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The regular season has commenced and fellas across the country are getting their venmo's for winning fantasy football, or dreading whatever punishment they might have. 18 weeks and a roller coaster of a season, the stress of fantasy is over. Back in September, recurring guest Jerry O'Connell joined PMT to talk about fantasy football and rattled off a list fantasy football quirks that he has.
Jerry is an avid fantasy football participant, with over a decade of experience. He came in last place in a group filled with "nerds" and vowed to never make that mistake again. This loss hurt him, and on the episode he describes teams he's broken up with and an in depth analysis on drafting strategy. Let's see how it played out this season.
Jerry O'Connell Fantasy Football Strategy
Cleveland Browns
No Browns Players - Broken Up (used to be minimum two)
If Individual Defensive Player League - Myles Garrett is great option
The Browns offensive positions were ranked 13th in fantasy football. Baker Mayfield was the 29th ranked QB and their receiving core was ranked 31st. However the trio of Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and D'Ernest Johnson were ranked 2nd, and tight ends Austin Hooper/David Njoku/Harrison Bryant were ranked 5th. Myles Garrett was the 3rd ranked Defensive End, averaging 8.1 points per game, including two 20+ point performances.
Verdict: Somewhat agreeable
Jacksonville Jaguars
No Jaguars Players - Broken Up (used to be one, DJ Chark was a game-time scratch, resulting in Jerry to take it out on his children)
James Robinson - if injury occurs
James Robinson was the 23rd ranked running back, while the remainder of the team performed poorly. Thanks Urban Meyer.
Verdict: Agreeable
New York Giants
No Wide Receivers - Due to Darius Slayton having only 1 TD after week 1 in 2020
Giants Running Backs okay
Giants wide receivers were trash this season. Kenny Golladay didn't score a single touchdown. In week 18, ironically Darius Slayton snagged the teams only touchdown, which was the first touchdown scored by a Giants receiver since October 24th 2021 (Week 7). Saquon had injuries and so-so production all season, scoring four touchdowns and being a bust of a first round pick. Backup Devontae Booker had a decent stretch of production, averaging 10 points per game.
Verdict: Somewhat agreeable
New York Jets
Will never draft Jets again - Thanks to Le'Veon Bell and his three quarters of play in 2020
May draft WR Corey Davis and RB Michael Carter as bench spots
Love having Frank Gore
Corey Davis scored two touchdowns in the first week of the season, bringing in 26.7 points. He then only scored two touchdowns for the remainder of the season, and missed 7 games. Michael Carter showed some promise as a flex option, averaging over 11 points for the season. Unfortunately, Frank Gore did not return to the NFL this season.
Verdict: Somewhat agreeable
Pittsburgh Steelers
No Steelers Players - Personal reasons, did not like Mason Rudolph's actions against the Browns
Najee Harris broke out this season, and was the third ranked running back in the league. He was an incredible dual threat, emulating the likes of Alvin Kamara. Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool were also both great wide receiver options, coming in at the top 40 amongst guys in their position. If we are talking individual defensive players, TJ Watt was the prime pick, especially with his 21.5 sacks.
Verdict: Disagree
Baltimore Ravens
Need to have Ravens defense
Usually, this would be agreeable, the the Ravens defense struggled this season. They were ranked 26th in fantasy production, and gave four weeks of negative points.
Verdict: Disagree
Chicago Bears
No Bears Running Backs - This is because Jerry drafted Jordan Howard once in the first round pick, but Tarik Cohen stole the show that season
Never draft a Kicker
David Montgomery missed some time this season, but also had four games with over 20 points. He was ranked 20th amongst RB's. Khalil Herbert and Damien Williams provided nice flex production from the waiver wires when Montgomery was out. Kicker, Cairo Santos, was fine. He averaged 6.6 points per game, and always had points on the board, posting up six games with 10 points or more.
Verdict: Somewhat disagreeable
Minnesota Vikings
No Running Backs - Don't believe in switching children, Adrian Peterson rubbed him the wrong way and shook him.
Quarterbacks and Wide Receivers okay
When Dalvin Cook was healthy, he was one of the best backs in the league. He averaged more than 15 points a game, including five with over 20 points. His backup Alexander Mattison also shined, being a nice backup/flex option if you needed. Kirk Cousins at one point was having an MVP caliber season. He threw 33 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Justin Jefferson continued to shine too, scoring 10 touchdowns and had seven games with over 100 yards.
Verdict: Somewhat agreeable
Kansas City Chiefs
Can draft any Chief
A no brainer. Patrick Mahomes flipped a switch and became lethal in fantasy yet again. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill are first rounders. Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams are solid running back options.
Verdict: Agreeable
Dallas Cowboys
Can draft any Cowboy
The Cowboys were a lowkey wagon this season. Dak Prescott and Ezekial Elliot are safe picks at their respective positions. CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper are top tier wideouts. Dalton Schultz is a top of the line TE as well. Their defense was also the number one fantasy option.
Verdict: Agreeable
Carolina Panthers
Can draft any Panther except Quarterbacks - In season where he got last place, another team that wasn't good would not play Teddy Bridgewater at the time, resulting in potential collusion and headache
Spot on with the QB's. Sam Darnold, PJ Walker, and Cam Newton were NOT good this season. They flashed glimmers of potential, but the entirety of the season proved Jerry correct.
Verdict: Agreeable
Carolina Panthers
No Broncos Quarterbacks - Similar reason above
Teddy Bridgewater looked like a STUD in the first three weeks, throwing for over 800 yards and four touchdowns. He then fell back to reality. Drew Lock probably shouldn't be a starter in the league, however he did run in two touchdowns against the Chiefs this past week.
Verdict: Agreeable
New England Patriots
Tight Ends are fine
Good with Running Backs - Specifically Damien Harris
No Wide Receivers
Patriots spent well on tight ends this offseason. Hunter Henry was ranked 11th, while Jonnu Smith was 36th. Henry did bring in 9 touchdowns for the season. Damien Harris was awesome this season, bringing in around 14 points per game. Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers, and Nelson Agalor were okay options, but N'Keal Harry was not a wise pick.
Verdict: Agreeable
Arizona Cardinals
No Running Backs - Lost to Kenyon Drake last season
Wide Receivers and Quarterbacks okay
James Conner surprisingly was a top-five back this season, averaging upwards of 17 points per game. When Chase Edmonds was healthy too, he offered pretty decent production as a RB2/Flex option. Obviously Kyler Murray is a safe pick at QB, and the options at wide receivers (De'Andre Hopkins, AJ Green, Christian Kirk) are great guys to have on your roster.
Verdict: Somewhat agreeable
Houston Texans
No Running Backs - 2016 Lamar Miller let him down
Will draft Quarterbacks and Wide Receivers
The gauntlet of Texans RB's were mediocre at best. David Johnson, Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman, were all just "eh". Tyrod Taylor had three good games and was injured or benched for majority of the season, but Davis Mills might be a go QB2 next season. He closed out this year with 9 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and 1,258 yards thrown. Brandon Cooks was a top-20 receiver this season, averaging 14.6 points per game.
Verdict: Agreeable
Atlanta Falcons
RB Mike Davis - good value
I don't think anybody anticipated how good of a season Cordarrelle Patterson was going to have. He definitely took away from Mike Davis, but he still was solid running back to have. The first five weeks, Davis was averaging over 10 points a week, and then bounced back every other week. Decent value, good bench player to have.
Verdict: Somewhat agreeable
Cincinnati Bengals
WR Tee Higgins - good value
With Joe Burrow at the helm, and defenses stalking out Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins was a nice wide receiver to have in the mix. He averaged close to 16 points per game, and closed out the season with four weeks with over 100 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Verdict: Agreeable
Philadelphia Eagles
QB Jalen Hurts - good value
This season will definitely boost his value for next year, Jalen Hurts is the real deal. He threw for 3,144 yards, with 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. I'd call that a good value QB1ish pick.
Verdict: Agreeable
Miami Dolphins
Love all Dolphins
TE Mike Gesicki - good value
RB Miles Gaskin - good value
In terms of good value. The Double MG's were nice pickups. Miles Gaskins was a solid production back, who averaged 10 points per game. Mike Gesicki was one of the top tight ends in the league, who had seven games with over 10 points.
Verdict: Agreeable
New Orleans Saints
Taysom Hill when you can lock him in as the TE position, while he is playing QB
ESPN squashed the bug on this one, and made Taysom Hill a QB. As a quarterback, he wasn't very good. He had one decent game with 2 touchdowns but four interceptions against the Cowboys in week 13, where he netted 20.66 points, but that's about it.
Verdict: Disagree
All in all, not a bad thought process with the draft strategy. From the pod perspective, it's one of the funniest guests appearances on the show, and I hope Jerry did well in fantasy. It's safe to say to you can take a page out of his book if you want some successes.