Fantasy Football 2019 Award Review

The following awards are based on FantasyPros Leaderboards researched statistics from the entire season. Everyone has their own MVP, Bust, Hero but this a consensus of everyone across the boards.

Quarterbacks

MVP – Lamar Jackson: I don’t think I really need to explain this one but Jackson has been playing on an MVP level. He ended the season with 420 fantasy points which were 60 fantasy points more than the next quarterback. Jackson also had 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing games during the season. He had at least 20 fantasy points in each game besides one. He dominated the position and led many to fantasy championships.

Best Draft Bargain – Dak Prescott: This award should really go to Lamar Jackson but we already know he was the MVP. Prescott had an impressive season for a quarterback drafted in the double-digit rounds. He only had three games all season that he didn’t score at least double-digit fantasy points. Prescott ended the 2019 season as the second leading fantasy quarterback and threw for a career-high in yards. He was a steal for owners who drafted a quarterback late.

Best Mid-Season Addition – Ryan Tannehill: It all started in week 7 when the Titans benched Marcus Mariota and threw in Ryan Tannehill as the starter. Who would have known, we would get a top-three fantasy quarterback the rest of season? He would go on to average least 2 touchdown passes 261 passing yards in each game. He got the Titans offense to score no less than at least 20 points per game and led them to a 6-2 record. If you had the opportunity to scoop him up then he could have led you to the championship.

Busts: Baker Mayfield – Mayfield is one of many you could consider a bust but being that his ADP was in round seven, Baker Mayfield is our bust. He finished the 2019 season as QB19 well below expectations. Mayfield was able to show glimpses but he mostly underperformed on the season. Overall the offense mainly disappointed everyone and Baker was a big part of that failure. Mayfield wasted many fantasy owners high picks.

Playoff Hero – Drew Brees: There is not much to say when your quarterback averages 30 fantasy points a game during the fantasy playoffs. If you were strong and held onto Brees during his injury-time then he granted you with outstanding performances. He played clean games and had a 12:0 touchdown to interception ratio. Not to mention he also averaged 311 yards in each of those games. There could be many playoff hero quarterbacks but Brees stands above all the rest.

Fantasy Football 2019 Running Backs

MVP – Christian McCaffrey: This one is a no brainer. McCaffrey dominated the fantasy world and finished first overall with 393 fantasy points. He outscored the next running back by over 120 fantasy points. He completed the third every 1000 rushing receiving yards season. True MVP season.

Best Draft Bargain – Austin Ekeler: Ekeler has to be one of the best draft bargains for the year. Ekeler was a steal in the mid-round of drafts after finishing the season strong. He was RB 5 for the season after being the starter for a while then splitting time with Melvin Gordon. Ekeler’s true value came in the passing game where he caught 92 receptions and just missed 1000 receiving yards on the year. You can’t ask for much more for a mid-round pick who ends up as a top-five guy.

Best Mid-Season Addition – Kenyan Drake: Talk about a great pick up midseason. Sadly, there was not a huge mid-season pick up like Nick Chubb in 2018. Drake was being dropped with the Dolphins after poor performances but after the trade to the Cardinals things picked up. He was able to start in week 9 due to injuries and dominated the rest of the fantasy season. Starting in week nine until the end of the season, Drake was RB 4 among running backs. He also has a shot to be the team’s starter next season.

Bust – David Johnson: This award could be for many running backs this season. David Johnson has to be the biggest bust of all season after a high draft rate. He was able to get over 20 fantasy in a game just once. He finished outside the top 30 for the season after being some teams’ RB 1 going into the season. It seems the Cardinals are moving on from him. His lack of production showed as he was RB 75 from week 10 to 16. It was unfortunate due to the great talent but he was overall a bust.

Playoff Hero – Saquon Barkley: Barkley could have been easily considered as the Bust of the Year by the time playoffs started but a Hero appeared. If you stuck with him after his week 14 disappointing game then he awarded you with fantasy gold. In weeks 15 and 16 Barkley ran for 301 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Also, he provided eight receptions for 121 yards and another touchdown in the air. He alone could have won your fantasy championship with his 41 fantasy points in week 16. A true hero to most owners.

Wide Receivers

MVP – Michael Thomas: All the top positions really dominated their positions. Michael Thomas really took that next level by scoring 294 fantasy points on the season. He had no less than at least 5 receptions in each game. His dominance led to breaking the season reception leader. He also had 1,700 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns. The best part you were lucky to have a late draft pick to snag in the late first or early second round. He also didn’t have Drew Brees for like fives games too. Truly an MVP level season.

Best Draft Bargain – DeVante Parker: Finally Parker decided to have a breakout season for all of us. Parker was one of those last round picks to take a risk on and this year it paid off. Parker got off to a quiet start but from weeks five on, Parker was WR3. Even with Miami’s poor offense, Parker was able to shine bright for 1205 receiving yards. Parker benefited from the lack of running game and gunslinger. Parker was one of the nice surprises of the 2019 drafts.

Best Mid-Season Addition – A.J. Brown: Brown was probably one of the best waiver pickups of the season. After a spark in the Titans offense, Brown stepped up and dominated the rest of the season. During week 11 to 16, he was the WR3 in that span and he was on many championship teams. He had 6 touchdowns and in four of the six games, he had over 100 yards receiving. He was a great mid-season addition.

Bust – JuJu Smith-Schuster: I hate to say it but Juju Smith-Schuster was the biggest bust in fantasy. It wasn’t totally his fail due to injuries and injuries to his QB. For fantasy, all we want is to see production for our teams but we didn’t see that this year. He finished the year as WR 62 and only had 552 receiving yards in 12 games. Juju’s ADP had him going in rounds two and three. The lack of production with a high draft spot makes him a bust.

Playoff Hero – Breshad Perriman: There might have been a few others who performed better in the receiver position but Perriman was the hero we never expected. Perriman started off with a solid week 14 game as he went 70 yards and a touchdown. Perriman’s heroics came after injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Over the final two games of the fantasy points, Perriman had 12 receptions for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He was a savior of many championship runs.

Fantasy Football 2019 Tight Ends

MVP – Travis Kelce – Kelce had to be the tight end MVP because he dominated the whole season. He is the reason why you go snag a tight end like this early because he doesn’t have a bad game. Even his bad games are some tight ends of good games. He was the only tight end to get over 200 fantasy points and also performed well during the fantasy playoffs too.

Best Draft Bargain – Austin Hooper: Darren Waller also could be considered for this award but Hooper was on a rampage up until his injury. He finished as the tight end six for the whole year and that was with missing three games. He was so impressive because he was TE1 through nine weeks of the season. Hooper’s ADP had his project in the late double-digit rounds which was a steal for many. Many considered him an average play at best but he took the next level in his game.

Best Mid-Season Addition – Mike Gesicki: Gesicki was widely available all season long until owners started noticed he was producing. In week nine, he had his big blow-up game where he had six receptions for 95 yards. He went on to finish as the tight end six during the span and even was a major help to folks championship week where he put up 82 yards and two touchdowns. He was a major pick up to those who didn’t get one of the studs early on.

Bust – OJ Howard: Howard was a major disappointment all season after being hyped up leading into the 2019 season. He finished the season as tight end 27 among all fantasy tight ends. Howard was held under 10 fantasy points in 13 of 16 games this season. He also was benched during a few games for poor play. Howards’ preseason hype couldn’t translate into the regular season and was a huge bust.

Playoff Hero –Tyler Higbee: For the tight end hero, I didn’t go with players who performed all season like Travis Kelce or Jared Cook. I took the third guy whose owners took the chance to help their tight end position and win them a championship. Higbee took advantage of the injury in Gerald Everett. Starting week 13 he had four straight 100-yard receiving games. The hero that no one could have thought of.

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