2017 IR/Major injuries

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks	Yards	TD
Jameis Winston	363/32	2
Philip Rivers	387	3
Matthew Stafford	323/2	3
DeShone Kizer	314/61	2
Jimmy Garoppolo	292	2
Running Backs	Yards	TD
Dion Lewis	133	2
Alvin Kamara	128	2
Devonta Freeman	108	1
Latavius Murray	111	2
Carlos Hyde	100	2
Wide Receivers	Yards	TD
JuJu Smith-Schuster	143	2
Keenan Allen	133	2
Golden Tate	104	1
Doug Baldwin	90	2
Chris Godwin	111	1
Tight Ends	Yards	TD
Tyler Kroft	53	2
George Kittle	100	0
Jack Doyle	38	1
Ben Watson	61	0
Nick O’Leary	26	1
Placekickers	XP	FG
Matt Bryant	1	5
Phil Dawson	2	4
Robbie Gould	4	2
Steven Hauschka	1	3
Ryan Succop	0	3
Defense	Sck/TO	TD
Titans	2/4	0
Jaguars	3/1	1
Chiefs	5/3	1
Steelers	6/2	1
Lions	4/4	0

QUARTERBACK

Aaron Rodgers
Carson Palmer
Carson Wentz
DeShaun Watson
Ryan Tannehill
Tom Savage
Trevor Siemian

RUNNING BACK

Adrian Peterson
Chris Carson
Chris Thompson
Dalvin Cook
Darren Sproles
David Johnson
D’Onta Foreman
Jeremy Hill
Kenneth Dixon
Rob Kelley
Spencer Ware
Ty Montgomery

TIGHT END

Coby Fleener
Greg Olsen
Hunter Henry
Jordan Reed
Martellus Bennett
O.J. Howard
Tyler Eifert
Zach Miller

WIDE RECEIVER

Allen Hurns
Allen Robinson
Brandon Marshall
Cameron Meredith
Chris Hogan
Corey Coleman
Corey Davis
Donte Moncrief
John Brown
Jordan Matthews
Julian Edelman
Kevin White
Odell Beckham
Pierre Garcon
Quincy Enunwa
Terrelle Pryor
Will Fuller

The Huddle Awards

Draft slots were taken from the Average Draft at MyFantasyLeague.

QUARTERBACK

Best Player – Russell Wilson

Wilson brought back the run with 586 yards and three touchdowns on the ground plus 3,983 yards and 34 scores via the pass. He became the offense for the Seahawks and very nearly dragged an injury-decimated team into the playoffs.
Runner-up: Cam Newton

Best Draft Pick – Carson Wentz 12.09

He ended as the No. 9 best fantasy quarterback but that was missing his final three games. By midseason, he was constantly producing three or four touchdowns per game. His injury may keep him out into next year but for the first 13 weeks, he was often a fantasy back-up turned superstar.
Runner-up: Cam Newton 10.02

Best Rookie -Deshaun Watson

The rookie only lasted for seven games but the Texans future looks very bright. He tore his ACL but his final four games totaled 16 touchdowns and he threw 402 yards in Seattle for his final action. Rookie quarterbacks are not supposed to be this good.
Runner-Up: DeShone Kizer

Worst Draft Pick – Andrew Luck 10.01

It was a speculative pick but it came in the middle of starting quarterbacks and he never played a down. But he made you keep him until well after mid-season when it was finally admitted he would be a no-show. He gave you nothing and took up a starter spot. You knew the move would prove genius or dumb, but at least you could quietly release him later on in the season.
Runner-up: Aaron Rodgers 3.03

Best Free Agent – Alex Smith

Smith would end up around No. 6 for fantasy quarterbacks but he opened the year surprisingly well until around midseason. Enough that you could benefit from the quarterback that everyone passed on for pretty much his entire career. He warmed back up at the end of the season even if you were scared to use him.
Runner-up: Jared Goff

RUNNING BACK

Best Player – Todd Gurley

He was everything that you hoped in 2016 and then swore not to bother. But Gurley roared back under new management and ran for 1.305 yards and 13 scores while adding 64 catches for 788 yards and six more touchdowns. And then he went super-nova in Week 16.
Runner-up: Le’Veon Bell

Best Draft Pick – Alvin Kamara 13.01

Whoa. He was plopped down into a three-man committee behind a Hall-of-fame running back and a player coming off a 10-touchdown, 1,362-yard season. No room for the rookie… well… scratch that. He sent Adrian Peterson riding off into the Arizona sunset and did not get in the way of Mark Ingram who had an even better year than 2016. The ex-Tennessee back ran for 725 yards and eight touchdowns plus caught an NFL-rookie record 81 passes for 826 yards and five more scores. While we were all gasping at Kareem Hunt early on, we should have been trading to get Kamara who hit his stride around Week 4.
Runner-up: Kareem Hunt 7.05

Best Rookie – Alvin Kamara

See above. Between Kamara, Hunt, Christian McCaffrey and almost Dalvin Cook, rest assured the freshman rushers are going to be much more highly valued this time – right or wrong.
Runner-up: Kareem Hunt

Worst Draft Pick – David Johnson 1.01

Yeah. That one left a mark. Not like he even had an advantageous back-up to own. He lasted 11 carries in Week 1. And then pushed your fantasy team down the well.
Runner-up: Ty Montgomery 3.02

Best Free Agent – Alex Collins

Just to refresh, the depth chart initially had Terrance West, Kenneth Dixon and Danny Woodhead. Collins was that guy from, um, Seattle maybe? He ran for exactly 82 yards on nine carries in Week 3 and then again in Week 4. Then he became a decent streaming option that would end with 1,106 total yards and six touchdowns while gaining 4.6 yards per carry.
Runner-up: Kenyan Drake

WIDE RECEIVER

Best Player – Antonio Brown

He already had 101 catches for 1,533 yards and nine scores by Week 14 when he injured his calf. Starting in Week 11, he averaged 157 yards per game before his injury. And scored six times. I know I cried. I’ll admit it. And yes, I was an owner standing in a league championship poking through a box of far less savory options that did let me down in Week 15.
Runner-up: DeAndre Hopkins

Best Draft Pick – DeAndre Hopkins 2.10

There are two great unknowns in this world. First, why is there no East Virginia? Second, how did Brock Osweiler struggle to connect with Hopkins? Was he throwing the other way? Hopkins never had worse than seven catches for 73 yards and no score. He ended with 96 receptions for 1,378 yards and 13 touchdowns as one of the most talented wideouts on the planet.
Runner-Up: Larry Fitzgerald 4.03

Best Rookie –  JuJu Smith-Schuster

Martavis who? As a rookie who would play in just 14 games, Smith-Schuster caught 58 passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns. He was everything that we thought Bryant would be. As long as Ben Rothlisberger hangs around, Smith-Schuster is not going cheaply in any fantasy drafts.
Runner-Up: Cooper Kupp

Worst Draft Pick – Odell Beckham 1.04

Bad enough you picked after those three great running backs were gone. But then you had to have some optimism when he entered the season with a sprained ankle. He showed up in Week 2, got fined for pretending to urinate on the goal post in Week 3 and then was gone by Week 5. The sad thing is you could have had, well, most any other wideout.
Runner-Up: Allen Robinson 3.09

Best Free Agent – Robby Anderson

The Jets lost all their starting wideouts and discovered the second-year UFDA on their roster.  Where all hope was lost, Anderson rose out of the dumpster fire and caught 63 passes for 941 yards and seven touchdowns. And most of that came after Week 7 when he started a five-week stretch of touchdowns.
Runner-Up: Nelson Agholor

TIGHT END

Best Player –  Travis Kelce

Nice when dipping early on a tight end works out. Kelce would catch 83 passes for 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns. And he had four 100-yard games to help you win those weeks.
Runner-Up: Rob Gronkowski

Best Draft Pick – Zach Ertz 9.07

Holding out until the run on tight ends started still netted Ertz. He continued to be Carson Wentz’s best third-down outlet and ended with 74 catches for 824 yards and eight touchdowns. His role as a red zone threat set him apart from his two previous seasons with over 800 yards each.
Runner-Up: Evan Engram 15.11

Best Rookie – Evan Engram

Rookie tight ends never matter. Except, apparently, when all the wide receivers land on injured reserve and no one else can catch a pass. Then (and only then) you end up with 64 catches for 722 yards and six touchdowns,
Runner-Up: O.J. Howard

Worst Draft Pick – Jordan Reed 5.06

Yeah, I also hate players that get injured all the time and Reed outdid himself on the “sidelined” role. He only played in six games and only once had more than 48 yards. He will be much cheaper in 2018. Much.
Runner-Up: Greg Olsen 7.02

Best Free Agent – Jared Cook

Meh. He still only had 54 catches for 688 yards and two scores but that was the best you would find on the waiver wire.
Runner-Up: Ben Watson

Huddle player of the year

Todd Gurley  –  So many considerations – Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins (none of which played Week 17). But Gurley is not only the highest scoring running back, he became red hot right when fantasy playoffs were going on. And career-best game was in Week 16. If you lost your league championship with Gurley on your roster, maybe the fantasy gods were against you.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy		Yards	TDs	Tragedy		Yards	TDs
QB	Deshone Kizer	375	2	QB	Aaron Rodgers	0	0
RB	Kapri Bibs	100	0	RB	David Johnson	0	0
RB	Alfred Blue	75	2	RB	Le’Veon Bell	0	0
WR	Chris Godwin	111	1	WR	Odell Beckham	0	0
WR	Rashard Higgins	68	2	WR	Antonio Brown	0	0
WR	Tyler Boyd	91	1	WR	DeAndre Hopkins	0	0
TE	Geroge Kittle	100	0	TE	Jordan Reed	0	0
PK	Phil Dawson	1 XP 5 FG		PK	Jake Elliott	0
Huddle Fantasy Points = 148				Huddle Fantasy Points = 0

Playoff Schedule

Saturday, Jan. 6

Titans at Kansas City
Falcons at Los Angeles Rams

Sunday, Jan. 7

Bills at Jaguars
Panthers at Saints

Byes: Patriots, Steelers, Eagles, Vikings

Thanks for reading along this year. May your 2018 be filled with joy, wonderment, love and whoever the next Alvin Kamara may be!

For the 357th time… get back to work.