2018 Season Recap (pt 1)
It has been a while but I am back. This will kick off my fantasy articles for the 2019 season! It was a great year and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is dreading this gap before next season. If you haven't before, I suggest getting into at least one dynasty league. I have been able to continue to play the game even in the offseason. I have also started 2 fantasy leagues for the brand new football league called the AAF. I'll post an article with more of that info later but for now, I want to go over how my preseason rankings correlated to actual finishes. I'll highlight my "32 Players I Love" article and my preseason rankings to see who accurate I really was. I will have this as a three-part article.
If you haven't gone back and read my past work, the 32 Players I Love article includes one player from each team that I loved for this upcoming season. They were guys I was targeting in drafts and who I thought would be one of the fantasy highlights for that specific team. I thought these guys were either a great value at their price or set to bust into the scene. Other's were fairly obvious, but I thought they were set for great seasons. I'll go in the order in which they were written.
1) David Johnson: He was still a top 10 RB on the season, finishing as the 9th highest scoring back in PPR scoring. It was a rough year for DJ owners, me included. He was fairly consistent all year, but not the 20+ point consistency we drafted him to be. Many were frustrated with him all year, but he only had 3 games in which he failed to score less than 10 points. I'll be high on him once again this upcoming year.
2) Julio Jones: Here is one of those easy picks I did, but it is warranted. He once again finished as a top 5 WR on the year. There were many people discouraged about drafting him after his 3 touchdown performance in 2017. For the first part of the season, that was true. His first touchdown occurred in week 9. After that, he went on to score 7 touchdowns in the last 8 games of the season. I don't know about you, but he helped me win fantasy titles this year.
3) Alex Collins: It was a weird year for the Ravens. They were hard for me to peg this past offseason. I was confident that Collins was going to lead the Ravens as the highest fantasy scorer but missed on that one. He finished as the RB45 on the year. He wasn't used as a feature back like we saw at the end of the 2017 season. He also ended the year on the IR. If you threw a dart on him in the drafts, I hope you were lucky enough to move him while you could.
4) Kelvin Benjamin: This team was a mess in the start of the season. There just wasn't much offense. If you drafted Kelvin, you probably used a 8th-10th round pick on him. Not to much risk but he wasn't even able to provide any value. He had only one game with double digit fantasy points on the year. He was getting plenty of targets in the first few weeks, but nothing ever connected.
5) D.J. Moore: I was pretty high on Moore during the offseason and I am glad it worked out. I think this guy is going to be something special. He didn't have a huge blow up season, but breaking it down, it was a step in the right direction. You most likely were able to draft him in the very end of drafts. Who is to say if Cam Newton was actually healthy all year, what Moore could have done. Weirdly enough, he had at least one rushing attempt in 11 of his games this season. He quietly finished the year with 55 receptions for 788 yards. Not a bad rookie season.
6) Allen Robinson: This miss hurt pretty bad in the start of the season. I was all in on Robinson. He had a PPR score of over 10 just once in the first 9 weeks of the season. It was a disappointing year. I had him ranked inside my top 20 WR's. He ended up finishing as the WR40, just a few spots under D.J. Moore. Robinson was drafted to be a WR2 with upside and was not able to match his draft day price.
7) John Ross: In drafts this season, Ross was basically free. His ADP was about round 14. I had Ross on about 90% of my leagues to start the season. I was crazy and started him in week one and he saved me by scoring a touchdown on his lone catch. After that not much happened. Once Ross had to step up in the absence of A.J. Green, things started to pick up. From week 10 to week 16 he scored a touchdown in 5 of those 7 games. It wasn't glorious, he only finished the season with 21 receptions for 210 yards.
8) David Njoku: I kept telling myself he is going to break out every week this last season. He had a nice few stretches where he was very usable, but with how bad the position was this year, Njoku was actually decent for most people. He finished exactly where I had ranked him this preseason. He was a top 10 TE who was drafted as the TE12 in many leagues. I will be in on Njoku again this upcoming season.
9) Michael Gallup: I got cute and went with a longshot pick here, when the only real answer was Zeke. Other than him, you wanted nothing to do with this offense. I constantly had Dak Prescott on my duds list throughout the season. I was anticipating Gallup to be the top receiving option this year, but that ended up being Amari Cooper. He was most likely on your waiver wires most of the season.
10) Royce Freeman: The emergence of Philip Lindsay crushed Freeman's chances of making a huge rookie impact. I was all in on him during drafts. He was my main target in rounds 4-6 and had him in the majority of leagues. This is one of my bigger misses on the season. I had Royce as my RB15 for my preseason ranks. He ended as the RB47. I still believe in the talent, but it may take a few years for him to gain real fantasy value.
11) Kenny Golladay: I saw the trend early of how his snap percentages continued to increase. What I wasn't expecting was the team trading away Golden Tate this season. I expected him to stay, but it worked out more in my favor. I was a fan of Kenny G's draft price and the upside he brings to the table. He was going as a late round pick in most drafts. He ended the season as the WR21. He has 8 games where he played at least 90% of snaps, along with 9 games where he had 8 or more targets. I think this is just the beginning for Golladay.
12) Randall Cobb: My reason for picking Cobb over Adams here was the draft price. I will admit I was nervous drafting Adams at his ADP and I was wrong. I was expecting him to be a solid flex option if he played the whole year. I noted for him that he should have at least 60 catches, as he had accomplished that feat 5 of the last 6 seasons. That would have been the case this year if he played all 16 games. He was on pace for 69 catches. He only played in 9 games and most likely continued to take up a bench spot.
13) DeAndre Hopkins: I was wrong on my preseason rankings by one spot. I had him as my WR2 and he finished as the WR1. I actually preferred him in drafts over Antonio Brown. It definitely paid off. His worse fantasy game of the season came in week 12 where he had 5 catches for 74 yards. He had 6 games with over 20 PPR points. He was what you drafted him as. One of the best WR in the game.
14) Andrew Luck: Here is where I won a bunch of leagues this year. I was confident that Andrew Luck was returning to the top 5 QB conversation. I was right. He finished as the QB5 on the year, one spot higher than I projected. My projections included the slow start that I was expecting, until he was able to shake the rust off. He may have hurt you in the beginning of the season. If you were smart and drafted another QB like Philip Rivers later on, it worked out nicely.
15) Leonard Fournette- He was going in the second round of most drafts last offseason and if you had drafted him, you weren't happy. He missed multiple games this year due to injury, killing his fantasy value. He was really only usable from weeks 10-12. It was a bust year for Fournette, look for him to get back on track next season.
16) Kareem Hunt- The going was good for Hunt during the first 11 weeks of the season. He was averaging 21 PPR points during these games. He definitely reached his draft day price for you. Unfortunately, you were without him for the fantasy playoffs as he was released by the Chiefs, I was a big Hunt fan for his first year years, but most likely will not have any shares of him this upcoming season.
17) Melvin Gordon- If you had drafted him this past season, there wasn't much more you could ask for. He was averaging 27 PPR points through the first 6 games. He started a lot of fantasy teams off with a bang. He went on to be the RB8 even with missing 4 games on the season. He would have been a top 5 back had he played the whole season.
18) Cooper Kupp- The real pick here was Robert Woods. He by far was more consistent than Kupp. Kupp did get placed on IR halfway through the season, which was a terrible blow for the team. Cooper Kupp still managed to have a great first half of the season, scoring 5 touchdowns in the first 5 games. I liked the upside he brought to the table as the top redzone threat. He was a 7th-8th round pick last season, which worked out great through 5 weeks.
19) Kenny Stills- I was all over Stills this last season. I mean I had him in basically every redraft league I was in. It just made sense. There were so many targets to go around with Jarvis Landry leaving the team, but it never happened. After his 26 point performance in week one, I thought I hit a gold mine. After that he had only 4 other games in which he scored double digit PPR points. He also caught over 4 passes just once all year. It was a disappointing year and a bad call by me.
20) Dalvin Cook- Not sure how many people stuck with him through all of the injuries but he sure helped me win my title this year. He was sidelined most of the first half of the season, so if you had him on your team, you had to find replacements quick. If you believe just like I did, he rewarded you in the end. From weeks 12-16, he averaged just under 20 PPR points per game. His week 15 performance got me into 2 title games. If there is a lack of interest in drafts this next season and he falls, he is a must draft for me in the Kubiak offense.
21) Chris Hogan- Lol. That's all I have to say. Where was this guy this season? I was expecting huge production while Julian Edelman was serving his suspension, but that wasn't the case. He scored under 8 PPR points in 5 of his first 8 games. He was a disappointment if you drafted him expecting the same thing I did.
22) Ben Watson- I was cheering this guy on all year. I would have be close to projecting Watson correctly last year if he had caught the 2 or 3 touchdowns that he just barely missed in the beginning of the season. He was undrafted in a good amount of leagues, so he wasn't a huge investment, but it didn't pay off. He seemed to be schemed out of the offense each week.
23) Odell Beckham Jr.- OBJ in the fantasy playoffs killed most teams. He missed weeks 14-17 due to injury. Before that happened, he worked out fairly well. He didn't have multiple blow-up games like we expected, but he still provided solid numbers for his draft price. There were far better options around his ADP for his position. It is yet to see if he remains with the team this offseason.
24) Isaiah Crowell- Now he didn't have a great season, but he may have saved you in the beginning of the season. I know he helped me. He was just like I said he was, a flex worthy RB in the later rounds. I had went with Mark Ingram in a few leagues and always had paired him with Crowell. For the first 5 weeks he had over 19 PPR points in 3 of those games. He wasn't much of a factor after that so hopefully you were able to trade him.
25) Amari Cooper- It took the trade to Dallas for him to show his true potential. He had a bad start to the season, he just couldn't go much in the raiders bad offense. If you stuck with him on your bench, he rewarded you greatly once he went to the Cowboys. He had 2 games over 30 PPR points with them. This change of scenery could really benefit Cooper's career.
26) Nelson Agholor- Man was this team a mess for most of the season. They battled constant injuries from the skill positions. He really didn't help your fantasy team as he scored double digit PPR points in just 3 times during the fantasy regular season. He was a below average PPR flex with the value he was receiving, but he just couldn't get things going.
27) James Washington- I really was off of Juju this past season and I regret it fully. I decided to go Washington here due to the role he was coming into. The 3rd option in a high powered offense. He was amazing in college, scoring 33 touchdowns over his last 3 seasons, but it has yet to translate to the NFL. I may have jumped the gun early with him. He failed to score over 10 PPR points all year long.
28) Marquise Goodwin- This was a hard one to watch as he had so much potential this past year to have a fantastic season. He battled injuries, personal matters, and Jimmy G being placed on IR. He was an expensive player in most drafts, going in rounds 5 & 6. I'll still be high on Goodwin coming into this season with a clean slate. He should be a target once again in this years drafts and we might be able to get him for cheaper.
29) Doug Baldwin- The Seahawks completely transitioned into a running team. Russell Wilson has a down year with the lack of passing. This translated to a disappointing season for Baldwin. We have seen Baldwin be a top 5 WR so he had the potential and was going in the 3rd or 4th round. It seemed like a nice value but it didn't pan out. He was injured to start the season and just couldn't get anything going. It was the Tyler Lockett show when they were throwing the ball.
30) Chris Godwin- He didn't quite get into the top 15 WR like I think he will, but he is on his way. I was a big fan of Godwin last offseason. I had targeted him in every dynasty league that I didn't yet have him in. He had a solid season with over 800 yards and 7 touchdowns. I think both of these numbers are set to increase. He finished 29 spots higher than I had ranked him in the start of the season.
31) Corey Davis- I think I'm going to die on the "Corey Davis will be a productive WR" hill. This may all come down to bad QB play which is limiting his production. This year was just like years past. We saw some glimpses of what Corey Davis can be. He had 3 games this year with over 23 PPR points. I am still believing in the talent and that he will turn this around.
32) Jamison Crowder- This spot was going to be for Derrius Guice but he wasn't going to be playing so I had to choose someone else. He had great draft appeal as the WR1 for an Alex Smith offense and he was fairly cheap. The injuries to Alex Smith and Derrius Guice decimated this team. Crowder also missed a good majority of the season. It was a bust pick.
There are my 32 players from each team that I loved going into the 2018 season. Some of these picks helped win my fantasy leagues, while others were a non factor. I will have my 2019 version before the season starts.