The 2020 fantasy football season is officially over.
That is, unless you play in one of those rogue fantasy leagues that COUNTS week 17 (if this is the case, we highly suggest you find yourself another league).
But for 99.997% of leagues out there, your 2020 fantasy season has officially ended. And what a year it was.
This season could not have been any more unique, thanks to COVID. From re-scheduling games last minute, to having Tuesday and Wednesday night games, to having players go on the COVID-IR list the day before kickoff, this year brought some really interesting challenges.
PLEASE NOTE: This article won't be diving into the impact that COVID had on your fantasy league. There is enough media coverage around this. And while it's impossible to completely distinguish any COVID from non COVID impact given the compounding effect that no pre-season and extremely limited off-season schedule had, we'll do our best.
Lesson 3: Injuries Happen. Be Careful of Placing Too much Auction Value for ONE Player
The man. The myth. The LEGEND.
Run CMC.
"Here's a guy who can single handedly win you your fantasy league". Auction drafters in PPR leagues were shelling out nearly 50% of their budget for Christian McCaffrey, after his ridiculous 2019 performance. A stud running back, with no weakness, and the pass catching ability of an elite WR, Run CMC was a no brainer #1 pick in fantasy this year.
Don't place too many eggs in one basket because your fantasy team simply becomes too much risk/reward. We're not saying don't draft an elite RB or WR with a good portion of your auction draft budget, but you need to have a backup plan in the event your golden goose goes can't lay any more eggs.
Lesson 2: Draft QB's Late. No Matter What They did the Previous Year.
This happens every year.
The most elite QB from the previous year tends to get drafted in the second or third round. Let's be clear. This will crush your fantasy dreams.
"But Lamar Jackson is different. He's going to rush for at least 1,000 yards, and his passing stats can only get better".
False.
Yes, Lamar Jackson is an elite athlete and a gifted passer. He'll probably bounce back in 2021, and finish as a top 5 QB, but he's not worth a 3rd round investment! No QB should be drafted before the 5th round, it's as simple as this.
Why do QB's get drafted so high each year, when they almost never pan out to return good value for managers?
Lesson 1: Convince Your Commish to Drop Kickers as a Position
It's simply a crapshoot drafting and playing kickers in fantasy. I realize that fantasy football has a huge element of luck involved, but the kicker position should be eliminated from your leagues starting roster.
The Kicker has already been eliminated from all major DFS leagues, such as Draft Kings and Fanduel.
Nobody drafts a Kicker ahead of the last round.
So why keep the position in your season long re-draft league?
The top ranked kickers this year are Jason Saunders, Younghoe Koo, and Daniel Carlson, which should tell you everything that you need to know about the Kicker position.
If you are the commish of your fantasy league, it's time that you abolish the kicker position. You'll want to notify all league members before the start of your 2021 draft, but make sure it gets done. If you are a manager without direct control over the league settings, you need to start lobbying for this change.
Other Lessons Learned:
- Alvin Kamara will be just fine if Drew Brees retires... Because Taysom Hill looks like a beast.
- Pre Season matters for position battles.. Just ask James Robinson and Leonard Fournette.
- Tom Brady STILL has it... But we don't know for how much longer.
- Chris Godwin might not be that good.
- Stud Rookie RB's continue to perform well.
- Stud Rookie WR's struggle to contribute consistently.
- Travis Kelce matters, the rest of the Tight End position does not.
- If you haven't started using an offline fantasy football draft board for your annual draft, your commish is weak.
- If your league doesn't have a fantasy football championship belt (or other trophy), you should re-think playing in this league next year.
- If you aren't punishing your fantasy league loser, you aren't doing it right.
