X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Mid-Season Hype Check - Underperforming Players in 2017

Midseason value check on preseason sleepers and ADP risers. Addison Hayes checks the value of some RB and WR who were hyped up before 2017 fantasy football drafts.

Now that Week 8 is over, we are now officially halfway through the 2017 season. The actual football season always goes by too quickly, especially after all the time and effort put in to analyze and predict the season over the summer.

I thought it would be fun to revisit some players who received a great deal of offseason hype to see if it was justified or not and use it as a learning exercise for future hype players.

I have compiled a list of four offseason hype players for review, with a healthy mix of both hits and misses. All news snippets courtesy of Rotoworld.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Hype Check - Midseason Busts

1. Isaiah Crowell

I’ll be honest, I was one of the highest people on Crowell all preseason, even after his price jumped into the third round of dynasty startups. I own him about everywhere I could get him and now I am paying for pure hype. All of his hype can be summed up by these two news items: RB14 in 2016 on less than 200 carries, top offensive line, a coach committed to the run. I believed it all, but every Crowell owner overlooked his biggest flaw, he plays for the Cleveland Browns. On any other team, Crowell might be the guy we all believed he could be, but playing for the winless Browns leaves much to be desired. He is currently on pace for 204 carries, but for only 702 yards and two TD. He has yet to hit on many big plays, which really catapulted his stats in 2016, and his YPC has taken a big hit because of it.

There is room for some hope for Crowell owners in the future. He finally gave owners what they have been looking for all year in Week 8, though I doubt many people even started him against the Vikings. He totaled 118 and a score on 15 touches against the Vikings in London. The 19.8-point performance accounts for over 25% of Crowell’s fantasy points in 2017 to date and vaults him inside the top-30 among running backs. Riding the momentum from this game, Crowell could string together a series of games that puts him back into fantasy relevance. I remain adamant that he can sustain fantasy value in Cleveland, which makes him a buy-low as running back depth for a fantasy team. To his credit, Crowell has scored at least eight fantasy points in over half of his games in 2017. Those numbers might sound gross, but he is still offering RB3 production as a spot-start during bye weeks or as a potential flex consideration as a floor-play. As a potential throw-in piece in a trade or even spending a third-round pick to acquire him makes his price worth the production.

 

2. Jay Ajayi

Keeping it in the realm of underperforming running backs, perhaps the biggest bust of 2017 has been Jay Ajayi. Even though about every Dolphin player was overhyped in the summer, Ajayi seemed to be getting the most. Gase penciled him in for 350 CARRIES and another Fins analyst predicted upwards of 1,900 total yards if Ajayi stayed healthy. He was being put in the elite running back tier with David Johnson, Le’Veon Bell, and Ezekiel Elliott. I did my best to combat his hype, but there have been some truths in his offseason predictions so far.

To date, Ajayi has 138 carries for 465 yards and zero scores, while also adding only 14 receptions for 67 yards through the air. That equals out to 19.71 carries for 66.43 yards per game. At this rate, Ajayi is on pace for 315 carries in 2017, which isn’t far off from a projected 350 by Adam Gase. However, Ajayi’s production has left much to be desired, especially given the volume he is receiving. Consequently, his 2017 per game numbers are very similar to his 2016 stats when you take away his 3-200-yard games. In Ajayi’s nine games started when he didn’t rush for over 200 yards, he averaged 17.44 carries for 63.67 yards and 0.33 TDs. Maybe that is a sign there are some huge games in store for him in the second half of 2017, or this is the real Jay Ajayi.

With all that said, I do believe Ajayi is a buy at his current price. I have seen some ridiculously low trades for him recently—Crowell/Cobb, Moncrief/Kittle/18 2nd, Snead/18 2nd and 4th. Some people might believe those trades are far, but I disagree. Ajayi is still receiving a high volume of touches and has yet to find the endzone in 2017. The latter might sound like a negative, but if he is going to score at all in 2017, it is going to happen in the second half (analysis). I am buying Ajayi is at low-end RB2 or even RB3 prices knowing his production to date is his floor. The Dolphins offense can only get better and that means more production for Jay Ajayi. Think of him as this year’s Todd Gurley and you will be happy to pay minimum prices for a potential top-10 running back.

Trade Alert! Jay Ajayi was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles early Tuesday morning. Rest of season, I believe this is an upgrade to Ajayi's value for fantasy. He may not see the volume he was getting in Miami, but the Eagles offense as a whole is a massive upgrade. The Eagles' schedule is not great for Ajayi to start, as they take on the Broncos this week before their bye week in Week 10. I still hold to Ajayi as a buy in both redraft and dynasty, but I recommend waiting until after the bye week to make a move.

 

3. Jamison Crowder

Moving on from the running back position (for now), we move to the fantasy goldmine that is the Washington Redskins, or so we thought. After Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson left in free agency, there was a lot of hope for newcomer Terrelle Pryor, as well as incumbent Jamison Crowder. As much hype as he had before the summer, the train really left the station after the above news items broke in June. Though it was expected, the confirmation of Crowder playing in two-receiver sets ignited his hype train over the summer, especially in PPR leagues given his style of play. The 100-catch milestone was even being floated as a possibility for Crowder’s 2017 campaign.

Unfortunately for Crowder owners, he has not lived up to his massive expectations for 2017. Despite Kirk Cousins being a top-10 fantasy quarterback, Crowder (or any Washington receiver) has not performed for fantasy purposes by any means. Last week was the first week we really saw the Crowder we wanted all season, as he went for 123 yards on 9 receptions. However, that performance nearly doubled his yardage output this season and was more receptions in one game than his previous three games combined. On the year, Crowder has accumulated only 28 receptions for 272 yards and zero touchdowns, making him an afterthought in fantasy. He is currently on pace for only 64 receptions for less than 700 yards, which is a far cry from his projected 100-catch breakout season.

However, like Crowell and Ajayi, there is room for hope. He is far and away the Redskins number two receiver, if not number one with how Pryor has performed to date. Through seven games, Crowder has played no less than 70% of the Redskins offensive snaps, including playing 91% of snaps in Week 8, the highest among Skins receivers. Crowder should see a high volume of targets and receptions moving forward in 2017, making him a valuable asset in PPR formats. He still should not be seen as more than a WR3 until he proves Week 8 was not an outlier performance. Regardless, Crowder is a buy-low at the moment as a PPR receiver on a high-volume pass-first offense.

 

4. Ameer Abdullah

I remember when this news snippet released and everyone went CRAZY, but for the wrong reasons. No one believed Abdullah could see anywhere near 200 carries this season because the Lions simply don’t run the ball. While that is partially true, it appeared nobody looked at what Abdullah did in his rookie season. In 2015, Abdullah totaled 143 carries, but only started in nine games and split time with Joique Bell, who saw 90 carries himself. The reason the Lions do not run the ball is not because they can’t, it is because they have not had a truly capable running back since Reggie Bush. If they focused the majority of their 350-400 rushing attempts a year on one player, of course he would hit 200 easily, and that is where Abdullah comes in.

Moving onto 2017, Abdullah now has 101 carries through seven games and is on pace for 230 carries. He has not had less than double-digit carries in a game and has only two games less than 14 carries to date. Where he has been underperforming, especially for fantasy purposes, has been the receiving game. To date, he has only caught 13 passes on 17 targets. Naturally, Theo Riddick has seen most of the Lions’ receiving volume out of the backfield, but we expected more from Abdullah in this department. He has never been a touchdown scorer, but he is a capable pass-catcher out of the backfield. Despite his fantasy struggles, Abdullah is still a PPR RB3 in fantasy like Isaiah Crowell. While not a complete bust, it doesn't appear he will live up to the preseason hype he was receiving.

 

More 2017 Fantasy Football & ADP Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Sebastian Walcott

Smacks Second Home Run Of 2025
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Kenley Jansen

Records His Sixth Save Of The Season
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Miguel Vargas

Homers Against The Twins On Thursday
Hunter Goodman

Delivers In Game 1 On Thursday With Two Hits
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Christopher Morel

Home Run Seals Victory For Rays
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Zach Neto

Hits Go-Ahead Home Run On Thursday
Yandy Díaz

Yandy Diaz Tallies Three Hits In Win Against Arizona
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Pete Fairbanks

Picks Up Fourth Save On Thursday
Carlos Estévez

Carlos Estevez Picks Up Save On Thursday
Corbin Burnes

Picks Up Eight Strikeouts In Thursday's Start
MacKenzie Gore

Strikes Out Eight In Loss On Thursday
Cade Povich

Picks Up Win On Thursday
Bobby Witt Jr.

Scores Three Runs, Steals A Base On Thursday
Alex Bregman

Homers In Loss To Seattle
Mike Yastrzemski

Homers, Drives In Two On Thursday
Salvador Perez

Notches Four Doubles, Four RBI In Thursday's Doubleheader
Jordan Beck

Homers Three Times On Thursday
Jameson Williams

Lions Didn't Entertain Trade Offers For Jameson Williams
Dalton Rushing

Homers In Four-Hit Game
Qadir Ismail

Raiders Sign Qadir Ismail
New York Giants

Giants Plan To Exercise Kayvon Thibodeaux's Fifth-Year Option
Russell Wilson

Will Be Giants Starting Quarterback
Max Muncy

With A Pair Of Doubles Back At Triple-A
Michael Lorenzen

Tosses Quality Start
Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs Close Out The First Round With Josh Simmons
Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Trade Up One Spot In First Round To Select Jihaad Campbell
A.J. Puk

Likely To Miss Multiple Months
Buffalo Bills

Bills Address Secondary And Take Maxwell Hairston With 30th Overall Pick
NFL

Eagles, Chiefs Swap First-Round Picks
Washington Commanders

Josh Conerly Jr. Goes At No. 29 Overall To Commanders

Giants Trade Up For Jaxson Dart At No. 25
Detroit Lions

Tyleik Williams Taken By Lions At No. 28 Overall
Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Go With Malaki Starks At No. 27 Overall In NFL Draft
Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Takes Donovan Jackson No. 24 Overall
NFL

Rams Trade The 26th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Falcons
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Trade Back Into First Round To Draft James Pearce Jr. At No. 26 Overall

Matthew Golden Selected No. 23 Overall By Green Bay
NFL

Texans Trade The 25th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Giants

Omarion Hampton Taken No. 22 Overall By Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Selects Derrick Harmon At No. 21 Overall
Denver Broncos

Broncos Build Secondary By Selecting Jahdae Barron At No. 20

Buccaneers Add Emeka Egbuka At No. 19
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Isaiah Stewart

Remains Out For Game 3
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Linus Ullmark

Attempts To Overcome Playoff Struggles Thursday
Anthony Cirelli

A Game-Time Call Thursday
Logan Thompson

Comes Up Big In Game 2
Connor McMichael

Strikes Twice In Wednesday's Win
Anze Kopitar

Tallies Four Points In Game 2 Victory
Adrian Kempe

Notches Two Goals, Two Assists In Wednesday's Win
Tyler Seguin

Gives Stars Series Lead With Overtime Winner
Tyler Herro

Scores Game-High 33 Points In Wednesday's Loss
Donovan Mitchell

Fires In 30 Points In Game 2 Win
Paolo Banchero

Notches 32 Points In Game 2 Loss
Jaylen Brown

Posts 36-Point Double-Double Wednesday
Jalen Green

Erupts For 38 Points In Game 2 Victory
Brandin Podziemski

Limited To 14 Minutes Wednesday
Jimmy Butler III

Set For MRI Thursday
Brandin Podziemski

Upgraded To Available
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Michael Porter Jr.

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Davion Mitchell

Moves Into Starting Lineup Wednesday
Brandin Podziemski

Picks Up Questionable Tag
Al Horford

Starts Game 2
Michael Porter Jr.

Practices On Wednesday
Jayson Tatum

Out On Wednesday
Isaiah Stewart

May Miss Another Game Thursday
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Posts Team-High 26 Points In Tuesday's Loss
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Notches 27 Points Despite Poor Shooting
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Pascal Siakam

Scores Team-High 24 Points In Game 2 Win
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF