{"id":75935,"date":"2019-11-09T07:46:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T12:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=75935"},"modified":"2019-11-09T07:46:42","modified_gmt":"2019-11-09T12:46:42","slug":"michael-thomas-d-j-chark-highlight-midseason-fantasy-football-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/11\/09\/michael-thomas-d-j-chark-highlight-midseason-fantasy-football-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Thomas, D.J. Chark Highlight Midseason Fantasy Football Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the NFL season halfway in the books, it is time to five out the midseason fantasy football<\/a> awards for wide receivers. Michael Thomas<\/a><\/strong> and Chris Godwin<\/a><\/strong> have been putting teams on their backs. D.J. Chark<\/strong><\/a> and D.K. Metcalf<\/a><\/strong> are providing supreme value to those who were lucky enough to grab them. But other high-priced players like Antonio Brown<\/a><\/strong> and Odell Beckham<\/a> Jr.<\/strong> have made things tough on teams that drafted them.<\/p>\n

Michael Thomas, D.J. Chark Highlight Midseason Fantasy Football Awards at Wide Receiver<\/strong><\/h2>\n

MVP: Michael Thomas<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Runner up: Mike Evans<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In half-point PPR, Mike Evans is actually the WR1<\/a> over Michael Thomas. But when it comes down to it, Thomas has above and beyond been the best wide receiver in fantasy so far this season. He has been a target monster, already seeing a ridiculous 89 targets through eight games. He has converted them into 73 receptions for 875 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n

What gives Thomas the edge over Evans is his consistency. Thomas doesn\u2019t have one game this season with less than 12.90 points. And his ceiling is high as anyone\u2019s with a week five game where he turned in 11 catches, 182 yards, and two touchdowns. Evans has basically given a new meaning to boom or bust. He has three games with 30 or more points. But he also has two games with under five points, including one with a donut.<\/p>\n

Evans is someone to watch in the second half of the year, but for now, Thomas has the best shot to finish with the most fantasy points, especially with Drew Brees<\/a><\/strong> back under center for the New Orleans Saints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Breakout Star: Chris Godwin <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Runner up: Cooper Kupp<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Evans shook off a slow start to the year to put up some monster games, but for a while, people started to wonder if he was even the WR1 in Tampa Bay<\/a> anymore. This is entirely due to the emergence of Chris Godwin. Many people were blowing the horn<\/a> on Godwin\u2019s breakout, but few pictured that he would be the WR3 in fantasy at this point in the year.<\/p>\n

Godwin is on pace for over 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns, and with a nonexistent running game and bad defense for the Bucs, it won\u2019t be a surprise if he reaches the mark. Godwin already has four 100-yard games this season, but he sometimes put up a few duds. He has three games with under 55 yards.<\/p>\n

Cooper Kupp is tempting to put in this spot, but he was well on his way to a breakout year before an ACL injury cut his year short. Still, he has managed to take his game to another level, projecting as a top-five fantasy wideout through the first half of the year. He has seen double-digit targets in all but three games and had a four-week span with 100 yards.<\/p>\n

With Brandin Cooks<\/a><\/strong> out for a while, those targets could increase even further.<\/p>\n

Biggest Surprise: D.J. Chark<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While many predicted the breakout of Godwin, there might not have been a soul in the world who thought that D.J. Chark would be a top-ten fantasy receiver this year. His teammate Dede Westbrook<\/a><\/strong> was actually tabbed to be a steal<\/a> in fantasy drafts. Instead, Chark became a waiver wire king early in the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaby Chark\u201d joined Gardner Minshew<\/a><\/strong> as surprise stars for the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> after Nick Foles<\/a><\/strong> broke his collarbone in week one. He started the year with three straight games with 15 or more fantasy points. His peak so far was a 164-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Carolina Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, his outlook for the rest of the season is a bit shaky. Head coach Doug Marrone<\/a><\/strong> already announced that high-priced free-agent signing Foles would return to the starting role<\/a> following the team\u2019s bye week 10. Part of the reason Chark did so well was his chemistry with Minshew, who he played with a ton in training camp.<\/p>\n

It worth noting that the only game Chark saw less than five targets was also the only game this year Foles started. Keep an eye on his target share compared to Westbrook\u2019s moving forward.<\/p>\n

Biggest Bust: Odell Beckham Jr.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Runner Up: Antonio Brown<\/strong><\/p>\n

The wider receiver position overall has been disappointing this year. Guys like Julio Jones<\/a><\/strong> and Keenan Allen<\/a><\/strong> are outside the top ten. Tyreek Hill<\/a><\/strong> and Davante Adams<\/a><\/strong> have missed significant time with injury. But none have been quite as bad as Odell Beckham Jr, who was projected to be a top-five fantasy receiver<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He currently ranks as the WR26<\/a>, with players like Curtis Samuel<\/a><\/strong> and John Brown<\/a><\/strong> having better years so far. Many roll their eyes and aren\u2019t surprised because he now plays for the Cleveland Browns<\/a>, the team\u2019s inability to get one of the best playmakers of this generation involved in their offense is inexcusable.<\/p>\n

And it isn\u2019t like Beckham isn\u2019t getting targets. He has three games with at least ten, and none with less than five. Unfortunately, he and Baker Mayfield<\/a><\/strong> just can\u2019t get on the same page. OBJ only has two 100-yard games, but also has two games with under 30 yards receiving. At this point last year, Beckham had five games with at least 100 yards. He already started voicing his frustration last game:<\/p>\n

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"I can\u2019t get the ball to save my life\u201d – Odell Beckham@obj<\/a> had Chris Harris beat for a touchdown but Baker didn't even look for him, he threw to double coverage instead on 4th down at the end of the game.https:\/\/t.co\/Jpj86cWgN4<\/a><\/p>\n

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n