Since this was Heisman Trophy Week (congratulations Sam Bradford) I've been thinking about how the Heisman Trophy affects fantasy football. You would think that the award for the greatest all around college football player in the nation would translate into fantasy football success but it hasn't worked out that way (to put it mildly). Here's my list of the greatest fantasy football players who were also Heisman Trophy winners. I've only gone back to 1990, which was roughly the start of the "fantasy football era". (Please don't email me about how you've been playing since 1974)
Eddie George - 1995 (RB, Ohio State) - Fast Eddie George was a fantasy stalwart for years, bursting out in his rookie season with an amazing 1368 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. That was the only the first of five straight years with 1290+ rushing yards, culminating in a 2000 season with 403 carries, 1509 rushing yards and 14 rushing TDs. That was followed by one of fantasy football's greatest flameouts, his 939 rushing yard, 5 touchdown bust season in 2001. He was clearly burned out at that time (he averaged a whopping 353 carries per season in those first five years) but went on to have two more 1000+ rushing yard seasons. Arguably one of the greatest running backs -- Heisman or not -- in fantasy football history.
Carson Palmer - 2002 (QB, Southern California) - Palmer didn't play at all his rookie season (Jon Kitna started every game) but he had a solid "rookie" season in 2004 with 2,897 passing yards, 18 TDs and 18 INTs. It was the next year where he became a fantasy stud, cranking out 32 touchdowns to only 12 interceptions. He's always thrown way too many interceptions, but his passing yardage has increased each of the past four seasons, finishing with 4,131 passing yards last year. Injuries have practically wiped out his 2008 season, but there's no reason to believe he won't return to form once he's healthy.
Reggie Bush -- 2005 (RB, Southern California) - Touted as the ultimate football weapon coming out of college, Bush hasn't lived up to that hype but has still become a solid fantasy contributor. Originally expected to be a starting RB1, he has found more success catching the ball with 742 receiving yards (vs 565 rushing yards) his rookie season and with more receiving yards than rushing yards again this year. He's never topped the eight combined touchdowns he had in 2005 and a growing history of injury (he's only started 27 games in nearly 3 seasons) makes you wonder if he'll ever really be a worth the #2 overall pick. Without a doubt though, he's one of the best of the Heisman winners.
Next up is...uh that's it. Yup, 18 years of the Heisman and I could only come up with three decent fantasy contributors. Yikes.
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