Is This the Worst Fantasy Football Season Ever?

[revo]

to riff off Griswold's rant, is this the worst season ever for fantasy football? To note:

RB Wasteland
The following pre-season startable RBs got hurt/were ineffective/largely sucked/were unusable:
- Jamaal Charles
- Le'Veon Bell
- Eddie Lacy
- Matt Forte
- CJ Anderson
- Marshawn Lynch
- Jeremy Hill
- Justin Forsett
- Arian Foster
- Alfred Morris
- Ameer Abdullah
- Andre Ellington
- CJ Spiller
- Carlos Hyde
- Rashad Jennings
- Joseph Randle
- Bishop Sankey
- Joique Bell
- Shane Vereen
- Isaiah Crowell

QB Wasteland
The following top QBs have underperformed/got hurt:
- Andrew Luck
- Russell Wilson
- Peyton Manning
- Tony Romo
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Matt Stafford
- Matt Ryan
- Joe Flacco
- Sam Bradford
- Ryan Tannehill
- Teddy Bridgewater
- Colin Kaepernick

Middling Rookie Class
Besides Todd Gurley, who many experts claimed would not be effective until late in the season, Amari Cooper, Marcu Mariota & Jameis Winston, many top skill position rookies have failed/failed to impress:
- Melvin Gordon
- Ameer Abdullah
- Tevin Coleman
- Kevin White
- Breshad Perriman
- DeVante Parker
- Nelson Agholor
- Phillip Dorsett
- Devin Funchess

Major Injuries to Studs
besides many mentioned above, the following stars also got derailed:
- Kelvin Benjamin
- Jordy Nelson
- Julius Thomas
- Dez Bryant
- Alshon Jeffery
- Keenan Allen
- Julian Edelman
- Emmanuel Sanders
- Davante Adams
- DeSean Jackson
- Vincent Jackson
- Steve Smith
- Victor Cruz
- Dion Lewis
- Austin Sefarian-Jenkins

Aborted Breakouts
The following pre-season sleepers never fulfilled expectations:
- Jordan Matthews
- rookie RBs Abdullah & Gordon
- Sammy Watkins
- Davante Adams
- Charles Johnson
- Nelson Agholor
- Johnny Manziel
- Ryan Mallett
- RGIII
- Brandon Coleman
- Josh Hill
- Markus Wheaton
- Knile Davis
- Christine Michael

Out of Nowhere Breakouts
the following players were not on fantasy radars, or were buried enough to not draw any major consideration:
- Devonta Freeman
- Danny Woodhead
- Delanie Walker
- Gary Barnidge
- Dion Lewis
- Charcandrick West
- Thomas Rawls
- Stefon Diggs
- Travis Benjamin
- Willie Snead

Great Offenses Sputtering
The following teams were supposed to be prodigious scorers, but have been largely neutered:
- Philadelphia
- Green Bay
- Seattle
- Indianapolis
- Dallas

Rise of the Old Man
The following "old men" all were considered dead & buried, but rose up to live again:
- Chris Johnson
- Darren McFadden
- DeAngelo Williams
- LeGarrette Blount
- Carson Palmer
- Andy Dalton
- Larry Fitzgerald
- Benjamin Watson
- James Jones

Fall of the Old Man
the following reliable veterans finally fell off the cliff:
- Andre Johnson
- Roddy White
- Mike Wallace
- Marques Colston
- Alfred Morris
- Anquan Boldin
- Peyton Manning
- Darren Spoles
- Fred Jackson

Neutered by the Scheme
the following former studs changed teams and lost their effectiveness
- Jimmy Graham
- Jeremy Maclin
- Shane Vereen
- Julius Thomas


Put it all together, you get a list of mid-round survivors, marginal opportunists, and sub-100% stars battling it out. This seems like the year where your league's fantasy champ will be the team that luckily avoided the minefield, rather than had the best team!

[schlesinj]

I was thinking about that as well. Just looking at our league and it seems like at least 2 days a week some news comes out that changes the landscape of what team is the top team. It ultimately may be better off being a team that dumped made the best moves this season.

[Erik]

Oddly, this is my best year in a long time. Four of my five teams are 9-2 or 8-3.

They have very few of the underperformers listed here, and had successful mid- and late-round picks such as Eifert, Walker, Hillman, Dalton, and Hurns, and successful waiver pickups such as Michael Floyd and Carr. The latter part was skill. Mostly avoiding major injuries was luck.

[revo]

Jimmy Graham gone for the year, and Gronk carted off with some painful injury.

[Erik]

Jimmy Graham gone for the year, and Gronk carted off with some painful injury.

Don't have either of those guys on any of my teams, either. More of the luck factor breaking my way.

[griswold]

Wow! Thanks Revo!

I feel much better now that it wasn't me was having problems navigating the Fantasy season....lol

Of these guys, I did highlight Woodhead (who was ranked in the Top 12 in 2013 in a PPR format) and Delanie Walker (who was the 2nd highest consistent TE last season):

Out of Nowhere Breakouts
the following players were not on fantasy radars, or were buried enough to not draw any major consideration:
- Devonta Freeman
- Danny Woodhead
- Delanie Walker
- Gary Barnidge
- Dion Lewis
- Charcandrick West
- Thomas Rawls
- Stefon Diggs
- Travis Benjamin
- Willie Snead

BUT.....other than that....none of these other players showed any past consistency to warrant an undervalued/sleeper status.

[Erik]

Wow! Thanks Revo!

I feel much better now that it wasn't me was having problems navigating the Fantasy season....lol

Of these guys, I did highlight Woodhead (who was ranked in the Top 12 in 2013 in a PPR format) and Delanie Walker (who was the 2nd highest consistent TE last season):

Out of Nowhere Breakouts
the following players were not on fantasy radars, or were buried enough to not draw any major consideration:
- Devonta Freeman
- Danny Woodhead
- Delanie Walker
- Gary Barnidge
- Dion Lewis
- Charcandrick West
- Thomas Rawls
- Stefon Diggs
- Travis Benjamin
- Willie Snead

BUT.....other than that....none of these other players showed any past consistency to warrant an undervalued/sleeper status.

I targeted Walker (and got him in two leagues) and Woodhead (didn't get him in any). I decided to avoid the Atlanta RB situation unless Freeman or Coleman fell really far, which never happened. With the exception of Lewis toward the end of preseason, none of the rest of these guys were anyone near on anyone's radar. Maybe Rawls and Diggs in deep, deep, deep dynasty leagues. I got Barnidge off the WW in one league after his SECOND big game -- everyone thought his first one was a fluke and no one bid on him after it.

This kind of thing happens every year to some extent. Guys emerge who you'd have been laughed at for using a pick on in August, even a very low one. It's the nature of the NFL.

[revo]

More mines in the field:
- Chris Johnson, broken leg
- Gronk now expected to miss "multiple weeks"
- Rishard Mathews has "multiple broken ribs"

I targeted Walker (and got him in two leagues) and Woodhead (didn't get him in any). I decided to avoid the Atlanta RB situation unless Freeman or Coleman fell really far, which never happened. With the exception of Lewis toward the end of preseason, none of the rest of these guys were anyone near on anyone's radar. Maybe Rawls and Diggs in deep, deep, deep dynasty leagues. I got Barnidge off the WW in one league after his SECOND big game -- everyone thought his first one was a fluke and no one bid on him after it.

This kind of thing happens every year to some extent. Guys emerge who you'd have been laughed at for using a pick on in August, even a very low one. It's the nature of the NFL.

In my keeper league's 3 round rookie draft held in early August, both Diggs and Rawls passed through cleanly. That's not unheard of, though, but still strange to have multiple rookies emerge as top options and not having been drafted.


As far as Freeman, I drafted him in the same league last season, and our rules allow for keeping players on the rookie squad until activated or dropped. I still had Freeman as an unactivated rookie heading into this season. When Tevin Coleman got hurt back in week 2, I had a glut of "middling" RBs and decided I would deal one + John Brown for a better ("more consistent") WR. I asked my buddy, perhaps the best FF trader I know, who he would deal from Freeman, Vereen, Woodhead or Sankey. His response? "Freeman. Freeman sucks. Trade Freeman." I countered that Freeman was a great pass-catcher and would at least be a Woodhead type. He repeated: "Freeman. Freeman sucks." I reasoned that I would market Freeman using his rookie squad eligibility, and while I liked John Brown, felt I would strike for a pre-season WR darling. So I traded Freeman & John Brown for Brandin Cooks and a 2nd rd rookie pick. That deal KO'd my season and is one of my worst fantasy trades ever (even if Cooks has bounced back to have a nice season), and I'm still trying to find any "expert" who had said Freeman would turn into a monster.

[Erik]

I'm still trying to find any "expert" who had said Freeman would turn into a monster.

There were none. I don't think even his mother was expecting this.

[Erik]

More mines in the field:
- Chris Johnson, broken leg

Finally one that affects me (Liz Hurley team). Luckily I am deep at RB there, and it's start 2 RB/no flex.

[griswold]

There were none. I don't think even his mother was expecting this.

Exactly.....Freeman wasn't even good enough to keep Steven Jackson on the bench last season...that's why they drafted Tevin Coleman.

[schlesinj]

It is crazy that in the Play for Pay league a team starting Branden Boldin or Fozzy Whitakker will be playing in a championship game next week.

[revo]

It is crazy that in the Play for Pay league a team starting Branden Boldin or Fozzy Whitakker will be playing in a championship game next week.

In my 14-tm redraft, I'm in the semis and starting Whittaker, Sproles and Johnny Football.