Hey!
With the fantasy season coming to a close, I wanted to be honest about a few calls I missed, and what my thought process was for each player.
Here are 5 players I got wrong this year, along with the real takeaway from each one:
Let’s get into it:
#5 Calvin Ridley
Ridley looked like one of the cleaner bounce-back bets on the board.
He had minimal target competition and a highly drafted rookie QB stepping in. The hope was simple: better accuracy fixes the problem.
Instead, injuries completely derailed his season. Ridley flashed early in Week 5, then suffered back-to-back injuries before the offense ever stabilized.
Sometimes the process co right and the outcome still goes sideways. But it’s hard to tell due to these injuries…
#4 Justin Fields
Fields was the classic late-round QB swing.
The rushing upside showed immediately, and for the first month he was a Top-5 fantasy quarterback. Then the situation collapsed.
The passing environment cratered, his job security vanished, and once he was benched, it was over.
The lesson here isn’t “don’t draft mobile QBs” - it’s understanding how fragile those roles can be in bad situations.
I believe we accepted this risk before the season given his 9th round draft capital…
#3 Matthew Golden
Golden checked a lot of boxes. Speed, draft capital, and a wide-open Green Bay WR room made the bet logical. But the role never came through.
The Packers leaned run-heavy, production came elsewhere, and Golden never forced his way into consistent usage. Good idea, bad outcome at the cost…
#2 Kenneth Walker
Everything pointed to a monster season for Walker.
His receiving usage was climbing, the coaching staff praised him all offseason, and the new system looked perfect for his skillset.
What I missed was how fast his role could fracture. Losing receiving work hurt, but losing goal-line touches crushed his ceiling.
Sometimes the warning signs don’t show up until the season starts, that’s what happened here sadly…
#1 Jaxson Smith-Njigba
This one stings.
I worried about the new role, new QB, and a coaching change. I was skeptical he could go from being a slot only WR to a 3rd round worthy outside WR for fantasy.
Instead, he became the entire offense in Seattle.
JSN won everywhere on the field and delivered a league-winning season. The alternatives in that range were fine, but JSN was special.
Clear miss. No excuses…
These misses will happen. The key is learning from them and limiting mistakes as much as possible in future years!
— Sal
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