by Kirk Hollis
As we begin to wind down another season of fantasy football, I want to take a trip back in time. It’s mid-August. The sun is still beating down in ruthless fashion and the smell of football is in the air (does football actually have a smell?). You are preparing for your fantasy draft and contemplating what to do if you are granted first pick. Do I take Christian McCaffrey (hope you did) or Justin Jefferson (hope you didn’t)? Can I pass on running back the first two rounds and still find some guys later on who can steady my team at that position? When do I look to add a QB? Or a TE? If you’ve played fantasy football for any length of time, you know all the questions we ask in August.
Now, let me make my point. The following statements are things that could be said now that would have sounded absurd in August. As in, TOTALLY absurd. And yet, it is the very nature of fantasy football that we don’t know as much in August as we like to think that we do. Heck, I don’t even know as much from week to week as I wish I did. If you’ve read this column all of fall, you already know that and then some.
So, here are some December truths that would have seemed next to impossible in August…
1.Joe Flacco is a key component of the playoff push for fantasy teams.
Joe Flacco wasn’t just off the fantasy radar in August. He was on a beach somewhere enjoying his retirement. Last week, he won me a fantasy playoff game. Not because of what he did individually. But, because his play has elevated Amari Cooper and David Njoku back into fantasy relevancy or in Njoku’s case, stardom. I have Cooper and Njoku on my most important team and now I’m in the second round of the playoffs. All because Joe Flacco left the sand and returned to the gridiron.
2. Kyren Williams is the best running back in fantasy football not named McCaffrey.
Only Christian McCaffrey averages more fantasy points per game from the running back position than does Williams. The fact that he probably went undrafted in August in 98% of fantasy leagues (if not more) reflects how little his name was being tossed around at that time. As for next August, don’t be surprised if he’s a top ten pick. As in, top ten overall. Again, we think we know, but we really do not.
3. A healthy Bijan Robinson will only get 8 touches in the first round of the fantasy playoffs.
Managers with Robinson on their team, particularly those who spent a high draft pick on him, would never have believed it would come to this. Tyler Allgeier averages more than a yard per carry less than Robinson and yet out-touched him in Week 15, 14-8. Fantasy enthusiasts have thrown up their hands with coaches for years. Mike Shanahan, for example, used to exasperate fantasy managers with his usage of running backs. But, Arthur Smith takes the cake in this regard. Throw in the lack of fantasy relevance for Kyle Pitts and you’ve got a bizarre reality in Atlanta.
4. Travis Kelce will take a backseat at the TE position to Sam LaPorta
Sure, the season isn’t over yet and Kelce could still be a factor in the remaining two weeks of the fantasy playoffs, but for the most part, he’s been pretty pedestrian this season outside of a couple of games. LaPorta, on the other hand, has emerged as the top tight end in all of fantasy football despite being a late-round flier at the position back in August. It’s not that nobody knew of LaPorta back then, It’s just that no one could have foreseen how good he would be at a position that usually takes a couple years to learn at the NFL level.
5. Brock Purdy will be second in passing yards in the NFL despite also being last in pass attempts per game among weekly starters.
This stat doesn’t even make sense. How can a guy who attempts passes less than any other starter in the league be second in passing yards. Further, how can a guy who hardly ever runs the ball at QB AND throws it fewer times than anyone else be third in overall fantasy points at the QB position? It’s all pretty mind boggling. Was Purdy drafted in your fantasy draft in August? I don’t think he was in any of mine. Again, so much about 2023 that we just didn’t know…
6. A Vikings receiver topped the scoring in Week One of the fantasy playoffs.
This, of course, would have made perfect sense in August…if that receiver was Justin Jefferson. Instead, the best receiver to have as the fantasy playoff began last weekend was…Jordan Addison. Yep, we all saw that coming back in August.
The bottom line in all of this is that fantasy football is interesting because it’s ultimately so difficult to predict. Every year, there are statements just like these that could be made and there’s no way you could have ever seen them coming. Next week, in our final edition of the season, we’ll expand on all of this with our season awards along with the biggest surprises and disappointments of the 2023 year. Happy Holidays everyone and be sure to send Arthur Smith a lump of coal this year!
