Biggest Fantasy Surprises:
The Good:
LaDainian Tomlinson
Its hard to argue that one of the biggest surprises in fantasy football this season is the re-emergence of LT. The Chargers parted ways with him after his production slipped for a few straight years. But with his new team and renewed energy, LT has been very productive and took over early this season as the lead back for the Jets over the highly touted Shonn Greene. Tomlinson is averaging 4.7 yards per carry, his highest total in 3 seasons and he has more fantasy production then several high level first round draft picks at the position. Chances are he has made a huge impact with fantasy owners who took the chance on him this season.
Terrell Owens
The ageless wonder just keeps producing for fantasy owners and this season is one of the best of his career. Funny enough Owens couldn’t even find a team that wanted him to begin the season until Ochocinco lobbied for him to join the Bengals. Owens has taken the opportunity and excelled this season both from a leadership standpoint with the Bengals and with fantasy owners as a top 5 WR this season. Owens has proven to everybody that he still a fire under him and can produce as an elite wide receiver. It will be interesting to see what kind of demand Owens will see in the free agent market, but one thing is clear, he has been fantasy gold so far this season for fantasy owners who took a chance on him.
Darren McFadden
McFadden has put up double-digit fantasy games in every game he has played this season except this past week against the Steelers. Many fantasy owners had high expectation from the Raiders backfield heading into this season, but most of the pre-season buzz surrounded Michael Bush. However Bush suffered an early setback with injury this year and opened the door for McFadden to bust out and bust out he has. Fantasy owners who risked picking him up late in the draft have benefited greatly as McFadden has been a top 5 RB all season long. He is also a great PPR threat as his production in the passing game has also been consistent this year. Look for McFadden to stay hot down the stretch and into the fantasy playoffs as the Raidesr will have some great matchups against the run.
The Not So Good:
Randy Moss
23 catches for 339 yards and 5 touchdowns through 11 games are not the numbers we are used to from Randy Moss. Taken in the first round of most fantasy drafts, its hard to pick a player who could be labeled as a bigger bust then the super-freak this season. He has been shuffled around the league, playing for 3 different teams this season. Currently with the Titans, after 2 games Moss has just 1 catch for 26 yards. Not surprisingly the Titans team is falling apart at the seams with quarterback issues and in-house fighting….not surprisingly this all happened after Moss came to town. While Moss may not be to blame for the current trouble in Tennessee, it just seems that trouble has followed him around the NFL this season. While he does have some tasty matchups ahead, its going to take the biggest Moss supporters to continue to put him in their fantasy lineups.
Brandon Marshall
Marshall has been another huge disappointment for fantasy owners this year from the wide receiver position. Posting 58 catches this season for 693 yards and a touchdown. Now it looks like Marshall will miss multiple weeks with a hammie injury. This was not the season many were hoping for while drafting him in the first couple rounds of their drafts. The preseason expectation of Marshall were high, but its looking like a complete lose win 2010 if you drafted him.
