DLF’s 2017 Predictions: Comeback Player of the Year

Ken Kelly Posted On September 8, 2017

Most rookie drafts are in the rearview mirror and the NFL Preseason is winding down. We’re all busy combing the news sites trying to keep abreast of all the important developments as we prepare for the best time of the year, the NFL season. That can only mean one thing – it’s time for us to put a bow on those reams of off-season content with DLF’s 2017 Fantasy Predictions. As we do every year, we have several different prediction articles for you in the following categories:

Fantasy MVP
Fantasy Rookie of the Year
Sleeper Rookie of the Year (outside our top 24)
Bust of the Year
Fantasy Sleeper
Best Dynasty Buy
Best Dynasty Sell
Fantasy Comeback Player of the Year

We close out the series with our choices for the candidates for comeback player of the year.

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Keenan Allen, WR LAC

I tried to find another option here, but can’t deny the impact a returning Keenan Allen will have, obviously on the Chargers, but also on fantasy teams. Despite a messy injury history in recent years, Allen has maintained a high value and that hasn’t changed. After missing almost the entire 2016 season, Allen is still being drafted in the early third-round and should be the top receiver for Philip Rivers and the Chargers. For fantasy teams, expecting a WR2 finish is very reasonable…if he stays healthy. – Ryan McDowell

Todd Gurley, RB LAR

Gurley is a much better player than he showed last year. Jared Goff will be better. The OL will be better. And the play calling will be better. Gurley will show out in 2017 and rise back into the top tier of running backs Anthony Santigate

Martavis Bryant, WR PIT

Bryant oozes potential and showed his big play upside in a time when he said he didn’t care much about football and barely worked out. With 15 touchdowns to his name and only 8 career starts Bryant has totaled 76 catches for 1,314 in 21 regular season game. Bryant says he has found the love for the game again working out all the time and eager to prove himself to his teammates. He has added 15 pounds of muscle and ran a recent hand timed 40-yard dash of 4.27 seconds. He is a physical freak that has shown it on the field and if he plays 16 games could be a league winner for your fantasy team – Eliot Crist

Rob Gronkowski, TE NE

Does he deserve it? Probably not. But it’s a weird nebulous award anyway. Gronk is one of the five or so most dominant players in the league. Not just at his best – but at his average level of performance. Anyone that doesn’t want to watch more Gronk is an enemy of football and deserves to spend their days watching endless reruns of Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, Clive Walford and Jordan Cameron until they change their mind. – Tom Kislingbury

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

We all know what he’s capable of when he’s healthy, right? That’s what everything comes down to with this guy – his health. I’m betting he gets 14 games in this year and walks away with this fantasy award rather easily. – Leo Paciga

Carson Palmer, QB ARI

I’m doubling down on the Arizona Cardinals as Larry Fitzgerald was my MVP based on his low price. I’ll go out on a limb for Carson Palmer taking home this award. He should be banked on for a one final top ten finish to end his career. . – Bob Brannon

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

Until a lacerated kidney stops being cited as evidence that Allen is injury prone, there’s not much reason for me to believe that Allen is any more liable to go down than anyone else. He’s terrific when he plays and his target competition has hardly changed. All systems go! – Steve Gill

Dez Bryant, WR DAL

He’s still young enough and battled injuries as well as a rookie quarterback in 2016. His last seven games played he either scored a touchdown or caught five or more passes (minus game at Giants). Prescott knows where to go and I saw their chemistry build over the season. Plus his ADP value is a really nice spot to be. – Mike Valverde

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

No, I am not expecting Keenan Allen to hit a 192 target season as his pace in 2015 extrapolated out to be. And no, I am not expecting the Chargers to through it 650 times. However, plenty of wide receivers have finished in the top 10 with less than 150 targets and their teams throwing less than 600 times. Allen is an elite wide receiver worthy of being force fed targets and top 10 is well within his reach. After missing all of 2016 and half of 2015, I look forward to Allen playing a full season and making an incredible comeback. – Kevin O’Brien

Rob Gronkowski, TE NE

Seems cliche’ but a healthy Gronk is on a tier by himself. He’s a weekly advantage at the TE spot and a lock for at least 15 touchdowns (barring injury) as he’s locked in as Brady’s favorite target; especially in the red-zone. . – Bee Salamat

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

This choice is dangerous because due to the multiple seasons Allen has missed, but his talent is impressive and he’s in the perfect situation to have a monster season if he can stay on the field. The Rivers-Allen connection is one of my favorites to watch, so selfishly I want to see a full 16 games between them this year. – Eric Dickens

Todd Gurley, RB LAR

Sammy Watkins is going to elevate some of the pressure by causing defenses to reframe from stacking the box as often. Expect Gurley to be utilized more in the passing game which will increase his value in PPR leagues. He has all the talent and just because last year for a down year for him, doesn’t me he can’t string something together this year. Bruce Matson

Lamar Miller, RB HOU

I’m never sure where to go with titles like comeback player of the year. I understand that it generally goes to someone who faced injury, but I disagree with that methodology. In light of that, Lamar Miller is my choice. He is a good football player who has produced every year of his career when given the opportunity, except for last year when he went to the Texans and he got railroaded by circumstances outside of his control. I expect a big bounce back year for him with more competent quarterback play, plus the return of JJ Watt to the defense. – Trevor Bucher

Marcus Mariota, QB TEN

Mariota broke his leg last year, but he doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat this preseason. He might not put up Drew Brees/Aaron Rodgers-type numbers, but he’s a solid asset and one with plenty of growth potential. – Doug Green

Tyler Eifert, TE CIN

The greatest abilty is always availability when it comes to fantasy assets and that’s been the only thing holding Eifert back from entering the TE1 conversation. His points per game are always within a couple points of Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed and Travis Kelce and just like those other three, Eifert tends to miss a few games a year. With Cincinnati retooling their offense, I fully expect Eifert to return to being an elite red zone monster in 2017. Anything less than 12 touchdowns would be a disappointment in my book. I’ve spent all offseason trying to acquire him in all of my leagues. . – Eric Olinger

Sammy Watkins, WR LAR

Nobody questions Sammy Watkins’s talent, but he has battled numerous injuries in his first three seasons in the NFL. I am betting he finally stays healthy this year and displays his immense talent on a more consistent basis. I do not love the move to L.A., but I do not think it is actually as bad as some do. I see Jared Goff taking a step forward this year and Coach Sean McVay correctly utilizing his star wide out. – Kyle Holden

Randall Cobb, WR GB

Randall Cobb’s production in both touchdowns and yards has fallen every year since 2014. Devante Adams is going to disappoint after his touchdown dependent break-out and, even though I like Ty Montgomery, the passing game is still going to be the team’s offensive focus. Cobb only played in 13 games last year and was a heavily favored target in the red zone racking up an efficient 28.6% Touchdown Rate inside the 20. He is only 26 years old, healthy again, and has finished in the top 24 twice before. – Peter Howard

Adrian Peterson, RB NO

Rarely did Peterson’s Vikings’ teams feature a passing attack which forced defenses to lighten the box the way the Saints’ will with Drew Brees. Yes, his age is a concern. But A.P. is reported to be in great shape down in the Bayou. When you consider fellow 32-year-old RB Danny Woodhead, (RB38 – 127th, overall,) has a lower ADP than Peterson, (RB39 – 127.83 overall,) you realize how laughable his current price is. If you catch him on the board in the 11th round, make sure you ridicule your league mates, then draft him. – Mo Brewington

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

Allen places checkmarks in the boxes for talent, opportunity and situation. The dude just needs to stay healthy. The last time Allen saw significant action, he posted a 67-725-4 line in just eight games in 2015. The guy is really darn good, and he just has to catch some breaks with his health to put up big-time numbers in 2017. Hopefully, for his sake, that happens this season. – Austan Kas

Randall Cobb, WR GB

Cobb has been injured off and on the last two seasons and has not played through it very well. Both Davante Adams and Jordy Nelson produced unsustainable touchdown rates in 2016. With Cobb fully healthy and still playing with the best quarterback in the league, I’d expect Cobb to bounce back nicely while the other two fall off a bit. We may never see 2014 numbers from Cobb again, but if one of Adams and Nelson were to miss time, Cobb should creep closer to WR2 numbers than he did in 2016 or 2017. – Matt Price

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

Still 25 years old, a healthy Keenan Allen should return to his status as a PPR monster. His competition for targets is not as heavy as it seems, given the injury to rookie Mike Williams and Rivers’ propensity to pepper Allen with targets. . – Nick Canzanese – Nick Canzanese

Sammy Watkins, WR LAR

The change of scenery and scheme will be good for Watkins, who finally stays healthy, finishes as a fantasy WR1, and regains his first round startup pedigree by season’s end. – Curtis Patrick

Rob Gronkowski, TE NE

I’d love to pick Martavis Bryant again but want to mix it up just a bit. And it’s a relatively easy choice. Gronkowski will have to fight for targets but it’s not much of a fight. He’s healthy, established and is Tom Brady’s favorite target. With Brandin Cooks now on the outside, the Patriot offense is going to be as sick as we’ve ever seen, making Gronkowski a high-ceiling player once again. – Jeff Haverlack

Ameer Abdullah, RB DET

I understand that to “come back” you have to have been there first, but he’s still a player who just missed a whole season through injury. I don’t think this will come as a surprise anyone who follows me on Twitter. I’ve been banging the ‘Fear Ameer’ drum for a long time, and while the window for a cheap buy has been and gone, that won’t prevent a breakout year. He’s been called injury prone, not capable of being a workhorse back and too expensive, but he’ll prove all of those critics wrong and have a huge impact in fantasy football this season. – James Simpson

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

Things never seem to break right for Allen, or the Chargers in general, but I am expecting a bit of luck on his side as he puts together his first real full season of production. He’s been fantastic whenever he has been on the field and I expect Rivers to lean on him, even though there is more pass-catching depth in San Diego. Still only 25, we could be talking about Allen as a first round start-up pick at this time next year. – Rob Willette

Adrian Peterson, RB NO

I think All Day has one more all-pro year in him. He’s just too talented, and now I think he’s too ticked off to boot. I expect him to run angry all year, and Peterson running angry is quite a sight to behold. I think he finishes much, much higher than most expect at this point. – Ryan Finley

Dez Bryant, WR DAL

Dez had a rough year in 2016. How rough? He had 32 points in PPR leagues last year after seven weeks and finished the season outside the top 40 receivers. That won’t happen again. He is healthy now, Zeke is going to miss some time, and he’s had a chance to build some chemistry with Prescott. Combine them all together and you get Dez rejoining the WR1 crowd. – Jacob Feldman

Rob Gronkowski, TE NE

Another goat makes the list here. Injuries have taken their toll, but when healthy last year Rob dropped massive numbers. In his four healthy games he averaged over 110 yards and 0.75 touchdowns. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 1200 yard, 14 plus touchdown season that rivals most WR1’s – Dwayne Brown

Todd Gurley, RB LAR

It simply can’t get worse for Gurley and Jared Goff should be competent enough to keep defenses from stacking the box. The threat of Sammy Watkins should also free up some lanes for Gurley, who had no prayer last year as he was met in the backfield nearly every time he touched the ball last season. – Ken Kelly

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

Allen is one of the most divisive players in dynasty. To many, he is a lost season waiting to happen, and for good reason, as Allen has had health issues going back to his days at Cal. To me, though, Allen is one of the finest talents at the position. He is an incredible route runner, a beast at the catch point, and uses his body as well as anybody in the NFL. Sprinkle in elite target volume from a grizzled veteran QB, and you have the makings of something special. 16 games from number 13 could give us a top-five season, and that, my friends, would be a comeback for the ages. – Jeff Miller

Keenan Allen, WR LAC

I considered Watkins, Hopkins and even Jordan Matthews here but Keenan Allen just has had some really bad luck in recent years. With Rivers still at the helm and question marks surrounding Mike Williams already Allen looks to slide right back into his WR1 role with the Chargers. Additionally, Rivers trusts and is very comfortable with Allen, there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t return to his elite status. – The FF Ghost

Brandon Marshall, WR NYG

Marshall was pretty quiet for the other New York team as the main target there. I think being across the OBJ will revitalize his production. He may have lost a step but he has the physical ability to still decimate corners one on one. – Adam Tzikas

Eric Decker, WR TEN

A series of injuries ended his 2016 campaign after just three games, but Decker is in a position to benefit from the extraordinarily efficient Titans’ red-zone offense in 2017. During his three-year peak, double-digit touchdowns were the norm for Decker despite surpassing 130 targets just twice in seven years. Even if he sees only 100 targets, 10 touchdowns is within reach. – Joe Redemann

John Brown, WR ARI

This selection is equal parts hopeful thinking as a dynasty owner and hope that a talented young man will defeat the health issues that have been holding him back. Given his challenging 2016 season, even a WR3 or WR4 season should be considered a great success. He has the talent and work ethic to take advantage if his health allows. – Jaron Foster

Final Vote Count

Keenan Allen – 10 votes
Rob Gronkowski – 4
Todd Gurley – 3
Dez Bryant, Sammy Watkins, Randall Cobb, Adrian Peterson – 2
Martavis Bryant, Carson Palmer, Lamar Miller, Marcus Mariota, Tyler Eifert, Ameer Abdullah, Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, John Brown – 1

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Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK