The fantasy football season is officially over for all, and all that's left to do is reflect and prepare for next year. Many owners who won championships this year were able to come out on top thanks to Odell Beckham Jr., who was hands down the best pickup in any league in which he wasn't picked on draft day.
Beckham didn't seem too appealing on draft day to anyone but the most die hard of Giants fans. Wide receiver was a deep position, several rookies looked better, and Beckham missed all of training camp, plus the first four games of the season.
He took off running once he got onto the field though, amassing 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. The numbers are startling just on their face-they become almost unfathomable when they've been posted by a first-year player who didn't participate in camp.
Now, the difficult question is where does ODB stack up at arguably the deepest position in fantasy football? While Beckham's numbers pretty much topped everyone else even with the four missed games, there are some stud WR1s that have longer track records.
Some of the players that jump to mind battled injury in 2014. Calvin Johnson was limited to 13 games, and some of those games featured "Megatron" as little more than a decoy. Even still, he topped 1,000 yards and scored eight touchdowns.
A.J. Green was another stud whose season was derailed for several weeks by toe injuries. Ditto Brandon Marshall in Chicago, who fought an injured knee before returning, and then having his season ended by a rib injury.
Other players had seasons on par with Beckham, but don't possess his freakish athletic ability. Jordy Nelson of the Packers and Antonio Brown of the Steelers are good examples of this. They are consistent as gravity week-to-week, but are less fun to go with ahead of the otherworldly Beckham. On the other hand, they have proven longevity in the NFL.
Finally, there are is the Dez Bryant and Julio Jones class-these guys are physical marvels like Beckham who actually lived up to their hype. Bryant scored 16 touchdowns this season, while Jones dealt with injuries all around him and still caught 104 passes for more than 1,500 yards.
At this point in time, my advice would be to not go crazy. Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, and A.J. Green should be going ahead of ODB despite this wild season. After that-owners can't really go wrong. Tom Coughlin is reportedly returning to the Giants' sideline next year along with offensive coordinator Bob McAdoo. That means another year of familiarity and development between Eli Manning and Beckham.
Treat ODB as an elite WR1, and a bona fide Top-5 option.
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