5 Players You See in Every Fantasy Football League

With one week left until the Super Bowl, it’s time to reflect on a fantasy football season full of disappointment. Whether you were bit by the injury bug, or put too many eggs into one player’s basket (thanks Mike Evans) this season turned into one of the more unpredictable and frustrating seasons in recent years. If you were one of the few that did make it into your league’s fantasy playoffs, I’m sure you had some of the players below in your lineup. We’re going to look at the top 5 players on the most championship teams on ESPN.com.

photo via USA Today

photo via USA Today

1. Tim Hightower
Championship roster %: 33.6

This New Orleans Saints running back was buried on the depth chart behind Mark Ingram and C.J. Spiller. But after an injury to Ingram and ineffectiveness for Spiller, it was Hightower’s turn. Hightower was the player on the most fantasy football championship rosters, thanks to his 44 combined fantasy points in weeks 16 and 17.

david-johnson-nfl-arizona-cardinals

2. David Johnson
Championship roster %: 25.5

David Johnson, the Arizona Cardinals rookie running back started the season by electrifying crowds and scoring in just about any way imaginable, But after a resurgence from Chris Johnson, David Johnson became strictly a third down back. However, down the stretch David Johnson became a focal point of the offenses and delighted many fantasy owners with 40 fantasy points in week 15 and another 17 points in week 16.

Seattle-Seahawks-Doug-Baldwin

3. Doug Baldwin
Championship roster %: 24.3

Baldwin put together a historic stretch to finish off his regular season campaign. With 11 touchdowns and 484 yards between weeks 12 and 16, Baldwin finished the regular season with a bang. That 5-week stretch added up to 112 points and undoubtedly won many fantasy footballers, championship trophies.

photo via USA Today

photo via USA Today

4. Jordan Reed
Championship roster %: 23.4

On almost ¼ of championship rosters, Reed was as important to fantasy football teams as he was to his Washington Redskins. Reed finished the season as the #2 overall tight end, thanks to his 3 week stretch where he added 18, 20 and 24 fantasy points between week 14 and 16.

chandrick-west

5. Chandrick West
Championship roster %: 21.4

If I were to tell you before the season that a Kansas City Chiefs running back would lead over 20% of fantasy footballers to championships, nobody would be surprised. If I then were to tell you that it would be Charcandrick West, I’m sure I’d see a lot of stunned faces. West may not seem like he would have been a key factor to many championships, as he had just 24 combined fantasy points between week 14 and 16. However the reason that he is still so high on this list is because he was a major waiver wire addition, who had a few big regular season games, which lead many fantasy football teams into the playoffs, where they did not have to rely on him.

– Michael Hersey