Maybe the most important decision we make in fantasy every year that has absolutely nothing to do with player analysis is the fantasy football team name. You can always go with the default “Team 8” or whatever, but that’s boring. Better to go with the clever, pun names that have become so popular.
For example, my team name in almost every league I join is “Radioactive DK.” My initials are DK, it sounds like “decay,” and I think that works. On the other hand, I’ve played in a league with a friend of mine for the better part of a decade, and when I explained it to him last week, it was the first time he ever realized it was a pun. You want the names to be easy to figure out as well.
If you’ve ever used our PFF DraftMaster tool for a mock draft (and you should), you notice we have a whole compendium of sample names. Steal them! We don’t mind! Here are some of 2019's best fantasy football team names from our DraftMaster tool, along with a little bit about the players that inspire the names.
Golden Tate Warriors
Maybe this name would have been slightly better a year ago, when the Warriors were the champions, but still, it’s hard to correlate much more to success than this one.
Tate joins the Giants this season, and while he’s facing a four-game suspension to start the year (he’s appealing), he’ll have excellent fantasy stock when he returns, particularly in PPR.
Aaron Rodgers’ Neighborhood
If ever there were a time for this name, it’s now, capitalizing on the recent Won’t You Be My Neighbor? documentary and the upcoming Tom Hanks biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Ride that wave.
Rodgers is coming off a bad year by his standards. His 25 touchdown passes marked a career-low over a full season. But he still led the league with 16 completions of 40-plus yards and has one of the league’s best receivers in Davante Adams. He’s still an elite fantasy option.
Too Many Brandin Cooks
Little confession: When that Too Many Cooks thing spread all over the internet a few years ago, I never watched (listened to?) it, and as such I don’t actually know what it was. Was it good? Maybe I should check it out.
Cooks topped 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight year in 2018 and for his third different team. He’s volatile on a week-to-week basis, but he’s averaged at least 13.7 PPR points per game for four years in a row. And the nice thing is, you can use this team name if you’re a fan of the Rams, Patriots, or Saints.
Guardians of the Gostkowski
Marvel reference! Also a kicker reference, which is nice, because it really reduces the chances of someone else using the same name as you.
Five kickers have finished as top-five fantasy options in back-to-back years since 2007: David Akers (2008-2010), Stephen Hauschka (2013-2014), Matt Bryant (2016-2017), Justin Tucker (2016-2018) … and Stephen Gostkowski, who did it 2007-2008, 2011-2015, and then 2017 just for good measure. He’s the standard-bearer.
Flowers for Agholor
This one’s a little esoteric, but Flowers for Algernon is an excellent book (and its adaptation, Charly, an excellent movie), and any time you can raise the intellectual discourse in fantasy, ain’t nothing wrong with that.
The shine has come off of Agholor a bit in 2019 after the Eagles brought in DeSean Jackson and JJ Arcega-Whiteside this offseason. Still, he was fantasy’s No. 24 receiver in 2017 after a disastrous first two years in the league, and he was a big part of an Eagles passing offense that exceeded expectations that year.
All Along the Watt Tower
Speaking of culture, there’s a bit of it here, referencing the classic song. It’s also an IDP special, referencing that old hat J.J. Watt. For another nice Watt one, may I suggest “1.21 JJWatts.”
You Winston, You Lose Some
There aren’t many more fitting fantasy names than this. The name indicates that you might bounce around in your results, with good games and bad games alike. That’s … Jameis Winston’s career. He’s had monster performances, and he’s been benched for bad performances. He has a sky-high ceiling this year, though.
Jurassic Parker
This one is also apropos, as it feels like DeVante Parker has been a popular breakout pick ever since dinosaur times. (He’s somehow entering only his fifth season … and he doesn’t even have 10 career touchdowns yet.)
Kerryon My Wayward Son
This one has to be listed, because I’ve never once said Kerryon Johnson’s name without that song running through my head. On top of it, with Theo Riddick out the door in Detroit, he’ll likely be “carrying on” a whole lot this year, so the name works.
Honey Funchess of Oats
And this one goes the other way from the Kerryon Johnson reference, as I’ve never once thought of the cereal when discussing now-Colts WR Devin Funchess. But maybe that’s better! You want to be a surprise with your team name. And with Funchess an interesting sleeper option now that he’s in Indianapolis and paired with the most accurate quarterback of his career, maybe the name will prove to be prescient.
Pardon Me Eiferted
This one’s on the absolute far end of the culture spectrum, but hey, sometimes we need a little sophomoric humor in our lives. But it’s nice to remember Tyler Eifert, who was the No. 10 PPR tight end through Week 4 last year. Of course, that was also the week he broke his ankle and ended his season. The next time Eifert plays 16 games in a year will be his first, but he’s got potential if he can stay on the field in a very Jordan Reed-y sort of way.
Bend It Like Beckham … Jr.
I love this one, because it doesn’t even involve a pun. It’s just like “Hey, here’s a movie name, add ‘Jr.’ to the end of it.” And it works despite that, because (a) that wasn’t the biggest movie of all time by any means, but it’s still well known, and (b) Odell Beckham Jr. carries sky-high potential into his first year in Cleveland and paired with Baker Mayfield.
Hyde and Tyreek
See, this one has two name puns to deal with at the same time, which is always nice, and with Carlos Hyde and Tyreek Hill now teammates, that takes it to a whole other level. Granted, Hill is a lot better as a fantasy option than Hyde, but still. Teammates. That’s fun.
Gurley Fries
If a place sells fries and you can get curly fries, you get curly fries. If Todd Gurley is available in your draft, you get Todd Gurley. (Okay, so that might not be as true this year as it has been the last couple, but still.)
Those are by no means all the names in PFF DraftMaster. I discover a new one virtually every time I run a mock draft. But those are my favorite. Visit DraftMaster and learn yours.
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