When you make it to within smelling distance of a fantasy football league title, it leaves long-lingering memories when one guy kills what seemed like a sure championship season. Bad beats last longer than winning in one’s memory.
Amari Cooper ended pretty much every season of fantasy teams he played against. He not only had a career day with 11 receptions for 265 yards and two touchdowns but caught a two-point conversion pass to put his weekly number at 51.5 PPR.
If you’ve played fantasy football long enough, you enjoyed more success than failure but a season-ending gut-punch like that won’t leave a stain, it will leave a scar.
There’s always next year, but this year is going to linger for those who got done like that. It wasn’t the first time it’s happened. It won’t be the last time. But if it happened to you in Week 16, it will be awhile before someone else can tell a more heart-wrenching story over a couple adult beverages about how their fantasy season ended.
Fantasy football risers
Cleveland Browns QB Joe Flacco – Long since left for dead, Flacco has found a career resurgence, despite non-diehard Browns fans (or Flacco relatives) willing to put him in their lineups with the season on the line. In his last three games, he has thrown for 1,053 yards and 10 touchdowns. We’ll overlook the seven interceptions, but those are epic passing numbers at a time when only the desperate viewed him as an option.
New England Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott – When you’ve been the RB big dog of the entire league for all of your career, it’s humbling to be a role player. Zeke took on that challenge and, when those with him in their fantasy lineups needed him, came through again. But this time, it was as a receiver. In his last three games, Elliott has caught 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, helping him post games totals of 28.0, 9.6 and 21.0. He may not be in the Patriots’ long-term future, but he’s making his case to other teams.
Las Vegas Raiders RB Zamir White – In the two games Josh Jacobs has missed, the Raiders have won both against division rival. In wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, White has rushed 39 times for 214 yards and a touchdown. He has scored 14.5 points in both games – a number that keeps you in fantasy lineups. It’s also an audition for White in the potential post-Jacobs world of the Raiders.
Chicago Bears RB Khalil Herbert – Herbert was penciled in as the primary back for the Bears to start the year. After missing five games at midseason, he never regained his job. In his previous three games, Herbert rushed just 15 times for 40 yards and was a non-factor. On Sunday, he earned his second game with more than 10 carries and rushed 20 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. In that other 10-plus carry game? He rushed 18 times for 103 yards. Watch him over the last two games to monitor his carry share and role moving forward.
Green Bay Packers TE Tucker Kraft – The Packers are going to be an interesting team to break down film on in the offseason. Eight Packers receivers have 22 or more receptions, and Kraft is the last to the party. In the three games that starting tight end Luke Musgrave has missed, Kraft has been targeted 16 times, catching 12 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown – posting weekly numbers of 10.4, 15.7 and 10.0. It tells you something about the tight end position in Green Bay’s offense.
Fantasy football fallers
Houston Texans RB Dameon Pierce – Most people who drafted Pierce expected him to be a regular starter. If your league allows credit for special teams touchdown returns for a specific player, Pierce scored 8.6 points last week. But why would anyone be playing him? In the last three games, Pierce has eight carries for 18 yards and two receptions for eight yards. In that same span, newcomer Devin Singletary has 48 carries for 230 yards and a touchdown with seven receptions for 68 yards. Pierce won’t be drafted as high next year. He may not be drafted at all.
Minnesota Vikings RB Alexander Mattison – The Vikings cut Dalvin Cook and re-signed Mattison – a classic NFL lose-lose (the homely cousin of win-win). In the first game of the season that Mattison missed in Week 15, Ty Chandler ran 23 times for 132 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 25 yards. In 13 games, Mattison never had more than 20 carries, more than 95 rushing yards, caught more than three passes twice and more than 25 receiving yards three times. His value in keeper leagues is nothing.
Denver Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy – There is no questioning Jeudy’s talent – he was highly sought after by teams with good quarterbacks at the trade deadline. The bottom line is that his talent kept him on rosters and in weekly lineups, but his consistent lack of production – fewer than 11 points in all of his last seven games – made him a lineup liability on a weekly basis. Unless he moves on in the offseason, he’s poisonous.
Atlanta Falcons WR Drake London – There is no questioning London’s talent, but fantasy football is played on a weekly basis and London can’t be counted on. In his last eight weeks (including missing one game and a bye week), London’s numbers have been 0.0, 6.6, 0.0, 14.1, 1.8, 17.2, 4.4 and 6.9. He’s the No. 1 guy on an NFL, but should barely be the No. 5 option on a fantasy roster.
New Orleans Saints TE Taysom Hill – The feeling about Hill encompasses both sides of the spectrum. Some say he shouldn’t be viewed as a tight end in leagues that require one because he is a quarterback on the depth chart. Others say who cares? Hill has his big games, but the droughts are pronounced. His missed Week 14 with an injury. In the two weeks since the “triple threat” has been back, he has three rushes for three yards, one catch for four yards, and no pass attempts. Gimmick gone.
