Travis Kelce has a chance to become the first tight end to lead the league in receiving yards
As Ferris Bueller might say: The world of sports moves pretty fast...
... If you don't stop and look around at least once a week, you could miss it. In this special edition of The Weekly Assist we will award the best fantasy performers from the 2020 regular season. Now that your league has moved into the postseason, let's take a look at some of the players that helped you get there!
Most Outstanding Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers
- 3,685 passing yards - NFL-best 39 TD passes - League-leading 119.7 passer rating - NFC North champion RT if… https://t.co/2KwsCp2aXV— Green Bay Packers (@Green Bay Packers)1607913156.0
Rodgers entered this season with questions looming over him, even after leading his team to the NFC Championship in 2019. Coming off three consecutive seasons (one cut short due to injury) where he failed to throw for more than 26 touchdowns led most of us to think his illustrious career was on the downtrend.
Another year in the Matt LaFleur offense seemed to be just what the Packers and Rodgers needed to live up to the expectations that came along with the coaching hire. LaFleur has found the right balance to maximize Rodgers' talents while keeping his talented back, Aaron Jones, involved in both the run and pass game.
The result has been one of Rodgers' best seasons as he's first in passing touchdowns (39) and in QBR (84.8). In fantasy football, touchdowns are king, and nobody has been more efficient at producing them from the QB position this year than A-A-Ron and for that reason he takes home Most Outstanding Quarterback for the 2020 regular fantasy season.
Like-A-Rock Award for Best Performance from a Running Back
Respect between @BarrySanders and @KingHenry_2 🤝 https://t.co/3Wo8wXlfb7— B/R Gridiron (@B/R Gridiron)1607924216.0
Derrick Henry Tennessee Titans
When you lead the league in rushing yards and touchdowns you're going to be in consideration for this award. But when you do it with the panache and physicality that we've seen Derrick Henry run with this season, he embodies the phrase "like a rock". If not for missing a few games due to injury this season we may be talking about Dalvin Cook here instead, but Henry has been the catalyst for the Titans' success this season and likely for his fantasy owners.
Even when Ryan Tannehill and the passing game struggled, Henry seems to be slump-proof. Henry has amassed eight 100 yard rushing games including two games over 200 yards. His 14 touchdowns is tied with Dalvin Cook for the league lead, but Henry also projects to be a better player for his fantasy teams through the fantasy playoffs.
Henry may not be the prototypical modern day fantasy running back that catches balls out of the backfield, but he is nearly unstoppable in the open field, and up until now we have no evidence to prove that he is not the Terminator. Unfortunately for opposing NFL teams and fantasy managers that don't have Derrick Henry, in 2021 he will be back.
J.P. Prewitt Award (Best Hands *Zoolander Reference*) Wide Receiver of the Year
Only a @Cheetah can run this fast. #ChiefsKingdom 📺: #KCvsMIA on CBS 📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app:… https://t.co/CSedHz2VVk— NFL (@NFL)1607885702.0
Tyreek Hill Kansas City Chiefs
This decision was the toughest one to make on this list. Davante Adams has been just as good and just as important to his team and fantasy owners. Both benefit from having excellent quarterbacks and strong running games to support them. But the deciding differentiating factor between them in choosing a winner is the blinding speed that Hill possesses and the way that it can alter the outcomes of games.
We have seen Kansas City struggle to get their offense going in a few games this season, but Hill is always the guy that Patrick Mahomes will look to when they need a big play. Trying to keep the Cheetah in front of you is nearly impossible so don't even waste your time trying to game plan for him.
Hill is only ranked 14th in receptions with 77 but he's fourth in receiving yards (1,158) and tied for the league lead in touchdowns with 14. Considering how much more he's able to do with less catches, it's hard to argue that he isn't the most dangerous player in the league with the ball in his hands. As long as Patrick Mahomes is throwing him the ball, Hill is a walking touchdown waiting to happen. Hill's Week 12 performance against the Buccaneers is the highlight of his season as he posted 269 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 13 catches.
The Tony *Gonzalez* Award for Best Supporting Role in an Offense
Travis Kelce carrying me and my decimated roster through the fantasy playoffs https://t.co/UZishi1JYP— Mina Kimes (@Mina Kimes)1607887489.0
Travis Kelce Kansas City Chiefs
Kelce currently leads the league in receiving yards. A tight end has never finished the season as the league's leader in that category. It seems like foregone conclusion that Kelce will become the first to accomplish that feat. Over his last six games Kelce either has had 100 yards receiving or a touchdown in five of them.
Kelce is one of the most consistent players on a week to week basis because he's Patrick Mahomes' favorite target. A former quarterback, Kelce has the advantage of seeing the field from a QB's perspective which is likely why you always see him open in the passing game.
There are a few players in the league we consider to be at the top of their positions, but none have distanced themselves from their nearest competition in quite the same way we've seen Kelce do it at the tight end position. The only other player considered here was Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders, but the statistical advantage that Travis Kelce held was too big to ignore.
Just like in most of the Chiefs' regular season games, Travis Kelce won this one by a landslide.
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Josh Allen scampers for a gain against the Colts in the third quarter of the wild card game.
As the NFL postseason got underway last week, it became clear we need to make some halftime adjustments with our picks this week.
The Ravens were an easy cover for us, especially once Lamer found his groove and the grooves in Tennessee's D. Throw in a few head scratching punts by Mike Vrabel and that does the trick.
Meanwhile, Stefon Diggs came up two catches short for us with three targets left on the table. It was always going to be tough to get that many grabs, but it was worth a few bucks just to see what would happen.
Please, please, please remind me never to bet unders. I haven't hit one all year and yet the siren's song calls me to shore. I maintain this is the best one I bet all year. The pick 6 and DK Metcalf bomb in the second quarter killed after the best start imaginable. After 15 minutes, we had a combined score of 3, 15 minutes of game time later? 30. Bananas.
Then I don't really know what else to say about Pittsburgh losing to Baker Mayfield and co. that hasn't already been said. I just have to edit my list of completely impossible things to put, "Snowing in the Sahara desert," and "Taylor Swift ever getting back together with Jake Gyllenhaal" above "The Browns beating the Steelers in the playoffs."
Wizards guard Bradley Beal looks on in a game against the Celtics on Jan. 8, 2021.
Put on your general manager hat for a moment and ask yourself this question: If my team struggled mightily the past couple seasons, is struggling now and will continue to struggle, would I trade my franchise star?
It's an extremely difficult decision to make, but it's something the Washington Wizards have to be pondering with shooting guard Bradley Beal.
Beal has been on an absolute rampage through 11 games, posting a league-high 34.9 points per game on 49% shooting and 38% from distance. He's also dishing out five assists and grabbing 5.3 rebounds with 1.5 steals. All that in 36 minutes a night, yet the Wizards are 3-8 which is the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
"I'm pissed off," Beal told reporters after his 60-point game on Jan. 6. "I'm mad. I don't count [them]. ... Any of my career-highs, they've been in losses. So I don't give a damn. You can throw it right out the window with the other two or three I've had."
His frustration is evident, and though he hasn't verbalized that he wants out of D.C., it's hard not to think that the idea hasn't crossed his mind at least once with how bad the Wizards have been recently.
From 2018-20, they went a combined 57-97 with John Wall sidelined after he tore his Achilles. Before this season began, the Wizards acquired Russell Westbrook in exchange for Wall and a pick, thinking they were getting an upgrade at point guard. Plot twist, they weren't.
Wall is healthy and playing good basketball in Houston while Westbrook is sitting back-to-backs and is currently nursing a quad injury. More importantly, he doesn't make them much better because of his lack of defense and is thus piling up meaningless triple-doubles that don't translate to team success.
Each Friday, FindBet will preview the week's DFS slate, highlighting players that are priced well on DFS sites, as well as some contrarian plays that can push your team to the top of the leader board.
Most NFL DFS games have you putting a team together with players from a certain slate of games. It could be just Sunday 1:00 PM games, or it could be every game that is slated for the week. Once the last game that has eligible players is over, the final payouts are made according to how many fantasy points each team scored. Each player is worth a certain dollar amount, and you have a cap of $60,000 to build your team with. You have to have 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX (RB, WR, or TE) and 1 DEF.
The general scoring rules include (6) points for each rushing and receiving touchdown, (4) points for each passing touchdown, (0.1) points for each rushing and receiving yard gained, (0.04) points for each passing yard, and also (0.5) points for each reception. There are other scoring opportunities for defenses. Let's take a look at players we like in the first round of the NFL playoffs this weekend.
