What Would a 2016 Fantasy Football Redraft Look Like?

If you’re like me, you ended your 2016 fantasy football season out of the playoffs and wishing you drafted player X over play Y.

As fantasy football participants, we all love to discuss what we would do if given the chance to redraft. Now that the 2016 season is over, some saw the likes of second round pick Jamaal Charles produce nothing (I fall into this category) while others reaped the benefits of late round selections of Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott and Jay Ajayi (I drafted none of these players).

Given the ability to start over, who would you target with your first round selection? Follow along as I complete a redraft of the first round in a standard, 10 person ESPN fantasy football league.

1.      David Johnson, RB Arizona Cardinals

Hard to see this 1,239 rushing yards and 16 touchdown running back go anywhere but first in a redraft. Johnson scored 313 points on the season, scoring 10 or more points in every week but week 17. Johnson was the most consistent fantasy option on the year and also put up the most points for a position other than quarterback.

2.      Ezekiel Elliott, RB Dallas Cowboys

It is hard to predict how much rookies will contribute fantasy-wise, but Elliott finished as the second best fantasy running back with 1,631 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, good enough for 280 fantasy points. Being a rookie, most owners took caution, as he had an average draft position of 10 before week one. Those that took Elliott probably reaped the rewards with a new champion trophy.

3.      Le’Veon Bell, RB Pittsburg Steelers

2016 was the year of the running backs. Bell put up 1,268 rushing yards with seven touchdowns even after missing the first three games of the season. If he played those three games, Bell easily would have been the best fantasy option on the year. Down the stretch, I believed Bell to be the best fantasy option as he scored 20 or more fantasy points in four of the last seven games he played (Bell didn’t play in week 17). He also scored 47 points in week 14.

4.      Aaron Rodgers, QB Green Bay Packers

Call me crazy for ranking a quarterback this high, but Rodgers was the real deal in 2016. Rodgers put up more fantasy points than any other player, scoring 365 points throughout the 2016 season. Rodgers also had three weeks with 30+ points and 11 weeks with 20+ points. He also finished the year with a 40-7 touchdown-interception ratio, which makes for a reliable option.

5.      LeSean McCoy, RB Buffalo Bills

Not much went right for the Bills this season other than McCoy’s fantasy production. McCoy finished the year with 238 points, the third most among running backs. McCoy also had a pretty consistent season with his only blunders coming in weeks seven, eight and 17 where he scored one, zero and one point(s) respectively. After coming off a season with multiple leg injuries, it made sense that McCoy would bounce back in the 2016 season.

6.      Jordy Nelson, WR Green Bay Packers

The first receiver off the board and surprise, surprise, it is someone not named Antonio Brown or Odell Beckham Jr. Nelson ranked as the number one receiver in points, scoring 200 total points on the year. He also stayed consistent throughout the year, scoring 10 or more points in a game nine times this season while another three times Nelson scored nine points. Going off most boards in the second round, Nelson was somewhat of a steal.

7.      Matt Ryan, QB Atlanta Falcons

Not one of the more famous names of the NFL, Matt Ryan had himself an MVP caliber season and it showed in fantasy football. Ryan put up 334 points this season while putting up 10 or more points every week. Ryan was a consistent and reliable option this season. Traditionalists would not take a quarterback this early, let alone two so far, but the consistency is too much to pass up on.

8.      DeMarco Murray, RB Tennessee Titans

Murray was another steal this season as he went off the boards in most drafts during the fourth round. He finished the year with 1,287 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, good enough for 229 points. Murray was also consistent throughout the season scoring 10 or more points fifteen times while scoring a touchdown in eight games. He scored a touchdown every week from week six until week 10. Murray made fantasy owners very happy this season.

9.      Antonio Brown, WR Pittsburgh Steelers

Brown scored 193 points this season without playing in week 17, ranking him as the third best wide receiver. Brown was a little more consistent than Mike Evans who scored the second most points among receivers, giving him the nod as the second receiver off the board. Brown had nine weeks where he scored a touchdown and three weeks where he scored two or more touchdowns.

10.  LaGarrette Blount, RB New England Patriots

Another running back rounds out this redraft. Blount was the model of consistency (something I value greatly) scoring one or more touchdowns in all but one game. Blount finished the year with 218 points with only 1,161 rushing yards to his 18 touchdowns hindering his fantasy production. Still, Blount ranked as the sixth best option for running backs when it comes to points. Blount had a career year, which bodes well for fantasy owners.