Fantasy lessons from 2021: It gets late early on running backs

Generally I bristle at the yearly cry that “this is the strangest NFL season,” but we'll steer into it today. Leo Tolstoy famously said every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, and that timeless wisdom can be applied to a fantasy campaign. Every year is weird in its own way.

But even with that disclaimer, 2021 felt like the weirdest season of my fantasy lifetime (and I’ve been playing since the 1990s). COVID-19 is a part of our lives now.

With most fantasy leagues complete, it’a time to reflect on what just happened and consider some takeaways. This is an exercise in pencil. I reserve the right to adjust, tweak, and reconsider much of what’s here before the 2022 fantasy season begins…