Postseason Superlatives for the 2014 Fantasy Football Season

The NFL postseason finally arrived, concluding the 2014 fantasy football season. There are plenty of awards and superlatives to spare, so don’t click here for yet another MVP debate. Nay this list of superlatives belongs to the more nuanced accomplishments, like the Academy Award for Best Short Film-Live Action.

Find out where Colin Kaepernick, Marshawn Lynch and Le’Veon Bell line up for “Least Reliable,"
"Most Dangerous in the Red Zone" and "Most Likely to Repeat in 2015.”

Most Questionable

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With all apologies to Jimmy Fallon, this superlative goes to Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson for “most likely to be confused with a dessert in the buffet line.”

Most dudes head into the barber shop with a snapshot of someone else’s hairdo they admire, not an advertisement from Miracle Whip.

Staring at official player photos is an unintended consequence of fantasy participation on some websites—I’m looking at you, ESPN.com. Johnson wasn’t the only attention-grabber this season.

Nominees

• Sebastian Janikowski voted “Most likely to blend into the fanbase.”
• Chris Johnson voted “Most valuable grill.”
• Kyle Orton voted “Most likely to be spotted in a Prius.” The irony is he has…
• Kenny Stills voted “Most likely to be confused for Charles Johnson.”
• Charlie Whitehurst voted “Most likely to be cast as Jesus in the church play.”

Most Unlikely Red-Zone Performance

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Defensive end J.J. Watt snared three touchdown passes in 2014, tied for third on the Houston Texans with All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson.

Watt added 20.5 sacks, a safety and six takeaways, including fumble and interception returns for touchdowns, according to Pro Football Reference. The 2012 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year is a shoo-in for this year’s award, and he deserves serious league-wide MVP consideration.

Nominees

• Antonio Brown hits Lance Moore for a touchdown.
• Offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo steals one from the Patriots playbook.
• Andy Dalton catches a touchdown pass from Mohamed Sanu.
• Arian Foster tosses a touchdown to C.J. Fiedorowicz.
• Offensive tackle Donald Penn catches his third career touchdown.

Most Prolific Fantasy-Playoff Performance

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Odell Beckham Jr. solidified a spectacular rookie campaign amassing 606 yards and seven touchdowns in the final four weeks of the NFL season. He finished fifth among wide receivers in fantasy scoring—according to ESPN.com—despite missing the first four weeks of the season.

His 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns place him in the driver’s seat for Offensive Rookie of the Year consideration.

Nominees

• C.J. Anderson rushed for 313 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Le’Veon Bell combined for 526 yards and six touchdowns before injuring his knee in Week 17.
• DeMarco Murray finished his 1,845-yard season strong with 418 rushing yards and five scores.
• Tony Romo expelled his December demons, throwing 12 touchdowns to just one interception.
• Russell Wilson threw for 1,009 yards and five TDs, adding 170 and two with his feet.

All stats on this slide provided by NFL.com unless otherwise noted

Least Reliable

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Colin Kaepernick takes home this dubious award thanks to a forgettable 2014 season in which he averaged just 14.6 points per game. Owners drafted him seventh among quarterbacks—according to ESPN’s average draft position—but Kaepernick finished ranked 17th.

He couldn’t even manage a double-digit average (9.9 PPG) in an eight-week stretch Weeks 7 through 15. Kaepernick’s struggles most likely sealed Jim Harbaugh’s fate in San Francisco.

Nominees

• Owners drafted Pierre Garcon 16th on average, but he finished 54th with eight games under three.
• Percy Harvin rated 14th in ADP but averaged just 4.6 PPG for the Seahawks and Jets.
• Matthew Stafford scored under 13 seven times, including 10- and five-point debacles in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively.
• Cleveland and Minnesota cut Ben Tate—17th in ADP—before Pittsburgh snagged him this week as a precautionary backup to Bell.
• Owners drafted Julius Thomas ahead of Rob Gronkowski on average, but Thomas scored just six points in the final seven weeks.

Based on ESPN’s consistency rating. All stats on this slide courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.

Most Dangerous in the Red Zone

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This one goes to Marshawn Lynch for racking up a league-leading 183 yards and 16 touchdowns combined. Beast Mode led all non-quarterbacks with 114 standard fantasy points in the red zone, according to CBSSports.com.

We aren’t expecting a lengthy acceptance speech based on his recent performance at press conferences. But everyone should expect the Seattle Seahawks to honor the final year of Lynch’s contract given his red-zone dominance.

Nominees

• Randall Cobb led all wide receivers with 10 touchdowns at 5’10”.
• Andrew Luck threw for 23 touchdowns and ran for three more in a dominant red-zone performance.
• Peyton Manning threw 25 touchdowns to just one interception in 105 passes. His 110.6 red-zone passer rating ranks No. 1 among his contemporaries.
• Aaron Rodgers threw for 24 touchdowns and ran for two others, proving he stays relaxed under pressure.
• Julius Thomas tied Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski with nine touchdowns but did it in an injury-abbreviated season on just 15 red-zone targets.

All red-zone stats provided by CBSSports.com unless otherwise noted.

Most Likely to Repeat in 2015

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Le’Veon Bell carries all the signs of a stable future as a fantasy stud.

His versatility is unmatched, leading all running backs with 854 receiving yards. His 1,361 rushing yards ranked second. He scored 11 combined touchdowns in the NFL’s seventh-ranked offense, according to Pro Football Reference.

The 22-year-old has age on his side and isn’t the focal point of opposing defenses thanks to Pittsburgh’s potent passing combo of Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. The Steelers offensive line ranks fourth in pass blocking and ninth in run blocking, forming a solid front for Bell.

Nominees

• Dez Bryant
• Matt Forte
• Andrew Luck
• Jordy Nelson
• Aaron Rodgers