Fantasy Football: Andrew Luck, Odell Beckham Jr. Highlight 2014 Awards

Another fantasy football season is in the books. Wasn’t that fun?

If winning is your only barometer of enjoyment, chances are that answer is no; after all, only one team in your league can come out on top. Yet hardened fantasy owners will tell you that much of the excitement comes in the thrill of the chase, and if that’s the case, there was plenty of fun to be had in 2014.

The 2014 NFL season was one of the most unpredictable campaigns in recent memory, both in real life and in fantasy. Who else could have predicted that the Carolina Panthers would host a playoff game with a 7-8-1 record, or that rookie Odell Beckham Jr. would become arguably the best wide receiver in fantasy football despite sitting out the first four games?

The truth is that it’s nearly impossible to predict every star and every bust, which is what makes it so much fun when you actually get something right.

As we look back at an eventful fantasy campaign, we hope you came out more right than wrong. If not? Only seven months until training camp.

Most Valuable Player: Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts
If you’re reading this, you might have a question. “How can Luck be the fantasy MVP when he blew it for my team in the championship round?” The answer: If you didn’t have him, you likely wouldn’t have been there in the first place. Aside from his complete dud in Week 16, Luck was an absolute fantasy monster, averaging well over 20 fantasy points per game in standard-scoring leagues even with that two-point clunker. If Luck was on your side this season, chances are you went very far.

Least Valuable Player: Adrian Peterson, Running Back, Minnesota Vikings
Peterson was this year’s cruel reminder of fantasy football’s unpredictable nature. A top-three pick in virtually every fantasy draft this season, he posted a pedestrian 75 rushing yards in Week 1 before real life intervened. Peterson was indicted on a charge of injury to a child and eventually was suspended for the entire 2014 season. His backups didn’t fare too well in his absence; Matt Asiata scored nine touchdowns but was wildly inconsistent, while Jerick McKinnon showed flashes of promise but was placed on injured reserve in Week 13.

Breakout star: Le’Veon Bell, Running Back, Pittsburgh Steelers
Sure, Bell had himself a decent rookie season in 2013. But he took his game to a whole different level in 2014. Bell’s 1,361 rushing yards and eight touchdowns are impressive numbers by themselves, but the dual-threat back added 854 yards (and three more scores) through the air to lead all running backs. He also was off the charts when it mattered most; over a four-game stretch from Week 11 to Week 15, Bell averaged more than 30 fantasy points a game.

Biggest disappointment: Montee Ball, Running Back, Denver Broncos
It was supposed to be a relatively seamless transition between Knowshown Moreno and Ball, who would take over in 2014 as the lead back in Denver’s high-powered offense. Things looked promising after Ball rushed for 67 yards and a score in Week 1, but he virtually disappeared after that, as an injury and the emergence of backup C.J. Anderson made him obsolete. We can’t blame you for taking a chance on Ball in your draft, but it you did, you basically wasted a top-30 pick.

Rookie of the Year: Odell Beckham Jr., Wide Receiver, New York Giants
Were you expecting someone else? After his white-hot finish to the 2014 season, Beckham has become the king of the absurd stat. Our favorite? This guy had the fifth-most fantasy points of any NFL wide receiver despite not even playing in the Giants’ first four games. If you extrapolate Beckham’s 1,305 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over the entire season, he’d have 1,740 yards and 16 scores to easily lead all NFL wideouts. That’s nuts.

Biggest rookie disappointment: Bishop Sankey, Running Back, Tennessee Titans
Sankey was the first rookie drafted in many leagues, but he sure didn’t play like it. The Titans’ offense was anemic all season, and the former Washington Husky was forced to split carries with veteran Shonn Greene. That produced a woeful stat line: 551 rushing yards and just two touchdowns for a grand total of 65 fantasy points in standard leagues. Hindsight always is 20/20, but you would have been better off with plenty of other rookies besides Sankey.

Best waiver wire steal: C.J. Anderson, Running Back, Broncos
To add insult to those who drafted Ball, the Broncos nearly matched their 2013 team rushing output, but this year it was Anderson who stole the show. The 23-year-old clearly outplayed Ronnie Hillman to win the starting job, then ripped off over 160 fantasy points in standard leagues over the final eight weeks of the season (for comparison, LeSean McCoy put up 171 fantasy points in 16 games). At virtually no cost, Anderson likely brought a rich bounty to those lucky enough to snag him.

Biggest waiver wire bust: Jonas Gray, Running Back, New England Patriots
Bill Belichick: 1, Fantasy Owners: 0. Gray was the talk of the fantasy football town after exploding in Week 11 for over 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns. But we should have known better than to rely on a Patriots running back. Gray didn’t even see a carry in Week 12, relegated to Belichick’s doghouse after showing up late to practice. New England then signed LeGarrette Blount, leaving those who picked up Gray to wonder why they still do this stupid fantasy football thing.

Have a fantasy/NFL question for Darren? Send it to him via Twitter at @darren_hartwell

Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images