The Dollar-for-Dollar Studs and Duds in Fantasy Football

The season has reached its halfway point.

The race to the playoffs is beginning to take shape.

Teams are attempting to solidify their lineups for the back stretch, ducking and dodging injuries like Frogger (which is to say, with mild success). The league has already lost stars like Andre Johnson and Marques Colston for significant portions of the season. Some, like Jamaal Charles and Tim Hightower, have been shelved until next year.

Some players have exceeded expectations, others have been sent to the sidelines sending coaches scrambling to find dependable talent on short notice.

Yes, fantasy football is in full stride.

So which guys are making their fantasy owners look like geniuses? And who is giving us migraines?

For consistency's sake I have left off players who have missed two or more games due to injury. If they aren't on the field, then they don't have the chance to produce.

Here are some of the least and most productive big-name fantasy football players based on their 2011-2012 cap hits and fantasy points (standard ESPN scoring).

Note: All salary information taken from spotrac.com; all statistics taken from espn.com

Dud No. 1: QB Mark Sanchez

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $12,000,000

Fantasy Points: 102

Dollars per point: $117,647.05

Mark Sanchez is not known for putting up gaudy numbers, rather for doing just enough to gut out the big win behind a stout 'D' and power running game.

But this has become a liability for the Jets as their ground game grinds to a halt . They currently sit in third place in the AFC East at 4-3 and will likely be battling with at least six other teams for one of two wild card spots.

Sanchez is one of the five highest-paid quarterbacks in the league, yet is posting only pedestrian numbers with ten turnovers (ninth-most in the league) and 220 yards per game.

If Sanchez wants to be considered elite within the league, aside from winning a ring, he's going to have to average more than 14 fantasy points a game.

Duds No. 2/No. 3: QB Matt Ryan/WR Roddy White Combo

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $12,000,000 / $6,525,000

Fantasy Points: 92 / 59

Dollars per point: $130,434.78 / $110,593.22

Widely viewed as the best team in the NFC not named the Packers going into this season, the Atlanta Falcons have not lived up to expectations.

The two biggest reasons? Pro Bowl pitch-and-catch tandem Matt Ryan and Roddy White.

Ryan sits right behind Mark Sanchez at 13 fantasy points per game, while White has posted just three games with double-digit point and has topped 100 yards only once.

Matty Ice comes with a similar reputation as Sanchez, though with White, Julio Jones and Michael Turner, he has a plethora of weapons and no excuse not to post consistently average stats.

The All-Pro White is on pace for his worst statistical season since first breaking the 1,000 yard mark in 2007, a disappointing fact for fantasy owners everywhere who made him, on average, the 13th pick this year.

Both guys command large portions of the Falcons' cap space, but not the kind of headlines they would like to see.

Dud No. 4: WR Brandon Marshall

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $10,600,000

Fantasy Points: 56

Dollars per point: $189,285.71

Brandon Marshall might be the only legitimate offensive threat on the Miami Dolphins (that's right, Reggie Bush).

This situation usually plays out in two ways:

1) The high volume of targets means that Marshall has no choice but to have big games every week.

2) Without any other major threat, opposing defences focus in on Marshall so much that he is rarely open enough to catch passes from Miami's rotating quarterback carousel.

Based on the numbers, it appears that the latter is happening. But there is another development: Brandon Marshall is dropping too many passes.

For a player who is targeted nearly 10 times a game and tied for fourth in red zone targets, Marshall is disappointing Dolphins fans and his fantasy owners alike.

Dud No. 5: RB Chris Johnson

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $13,000,000

Fantasy Points: 47

Dollars per point: $276,595.74

Chris Johnson is far and away the most highly criticized player this year for his disappearance. His offseason holdout has not helped his case in the least.

Averaging under fifty yards a game and finding the end zone just once so far is rather embarrassing for a running back dubbed 'CJ2K'.

Drafted right behind Adrian Peterson in most leagues this year, Johnson is the only first-round pick besides the injured Jamaal Charles who is not producing like one.

How bad is it, though? Hec's been significantly outperformed so far this season by guys like Mike Tolbert and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Yep, that bad.

Dud No. 6: QB Philip Rivers

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $15,300,000

Fantasy Points: 92

Dollars per point: $166,304.34

In five seasons as a full-time starter for the San Diego Chargers, Rivers has never finished with worse than a 1:1 touchdown-to-turnover ratio. This year he is on pace to do so by a wide margin without even counting fumbles.

Rivers has consistently found himself in the top-five fantasy quarterbacks since taking over for Drew Brees, but now finds his current total nearly doubled by the average of those top five guys.

San Diego is hanging on by a thread in the AFC West and wild card hunt, and being on the hook for $15.3 million doesn't make their situation feel any better.

Dud No. 7: WR Larry Fitzgerald

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $20,250,000

Fantasy Points: 69

Dollars per point: $293,478.26

It is debatable whether Larry Fitzgerald is the biggest fantasy dud this season. Sure, he has Kevin Kolb throwing his way (imagine how much he misses Kurt Warner right about now).

But Fitzgerald has been putting up monster numbers since he first wore a Cardinals uniform in 2004 and Warner was only the starter in 57 of those 115 games.

If his current stats (603 yards, two touchdowns) belonged to most other receivers, they'd be viewed positively. But the guy is making $20.25 million! And that's all in base salary!

That's Peyton Manning money. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the point of view), Fitzgerald's salary is miles beyond any other pass catcher in the NFL, so his expectations are necessarily much higher.

Being tied for points with Victor Cruz isn't going to cut it.

Stud No. 1: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $3,585,000

Fantasy Points: 107

Dollars per point: $33,504.67

If you told me today that you had the Bills down on paper as a preseason playoff contender, I would probably give you the stink eye and call you a liar.

If you had told me that before the season started I most definitely would have tabbed you an uneducated football fan.

Yet, here we are heading into Week 9 and Buffalo is in first place in the AFC East with a 5-2 record.

Bills fans have Ryan Fitzpatrick to thank for a lot of this success (we'll get to Fred Jackson later).

Starting for his third team in five years, the Harvard graduate is finally coming into his own at 28 years old. He is currently the 10th-ranked fantasy quarterback with 107 points, which is good enough to start in all fantasy leagues and puts him ahead of guys like Mark Sanchez, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers.

Skeptics might look at his 107 points and say that doesn't make him a stud. But when you consider that he is in the final season of a paltry three-year, $6.9 million contract, his numbers look that much more impressive (he's currently the 24th-highest paid quarterback in the NFL in terms of base salary).

It remains to be seen whether the Bills' veteran journeyman can continue to succeed beyond this season, when his monster six-year, $59 million extension kicks in.

Stud No. 2: WR Wes Welker

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $4,125,000

 Fantasy Points: 116

Dollars per point: $35,560.34

In every sport, in every league (recreational or professional) there's always that one guy people continuously sleep on, even though he consistently gives them reason not to.

Wes Welker is that guy. After three-straight seasons in New England with 100-plus catches and 1,000-plus yards in an offense that pledges to never have an obvious No. 1 target, Welker was drafted 57th on average in ESPN fantasy leagues.

What has he done this year, just a year-and-a-half removed from a torn ACL?

He currently leads the league in catches (a PPR dream) and receiving yards per game, is second in every other receiving category and is on pace for his best statistical season yet.

Welker is basically the best human receiver in the game (considering Calvin Johnson is actually a Transformer).

And he comes at a cheap price relative to his production.

Stud No. 3: RB Fred Jackson

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $2,075,000

Fantasy Points: 138

Dollars per point: $15,036.23

We've already discussed the Bills current Cinderella story season.

But their quarterback might not be the biggest cause for success. Enter Fred Jackson, the fourth-highest drafted Jackson in the league, who is currently the ninth-highest scorer overall and third-best running back in fantasy.

And he's not even the highest paid running back on his own team!

Jackson is having an absolute breakout year, making fantasy managers who drafted Jamaal Charles very happy (that would be me).

He has yet to make a turnover, has a chance to break 1,500 yards and already has more touchdowns (six) than his career high (five) in just seven games.

The rest of the season looks bright as Jackson has topped 100 yards in five of the seven games this year and has scored at least one touchdown at the same rate. That's consistency, folks.

Stud No. 4: WR Mike Wallace

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $663,333

Fantasy Points: 106

Dollars per point: $6,257.85

Mike Wallace is a beast.

He's a top-five receiver in just about every statistical category despite star running back Rashard Mendenhall's disappointingly average output.

His ability to burn the opponent's secondary deep with his wheels opens up the field for Ben Roethlisberger to hit Antonio Brown and Heath Miller, while still putting up his weekly numbers.

Wallace definitely will not be found on this list next year, as his rookie contract ends after the season and he is due for a kingly pay raise.

Stud No. 5: RB Matt Forte

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $938,250

Fantasy Points: 120

Dollars per point: $7,818.75

Not enough can be said about Matt Forte. Just like Wes Welker, people in the fantasy world slept on him this year, drafting him 27th on average.

And so is the Bears' front office, refusing to work on a new contract until the end of the season while Forte bumps up the value of that contract with every game.

Forte is Chicago's entire offense, it's no secret. Jay Cutler may have a cannon for an arm, but with no legitimate No. 1 receivers on the roster, all the attention turns to Forte.

Despite scoring only three total touchdowns, Forte is still the fifth-best fantasy back. That's because he has the most yards from scrimmage of any player. Forte is the definition of a workhouse.

And he is producing on the cheap. With a base salary of just $555,000, Forte is the 53rd-richest back this year.

As a Chicagoan, my biggest fear is seeing Forte in a different jersey next season.

Stud No. 6: RB Arian Foster

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $525,000

Fantasy Points: 109

Dollars per point: $4,816.51

Carryin' Arian is in truck mode this year.

Foster missed the first and third games of the season and played the second injured. So that leaves five games for us to judge his performance.

In that short time he has made up significant ground, moving up to sixth-best among fantasy running backs. He's already fifth in rushes, ninth in total rushing yards and seventh in yards per game and is a top-ten receiving back.

Foster is doing all of this after signing a bizarre one-year, $525,000 contract in the off-season. We certainly won't see him on a list like this next year.

Stud No. 7: QB Cam Newton

2011-2012 Cap Hit: $4,004,500

Fantasy Points: 184

Dollars per point: $21,763.58

And then there's Cam Newton. His contract may not be tiny, but his rookie season numbers are insane.

He is currently the top fantasy scorer in all the NFL, besting reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers by two points.

We knew he'd be good at some point. But this good, this early?

His passing numbers are solid, but certainly not godly. It's his feet that have Newton soaring this year. His seven rushing touchdowns greatly complement the 2,400 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns.

Everyone who drafted Newton took him expecting him to ride the bench and fill in during their primary quarterback's bye week. Now they look like geniuses.

We can only hope that Cam continues to electrify the league for the rest of the season and years to come.