Fantasy Football: A Year To Remember
Trust unproven stars, take risks, and good luck
It was a year to remember in the world of fantasy football; breakout stars, crippling injuries, and the unforeseen successes of players from around the league contributed to an incredibly exciting season. This season, however, might not have been quite as fun if you happened to use top draft picks on players like Adrian Peterson, Todd Gurley, or DeAndre Hopkins. The fact of the matter is that there will always be underperforming superstars, and that the best fantasy football owners are the ones who are able to manage this. Whether that means cutting ties with that star via trade, or sitting them on your bench for a lesser known player with breakout potential (Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints WR, Tyrell Williams, San Diego Chargers WR, Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins RB, etc.), there will always be moves to be made to recover from underachieving draft picks.
If you pulled the right strings this season, then you may very well have established yourself as a formidable fantasy football owner, like Ben Garfield ’17 did in the DS Fantasy Football League. Garfield finished the regular season with an impressive record of 10-3, good enough for the #1 seed in the 8-team playoff bracket. With the help of David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals RB), fantasy football’s most productive player this year (ESPN PPR Format), Garfield continued his success through the playoffs and captured the title in his first year of fantasy football. Garfield’s success did not come solely from his brilliant star, David Johnson, however. Through his willingness to trade away productive players and take risks on the waiver wire each week, Garfield fielded an impressive week-to-week lineup all season. Garfield captured the crown in a league loaded with experienced players, including runner-up Aman Patel ’17.
Fantasy football is a lot of fun every year, and this year was certainly no exception. We all know, though, that it is a lot more fun when you are able to field a winning team with a chance in the fantasy football playoffs. One major takeaway from this season is to trust unproven superstars such as David Johnson, the Arizona Cardinals RB produced quietly from his 3rd string RB role on the Cardinals in 2015 (his rookie season) before earning the starting position this year. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys RB finished his rookie season in the NFL with the second highest point total for running backs (ESPN PPR Format), and earned the NFL rushing title with an impressive 1,631 rushing yards.
Trust unproven stars, take risks, and good luck. You are going to need it to manage the ups and downs that come with every season of fantasy football. This year was one to remember.
Maxwell 'Max' Curtin is a member of the class of 2017 and is the News Editor for Lamplighter.