This article is part of our DFS Football 101 series.
When the fantasy football season ends, I like to look back on things from a daily fantasy perspective. Because we are always focused on the current week and quickly moving on to the next, it is a good practice to reflect on the best and worst DFS players on a seasonal and weekly basis using FanDuel data.There were many storylines to the 2017 season, but injuries was probably the biggest.
Here are some notable players who missed significant time:
QB – Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Carson Palmer, Ryan Tannehill, Sam Bradford, Josh McCown
RB – David Johnson, Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott (suspension), Chris Thompson, Ty Montgomery, Danny Woodhead, Rob Kelley, Spencer Ware
WR – Odell Beckham Jr., Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Allen Robinson, Pierre Garcon, Terrelle Pryor, Brandon Marshall, Willie Snead
TE – Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen, Tyler Eifert
Many believe the impact of injuries is less in the DFS environment because you pick a new team every week, but that is not true. The trickle down effect on the skill position players on the teams that suffered key injuries is felt in a huge way. The backup QB effects the WR and TE most negatively because of the drop in talent.
Wide receivers really struggled in 2017 outside of Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins and Keenan Allen. It was a difficult season to project consistency at the position. Whether it is more teams using tight ends, throwing to running backs or defenses using more nickel, all factor into the shift in the results.
For next season, I'd like to see FanDuel make an adjustment with one roster position and take the third WR position and make it a flex. Or get rid of kickers finally and add a flex.
I decided to reflect on this season by creating "Teams." Some are for just the season, whereas others are both based on the season and weekly performances.
ALL-BUST TEAM – SEASON
| POS | PLAYER | AVG SALARY | PPG | VALUE |
| QB | Matt Ryan | $7,950 | 15.00 | 1.90 |
| RB | Doug Martin | $6,318 | 6.50 | 1.10 |
| RB | Jay Ajayi | $6,950 | 8.79 | 1.27 |
| WR | Terrelle Pryor | $6,412 | 5.00 | 0.87 |
| WR | Jordy Nelson | $7,207 | 7.90 | 1.03 |
| WR | Emmanuel Sanders | $6,591 | 7.58 | 1.14 |
| TE | Martellus Bennett | $5,411 | 4.80 | 0.88 |
| K | Giorgio Tavecchio | $4,657 | 5.07 | 1.07 |
| DST | Jets | $4,212 | 4.50 | 1.20 |
ALL-BUST TEAM – WEEKLY
| POS | PLAYER | SALARY | POINTS | VALUE | WEEK |
| QB | Dak Prescott | $8,500 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 11 |
| RB | Le'Veon Bell | $9,300 | 6.2 | 0.7 | 1 |
| RB | Ezekiel Elliott | $8,700 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 2 |
| WR | Antonio Brown | $9,200 | 5.4 | 0.6 | 4 |
| WR | Odell Beckham Jr | $9,000 | 5.6 | 0.6 | 2 |
| WR | Michael Thomas | $8,500 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 6 |
| TE | Rob Gronkowski | $8,200 | 5.1 | 0.6 | 11 |
| DST | Jaguars | $5,600 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 16 |
ALL-VALUE TEAM – SEASON
| POS | PLAYER | AVG SALARY | PPG | VALUE |
| QB | Deshaun Watson | $7,271 | 25.26 | 3.4 |
| RB | Todd Gurley | $8,493 | 23.42 | 2.7 |
| RB | Alvin Kamara | $6,993 | 17.52 | 2.5 |
| WR | JuJu Smith-Schuster | $6,118 | 14.00 | 2.3 |
| WR | DeAndre Hopkins | $7,906 | 17.45 | 2.2 |
| WR | Antonio Brown | $9,157 | 18.55 | 2.0 |
| TE | Rob Gronkowski | $8,223 | 14.83 | 1.8 |
| DST | Ravens | $4,781 | 12.06 | 2.9 |
| K | Greg Zuerlein | $5,114 | 13.00 | 2.5 |
ALL-PERFORMANCE TEAM – WEEKLY
| POS | PLAYER | POINTS | WEEK |
| QB | Alex Smith | 37.64 | 13 |
| RB | Todd Gurley | 44.60 | 16 |
| RB | Todd Gurley | 43.50 | 15 |
| WR | Julio Jones | 44.80 | 12 |
| WR | Amari Cooper | 38.50 | 7 |
| WR | Antonio Brown | 37.40 | 11 |
| TE | Marcedes Lewis | 26.20 | 3 |
| DST | Ravens | 35.00 | 8 |
| K | Greg Zuerlein | 27.00 | 4 |
ALL-VALUE TEAM – WEEKLY
| POS | PLAYER | SALARY | POINTS | VALUE | WEEK |
| QB | Alex Smith | $7,500 | 37.64 | 5.0 | 13 |
| RB | Kareem Hunt | $6,400 | 43.10 | 6.7 | 1 |
| RB | Corey Clement | $4,500 | 25.10 | 5.6 | 9 |
| WR | Amari Cooper | $6,200 | 38.50 | 6.2 | 7 |
| WR | Keelan Cole | $4,500 | 28.10 | 6.2 | 15 |
| WR | Julio Jones | $7,800 | 44.80 | 5.7 | 12 |
| TE | Marcedes Lewis | $4,500 | 26.20 | 5.8 | 3 |
| DST | Saints | $4,200 | 33.00 | 7.9 | 6 |
| K | Greg Zuerlein | $4,900 | 27.00 | 5.5 | 4 |
ALL-HIGH PRICED TEAM - WEEKLY
| POS | PLAYER | SALARY | WEEK |
| QB | Tom Brady | $9,500 | 14 |
| RB | Kareem Hunt | $9,700 | 7 |
| RB | Le'Veon Bell | $9,700 | 7 |
| WR | Antonio Brown | $9,600 | 12 |
| WR | Julio Jones | $9,300 | 3 |
| WR | DeAndre Hopkins | $9,100 | 9 |
| TE | Rob Gronkowski | $8,500 | 7 |
| DST | Jaguars | $5,900 | 15 |
| K | Greg Zuerlein | $5,400 | 10 |
