Well it seems like just yesterday that the season finally started, but here we are, just over halfway through the regular season. No doubt you are starting to make a push for the playoffs. At this point in the season, your later draft picks are showing their value as well as any well-timed waiver wire pickups. At this (just past the) midway point, we would like to present you the (Just Past) Midseason All-Fantasy Teams and Awards.
First Team
QB: Cameron Newton, Auburn
RB: Vai Taua, Nevada
RB: DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma
WR: Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
WR: Greg Salas, Hawaii
WR: Randall Cobb, Kentucky
TE: Michael Egnew, Missouri
K: Dan Bailey, Oklahoma State
DST: Boise State Broncos
Newton burst onto the scene after starting out at Florida, going to Blinn Junior College, and then finally landing at Auburn. Never has there been a better fit for Gus Malzahn's offense and the great thing about Newton is that in big games, he just gets better. Murray has become one of the top backs in the nation as the coaching staff is making it a point to get him the ball more. Another pleasant surprise was the emergence of Blackmon. Coming into this year, he had just 20 catches for 260 yards and two touchdowns while so far this year, Blackmon is leading the country in receiving yards and receiving scores.
Second Team
QB: Denard Robinson, Michigan
RB: LaMichael James, Oregon
RB: Bilal Powell, Louisville
WR: Kealoha Pilares, Hawaii
WR: Jermaine Kearse, Washington
WR: Kris Adams, UTEP
TE: Lance Kendricks, Wisconsin
K: Devin Barclay, Ohio State
DST: TCU Horned Frogs
Robinson was red hot to start off the first several games of the season and while he has somewhat cooled off against Michigan State and Iowa, he is still a top fantasy option. James missed the first game of the season but has more than made up for it as he has rushed for 982 yards and 11 touchdowns in just six games. Powell has become the bell cow for Charlie Strong in his first year at Louisville. Pilares has become a favorite target for quarterback Bryant Moniz and has reached the end zone 11 times so far. With the absence of Donald Buckram for the Miners, Adams has had a huge first half as he is lighting up soft defenses as Trevor Vittatoe's major target.
Third Team
QB: Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
RB: Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
RB: Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
WR: Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers
WR: Lyle Leong, Texas Tech
WR: Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
TE: Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Lafayette
K: Wes Byrum, Auburn
DST: LSU Tigers
Kaepernick is doing his usual job of lighting up opposing defenses and putting up major fantasy points in the process. What has changed this year is that he is actually doing a decent job of passing which is keeping his team in games. Hunter has found plenty of room to run in Dana Holgorsen's wide open offense and Lattimore has been the runner that Steve Spurrier has needed for so long in South Carolina. The high school connection between Leong and quarterback Taylor Potts seems to finally be paying off for fantasy owners.
Awards
Top Freshman- Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
Lattimore wins this award hands down as he has shredded tough SEC defenses and is the centerpiece of the Gamecock offense. On the year, Lattimore has rushed for 538 yards with a whopping 10 touchdowns while also gaining 214 yards receiving with two more scores.
Top Newcomer- Cameron Newton, Auburn
Newton has burst onto the scene and has taken to his new team and offense much faster than anyone could have hoped. Newton is fourth in the country with 1077 rushing yards and is worth a total of 25 touchdowns going into Week Nine. Newton is not just a runner as he has thrown for over 1,300 yards, and just five picks. The crazy thing is that he is just a junior so he will be terrorizing SEC defenses for another year.
Top Sleeper- Bilal Powell, Louisville
When you are not even considered the number one back on your team and by the middle of the season you are the third leading rusher in the nation, it only makes sense that you win the Top Sleeper award. Powell has been the workhorse back that a new head coach loves to have and Powell has not slowed down all season. He has only been held under 100 yards rushing twice with one of them being a blowout but has gone over 200 yards rushing in two of the last three contests. Powell has reached the end zone in all but one game this season and is even a decent receiver out of the backfield.
Biggest Bust- Dwight Dasher, Middle Tennessee State
Dasher was drafted by most in the top five and has yet to perform at all close to those expectations. It all started with Dasher being suspended the first four games of the season because of some loan he owed to a hospitalized octogenarian and in his two games back, he has yet to throw a touchdown while having thrown five picks. While at some point he should put up some numbers, he was definitely not worth his draft position and we are still waiting for some production from the Blue Raider signal caller.