Desmond Howard Award
Finest Fantasy Wide Receiver
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Nick Nash, San Jose (2024)
Fantasy Points: 350 (29.2 FPPG)
2. Travis Hunter, Colorado
3. Brashard Smith, SMU
When it comes to wide receivers in CFF in 2024, something felt off. If you won a fantasy league, you likely didn’t do so off the back of one of the receivers. I say this because in 2024, while we had receivers put up Fantasy Points (FPs), there were very few options week to week you could fully rely on. The year ended with only three receivers averaging over 20 FPPG in 0.5 PPR formats, one of them was a running back, and then the other missed four of his final five games. Otherwise, the weekly averages of the top 12 WRs were down compared to previous years. It also seems like this year more than previous seasons, the top 12 among WRs is littered with players who are boosted by a single massive performance. For example, Tetairoa McMillian, Eric Rivers and Devonte Ross are all receivers who have over 20% of their points coming from a single week.
It is all further punctuated by the fact that the CFF community saw a mix of massive successes and catastrophic failures at the position. Top-end picks like McMillian, Xavier Restrepo, and Ricky White returned value for their high-end draft status. Jalen Royals would’ve joined them had it not been for his “season-ending injury”. On the flip side, there were some major misses. Evan Stewart, while coming along at the end, was nowhere near a plug-and-play replacement for Troy Franklin. Pofele Ashlock and Joey Hobert were hobbled by their inconsistent offenses. And then there’s the likes of Sean Atkins, Kevin Concepcion, and Will Pauling: massive disappointments where all you can do is throw your hands up.
But that is neither here nor there. Let us celebrate the studs who did propel CFF teams throughout the season. The unanimous winner of the Desmond Howard Award is none other than San Jose State WR Nick Nash. I mentioned earlier that only three players with WR eligibility averaged over 20 FPPG and that two of them have asterisks. Well, Nash being the only remaining of the three without an asterisk makes it easy to see why he was the crystal-clear favorite for the reward. Nash flew under the radar in drafts, due to the assumption he’d continue playing on the outside.
Once it was clear that Nash would be shifted to the slot early in the season (the favorite target in Craig Stutzmann’s offensive system), it was wheels up for Nash. The Spartans’ best offensive weapon suddenly was in the most productive spot, and it was a CFF match made in heaven. The crazy thing is that Nash scored almost 300 FPs in 0.5 PPR formats, and he could have scored more. Through the first seven weeks of the campaign, Nash was averaging 30.5 FPPG in 0.5 PPR formats, which is astonishing production for any stretch. Then San Jose State made a baffling decision to sit starting QB Emmett Brown, who was averaging 322.5 passing yards per game, in favor of Walker Eget. His ascension capped Nash’s ceiling as Eget did not rely on Nash as Brown did. It was still plenty to make Nash a weekly start, but going from 30.5 FPs in the first seven weeks to 22.1 FPs in the last 7 weeks was a noticeable difference.
Coming in second place is the man who it looks like will be the 2024 Heisman winner, Mr. Two-way himself Travis Hunter. In CFF, if you find yourself lucky to be in possession of a Heisman contender, it’s a glorious feeling because you know that the coaching staff will go out of their way to stat-pad that player. Usually, you have to wait a few weeks into the season to figure that out, but in Travis Hunter’s case, if we’re being honest, we should have seen the Heisman campaign coming. Deion Sanders’ future and brand are dependent on Travis Hunter’s and Shedeur’s success, so you knew Deion would go out of his way to make sure Hunter went into the end zone as much as possible. Considering Hunter is second in receivers with 14 touchdowns on the year (not including his rushing touchdown), I’d say Sanders and Hunter were successful in that endeavor. Those who drafted Hunter at WR45 in the 12th round of CFF drafts rolled the dice on that possibility and were given one of the few truly consistent options at WR in CFF, with his one major blemish coming against Kansas State. While Hunter’s defensive stats did not count for most leagues, it’s still very impressive what he was able to do on the offensive side of the ball alone and how much it was able to help CFF players everywhere.
In third place is a player I’m sure the Gridiron Scholar had to clarify for everyone when they submitted their votes for the award, Brashard Smith, the WR turned RB at SMU. The CFF community often debates player eligibility, especially when it comes to players with Tight End eligibility like Oronde Gadsden and Jack Bech who are receivers. However, just as lopsided but oft less-discussed is the player with WR eligibility playing RB. We’ve had players like this in the recent past like Jermaine Brown Jr. at UAB last year. However, it has been a while since the CFF community has seen the likes of which Brashard Smith was able to accomplish for the Mustangs this year. Brashard’s switch to RB came during the off-season and many in the CFF community noted it but didn’t think much beyond that.
In fact, Smith went totally undrafted in CFF drafts. Why? Because the CFF community had been burned many times in recent years chasing the likes of Camar Wheaton, LJ Johnson, and Jaylen Knighton. All three of those names just mentioned were former blue-chip prospects at the positions and none of them panned out with the Mustangs. It has been a gross committee situation the last few years. So, when news of Smith’s position change occurred, many shrugged him off as just another part of the committee, at best. Then, the impossible happened. Not only did Smith become the lead back for SMU, he broke the committee. Smith averaged 18.5 touches per game and was very efficient with them, going six yards per carry and 9.3 yards per reception. While some may call fraud since Smith is not technically a WR, there’s no doubt just how much he helped his CFF managers at the position as one of only two players to play all 12 games and average over 20 FPPG doing so.
by Jared Palmgren
Malik Nabers, LSU (2023)
Fantasy Points: 330 (25.4 FPPG)
2. Malik Washington, Virginia
3. Rome Odunze, Washington
After an abysmal year for CFF in 2022, where more than half of the top selections were lost to injury of some kind or busted in some way or another, the CFF community saw a great rebound in 2023. Top draft picks like Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Marvin Harrison Jr., Tetairoa McMillan, Tory Horton, Luther Burden, and Malachi Corley all finished within the top 20 receivers on the year.
As with every crusade, we had our share of surprises and busts. The surprises included guys like Malik Washington of Virginia (WR No. 4 on the year) who came out of absolute nowhere, while players like Jalen Royals of Utah State (WR No. 10) took over historically great CFF system spots as the season went along. The busts of the year included folks like Emeka Egbuka (WR No. 198) and Squirrel White (WR No. 119) who both saw their fair share of nagging injuries but were in offenses whose quarterback did not live up to the lofty expectations built over the past few years.
Our unanimous winner of the Desmond Howard is Malik Nabers, LSU. Among the six voting members of the awards, Nabers got every single first-place vote. This should come as no surprise as Nabers was WR No. 1 on the year, with 330 FPs. He made a huge jump from his production in 2022, where he finished as the WR No. 146 and scored three touchdowns despite hitting the 1,000-yard mark. During the season, he finished within the top 12 wide receivers on a weekly basis seven times, the next closest wide receiver was Marvin Harrison Jr., who managed to do that five different weeks.
There was simply not a wide receiver with a higher floor than Nabers. After Week 2, the lowest fantasy score Nabers put up was 18.2 and that was in Week 5 versus Mississippi. He produced 85-plus yards in 12-of-13 games and scored multiple touchdowns in five contests. If you could manufacture in a lab what the perfect fantasy wide receiver looked like, it would be what Nabers was able to pull off this season. The fantasy community will without a doubt miss the LSU gamebreaker next year as he turns this incredible campaign into potential top draft capital for the NFL.
While Nabers was clearly the unanimous winner, there was plenty more debate on who the runners-up should be. Nabers received 30 points for the award. Meanwhile, our runner-up received only 9 points. The runner-up to the Desmond Howard award for 2023 is Malik Washington, Virginia. If you can find anyone who says they were in Washington before the season started, he or she is a liar, through and through. After getting drafted in 0% of leagues, Washington went on to finish as the WR No. 4 during the campaign. There was plenty of reason to have him off our radars, as Tony Elliot had shown to us the previous year that this was not an offense to invest in at Virginia. Before that, Elliot was the architect of one of the worst offenses Clemson has seen in recent memory.
All of sudden, Washington comes along and dominates the receiving game for the Cavaliers, seeing 138 targets, which was second in the country. He made great work of those opportunities, going for 100-plus yards in every single game except for Week 1 and Week 5. In PPR formats, he produced over 21 FPs in 12-of-13 games. The only thing that held him back from the top WR spot was the lack of game-breaking weeks like Nabers had. Washington will be missed as this is his last year of college eligibility, and after dominating the target share at two Power 5 programs, he’s earned his shot at the NFL.
Last but not least, with 8 points, we have our third-place winner, Rome Odunze, the wide receiver out of Washington. Odunze finished as the WR No. 2 on the season and frankly was the savior for the Washington Huskies in multiple weeks this season in their hunt for a playoff spot. Kalen Deboer and staff were able to keep it going once again after both Odunze and Jalen McMillan finished in the top 20 receivers last year. With McMillian going down early in the season, we saw Ja’Lynn Polk step up but it also provided the opportunity for Odunze to take that next step from great fantasy asset to elite fantasy performer.
Among receivers with 100-plus targets, Odunze led the league in yards per reception with 18.2 and clearly the leader in average depth of target (ADOT) with 16.2. He was able to turn this into consistent production every week, only producing less than 80 yards once. While Odunze may have gotten third place, he can take comfort in that among the top preseason options at wide receiver, Odunze returned the best value amongst them.
by Jared Palmgren
Nathaniel Dell, Houston (2022)
Fantasy Points: 351 (27.0 FPPG)
2. Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee
3. Rashee Rice, SMU
Among my teams this season where I fell well short of my expectations, I consistently found those were the rosters where I could never nail down my WR corp. In CFF, wide receiver may be the most difficult position to get right throughout the season. It is seen as the most volatile of the positions outside of tight end, varying wildly from one week to the next. For example, you might’ve thought you found the next Jerreth Sterns in Kris Thornton after he scores five touchdowns in the first two weeks, only for him to not register another touchdown until week 12.
Coming into the season, this WR class for CFF was set to maybe change this narrative, at least in the early rounds. The class was considered very top-heavy with lots of guarantees for the players taken early in drafts and many more questions for those taken later. However, the CFF gods love their jokes as many of these “guaranteed” hits were suddenly struggling throughout the season.
Of the top 10 wide receiver picks in CFF drafts, only four managed to finish as the WR30 or greater. Injury was a huge part of this, as preseason WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba was sidelined for much of the year with nagging injuries, as well as preseason WR4 Cedric Tillman, who was in a similar predicament. Others were just busts all around, including preseason WR9 Kayshon Boutte, who never seemed to click with new OC Mike Denbrock’s system at LSU, despite good production from QB Jayden Daniels and the rest of the offense.
Nevertheless, the season is over and it is time to celebrate the receivers who did perform for CFF managers this year. Our winner of the Desmond Howard Award is Nathaniel Dell, a wide receiver out of Houston. Dell finished as the WR1 in 0.5 PPR formats in CFF and despite only earning 19 out of possible 30 points from the expert panel, Dell has a clear case to be the winner of this year’s award. Dell was a returning CFF stud from 2021, where he finished as the WR20 of the year.
In the preseason, drafters knew that the clear number one option for Dana Holgerson’s passing attack would be a valuable asset to the roster, selecting him as WR6 in preseason drafts. Dell’s season started off a little slow compared to expectations; however, in the second half of the campaign, the Houston Cougars’ aerial assault skyrocketed Dell into a must-own position for any CFF manager wishing to win their championships. From Week 8 onward, Dell never had a game with less than 21.8 FPs (0.5 PPR) and never had a weekly finish less than the WR18. During this stretch, he broke 30 FPs twice, including during the championship week. His top 12 performances during weeks 12 and 13 during most CFF playoffs sealed the deal for many of this year’s top teams. Lastly, Dell outperformed the next WR on the season by a full 35 FPs, which clearly separated him as a tier above all the others.
Our runner-up is wide receiver out of Tennessee, Jalin Hyatt. In the preseason, it was Hyatt’s partner in crime, Cedric Tillman, who was being drafted as the WR4. The logic was sound. Coach Josh Heupel’s offensive system makes for constant explosive plays from his outside receivers, and Tillman was coming off a season where he emerged and finished as the WR40 in CFF. However, nagging injuries kept Tillman off the field, allowing for the former four-star Jalin Hyatt to emerge on his own during the season.
Hendon Hooker’s almost-perfect touch on the ball and Hyatt’s speed made for a deadly combination during the stretch of the season. Hyatt finished in the top 12 weekly receivers five times during the season, including a monster 53.7 FPs against none other than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Hyatt had game-breaking ability the entire season and would often end fantasy weeks for managers who were facing him more often than not.
A few challenges might’ve kept Hyatt out of the top spot for the voting panel including his boom-or-bust potential and playoff performances. While Hyatt had five top 12 performances, he also had six outings where he landed outside of the top 100 receivers. This included the playoffs in week 12 and 13, where he posted 9.5 and 10.6 FPs (0.5 PPR) combined. However, this could be blamed on him losing starting quarterback Hendon Hooker to an ACL tear.
Last but not least, we have our third-place winner, Rashee Rice, wide receiver out of SMU. Coach Rhett Lashlee’s offense has given the CFF world wonders such as James Proche and most recently, Charleston Rambo of Miami down the stretch in 2021. Coming back home to coach the Mustangs, CFF managers knew that SMU would once again be looking for a top target and the experienced option in Rice made all the sense in the world. During the offseason, Rice was drafted as the WR14, although he had risen from his starting draft position as the WR20.
SMU brought in a load of transfer wide receivers and many questioned how much they would eat into Rice’s production. The answer was plainly “not much”. Rice managed to stay healthy throughout the year despite SMU dealing with other injuries at the position, making him easily the most reliable option on the field for both Mustangs’ quarterbacks, Mordecai and Stone. Rice started off the season strong, dipped a bit during weeks 4-8 when the SMU offense was dealing with issues, and then back on strong down the stretch. Rice had six top 20 performances on the season, including one during the championship week. Had SMU’s offense not struggled during the middle portion of the crusade, Rice could’ve been well on his way to being the top CFF WR asset.
by Jared Palmgren
Jerreth Sterns, Western Kentucky (2021)
Fantasy Points: 442 (31.5 FPPG)
2. Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh
3. Deven Thompkins, Utah State
When Zach Kittley was hired from Houston Baptist to serve as the Offensive Coordinator at Western Kentucky, he transformed a defense-first team that averaged a paltry 19 points and 164 passing yards per game in 2020 into the nation’s most prolific passing offense. This year the Hilltoppers finished first in passing yardage with an average of 423 yards per game, as the next closest team, UVA, was 30 yards per game behind. They also finished second in the country by scoring 43.3 points per game, more than doubling their previous year’s output.
Front and center of this offensive revival was the QB-WR duo Kittley brought in from HBCU: Bailey Zappe and Jerreth Sterns. Sterns saw more targets, 156, than any other receiver while his 125 receptions were a staggering 27 more than the next closest wideout. Only fellow Howard Award Finalist Deven Thompkins eclipsed his 1,528 receiving yards (Thompkins had 1,561) while his 12 touchdowns tied for fifth-most in the nation.
All told, Sterns’ 354 FPs bested second-place Jordan Addison by 25, while his 29.5 FPPG average was two points per game more than Addison. He scored 22 fantasy points or more in 9-of-12 games while recording at least 32 points in five of them. Sterns is the deserving recipient of the prestigious 2021 Desmond Howard Award for the best College Fantasy Football wide receiver in the land.
by Eric Froton
DeVonta Smith, Alabama (2020)
Fantasy Points: 447 (34.4 FPPG)
2. Jaelon Darden, North Texas
3. Elijah Moore, Mississippi
The truncated 2020 season has produced an extremely competitive race for the coveted Desmond Howard Award that is bestowed upon the best CFF wide receiver in the land. In reviewing the candidates for this illustrious honor, three receivers separated themselves from everyone else. Though Ole Miss wideout Elijah Moore ended the 2019 campaign in ignominious fashion, the undersized slot-machine (5-9 and 185pounds) thrived in new coach Lane Kiffin’s high-octane offense. He led the country in catch rate (85%) by securing 86-of-101 targets while dropping only two passes. His elusiveness was on full display every time he touched the ball as Moore dodged 18 tackles while achieving 55 first downs, good for third-most in the country. What makes his performance even more impressive, is he racked up 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns in only eight games, the least amount of appearances of the three Howard Award finalists.
Next up is North Texas’ aerial assassin Jaelon Darden, who finished second in the country in targets with 112 while dealing with the most unsettled quarterback situation of the finalists, as the Mean Green shuttled between Jason Bean and Austin Aune at various points in the year. No matter who was under center, Darden was the driving force behind the offense. He caught 74-of-112 targets (66%), led the nation in broken tackles with 22, and averaged a superb 7.7 yards after the catch. As if all that weren’t enough, he also finished second in the country in the vital Yards Per Route Run (YPRR) performance metric with 4.31, second to only Wake Forest star Jaquarii Roberson. The only knock on the lethal receiving weapon is that he left some production on the table by dropping seven passes for a still-respectable 8.6% drop rate. Even so, the touchdown machine racked up 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns, which was far and away the most in the country.
Lastly is Alabama’s all-world Heisman contender, DeVonta Smith. While the Crimson Tide spread the ball around last season, their passing attack was a one-man show in 2020. DeVonta caught 83-of-106 passes (78%), the fourth-best catch-rate in the country in route to posting the third-highest yards after catch (8.3) of any receiver with 80 targets or more. He has hands like vice grips, putting just two catchable passes on the ground for a microscopic 2.4% drop rate. His YPRR average of 4.21 ranked third in the country, with no other receiver below him eclipsing the 4.00 YPRR threshold. His passer rating when targeted was a near-perfect 150.5, as the superstar led the nation in receiving with 1,327 yards and finished second with 16 total touchdowns.
With such a distinguished set of finalists to choose from, I cannot argue with any of my esteemed CFF colleagues on whichever of these fine receivers they selected for the Desmond Howard Award. If forced to choose one, I nominate DeVonta Smith. Moore only played eight games and had a 16-yard showing against Auburn, whereas Darden’s best performance came last week in an eight catch, 173-yard, four-touchdown explosion against UTEP that occurred after the CFF playoffs were already concluded. Smith’s worst game came last Saturday as Alabama took their foot off the gas against Arkansas with DeVonta only receiving four targets that he turned into just 22 yards. It’s as if coach Nick Saban knew the CFF Playoffs were over so he backed off the throttle in preparation for this Saturday’s SEC Championship game.
by Eric Froton
Ja’Marr Chase, LSU (2019)
Fantasy Points: 382 (27.3 FPPG)
2. Omar Bayless, Arkansas State
3. James Proche, SMU
There were a handful of receivers I looked at for this award but I’m giving the slightest of edges to Ja’Marr Chase over Omar Bayless (for the record I had Bayless penciled in two weeks ago). The biggest difference for me was the playoff performances. Chase did not let us down; he had at least 30 FPs the last three weeks of the season. He had five weeks where he scored over 30 FPs and three more weeks with at least 20 FPs. He had a touchdown in all but two games. He concluded the year with 70 receptions for 1,457 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns. In eight games, he went over 100 yards receiving, and in five games, he had two-plus touchdowns. And he came through in playoff time. He also finished the season with six top 20 weekly finishes—hard to keep Bayless out with his nine top 30 weeks though!
by Zach Hall
Andy Isabella, UMass (2018)
Fantasy Points: 364 (30.3 FPPG)
2. Rondale Moore, Purdue
3. Laviska Shenault, Jr., Colorado & Preston Williams, Colorado State
Had Laviska Shenault remained healthy for the entire season, he likely would have been No. 1 for me, but the three games missed in the second half of the year hurt his overall production. Andy Isabella finished first in the country in FPs scored amongst wide receivers and had, far and away, the highest FPPG average at 25.89. Despite playing with multiple quarterbacks throughout the season, Isabella still finished with a career-high 1,698 and 13 touchdowns. The two highlights of the season for him came against Liberty when he topped 300 yards receiving and then his jaw-dropping performance against Georgia where he finished with a 15-209-2 stat line. Just an incredible year for Isabella.
by Mike Bainbridge
Trey Quinn, SMU (2017)
Fantasy Points: 316 (24.3 FPPG)
2. Anthony Johnson, Buffalo
3. Anthony Miller, Memphis
Initially this award was going to go to the receiver with far and away the most receiving touchdowns of anybody in the country in David Sills, but the West Virginia receiver cooled off towards the end of the year, even before Will Grier went down with an injury. Maybe the most consistent fantasy wide receiver all year long was on SMU, and no, not Courtland Sutton. Former LSU wide receiver Trey Quinn was completely off the national radar until he burst onto the scene in 2017, finishing atop the country in receptions with 106 to go along with 1,191 yards and 12 touchdowns. Quinn was a monster in PPR formats, finishing four games with double-digit receptions, including 17 catches for 186 yards in Week 8 against Cincinnati. Just a junior, Quinn will be back next season for the Mustangs and will likely be one of the first receivers off the board in 2018.
by Mike Bainbridge
Zay Jones, East Carolina (2016)
Fantasy Points: 383 (31.9 FPPG)
2. Carlos Henderson, Louisiana Tech
3. Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma
The East Carolina offense was difficult to project heading into the 2016 season with former Duke offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery being hired as the new coach, as well as a new starting quarterback in former Minnesota transfer Philip Nelson. But even with all of the changes on that side of the ball, the one constant was still around star receiver Zay Jones. The senior wideout led all receivers by a fairly wide margin with 158 catches in the regular season, with Louisiana Tech’s Trent Taylor being the next closest at just 113. Jones wound up breaking the NCAA’s single-season mark for receptions in a season against Temple on Saturday—this just one week after breaking the all-time receptions record in FBS history previously held by another East Carolina receiver in Justin Hardy. Jones certainly deserves this award as he was far and away the top college fantasy receiver in 2016.
by Mike Bainbridge
Corey Coleman, Baylor (2015)
Fantasy Points: 341 (28.4 FPPG)
2. Roger Lewis, Bowling Green
3. Josh Doctson, TCU
Baylor's Corey Coleman literally exploded out of the gates this season by hitting a season-high 45.2 FPs in the opener. The speedster continued the campaign by feasting on opposing defenses in a showcase that proved he was the most dominating receiver in college football. The combination of Coleman and quarterback Seth Russell were an unstoppable combo, racking up fantasy numbers that would make PlayStation statistics jealous. Even with the injury to Russell late in the season, Coleman's presence dominated the opposing team's game plans, and allowed for other Bear receivers to gain the spotlight. Despite his production slump in Weeks 11 and 12, Coleman had showcased so much fantasy prowess that he was an overwhelming choice for this selection committee.
by Joe Arpasi
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