
4) Tyler Lockett
5) Stefon Diggs

2nd quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 11/4/20):
1) Tyler Lockett
2) Calvin Ridley
3) D.K. Metcalf
4) DeAndre Hopkins
5) Tyreek Hill

Question 5) Which of these WRs do you consider most likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Jones (incorrect for 0 points).
My first quarter answer: Hopkins (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Did y’all notice that the only team with 2 WRs in the top 5 is Seattle--not Tampa Bay or Atlanta? I’m buying Lockett to finish in the top 5.

Question 6) Which of these WRs do you consider least likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Hill (incorrect for 0 points).
My first quarter answer: Cooper (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Metcalf. I’m not buying 2 Seahawks in the top 5 at the end of the season.

Preseason projections from FFToday ranked the top 5 TEs of 2020 as:
1) Travis Kelce
2) George Kittle
3) Zach Ertz
4) Mark Andrews
5) Darren Waller

1st quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 10/7/20):
1) Travis Kelce
2) Robert Tonyan
3) Darren Waller
4) Noah Fant
5) Mark Andrews

2nd quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 11/4/20):
1) Travis Kelce
2) Darren Waller
3) George Kittle
4) T. J. Hockenson
5) Robert Tonyan

Question 7) Which of these TEs do you consider most likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Kelce (correct for 4 points).
My first quarter answer: Tonyan (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Hockenson. He’s in the top 5 through Week 8 despite having had his bye in Week 5. Golladay is somewhere between injured and unhappy with his contract, so Hockenson’s double-digit targets in Week 8 could well be the beginning of a new trend for him.

Question 8) Which of these TEs do you consider least likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Waller (incorrect for 0 points).
My first quarter answer: Andrews (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Kittle. He’s on IR.

Preseason projections from FFToday ranked the top 5 defenses of 2020 as:
1) Rams
2) Steelers
3) Chiefs
4) Patriots
5) 49ers

1st quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 10/7/20):
1) Colts
2) Ravens
3) Buccaneers
4) Chiefs
5) Patriots

2nd quarter rankings (based on FFTSL scoring on 11/4/20):
1) Ravens
2) Colts
3) Steelers
4) Buccaneers
5) Chiefs

Question 9) Which of these defenses do you consider most likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Steelers (correct for 4 points).
My first quarter answer: Colts (correct for 3 points).
My second quarter answer: Ravens.

Question 10) Which of these defenses do you consider least likely to remain in the top 5 through Week 16?

My preseason answer: Patriots (correct for 4 points).
My first quarter answer: Chiefs (incorrect for 0 points).
My second quarter answer: Buccaneers.

Last Week’s Question: Are you playing DFS more or less as a result of COVID’s impact on the NFL?

I gave this question another chance because we were heading into a QQQ article. As expected, it failed to turn up any new insights.

This Week’s Question: What is your greatest waiver wire triumph of 2020?

Way back in September, four of my colleagues at FFToday made expensive acquisitions on waivers in light of their $1000 seasonal budgets. On the 9th, Colby Cavaliere acquired James Robinson for $275. On the 16th, Bill Anderson paid $369 for Nyheim Hynes, and Fumbleweed paid $310 for Malcolm Brown. On the 23rd, Doug Orth acquired Mike Davis (not me, the RB) for $450.

Note that all 4 of these pricey players were RBs, though not all 4 justified the price. I suspect Cavaliere is feeling pretty good about his investment in Robinson at this point, whereas Fumbleweed might not be the world’s biggest fan of Brown.

Of course, if you’re going to blow a lot of FAAB on a player, you might as well blow it early in the season--so that you have a shot of getting close to a full season’s return on your investment. This is why I often think of my earliest waiver wire successes each season as the most important.

But this year is different. I think I’m gonna call my waiver wire triumph of 2020 the acquisition of Deejay Dallas for $11 in Week 8. It may be that I will only get 1 useful week out of Dallas, but he delivered when I needed it most. My top 2 picks (Joe Mixon and Aaron Jones) were both injured for the second week in a row. My running game was a mess. Then my brother-in-law asked me what I thought was going to happen with Chis Carson in Seattle. The next thing I knew, I was concluding that Dallas looked like a very viable option based on volume alone. I raced to the waiver wire to snap him up even though I had no idea he would deliver on that volume to the extent that he did.

How about you? Was your biggest success on the waiver wire early or late? Expensive or cheap (or free)? Did you overpay? If so, did you care then? Do you care now? Whatever your thoughts are about your best waiver acquisition of the season, please share them in the comment section below or by emailing me.

Survivor Pool Pick (Courtesy of Matthew Schiff)

#3: Pittsburgh over Dallas: 4-4 (Bal, KC, az, sf, LAR, min, was, PHI)

If you have not chosen Pittsburgh yet, this is your lucky week. The Dallas secondary is ranked 29th against the pass, which means teams with very poor passing games still succeed against the Cowboys--so you can expect Ben Roethlisberger and his trio of receivers to eat Dallas for lunch. Combine that with the fact that the Steelers defense should have a field day against the third string rookie QB, and this couldn’t be a bigger formula for a Steelers win. Barring a situation where you need another team, this is the BEST game available to you.

#2: New England over NY Jets: 6-2 (ind, AZ, TB, BAL, sf, MIA, LAC, KC)

Who can forget the image of Mark Sanchez fumbling the ball after running into his own lineman? Well, this year’s Jets aren’t that bad, but you can put this game in the WIN column for the New England Patriots, who should have no issue dealing with a Jets roster that has traded away more talent than most NFL teams combined. Clearly, the Jets would rather get the first draft pick than win this game. Take the Patriots, and “fahgetaboutit.”

#1: Houston over Jacksonville: 7-1 (KC, GB, IND, LAR, BAL, ne, BUF, TB)

Yes, Gardner Minshew will be out with a fractured thumb. But can anyone trust a Houston offense that is truly OFFENSIVE? Since the day that the Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins, has this team had any fire? More importantly, does that even matter? Can the Jacksonville Jaguars muster enough offense to overcome the Texans even if they are just phoning it in? Sure, Jake Luton is rumored to have a better arm than Minshew, but it won’t be enough to compensate for his complete lack of experience.