It is certainly never too early for victory laps. I was taking them after Week 1! Now that we are just about halfway through the 2018 season, we have a decent enough sample size to start handing out some awards. There will certainly be guys that emerge in the second half and there are probably a couple league winners that are firmly planted on benches or in free agency right now. Those guys will appear in the end of season awards. For now, let’s take a look at some players that have earned themselves a trophy through half the season.
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The “Fantasy MVP” Award
Adam Thielen (WR – MIN)
I believe the MVP award should go to not only one of the best players in the league, but one that provides the best value. That is why Adam Thielen gets the nod ahead of the consensus best player in fantasy, Todd Gurley. Heading into this season, I was of the mindset that Thielen was the clear No. 1 WR on the Vikings. He is better at football than Stefon Diggs, which is not a knock on Diggs, who is also a top 12 WR in the league. I never expected him to set records for the most consecutive 100-yard receiving games to open the season. Thielen is not just the clear best WR in fantasy, it’s not even close. He is averaging 25.25 FPPG, which is 2.82 more than the overall WR2, Davante Adams. Gurley was the consensus first-overall pick, and he is performing like a first-overall pick. Thielen was going in the third round and is performing like he should’ve been the first WR off the board in the middle of the first round.
Honorable Mention: Todd Gurley (RB – LAR)
The “Fantasy LVP” Award
Rob Gronkowski (TE – NE)
There was a time when owning Rob Gronkowski afforded fantasy owners the single most decisive advantage you could have at any position. Gronk was so much better than every other TE that, due to positional scarcity, he was worth a late first/early second-round pick. This year, his ADP had depressed all the way to the early third round. Through half a season, Gronk might as well have been a free agent pickup. He is no more valuable than guys like Austin Hooper or Eric Ebron. Gronk is currently a low-end TE1, sandwiched between the aforementioned Hooper and David Njoku. Those who waited on George Kittle or O.J. Howard and those who picked up Jared Cook or Ebron have had a better TE than the once great Gronk. It would not surprise me if this turns out to be Gronk’s final season.
Honorable Mention: Amari Cooper (WR – OAK, now DAL), Chris Hogan
The “Accidental League Winner” Award
James Conner (RB – PIT)
Up until the latest stages of fantasy draft season, no one truly believed that Le’Veon Bell wasn’t going to play football. That means that James Conner was either drafted as a handcuff, a pure dart throw, or picked up with the mindset of “what the hey, maybe Bell does sit out a few weeks and Conner is serviceable.” In addition to Bell missing what is going to be the entire season, Conner hasn’t just been useful, he’s been elite. The single most valuable asset in fantasy football is an every-week elite RB1. Conner has become one out of nowhere. Somewhere out in the universe are fantasy owners that went Gurley-Thielen-Tyreek Hill, waited on Pat Mahomes at QB and then picked up Conner. I am jealous of those people.
The “Rookie of the Year” Award
Phillip Lindsay (RB – DEN)
Saquon Barkley currently sits as the overall RB5, which is exactly where I had him ranked this year. Phillip Lindsay is the RB17. That’s good, not great. However, Lindsay was an undrafted free agent that was so impressive in preseason action that he forced Vance Joseph’s hand. He wasn’t drafted in most fantasy leagues, yet he has scored double-digit fantasy points in all but one game this season. Lindsay now has the Broncos’ starting RB job under lock and key and looks like a high-end RB2 the rest of the way. Barkley is obviously the highest-scoring rookie, but he’s merely doing what he was drafted to do. There is no “2018 Alvin Kamara,” but Lindsay is the closest thing.
Honorable Mention: Saquon Barkley (RB – NYG)
The “Told You So” Award
Tyreek Hill (WR – KC)
Fewer things were more obvious than a continued Tyreek Hill breakout. The shift from Alex Smith to Pat Mahomes was a clear upgrade. Hill was entering his third year and only improving as a wide receiver. Andy Reid stated he was going to cater the offense to Mahomes, which meant more air raid concepts. Hill has speed that simply cannot be covered. The idea that classic efficiency ratios applied to someone like Hill was just plain ridiculous. You cannot compare classic WRs to a player unlike any we’ve ever seen. After Hill posted a WR7 finish by average PPR PPG in 2017, it was mind-boggling to see respected fantasy analysts suggest that his 2018 WR14 ADP was taking him at his ceiling. Through eight weeks, Hill sits as the overall WR4, which is one spot higher than my preseason ranking of him.
Honorable Mention: Dalvin Cook (RB – MIN), Jay Ajayi (RB – PHI)
The “You Told Me So” Award
Melvin Gordon (RB – LAC)
On the other side of the coin, man I completely missed Melvin Gordon becoming really good at football. I won’t apologize for fading him in 2016 and 2017. He was an inefficient compiler…for the most part. Towards the end of 2017, something started to change and Gordon looked quicker and more elusive. Yet, I refused to acknowledge it. I refused to admit that the current version of Gordon was a lot better than the one I bashed in previous years. I missed it. All Gordon has done in his career, outside of his dreadful rookie season, is finish as a mid RB1. Through half a season, he is the single best fantasy RB not named Todd Gurley. Gordon should’ve been a mid-first-round pick and I wasn’t even willing to pull the trigger late in the first round, had I ever gotten the opportunity. You were right. I’m sorry I disrespected you, Melvin.
Honorable Mention: Will Fuller (WR – HOU), Kerryon Johnson (RB – DET), Evan Engram (TE – NYG)
The “It’s 2018, How Are You Still Good?” Award
Adrian Peterson (RB – WAS)
For years, the running joke amongst my friends and I was that the NFL contained two species of athletes: humans and Adrian Peterson. For the last three years, it looked as if Peterson was merely human. Much like his namesake, Purple Jesus, after three years, has risen. In the year 2018, through half a season, Peterson sits as the overall RB14. The guy wasn’t signed until August and only even got a job because Derrius Guice tore his ACL and the Redskins hate Samaje Perine. Not only has AP taken hold of the starting job, he has rendered all other Redskins backs, including Chris Thompson, obsolete. He’s not just compiling either. Peterson actually looks like Adrian Peterson. He sits at seventh in yards created per carry, 13th in juke rate, and 12th in breakaway run rate. For him to do this at 33 years old is incredible. I have no idea how he is still good, but he’s earned this award.
The “Just Hold Your Nose And Click Start” Award
Lamar Miller (RB – HOU)
Currently the RB24 on the season, Lamar Miller consistently does just enough to make you keep starting him. In a year where only six or seven RBs are truly elite, Miller just keeps on keeping on. It hasn’t been pretty, but he’s scored at least nine fantasy points in every full game he’s played and has three games over 14 points. He won’t get you 20, but he usually gets you at least half that. Locked into volume by virtue of the nothingness behind him, Miller will remain an unexciting, high-floor option for the foreseeable future.
Honorable Mention: Alex Collins (RB – BAL)
The “Your Matchup Is Always Great, Why Are You Bad?” Award
Jordan Howard (RB – CHI)
The new-look Bears offense was supposed to benefit everyone. Jordan Howard was a popular third-round pick and even crept up into the second round in many leagues as fantasy owners, including yours truly, were enticed by his touchdown upside. The Bears have faced mostly weak defenses and have been faced with very little negative game script, which is typically the biggest concern with a running back that doesn’t catch passes. It hasn’t mattered. In a game where the Bears scored 48 points against Tampa Bay, Howard had just 2.5 fantasy points. Following the bye, Howard couldn’t even get to five fantasy points against New England. The previous two weeks, he’s salvaged his fantasy day by falling into the end zone, but even with a touchdown, he has scored only 11.8 and 14.1 points in those two games. The Bears have scored at least 23 points in all but one game this year, yet Howard sits as the RB35 right now. He’s barely a Flex option. Jordan, why are you bad?
The “Icarus” Award
Calvin Ridley (WR – ATL)
This award goes to a player who has, to quote George Costanza, flown “too close to the sun on the wings of pastrami.” In other words, Calvin Ridley started out too hot and then flamed out. After failing to touch the ball in Week 1, Ridley scored a whopping six touchdowns over his next three games (which, for those keeping track at home, is apparently six more than Julio Jones will have this entire season, or over the rest of his career). Ridley posted PPR totals of 16.7, 40.5, and 21.5. Unfortunately, despite the crazy efficiency, it was never going to last as Ridley’s snap share remained firmly behind Julio and Mohamed Sanu. Ridley has failed to reach double digits in each of his last three games. Fantasy owners who thought they had a free WR2 are quickly realizing that Ridley burned too bright too quickly.
Honorable Mention: Chris Thompson (RB – WAS)
The “Failure To Launch” Award
Derrick Henry (RB – TEN)
It feels like it was just yesterday that Derrick Henry was being lauded as a second-round pick. Henry was coming off a monster playoff run and DeMarco Murray had just retired, setting the stage for the Henry takeover we’d been waiting for. Then, the Titans signed Dion Lewis. Henry’s ADP dipped, but he was still expected to split snaps and handle the goal line work. Instead, we have an RB that hasn’t been worth rostering for half a season, let alone starting. Henry currently sits outside the top 48 RBs. Plenty of fantasy teams roster five RBs, but that fifth RB is supposed to be the guy you pick up midseason as a stash or a dart throw, not your fourth-round pick.
Honorable Mention: Corey Davis (WR – TEN)
The “Patience Is A Virtue” Award
Marlon Mack (RB – IND)
The dude made you wait six weeks, but boy was your patience rewarded if you stuck it out. With limited talents in Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins his only competition, Marlon Mack was immediately given the starting job as soon as he was healthy enough to return after a premature attempt at returning in Week 2. Mack came back in Week 6 and rushed for 89 yards, which was encouraging. Then, in Weeks 7 and 8, he exploded for 31.9 and 28.9 fantasy points. It’s hard to fathom this will continue, but remember that whole thing about there being very few reliable RB1s? Mack sure looks like he may be able to crack that circle.
The “Disposable Superstar” Award
Robert Woods (WR – LAR)
One of my friends coined the term “Disposable Superstar” back in 2013 in reference to a player that appeared to have everything in place for a huge year yet was being largely ignored by fantasy gamers. That man was Peyton Manning’s starting running back, Knowshon Moreno, who finished the season with 1,586 yards from scrimmage and 13 total touchdowns. This year, everything was setup for Robert Woods to continue to build upon his truncated by injury 2017 breakout. The Rams were the league’s best offense in 2017 and poised to improve entering their second year under Sean McVay. Woods was the clear WR1 in Los Angeles last season. Why was he being treated as if he was the WR3 this season? Woods was being drafted behind Cooper Kupp and well behind Brandin Cooks in as late as the eighth or ninth round. Woods is currently the PPR WR15, picking up right where he left off last season. Woods isn’t just useful, he’s a difference-making asset, making him your 2018 Disposable Superstar.
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Jason Katz is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive, follow him @jasonkatz13, and listen to him on the Fantasy Forensics Podcast.
