You probably didn’t draft Alex Smith in your 2015 Fantasy Football league, and I’m sure he isn’t at the top of your draft board for the 2016 Fantasy Football season.
He has never been more than a game manager throughout his career, and it’s probably easier to persuade a cat lover to buy a dog than it is to find a reason why Smith would be relevant this season.
Embed from Getty ImagesEven though his stats won’t wow you, the Kansas City Chiefs as a whole found a nice formula to win games. The 32-year old quarterback limited his turnovers (7 interceptions), the rushing attack scored 19 touchdowns and averaged 127 rushing yards per game, and the defense allowed the third-fewest points per game in the NFL.
So even though the Chiefs finished 30th in passing yards per game, the team was still able to finish 2015 with an 11-win season.
Right now, Smith is only being selected in just 50% of leagues, according to ADP data from MyFantasyLeague.com.
But every season is different, and you always need to look at every player and every situation. Does he deserve a roster spot in your 2016 league? Let’s take a look at his previous performances and weapons for 2016 before making a decision
2015 Fantasy Football Review: Alex Smith
I’m going to keep this section brief because there isn’t really much to review.
To my knowledge, most Fantasy players weren’t expecting too much out of the game manager in 2015, and you probably dropped him by mid-season if you had him as a backup.
Embed from Getty ImagesSmith attempted the 19th-most passes, completed the 19th-most passes, and threw the 20th-most touchdown passes. He showed some mobility last season, and finished with the fourth-most rushing yards.
That’s all I got.
Alex Smith 2016 Fantasy Football Weapons
Jeremy Maclin had a better year than I expected last season, and he actually toped his reception total (85) in 2014 by two more catches. Along with his 87 receptions, Maclin caught seven touchdowns and racked up 1,088 receiving yards.
Maclin did have three huge performances last season:
Week 3: 8 receptions, 141 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
Week 4: 11 receptions, 148 receiving yards
Week 12: 9 receptions, 160 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
But if you didn’t own him in a PPR league, Maclin wasn’t always providing you with consistent points. In eight games, Maclin totaled 55 or fewer receiving yards. He also had three-straight games where he finished with 35 or fewer receiving yards.
Maclin’s touchdown production in Kansas City will always be limited, as Smith just doesn’t throw that many touchdowns. But, Maclin caught 40% of Smith’s touchdowns last season.
He’s a fifth-round pick in non-PPR leagues, but a fourth-round pick in PPR formats on FantasyFootballCalculator.com. That’s a fair price because of his reception total from 2015.
The receivers behind Maclin will only have somewhat-relevant roles if Maclin becomes injured. Outside of Maclin, Albert Wilson was the most relevant receiver for the Chiefs in 2015 with 35 receptions and 451 receiving yards. Chris Conley, Rod Streater, Mike Williams, and De’Anthony Thomas will look for playing time.
Tight end Travis Kelce didn’t take as big a step forward as Fantasy players hoped (myself included), but he was a lot more consistent for PPR players than Maclin last season. There were only two games in which Kelce caught two or fewer passes.
He had 10 games in which he caught five or more passes.
According to FantasyPros, Kelce finished as the sixth-highest scoring receiver. He may not turn into the next Rob Gronkowski, but we already know because of his rapport with Smith that he should be fairly consistent each week.
Embed from Getty ImagesJamaal Charles only played in five games last season, but Smith consistently targeted his running backs throughout the season in the passing attack. Charles, Charcandrick West, Knile Davis, and Spencer Ware combined for 49 receptions, 442 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions.
Charles hauled in 70 receptions for 693 yards in 2013, which appears to have been an outlier because he caught 40 passes for 291 yards in 2014. But Charles was averaging 35.4 receiving yards per game in 2015, which would have put him on track for 566 receiving yards.
Alex Smith 2016 Fantasy Football Outlook
Smith has never thrown more than 23 touchdowns in a season. Smith has never thrown for more than 3,486 yards in a season. Smith has never averaged more than 220 passing yards per game in a season. Smith has only completed three 16-game seasons in his career.
Is there any reason at all you should draft him in 2016 Fantasy Football leagues?
Embed from Getty ImagesThe only sneaky value he has is through rushing the ball. He scored two rushing touchdowns in 2015 and ran for 498 yards. He also ran for 431 yards in 2013.
Outside of that, though, I can’t find anything about Smith’s game that indicates he deserves a spot on your roster in 2016 Fantasy Football leagues.
Categories: 2016 Fantasy Football, 2016 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks, Fantasy Football
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