Long-suffering Bills fan Mark Christie is the winner of our Fantasy Index Open competition. He put together the best combination of 120 picks at six different positions, finishing at the top of the heap.
As the winner, Christie takes home a ridiculously large trophy from the team at Affordable-Trophies.com. They’ve been partnering with us on this competition for years.
Christie didn’t have any unusual players at the top of his six top 20s. He went with his hometown guy, Josh Allen, as his No. 1 quarterback. And nothing notable with his other No. 1 players, including Christian McCaffrey (ugh), CeeDee Lamb, Sam LaPorta, Justin Tucker and the Ravens defense. All players, in hindsight, should have been ranked lower.
But lower down on boards, Christie scored on enough picks to separate from the field. He ranked 8th at the wide receiver position, where his most impactful selection was ranking Malik Nabers 11th. Nabers had a productive rookie season (particularly in the PPR format of this contest), and Christie cashed in more than most on that pick.
Christie also ranked 8th at tight end, where he made room near the bottom of his top 20 for three players who weren’t included by most – Zach Ertz, Cade Otton and Tucker Kraft.
Christie also scored well at well at running back (22nd), where his most valuable selection was ranking DeVon Achane 7th (again, PPR scoring – Achane was great). His entry wasn’t as notable at quarterback (180th), kicker (121st) or defenses (279th).
Using our complex scoring matrix (with most entries finishing with over 358,000 points, Christie finished 659 points ahead of Bryce Emmanuel from Houston. Both Christie and Emmanuel earn at-large berths to compete in the similar Experts Poll competition in the 2025 version of Fantasy Football Index magazine.
Only four other entries finished within 3,000 points of Christie: Patrick Chance (Frisco, Texas), Patrick Dougherty (Canton, Ohio), Bob Reck (Mukwonago, Wis.) and Dave Cohen (Brooklyn), with his annual contender, “Physically Unable to Perform”.
Andy Richardson of the Fantasy Football Index staff finished 8th.
To see the complete standings, including an itemized breakdown showing how each pick in each top 20 was scored, log in at the website, click on your name (in the upper right corner) and drag down to “Open 2024”.
FANTASY INDEX OPEN, TOP FINISHERS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Name | Hometown | Points |
1. | Mark Christie | Fairport, N.Y. | 372,608 |
2. | Bryce Emmanuel | Houston | 371,949 |
3. | Patrick Chance | Frisco, Texas | 371,919 |
4. | Patrick Dougherty | Canton, Ohio | 371,253 |
5. | Bob Reck | Mukwonago, Wis. | 369,968 |
6. | Dave Cohen | Brooklyn, N,Y. | 369,850 |
7. | Bob Bullen | Avondale, Pa. | 369,214 |
8. | Andy Richardson | Port Chester, N.Y. | 368,982 |
9. | Richard Hodges | Tacoma, Wash. | 368,971 |
10. | Gregory Harrington | Drexel Hill, Pa. | 368,957 |
11. | Matt West | The Woodlands, Texas | 368,879 |
12. | Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | 368,876 |
13. | Erikson Shipe | Akron, Ohio | 368,623 |
14. | Jason Tucker | Cedar Park, Texas | 368,566 |
15. | Timothy Kear | Murrysville, Pa. | 368,469 |
16. | Craig Smith | Humble, Texas | 368,428 |
17. | Rick Holbrook | Kansas City, Mo. | 368,096 |
18. | Robert Buckmann | Mount Dora, Fla. | 367,865 |
19. | Frank Manero | Bristol, Pa. | 367,788 |
20. | Charlie Teljeur | St. Peters, Nova Scotia | 367,658 |
21. | Troy Frerichs | Bloomington, Ill. | 367,466 |
22. | M Jankowiak | Parts unknown | 367,283 |
23. | Steven Alessandrini | Flanders, N.J. | 367,228 |
24. | Scott Simpson | Burlington, N.J. | 367,095 |
25. | Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | 367,089 |
26. | Greg Resin | Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. | 367,082 |
27. | Steven Math | Austin, Texas | 366,966 |
28. | John Ruppe | Fort Myers, Fla. | 366,703 |
29. | Shawn Wallace | Beaver Falls, Pa. | 366,702 |
30. | William Thompson | Huntington Beach, Calif. | 366,635 |
Ultimately, it was Christie’s year. He finished in the top spot, and he’ll need to figure out where he’s going to put that big trophy from Affordable-Trophies.com. If Buffalo can win at Arrowhead on Sunday, it will make for a memorable week. On that front, Christie says he’s got a good feeling that this year the Bills finally can get past Kansas City. “I am quietly optimistic,” he says.
—Ian Allan