Week 1 Power Rankings

Week one of season 13 has passed and with it the ground has broken on a new season filled with hope for all ten teams within the league. Aspirations of glory to lift the United Bowl run high and one week may not put a damper on those spirits yet, although it may position some teams better to reach the postseason with an early win.

This week we'll look at each teams most talented young player and why that team should have hope for the future.

These power rankings are not a rankings based on the owners or admin team as a whole but rather the subjective opinion of the author.

1.  D.C. Tribe

Week 1: Won 27 - 7 vs. Miami
Next Week: vs. TAC
Best young player: WR Golden Hands

Hands may very well end up being the successor to an already intimidating receiving corps. Ryan Davis and reigning MVP Kai Kohko currently hold the reigns as the franchises one-two punch but Hands is a clear cut top talent receiver that will likely take over when either one of Davis or Kohko retire or otherwise leave the team. Salary will come into play and with 2 more seasons after this one at the cheap price of 750k a year, the D.C. receiving group will be a force for years to come with a future beyond those seasons that's already been secured.

2. pittsburgh roughnecks

Week 1: Won 55 - 17 vs. New York
Next Week:  @ CHA
Best young player: RB Gabriel Zeigler

Pittsburgh isn't a young team with only two rookies on the roster. But 3rd year man Gabriel Zeigler is starting to come into his own and usher in a new era in Pittsburgh. After long time back Mike Hawk was dropped in free agency, it seems the team is fully committed to leaning on Zeigler as their go to back for the future. In his first game as the number 1 guy he proved he can live up to those expectations rushing for 223 yards and TD. While that staggering pace isn't sustainable over the course of the season, I'd go as far as to peg him as an early candidate for RBotY and he'll be worth monitoring throughout the season.

3. detroit hellhounds

Week 1: Won 51 - 29 @ Tacoma
Next Week:  @ HBV
Best young player: WR Im'Hym Forreal

Detroit went into the opening week with the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths after losing in last seasons United Bowl. They took their frustrations out on a Tacoma team thats starting to try and find it's identity. While Forreal may not have been the only player on display in that game with a stat line of 5 receptions for 64 yards and a TD, it's clear that Detroit has found their one-two punch in the receiving game with Forreal and 4th year man Uncle Swoosh. Pair that with a rookie QB that was able to dominate in his first career game and Detroit has plenty of reasons to look forward to the future.

4. Dallas dragons

Week 1: Won 45 - 7 @ Charlotte
Next Week: @ STL
Best young player: CB Ricky Bobby

Corners are a hard group to gauge, they don't always have the greatest looking stats but that sometimes that also means that they're doing their job well and locking up their man. Ricky Bobby may have only had 2 total tackles in his first career game but his name also didn't come up too much meaning that he was locking down his assignment more often than not. It's clear that Dallas is building a no fly zone and guys like Bobby and reigning CBotY winner Ethan Flowers are going to be staples of the Dallas defense for seasons to come.  

5. Huntington Beach Voyagers

Week 1: Won 42 - 24 vs St. Louis
Next Week: vs. DET
Best young player: TE Kovu Udinski

Sophomore TE Kovu Udinski has the opportunity of a lifetime right now to learn from arguably the greatest player to play at the TE position. Vic Dotson isn't getting any younger and his legacy will surely see him into the hall of fame after a long career with Charlotte. But bringing him into the golden state of California will hopefully help Kovu to pick up on some of his habits. Should Kovu even amount to half of the career that Dotson has had, the Voyagers will be grinning for years to come as they continue to relish in the championships that have earned them the role of villains within the league.

6. St. Louis Archers

Week 1: Loss 24 - 42 @ Huntington Beach
Next Week: vs. DAL
Best young player: QB Ajay Dexter

St. Louis has quietly but steadily been improving ever since their roster fell to pieces back in season 8. Currently seen as a perennial basement dwelling team these last 5 seasons, they seemed to be turning a corner as of late. While they may not have been able to beat a Voyagers team that seems to always have championship ambitions, they did make a game of it for a little while. Part of that is due to their new QB Ajay Dexter. It's clear that he doesn't quite have all the pieces around him that he needs in order to field a playoff caliber team, but their ability to hang with one of the leagues elite, if even for only a half, shows that Dexter has the ability to lead this Archers team back to the playoffs for the first time since season 7.

7. Tacoma Eruption

Week 1: Loss 29 - 51 vs. DET
Next Week: @ DC
Best young player: QB B Fazo

Tacoma very quickly got overrun by a Detroit team hell bent on a revenge arc and their schedule doesn't do them any favors pitting them against a very strong DC team next week. But the offense seemed to be able to find traction, most of which stemmed from their young rookie QB. Fazo's passing ability needs work as demonstrated by his pick thrown to CB Justin Brown and a .571 completion rate. But when he does connect he makes it count, and his legs clearly are a strong suit considering his 2 rushing TD's. If Tacoma can get some pieces around him and hone in his arm, B Fazo could be one of the next great QB's of the league with time.

8. Miami Trident

Week 1: Loss 7 - 27 @ DC
Next Week: vs. NYM
Best young player: FS Micco Meyers

While RB Tyler Jones is a tempting choice here, Meyers is younger and may arguably have a higher ceiling. That's saying something as well since Jones just won RBoty and ORotY. Micco Meyers showed his value immediately in an off brand game where the entire team looked off against DC. Posting 9 total tackles and 1 for loss, Meyers seemed to be making plays all over the field. I wouldn't be surprised to see Meyers making a DRotY campaign this season and while the pace may not be sustainable, he could very well become a mainstay on this Miami defense for seasons to come.

9. New york mafia

Week 1: Loss 17 - 55 @ Pittsburgh
Next Week: @ MIA
Best young player: CB Coco Jellybean

New York has a pair of highly talented rookie CB's with Jellybean and Archer Ike both making the roster this year. Either could've made this section but we'll focus on Jellybean for now. In his first professional outing Coco Jellybean was fairly quiet only posting two tackles, he'll need to focus on getting faster and maintaining tighter gaps against his man as he seemed to get a little lost at times in his game against Pittsburgh. But if the pair of these young corners can develop together, they both have the potential to create a nightmare situation for opposing QB's in seasons to come.

10. Charlotte royals

Week 1: Loss 7 - 45 vs. Dallas
Next Week: vs. PIT
Best young player. SS Cherry Scrim

Charlotte's had a whirlwind of an offseason that saw a new owner come in at the last minute and immediately decide to put his own mark on the team. The team lost a lot and traded a lot of strong assets making it clear the Charlotte is going towards yet another rebuild. As apart of one of the deals came the young SS Cherry Scrim who was in the running for last season DRotY. He'll have some big shoes to fill and will get plenty of play time as Charlotte tears things down after losing their franchise QB and TE among other big names like LB John Smith and RB Doc Boone.