The biggest fantasy football disappointments from the 2018 season

As much as fantasy football is about finding the right waiver wire pickups throughout the season, drafting is equally important. Owners that draft well don’t need to add as many free agents.

While selecting the right sleepers is key, so is hitting on the top-round picks. Players that go early in drafts can carry entire fantasy teams for weeks at a time, and owners that select a first or second-round bust will have a much tougher time winning a championship.

With that in mind, here are the biggest fantasy disappointments from the 2018 NFL season:

Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Depending on when leagues held their draft, Bell could have been the No. 1 overall pick. If that was the case, Bell is easily the biggest fantasy disappointment of not just 2018, but possibly all time.

The two-time All-Pro didn’t reveal his true holdout intentions until late in the preseason, annoying both the Steelers and fantasy owners. Even in late drafts, Bell probably went in the second or third rounds because no one believed he would pass up $14 million and not play at all.

Well, that’s what happened. Even with James Connor out this Sunday, the deadline to sign the tender has passed, so Bell will not play a single down in 2018.

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Owners using the “wait on the quarterback” drafting strategy probably didn’t select Brady until the middle rounds. But among quarterbacks, he’s been one of the most disappointing fantasy assets in 2018.

Last season, Brady led the league in passing, but in 2018, he’s ranked ninth in passing yards heading into Week 14. The 41-year-old is also on pace for six fewer passing touchdowns and has already matched his 2017 interception total of eight. With two more interceptions, Brady will reach double-digits in that category for the first time since 2013.

From a fantasy perspective, he is ranked 14th at quarterback in standard scoring leagues. It’s fair to wonder if age is finally catching up to him.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Rodgers’ numbers are better than Brady’s, but Rodgers was the consensus No. 1 fantasy quarterback heading into the season. Owners who drafted him expected the Packers signal caller to carry their fantasy team. That simply hasn’t happened in 2018.

His early-season knee injury has definitely been a factor, but he’s supposedly been healthy in the last month, and yet, Rodgers has just one 20-point fantasy outing (in standard leagues) in the last six weeks. During that stretch, he posted one 300-yard passing game.

In the entire season, Rodgers has thrown for at least three touchdowns in a game twice, and he hasn’t accomplished that feat since Week 5. Rodgers sits in ninth among quarterbacks in standard scoring leagues behind signal callers that went in much later rounds than he did.

Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Unlike our top three disappointments, Freeman makes out list because of a season-ending injury. While that’s somewhat out of his control, the Falcons back has a history of injuries, so owners should have known that risk heading into the draft.

To be fair, that potential risk probably did drop Freeman down the draft board but not enough for him to avoid this list.

He played in just two games and posted 14 carries for 68 yards. Freeman scored the fewest fantasy points of any player that went in the first three rounds this season.

Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Cooper will probably be considered the most controversial inclusion on this list. He did explode for eight catches, 180 yards and two touchdowns against Washington on Thanksgiving. Cooper also had a double-digit outing with 58 yards and a score versus Tennessee on Monday Night Football.

But when he isn’t playing on national TV, Cooper has been inconsistent. With the Raiders, he had three games where he caught either one or two passes for under 20 yards. Cooper also missed two games because of injury.

As shown on Thanksgiving, Cooper is capable of exploding at anytime, but he isn’t consistent enough to be considered even a WR2. Even with his outburst games, he’s averaging 7.8 fantasy points in standard leagues. That places him 27th among wide receivers.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

The expectations were obviously not as high for Stafford as Rodgers and Brady, but the Lions quarterback has been arguably just as disappointing. Owners drafted Stafford as a mid-tier QB1. The Fantasy Pros rankings rated him as the No. 8 fantasy quarterback ahead of Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers going into drafts.

Stafford isn’t even close to outscoring any of those quarterbacks, as he sits at 20th in standard scoring. To put into perspective how bad that is, Andy Dalton and Carson Wentz have both missed games (if you include Dalton leaving in the first half against the Browns), and they still have tallied more fantasy points than Stafford.

Stafford’s yards per attempt average has fallen nearly a whole yard from last year, and as a result, his yards per game average has also dropped 20 yards from 2017. Furthermore, he’s on pace for only 24 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

Injuries are the only thing that have slowed down Gronkowski over the years. He’s experienced a plethora of health issues, particularly with his back, so there was definitely a risk when selecting Gronkowski.

The reward, though, is a 1,000-yard season and at least eight touchdowns if he’s healthy. Unfortunately in 2018, he hasn’t been.

Gronkowski has missed a handful of games, and even when he’s played, the Patriots tight end hasn’t been the same. He’s posted one 100-yard game and scored just two touchdowns in 2018.

For a guy who went first or second at his position, that’s not going to cut it. Owners would have been better off claiming Vance McDonald off the waiver wire. McDonald has scored two more points than Gronkowski in standard leagues.

A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Green was well on his way to a fantastic season. With 40 receptions, 611 yards and five touchdowns in the first seven games, he was averaging more than 13 fantasy points per week.

But then the foot injuries resurfaced. Green missed all of November, and then he caught just one pass in his return Sunday before departing on a cart. Green will miss the rest of the regular season.

Despite the great start, Green makes our list because he wasn’t able to help owners after Halloween. As the No. 7 fantasy wideout coming into the season, that’s pretty disappointing.

Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Cook missed almost all of his rookie season after tearing an ACL in Week 4. His success in a sample size in 2017, though, caused Cook to be considered a low-end RB1 coming into the season.

But he didn’t translate his September 2017 success into this year. In seven games, Cook has averaged only 44.6 rushing yards per game, and he has yet to score a rushing touchdown.

He didn’t play at all in October because of a hamstring problem. That certainly hurt his fantasy value, but after his return and seemingly a breakout game against the Lions, Cook combined to average 2.2 yards per attempt in Weeks 11 and 12.

Even though he only played in four games last year, Cook has yet to pass the rushing total from his rookie season.

T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts top receiver is actually experiencing a pretty good year. He’s on pace for 75 catches and 1,259 yards, which would give him the fourth 1,000-yard season of his career. Hilton will also likely make his fifth straight Pro Bowl.

However, owners drafted him early in the second round as a low-tier WR1. In standard leagues, he’s playing more like a low-tier WR2, as he ranks 19th in scoring among wide receivers.

A big reason why is the big plays haven’t been there as often for Hilton. His yards per reception average is down to 14.8, which is more than a two-yard drop from last season.