LT; The End of a Fantasy Football Era
By Mike Rowell (aka mjsmooth21)
Over the past decade of which I have played fantasy football there have been many running backs whom have carried fantasy owners to league championships. Some of you who are reading this might not remember the exploits of Marshall Faulk or Priest Holmes(I mean it was just before the boom of fantasy sports lol) who were such dual threats both running and receiving the ball that they would outscore other players from a fantasy standpoint so much it was like having two starters out of one player. So as the news came out yesterday that the Chargers had released long time fantasy stud LaDainian Tomlinson, I thought it only fitting to acknowledge his fantasy legacy and show why he was so important to fantasy sports in general.
Tomlinson never had a 2000 yard rushing season, but what he does have is the most consistent run of yearly touchdowns in the history of the NFL. Starting in 2001 with 10 TDs, Tomlinson has achieved double digit touchdowns each season of his career. Yes, even last year in his worst season he finished with 12 TDs. He is a sure bet Hall of Famer, but for those of us in fantasy land, he is as of 2010, the most decorated fantasy running back of all time.
Now you can argue current running backs like Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson have potential to overtake LT for that spot, or maybe even suggest Marshall Faulk with his great seasons in St. Louis deserves that honor. But when fantasy football started to peak right around the 2002 to 2003, LT was the consensus #1 guy year in and year out. From 2002 to 2008, he was taken nearly every year as the #1 overall pick, or at worst within the top three picks.
That is a run of 7 straight seasons where owners felt he was or near the top overall pick and his fantasy point production did not disappoint as he finished within the top 3 fantasy scorers overall each season from 2002-2007 and just inside the top 10 in 2008. A huge part of being a successful owner in fantasy sports is getting what you paid for come draft day, and LT during the span from 2001-2007 did not disappoint.
What made LT even a greater fantasy asset was his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. His 2002 and 2003 campaigns saw him get 79 and 100 receptions respectively and since you knew the Chargers would look to get him the ball at all costs that meant your fantasy team had plenty of chances to score. From 2004-2008 he never had lower than 51 receptions and when you combine the receiving yardage with his already robust yards on the ground, every year he would lead the league in total yards, not to mention touchdowns. The combination of those factors made him THE elite fantasy back.
Like I mentioned before, LT was the fantasy football poster child when fantasy sports really started to take off. As if it wasn?t enough for him to just be a perennial Pro Bowler and have fans watch him each week strict because he was fun to watch, he was now being followed by anyone involved in a fantasy league. Fantasy football has brought tons more attention to the NFL and now LT was not just a NFL superstar, but a fantasy superstar. But now that he has hit the dreaded age for running back of 30 years old, the luster has begun to come of his once very bright star.
Gone are the days of Tomlinson being taken #1 overall in a fantasy draft, and in fact gone are the days of him being much more than a RBBC type guy. But as an NFL fan and even more a fantasy football fan, I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride of watching and tracking LT throughout his career. His consistency and durability from 2001-2007 will go down as one of the best eras in fantasy running back history and without question would put him at the top of the list for induction into the fictional fantasy football Hall of Fame.
By Mike Rowell (aka mjsmooth21)
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by mike
To mj goes the glory and prestige 
Bookmarks