Cam Newton is the easy choice for Fantasy Rookie of the Year

by Cameron Dark

As Week 17 approaches, it’s likely your fantasy season is over, or your championship is upon you. It’s been another heck of a season, complete with all the triumphs and heartbreaks any fantasy player has come to expect. I’ll give you the biggest surprise, bust, and my favorite rookie for the season. I’m not even beginning to scratch the surface of everything that happened — consider these awards very brief, but these were some standout stories for me.

Surprise:

LeSean McCoy, RB, Eagles

Shady, Shady, Shady. Nobody doubted him being a fantastic player heading into the season, but nobody expected this kind of production either. He finished the season as the top scoring RB, averaging just under 19 points per game with 20 total TDs. He was drafted in the first round of fantasy drafts, but almost always went after the “Big 5″ of Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Ray Rice, Chris Johnson, and Jamaal Charles.  McCoy shattered expectations and became the Eagles franchise leader in rushing touchdowns, with 17, breaking a record set in 1945. Impressive stuff. The Eagles may not be making the playoffs, but your fantasy team probably did with Shady McCoy.

Bust:

LeGarrette Blount, RB, Bucs

I wrote about him earlier in the year, trying to calm any early bust panic anyone might have been having.  But 16 weeks into the season and it’s time to call him a bust. I won’t be drafting this guy again. He was a fashionable 3^rd-4^th round pick in many drafts this year, coming off a terrific 1,000 yard rookie season, but didn’t live up to any of the expectations. Blount posted just 5 TDs all year and only three 100-yard games. It’s not entirely his fault though; the Bucs gave up so quickly on the run this season that Blount hardly got any carries, and a bruiser likes him needs lots of carries to break the defense down. There were only 3 games all year in which he received 20 or more carries, and that’s just not enough touches to make him worth drafting as early as he went this year.

Rookie:

Cam Newton, QB, Panthers

A.J. Green has been amazing, and other guys like DeMarco Murray have been fantastic with the amount of playing time they’ve gotten as well, but I had to go with Cam Newton here because he’s an absolute freak. He broke Peyton Manning’s rookie passing record while also breaking the NFL record for rushing TDs by a QB with 14.  Only Aaron Rodgers has scored more fantasy points this season. He’s a monster, rising above what any of the other rookies have done and making himself the clear choice for fantasy and real rookie of the year. He’s a perfect storm for fantasy; demonstrating dominance through the air and on the ground to create a point-producing machine.

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