Fantasy Football is built on the process of research, projection, and prognostication. It can be exhausting at times to analyze information and interpret the analysis of others, only to realize we are not oracles and have a hard time predicting much anything on a week-to-week basis. (If you can’t tell, I’m still tilting from Carson Wentz’s Week 8 performance on Sunday Night Football.)
In any case, I’d like to offer a breath of fresh air from the crystal ball crowing we do each week and write an appreciation post for the players that have balled out through the first 8 weeks of the season: The First Half Phenoms of Fantasy Football.
These are players I can’t stop thinking about in relation to our offseason prep, and to an extent how I, “shoulda/woulda/coulda” drafted them in more leagues.
Kyler Murray
You may have “overpaid” for a year-two jump in production from Kyler Murray compared to Patrick Mahomes in 2018 and Lamar Jackson in 2019, but the mid-round QB has paid off in spades for fantasy managers thus far. Murray creates fantasy points both through the air and on the ground, proving he’s the high-floor/high-ceiling dual threat analysts like Ben Gretch touted him to be.
Murray leads all QBs with 437 rushing yards and 7 rushing TDs. His last 4 rushing TDs have come from 1, 2, 1, and 5 yards away from the goal line. Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury is scheming Murray to run in goal-to-go situations, and with Murray’s elite speed on tap, it’s one of the easiest conversions in football. I can’t wait to see more of this (plus spike weeks in the passing game) as the season rolls on.
Kyler Murray takes it in himself for the touchdown. #RedSea #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/EkkAmSASJ0
— Justin Groc (@jgroc) October 20, 2020
Davante Adams
Let’s move on to a stud who is continuously underrated in most wide receiver conversations. Though he’s only played 5 games so far due to injury and a Week 5 bye, Davante Adams is far and away the WR1 in PPR points per game with 27. The next highest is Tyler Lockett with 21.2 (more on him later.)
There were concerns around the Packers playing a conservative, run-first offense after their uninspiring 2020 NFL draft, but that was never going to stop Adams from being an absolute target hog. While he won’t end the season with his 16-game pace of 186 targets, 138 receptions, 1,606 yards, and 22 TDs, (my god) the volume he’s seeing is plenty to keep those that drafted him satisfied. Bad luck in New Orleans aside, Adams was always an obvious candidate to supplant Michael Thomas as the WR1 for 2020.
Davante Adams makes it look effortless pic.twitter.com/n3RTDBt4eI
— Receiver Life (@ReceiverLife_) November 1, 2020
Calvin Ridley
Besides two outlier games, (one goose egg against the aforementioned Packers and his most recent game where he left early due to injury) Calvin Ridley has been a model of consistency. In the 6 games you loved having Ridley on your roster, he’s never had lower than 74% snap share or 7 targets. In 4 of those 6 games, he amassed double-digit targets and over 100 yards receiving. Add in his knack of getting open in the end zone, (6 TDs on the season so far) and it’s safe to say Ridley is on the path to complete the well-known “third-year breakout” for wide receivers.
Whether it was talks of Julio Jones still being 1A in the offense or Ridley only being productive when Austin Hooper was out of the lineup last season, I think most of these arguments against Ridley can be put to rest. A lingering injury may slow his momentum for the rest of 2020, so it will be important to remember these first 8 games when we evaluate Ridley for 2021.
Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf
If you had any intuition that the Seahawks coaching staff would legitimately “Let Russ Cook” in 2020, the top pass-catching options for Russell Wilson were absolute smashes at their ADP. Metcalf and Lockett were being drafted as WR19 and WR22 off the board respectively. Their PPR points per game ranks them as WR3 and WR2, respectively. Russell Wilson has consistently shown upside of being hyper-efficient throwing the ball, and their high-octane offense shows no signs of slowing down.
James Robinson
Moving on from receivers, let’s touch quickly on a position group that “doesn’t matter,” AKA running back. While I say this tongue-in-cheek, injuries have plagued the NFL as a whole this season, and running back is no different. Plenty of studs have been absent from the field. The unique part about the position though is that the pathway to opportunity for running backs is significantly clearer than wide receiver or tight end.
Enter James Robinson. As soon as the Jaguars decided to cut Leonard Fournette, Robinson was a recent, young acquisition that had a window to win the workhorse role in the backfield.
James Robinson went UnDrafted, but he was always very close to the top tier of RBs in this 2020 class.
He’s not elite, but he could certainly climb to the top of an Ogzibo/Armstead mountain. https://t.co/QrNnZWMLJ7
— Jax Falcone 🚫 (@DynoGameTheory) September 4, 2020
Compounded by the unfortunate absence of Ryquell Armstead due to COVID-19, Robinson has made the most of his opportunity. He’s currently ranked as RB5 on the season and RB6 in PPR points per game, despite running behind a bottom-tier offensive line.
My personal advice to anyone smart enough to add Robinson for free prior to the season: Don’t overthink it. Keep starting him, and if you’re worried, plan ahead with added RB depth. He’s a legitimate contributor in your redraft lineups until he proves otherwise.
That’s all the praise I have to give for now. If you have these guys on your team, enjoy the ride! If you’d like to tell me who YOUR First Half Phenom of 2020 is, hit me up on Twitter, @AndrewMackens. Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I will share some of my favorite potential league winners for redraft this season.
