In case you want to look back at last year's awards, here they are:
Lamar Jackson was the championship game MVP, as noted in the last recap. Yay, Lamar Jackson. 🏆
Now onto the other awards:
Worst Draft Pick:
In a draft class loaded with guys like Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers, Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Brock Bowers, and Rome Odunze, TBone had a real chance to land a great player with the 1.01 in the draft. Instead, he drafted... Pat Freiermuth?
This was an auto draft pick,so I can't mock TBone too much. But I just couldn't help but laugh when I was sitting there at 1.02 and I saw Pat Freiermuth get drafted first - giving me my pick of essentially anyone I wanted. I was not expecting that. Now, tight ends are important in this league - especially since everyone must start two players. And Pat finished as the #11 scoring TE in the fantasy season. So I am not saying he is a bad player. But was he worth the 1.01? lolno.
Best Waiver Wire Pickup
Award goes to Bo Nix, for TDs or Bust. This was a tough award to pick this year, because almost every impact player was a keeper or was drafted. So I'll go with Bo Nix, even though TDs or Bust didn't always start him. It's a dynasty league, so if Nix continues to improve, this will be a heck of a pickup in the long run. Another candidate was Sam Darnold, by the Rad Dynasty. But Dan started Josh Allen every week, so it doesn't feel right to give it to Darnold.
As of the time of this writing, Nix is #11 in fantasy in scoring overall. So the future looks bright for him and for TDs or Bust.
Last year's winner: Kyren Williams for Alice in Horns
Defensive Player of the Year
This award goes to Zaire Franklin for TDs or Bust. Not another award for the ol' Dutch?? I could not think of a more deserving winner than Franklin, though, as he led all IDP in scoring. Zack Baun for Fergalicious was right behind him.
Last year's winner: Foyesade Oluokun for The Killing Fields.
Offensive Player of the Year
In the NFL this is known as the "best player who is not a quarterback" award. Chase, the Triple Crown winnrer, edges out Saquon Barkley for this honor, as Barkley played for BDB, a middling team that won 4 games. Chase helped contribute to a #1 seed and the highest regular season scoring team in Rad Dynasty history. His impact was felt much greater than Barkley's throughout this particular league.
Last year's winner: Christian McCaffrey for Bluth Company.
Kicker of the Year
Kickers need love too, right? Brandon Aubrey for Show me the TDs takes home this award. Show me the TDs finished as the #2 scoring team on the season, and Aubrey's reliability was a big part of that. He finished as the #1 kicker during regular season play. If there ever was a kicker worth keeping, it is Aubrey.
Rookie of the Year
Your rookie of the year is Brock Bowers for My Team. This was a close call, as Jayden Daniels for Teflon Don could have won this as well. But with positional scarcity at TE, Bowers provides instantly much more value at TE. His historic rookie season was one of the main reasons My Team always put up such a good fight, and won more games than they were projected to this season.
Last year's winner: Puka Nacua for Alice in Horns.
Rad Dynasty MVP
There's no other acceptable answer here, as Lamar Jackson was the #1 player in fantasy by a wide margin - nearly 44 points over Joe Burrow and 51 over Josh Allen. His epic performance this season led Fergalicious to the #2 seed in the regular season and then eventually to the championship.
Last year's winner: Jalen Hurts for ned's rollers.
Manager of the Year:
This seems like a self-serving thing to do, but I have to give myself this award. This isn't just an award that automatically goes to the manager who wins the championship. Fergalicious essentially carried over the same roster that won 4 games in 2023, but got a different result from them this season. Dynastic Dan spent all offseason trading and doing research on draft picks and building a super team. I may not have won this year, but I expect the moves I made to set myself up to be a front runner every single season for the foreseeable future. Congratulations on me, as I pat myself on the back.
Last year's winner: ned's rollers.
Worst Manager of the Year:
This should not be a surprise to anyone, as The Killing Fields had the lowest scoring team of the entire season, and was pretty much an easy win for everyone down the stretch. A game rarely passed where someone was not left in the game who was out, on bye, or on IR. This team's manager, CRA, has a pattern of abandoning every team in every league he is in, every single year. That's why I'm giving him the boot and having him replaced as a manager.
Last year's winner: TBone's Terrific Team.
That's all the awards I have this year. I hope you enjoyed the read. Remember: May 3, 2025, is the deadline for you to send me your 20 keepers. I'll be coming around with reminders closer to the date.
