With the fantasy football season nearly halfway finished, the standings have started to shake out in most leagues.  There are the playoff teams, the dark horses, and the teams that probably will not see the light of day.  One big issue this year has been injuries of key players that, combined with poor performances, have led to some noticeable fantasy flops in 2017.  

Week 1 had many fantasy football casualties, and David Johnson is the first name that jumps to mind.  He was seen as the number one player in most leagues, but a wrist injury in Week 1 saw him forced to miss at least half the season, sinking most owners who sacrificed a valuable first round pick and maybe even first round overall pick for him.  Also in Week 1, Allen Robinson suffered a torn knee and was ruled out for the year.  Another running back that disappointed was Adrian Peterson.  Although he was a dark horse to lead the Saints’ running attack, he saw little action before being sent to Arizona.  Then, his Week 6 performance gave owners hope before he fell flat again this week.

Outside of Week 1, there also have been players that have just struggled to live up to the previous year’s production.  The entire Raiders offense has struggled for the first six weeks, as shown by Derek Carr and Amari Cooper’s relatively low stats.  Odell Beckham Jr. failed to live up to the hype this season on a woeful Giants offense and is now out for the year with an ankle injury.  Aaron Rodgers was doing decently, but he was not the extraordinary quarterback he once was and is now out for the year with a broken collarbone.  Carson Palmer continued his regression and now finds himself out for eight weeks with a broken arm.

There is still a long way to go in this season, and a lot of players can still turn their season around, both in fantasy and on the field.  However, ultimately, some of these injuries may have set owners back.  It will be interesting to see if any new players rise up or fall down heading into the second half of the season.

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