The No. 1 rule of fantasy football is that you play with your head, not your heart. You don’t load up on players who play for your favorite team. You don’t fall in love with a player’s production, deeming him untradeable. And you most certainly do not let your personal feelings about any player stand in your way from rostering him.
Take a long look at your waiver wire right now and you’ll see a number of players you probably hate. It’s time to cover up their names and focus solely on the stats. Otherwise, you’re just leaving quality players sitting there for your opponents.
For years, Ryan Tannehill has been one of the more disappointing quarterbacks both in reality and fantasy. The Dolphins were never anything special, but each and every year, it just seemed like Tannehill was dragging them down even further with his lackluster play. Over time, you, as a fantasy owner, have been conditioned to hate-owning Ryan Tannehill. That ends now.
Laugh if you must, but there is an argument to be made for Tannehill as the NFL MVP. This Titans team is, offensively, light-years ahead of where they were under the guidance of Marcus Mariota. With Mariota as the starter, the Titans went 2-4 and averaged 16.3 points per game. With Tannehill, they are now 3-1 with an average of 26.3 points per game and are coming off a spectacular upset of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
He is sporting a 71.3 percent completion rate with an average of 254.3 passing yards per game and has eight touchdowns to just three interceptions. Love him or hate him, he is producing significantly better than most of the quarterbacks people are streaming off the waiver wire.
But Tannehill is far from alone. Raise your hand if you’ve hated on Miami wide receiver DeVante Parker. He came out of college with immense hype and between injuries and poor performances, he’s been a huge disappointment. Since Miami switched to Ryan Fitzpatrick, Parker is averaging 56.3 yards on five catches per game and has four touchdowns over his past six.
The list probably goes on and on for you. Everyone hates Kareem Hunt, but 14.4 points in a PPR format, which he scored in his Browns debut Sunday, from your flex position is big. Not a fan of Duke Johnson? He has three touchdowns in his past four games.
It is time to put preconceived notions aside and look at winning your league championship as a business. You don’t have to love your players or be their fan. You just have to win with them.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays at 4 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy sports advice and NFL player rankings.
