Fantasy Football: The Top 10 Most Rewarding Draft Picks

At this point in the season, fantasy owners have either given up on their team, are scrambling to fill holes via trades and weekly waiver-wire pickups or are handily winning all of their matchups because they aced their draft.

For the most part, owners already know whether they had a great draft or a bad one. They also know that next year's draft order will be influenced greatly by the surprises in this year's fantasy season.

This article will not help you improve your team down the stretch, nor will it give you advice of any kind.  It is purely here to give owners a pat on the back or a shake of the head, depending on whether they drafted well.

Here are the 10 most rewarding draft picks of the 2011 fantasy season.

Note: All rankings and points are based on ESPN standard scoring.

Fred Jackson

Position: RB

Average Draft Position: 72.8

Positional Average Taken: 29th among RBs

Position Rank: 3

A big deal has been made out of the fact that Fred Jackson went to Coe College, a Division III school. What people don't know is that he was an All-American there, and that he had a very successful career playing indoor football for the Sioux City Bandits post-graduation.

But indoor football success means nothing in terms of NFL success.

During the preseason, almost everybody thought that Jackson would be playing backup to C.J. Spiller. But he emerged as the starter, and has done more than enough to keep the job.

Jackson is currently third in the NFL with 803 rushing yards and is tied for fifth among running backs with six touchdowns.

Darren Sproles

Position:RB

Average Draft Position: 118.2

Positional Average Taken: 43rd

Position Rank: 12

Darren Sproles had always been a reliable backup or bye week fill-in during his time with the Chargers. When he signed with the Saints, however, all of that changed.

Sproles was brought in to replace Reggie Bush, and he has done much more than that. Essentially, Sproles has become the Reggie Bush that Reggie Bush was supposed to be.

Sproles is still in the "receiver out of the backfield" role, but he does get rushing touches as well. What makes him dangerous is that he's one of Drew Brees' favorite targets, and he can get a lot of yards after the catch. This has essentially made him the ultimate flex player.

Darren Sproles is 11th among running backs with 793 total yards. He is tied for fifth with five total touchdowns.

Mike Tolbert

Position: RB

Average Draft Position: 95.6

Positional Average Taken: 36

Position Rank: 18

Mike Tolbert has been a little inconsistent, but he's certainly done more than anyone would expect him to.

Even with the return of Ryan Mathews, Tolbert has remained the Chargers' goal-line back, which has led to six touchdowns.

The best thing to have done with Tolbert would have been to trade him after his 26-point outburst in Week 1. Owners likely would have gotten more for him than he was worth, and that's what gets him on this list.

Matt Forte

Position: RB

Average Draft Position: 28.1

Positional Average Taken: 14

Position Rank: 5

Can you believe that on draft day, owners were contemplating whether to draft Forte or Peyton Hillis?

Forte was always in the range of second running back, but he has turned out to be much more than that. A much-circulated statistic this fall has been that Forte has accounted for at least 40 percent of the Bears' offense. The exact number fluctuates from week to week.

That kind of involvement has led to 436 receiving yards, which is tops among running backs, and a second-best 805 rushing yards . His only deficiency is in touchdowns, where he has three on the season.

Cam Newton

Position: QB

Average Draft Position: 117.0

Positional Average Taken: 18th

Position Rank: 1

Everybody knows that Aaron Rodgers is having one of the best years ever by a quarterback. Everybody also knows that Cam Newton is performing miles ahead of expectations.

But what most people don't know is that Cam Newton is outscoring Aaron Rodgers in fantasy football.

His ability to run with the ball has essentially made him Carolina's quarterback and running back, as he has seven rushing touchdowns. That puts him behind only LeSean McCoy and Adrian Peterson in that category. Add to that his passing game, and he has become a fantasy monster.

Matthew Stafford

Position: QB

Average Draft Position: 96.7

Positional Average Taken: 15

Position Rank: 4

Matthew Stafford's susceptibility to injury has always downgraded his fantasy value, but so far this year he has been a stud.

He's 10th in passing yards, but has 19 touchdowns, which puts him at fourth in that category. This is likely due to his chemistry with Calvin Johnson, who can bring down just about any pass in any coverage these days.

If Stafford stays healthy for the entire year, he'll be right there with Rodgers, Newton, Brady and Brees in fantasy drafts.

A. J. Green

Position: WR

Average Draft Position: 89.5

Positional Average Taken: 30

Position Rank: 6

The Green-Dalton duo has not only given hope to Bengals fans this year—it's given points to Green's fantasy football owners.

While Dalton is not yet a startable fantasy quarterback, A.J. Green has become a No. 1 receiver. He has five touchdowns and 599 receiving yards, which puts him in the top tier of fantasy performers.

The only drawback is that he plays in a division with the defenses of the Steelers and Ravens. Cincy has not faced either team yet, so Green's production could drop in coming weeks.

Wes Welker

Position: WR

Average Draft Position: 57.2

Positional Average Taken: 19

Position Rank: 2

Wes Welker is having another great year catching passes from Tom Brady like everybody expected him to. But if Welker was expected to do well, why didn't he get drafted higher?

I personally think that his label as a slot receiver creates the misconception that he gets yards in small bunches and doesn't catch touchdown passes unless the Patriots are in the red zone. Add to that the addition of Chad Ochocinco, who was supposed to revive his career and become the deep threat to replace Randy Moss, and it makes a little more sense.

We couldn't have been more wrong. Welker has six touchdown receptions, one of which was on a 99-yard play. Ochocinco has been a fantasy dud, and doesn't look to be improving.

Next year, when Welker is still not among the top 10 receivers taken, don't pass him up for a deep threat like DeSean Jackson.

Jimmy Graham

Position: TE

Average Draft Position: 104.8

Positional Average Taken: 9

Position Rank: 1

Tight ends in general are not major contributors to a fantasy team's success in the long term. Their point totals primarily rely on whether they are targets in the red zone or not.

Then there's Jimmy Graham.

On a team with Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Darren Sproles, Jimmy Graham has become Drew Brees' favorite target. His 791 yards and five touchdowns lead the team.

Those are numbers tight ends are not supposed to put up unless their name is Antonio Gates. But with Gates nursing injuries the past few years, it looks like Graham may become the top tight end in next year's drafts.

Rob Gronkowski

Position: TE

Average Draft Position: 125.3

Positional Average Taken: 13

Position Rank: 2

Rob Gronkowski has essentially become Wes Welker lite.  He's there for Brady as a check-down option or short-yardage guy, and also has six touchdown catches. If tight end counterpart Aaron Hernandez wasn't also having a great year, Gronkowski's numbers may be double what they are now.

One of the fears owners had about drafting Gronkowski or Hernandez was that one would take over the job or there wouldn't be enough points for the two of them.  But between Gronkowski's six touchdowns and Hernandez' five, there have been plenty of points to go around.

Final Word

If you drafted any of the above players, give yourself a pat on the back.

If you drafted Peyton Hillis instead of Matt Forte, Reggie Bush instead of Darren Sproles, or anybody instead of Cam Newton, I wish you the best of luck in your waiver-wire pickups.

Playoff races are heating up in fantasy football, and if you drafted well, you'll be at the top of the pack.