2021 IR/Major injuries
6+ games missed
| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass – Rush | TD |
| Dak Prescott | 295 – 0 | 5 |
| Russell Wilson | 238 – 5 | 4 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 270 – 54 | 2 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 287 – (-2) | 4 |
| Justin Hebert | 383 – 2 | 3 |
| Running Backs | Yards | TD |
| James Conner | 15-52 rush 6-41 catch |
2 |
| Devin Singletary | 19-88 rush 2-24 catch |
2 |
| Rashaad Penny | 23-190 rush | 1 |
| Antonio Gibson | 21-146 rush 1-5 catch |
1 |
| Austin Ekeler | 16-64 rush 5-35 catch |
2 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Danny Amendola | 7-113 | 2 |
| Cedrick Wilson | 5-119 | 2 |
| Deebo Samuel | 4-35 catch 8-45 rush |
2 |
| Russell Gage | 9-126 | 1 |
| Jauan Jennings | 6-94 | 2 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Tyler Higbee | 6-55 | 2 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 7-137 | 0 |
| Dalton Schultz | 3-21 | 2 |
| Mark Andrews | 8-85 | 0 |
| Anthony Firkser | 4-56 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Matthew Wright | 2 | 4 |
| Riley Patterson | 4 | 3 |
| Brett Maher | 3 | 3 |
| Matt Prater | 3 | 3 |
| Daniel Carlson | 2 | 5 |
| Defense | Sack – TO | TD |
| Washington | 2 – 3 | 1 |
| Miami | 2 – 3 | 2 |
| Minnesota | 2 – 7 | 1 |
| Buffalo | 9 – 0 | 0 |
| Jacksonville | 6 – 2 | 0 |
QUARTERBACK
Lamar Jackson
Tua Tagovailoa
Jameis Winston
Daniel Jones
Justin Fields
Sam Darnold
Zach Wilson
Tyrod Taylor
RUNNING BACK
Christian McCaffrey
Derrick Henry
Kareem Hunt
J.D. McKissic
Elijah Mitchell
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Chris Carson
James White
TIGHT END
T.J. Hockenson
Rob Gronkowski
Dan Arnold
Darren Waller
Robert Tonyan
Logan Thomas
WIDE RECEIVER
A.J. Brown
Elijah Moore
Jarvis Landry
Allen Robinson
DeAndre Hopkins
Robert Woods
Devante Parker
Michael Gallup
Jerry Jeudy
Julio Jones
Antonio Brown
Sterling Shepard
Calvin Ridley
D.J. Chark
Will Fuller
The Huddle Awards
Draft slots were taken from the Average Draft at MyFantasyLeague. Standard performance scoring with reception points were considered.
QUARTERBACK
Best Player – Josh Allen
There wasn’t a lot of difference between any of the Top-4 quarterbacks – Tom Brady, Justin Herbert, and Patrick Mahomes included, but Allen ends up as the No. 1 fantasy quarterback for the second year in a row. Yes, more than Patrick Mahomes who will still be drafted before Allen.
Runner-up: Justin Herbert
Best Draft Pick – Joe Burrow, No. 13 QB Drafted
He was taken as a backup as the No. 13 quarterback drafted but he ended with the No. 7 highest points and got better in the second half of the year with several monster games. He’s a difference-maker who should be better in 2022 with a dangerous trio of wideouts.
Runner-up: Jalen Hurts, No. 12 QB Drafted
Best Rookie – Mac Jones
He only ended as the No. 18 fantasy quarterback but he fit very well into the Patriots’ system and he far outplayed the other four quarterbacks that were drafted before him.
Runner-up: Trevor Lawrence
Worst Draft Pick – Lamar Jackson, No. 4 QB drafted
He had plenty of big games but missed five weeks in all and has been out since Week 14 when you needed him most.
Runner-up: Russell Wilson
Best Free Agent – Taylor Heinicke
There wasn’t any surprise quarterback that wasn’t drafted last summer but ended up as a starter quality player. Heinicke ended as the No. 19 fantasy quarterback and had a few plug-in opportunities where he didn’t kill you. Very rare that fantasy leagues miss drafting an eventual starter.
Runner-up: Mac Jones
Best Game – Justin Herbert, Week 5 vs. CLE
44.8 FF Pts. – Rush: 4-29, TD Pass: 26-43-398, 4 TD
Runner-up: 44.3 FF Pts. – Lamar Jackson, Week 5 vs. IND
RUNNING BACK
Best Player – Jonathan Taylor
After Derrick Henry finally had to pull over and pop the hood, Taylor was the clone that stepped up by rushing for 100 yards in ten games and scored 20 touchdowns. He ended with an NFL-high 1,811 rushing yards – almost 600 more yards than any other rusher.
Runner-up: Austin Ekeler
Best Draft Pick – James Conner, No. 38 RB Drafted
Argue all you want about Chase Edmonds, it was Conner who would become the back to own. He only totaled 1,127 yards but scored 18 touchdowns and never had a bad game since Week 3 until he was injured in Week 16.
Runner-up: Leonard Fournette, No. 34 RB Drafted
Best Rookie – Najee Harris
It wasn’t close. But Harris was the only rookie back drafted with the intention to be a workhorse in a one-back offense. Harris ended as the No. 3 fantasy running back and ran for 1,200 yards and caught 74 passes for 467 yards and ten total touchdowns. Not bad for a rookie that was taken mid-second round in most fantasy drafts.
Runner-up: Javonte Williams
Worst Draft Pick – Christian McCaffery, No. 1 RB Drafted
The scary part of this is that McCaffrey and Barkley were the exact same Top-2 busts last year. Maybe neither deserve to be a Top-5 fantasy pick. But they probably will.
Runner-up: Saquon Barkley
Best Free Agent – Elijah Mitchell
As someone who spent the money to get Trey Sermon on my dynasty team, it only took one week to say, “I’m sorry, what???” Mitchell was the 6.10 pick of the 49ers and proved to be everything they wanted when they took Sermon. Mitchell had a few durability issues, but when he played he was golden. He was good enough that the 49ers trashed their usual committee approach.
Runner-up: Devonta Freeman
Best Game – Jonathan Taylor, Week 11 vs. BUF
53.4 FF Pts. – Rush 32-185 4 TD, Receive 3-19 TD
Runner-up: 47.7 FF Pts. – Derrick Henry, Week 2 vs. SEA
WIDE RECEIVER
Best Player – Cooper Kupp
He fell short of the receptions record by four catches, and missed the all-time mark in receiving yards by only 17 yards. But he went from 92 catches for 974 yards and three scores in 2020, to 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was on more than a few fantasy champion’s rosters. And he was 93.2 fantasy points ahead of Davante Adams.
Runner-up: Davante Adams
Best Draft Pick – Deebo Samuel, No. 35 WR Drafted
Remember back last year? When Brandon Aiyuk was the hot receiver for the 49ers and Samuel was the oft-injured wideout with only 33 catches for 391 yards and one score? What a difference a year makes. He caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards, ran 59 times for 365 yards and scored 14 times. He threw a touchdown pass on Sunday. He should be called Gumby because he’s comfortable in any position.
Runner-up: Ja’Marr Chase, No. 28 WR Drafted
Best Rookie – Ja’Marr Chase
Yep. Dropping all those passes in the summer while saying the lack of a white stripe on an NFL ball was an issue. Well, he got better pretty fast. Good enough to rank as the No. 5 fantasy wideout with 81 catches for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. He went cool for a stretch in midseason but anyone that delivers 55.6 fantasy points in Week 17 is forever a legend.
Runner-up: Jaylen Waddle
Worst Draft Pick – DeAndre Hopkins, No. 4 WR Drafted
He did score eight times this year, but Hopkins only caught 42 passes for 572 yards and missed six games. He never gained 100 yards in any game and was all but gone for the second half of the season.
Runner-up: Calvin Ridley, No. 5 WR Drafted
Best Free Agent – Cordarrelle Patterson
Granted, the hybrid receiver/rusher/returner cooled significantly in the final month of the season, but he was a difference-maker that was scraped from every waiver wire and delivered until Week 15 when the whole pumpkin/glass slipper thing went sideways.
Runner-up: Hunter Renfro
Best Game – Ja’Marr Chase, Week 17, vs. KC
55.6 FF Pts. – 11-266, 3 TD
Runner-up: 47.6 FF Pts., Tyreek Hill, Week 4, vs. PHI
TIGHT END
Best Player – Mark Andrews
He unseated Travis Kelce from the top spot for the first time in six years. Andrews finished with 107 catches for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns. Best yet, he got better as the season progressed and spent the last month with around eight catches per week and topped 100 yards three times in a row starting in Week 14.
Runner-up: Travis Kelce
Best Draft Pick – Mark Andrews, No. 6 TE drafted
There are so few tight ends that make a difference, and grabbing the best of the position usually around the start of the fifth round helped his owners build a better team for the first four rounds.
Runner Up: Zach Ertz
Best Rookie – Kyle Pitts
Anything short of being the top rookie tight end would have been a bitter disappointment after he was taken with the Falcons 1.04 pick. For a position that is notorious with never having any rookies matter, Pitts ended with 68 catches for 1,026 yards but only one touchdown. He’ll be better in 2022 and he ended as the No. 2 rookie tight end in yardage in NFL history.
Runner-up: Pat Freiermuth
Worst Draft Pick – Darren Waller, No. 2 TE drafted
So few difference-makers so it cost an earlier pick to take one of the top in the position. After back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons, Waller missed six games and stumbled through most of the rest. He ended as the No. 18 fantasy tight end with 55 catches for 665 yards and two scores.
Runner-up: T.J. Hockenson
Best Free Agent – Dalton Schultz
The Cowboys offense was so stocked with wideouts, that Schultz was left on the waiver wire in almost every league. That did not last long when he caught two scores and gained 80 yards in Week 3. Schultz went on to become the No. 3 fantasy tight end with 78 catches for 808 yards and nine touchdowns – tied for No. 1 in the position.
Runner-up: Dawson Knox
Best Game – Travis Kelce, Week 15, vs. LAC
41.1 FF Pts, 10-191, 2 TD
Runner-up: George Kittle, Week 13 vs. SEA 39.6 FF Pts.
Huddle player of the year
Cooper Kupp – Every position has top players, but none of the the other No. 1 players had 21% more fantasy points then the second guy in their position. And Kupp was a fourth-round pick in most leagues. He turned in 20+ fantasy points in 14 games. He scored 30 fantasy points in six games. He was the difference-maker that every fantasy team wants but only one gets.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Davis Mills | 313 | 3 | QB | Lamar Jackson | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Latavius Murray | 150 | 1 | RB | Christian McCaffrey | 0 | 0 |
| RB | D’Ernest Johnson | 133 | 1 | RB | Derrick Henry | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Danny Amendola | 113 | 2 | WR | Tyreek Hill | 2 | 0 |
| WR | Cedrick Wilson | 119 | 2 | WR | DeAndre Hopkins | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Jauan Jennings | 94 | 2 | WR | Calvin Ridley | 0 | 0 |
| TE | Tyler Higbee | 55 | 2 | TE | Kyle Pitts | 8 | 0 |
| PK | Matthew Wright | 2 XP 4 FG | PK | Mason Crosby | 1 XP 1 FG | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 171 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 4 | ||||||
Playoff Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 15 (all times CST)
Raiders at Bengals, 3:35 PM
Patriots at Bills, 7:15 PM
Sunday, Jan. 16
Eagles at Buccaneers, 12:00 PM
49ers at Cowboys, 3:30 PM
Steelers at Chiefs, 7:15 PM
Byes: Titans, Packers
Thanks for giving me a few minutes of your Monday morning. I hope it started your week better during this challenging season that was a constant stream of injuries, COVID-19 defections, and all the craziness that happens in any NFL season.
Hope you enjoyed your fantasy season and The Huddle.
For the 426th time since 1997…
Get back to work!
May your New Year be happy, healthy and prosperous.