My 2015 NFL fantasy football season can be perfectly described as “forgettable”.  From the heartbreaking losses by hundredths of a point, to the convenient last-minute inactives, it just never seemed to be moving in a positive direction.  This year I tried a new strategy and just it didn’t go very well.  My draft was unacceptable, my lineup strategy was pathetic, I didn’t utilize the waiver wire enough, and luck clearly was not on my side. My fantasy instincts weren’t on point and EVERYTHING that could go wrong went wrong.

I’ve been doing fantasy football since 2007, so I consider myself somewhat of a “seasoned veteran”.  Always in multiple leagues, always read the preseason fantasy insider articles, and I even listen to fantasy podcasts from time to time.  I host a league every year with my very close friends, small money wager, but it’s really all about the bragging rights.  I never had a super dominant team, but I always made the playoffs, always had a team that could compete.  This year was different. My team was disjointed and inconsistent.  Never got into a rhythm.  I had some stars, but the role players didn’t come thru for me.   I think it all started and ended with the draft.

That was my Week 1 lineup… I actually ended up losing, but I wasn’t completely disappointed with my team’s performance.  Aaron Rodgers was my first pick.  He’s one of my favorite players, so I was excited to get him.  That was my first mistake… drafting a quarterback in the first round.  Aside from a couple real disappointing weeks, Rodgers performed at a satisfactory level.  Unfortunately, I drafted him to perform at an extraordinary level.  I figured even though Jordy Nelson was out, their rushing attack, led my Eddie Lacy, had established themselves to the point where Rodgers could dissect defenses and just throw touchdowns.  I was wrong… the Green Bay offensive line and the rushing attack were sorry for much of the season and the receivers struggled to get separation.  Definitely overvalued the quarterback position.

My next 3 picks all performed like draft “busts”, Jeremy Hill, Brandin Cooks, and Alfred Morris.  Jeremy Hill turned into a glorified “goal line” back, he either scored touchdowns or didn’t.  Giovani Bernard ended up taking more snaps then I expected.  Brandin Cooks had some good games, but he had more bad games.  Alfred Morris might have been the most frustrating draft pick of them all.  This guy was coming off two great seasons and I was hoping for a third, but the Redskins had other plans.  He ended up sharing snaps with two other running backs, and touches were sporadic.  By far the most disappointing pick of my season.  Your first 4-5 draft picks are the foundation of your fantasy team… my foundation was clearly poorly built.

This season was the worst fantasy football season I’ve had, but I know it was result of my poor decisions.  Despite my lack of success, I definitely have some takeaways that I’ll be able to take into account next year:

• Don’t overvalue the quarterback position, its more flexible then you think
• Runningbacks and wide receivers are the most important cogs, stack up
• Beware of aging veterans, they’re unpredictable, you could get a good one in Larry Fitzgerald or a complete non-factor like Andre Johnson
• Despite what teams show in training camp and preseason, they seem to always revert back to their true identity, don’t think otherwise
• The league IS getting “younger”, but the “old” guys can still ball out, don’t overlook the sure-thing for a flashy up-and-comer
• Watch out for teams with multiple talented running backs, they’re ALL going to play

I finished with a record of 5-8, along with 2 other teams,  4 teams finished 6-7, 3 went 7-6, 1 went 8-5, and the best record was 10-3.  This was the most competitive league I’ve had to date.  It was fun, I just didn’t do well.  The eventual champion barely made the playoffs with a 6-7 record (Congrats Al) , so in hindsight I didn’t do all THAT bad.  Next year I’ll get back on track, back to my winning ways, I know it.