New Year’s Resolutions. Everyone makes them. We sometimes follow them. But all resolutions come from a similar place: the determination to better ourselves.
Fantasy football is no exception. I was in 11 leagues this year and made the playoffs in seven of them. And while that’s no doubt a good year, I know there are areas in which I can be better. As a league commissioner, I know there are ways to make our league better.
So as we get ready to embark on 2022, here are some fantasy football resolutions we can all follow. And of course, I hope you have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.
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Resolution #1: Say goodbye to tight ends
I’m getting on my soapbox. This is my biggest crusade of 2022. It’s time to stop mandating tight ends as fixtures in our starting lineups. There simply aren’t enough viable tight ends out there that you can confidently start every week.
Only four tight ends are within the top 100 fantasy football scorers entering Week 17. Sure, having Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, or George Kittle gives you a slight advantage. But only Andrews (26th in scoring) has delivered on his ADP. And it hasn’t been a smooth ride for any of these guys.
I’m not saying tight ends shouldn’t be eligible for fantasy football. I would just turn my tight end spot into a “pass catcher,” flex for either wide receivers or tight ends.
No more hoping guys like Chris Herndon pan out. No more chasing for the elusive Robert Tonyan fluky breakout season. No more waiver roulette hoping to get three catches and a touchdown from your weekly tight end streamer.
Life is already stressful enough as it is. Why stress more about your starting tight end?
Resolution #2: Wait on drafting your quarterback
Here are the top 10 quarterbacks in fantasy football entering Week 17, along with their ADPs.
What's the lesson here? There are plenty of good values at quarterback. Look at the last two players on this list. Cousins was drafted nearly 100 spots after Prescott and has outscored him by 10 points. Mahomes went just outside of the first round and certainly hasn't lived up to his ADP. Josh Allen has picked it up lately, but he wasn't carrying his weight earlier in the year.
Quarterback is the deepest position in fantasy. When in doubt, wait. Chances are, you can find a productive player like Hurts or Stafford much later on.
Resolution #3: Try a Zero RB strategy in one league next year
This is more experimental than anything else. But treat this as your resolution to start a new hobby. It's not mandatory but could be beneficial.
Running backs have been decimated this season. 17 of the top 20 running backs drafted have missed at least one game this season. And many of them have missed significant time. That feels like an unprecedented amount of tailback injuries. But it also feels like running backs are bound to miss time throughout the season.
That has me considering going Zero RB on at least one team next season. Maybe instead of grabbing that bell cow in Round 1, I'll load up on stud receivers and wait until Round 4 or 5 to grab a tailback. Of course, a Zero RB strategy likely requires you to take a quarterback early, thus canceling out Resolution #2. But consider it.
Resolution #4: Get rid of defenses and kickers
Fantasy football already has so much randomness. And I can't understand why leagues still utilize defenses and, even worse, kickers.
Not only are defenses and kickers random, but they also aren't replicable on an annual basis. The No. 1 defense taken this year was the Pittsburgh Steelers, who currently rank 20th in scoring. The Dallas Cowboys, the No. 1 defense in fantasy right now, was the 20th defense off the board in drafts.
Kickers are even more completely random and are based more on the offenses they're connected to than anything else. The No. 1 kicker in fantasy right now is Nick Folk, who was taken as the 20th kicker off the board. In fact, the top kicker in fantasy probably wasn't even drafted in most leagues.
Just get rid of the randomness-cut defenses and kickers.
Resolution #5: Have more fun
In the end, fantasy football is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to connect us to friends and family members we otherwise might not see or speak to as often. But I get it. There have been times this season when fantasy football wasn't fun. It felt like a slog, a chore, and felt more random than ever. And that doesn't even speak to the impact COVID-19 has had in recent weeks.
My biggest piece of advice heading into next season is not to let the results impact the fun you have playing. Stuff happens. A slam dunk starter puts up a dud performance. I'm sure it'll happen this week.
All you can do is prepare to the best of your ability. Don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work out. And remember to enjoy it because the fantasy football season goes by quickly.
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