There is only one guy who got me to the playoffs in two leagues, and then his injury killed me in both. It is Philadelphia Eagle QB Jalen Hurts.
Even though he missed 2 games, his stats are still impressive: 3701 passing yards, 22 pass td’s, 6 int’s, 760 rushing yards, 13 rushing td’s, 2-2pt. conversions, and only 2 fumbles lost. He won my player of the week award 5 times, with WR Davante Adams a close second with 4 wins.
So who was your fantasy player of the year?
Austin Ekeler. To think I had desperately tried to sell him in dynasty before the season, as I expected his production to regress. Nobody wanted him. I was ready to add a late 2nd in order to acquire Swift. No deal. Phew.
I didn’t expect Ekeler’s production to fall off a cliff, still saw him as a low-end RB1. But I knew that that would make him impossible to trade away after the season.
That he would finish it as the #1 RB is something I would not have expected at all. And mind you, I had correctly projected him as a top 5, potentially top 3 RB in 2021.
It would be ironic if he now drew more trade interest this offseason. I don’t expect it, though, and am ready to keep him until he becomes unstartable. He may have another good season in his legs, maybe even two. So who knows, maybe he’ll get another MVP nomination next year.
Honorable mentions:
Ja’Marr Chase. Despite missing 5 games (including the Buffalo matchup in week 17), he still finished the season as a top 10 WR. #5 in terms of PPG, when including Kupp in that list. Chase is a stud. And I am delighted that his production became more stable in 2023. In the 12 games he started, he finished every single one with double-digit PPR scores. Not even Justin Jefferson did that, he disappeared in 4 games, including the fantasy championship week.
Jaylen Waddle. Many owners tried to sell him when the Dolphins signed Tyreek. I said they will both be fantasy WR1s, and was right: Hill is the #2 WR, Waddle the #7, who might have finished even higher without Tua’s injury woes.
Patrick Mahomes. The best QB of his generation, and once again the #1 fantasy QB.
1 WR Justin Jefferson Vikings WR1
2 RB Austin Ekeler Chargers RB1
3 RB Christian McCaffrey 49ers RB2
4 WR Cooper Kupp Rams WR2
5 WR Ja’Marr Chase Bengals WR3
6 WR Tyreek Hill Dolphins WR4
7 WR Davante Adams Raiders WR5
8 WR Stefon Diggs Bills WR6
9 RB Jonathan Taylor Colts RB3
10 WR CeeDee Lamb Cowboys WR7
Here are the top 10 2023 fantasy players from PFF.
That says little about the 2022 season, though.
And looks like a pretty random selection for 2023 as well. A little “more of the same” here (Ekeler, CMC), a little “ignoring the different team outlook” there (Kupp, Adams), only 1 player whose projection is vastly different from his 2022 results (Taylor), and no rookies in sight,
I can almost guarantee that the 2023 post-season rankings will look vastly different.
The difference I am seeing this year from last is they are not writing off the older guys like Kupp, Ekeler, Adams and McCaffrey, etc as was done last year.
