2019 IR/Major injuries
| SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | Pass / Rush | TD |
| Dak Prescott | 303 / 35 | 4 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 320 / 15 | 2 |
| Baker Mayfield | 279 / 29 | 3 |
| Gardner Minshew | 295 / 7 | 3 |
| Jared Goff | 319 / 4 | 3 |
| Running Backs | Yards | TD |
| Derrick Henry | 211 | 3 |
| Boston Scott | 138 | 3 |
| Damien Williams | 154 | 2 |
| Joe Mixon | 176 | 2 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 124 | 2 |
| Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
| Michael Gallup | 98 | 3 |
| Breshad Perriman | 134 | 1 |
| Deebo Samuel | 135 | 1 |
| Hunter Renfrow | 102 | 1 |
| A.J. Brown | 124 | 1 |
| Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
| Tyler Higbee | 84 | 1 |
| Dan Arnold | 76 | 1 |
| Joshua Perkins | 50 | 1 |
| Darren Waller | 107 | 0 |
| Jared Cook | 44 | 1 |
| Placekickers | XP | FG |
| Kai Forbath | 5 | 4 |
| Younghoe Koo | 1 | 5 |
| Justin Tucker | 2 | 4 |
| Josh Lambo | 3 | 3 |
| Brandon McManus | 1 | 3 |
| Defense | Sck/TO | TD |
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 0 | ||
| 1 | ||
QUARTERBACK
Drew Brees
Sam Darnold
Matthew Stafford
Joe Flacco
Cam Newton
Ben Roethlisberger
Mason Rudolph
RUNNING BACK
Damien Williams
Jordan Howard
Kerryon Johnson
Derrius Guice
David Johnson
Ito Smith
Jordan Scarlett
Lamar Miller
Kalen Ballage
Isaiah Crowell
Corey Clement
Darren Sproles
Rashaad Penny
Chris Carson
Jerrick McKinnon
TIGHT END
Austin Hooper
Jared Cook
Evan Engram
Gerald Everett
Eric Ebron
Will Dissly
Delaine Walker
Vernon Davis
Jordan Reed
T.J. Hockenson
Chris Herndon
Foster Moreau
WIDE RECEIVER
A.J. Green
Davante Adams
Tyreek Hill
Sterling Shepard
Will Fuller
T.Y. Hilton
Adam Thielen
Preston Williams
John Ross
DeSean Jackson
Devin Funchess
Michael Crabtree
Calvin Ridley
Marvin Jones
Jermaine Kearse
Parris Campbell
Chester Rogers
Marquise Lee
Travis Benjamin
Quincy Enunwa
Alshon Jeffery
Mike Evans
Chris Godwin
Players held out or limited for Week 17
This is the list of why Week 17 produces league champions that are more luck than skill.
Josh Allen
Devin Singletary
John Brown
Dalvin Cook
Stephon Diggs
Adam Thielen
Kirk Cousins
Mark Ingram
Lamar Jackson
Mark Andrews
Carlos Hyde
DeAndre Hopkins
Deshaun Watson
The Huddle Awards
Draft slots were taken from the Average Draft at MyFantasyLeague. Standard performance scoring with reception points were considered.
QUARTERBACK
Best Player – Lamar Jackson
He did not play in Week 17 and yet Jackson ended with 463.0 fantasy points, 44.6 points more than Jameis Winston (418.4) who threw for two scores in the final game. Jackson’s 36 passing touchdowns led the league and he ended with 3,127 passing yards and 1,206 rushing yards.
Runner-up: Jameis Winston
Best Draft Pick – Lamar Jackson, No. 15 QB Drafted
Anytime you can draft a quarterback as a back-up and he ends up with one of the best fantasy football performances of all time, then you were more than good. You were also really lucky. Yes, you were. Stop it – no one could have guessed what happened based on 2018.
Runner-up: Dak Prescott, No. 14 QB Drafted
Best Rookie – Kyler Murray
The rookie actually ended up as the No. 7 fantasy quarterback thanks largely to his 544 rushing yards and four scores as a runner. He threw for 3,722 yards and 20 touchdowns along the way.
Runner-up: Daniel Jones
Worst Draft Pick – Andrew Luck, No. 4 QB drafted
If you drafted before August 25, then you had a chance at one painful lesson about drafting less-than-healthy quarterbacks. He shocked the world and rocked every league that drafted before August 25.
Runner-up: Baker Mayfield
Best Free Agent – Derek Carr
He wasn’t drafted in most leagues and ended up as No. 17 among fantasy quarterbacks. Rare an undrafted quarterback ends up top ten since there are so few and at least two-thirds are always drafted.
Runner-up: Daniel Jones
Best Game – Aaron Rodgers, Week 7 vs. OAK
48.05 FF Pts. – Rush: 2-6, TD Pass: 25-31-429, 5 TD
Runner-up: 46 FF Pts. – Deshaun Watson, Week 5 vs. ATL
RUNNING BACK
Best Player – Christian McCaffrey,
Not even close. In PPR leagues, his 469.2 points were 150.4 points more than second-place Aaron Jones. He ran 287 times for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns and added 116 receptions for 1,005 yards and four more scores. Cha-Ching. Every. Week.
Runner-up: Aaron Jones,
Best Draft Pick – Austin Ekeler, No. 32 RB Drafted
For a guy most picked up either protecting their Melvin Gordon pick or as a speculative steal from the Gordon owner, he delivered big as the No. 4 best fantasy running back and was never worse than that ranking. Ekeler ran for 557 yards and three scores plus caught 92 passes for 993 yards and eight touchdowns.
Runner-up: Aaron Jones, No. 16 RB Drafted
Best Rookie – Miles Sanders
The rookie started slowly and while he ended as the No. 15 best fantasy back overall, he was the top back for the final four weeks of the fantasy season and was on almost every one of the top teams in big contests that use the final three or four weeks to crown a champion. The only question is whether the Eagles will continue with their maddening insistence on a committee when all backs are healthy.
Runner-up: Josh Jacobs
Worst Draft Pick – David Johnson, No. 5 RB Drafted
That fifth overall pick burned someone in every league imagining that they were getting the David Johnson of 2017. He was hurt and even when he wasn’t he was either in a committee or just ignored by the end of the year. Kenyan Drake may or may not sign with the Cardinals in the offseason, but Johnson is likely to be shown the door.
Runner-up: Saquon Barkley
Best Free Agent – Raheem Mostert
He wasn’t drafted in almost any league and he was almost certainly on every waiver wire in Week 12 when he scored a touchdown. For six straight games, he has not stopped scoring. And he somehow emerged as the primary back despite being deep on the depth chart to start the year.
Runner-up: Kenyan Drake
Best Game – Aaron Jones, Week 5 at DAL
49.2 FF Pts. – Rush 19-107, 4 TD, Receive 7-75,
Runner-up: 47.7 FF Pts. – Christian McCaffrey, Week 5 vs. CAR
WIDE RECEIVER
Best Player – Michael Thomas
Yet another huge difference-maker. Thomas ended with an NFL-record 149 catches for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns. His 374.6 fantasy points were 100.5 more than Chris Godwin and Julio Jones (both 274.1). Hard to imagine he could average over nine catches per game. Don’t defenses watch the game tape?
Runner-up: Chris Godwin, Julio Jones (tied)
Best Draft Pick – Chris Godwin, No. 18 WR Drafted
While Godwin was the No. 2 wideout in Tampa Bay (in theory), he delivered all year and spent the initial weeks as the No. 1 until the Thomas machine passed him by. His 86 catches for 1,394 yards and nine touchdowns were not bad for a guy drafted as an average WR2.
Runner-up: Cooper Kupp, No. 23 WR Drafted
Best Rookie – A.J. Brown
We knew A.J. Brown was the talented 2.19 pick of the Titans as the fourth wideout selected. What we did not take into account was that the poor passing attack of the Titans would change entirely in Week 7 when Ryan Tannehill took over from Marcus Mariota. He recorded four 100-yard games over the last six weeks. His 1,051 yards were the first time that a rookie hit the 1,000-yard mark since Michael Thomas.
Runner-up: Terry McLaurin
Worst Draft Pick – Antonio Brown No. 9 WR Drafted
Yeah, kinda makes your stomach twinge, doesn’t it? And yet you know he will be back, somehow, and then it probably all starts over.
Runner-up: Odell Beckham
Best Free Agent – Davante Parker
Why would you want a fifth-year wideout largely considered as a bust on a bad team? He only scored once each in 2017 and 2018. He only gained 309 yards last year. Well – he would go on to end up as the No. 11 best fantasy wideout who became better as the season progressed and other receivers fell to the wayside in Miami. Parker ended with 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns. Oddly the same total of scores from his first four years combined.
Runner-up: DJ Chark
Best Game – Will Fuller, Week 5 vs. ATL
53.7 FF Pts. – 14-217, 3 TD
Runner-up: 46.8 FF Pts., Sammy Watkins, Week 1 at JAC
TIGHT END
Best Player – Travis Kelce
When you think tight ends, think Kelce. He’s merely played the least productive position and yet gained over 1,000 yards in each of the last four years. The only other tight ends with four are Rob Gronkowski and Jason Witten. Neither of them did it in four straight seasons. Next year, Kelce can own the record outright.
Runner-up: Darren Waller
Best Draft Pick – Darren Waller, No. 23 TE drafted
Sort of a pattern going. Last year, it was Jared Cook who dominated as the only weapon for the Raiders. This year, it was Waller who ended with 90 catches for 1,145 yards and three scores.
Runner Up: Mark Anderson, No 19 TE Drafted
Best Rookie – Noah Fant
Fant was only the No. 14 fantasy tight end but rookies almost never do much in the position and then break out in Year 2. Fant ended with 40 catches for 562 yards and two scores.
Runner-up: Dawson Knox
Worst Draft Pick – O.J. Howard 26 – 4
Well, so much for the “yeah, but Bruce Arians never had a tight end like Howard” argument. Even before he landed on the injured reserve, he was far too risky and unproductive to consider for a fantasy start. Maybe next year! Maybe now that he knows the system and gained the trust of… stop it. This is what got us into trouble this year.
Runner-up: Eric Ebron
Best Free Agent – Tyler Higbee
I keep thinking someone is punking me each time I see another box score with Higbee in it. I learned a long time ago to not overthink it and just accept when something good happens. Four years and Higbee is a nobody. Then Gerald Everett was injured in Week 12 and Cinderella ripped off four straight 100-yard efforts. This week, 84 yards and a touchdown. No idea what to do with this for 2020. Maybe just accept it?
Runner-up: Mike Gesicki
Best Game – Darren Waller, Week 7 vs. Oak
7-126, 2 TD
Runner-up: Zach Ertz, Week 14 vs. NYG 30.1 FF Pts.
Huddle player of the year
Christian McCaffrey – What a difference-maker. He just turned in the second-best fantasy performance for a running back of all-time. He scored 469.2 fantasy points. The only one better was LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 when he produced 474.3 fantasy points while scoring 31 touchdowns, totaling 2,323 yards and 56 receptions. Just when you think they cannot possibly continue to use him so much, he does more.
McCaffrey just set the NFL record with 115 catches by a running back. He beat a guy with 107 back in 2018 named Christian McCaffrey. We can only hope that the Panthers devote the draft and free agency to getting more linemen and no other running backs or receivers.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
| Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 308 | 3 | QB | Lamar Jackson | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Boston Scott | 138 | 3 | RB | Mark Ingram | 0 | 0 |
| RB | Mike Boone | 160 | 1 | RB | Dalvin Cook | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Breshad Perriman | 134 | 1 | WR | DeAndre Hopkins | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Michael Gallup | 98 | 3 | WR | Stephon Diggs | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Hunter Renfrow | 102 | 1 | WR | John Brown | 0 | 0 |
| TE | Dan Arnold | 76 | 1 | TE | Mark Andrews | 0 | 0 |
| PK | Kai Forbath | 5 XP 4 FG | PK | Ka’imi Fairbairn | 2 XP | ||
| Huddle Fantasy Points = 175 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 2 | ||||||
Playoff Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 4
Bills at Texans, 3:35 PM
Titans at Patriots, 7:15 PM
Sunday, Jan. 5
Vikings at Saints, 12:05 PM
Seahawks at Eagles, 3:40 PM
Byes: Chiefs, Ravens, Packers, 49ers
Thanks for giving me a few minutes of your Monday morning. Hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did.
For the 391st time since 1997…
Get back to work!
Happy New year and thanks for everything.