The 2010s for fantasy football saw a change in the game that so many fans played long before this decade.
Points per receptions leagues became so much more popular, along with the value of slot receivers who were getting the ball more often. The three-down back became practically extinct, save for some incredible RBs. There were so many good quarterbacks that taking one up high became something you secretly chuckled about on draft night.
As we head toward 2020, let’s look back on the 2010s by putting together the all-decade team, with a standard lineup (1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 K and 1 D/ST) of greatness.
(All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.)
QB: Drew Brees
Yup, it’s the New Orleans Saints legend over Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. It’s not only because Brees ended up with the most points in the decade over those two. It’s because — aside from this season, with some games lost to injury — he’s finished in the top 10 at the position in all but one year. Neither of the others can claim that.
RB: LeSean McCoy
The leading scorer of the decade at running back was also Mr. Reliable at a very unreliable position. He never played fewer than 12 games and ended up with just one season outside the top-20 running backs. You always knew what you were getting with him and that included a lot of receptions.
RB: Arian Foster
Others (Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Matt Forte to name a few) had more points in the era. But let’s think about this another way: Foster’s prime that started in 2010 was so explosive that he’ll end the decade with the second-most fantasy points per game with 16.74 (the first? Ezekiel Elliott). He was a top-5 running back in four years (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014) … and then the injuries took a toll until he retired. Add in the fact that he basically came out of nowhere to dominate and I’d rather have had that short burst than some other big names.
WR: Antonio Brown
The decade didn’t end so well for Brown, but if you wanted consistency whether it was a standard or PPR league, Brown was it. From 2013 to 2018, the worst end-of-year ranking he had was eighth among wideouts in 2013. After that and before what happened in 2019, he was a top-three receiver every single season. He also outscored the next guy by nearly 86 points as of Tuesday.
WR: Julio Jones
I considered Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green here. But if you drafted Jones, you’re getting exactly what you expect — week-to-week yardage totals and lots of receptions. The lack of touchdowns was maddening, but in fantasy, where there’s so much uncertainty, a near-guarantee on production is huge.
TE: Rob Gronkowski
Not as easy as you’d think. Yes, he’s both the leading scorer among tight ends and had the highest per-game average. But there were two seasons in which he missed chunks due to injury. His 2019 was just okay. Yet we’re talking about the man who was the top fantasy tight end for four years and the second-best once. Sorry, Travis Kelce and Jimmy Graham.
K: Stephen Gostkowski
This was the easy one. Adam Vinatieri might have been in the running, but it was Gostkowski who piled up the points along with the Pats’ offense.
D/ST: New England Patriots
I couldn’t find any stats to back this up. But my guess is that they ended up with the best numbers given the fact that they played the Jets, Dolphins and Bills six times a year.
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