By Dan O’Shea
It’s been a strange season in fantasy football land, with almost nothing going anywhere near as expected. It’s been a season many of us would like to write off, but, wouldn’t you know it, the Week 15 slate will feature one of the biggest must-see games for anyone still in the fantasy playoffs or planning to play fantasy football next year.
Johnny Manziel is set to start for the waning Browns this week against the Bengals. If Mr. Football is no longer available in your league, it’s probably because someone looking for a playoff punch or a keeper for next season has already snatched him up. If he is still available and manages to score anywhere north of the 13-14 fantasy points he’s projected for, he very well could factor into some fantasy league championship games next week.
Meanwhile, for the most part, the fantasy football season is just about over, so here’s my parting shot:
Let’s start the debate about who should be fantasy football’s MVP for 2014: You can make a great argument for Aaron Rodgers, who in reality probably deserves the NFL MVP award, with 35 passing TDs and just three INTs.
You could also easily vote for DeMarco Murray, who turned out to be an unexpectedly outstanding workhorse in a year when there was no longer thought to be any such thing left at the RB position. Murray has surpassed 100 rushing yards in 11 of his 13 games, and has a good chance for 2,000 yards this season.
But what about Andrew Luck? In standard fantasy leagues, he has more total points than the other two choices. With 4,305 yards, he should clear 5,000 over the three remaining games. With 10 games with at least 300 passing yards (six with at least 370 yards and one with 400) and seven games with at least three pass TDs (four games with at least four, including one with five), Luck probably has won more fantasy weeks for his owners than any other player, with the possible exception of Murray.
I’ll take Luck. I might even pick him when it comes to ranking the top fantasy QBs for next season’s drafts, though Rodgers is likely to be No. 1 on many lists. But, that’s a debate for next summer.
Thanks for reading our last Fantasy Fix football post for 2014. I’ll be taking a few weeks off, but I’ll be back next month to think some warm thoughts in deep winter about the 2015 fantasy baseball slate. January may seem early to think about fantasy baseball, but it’s never too early to start wondering in which round you should draft Kris Bryant. Happy Holidays!
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Dan O’Shea is our man in fantasyland. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on December 10, 2014