The surprise fantasy football MVP came on strong late
Everyone loves getting awards. Alas, sorry, but you guys didn’t get any, though you can bask in the glory of having drafted some of those who did.
Fantasy MVP: Christian McCaffrey (RB, Panthers) — It looked like Todd Gurley was going to run away with this, literally, but he stumbled down the stretch and was out with an injury during championship week.
Fantasy QB of the Year: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) — Weekly average in PPR was two points better than anyone.
Fantasy RB of the Year: Saquon Barkley (Giants) — Loses out in MVP race to McCaffrey due to higher draft cost and less production during the playoffs.
Fantasy WR of Year: DeAndre Hopkins (Texans) — Remarkably consistent — scored in double digits every week. Davante Adams and Julio Jones come up just short.
Fantasy TE of Year: Travis Kelce (Chiefs) — Obvious things are obvious.
Best QB value: Matt Ryan (Falcons) — Ranked second in fantasy scoring, but was the 22nd QB drafted on average at ESPN (116.8).
Best RB value: James White (Patriots) — Seventh-highest RB in PPR, and 42nd taken (124.4 ADP). Beats out James Conner, who had an ADP 11 picks higher.
Best WR value: Robert Woods (Rams) — Too many of you drafted JuJu Smith-Schuster too high for him to win here.
Best TE value: George Kittle (49ers) — This was close until Eric Ebron stumbled during the fantasy playoffs.
Best waiver QB: Baker Mayfield (Browns) — Josh Allen made a big push late, but Mayfield was much more reliable most of the season.
Best waiver RB: Phillip Lindsay (Broncos) — Ran away with this one early, then held off second-half push from Nick Chubb.
Best waiver WR: Tyler Boyd (Bengals) — Yeah, we’re not really excited by this pick either, but there wasn’t much to choose from.
Best waiver TE: Austin Hooper (Falcons) — Did you know he finished as the sixth-best TE? Though he ruined you in the fantasy playoffs, the next best option was Chris Herndon, who scored 50 fewer points on the year.
Most frantic addition: Nick Chubb (RB, Browns) — Even in the league in which he was drafted, he often was dropped before the Browns traded away Carlos Hyde near midseason, creating a frenzy to add Chubb late in the week, after most leagues’ waiver period.
Best playoff explosion: Derrick Henry (RB, Titans) — If you were riding him all season, you probably didn’t make the playoffs (he had eight single-digit outings in the first 12 weeks). If you had him on the bench then had to use him in the first week of the playoffs to fill in for, say, an injured James Conner, then kept Chubb in the lineup thereafter, then he likely helped you to a title.
Most damaging absence: Le’Veon Bell (RB, Steelers) — You drafted him incredibly high. You kept him on your roster for more than half the season because it was believed he would report. He never did. You got zero return for a first-round pick. And he has poisoned the reasonable argument against the popular notion that drafting handcuffs is a reliably productive practice.
