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We've made it to week 17 of the regular season, which means that most standard leagues have already finished their championship matches and therefore we can begin looking back on the fantasy season. Like last year, I've decided to hand out the "Daily Norseman Fantasy Awards of Distinction." However, this time around I'm going to mostly limit it to Vikings players, because this is a Vikings blog and who cares what's been happening with other teams? So let's get right to the awards, shall we?
Most Total Fantasy Points - QB Teddy Bridgewater
I must say, it finally feels good to be able to have a quarterback win this award. Most elite quarterbacks lead their team in fantasy points year after year and the Vikings haven't had a QB lead the team in fantasy points since Brett Favre in 2009. Granted, Adrian Peterson only played 1 game this year which surely has an impact, because while Bridgewater has scored the most fantasy points of any Vikings player, he still will have only played the majority of 12 games this year and ranks 23rd overall in total points among all quarterbacks in the NFL. In any case, congratulations Teddy!
Best Single Game Score - RB Matt Asiata, Week 4
Matt Asiata had the biggest single game total of any Vikings player in week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons when he rushed the ball 20 times for 73 yards and 3 touchdowns and also hauled in 3 catches for another 22 yards. It all amounted to 27 standard fantasy points. Asiata almost replicated this massive point total in week 9 against the Washington Redskins where he again had three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion to go along with 57 yards from scrimmage. That amounted to a mere 25 standard fantasy points.
Worst Single Game Score - Cordarelle Patterson, Week 14
I never said these awards were for only the best performances, I just said they were awards of distinction. And unfortunately, Cordarelle Patterson holds the distinction of having the worst single game score of any Vikings players. In week 14, Patterson actually scored in the negative, one of only three Vikings players to score negative point totals all year. In week 14 he had 1 carry for 6 yards, and a fumble. In standard leagues those 6 yards are not enough to total even a point, but that fumble counts as -2. He registered no other fantasy points. Blair Walsh and the Vikings D/ST were the only other players to score in the negative this year.
Best Draft Day Value - RB Matt Asiata
This was a difficult award to give out. Essentially I was looking for the player who gave us the best point totals at the lowest draft position. So for 2014, I sorted all NFL players by total points and looked at their actual ranks. I compared those actual ranks with their average draft position (ADP) rank to find the biggest discrepancy. Whichever player's actual rank was highest and farthest away from their ADP rank was given the award. According to Fantasypros, Matt Asiata had an ADP that was at least 242 or lower. Their list only goes to 241, so Asiata was most likely not drafted by anyone. But if you did happen to draft Asiata you got a player ranked 78th overall in total points on the year, making him the most valuable Vikings player for fantasy football, at least from a draft day ranking perspective. Teddy Bridgewater was an honorable mention. His ADP was 177, but his total fantasy points on the year put him 46th overall in fantasy points. So, not only did Matt Asiata have the best single game score of the year, he was the most valuable Viking player in fantasy football.
Worst Draft Day Value - RB Adrian Peterson
This one should be pretty cut and dry really. Using the same formula as above, but going in reverse, Peterson was the highest drafted Viking player with the lowest point total. Peterson's ADP value was 2nd overall, but since he only played 1 game his 8 standard fantasy points rank...get this...tied for 449th overall. This is by far the biggest discrepancy of any Vikings player, and certainly one of the worst in fantasy football history. But there is another Vikings player who might be more deserving of the award, since he actually didn't miss a game. Not only did Cordarrelle Patterson have the worst single game of any Vikings player, he had the second worst draft value as well. His ADP rank was 42nd overall, but his actual points rank has him tied at 259th overall with WR Stedman Bailey (2nd year player with the Rams). These two guys were certainly the biggest draft day busts for the Vikings in fantasy football.
Well, I have to call the 2014 Fantasy Football Season a success. Including playoff and consolation appearances, in my eight fantasy leagues I finished 73-54 on the year. I feel pretty good about having a 57% winning percentage across a variety of standard, PPR, half-PPR, dynasty and odd-ball custom leagues. My fantasy teams finished with winning records in 7 out of 8 leagues and I made the playoffs in 5 out of 8 leagues. Two out of my five playoff teams advanced to the Super Bowl, and I won one of those league championships. None of these leagues were money leagues, although I did participate in the Week 16 Daily Norseman DFS Fanduel league, and placed first. Thanks for the $50 paycheck Fanduel! If you looked for Frigga's advice in the comments section, I hope it served you well. And I hope your fantasy football season was equally successful!
EDIT: Big omission on my part, and totally unintended. Congratulations to Christopher Gates for winning the Daily Norseman 6-team Writers League! He defeated yours truly in the Championship match.