The Fantasy Life

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I’m hoping you’re coming from my previous article recapping the NFL season to this point. On this one we are doing something pretty similar, I’m going to be recapping the fantasy football year till this point. If you’re a football fan and aren’t one of the 29.2 million people who play fantasy football I pose the question, why not? Drafting and managing pro football players. It’s just like being a real general manager but without the pressure of an entire fanbase and no consequence of being fired. It’s amazing!

 

This year has been pretty wild and I know I have to start off with this. The consensus first-overall pick  Christan McCaffery hasn’t played a single game so far this year. I really hope you picked up Jordan Mason off the wavier wire, if you didn’t your team is probably in pretty rough shape. McCaffery injured his achilles in training camp and everyone thought that he would be 100% for the start of the season. He was still ranked first overall in across all platforms even with an injury designation. He was ruled out just an hour before the 49ers season opener against the Jets infuriating a lot of fantasy managers. This is what head coach Kyle Shanahan said about McCaffery’s injury post-game.

 

“The Achilles is tendinitis and that stuff comes and goes. When it is acting up, it’s something you’ve got to be very careful about. Christian’s very diligent about that stuff. If it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me he believed he could go. But when you hear that type of stuff and it’s not a playoff game and it’s Week 1 and especially when you’re dealing with the lower extremities like that, it was a tough decision, but hearing all the words in the long run, it made it easy.” 

 

A couple of days later McCaffery was placed on injured reserve for the next four games. So I don’t believe that statement entirely. One stat that I find very interesting is that in the last few years the consensus first overall pick hasn’t lived up to the expectations. Did you know that? Also maybe it’s a lesson for next year not to take the first player coming off the board.

In McCaffery’s absence, Jordan Mason has filled in the shoes exceptionally being the fifth-best running back in points per game. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like things are getting better for McCaffery fantasy owners as the running back had to go to Germany to speak with a specialist regarding his injury.

 

Let’s talk about the tight ends, this is something I have a personal gripe with. For the last two years I’ve drafted Kyle Pitts as my tight end. To say it wasn’t great is an understatement. So this year I made it a priority to draft a tight end early to be secure at the position. So I drafted Mark Andrews in the fifth round. I thought to myself  “Perfect one of the best tight ends in the league, someone whos super reliable and is a top target on his offence”. You’re probably laughing your head off reading that because I couldn’t have been more wrong.

 

So how bad has Andrews been? He’s had two games with 0 points and is 39  among all tight ends in points per game with 3.1 in PPR scoring (Points per reception). I wish I was kidding. Also, remember what I said about Andrews being a top target on his offence? He’s only been targeted nine times in four games. He was the third tight end off the board in most drafts. I’m convinced I could average more than 3.1 points per game and I have never played a down of football in my life. I’m sure you could too. This is what head coach John Harbaugh said about Andrews’s play so far this year.  

 

“Mark Andrews is going to definitely have big games here catching the ball, “We’re going to have a big passing game coming up here at some point in time soon. It’s hard to predict when it’s going to be because the games go where they go, and the ball goes where it goes and it’s just a competitive deal.”

 

  I can’t be too mad because it isn’t just Andrews, the whole position has been awful this year. The top two tight ends off the board this year were Travis Kelce and Sam Laporta. They are sitting 12th and 15th  in PPR. Not even close to living up to their third and fourth-round draft capital. Let me go back to Kyle Pitts. He was finally getting a good quarterback in Kirk Cousins this season and everyone thought this was finally going to be the year he shows why he was drafted fourth overall in 2021. He sits  16th among tight ends averaging 6.1 points per game. Which for Pitts is an upgrade over the last two years, but still isn’t very good.

Ok, enough with the bad news let’s switch over to some good stuff. Did you draft Nico Collins? I really hope you did. There was a lot of chatter after the Texans traded for Stefon Diggs that he would be the wide receiver one and take a lot of targets away from Collins. Tons of fantasy advisers were saying to stay away from Collins, especially since his ADP (Average draft position) was so high. If you didn’t listen to them your team is probably doing really well, as Collins is the best receiver in fantasy football right now averaging 22 points per game.

 

The current formula of drafting is taking receivers early, but this year three of the top receivers were taken after the fifth round. Who are Malik Nabers, Jayden Reed and Chris Godwin. A few guys who you wouldn’t have been expecting to the top five a quarter of the way through the season. All of these guys are averaging north of 19 points per game. 

 

Every fantasy season there’s always those wavier wire wonders. Those guys that win you you’re leagues you get completely for free because nobody wanted them. This year there hasn’t been that one guy that’s taken that title just yet since we are still early. In the lead,  however, is a pair of 49ers. Jordan Mason and Juan Jennings. As I mentioned before Mason is filling in for Christan McCaffery and has already had two games over 20 points. The timetable for McCaffery isn’t clear and if McCaffery is out long term Mason could finish as a top-five running back. The 49ers have been beat up at receiver with Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle missing games. Jennings has stepped up in a big way including a massive 46-point game in week three.

 

Remember, this it’s still only week four so if your fantasy team is 1-3 it’s not over. My words of wisdom are to try to be super active on the waiver wire and don’t be afraid to make a big trade either. It could work.

 

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