Every year there are a slew questions that we ask ourselves when the Fantasy Football season comes to a close. Who was the biggest bust? Who was the best draft bargain? Who was the best rookie? Who was the best waiver wire pickup? Who was the comeback player of the year? Who will be next year’s number one pick? And finally, who was the MVP? So, we here at Last Word on Sports have created an award ceremony to declare the winner of each category. And without further ado, let’s GET IT ON!
A great fantasy football team is rarely defined by someone simply drafting the best player every time they have a pick. The most promising fantasy rosters can be turned upside-down by injuries and coaching changes. Yet, when looking at a championship fantasy roster there is often one common thread…
The owner of that fantasy team got a player (or often more than one player) at a great draft value. They got a great bargain. Don’t confuse this with a sleeper player. Although I am not excluding sleepers, a sleeper to me is specifically a player drafted in the later rounds that produces as a top flight player. This article is to highlight the players that should have been taken before they were. The best overall fantasy football bargain players are…
Fantasy Football’s Best Draft Bargains
5) Antonio Gates, SD TE– Gates made every fantasy owner sorry for thinking the Chargers were going to move on to a younger tight end this year. He has been a consistent stud at a position that has been horrible this year. He was likely drafted after the 10th round in your leagues and with 10 touchdowns this season. That is a fantastic fantasy bargain.
4) Jeremy Maclin, PHI WR– Maclin is interesting because he should have been drafted much higher due to his situation and talent. The emergence of Riley Cooper down the stretch last year and his (this was my biggest concern) terrible injury history were what drove people away from considering him as a number one fantasy receiver. He has made everyone pay for passing him by. He started this year among the highest fantasy receivers in 2014. When Mark Sanchez took over as quarterback Maclin’s production came down a bit, otherwise he might be number one on this list. He is still producing well though and his massive surge at the beginning of the year brought many to the fantasy playoffs.
3) Emmanuel Sanders, DEN WR– This guy is on every team I have this year that matters to me. He is the definition of a value pick or draft bargain. Since he had not one consistent fantasy season before this year and was moved to an entirely new team and system, many just didn’t think to take him as a guy they would start. The opportunity for him in Denver was so tasty that I had to have him. He has taken me to the playoffs in all leagues I have him in. This is where the happiness stopped. Due to Manning’s sudden bad play of late, and the new ground and pound system built around C.J. Anderson; Sanders has been a big dud in the fantasy playoffs and has left many in the wind. He WAS my number one without question before the last couple weeks. Things change fast in fantasy football.
2) T.Y. Hilton, IND WR– Hilton was widely taken as a fantasy wide receiver 2/3(meaning he was likely taken to fill your second or third wide receiver slot) and at first, put up those kind of numbers at best. An injury to the great Reggie Wayne forced Hilton to step up and become a number one receiver in a high octane offense. Hilton did that, and more. T.Y. Hilton is not a prototypical NFL receiver. His smaller size should keep him from playing the outside receiver position, as height and power are as tangible as speed and hands in that roll. The rare talent that Hilton has makes him immune to such standards. He simply lines up in different places, moving around before and after the snap making defenses guess how to play him all the time. He lives and breathes fantasy points with his awesome quarterback and, most importantly, got it done in the fantasy playoffs when it mattered most. He is a player with class and respect for how blessed he is to be where he is. In my opinion his simple touchdown move is cooler than a sprinkler mist on a hot day. It would be hard to find a guy to be higher on this list than Mr. Hilton. Unless, it was the guy throwing him the ball.
1) Andrew Luck, IND QB I really didn’t want to give this award to a quarterback, especially not a quarterback I wasn’t insightful enough to grab in any league. Andrew Luck has simply been amazing for the people who grabbed him. His somewhat up and down production of 2013 had Luck ranked between 4th and 10th in many preseason rankings among quarterbacks. He has silenced all critics. He has answered the question of whether he is a great fantasy quarterback as well as a great on the field quarterback. He is number one in total fantasy points and has been most of the year. The fact that he was taken in the 7th round of a league I was in makes me sick to my stomach. This guy is incredible. I believe he will be a NFL Super Bowl winning quarterback someday, but what matters now is that he has led many to fantasy championships in 2014. Congratulations Andrew Luck, 2014 LWOS Best Fantasy Football Bargain.
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