WTBU Sports’ Best Moves of the 2020 Fantasy Football Season
The 2020 WTBU Sports Fantasy Football League has concluded!
After 16 weeks of action, Senior on JV, managed by radio host Chad Jones, took home first place honors. Chad’s loaded team surged at the beginning of the year and regained momentum right as playoff time came.
But every team in the WTBU Sports Fantasy League made some great moves, from sneaky-smart additions to lopsided trades. Here’s a look at where each owner did best:
Daniel Multz: Adds James Robinson, Drops Alexander Mattison (Sept. 10)
At the time, it seemed as if Happy Golladays simply swapped one bench running back for another. Instead, the undrafted rookie Robinson established himself as the bell cow back in an otherwise uninspiring Jacksonville offense. He finished the fantasy season (through Week 16) with 1,070 rushing yards and 344 receiving yards to go with 10 total touchdowns. Robinson ranked fourth among running backs in ESPN Fantasy and became arguably the biggest steal of the year.
Brady Gardner: Trades Away Drew Brees & Saquon Barkley to Ethan Fuller for Lamar Jackson, Jonathan Taylor & Robby Anderson (Sept. 15)
The team formerly known as “The Brees Knees” quickly ditched their namesake in a deal that sent the Saints’ quarterback and second overall pick Saquon Barkley to Dobbins the Free Elf. It was perfect timing for Brady, as Barkley tore his ACL the following week, and Brees was underwhelming throughout the season. In return, Brady got an eventual top 10 fantasy quarterback, a top 10 fantasy running back and a top 15 fantasy receiver. Brady later flipped Jackson and Taylor in future deals, but the return on this early trade was his best value move of the season.
Akshai Wadhwani: Trades Away Jimmy Garoppolo, Kenyan Drake & John Brown to Patrick Donnelly for Aaron Rodgers & Todd Gurley (Sept. 22)
The Flavortown Trash Can Lids didn’t have too many positives to take away from the season, as they finished a league-worst 2-11, but Akshai can walk away proud of the trade that landed him Rodgers, who finished the season as a top five fantasy quarterback and real-life MVP candidate. Drake and Gurley were both inconsistent, yet starter-level backs, but Akshai still managed a steal by giving up Garoppolo and Brown, both of whom had rough seasons that ended on IR. (In all fairness to Patrick, he also had Patrick Mahomes, making Rodgers more expendable.)
Ben Silver: Trades Away Leonard Fournette to Brady Gardner for Keenan Allen (Sept. 24)
The Philadelphia Pigeons boasted the best receiving corps in the league thanks in part to this trade. Ben already had Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs on his roster, but he managed to land Allen as well just by giving up the perennially disappointing Leonard Fournette. Ronald Jones took sole possession of the backfield in Tampa Bay, while Allen finished ninth among receivers in ESPN PPR.
Joe Pohoryles: Adds Justin Jefferson, Drops N’Keal Harry (Sept. 30)
Jefferson had a slow start to his rookie season, but I’ll give myself props for snatching him up for The Phillips Heads. Dak Prescott’s injury tanked the production of my former WR1 Amari Cooper, so I needed a new starting caliber receiver to pair with DK Metcalf. Jefferson quickly established himself opposite Adam Thielen in Minnesota, and he finished the year ranked eighth among receivers. The Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate only cost me bust-in-the-making N’Keal Harry (ranked 98th).
Perry Sosi: Adds Justin Herbert, Drops Jared Goff (Oct. 7)
These ladies loved Sosi even more when he swapped out one L.A. quarterback for the other. Herbert has taken the league by storm and has given the Chargers a legitimate franchise QB to build around. It also gave These Ladies Love Sosi a much-needed upgrade at the quarterback position. While Goff has his moments, he’s wildly inconsistent. Perry got himself a top 10 fantasy quarterback this year at practically no cost.
Chad Jones: Adds Washington D/ST, Drops Graham Gano (Oct. 22)
Senior on JV took the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra to the extreme this season, as Chad made only one trade and seven add/drops the entire season. For reference, eight teams made at least 13 add/drops, and four made 39 or more. Senior on JV started the year 6-0 and didn’t need much help on the waiver wire, so Chad’s best move boils down to picking up the fourth-ranked fantasy defense in exchange for an expendable kicker. Chad’s D/ST duo of the Colts and Football Team played a small, but crucial role in getting him to the championship.
Patrick Donnelly: Trades Away Jerry Jeudy & Kenyan Drake to Chad for David Montgomery (Oct. 22)
Patrick later flipped Montgomery for Jonathan Taylor, but this move in October made the rich even richer. The Suh-Tang Clan’s three-headed monster of Patrick Mahomes, Dalvin Cook and Davante Adams were helped out tremendously, giving up two unreliable players for the ever-improving Montgomery. Even after Patrick traded him away, Taylor served as a terrific RB2 for the Suh-Tang Clan, so it all worked out in the end for Patrick.
Hannah Yoshinaga: Adds Corey Davis, Drops Ryan Fitzpatrick (Oct. 22)
The Bananas got the short end of the stick when it came to injury luck, losing Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, James Conner and Julio Jones for varying stretches of the season. She still managed to make the playoffs without making too many impact moves on the waiver wire or trade market. That leaves Davis, who finished the season as the 28th-ranked receiver on ESPN, as her best pickup of the season. Davis had just two games this season with single-digit fantasy points, providing the Bananas with solid production when she really needed it. Fitzmagic, meanwhile, lost the starting job in Miami to rookie Tua Tagovailoa.
Ethan Fuller: Trades Away Antonio Brown & Jerick McKinnon to Brady Gardner for Brandon Aiyuk & JK Dobbins (Nov. 5)
The Hannah Bananas had bad injury luck, but Dobbins the Free Elf got hit hard as well. Ethan lost Saquon Barkley, Michael Thomas, Courtland Sutton and Austin Ekeler for most of the season, putting him in a tough position from the get-go. While Dobbins has had an up-and-down year, Ethan got a nice starter-worthy receiver in Aiyuk just by giving up the relatively ineffective Antonio Brown and the obsolete Jerick McKinnon.
It was an interesting fantasy season, but no matter where the teams finished in the final league standings, every WTBU Fantasy owner can walk away knowing they made a move that they can be proud of.