Well, another year of fantasy football has come and gone with only
Week 17 remaining, which doesn't carry much weight. This final edition
of the Buzz will take a look at both Week 16 and the season as a
whole…
Fantasy MVP: With three more touchdowns
in Week 16, David Johnson ran his TD total up to 20.
Sorting Through Week 16...
After a couple of lackluster weeks offensively, Week 16 brought
back the fireworks. And most of the biggest stars of fantasy football
did not disappoint. The “Big Four” at running back (David Johnson, Le'Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, LeSean McCoy) combined for
510 yards and 8 TDs and in doing so, likely led a number of teams
to championships. Aaron Rodgers absolutely tore up the fading Vikings
defense by way of 360 yards, 4 passing TDs and another rushing TD
to boot. His battery mate, Jordy Nelson (more on him shortly) caught
9 passes for 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That was better
than what Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, and Odell Beckham Jr. did,
but that trio performed admirably as well. Dez Bryant not only caught
two touchdowns, but threw for one as well. And finally at tight
end, Travis Kelce (11-160-1) continued his streak as the hottest
tight end on the planet. All in all, few stars disappointed. But,
not every “hero” from Week 16 was a star…
If you started Adam Thielen, Cameron Meredith, J.J. Nelson, Brandon LaFell, or Sammy Watkins on Saturday, you got an amazing return
on your investment. It's possible that some started one or more
of those guys as a WR3 - in the championship game of my longstanding
league, the guy who won picked up both Cameron Meredith and Charles Clay off the waiver wire and started both in the big game. That
worked out well, as Clay scored two touchdowns and piled up 80-plus
yards. At running back, DeAndre Washington, Chris Thompson, Zach Zenner, and Isaiah Crowell scored a pair of touchdowns each. And
finally, anyone who took a chance on quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor,
Sam Bradford, Blake Bortles, or Alex Smith got rewarded for their
risk taking. As for the two rushing TD club, we offer up Kirk Cousins
after he ran for a pair of scores. Yes, the stars were great, but
so were the supporting actors.
Of course, there were a few championship round disappointments,
but they were few and far between. Cam Newton returned back to earth,
DeMarco Murray had his quietest game of the season, and Jeremy Hill
played hurt and hurt his fantasy owners in the process. And, for
those of us who picked up Robby Anderson and started him thinking
he would keep his hot streak going, shame on us. That one decision
cost me a title in a league with other FFToday Staff writers.
Now, let's take a more cumulative look…
Biggest Surprises of 2016:
1. Dak And Zeke - The two rookies
have taken Dallas by storm, and exceeded most expectations for sure,
particularly Prescott.
2. Resurgent Ryan - Matt bounced back
from a lackluster 2015 campaign to lead the Falcons and fantasy
teams to glory.
3. Mr. LeTouchdown - LeGarrette Blount
was a legitimate RB1 with a nose for the end zone and the ability
to salt away games in the fourth quarter.
5. DeMarco and Davante - Different
NFL teams, but same surprising results. Murray proved his time in
Philly was a fluke; Adams proved he could excel after all.
6. Captain Kirk And His Crew - Cousins
played at an elite fantasy level and helped elevate Jamison Crowder
and Rob Kelley as well.
7. Charger Power -Melvin Gordon was
a MUCH better sophomore than freshman and Tyrell Williams is no
longer anonymous after a breakout year.
3. From Breakout to Breakdown - Last
year's darlings at WR, DeAndre Hopkins and Allen
Robinson, became this year's disasters.
4. As The Gronk Turns - Those counting
on Gronk this season were again subjected to random torture due
to his ever-changing health.
5. Cam And Russell - Another example
of how 2015 did not replicate itself as two of its top QBs flopped
for the most part in '16.
6. Brandon And The Jets - The Jets
were a disappointment offensively in general, but Brandon
Marshall was easily the most disappointing of all.
7. Thomas The Promise - Rawls was
supposed to carry on the legacy of Marshawn
Lynch. Umm....no.
8. Marvin Jones and Stefon Diggs -
Disappointing they didn’t finished the year in the way they started
it.
Fantasy MVP: From my perspective,
this was a two-man race between David
Johnson and Ezekiel
Elliott. Le'Veon
Bell would have also been in the running had he played a full
season. The vote here is for Johnson based on an incredible set
of numbers scored consistently from week to week. With one week
to go in the regular season, Johnson has amassed 2,074 yards from
scrimmage and 20 TDs. That's absurd. He never fell below 100 yards
in any one game. The stud RBs are back and Johnson was the best
of the bunch.
Fantasy Playoff MVP:Le'Veon
Bell. A good, but not great game was sandwiched in between two
out of this world performances. A close second to LeSean
McCoy for three outstanding efforts in his own right.
Comeback Player of the Year: This
one was easy. Jordy Nelson leads all WRs with 14 touchdowns one
year after tearing up his knee in a preseason game, causing him
to miss the entire 2015 season. Matt Ryan ran a distant, but impressive
second as was previously noted.
Rookie(s) of the Year: Another no-brainer
here with Ezekiel
Elliott already at 2,000-plus yards and double digit TDs. Other
rookies who would have been under consideration in any other year
include Michael
Thomas (Saints), Tyreek
Hill (Chiefs), and Jordan
Howard (Bears). It was a good year for freshmen overall.
The “Dirty Dozen” Heading Into
2017: So, who are the top 12 players in a redraft next August?
In non-PPR leagues, there will likely be a near even distribution
of RBs and WRs. . We'll go non-PPR and roll with…
A lot can and will change between now and August, but there's a
jumping-off point for you. I welcome any and all feedback on your
“dozen” in the comments section, so fire away if you
will.
Finally, you read articles like this one to gain a broader perspective
and often, we succeed in granting you that. But, sometimes we miss
the boat by a mile. With that in mind, here are the Five Dumbest
Things we've uttered at the Buzz this season. Counting down from
earliest to most recent…
5. “The Jets offense is on the rise and one to latch onto
moving forward.” - (Week 2)
4. “Stefon Diggs owners, rejoice! You may have the biggest
draft steal of 2016.” - (Week 2)
3. “Jeremy Kerley should be rostered in all leagues. He's
an intriguing prospect.” - (Week 5)
1. “Cam Newton is a player worth trading for as trade
deadlines approach.” - (Week 10)
There's nothing wrong with chuckling at yourself from time to time…
And so we come to a close here at the Buzz. It's been a fun and
wild ride this season! Sometimes, we steered you in the right direction.
As noted above, a few times, we fell short of that goal. All in
all, I hope you found the weekly offering enjoyable and that you'll
make the Buzz a part of your weekly fantasy football intake in 2017.
