We’ve reached the halfway point of the fantasy season, which means it’s time for the mid-season all-fantasy team! We’ll take a look at the top performers at each position, examine why they’re balling out and predict if these guys can keep it up down the stretch.
FANTASY LOCKS
QB: Alex Smith, Kansas City – Didn’t expect to put this guy here at the start of the season, but no one can deny Smith is having a career year. He leads the league in yards per attempt (8.68), completion percentage (72.4) and is tied for second in yards per game (283) and touchdowns (15) and has yet to throw a pick. The interception(s) will come at some point, but I’m not sure if the other numbers are as fluky as they seem.
Yes, Smith was never a serious fantasy play in the 12 seasons that preceded this one. But he also never got to play in this wide open of an offense with this much talent around him. It’s like he’s in college again where he almost won the Heisman Trophy and was good enough to warrant a No.1 overall selection in the NFL draft. I’ll admit I’m biased because he’s on my fantasy team, but I’m not predicting a giant fall back to earth.
RB: Todd Gurley, LA Rams – I was pretty soft on Gurley going into the season, but the workhorse from Georgia is proving me wrong. Gurley looks a lot more like the exciting rookie who averaged 4.8 yards per carry in 2015 and nothing like the plodder who was stuck at 3.2 last year. He’s at 4.3 at the moment and is having his best receiving season with 27 catches for 293 yards and 3 TDs through seven games.
RB: Kareem Hunt, Kansas City – As I said in my preseason articles, I’m a huge rookie RB guy. KC traded three picks to move up 18 spots in the third round to get Hunt. Had the Spencer Ware injury happened before I released my rankings, Hunt would’ve shot up my board. Hunt is absolutely killing it with a league-leading 717 yards on an insane 5.8 yards per carry. The 5.8 ypc isn’t sustainable, but he’s getting enough work in the passing game (25 catches, 285 yards, 2 TDs) that it’s very unlikely he fades down the stretch.
WR: Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh – No surprise here. Brown was predicted to be the best WR in fantasy football this year, and at midseason, Browns is the best WR in fantasy football. He has 220 more yards (765) than the next best receiver (A.J. Green, 545) and continues to be a target and reception whore, with 12 targets and 7.4 receptions per game.
WR: Deandre Hopkins, Houston – Hopkins is surging now that the Texans have finally figured out their QB situation. After floundering last year trying to catch passes from Brock Osweiler, Hopkins is tied for the league lead in TDs (six) and is tied for ninth in catches (37) thanks to the emergence of rookie QB Deshaun Watson. Expect this to continue and possibly get better as the two build more chemistry.
FLEX: Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville – Oh, look at that! ANOTHER ROOKIE RB! Fournette is enjoying a fantastic NFL debut with 99.3 rushing yards per game (second only to Hunt) and an NFL best six TDs. Fournette missed last week with an ankle injury,
and with the injury history he had in college, that should be monitored. But assuming he gets back on the field OK, expect him to continue blasting through defenses.
TE: Zach Ertz, Philadelphia — This was my best pick of the draft and a major reason my team sits at 5-2 right now. Ertz finished last season strong with 63 catches for 666 yards and four TDs in his last nine games and he’s picked up right where he left off with 39 catches for 494 yards and five TDs this year. Ertz will likely continue terrorizing defenses as Carson Wentz’s No. 1 target.
K: Greg Zuerlein, La Rams – I’m not going to write too much here because kicker scoring is random and depends on a lot of outside forces, but Zuerlein is 21-of-22 on FGs (including a 7-for-7 performance week 4 against Dallas) and a perfect 21-for-21 on EXPs.
D/ST: Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jaguars made moves this offseason to bolster their defense and it’s working out. Calais Campbell, who Jacksonville signed away from the Cardinals, leads the league with 10 sacks. A.J. Bouye, who the Jags acquired from Houston, has 10 pass break-ups and two INTs, while teammate Jalen Ramsey 11 pass break-ups and two INTs. The unit also has four TDs.
START ‘EM OR SIT ‘EM
QUARTERBACKS
Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports
START: Philip Rivers, LAC – The Patriot secondary had it’s first respectable performance last week in holding Matt Ryan to 233 yards. Still, every QB before had eclipsed 300 and Rivers is the type of guy who almost always delivers on a good matchup.
SIT: Deshaun Watson, Houston – Watson has been great, but if you looked at the defenses he’s been facing, you’d realize he hasn’t been seriously tested yet. That’ll change this week as Watson must go to Seattle and try picking apart of the ‘Legion of Boom,’ who are probably licking their chops at the chance to shut down the explosive rookie.
RUNNING BACKS
START: Tevin Coleman, Atlanta – Coleman is tough to predict on a week-to-week basis because he’s the Robin of Atlanta’s backfield while Devonta Freeman is the Batman. Coleman can still be a solid flex play, however, and will occasionally light it up. He could have a big game this week against a Jet defense that is usually a good matchup for RBs, but it will depend on his usage.
SIT: Lamar Miller, Houston – Something tells me the Miller/D’Onta Foreman timeshare will get more even as the season goes along. With the defense crippled by injuries, coach Bill O’Brien might want to trend more to the ground game to keep that unit off the field. Also, the return of LT Duane Brown should bolster rushing attack as well. Those
trends favor Foreman, the better between-the-tackles runner. Miller’s usage as a receiver will also be limited this week because Seattle’s defense has given up the least amount of receptions to opposing RBs.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Courtesy Panthers.com
START: Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina – Benjamin has reasserted himself as Cam Newton’s No. 1 WR with 12 catches for 164 yards on 19 targets the last two weeks. He has a chance to go for big numbers against a Tampa Bay secondary that is giving up the most fantasy points to opposing WRs.
SIT: T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis – Hilton didn’t endear himself to his teammates when he called out the offensive line after a 27-0 loss to Jacksonville last week. But Hilton might want to look at himself, as well. He’s caught only three of 12 targets the last two games, and this week’s matchup against Cincinnati is another tough one. The Bengals have allowed the least receptions to WRs all year.
TIGHT ENDS
START: Hunter Henry, LAC – Henry is officially a must-start the rest of the season. The Chargers are finally done being loyal to the legendary Antonio Gates and ready to hand off the reins to the young Henry. The second-year pro out of Arkansas is averaging 3.5 catches for 55.3 yards and .5 TDs his last four games.
SIT: Jack Doyle, Indianapolis – Doyle gets a Bengal defense allowing the least amount of passing yards to opposing TEs. Doyle has been getting some nice volume recently with 18 receptions on 25 targets his last three games, but he could be headed toward a downturn this weekend.
D/ST
START: Steelers – You should be starting this unit anyways, but I especially love Pittsburgh this weekend against a Detroit offense missing its No. 1 target in Golden Tate.
SIT: Panthers – This unit was worthless in its two toughest matchups against New England and New Orleans. I’m expecting a similar output against Tampa Bay.
Steven Ryan covers fantasy, prep and the University of Texas for TexasHSFootball. Follow him on Twitter,@StevenEphAustin, and read more of his content here.
