RADIO
The 2022 fantasy season had a gripping finale for the majority of leagues that end in Week 17. Numerous household names on championship rosters completely flopped while players we haven’t had notable performances from all season decided to show out in the most pivotal fantasy week of the season.
Whether it was a player with high expectations entering the season or players that nobody even had on their radar, Week 17 had its fair share of unexpected performers.
With that being said, let’s take a dive into the players that carried fantasy managers to championship victories and allowed them bragging rights for the rest of the year.
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Surprise Fantasy Football Performances
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Well, the positive regression had to show up eventually. After weeks of Mike Evans sinking fantasy rosters with his mediocre play on the field, the ninth-year veteran exploded during a crucial win against a helpless Carolina Panthers secondary.
In many fantasy league championship weeks, Evans came through with 10 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns. That monster stat line resulted in a league-leading 43.7 Half-PPR points in Week 17. This insane performance was also the third-highest Half-PPR point total of the season behind only Joe Mixon in Week 9 and Josh Jacobs in Week 12.
MICHAEL LYNN EVANS III
📺: #CARvsTB on FOX pic.twitter.com/9t0gLXlMHT
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 1, 2023
Unfortunately, most Evans managers were likely eliminated from the playoffs due to his lackluster play until this point. For the few that were still alive, this career day from the 29-year-old surely pushed them to hoist some highly coveted fantasy championships.
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Finally, a strong week from the GOAT. Coinciding with Mike Evans’ incredible fantasy day, Tom Brady had his best performance of the season by far. It only took 16 weeks, but Brady managed to please his fantasy managers.
In the Buccaneers’ key Week 17 win over the Carolina Panthers, Brady completed 34-of-45 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns along with three carries for four yards and a touchdown. This vintage performance from the future Hall-of-Famer resulted in 37.68 fantasy points, making Brady the QB1 of the week.
The best plays from @TomBrady's 3 TD, 432-yard performance. #CARvsTB pic.twitter.com/cBnmUIiFWU
— NFL (@NFL) January 2, 2023
The 45-year-old really knows how to come through in the clutch as this output was only his second performance of the year where he went over 20 fantasy points. His previous high was 25.4 against Kansas City in Week 4.
There is still the outside chance Brady decides to hang it up in the offseason. So if this was his final meaningful fantasy performance, luckily he went out with a bang.
Jarrett Stidham, Las Vegas Raiders
For this week’s completely out-of-nowhere performance, we had a top-three quarterback output from a career backup taking on the NFL’s most dominant defense. Sounds like an unlikely scenario because it was. After Derek Carr was benched for the Las Vegas Raiders’ final two games of the season, most expected them to just roll over against the San Francisco 49ers. However, with Jarrett Stidham taking over, this team performed the best it had in weeks.
Against the 49ers in Week 17, Stidham had an unlikely performance as he completed 23-of-34 passes for 365 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions along with seven carries for 34 yards. His efforts resulted in 26 fantasy points and a QB3 finish on the week.
Touchdown? Touchdown. 🤷
📺 FOX | @tae15adams pic.twitter.com/5Uwq49OiJI
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) January 1, 2023
With Stidham’s outlook appearing to be abysmal prior to Week 17, it’s pretty unlikely that anyone took a shot on him in typical redraft leagues. However, for those that possibly took a chance on the 26-year-old in best ball formats, his low-risk addition could’ve made a huge difference in championship weeks.
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
After being regarded as the top tight end in the 2022 draft class, things have not bounced Trey McBride’s way often in his rookie season. But in Week 17, the first-year tight end had himself his first great outing.
Against the Atlanta Falcons, McBride caught seven-of-10 targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. In what was the best performance of his short career, his efforts landed him 17.3 Half-PPR points and a TE2 finish on the week.
First TD of his career 🎉
What a way to start 2023 @mcbtrey! pic.twitter.com/Kcrn1byClD
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) January 1, 2023
With the tight end position being a disaster for fantasy in most weeks, maybe there were some desperate managers who got lucky and gave McBride the nod in their starting lineups for the championship. With this performance, good things may be on the horizon for the 23-year-old if the Cardinals trust him in 2023.
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
The Giants may have something special brewing for the future of their franchise. In a game that had playoff implications, quarterback Daniel Jones showed out in a big way.
Against the Indianapolis Colts, Jones had a strong day as he completed 19-of-24 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns along with 11 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns. That stat line resulted in his best performance of the season with 36.18 fantasy points, making Jones the QB2 overall in Week 17.
DANIEL &$%8#!* JONES
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/5TKIDur3as
— New York Giants (@Giants) January 1, 2023
This wasn’t Jones’ only impressive performance of the season, but it was his first with over 30 points for fantasy managers. With the Giants competing and making their first playoff appearance since 2016 with him at the helm, you have to like his chances to get a second contract with the team.
The offense is solid right now, but if the Giants gather some better-receiving weapons in the offseason, we could see the 25-year-old take an even larger step forward with head coach Brian Daboll changing the team culture. With his success and mobile play style, Jones should be a player to look out for in 2023.
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