As one fantasy football season comes to an end, another beings.
It's never too early to start preparing for next year. That's how you win, by staying ahead of the game (it's also how you suffer from a Vitamin D deficiency because you never leave your computer).
One of the more interesting cases in fantasy football is Russell Wilson. Wilson has been a very good real life QB while just missing out on the top ten for fantasy QBs in his first two years in the NFL. That changed this season.
Thanks to a lack of receiving talent around him, Wilson has been forced to run more this season and that has translated into fantasy success. He's set a career high in rushing attempts (106), rushing yards (754), yards per carry (7.1) and rushing touchdowns (5).
Even with running back Marshawn Lynch's future with the team in doubt, Wilson's fantasy potential is rising.
It's likely that Seattle will attempt to improve its corps of pass catchers in the offseason. Putting more weapons around Wilson will only help, even if he isn't rushing as much. He'll still remain a dual-threat quarterback.
"Russell Wilson sits fifth among quarterbacks in fantasy points this season, but his legs have been a bigger factor than you probably realize," ESPN's Mike Clay wrote. "Wilson sits 21s in passing attempts, 20th in passing yards and 17th in passing touchdowns. On the other hand, he's first among quarterbacks in carries (by 15), first in rushing yards (by 335) and first in rushing touchdowns (by one). The Seahawks join the Jaguars, Vikings, Jets and Buccaneers as the only teams without three passing touchdowns in a single game this season. If we toss out all of Wilson's passing stats, he'd still rank 25th among running backs in fantasy points."
That's not enough to convince you? Fine, Negative Nancy, how about some more tangible results?
"For what it's worth, Peyton (Manning) is just the 14th-most popular quarterback on teams in the finals in ESPN leagues," Matthew Berry wrote. "No. 1? Andrew Luck. No. 2? Russell Wilson."
He's a winner, he has multiple ways of providing fantasy production and he plays on a good team looking to add more talent around him. Those are all vital fantasy attributes that you should keep in mind when next year's draft rolls around.
