Fantasy Football Rankings 2011: 5 One-Year Wonders You Must Avoid

Like Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer and Soulja Boy…one-year wonders are a tough pill to swallow.

Tasting success only to have it disappear is a common occurrence in the entertainment industry and in sports as well.

Last season there were some breakout fantasy stars that shocked the world with the huge numbers—the kind of guys that may have even been skipped in your initial draft.

Now they enter 2011 as fantasy studs ranked high atop mock draft boards.

But that doesn’t mean they are going to repeat the same feat again in 2011. Whether it is a change in personnel around them, new coaching philosophies or just a really lucky one year, numerous factors can cause this.

Here are five guys doomed to disappoint after being delightful in 2010:

1. Arian Foster, Houston RB

He ran for over 1,600 yards and collected 16 TDs as the top fantasy player in the league lat year. Not bad for a guy that signed as an undrafted free agent.

While I’m not predicting a falling-off-the-cliff-like scenario, expect his production to suffer greatly. The biggest reason is the loss of fullback Vonte Leach. Regarded as the premier blocker in the game, now Foster will be running behind a converted tight end.

He has also been dealing with hamstring and hip injuries since the first carry of camp and will be gutting through them for the entire season.

Throw in the fact that he broke the “curse of 300 carries” ordeal with 327 and we can expect a back that’s top 20—not No. 1.

2. Michael Vick, Philadelphia QB

Vick was an incredible fantasy option last year and put up the sort of numbers to single-handedly get you the win in certain weeks. Not bad for a guy that started the season as a No. 2 and hadn't been relevant in fantasy for four years.

This year his top two receivers (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) are behind the eight ball after both of them missed large chunks of training camp. Their timing is not going to be great right off the bat and that will hurt the entire offensive flow.

Factor in that LeSean McCoy will be emphasized in a larger role this year in addition to Ronnie Brown and that means fewer chances for Vick.

Last but certainly not least, he is more at risk for injury than any other player in the league and a devastating injury can occur on any given play.

Drafting Vick ensures you must take blood pressure pills.

3. Brandon Lloyd, Denver WR

Lloyd almost doubled the yards and TDs of his previous career high at the age of 29 in 2010 (1,400 yards, 11 TDs). Now with the loss of pass-happy head coach Josh McDaniels and the addition of conservative and run-happy John Fox, expect his targets and yards per catch to go down drastically.

Lloyd's been a journeyman throughout his career and has been cut multiple times. With the ongoing QB situation currently in Denver that appears to have no end in sight, the odds of him putting up anything remotely to the production of last year is a big stretch.

Draft him as a late-round backup—certainly not a No. 1 or No. 2.

4. Peyton Hillis, Cleveland RB

His punishing style of play really slowed him down last year down the stretch and the Browns still don’t have a great backup for him. His extremely physical style and hurdling ability is bound to get him into some sort of injury trouble a year after miraculously playing in all 16 games.

Defenses will be stacking the box against him due to a passing game that features zero playmakers at wide receiver.

Oh yeah, then there is the whole Madden cover curse. Never bet against that.

5. Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville TE

He caught a terrific 10 TDs in 2010 and emerged as one of the best tight end options after the top tier.

Yet the QB situation around him is going to be his downfall. David Garrard is already hurt and will be looking over his shoulder all season as Blaine Gabbert sits waiting in the wings. Losing Mike Sims-Walker means more attention will be paid to Lewis and in the idle of the field.

This offense simply won’t be moving the ball and the red-zone opportunities, the specialty of Lewis, are going to be few and far between.