Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Sure, Christmas is great, but it’s a lot different when you go from the one rushing downstairs to look under the tree on Christmas morning to the people who are eating Ramen noodles for dinner for a month so you can figure out how to afford all the new Shopkins and Avenger figures. I still love New Year’s Eve, but struggle to make it to midnight at this point, especially when I’ll be woken up at six the next morning by a pair of maniacs who have no regard for the phrase “sleeping in.” And don’t get me started on Arbor Day anymore.

Nope, Thanksgiving is the best. The Macy’s parade in the morning entertains the kiddies. There’s a full day of football. And the food is delicious and plentiful (oh, and it’s pecan > pumpkin > apple for pies on Thanksgiving; don’t get cute).

But, of course, the holiday is about giving thanks. I’m sure most of us have plenty to be thankful for. It doesn’t matter if it’s for Whether it’s a roof over our head, the fact that your car is still chugging along 14 years after you bought it, or that $10 bill you found in your jeans pocket this morning (I knew rarely doing a wash would eventually come in handy).

But you’re reading a fantasy football article, and if you’re doing so on Thanksgiving, you’ve probably got about six more minutes before a family member yells at you to put away your mobile device. So let’s take a few minutes to give thanks to a few players who have made a huge impact this season. As I do every year, I’ve come up with these names using a special secret formula that takes into account ADP, current rankings, pre-season buzz, number of times on a breakout list…and then ignores that all and just has some fun. Seriously, guys, you’re reading this on Thanksgiving. Let’s just enjoy it, huh?

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I feel like it has had to be tough to be Smith for most of his career. When people think of him, a few things usually come to mind — he was drafted first overall in 2005 while Aaron Rodgers was selected 24th in the same year. He rarely throws the ball more than 10 yards downfield and he was benched after leading the 49ers to a playoff appearance and a 6-2 record the following year.

But the narrative has changed this season. If you combined the best numbers from any season in his career, you’d have a quarterback who passed for 3,502 yards, averaged 7.97 yards per attempt, scored 24 touchdowns, and threw four interceptions. This season, Smith is on pace to pass for 4,278 yards, average 8.03 yards per attempt, score 31 touchdowns, and throw five interceptions (Note: These numbers looked a little better when I started writing this article before the wind-filled Week 11 game against the Giants!).

He’s leading the league in throws of at least 15 yards. In other words, he’s an entirely different player.

If you waited on a quarterback this year, there’s a decent chance that you picked up Smith, have a strong roster elsewhere, and are well on your way to the playoffs. The same could be said for Smith himself! Let’s just hope your playoffs don’t end with Andy Reid misusing his timeouts and making egregious clock management errors, as Smith’s surely will.

Last season on Thanksgiving, Jordan Reed hurt his shoulder against Dallas, and he was shown with his arm in a sling in the second quarter. He then came back in the second half and scored two touchdowns, putting up a heroic effort.

Now take Jordan Reed, replace his Thanksgiving game with the entire 2017 season, and you have Howard. Seriously. No, Howard hasn’t been a savior this year, and he’s laid an egg once or twice.

But the guy hasn’t missed a game despite having an apparently painful shoulder issue since basically the first week of the season. The Bears certainly aren’t playoff bound, yet there Howard is, week-in and week-out, almost always providing his fantasy owners with value. He’s the 10th-ranked running back in standard leagues at this point and deserves some recognition in a pretty underrated season.

I write the weekly trade chart article, and almost every week, I get an email or tweet asking me why Thomas is still valued so high. And judging by trade offers I get for him, it certainly feels like the consensus among fantasy players is that he’s been a huge bust this year.

In the first week of the season, Xavier Rhodes held Thomas to five catches for 45 yards. In Week 6, Darius Slay held Thomas to three catches for 11 yards. In his eight other games, Thomas has averaged seven catches for 81 yards.

Yes, he has just two touchdown catches on the season, but that level of consistency, especially in leagues that reward any points or fractional points for receptions, is essential in fantasy leagues. He’s the 18th-ranked receiver on the season, and if Drew Brees just throws a bit more in the red zone to round out the season, Thomas should likely finish as a WR1. So, let’s at least give the guy some credit.

My only beef with Engram is he is making me look silly for telling everyone early in the season that they can’t and shouldn’t trust a rookie tight end. Consider two things of note:

Engram is currently the fifth-ranked tight end in fantasy football. Hunter Henry is the only rookie tight end to finish as a top-12 fantasy option in the past five years – he finished 11th. Engram is on pace to total 723 yards receiving and score eight touchdowns. That would give him 120 fantasy points over a full season. The best rookie tight end season over the last 20 years is Rob Gronkowski’s in 2010 when he finished with 114 fantasy points.

Seriously, unless we’re talking about Mike Ditka in 1961, Engram is on the verge of putting up perhaps the greatest rookie tight end season of all time, and that’s after his one-catch, nine-yard performance against the Chiefs this weekend. You didn’t have to spend much if any draft capital to get Engram on your team this season, and he’s been one of like five guys at the position that you haven’t thought at one point, “Hmmm, should I start Tyler Kroft over him this week?”

Since I know that everyone still refuses to view Michael Thomas as someone who has not disappointed, let’s give thanks to another wide receiver, Davante Adams. Adams has had a fine season, coming in as the ninth-ranked wide receiver in fantasy entering this week. But Adams deserves special thanks because of what has happened to Jordy Nelson after the Aaron Rodgers injury.

Nelson went from a top-10 receiver with Rodgers to droppable with Brett Hundley, showing just how much quarterback play matters to a wide receiver. While Adams’ owners may have shared the same concerns, he’s remained rock-solid. Over his last three games, Adams has 28 targets and 20 receptions (third-most) for 269 yards (seventh-most) and a touchdown. In what looked like could have been a devastating blow to fantasy owners, Adams never missed a beat.

Finally, I’ve mentioned this before, but it seems appropriate on a day we’re supposed to give thanks. Fantasy football is an incredible amount of fun, but there are a lot of people who probably aren’t as fortunate as we are, and won’t be able to sit around and watch football without many cares in the world. Consider this tweet last year from Raiders beat writer Michael Gehlken, which I try to remember to take a look at whenever I can during the season.

A thought on Christmas Eve: If player helps win your fantasy league, consider donating portion of winnings to a cause he supports. pic.twitter.com/G802IwSsrY – Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) December 24, 2016

If you’re fortunate enough to win your league, consider saying thanks to the players who helped you get there in the way Michael suggests.

And with that, get off your phone and watch some football, eat some turkey, and enjoy the day.



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Dan Harris is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Dan, check out his archive or follow him on Twitter at @danharris80.