Let me be the first to wish you a happy new year. New year, new content, and all that good stuff, but let’s just take a look back one more time for fantasy football’s sake. The game we love and also the game we hate. The game we can never truly get enough of. If you won any championships in 2020, congratulations. If you didn’t,(me) better luck next year.
I’ll be going through the best of the best of fantasy football in 2020, plus a few players I was right about, and a few I was wrong about. Now without further ado, the fantasy awards of 2020.
Todd Gurley Memorial MVP Award
- Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee
- Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans
- Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City
Winner: Travis Kelce
So if you played fantasy football this year, or any year in recent memory, you understand how hard it is to fill your Tight End position every week, unless you have one of the top guys. The only problem is that in 2020, there was only one true top guy, a couple good starters, and the rest were dart throws every week. With respect to his position, Travis Kelce was the most valuable player by far and away. In PPR formats, Kelce had one week where he scored six points and one week he scored ten. Other than those two weeks, he scored at least 14 every time he stepped on the field.
He was a guiding light of many playoff teams. He was by far the TE1 on the year, but his pass catching prowess had him finish as what would be the WR4 on the year if he was listed as such. If you had Travis Kelce, you got top-5 WR production out of the worst spot in fantasy football.
With respect to Kamara and Henry, and even Dalvin Cook who missed a game, the consistency, the point totals, and the position he plays makes Travis Kelce the fantasy MVP of 2020. Shoutout to Cleveland Heights.
Rookie of the Year
- Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington
- Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota
- James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville
Winner: James Robinson
James “RB1nson” as he is known by some on the r/fantasyfootball subreddit, was an unexpected gift for any fantasy managers that were smart enough to pick him up. He finished as the RB4 on the year, and I don’t have to tell you how important a top 5 RB is to your roster. Before he got injured and missed week 16, he was a staple in your lineup, and he paid you back by never giving you less than 10 PPR points in a week. That type of consistency is key in fantasy. With all the injuries that we saw to starting RBs throughout the year, the fact that Robinson was able to give you 14 straight weeks of double digit points is enough for me to give him this award.
My heart wanted me to go with Justin Jefferson, but the fact is that it is harder to find a true every week starter at RB than it is to find one at WR. And while Jefferson had a few weeks that could’ve won your matchup, he had a few that could’ve lost your matchup if you trusted him to produce as at least a WR2 level. He finished as the PPR WR8, which is fantastic for a rookie, and speaks to the value he will continue to have for years to come.
The “I Hate It Had to be You” Award for Least Valuable Player
Winner: Cam Newton
If you know me, you know how hard this is for me. Cam is one of my all-time favorite players in this league. I was hoping for a great comeback season so he could prove all the doubters wrong and lead the Patriots and your fantasy team to the playoffs. Well, I was wrong in both aspects because the run is over. Cam Newton is finished and I have to be objective enough to admit that. Cam finished with an average game of 18.9 points. Not too bad right? Wrong. Out of all the Quarterbacks that played at least 10 games in 2020, 18.9 PPG is 23rd.
23rd.
So even if you played in a 2 QB league that was bottom of the barrel. You could not trust him to get you consistent points every week. If a team managed to stop him from running the ball, it was a disaster. He even managed to get benched in a game this season. He threw FIVE (5!) passing touchdowns all season. I don’t carfe how bad the patriots receivers are, that number is terrible.
So Cam has had a great career. He’s one of the most talented players to step foot on a field. He is in my opinion the greatest college football player ever. But his time has come, and it’s time to hang it up.
Where I Was Right
So I am channeling my inner Colin Cowherd and talking a bit about the players I was right about going into the year, and who I was wrong about. When it come to these players listed, I’m not factoring in injuries. So you won’t see Christian McCaffery or Saquon Barkley on the list because obviously everyone got that wrong because no one can predict injuries. And also, I have no proof of me being right about these guys below because I did not post about it anywhere, so you’ll just have to take my word on it. Scout’s honor.
Tyreek Hill
Cheetah finished the fantasy year as the WR2 in PPR. many people said he couldn’t be a top-5 option because he didn’t get consistent targets in the passing game. That part is true, but what is also true is that he his the most efficient player in the NFL in regards to what he does when he touches the ball. Every target, every catch, every carry can go for six points. He plays in the best offense in the league that throws the ball most of the time from the most talented quarterback on the planet. He runs a 4.2 and can stop on a dime. Don’t overthink this next year.
Kyler Murray
Kyler had all the makings of a fantasy stud coming into the year. We knew Kliff Kingsbury wanted to pass the ball a lot, the Cardinals traded for one of the best receivers in the league, and Kyler is one of the best running quarterbacks in the game. All summer I said Kyler would be the QB1. Not Mahomes or Lamar, but Kyler. And I was correct. He barely edged out Josh Allen for that number one spot, and he was basically on fire all season.
Where I Was Wrong
Derrick Henry
So to get this out of the way, I had no issue with Derrick Henry himself. I knew how great he was as a player. My issue was that I did not believe in Ryan Tannehill. I thought he would come back down to Earth and teams would stack the box. And also, the Titans would be down and Henry wouldn’t get the appropriate touches he needed. Super wrong. I will not make that mistake again. Every time I played against Derrick Henry this season, he scored approximately 92 points a game. I’m done going against him. I am team Derrick Henry until further notice.
Nick Chubb
I tried to get cute. I thought a full season of Kareem Hunt would take too many carries away from Nick Chubb. And yes, Chubb did get hurt, but the full games he played he was a monster. His 17.5 PPG in PPR was good enough for 7th in the league. But he obviously only played in 11 games and was hurt in one of those games. If you take away the game he got hurt in, the average goes up to 18.8, which would be good for 5th in the league. I didn’t realize how much the Browns would commit to running the ball and I underestimated how good Nick Chubb is, and I already thought he was excellent. If I have a chance, I’m taking him next season.
So that’s a wrap on the 2020 fantasy football season. Unless you play in a league that has games during week 17. And if you do, you should leave that league immediately. Half the people I list in this post won’t even be playing week 17. Anyways, hopefully this will be the last time we look back into 2020. I’m already ready to start mock drafting for 2021.
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