Fantasy Football: Looking back at early season bold predictions and how they turned out
By Ryan McCloy
Bryce Love will finish as a top 35 RB worthy of weekly Flex consideration
I’m just going to skip this one. Love not only did not reach top 40 RBs, he scored 0 total points and was not active for a single game. Next.
Chargers defense scores more fantasy points than the Patriots defense
Incorrect. The Chargers were suffered multiple injuries early in the season, limiting their potential and ability. Notably, Derwin James and Melvin Ingram missing at least 9 games each severely hindered the Chargers’ Defense. The Patriots’ Defense severely regressed in 2020, from their record-breaking 2019 season to D/ST 12 this year.
Austin Ekeler will be a top 3 fantasy RB
Incorrect. Ekeler finished as RB9 in average points per game out of RBs who played at least half of their team’s games. Unfortunately, Ekeler himself only played 10 games, limiting him to RB28 overall.
Cooper Kupp will outscore all other Rams WRs by at least 50 points this season
Incorrect. This would be true… If not for Robert Woods. Neither Woods nor Kupp missed a game until Kupp missed week 17, which led to Woods outscoring Kupp by just over 36 total points, or about 1.4 points per game. Neither Woods nor Kupp were a reliable fantasy WR this season, as both checked in at WR2-3 range. They did, however, pull away from the pack of Rams WRs, including Josh Reynolds and rookie Van Jefferson, after the departure of Brandin Cooks to Houston.
Miles Sanders will finish outside the top 15 RBs
Correct, but primarily due to injury. I predicted the fall of the Eagles offense this season, and though Sanders would go down with the ship. After missing 4 total games and a brutal stretch of ineffectiveness from the end of the fantasy regular season to the start of the fantasy playoffs, Sanders checked in with a total scoring rank of RB22, and a points-per-game rank of RB17. Not ideal for a player drafted in many leagues as an RB1