Welcome to another edition of the SAF (Samulski’s Arbitrary Fantasy) Awards! I’m your host, Eric Samulski, and we’ve come to the second week of this weekly awards segment where we shine a light on the best performances, the disappointing performances, and the most misleading performances in the week of NFL action.
As the name states, the SAF Awards are totally arbitrary but no less valid and desirable awards given out by me based on the committee of voices in my head. Some awards will carry over every week while others will emerge from the ether based on my mood or the mercurial winds of pop culture trends.
While you will find plenty of actionable fantasy football information here, you’re not likely to get many of the fantasy football acronyms that make me feel like a real estate agent: EPA, aDOT, YACON, etc. Those are all valuable and have their place, but that place is not here. This is the place where we give out awards, talk some trash, and have some fun.
If you have players you believe are deserving of awards or want to suggest awards for the next week, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@SamskiNYC). But without further ado, let’s hand out some hardware that doesn’t exist and people wouldn’t really want if it did!
Star of the Week: Christian McCaffrey - RB, San Francisco 49ers
How could this award go to anybody else? McCaffrey put up 45 points in half-PPR scoring and remains the top scorer in all of fantasy football through four weeks with 111 total points or 27.8 points per game. He’s playing 80% of snaps for the 49ers so far, which is more than any running back in the league not named Kyren Williams. He’s also earning 19% target share and hauled in seven catches on Sunday with Deebo Samuel banged up.
He’ll get a stiffer test this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys, but it’s hard for anybody to stop CMC when he’s going this good. The only thing that can do that is his own body.
The Office Space Award: Kadarius Toney - WR, Kansas City Chiefs
This award highlights a player who we’re all looking at on our rosters and thinking:
Toney certainly talks a big game on social media, feuding with Giants fans now that he’s no longer in New York. However, the receiver hasn’t really done much with his chance to play with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. He had just three points on Sunday and is averaging just 2.5 points per game in half-PPR leagues.
Not only is he not producing, but the usage isn’t there either. He’s running the fifth most routes on the Chiefs, has the fourth-most targets, and has seen the fifth-most air yards. So he’s not doing anything on the field and is being surpassed by guys like Justin Watson. Why are we holding him on our fantasy teams?
Rodney Dangerfield Award: Nico Collins - WR, Houston Texans
For those of you too young to remember, this award is fondly named after the comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who was most famous for being in “Caddyshack” and also for a schtick in which he bemoaned that he couldn’t get any respect from the day he was born. Sometimes it feels like that also applies to Nico Collins, who is not being talked about enough despite being the WR7 in half-PPR leagues, averaging 18 points per game.
Maybe it’s that Collins has spent his career playing for bad Houston Texans teams, so nobody is really believing what he’s doing, but CJ Stroud looks legit and this Texans offense is playing faster, averaging almost 70 plays per game while leaning more pass-heavy. Collins, a Michigan Wolverine, is seeing 23% of the team’s targets and 34% of the air yards despite being thrown to by a Buckeye. See, we can all get along.
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The Undertaker Award: Justin Fields - QB, Chicago Bears
Everybody knows the GIF. Some of us were alive to see it live. But this award is given to a player who we left for dead who simply came roaring back.
Justin Fields and the Bears offense looked miserable through the first four weeks of the season, and I’ve even seen Fields dropped or put on the trade block in some smaller-sized leagues. Then he came out against the Broncos and was the 9th-highest scoring player of the entire week with 29 fantasy points. While he did most of that damage with his arms, the clamor that he’s nor running enough is a bit misleading. According to Fantasy Life tools, he is fourth in designed rush rate and third in scramble rate, which is pretty damn good.
If somebody thinks this was a one-off strong outing against a bad Denver defense then it might be time to float some trade offers for Fields.
Friend Zone Award: Darren Waller - TE, New York Giants
The Friend Zone Award is where we honor the player who leads us on the most heading into a matchup only to crush our dreams and give us nothing on Sunday.
In Week 4, that goes to Darren Waller, who ranked 26th amongst all tight ends with 3.5 points in half-PPR scoring, despite a strong matchup with the Seahawks. In fact, after all of the preseason hype, Waller has let us down all season, ranking as the 13th tight end and averaging 5.7 points per game.
However, I do think a lot of that has to do with the injuries on the Giants’ offensive line and the lack of time Daniel Jones has to throw (plus, his utter lack of confidence that he won’t get crushed whenever he drops back to pass). Waller is running routes on 76% of dropbacks and has an 18% target share, so I think he will still produces for us when all is said and done. That is, if the Giants can get healthy.
Ryan Gosling Replacement Award: Jaleel McLaughlin - RB, Denver Broncos
Did you know George Clooney was originally cast as the lead in “The Notebook”? Did you know he was going to play a younger version of Paul Newman? Eventually, George Clooney decided not to go through with it, and Ryan Gosling was cast in the role, and the rest is history.
In the spirit of that moment, we give this award to the player who is set to take over a role vacated by a notable player ahead of them. In this instance, it appears that Jaleel McLaughlin could be set to take on a bigger role if Javonte Williams misses time with his hip injury. After Williams left Week 4 with an injury, Samaje Perine led the team in snaps, but McLaughlin led in attempts and routes run and posted 18 fantasy points in half-PPR scoring, while Perine finished with 4.5 points.
It’s clear that McLaughlin is the player with the juice, and Dwain McFarland’s Utilization Report at Fantasy Life shows us that McLaughlin is superior in average yards after contact (McLaughlin 5.0, Perine 2.0) and on missed tackles forced (McLaughlin 54%, Perine 6%). I don’t expect McLaughlin to be a “league winner” and this will still be a committee, if Williams even misses time, but McLaughlin looks like the running back to go bid on.
Horizon Award: Rashee Rice - WR, Kansas City Chiefs
The Horizon Award is where we look out into the distance and see if we can spot something magical, like a beautiful sunset or a potential fantasy asset. For me, that person is Rashee Rice.
I was interested in the big wide receiver coming out of SMU and loved his landing spot in Kansas City. Of course, the Chiefs always seem to find random wide receivers to step up with Patrick Mahomes, but this may not be that year. It’s possible the Chiefs rolled the dice one too many times are re-treads like Kadarius Toney, which means a rookie like Rice could have a real chance to emerge as a key contributor in a high-profile offense.
So far, Rice is seeing the second highest targets per route run on the Chiefs, and he’s run routes on 51% and 47% of dropbacks over the last two games. Now, part of that is because Richie James has been sidelined, but Rice caught five passes for 59 yards against the Bears and three passes for 32 against the Jets in a game where the Chiefs offense struggled mightily.
I don’t think those performances have made him the WR1 in Kansas City, but I do think they will keep him on the field and with nobody else stepping up, Rice could have a huge role for the second half of the season.
Hot Milk Award: Rhamondre Stevenson - RB, New England Patriots
Sometimes we make a decision and come the immediately regret it, like milk on a hot day.
Unfortunately, that is how many people feel after drafting shares of Rhamondre Stevenson. Through four weeks, Stevenson is RB23 in half-PPR leagues, but he has just 11.5 points in the last two weeks combined. This is where the spoiled milk taste comes in.
While Stevenson has remained the clear lead rusher in the Patriots backfield, taking 64% of the snaps and 67% of the rushes on Sunday that is certainly less than we expected during draft season. It turns out that the Patriots do really want to get Ezekiel Elliott on the field for at least a third of the time. While that might not be an issue in most offense, the New England offense do not look good. While that may not be a shock to some of you, there were certain high profile outlets that predicted New England to sweep the AFC East and win the division. This is not that kind of offense.
Stevenson has also seen his target share go down this season, so he doesn’t have passing work to fall back on, and he simply doesn’t look as effective and explosive as he did at times last year. It looks like Stevenson will be more of low-end RB2/Flex play most weeks, which doesn’t make your stomach feel good.
That’s it for this week; we’ll see you next Wednesday for another edition of the SAF Awards!