Joseph Addai Was The Worst

I have just returned from a fantasy football draft full of wings and beer and a roster that will hopefully win me an envelope full of cash and bragging rights at the end of the year.

I generally consider myself a good fantasy owner. I don't overdue it. I'm in two leagues, one of which I won last year and the other where my team reached the semi-final before bowing out despite picking Montee Ball in the first round. Ball is one of the few failed picks I will carry with me into fantasy drafts for several years. He's stapled into my memory like one festering sore on my roster years ago: Joseph Kwahu Duah Addai Jr.

Heading into the 2008 season, Addai was coming off a 12 touchdown sophomore season with the Indianapolis Colts in his first full year as the team's starting running back. ESPN ranked him seventh among all players for that season and as they put, "A high-octane offense and a rugged touchdown-maker? That's fantasy gold." Along those lines, I was delighted when Addai tumbled into my turn at the bottom of the first round.

Addai's 2008 season amounts to the fantasy version of a war crime. He cracked 100 yards once, in Week 10 against Houston. He also scored two touchdowns that game, one of the two times he did that on the season. By the end of the season, he fell into a timeshare with Dominic Rhodes and didn't play during the playoff weeks.

According to ProFootballReference, Addai ranked 38th among all running backs in fantasy that year, behind guys like Jerious Norwood, Chester Taylor, and Melwelde Moore - your typical third string running backs in Madden 06.

Here's some other guys that may have screwed you in fantasy over the years:

Sean Alexander in 2006 - Over 1800 yards and 27 (27!) touchdowns in '05. Then, he couldn't even touch those numbers in his next three seasons combined. All-Pro guard Steve Hutchison left for Minnesota, Alexander broke his foot in Week 3, and whoever picked Alexander #1 in this year basically got boned by barbed wire.

Kurt Warner in 2002 - The now-annoying analyst on the NFL Network was the top dog at quarterback in 2002 after coming off a terrific season leading the Rams the year before - Warner was a top-8 pick in most draft that year. How did he reward owners ballsy enough to go QB in round 1? Three touchdowns and 11 interceptions in just seven games. Chris Chandler and Larry Centers had better fantasy years.

Montee Ball in 2014 - Fug me. This must be what Ryan Grigson feels like.