Fantasy Football: Year in Review
It’s the holiday season, the most wonderful time of the year. As we approach 2017, we also are coming up on the end of the NFL regular season, and thus the end of the fantasy football season. For most of us fantasy football players, the year is over. However, for a lucky few, you are in the championship! Today, I’m going to cater to the majority, as we look back on the 2016 fantasy football season (the weekly preview will be released on Christmas Eve).
First, let’s look back on the draft. The analysts always say that you cannot win the season in the first round, but you can lose it. This was clear this year, as 3 of the top 8 players in most drafts included DeAndre Hopkins (47 PRK), Todd Gurley (21 PRK), and, worst of all, the injured and inefficient Adrian Peterson (122 PRK). If you drafted these players, there’s a good chance that you’re not alive for championship week. However, there were still great players drafted in the do-or-die round, including the fantasy MVP David Johnson (1 PRK), Ezekiel Elliot (2 PRK), Odell Beckham Jr (3 PRK), and Antonio Brown (1 PRK). Some sleepers in the draft turned out to be 2 of the top 5 running backs, being Demarco Murray (probably was drafted around the 5th round), and Melvin Gordon (probably was picked in the 9th round).
As the season progresses, injuries will naturally occur. Jamaal Charles was looking to rebound from an ACL tear a year ago, but only played in two games. His backup, Spencer Ware, has been electrifying. Let us not forgot that Christine Michael was also once a relevant fantasy player, putting up great numbers before CJ Procise debuted and with Thomas Rawls sidelined. Prior to his injury, AJ Green was a top fantasy option. Oh, how things have changed.
Every year, there is one player on each championship team that was added off of waivers and took brought them to the championship. This year, that player was probably someone along the lines of Ty Montgomery, Davante Adams, Tevin Coleman, Jimmy Graham or Jay Ajayi. These players are vital to a team’s success throughout a fantasy season.
It has certainly been a fun season. As the jingle bells are ringing this Sunday, I hope that all of you in the championship will be singing after a successful week and overall season. Happy holidays!
