One of the hardest hurdles to overcome in fantasy football is when a big name player — who you expect to give you good numbers on a weekly basis — fails to live up to the hype of his own name. This letdown can lead to any number of relationship issues, self inflicted injuries or overall surliness as you sit back and watch your once — as you thought — great team loses yet another consecutive week.
Every year there are players like the aforementioned and it’s nearly impossible to avoid getting hit by the dip in numbers. Below are four of the bigger named disappointments so far in this young fantasy season. There is still time to improve for these guys so hope isn’t totally lost. But if you can sell high, do so.
David Wilson RB – New York Giants (pictured above)
Stats through three games: 75 yards on 25 touches. Zero touchdowns, two fumbles.
David Wilson came into the 2013 season looking as if he were the next elite running back. These expectations improved even more when backup Andre Brown broke his leg with the thought being that Wilson would get even more touches… Then came the start of the season.
Since week one, Wilson has been battling fumbling issues along with a Giants offense as a whole that has struggled. He has been more than a major disappointment for fantasy owners who expected him to anchor their roster.
Steven Ridley RB – New England Patriots
Stats through three games: 121 yards on 36 touches. Zero touchdowns.
Coming off of a 2012 season where he rushed for 1263 yards and 12 total touchdowns, Ridley was set to improve on those numbers in 2013. This became even more of a possibility when New England decided to go with an entirely fresh set of receivers. However, since the beginning of the season, Ridley has failed to show any of the spark he had a year ago, leaving owners, and the Patriots, floundering in the rushing department.
C.J. Spiller RB – Buffalo Bills
Stats through three games: 153 yards on 43 touches. 9 receptions, 29 yards. Zero touchdowns, two fumbles.
Like Ridley, C.J. Spiller had an electrifying 2012 season where he broke out for nearly 1700 total yards and eight touchdowns. 2013, though, hasn’t been as kind as the gifted runner has looked lost in a new look Buffalo offense. The major reason for this drop off could be lost confidence as the rusher has fumbled the ball six times already this year, losing two.
Tom Brady QB – New England Patriots
Stats through three games: 698 yards, 5 passing touchdowns.
Tom Brady has been a stat stuffing machine for what seems like forever, but not even he is immune to bad stretches, as evidenced by the start of the 2013 season. With an entirely new receiving corps and his best options injured, it’s no wonder Brady has had such a rough, if unbeaten, start.
James LeBeau is an avid fantasy football participant and a sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Jlebeau76 or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
