Remembering Andrew Luck: A Fantasy Football Eulogy

The King of Fantasy Sports, Scott Engel, gathers the fantasy football community to say goodbye fo Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck after his sudden retirement from the NFL ahead of the 2019 season.

We are gathered here today, thankfully, not to say goodbye to a man, but only his fantasy football persona.

We hope Andrew Luck lives a long and joyful life in his post-NFL playing career and wish him the best.

At the same time, we as a community mourn the loss of his statistical contributions, especially at such a devastating point in the 2019 fantasy football draft season.

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Remembering the Good Times

I want to thank the fantasy community for showing up today to join as we remember Andrew Luck as a fantasy football quarterback. I see many notable names who have come out to demonstrate their support here. I appreciate fantasy dignitaries such as Real Talk Raph, Matt Deutsch, Josh Hayes, Paul Charchian, Anthony Aniano, Michael Fabiano, Uncle Leo of RotoBaller, Stephania Bell, Nick Mariano, Andy Behrens, Pierre Camus, Dave Richard and so many others, I wish I had time to recognize you all personally. Jake Ciely could not be with us today but asked me to say that you are all in his thoughts.

And to the fantasy faithful who took time out of their busy schedules to be here with us today, we share in your sorrow if you drafted Andrew in a Best Ball league or seasonal draft at any time until August 24, 2019, when his presence ceased to exist. For those of you who already drafted, we hope and offer our support to you that you can find solace and peace on the waiver wire with quarterbacks such as Derek Carr or Sam Darnold. Or that you may able to trade for Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers or Kirk Cousins.

For those of you who choose to revile or rebuke Andrew for the timing of his decision, I say unto you, be strong and keep your faith. For those who choose to believe that winning a fantasy championship is the work of many men on your squad, not a singular figure. I beseech you to move forward and carry on, as you have many times before, knowing the regular season has not even begun yet. Rewards lie ahead for those of you dedicated to roster management. Those who gnash their teeth and lash out at Andrew will only hear their voices shrivel as we move on in time. Their cries will go unheard. You shall practice no ill will in this time of struggle.

Rather, I ask that you remember Andrew Luck as a fantasy player as I do. An elite and often elite passer who stirred admiration in all of us when he was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2018. Many of us shared in his physical challenges in tribulations, looking skyward for guidance as to when he would return. And the voices emanated via the satellites that power SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio to keep us on the righteous path during such dark days.

Yes, Andrew’s health took a toll on all of us during the 2015 and 2017 seasons. And his ultimate demise came at such a painful time for many of us this season, when we had already drafted him as a starting QB. As reports of his calf and ankle issues spread far and wide, we maintained our faith and still picked him in the eighth to 10^th round. His fantasy spirit left us on August 24 with an FFPC ADP of 86^th overall.

But I urge you to remember the Andrew Luck of 2018, who rose from the ashes to reclaim his rightful spot among the best fantasy passers of the year. He finished fifth overall at the position, averaging 20.4 points per game as he made a triumphant return from shoulder problems. That is who Andrew truly was as a fantasy QB, not the man who left the fantasy football world this past weekend. Andrew is truly the man who won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award in his final NFL season in 2018.

I ask you to most fondly recall the Andrew Luck of 2014, who was the No. 2 overall fantasy QB, averaging 21.9 points per game. He led many fantasy players to championships that season, throwing a career-high five TD passes in the final week of the fantasy regular season. It was his best year ever, as he led the league with 40 TD passes and a career-high 4.761 yards. That season, he became the first-ever QB to throw for 370 yards, four TDs and a 70 percent completion percentage in consecutive games.

Andrew came to us instantly in 2012 as a beacon of hope. He threw for 4,374 yards, setting the record for most passing yards by a rookie QB, as he finished ninth in scoring at the position and began to help Colts fans move past the Peyton Manning era. He finished fourth in scoring at the position in 2013. Luck delivered for fantasy players again in 2016, finishing fourth at the position. Who will ever forget his four-TD outing against the Jets in Week 13 to boost fantasy players to the playoffs? Just as he did in 2014, Andrew graced us as a Week 13 fantasy savior in 2016.

Closing Words

Andrew, if you could hear me today, and I am sure you can’t, because you likely don’t read fantasy football articles or listen to fantasy radio, I would want to tell you that we all rode on that rollercoaster together with you throughout your seven-year career. And we thank you for the good times and want you to know we felt the frustrations and challenges of your valiant battles against your health issues in our own way.

I want to say I speak for all of us when I declare that we admire all the tremendous effort you put in the attempts to continue your career. As Richard Sherman said in his closing remarks about your career, most of us will never know what someone like you puts his body through season after season.

But it’s players like you, Andrew, who allow us to enjoy this wonderful game of fantasy football every season. And we realize you were much more than a fantasy QB to us. You were a quarterback for T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, Eric Ebron, Jack Doyle and many others who have impacted us. And you were a hero to the Colts fans among us. We can only hope you join our community as many of your peers have done to offer insights on our game.

Those of us who play fantasy football always said that luck was a true element of the game. Today, I am sad to know that at quarterback, Luck will indeed not be part of our game anymore.

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