With the fantasy college football season halfway over, I have consulted with some other experts and received their opinions on the big awards for college fantasy football. We’ve also evaluated our preseason player predictions. First, let’s meet the experts.
College Fantasy Football Experts
Mike Bainbridge – @MBainbridgeCFF
– Mike has been studying and writing about college fantasy football for the better part of eight years now. He wrote for collegefantasygeek.com before going on to write for Athlon Sports. Currently, Mike is writing in-depth college fantasy articles for his personal blog on Patreon, which you may access here.
John Laub – @gridironschol91
– John has been playing fantasy football for over 30 years and has been producing some of the best fantasy football content on the web for close to 20 years. He currently produces web content for FootballDiehards.com and is a co-host of the DFSDudes podcast found on Fantrax Radio.
Dan Lawrence – @fantasyheisman
– Dan operates as one of the more active and entertaining college fantasy football accounts on Twitter. He has run this account since 2015 and has a following of over 600 people for his Fantasy Heisman page.
Justin Heisey – @JustinHeisey
– I have studied the great game of college fantasy football for close to seven years now, and I was one of the original bloggers for Fantrax.com. I have been a part of Fantrax’s blog since its launch in 2016, and I have also written for the North Greenville University Athletic Department.
Midseason MVP Award
Mike’s Pick: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
“You could make an argument for Saquon Barkley or Bryce Love, perhaps, but the fact remains that if you have Jackson on your roster, you are likely to be leading your league. That is the sign of an MVP. With two losses for Louisville already, it is unlikely that Jackson will repeat as the Heisman Trophy winner this season, but with a very light schedule in the second half, Jackson will continue to put up video game-like numbers.”
John’s Pick: Zach Abey, QB, Navy
“Obviously, the easy choice is Lamar Jackson; however, Zach Abey came at a much lower draft cost and is averaging over 36 points per game. The Midshipmen dual-threat has 14 total touchdowns with 870 yards rushing and ranks third in scoring at the QB position.”
Dan’s Pick: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
“I really wanted to go with a new face here, but that would be wrong. The Louisville quarterback is simply the best player in college fantasy football. I anticipate Jackson’s fantasy output to increase with a favorable second-half schedule.”
Justin’s Pick: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
“Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but Lamar Jackson is a fantasy points machine. Even in his down games, he manages to put up monster yards and continuously shows that he is the best player in college football. He won’t win the Heisman this season, but he will reclaim the title of College Fantasy Football MVP.”
Breakout Player of the Year Award
Mike’s Pick: Darren Andrews, WR, UCLA
“This could be a two-part answer that includes quarterback Josh Rosen, but I will go with Andrews, who is in the Top 10 in the country in receiving yards after five games and is tied for second with seven receiving touchdowns. Andrews has always been a solid, consistent receiver for the Bruins, but he was always thought of as more of a possession type. Welp, so much for that notion, as he is well on pace for a 1,000-yard receiving season with double-digit touchdowns.”
John’s Pick: David Sills V, WR, West Virginia
“I always calculate draft capital when assessing fantasy awards, and David Sills V came at a reduced rate. He tops all receivers with 121.7 fantasy points on 33 catches for 512 yards and nine touchdowns.”
Dan’s Pick: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin
“There’s been so many great breakout players this season. One of the most popular debates in the preseason was whether Chris James or Bradrick Shaw was the Wisconsin running back to own. It turned out to be neither. Taylor has been nothing short of incredible in his first season.”
Justin’s Pick: Bryce Love, RB, Stanford
“This award comes down between Chosen Rosen and Bryce Love, but Love conquers all. I decided to go with Love based on his value at the position. It took him only five games to surpass 1,000 rushing yards, and he is currently averaging 10.1 yards per carry. Love is on a record-breaking pace and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.”
Preseason Boom Prediction
Mike’s Pick: Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic
“It certainly was a rough start to the season after just six carries in the opener against Navy, but Singletary has been lights out since. The sophomore back now has four consecutive 100-yard rushing performances with nine rushing touchdowns in the last three games alone. Funny how the Florida Atlantic offense has now taken off since mid-September now that Singletary is now getting 20+ carries per game. He is well on pace for another 1,000-yard season and should easily top that mark by the end of this month.”
John’s Pick: Tre’Quan Smith, WR, UCF
“In five of my seven leagues, I drafted Smith after the ninth round, and he has been one of the best wide receivers in college football. The UCF star ranks fourth in fantasy ppg. (22.5) with seven touchdowns on 33 receptions for 337 yards.”
Dan’s Pick: Josh Adams, RB, Notre Dame
“The Notre Dame running back is producing the type of season that I expected a year ago. The second half schedule does get more difficult, but the volume will be there if Adams can stay healthy.”
Justin’s Pick: Zach Abey, QB, Navy
“Everyone knew that Abey’s production was going to be good, but who would’ve imagined that it would be this good? I pointed out before the season started how greatly undervalued he was in fantasy drafts, yet his ADP only continued to drop. Well, now one of my later round picks is the second best player in college fantasy football and is the main component of the Navy offense.”
Preseason Bust Prediction
Mike’s Pick: David Cornwell, QB, Nevada
“I had such high, high hopes for Cornwell, but things just never transpired. The confusing part was that Cornwell was the leader in the clubhouse following spring practices and continued to be the No. 1 guy during the early part of the fall. So while it is understandable to lose out to a decent quarterback in Ty Gangi, to completely fall off the Earth and now leave the program is still mystifying to me. I projected just over 4,000 passing yards for Cornwell this season, and he finished with just 97 yards and three interceptions. Oops.”
John’s Pick: L.J. Scott, RB, Michigan State
“When looking at the Big 10 landscape during the off-season, I expected coach Mark Dantonio to rely on Scott to ignite the ground game. The junior tailback has only 58 carries and is averaging a disappointing 3.7 yards per carry. I have cut Scott in all my leagues.”
Dan’s Pick: Chris James, RB, Wisconsin
“My boldest prediction of the summer was that James would finish the season as a Top 20 running back. It turns out my crystal ball was just a little cloudy, as I picked the wrong Badger!”
Justin’s Pick: Blake Barnett, QB, Arizona State
“All signs pointed to a breakout season from Barnett. He picked a school that needed an offense to carry them in Arizona State, he picked an Offensive Coordinator that he had worked with at Alabama in Billy Napier, and the Pro-Style offense that he was made for was there. Yet somehow, he still couldn’t beat out Manny Wilkins. I advocated for Barnett more than any other player out there, and boy was I wrong about that.”
Player You Haven’t Given Up On Yet
Mike’s Pick: Jalin Moore, RB, Appalachian State
“We saw glimpses of the old Jalin Moore this past weekend when he rushed for 241 yards and two touchdowns on just 19 carries in the win against New Mexico State. Until that, his best game was 57 yards and a score against Savannah State. Now that Moore is fully into the Sun Belt portion of the schedule, his numbers should begin to rise considerably from here on out.”
John’s Pick: Kyle Hicks, RB, TCU
“Hicks was one of the players who I heavily invested in this summer. Unfortunately, the senior runner has appeared in only three of five games for the Horned Frogs. Hicks gained 71 yards versus West Virginia last weekend and should perform well down the stretch for college fantasy football managers.”
Dan’s Pick: Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn
“Stidham is a player that’s been on my radar since he was both Art Briles and Kliff Kingsbury’s hand-picked choice at quarterback. The volume hasn’t been there so far for Stidham, but I expect that to change when the level of competition picks up.”
Justin’s Pick: Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn
“When I heard that Stidham was signing with Auburn, I knew this was a match made in heaven for the Junior Quarterback. After a slow start, it seems that Stidham is finally starting to pick up his production. And with a difficult SEC slate ahead, they will need him to show what he can do.”