Fantasy Football – Studs & Duds

The Fantasy Football landscape is constantly evolving. Players can go from a Dud to a Stud, and vice versa, seemingly over night.

Some show flashes of brilliance during their college career and carry it over to the Pro level. Others show glimpses of potential only to explode from out off no where catching everyone off guard.

Duds Becoming Studs

A classic example of a Dud blossoming into a Stud occurred during the 2009 Fantasy Football season. Little known or used Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin rocked the fantasy world. During his first two seasons, Austin had scored a grand total of 72 fantasy points. During the 2009 fantasy season he exploded for 278 total fantasy points.

Austin’s Week Five 47 fantasy points came from out of nowhere as he had managed just 19.2 combined fantasy points in his previous four games. That left fantasy owners scrambling to the waiver wire with hopes of landing the latest Dud turned Stud. Time will tell if Austin can continue with his Stud status as it’s a fickle club with lofty expectations.

A Stud Goes To A Dud

One of the best examples of the Stud landing with a thud and becoming a Dud rippled through the 2008 Fantasy Season and had drastic implications in the world of Fantasy Football. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had one of the greatest fantasy years in history when he scored 454 fantasy points during the 2007 NFL season. That season point total is the highest for a quarterback over the past decade.

Brady was taken in the first round of many 2009 Fantasy Football Drafts. While it’s usually a mistake to take a QB in the first round in a Fantasy Draft, most thought a repeat was on tap for Brady in 2008. Then Snap, Crackle & Pop! At the 7:30 mark of the first quarter in the first game of the year, Brady was done with a season ending knee injury. His 2008 fantasy total came in at just four fantasy points.

While it isn’t always to fair to move a player from Stud to Dud status due to an injury, Brady’s 441 point drop from 2007 to 2008 makes him the classic Stud to Dud.