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By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)
Dynasty Owners, it feels like it has been forever since my last article, but we are back and ready for the off-season. If you have been following along with the content the past few weeks, you may be thinking that Matt the Jerk just covered this topic, but I assure you that this will be different and won’t solely be based on the player’s value. but rather several things will go into determining which players earn awards.
The biggest criteria I am taking into consideration when selecting the winners will be the beloved eye test, a player’s consistency, a player’s salary (value), and where they were drafted will factor into the equation as well. At the end of the day, these awards are just for fun as value is what truly matters here on Dynasty Owner. It has been a fun and fast 2022 season and while I am sad to see it go, Dynasty Owner never sleeps, and the off-season is approaching quickly. Today’s article will officially bring a close to the 2022 season for me. I hope you all enjoy these awards and feel free to let me know on Twitter if you had a different player winning and what award it is.
As I always do when football is on the boob tube, let’s hit a quick recap of the wild card round. The Jaguars pulled off what I believe was the largest playoff comeback of my lifetime (what I remember) with a massive 27-point come from behind win. This has to be ranked up there with some of the great playoff games of all time. The Giants surprised the Vikings in the wild card round, and it was Daniel Jones ($6,414,014), not Saquon Barkley ($7,217,000) who ran wild all over the Minnesota defense, likely earning himself a massive payday come 2023. The last game I want to touch on is the Buffalo Bills versus the Miami Dolphins. The Bills were huge favorites in this game, but Josh Allen ($43,005,667) has not quite been himself lately and has had several uncharacteristic turnovers this season. In the 2022 regular season, Allen fumbled the ball 13 times, losing 5 and threw 14 interceptions. If the Bills want to prove me right by winning the Super Bowl, Josh Allen is going to have to play mistake-free football.
The M.V.P.
Austin Ekeler (RB – LAC) – 2 years/$6,125,000 – 363.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
I love the fact that Austin Ekeler won this award as he is one of the more vocal players in support of fantasy football and even promised to have a big game during Championship week. In Week 17, Ekeler followed through on his promise and had a massive game finishing with 122 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, finishing with 34.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Ekeler also did all of this at a position that had very little depth in 2022, missed zero games, finished as the top scorer at RB, and had an affordable salary, easily making him my Dynasty Owner M.V.P. Ekeler has been so good he may have won the 2-year M.V.P. award if I were to hand one out by scoring a whopping 38 touchdowns since the start of 2021.
Jay’s Surprise QB
Geno Smith (QB – SEA) – 1 year/$3,500,000 – 378.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
I was dead wrong about Geno Smith this season. In fact, I was so wrong I truly thought Drew Lock ($1,752,704) would end up as the Seahawks’ starter when all was said and done. In 2022, Geno looked like a franchise QB after leading his team to the playoffs and finishing as the fifth best QB on the Dynasty Owner platform. Geno finished the year with more than 4,000 yards passing, throwing for 29 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions during the Dynasty Owner season. When you pair the stats with his cheap salary and late ADP (246.3) you get one of, if not the best quarterback to have had in Dynasty Owner in 2022. We will see how much faith all of you, and myself, have in Geno when he gets a big new contract this off-season. Would you keep him at $28,000,000 in 2023?
Jay’s Surprise RB
Josh Jacobs (RB – LV) – 1 year/$2,983,350 – 337.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
Josh Jacobs was an absolute steal at the running back position in 2022 and probably made a lot of zero RB drafters happy as he should have been the main target. Coming into 2022. there were a ton of questions surrounding the Vegas running back and how he would be used in the new look Raiders offense. It was said that Jacobs would split time with rookie Zamir White ($1,100,983) and that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Jacobs proved the doubters wrong winning the rushing title, rushing for 1,608 yards and 12 touchdowns during the Dynasty Owner season. Not bad for a guy who was mostly drafted in rounds 4-6 with an ADP of 58.1.
Jay’s Surprise WR/TE
The Jaguars Entire Receiving Room: Zay Jones (3 years/$8,000,000), Evan Engram (1 year/$9,000,000), Christian Kirk (4 years/$18,000,000)
I was extremely critical of the Jones and Kirk signings this past off-season and even the Engram signing to an extent and boy was I wrong. Jaguars GM Trent Baalke nailed these signings, and they helped turn the Jaguars from the laughingstock of the league with a possible bust at quarterback to a team that is now in the divisional round of the playoffs. All three of these players played a massive role in the Jaguars turnaround in 2022 and they should all be highly rostered in Dynasty Owner heading into 2023, if not 100% rostered. In 2022, Kirk led the team in receiving, finishing with 1,108 yards and 8 touchdowns (241.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Zay Jones had a great season finishing as the 24th ranked receiver in Dynasty Owner scoring with a stat line of 82 catches, 823 yards and 5 touchdowns (198.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Evan Engram finished as the fifth ranked tight end and was just 12.6 points away from finishing inside of the top 3 at the position. Engram finished the 2022 Dynasty Owner season with 73 catches, 766 yards, and 4 touchdowns. Engram is almost a certain lock to re-sign in Jacksonville, allowing this trio to continue to grow alongside their budding superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence ($9,198,372).
Bust of the Year – QB
Russell Wilson (QB – DEN) – 2 years/$35,000,000 – 245.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
Expectations were sky high heading into the 2022 season for quarterback Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos as a whole. Needless to say, those expectations were not met. I do not have the actual number, but if I had to guess I would say Wilson was 100% rostered heading into the season and he was a massive $35,000,000 letdown for many Dynasty Owners. Wilson finished as the 16th ranked quarterback for the season and if we are being honest, it seemed much worse than that. Wilson failed to score over 17.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 10 of 14 games during the 2022 Dynasty Owner season. At Wilson’s salary, it is near impossible to win if he is not playing at a high level (unless paired with a top 10 QB on a rookie deal). I believe the final roster percentage speaks volumes about the season Wilson just had as he started the year at or at least near 100% rostered and finished at 55.74% rostered as almost half of the Dynasty Owners who rostered him moved on. Wilson finished the 2022 Dynasty Owner season with 3,241 yards passing, 13 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and has a massive contract looming. Wilson is a massive risk heading into 2023, but could also bring big rewards as a Free Agent Auction pickup if he is paired with the right coach.
Bust of the Year – RB
Alvin Kamara (RB – NO) – 4 years/$15,000,000 – 197.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
I know some of you may look at Kamara’s final point total and wonder why he is on this list. The reason for this is the fact that Kamara scored over half of his Dynasty Owner fantasy points during a 4-week stretch early in the season (Weeks 5-8). Anytime you have a player on a contract that takes up as much salary cap space as Kamara, you are hoping for a much more consistent contributor throughout the season. Kamara finished the season as the 18th ranked running back on the platform which is respectable as a whole but when context is attached to it, I am glad I had zero shares of Alvin Kamara this season. I know Ezekiel Elliott ($15,000,000) is the same price and scored a few less points this season, but Zeke was much more consistent. Zeke scored double digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points in all but 4 of the 14 weeks he played in this Dynasty Owner season, with three of those single-digit Dynasty Owner fantasy point weeks happening by Week 5. Thus, making Alvin Kamara my Bust of the Year at RB. I may be a little biased as I had Kamara as my Bust of the Year for the position heading into the season but nonetheless, he had a bad season by his standards.
Bust of the Year – WR
Adam Thielen (WR – MIN) – 3 years/$16,500,000 – 180.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
Adam Thielen was another player I had reservations about heading into 2022, but I was wrong about why. I assumed K.J. Osborn ($890,693) would take a step forward as Thielen aged, but it ended up being the trade for T.J. Hockenson ($4,955,306) and Justin Jefferson ($3,280,701) who truly prevented Thielen from having a better season. In 2022, Thielen had some bright spots but let his Dynasty Owners down on too many occasions failing to hit the 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy point mark 10 out of 18 times and at a salary of $16,500,000, that can’t happen. Another reason Thielen finds himself winning an award no one wants to win is because he scored 6.7 of fewer Dynasty Owner fantasy points on six occasions this season, which is ok for a boom or bust player. It is tough to call Thielen a boom or bust player with his biggest week this season being 21.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. That was the only time he cracked 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2022. Anytime you have an expensive player, you need at least a few big weeks and much more consistent production.
Bust of the Year – TE
Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL) – 3 years/$8,227,624 – 75.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
I hate putting players who missed significant time on this list, but I think it’s fair to anoint Kyle Pitts as the Bust of the Year at the tight end position. Pitts was a player who Dynasty Owners drafted very early (as high as 3 in a league I won’t mention) and has a bigger salary for the tight end position. In 2022, Pitts played in 10 games and only managed to score 10.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in just three of them. Most of us expected some regression out of Pitts because of the downgrade at quarterback but no one predicted Pitts would struggle the way he did in 2022. Pitts finished 2022 with only 356 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns (75.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) in 10 games before ending up on Injured Reserve. Pitts is still an elite prospect with a bright future at the tight end position, but after a season like 2022 there will be some serious doubt moving forward.
Comeback Player of the Year
Daniel Jones (QB – NYG) – 1 year/$6,416,014 – 343.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
I think many of us expected the Giants and Daniel Jones to be better in 2022 because of coaching, but I don’t think anyone in their right mind predicted Jones finishing as a top 10 quarterback on the Dynasty Owner platform after barely cracking the top 30 in 2021. In 2022, Jones showed his rushing upside as well as much improved accuracy and production as a passer, despite a throwing to bad group of receivers by NFL standards. Jones finished the season with 3,205 yards passing, 708 yards rushing, and accounted for a total of 22 touchdowns while throwing just 5 interceptions. I hope all of you Dynasty Owners who roster Jones enjoyed this season because he is going to get much more expensive come 2023. Will you keep Jones at $30,000,000 next season? Because I certainly wouldn’t, even after an impressive 2022 that showed big upside.
Best Late Round Pick
Jerick McKinnon – 1 year/$1,272,500 – 189.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
The final award of the day is a fitting one! Jerick McKinnon had to wait until the end of the 21st round on average (ADP 249.7) to hear Dynasty Owners call his name and now, he will win the final award of the day for being the best late round draft pick of 2022. McKinnon started slow, but it was something that did not hurt Dynasty Owners much with him being such a late draft selection. McKinnon finished strong and helped anyone who rostered him make or win a Championship. In Week 9, McKinnon started his tear, scoring double digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points seven times through Week 17, including three games with over 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in the final four weeks of the season. Jerick McKinnon was the definition of a league winner in 2022 and earned himself a meaningless award for the best late round pick on the platform.
Thank you all for reading and be sure to check out all of the fun upcoming off-season content we have in store for you. Stay safe out there and for the first-time, good luck on your 2023 Chase for the Ring!