Fantasy Football: 5 most disappointing players of 2014
By Andrew Long
Aug 22, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots running back Shane Vereen (34) runs the ball against the Carolina Panthers in the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
With 6 weeks of Fantasy Football in the books, most fantasy owners have learned which players they can and cannot trust. Obviously not every pick is going to be a hit, but that doesn’t make you feel any better about picking a bust as a starter for your squad. Like I said, it’s only week 6 and these players still have ample time to turn their seasons around and shed the bust label. But, as of right now, these are the 5 most disappointing players of 2014.
Keep in mind that I’m not telling you to bench these players. 2 of the players that I’m listing are on one or more of my fantasy teams. Let’s get things started!
1. Keenan Allen
As a rookie receiver, Keenan Allen shredded opposing defenses. The same cannot be said about his performances this year. Besides his outing against the Jags in week 4, Allen has been a total let down. KA has only gone over 100 yards once this year and he has yet to record a touchdown. The season is still young, but the term sophomore slump is beginning to creep into my mind.
Keenan Allen is the 3rd wideout in my PPR (point per reception) league and I’m going to keep rolling with him in hopes of him breaking out of this slump.
2. Montee Ball
Even prior to his groin injury, I would consider Ball to be a disappointment to his fantasy owners. In certain PPR drafts, Ball was considered to be a low first-round or high second-round pick. Admittedly, I found the hype surround Ball intriguing and would have taken a chance on him given the right situation. Luckily for me, it never panned out and Ball isn’t on a single one of my fantasy rosters.
Ball has averaged an underwhelming 3.1 yards per carry and hasn’t seen the end zone since week 1. With only 9 receptions for 62 yards, he has also been disappointing for PPR owners. According to ESPN.com, the running back will be sidelined until at least week 9 with a groin injury.
Morris hasn’t been awful, but he hasn’t been great, either. He hasn’t had a 100 yard game this year and his best performance, like Keenan Allen, has been against the lowly Jags. He has 3 touchdowns, which is solid. But Morris hasn’t performed like expected so far this season. I would attribute this to his attempts per game.
In his first two years in the league, Alfred Morris has averaged around 19 carries per game. This year, Morris is averaging 16 carries per game and has averaged less than 13 carries over the last 3 games.
4. Shane Vereen
Vereen has had a few solid games this year, but overall he has been a disappointment. Outside of a few big runs, he hasn’t done much. He has one touchdown and that came in week one. He isn’t driving PPR owners crazy, either. Vereen has only been able to grab 18 passes this season.
His numbers might increase because of the recent injury to Stevan Ridley, but as of right now, Shane Vereen has been a major fantasy football disappointment.
To be fair, the quarterback situation in Arizona has been less than ideal. But hey, it’s been that way for most of Fitzgerald’s career. The veteran pass catcher hasn’t crossed the century mark in game this year. His best game came last week against the Redskins. Fitzgerald is also averaging less than 4 catches per game this season.
I have faith that Fitzgerald can get things going with Carson Palmer back under center. But up until this point, I would label him as a disappointing fantasy pick.
Eddie Lacy, Cordarrelle Patterson and Vernon Davis are some other players that almost ended up on the list.
Let me know some of the players that have disappointed YOU in fantasy football this season in the comment section.
Until next time, keep it real!