How our dynasty teams, especially the individual players, finish a season can color our view of the entire season. Phrases like ‘Player X always lets me down’ or ‘he is so clutch’ will be spoken come the summer and color global analysis for 2015 based on their 2014 finish. Here are the non-studs that fueled dynasty titles down the stretch as well as the options that faded to the fantasy finish line.
Quarterbacks
Studs Becoming Duds
After strong games in Week 13-14 to get owners into the playoffs, Matthew Stafford had 396 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions between Week 15 and Week 16 combined.
Peyton Manning is an obvious choice as his comeback effort in Week 16 against Cincinnati still kept him in QB2 territory for the week and he was QB28 in Week 14-16 PPG, behind the likes of Josh McCown, Geno Smith, Shaun Hill, and Kyle Orton.
Surprise Difference-Makers
Derek Carr had two QB1-level performances over the final three fantasy weeks, outscoring studs like Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, and Peyton Manning in the process.
Eli Manning. That’s all. Manning put up back-to-back 30-point games in Weeks 15-16 with three touchdowns each game and nearly hitting 400 passing yards against the Rams in title week.
Running Backs
Studs Becoming Duds
LeSean McCoy gets the ‘too little, too late’ award with 20 points in Week 16, but few owners got there with poor performances in Week 14-15 of 12 points total. Plus McCoy was a big disappointment pretty much the entire year with a downturn in touchdowns and receptions.
Alfred Morris was not a stud, but certainly owners liked his high floor of carries. Well, 8.6 total PPR points in Weeks 14-15 killed owners that were forced to start the low-ceiling option at RB2.
Jamaal Charles totaled 19 PPR points in Weeks 15-16, aka the money weeks, and was outside of RB1 territory in Weeks 14-16 even with a 25-point effort in Week 14.
Surprise Difference-Makers
C.J. Anderson was hot in the second half of the season, including big games of 24 points and 28 points in Weeks 14 and 16. Anderson was RB4 over the final three weeks of the fantasy season.
Jonathan Stewart, yes THAT Jonathan Stewart, was RB11 in Weeks 14-16, including two games of at least 20 PPR points.
Wide Receivers
Studs Becoming Duds
After being a strong WR2 for most of the season, DeAndre Hopkins faded – along with the rest of the Houston passing game to WR45 over the final three weeks, including two single-digit performances.
Anquan Boldin faded down the stretch at WR58 in crunch time. Torrey Smith had a zero amidst his WR62 finish. Michael Crabtree was WR73. Jeremy Maclin was a tepid-at-best WR36 with a high of 13 PPR points over that span.
Surprise Difference-Makers
The impact of Odell Beckham this season was in full effect over the final three weeks. Beckham was more than SIX PPR points better than any other receiver over that span on a per-game basis. Plus the next two highest PPG receiver options – Julio Jones and Julian Edelman – each missed a game over the final three weeks.
Jarius Wright and Doug Baldwin were each in the WR2 range. Eddie Royal came out of the woodwork with 25 PPR points in Week 16. Cole Beasley was a mid-WR3 from Week 14-16.
Tight Ends
Studs Becoming Duds
Larry Donnell was TE23 over the final three weeks in PPR PPG. Julius Thomas continued his fade to the finish as he gutted out an ankle injury at TE28. Dwayne Allen at TE35 and Jimmy Graham at TE8 can also be categorized at disappointments. Martellus Bennett threw up a single point in Week 16 and Greg Olsen three points in a disappointing championship week.
Surprise Difference-Makers
Jermaine Gresham was TE3, yes you read that correctly, over the final three weeks. Zach Ertz was a top option in Week 16, but also had a TE1-level showing in Week 14, good for TE5 over the three-game stretch. Luke Willson was the ‘where did this come from?’ play of Week 16 at nearly 29 PPR points following 1.1 points the previous two weeks combined.
