Who knew I was an optimist?
All this time I walked through life believing I was a smartass pragmatist, but when I sat down to write this article, I drew a blank. Suddenly I realized my vision had that rosy offseason tint and things were blurry.
Sure, Dennis Pitta somehow only scored two touchdowns on 116 targets. And despite the hype, Dwayne Washington only averaged 2.9 yards per carry. But it’s a new season! There’s hope!
Luckily (or unluckily), all one needs to do to ruin their mood these days is to open a tab on their browser and pull up the news. Any news. So, I did that, and did a 360.
To be clear, I could tell you that Nelson Agholor, Doug Martin and the like aren’t likely to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and become fantasy go-to guys. I refuse to do that because it’s a cop out.
Instead, here are four former fantasy go-to players who struggled in 2016 and will likely do so for the foreseeable future. I’m ready for the blow back. ADP calculations come from Fantasy Football Calculator.
Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants (Current overall ADP: 120, 16th QB)
A two-time Super Bowl MVP will always get the benefit of the doubt, especially from the fantasy community. Every league has an Eli truther, and I’m telling you now, let that person reach for Manning with the belief that he will bounce back. The free-agency signing of veteran wideout Brandon Marshall will help draw defenders away from the all-world Odell Beckham Jr.
But there are distinct problems in paradise. For one, the New York Giants had perhaps the weakest duo of tackles in the NFL. Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart allowed 105 total pressures between the two of them. The team brought D.J. Fluker into town during free agency. It’s a modest upgrade, but one that should be noted. Fluker will likely take over Hart’s spot, but Flowers will remain an issue moving forward.
I’m here to tell you that the offensive line talk is real, but not the whole story.
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