The FNTSY Sports Network/RotoExperts Countdown of the Top 100 Fantasy Football Players of 2018 Continues!
Each weekday on the FNTSY Sports Network and RotoExperts.com prior to Super Bowl Sunday, we will reveal 10 selections from our Top 100 Fantasy Football Players of 2018. To make our final determinations and rankings, we began with a comprehensive mathematical formula generated by our Chief Technical Officer and Full Time Statistician Arturo Galletti with input from Scott Engel. We took into account full season production with a minor boost for difference-making performances in Weeks 13 through 16, when Fantasy owners needed to clinch postseason berths and participated in their playoffs. DFS and Best Ball usage and results were also factored in, but there was a primary emphasis on seasonal Fantasy Football. These rankings are based on much more than just seasonal totals. They weighed projected production against actual results by position. We did some math to estimate the average QB, WR, TE, RB and Flex scores for each week for rostered players using consensus rankings, typical roster construction and actual scores. We worked out each player versus the average value of the top projected players for each week. Then the team of Engel, Jim Day Davis Mattek and Gregg Sussman made some subjective tweaks. In the third installment of the Top 100 Reveal on the Fantasy Football Frenzy, Corey Parson, Day and Chris Ventra discussed the ranking formula and Players 80 to 71, which are also featured below in capsules recapping their 2018 Fantasy Football seasons.
More From The Top 100: Players 100 to 91 | 90 to 81
Points: 163 (10.2 PPG), TE6
ADP: 195.8 (TE23)
71 receptions (88 targets), 660 yards, 4 touchdowns
Austin Hooper did all he could to carve out a role in the Atlanta Falcons’ offense, but it’s hard to compete with Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu. Matt Ryan threw the ball well enough that Hooper had a number of solid games, scoring 15 or more points five times, including two 20-point games. But like all of the tight ends outside of the Top Three, he also had plenty of duds, posting single digits 10 times, including a zero in Week 15. To recalibrate for tight ends a bit, five of those single-digit games were at least seven-point efforts, which was serviceable.
Points: 126.3 (7.9 PPG), TE13
ADP: 68 (TE6)
45 receptions (64 targets), 577 yards, 3 touchdowns
Injuries limited what should have been a big second season for Evan Engram. After posting 722 yards as a rookie tight end, all signs—even with Eli Manning still being his quarterback—pointed towards success for Engram. But he missed a total of five games with knee and hamstring injuries. In the games he did play, he was mostly productive outside of three duds where he scored 4.6 points or fewer. Otherwise, he scored 8.6 points or higher, including four straight double-digit games to close the season. He came up big in the Fantasy Super Bowl, scoring 17.3 points in Week 16. His major flaw is that his biggest games come when Odell Beckham Jr. doesn’t play, which is something to consider when it comes time for 2019 Fantasy drafts.
Points: 182.9 (12.2 PPG), WR29
ADP: 54.8 (WR24)
74 receptions (113 targets), 795 yards, 4 touchdowns
Golden Tate started 2018 strong, averaging 21.5 points over the first four weeks, the fourth-most among wide receivers. After a bye week and a few quiet games, he was traded to the Eagles, where he never seemed fully integrated into the offense. He broke into double digits as an Eagle just once, a 23.5-point game against Washington in Week 13. His streak of finishing as a fringe PPR WR1 went right out the window in Philly.
Points: 80.1 (5 PPG), TE25
ADP: 60.6 (TE5)
27 receptions (38 targets), 291 yards, 4 touchdowns
Greg Olsen did not play much—he appeared in just nine games, his second straight season of logging less than 10—and when he was available, he was mostly ineffective. He did provide a mostly solid floor, scoring at least eight points six times, all from Week Six to Week 11, which made him the fifth-highest scoring tight end over that time period. He broke double digits twice, scoring 15.6 points in Week Eight and 19.6 in Week Nine. Olsen’s injury woes have come on fast, as prior to last season he had played in all 16 games for nine straight seasons. However, the aging curve for tight ends falls rapidly, and the 33-year-old Olsen seems to be on the way out.
Points: 114.4 (7.2 PPG), RB44
ADP: 69.8 (RB28)
464 yards, 3 touchdowns, 27 receptions (41 targets), 210 yards
Jamaal Williams was drafted by some because Aaron Jones started the season suspended for two games. However, he failed to deliver even in just those two weeks, posting a high of just 10.1 in Week Two. From that point through Week 14, he failed to break into double digits again, falling in behind Jones and Ty Montgomery. But with Montgomery traded after Week Eight and Jones placed on the IR after Week 14, the backfield belonged to Williams, and he took it and, well, ran. He scored 19.7 and 27.6 points in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively, certainly winning some smart owners a championship. His Week 16 total was second behind only Christian McCaffrey for the Fantasy Super Bowl.
Points: 136.8 (8.6 PPG), WR49
ADP: 326.5 (WR113)
39 receptions (65 targets), 494 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 fumble, 2 rushing touchdowns
Curtis Samuel missed the Panthers’ first three games of the season, but popped up on Fantasy radars after scoring a touchdown in Week Five. But when he really got noticed was in Week Nine, when he scored two touchdowns—one receiving, one on a 33-yard rush—for 19.8 points. While he never hit that high again, he scored double-digit points six more times over the course of the season, making him a viable Flex option most weeks. He only failed to record double digits twice, giving him a relatively high floor even as the Panthers’ passing attack faltered.
Points: 120.5 (7.5 PPG), TE14
ADP: 157 (TE15)
34 receptions (48 targets), 565 yards, 5 touchdowns
After spending most of his rookie season in Cameron Brate’s shadow, O.J. Howard had a close to a breakout 2018, topping last season’s numbers despite injuring his foot and ankle in Week 12 and being placed on Injured Reserve. But up until that point, Howard was scoring as the sixth-highest tight end. He was actually one of the more consistent tight ends, missing out on a top spot over that time frame because of two duds, scoring zero points in Week Four against the Bears and just 1.5 points in Week 10 against Washington. He scored single digit points just one other time over that span, 7.4 points in Week One. He averaged 15.8 points in games where he saw at least four targets, so he should be a great option at tight end next season, especially if the Buccaneers don’t bring back Adam Humphries.
Points: 156.4 (9.8 PPG), WR39
ADP: 94.2 (WR38)
50 receptions (93 targets), 752 yards, 6 touchdowns, 2 fumbles
Robby Anderson entered the season as the Jets’ projected top receiver, coming off a season where he finished just 49 yards off of 1,000 yards receiving with Josh McCown at quarterback. Anderson’s best trait is his deep ball ability, but rookie Sam Darnold rarely aired it out in his first season, limiting Anderson’s success. He still posted about the same yards per reception as he did last season, but he had 13 less catches on 20 less targets in 2018 than he did in 2017. The majority of his production was condensed at the end of the year, when he posted three big games from Weeks 14 to 16, including a season-high 29 points in Week 16, when he had 140 yards and a touchdown on nine catches.
Points: 123.5 (7.7 PPG), WR58
ADP: 195.8 (WR71)
43 receptions (68 targets), 590 yards, 3 touchdowns
Christian Kirk, like almost every rookie wide receiver, was incredibly inconsistent this season. That wasn’t totally his fault, considering fellow rookie Josh Rosen also struggled in his first season as quarterback. However, while Kirk was healthy—he went on the IR following Week 13—he was one of Rosen’s favorite targets, coming in just behind Larry Fitzgerald in targets. He first popped up on Fantasy radars in Week Three, when he recorded seven receptions for 90 yards against the Bears. He was slightly inconsistent over the rest of the season but made for at least a solid Flex play most weeks, scoring under eight points just twice but also topping 13 points four times. If he develops alongside Rosen, the two could become a dangerous tandem.
- Christopher Herndon, TE, New York Jets
Points: 113.2 (7.1 PPG), TE16
ADP: 376 (TE56)
39 receptions (56 targets), 502 yards, 4 touchdowns
Jets rookie tight end Christopher Herndon scored his first career touchdown in Week Six, which was the first time most people heard of him. While he only recorded one other catch in that game, that fact that he scored double digit points was enough of a reason to scramble to the waiver wire for him. He topped that performance the next week, scoring 14.2 points. Overall, from Week Six to Week 12 (six games, due to the Jets’ Week 11 bye), he had four double-digit games and only one with less than eight points. He faded a bit over the latter portion of the season, though he bounced back with 20.2 points in the Jets’ shootout with the Packers in Week 16. From Week Six to Week 16, he was the seventh-highest scoring tight end, averaging 10.2 PPG.
