RADIO
The 2023 fantasy football season is in the books, and several superstar players did not have superstar seasons for the fantasy managers who rostered them.
Sometimes these fantasy failures had many things going against them, including terrible supporting casts, awful offensive coordinators, or major injuries to teammates that stuck them with second-stringers. But in some instances, these players slumped or were shadows of their former selves. Whatever the case, fantasy managers were expecting 1,000-yard years and double-digit touchdowns and received much less.
None of the players on this list suffered unlucky, unfortunate season-ending injuries. There are a couple who had nagging injuries that drove their fantasy managers crazy throughout the season, though, because of the weekly will-they-or-won’t-they-play lineup drama that creates gray hairs and ulcers. So without further ado, here are the Top 10 Most Disappointing Players of the 2023 NFL season for fantasy football!
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Top 10 Most Disappointing Players in Fantasy Football For 2023
10. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks (WR)
I am going to pull a Barry Horowitz and pat myself on the back for writing an article before the season about how Lockett might be a fantasy bust this year. After four consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, the veteran wideout took a step back and finished with 894 yards and five scores in 2023. You can blame Geno Smith’s scattershot throws (although it did not hurt DK Metcalf), but the arrival of rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba was more of the problem. Lockett might not return with his longtime team now that the coaching staff is being overhauled.
9. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons (TE)
Former Falcons head honcho Arthur Smith singlehandedly tried ruining phenom RB Bijan Robinson’s fantasy value, and he did no fantasy favors for Pitts for the second season in a row, either. Pitts was ranked as the fifth or sixth fantasy tight end on most boards coming into the season, but he left as barely the best TE on his team since his numbers were similar to Jonnu Smith’s. A run-first offense with inconsistent quarterback play and play-calling led to Pitts’ downfall. A new quarterback, head coach, and offensive coordinator will hopefully right his fantasy value in 2024.
8. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers (QB)
Pickett is the only quarterback on this list, and while nobody expected him to be Terry Bradshaw or Ben Roethlisberger in his sophomore season, the hope was he would at worst be a solid game manager and at best become the franchise quarterback the Steelers desperately need. Instead, he averaged under 200 passing yards per game, had a seven-to-nine TD-to-INT ratio, and subsequently lost his starting spot to third-stringer Mason Rudolph, who took the same skill position players and got the Steelers into the playoffs.
7. Darren Waller, New York Giants (TE)
Waller may have changed uniforms, but his body did not. After a 2022 season that was torpedoed by a hamstring injury that never went away, Waller was traded to the Giants and proceeded to miss five games due to more ongoing hamstring troubles. Even when he was healthy he was not the same player who had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders in 2019-2020. His 10.6 YPC and one TD were his lowest outputs since 2018. Waller cannot be counted on to be a top-10 fantasy tight end heading into the 2024 season, that’s for sure.
6. Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (WR)
And speaking of hamstrings that left fantasy footballers hamstrung…Watson showed flashes of brilliance during his rookie season last year when he scored seven touchdowns over a four-game span in the middle of his first year. All those fantasy dreams of a 1,200-yard year this season were dashed by a hamstring injury that literally hampered him from Week 1 through Week 18. Watson was only able to suit up for nine games and finished with a pedestrian 28-422-5 line instead of Pro Bowl numbers. Let’s hope he gets into stretching and yoga and has fresh, injury-free legs in 2024.
5. Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers (RB)
Sanders was the top tailback on a run-heavy Philadelphia Eagles team that reached the Super Bowl in 2022, galloping for a career-high 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. Then after signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Carolina, he eventually became the backup behind Chuba Hubbard and ended up with a career-low 432 rushing yards and one lone TD. Sanders will not even be a top-30 RB when cheat sheets come out in August for 2024 fantasy football drafts unless something drastically changes with Carolina’s roster.
4. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets (WR)
Wilson was in the top 10, if not the top 5 on most wide receiver lists heading into the season because Aaron Rodgers was scheduled to be his signal-caller. One drive into the season, Wilson was stuck with Zach Wilson and a fantasy value that had dropped off the charts. While his 2023 stats were almost identical to the 2022 rookie campaign stats, fantasy managers were hoping for Justin Jefferson-like numbers.
Wilson had one touchdown over his final 15 games and had two 100-yard games on the season. Getting double-teamed on almost every play thanks to Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, and Mecole Hardman was no help. No star receiver had more going against him than Wilson did, so look for a big bounceback in 2024.
3. Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys (RB)
Pollard got out of the gate like a greyhound, rushing for 264 yards and two scores over his first three games. Yet not only did he fail to run for 100 yards in any game after, he did not even have an 80-yard game! For someone who was one of the best breakaway threats at running back, Pollard appeared like the fractured leg he suffered in 2022 slowed him down. Dallas was the highest-scoring team in the NFL, but Pollard barely broke the 1,000-yard barrier and only scored six touchdowns. Fantasy managers who drafted him in the first or second round were expecting a lot more.
2. Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings (RB)
Mattison was handed the golden goose of fantasy stats. Dalvin Cook was released before the season started, and Mattison had no competition in Minnesota’s backfield. He was slated to be the No. 1 back in one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL. Yet somehow in 16 contests all he managed on the ground was 700 yards and not a single touchdown (he scored three times on receptions).
Blame the quarterback carousel that happened after Kirk Cousins was injured if you want, but that happened halfway through the season. Blame the offensive line if you want, but No. 2 RB Ty Chandler ran behind the same line at a 4.5 YPC clip. Mattison was an average-at-best back when he was on the field. Period.
1. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers (RB)
Remember when Ekeler scored 38 touchdowns between 2021 and 2022? Feels like it happened back in the Stone Age. After an offseason of contract drama, Ekeler did little to prove that he deserves to make $15 million per year. He was probably drafted in the first round in 99.9 percent of fantasy leagues, and those lucky GMs were gifted 628 rushing yards, 436 receiving yards, and six total touchdowns. Fantasy managers could have just grabbed Indianapolis’ Zach Moss or Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren off the waiver wire and gotten those numbers.
The Chargers as a whole were a fiasco, so Ekeler’s lack of production was a result of that, but he did not appear to have the same burst or tackle-breaking ability he showed when he was one of the best backs in fantasy over that amazing two-year period. This is what happens to running backs after they have been in the NFL for a few years and have over 1,000 touches to their credit. The tread comes off their tires in record time. This is why they do not get paid like they once did.
There you have it, fantasy folks! I could have made a longer laundry list of disappointments and added honorable mentions like Dalvin Cook, Dameon Pierce, Marquise Brown, and many, many more. I surely hope your fantasy roster did not have more than one or two of these fellows on it or else you probably did not make any money in your fantasy league this season.
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