The Weekly Bender: That's So 2024 Fantasy Football

Mon Dec 16 7:24pm ET
By HOWARD BENDER
Fantasy Writer

With every NFL weekend that passes, you can hear the phrase, "That’s so 2024 fantasy football,” muttered from some disgruntled player.

Kirk Cousins goes four straight games without throwing a single touchdown pass while lobbing up eight interceptions? That’s so 2024 fantasy football.

Christian McCaffrey starts the season on IR, Jordan Mason is the handcuff and by Week 16 we’re deciding between a banged-up Isaac Guerendo or Patrick Taylor? That’s so 2024 fantasy football.

Cooper Kupp, Amari Cooper and Jaylen Waddle are three of the most-targeted wide receivers in Week 14 and they combine for zero fantasy points in the first week of the playoffs? That’s so 2024 fantasy football.

Jonnu Smith has been more productive than any of the top-five tight ends drafted and Trey McBride still doesn’t have a receiving touchdown this season? That’s so 2024 fantasy football.

Justin Tucker is missing kicks, Raheem Mostert and Kyle Pitts are ghosts, Denver has no running backs and standout performers like Chris Godwin, Rashee Rice and Rashid Shaheed were all playing so well they needed to get knocked out by major injuries for the rest of the season. That’s so 2024 fantasy football.

So, in a year where the running back position returned to the top of the fantasy food chain and the Zero-RB truthers have been held silent, of course it’s the wide receivers who dominate the first week of the playoffs. Now, everyone who strutted into this week with top running backs in their lineup are now whimpering away with their tail between their legs. Davante Adams, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Mike Evans almost single-handedly won their owners their match-ups this week and they were joined atop the leaderboard by rookies Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers; not to mention veteran stalwarts like CeeDee Lamb and Terry McLaurin. If there was ever a Week of the Wide Receiver this season, this was it.

Now, the question on everyone’s minds is how we deal with all of this next year. Those who are still in contention for their league championship probably aren’t ready to turn the page to 2025, but those who are out are already looking to next season. We already know that no one is taking Christian McCaffrey at the 1.01 next year, but how will the first round shake out? Are we going to turn our backs on the “Robust WR Draft Strategy” and go back to drafting running backs early? Will we be drafting all the mobile quarterbacks in the first five rounds again? What about the top tier of tight ends? One of the biggest problems that occurs from year to year is an overreaction to the way a season finished and if this is just like any other year, next year could be filled with draft value and bargains.

Let’s just think about who could go in the first round of a full-point PPR draft.

RB Saquon Barkley
RB Bijan Robinson
RB Jahmyr Gibbs
RB Kyren Williams
RB Joe Mixon
WR Ja’Marr Chase
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
WR Justin Jefferson
WR CeeDee Lamb
TE Brock Bowers

That’s 10 right there. Five running backs, four wide receivers and everyone’s favorite tight end. Who rounds out the round? Josh Jacobs? Derrick Henry? De’Von Achane? Where do Alvin Kamara, Breece Hall, Chase Brown, or James Cook fit in? That’s another seven running backs who are all currently in the top-30 overall in scoring this season and we haven’t even touched on guys like Chuba Hubbard, James Conner or Bucky Irving. If we are to believe that we are returning to the good ol’ days of drafting running backs early, then just think about the amount of value you’re going to have at the wide receiver and tight end positions.

What is the value of wide receivers like Terry McLaurin, Mike Evans, A.J. Brown, Brian Thomas Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Malik Nabers? Add them into the mix and you’ve got more than just the first two rounds covered. But what about Davante Adams, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton or Drake London? Are they next? And how about some of the injured stars like Rashee Rice and Chris Godwin?

And do we genuinely believe that drafting tight ends early is going to vanish? The world may be out on Travis Kelce, but Trey McBride, George Kittle and everyone’s new favorite Jonnu Smith? Sweet baby Cade Otton? What about Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid?

And we haven’t even discussed Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts or where they might fit in. With all of these names being bandied about, how will you ever decide which draft strategy is going to work?

I guess what I’m getting at here is to maybe not worry so much about your draft plan next season. Don’t let what happened late this year affect what you’re going to do at your next draft. You’re always going to have early picks that bust and late picks that pop. Players are going to get hurt. That’s just the way this game goes. Maybe instead of worrying so much about whether you should go RB, RB WR, WR in your first four rounds, you spend your prep time focusing more on the players themselves, their coaches and the systems in which they operate. Freaking out about whether to take a running back or a wide receiver with your first pick is not going to get you anywhere. Next year will be just like this year which was really no different from the year before or the year before that.

And next year, right about this time, we’re all going to be saying, “That’s so 2025 fantasy football.”

Bender out.

The Weekly Bender: That's So 2024 Fantasy Football

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