With the 2019 season finishing up, here is a look back the best and worst calls of this weekly feature article Cutting the Cord:
BEST CALLS
Marcus Mariota (post-Week 3): Mariota would go on to be benched 2+ games later and did not return to the starting lineup the rest of the fantasy regular season.
Darrell Henderson (post-Week 1): Not only did Henderson not challenge Todd Gurley for meaningful touches, but Malcolm Brown also kept a stronghold on the backup job on a sagging Rams offense, rendering Henderson irrelevant this fantasy regular season.
C.J. Anderson (post-Week 2): Anderson was off the Lions roster shortly after the recommendation as Ty Johnson surged past the ho-hum veteran.
Darwin Thompson (post-Week 3): The summer buzz player for the Chiefs backfield would go on to barely play in the fantasy regular season despite numerous stints with other backs missing games.
Chase Edmonds (post-Week 8): Cutting bait on Edmonds, who was dinged up in the middle of the fantasy season, turned out to be the prudent call with Kenyan Drake running with the lead job post-acquisition and David Johnson, while not looking himself when returning to active status, was the firm RB2.
Jaylen Samuels (post-Week 10): Samuels eroded quickly as the lead back in Pittsburgh even with James Conner missing a chunk of games to close the fantasy regular season. Benny Snell gained priority for carries and Samuels was hit or miss with his weekly involvement even as a receiver.
Robby Anderson (post-Week 1): Anderson was well-regarded entering the season and viewed as the clear WR1 for the Jets. After a poot Week 1, Anderson went on to produce just two weeks of more than 8 PPR points over the next nine games.
Dante Pettis (post-Week 2): Pettis was a breakout candidate in the offseason but the early signs were Pettis was closer to the 49ers bench than a career year. Pettis was go on to have just one game of 10+ PPR points.
Jimmy Graham (post-Week 3): Graham ended up irrelevant on the season and with just two games of more than 8 PPR points after the recommendation.
Trey Burton (post-Week 4): Burton was well on his way to a lost season and after the recommendation, Burton produced no relevant games before a season-ending injury.
O.J. Howard (post-Week 5): Howard would struggle for another month before posting a decent game and his tough-to-trust moniker was strong enough by late in the fantasy season, few GMs would trust Howard in their lineup.
Ben Watson (post-Week 6): Watson would go on to be the de facto starter for the Patriots at times and, despite struggles at wide receiver and any other tight end presence, New England still did not feature Watson, who posted 8.2 PPR points as his 'highlight' game.
WORST CALLS
Mitchell Trubisky (post-Week 2): While there has been plenty of ugly tape this season, fantasy-wise Trubisky has been solid with the revival of his rushing production. Trubisky posted 20+ fantasy points in 5-of-9 regular-season games after the recommendation.
Jameis Winston (post-Week 5): While a shallow league recommendation, Winston went a surge of five straight lineup-worthy or better performances after Tampa Bay's Week 7 bye week.
D.K. Metcalf (post-Week 4): Metcalf (shallow format recommendation) would go on to produce 10+ PPR points in 6-of-8 games with a peak of 27 points in Week 9.
Jonnu Smith (post-Week 3): Smith was a deep league cut recommendation and Delanie Walker would suffer a lost season with his missed time and Smith posted one big game and a handful of deep league-relevant ones.
Mike Gesicki (post-Week 10): Gesicki, along with DeVante Parker, was one of the few things to go well for the Miami offense at points this season. Gesicki closed the fantasy regular season averaging 12 PPR PPG over the final three games post-recommendation.
Thanks for reading in 2019 and good luck in the fantasy playoffs!
