Every year we see a changing of the guard at many positions in fantasy football. This year is no different as we are witnessing younger players with better athleticism and abilities than some of the veterans and therefore producing better fantasy stats so let’s take a look at those who stood out now that the 2018 NFL Fantasy season is over.
These player evaluations are based on a PPR, TE Premium (1.5 PPR) league and do not exclude veterans.
Quarterback:
Patrick Mahomes easily dominated the fantasy world at the position he played or any position for that matter. The second-year quarterback brilliantly displayed his ability to read defenses, throw from the pocket or on the run and scramble when the pocket broke down.
Patrick threw for 5000+ yards (5097), 50 TD’s while rushing for nearly 300 yards (272) and another 2 TD’s convincing any of his doubters including myself that he is the real deal as an NFL Quarterback.
Mahomes has a bright future in Kansas City as he continues to take his game to the next level in his young NFL career.
Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Jared Goff were among the remaining top five at the position. Ryan proved he still has the mustard……can he continue to do so? Big Ben lost his #1 receiver……how much will that impact him? Luck has proved all the naysayers wrong as he continues to impress and Goff just lost a Superbowl in a game dominated by defense so questions do linger.
Running Back:
Saquon Barkley lived up to his expectations as a 2018 rookie while toting the rock for a team that is still looking for an identity after trading a high-profile Wide Receiver (Odell Beckham, Jr), failing to re-sign a highly touted Safety (Landon Collins) and in turn, losing him in free agency while still searching for a quarterback (Daniel Jones) in the 2019 NFL Draft to replace an aging Eli Manning.
Saquon led the way for fantasy running backs last year as a rookie paving his way in the NFL but had plenty of others on his heels including Christian McCaffrey, Todd Gurley, Alvin Kamara and Ezekiel Elliott who rounded out the top five.
Saquon and Christian were the top two at their position however and look to build on their momentum heading into 2019. Saquon gained most of his points on the ground while Christian’s numbers were more from catching the ball in PPR leagues.
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Gurley didn’t cross the finish line last year like we hoped but is working on getting back on pace for 2019 but his health is definitely a concern. If you are a Gurley owner, I would encourage you to pick up Darrell Henderson as I did if the opportunity is presented as I don’t see Malcolm Brown as much more than depth at the position with the Rams drafting Henderson early in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Kamara is now the head of the class in New Orleans with Mark Ingram heading to Baltimore as the Ravens lead back. Will Kamara be able to handle that role or will newcomer Latavius Murray dip into his touches as much as Ingram has in the past? I am guessing it will be a similar split in the big easy!
Wide Receivers:
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones somehow seems to fall under the radar every year even though he is coming off his fifth season of accumulating 1400+ yards catching the ball with three of those seasons having 100+ catches with an average of just under 100 catch (94.7) per year over that 5-year span.
Julio finished the season as the top PPR WR with 379.90 fantasy points. As was the case with RB’s, the top WR’s were pretty close with DeAndre Hopkins finishing a close second followed by Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and Adam Thielen finishing out the top five at the position.
Will Tyreek face a similar suspension as Kareem Hunt is facing? Can Davante build on the breakout season he had last year? Will Thielen rebound from a season that ended with multiple injuries? Who will be on the list of wide receivers we will be discussing next year? Dontae Pettis? Trey Quinn? Courtland Sutton? Michael Gallup?
The WR and TE positions are two that always seem to have a veteran or two leading the pack but there is always that young gun that emerges from the pack. Who is that guy this year? My money is on Trey Quinn.
Tight Ends:
The tight end position had the most separation as any when it came to pecking order making it difficult for owners to compete with others at the position. Veterans Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz comfortably led the way with newcomer George Kittle not far behind. After that, it was a pretty level playing field for the rest of the crop with Eric Ebron and Jared Cook in that second tier before the bottom falls out for the rest.
With the departure of Jesse James to the Lions and Antonio Brown to the Raiders, I do expect Vance McDonald to become more involved in the passing game in Pittsburgh, O.J. Howard should become a force once again if he returns healthy, and the same can be said with Delanie Walker although his best years may now be behind him.
As it stands today, Travis Kelce is the leader of the bunch as Dallas Goedert competes with Zach Ertz for targets in Philadelphia. After that, I need to see Kittle show that he can produce for more than a year and the 2019 draft class certainly has some intriguing prospects to keep an eye on.
Kickers:
Yes, I am including kickers (and defenses) as they most certainly do affect the outcome of an NFL game or a fantasy matchup in many leagues today.
Ka’imi Fairbairn takes the title here after finishing with 37 of 42 Field Goals and 39 of 41 extra points for the Houston Texans last year.
Justin Tucker, Wil Lutz, Jason Myers and Harrison Butker round out the top five. Lutz just resigned with the Saints on a 5-year deal while Myers recently signed a four-year deal with the Seahawks after having his 2018 Pro Bowl season.
Myself, I prefer kickers that are either on teams with great defenses or play in high altitudes which is why I prefer guys like Brandon McManus or Jason Myers this year.
Defense:
Yes, defense matters as well and many feel it wins Championships which is hard to argue after Superbowl LIII.
The Bears were the leaders of the pack last year when it came to defense as they held a commanding lead over the Rams who were not too shabby themselves.
It will be interesting to see if the Bears can continue to dominate on defense without former Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio on the sidelines and if Fangio can help the Broncos defense get back on track as he brings with him his secondary coach from Chicago as the teams defensive coordinator to work with Chris Harris (ranked #5 by PFF) who is returning from injury and newly acquired Kareem Jackson (ranked #6 by PFF) at the cornerback position. Bryce Callahan (ranked #10 by PFF) also is notable as a Nickelback.
Current safeties Will Parks and Justin Simmons are a couple more toys for the Broncos backfield although I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t bring in more competition at the position after letting Darian Stewart go. Another plus with Kareem Jackson is that he is willing to play safety as well. This could play a big part in the long-term success of the defense.
The Bears and Broncos are two defenses to keep in mind when it comes draft day.
In Summary:
If you are preparing for your 2019 fantasy football draft, you should definitely be paying attention to not only those who finished at the top of their position last year but those who have a wide open opportunity to finish at the top this year.
The offseason is the prime time to do your homework and study for that final exam that we all refer to as the fantasy football season!
Having a stellar starting lineup is great but you must have a deep roster to compensate for bye weeks and injuries and eight simply is not enough and nine is not fine.
If you really want to get to the top of that mountain, you have to have all the tools in place to get there which means roster depth is critical to the success of your fantasy franchise. Good luck to all……..
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