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10 Biggest Mistakes of the 2014 Fantasy Football Season

10 Biggest Mistakes of the 2014 Fantasy Football Season

 cordarelle patterson
Brace Hemmelgarn - USA TODAY Sports

The fantasy football season is wrapping up with many new champions crowned and even more hopes and dreams crushed. For those that fell short again this year, the offseason is long and there will be plenty of time to analyze every move to see where exactly you went wrong. Here to help are 10 of the biggest mistakes made during the 2014 fantasy football season.

10. Stashing Josh Gordon On Your Roster

 josh gordon
Timothy T. Ludwig - USA TODAY Sports

10. Stashing Josh Gordon On Your Roster

josh gordon
Timothy T. Ludwig - USA TODAY Sports

Many fantasy owners grabbed him as soon as news broke that he wouldn’t be suspended the entire year. But in five games since rejoining the Browns, Gordon has yet to find the endzone and is in a three-game slump of fewer than 50 yards receiving. Not exactly a stat line that warranted a roster spot all year long.

9. Believing Andy Dalton Would Play Up To His Contract

 andy dalton
Kim Klement - USA TODAY Sports

9. Believing Andy Dalton Would Play Up To His Contract

 andy dalton
Kim Klement - USA TODAY Sports

Andy Dalton played his way into a big-time contract with Cincinnati and had just enough stats to back it up that many fantasy owners turned the reigns of their team over to him this season. And while he’s flashed some elite ability at times this season, his inconsistency sunk more than a few teams this year. Dalton has three games of five fantasy points or less, including his stinker against Cleveland where he threw for 86 yards and three picks.

8. Getting Sucked Into QB Situations Of Cleveland Or Washington

 johnny manziel
Bob Donnan - USA TODAY Sports

8. Getting Sucked Into QB Situations Of Cleveland Or Washington

 johnny manziel
Bob Donnan - USA TODAY Sports

Whether you felt that Johnny Manziel would make an immediate impact in Cleveland, Brian Hoyer was the man for the job, or that Robert Griffin III was finally ready to regain his form, if you ended up relying on a quarterback for Cleveland or Washington this season, you probably made a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

7. Drafting A Tight End Too Early

 jimmy graham
Derick E. Hingle - USA TODAY Sports

7. Drafting A Tight End Too Early

 jimmy graham
Derick E. Hingle - USA TODAY Sports

Unless you got Rob Gronkowski, blowing an early draft pick on the tight end position probably didn’t pan out for you this season. Injuries and ineffectiveness have really taken the wind out of the sails of the tight end position this season with big names like Jimmy Graham (9.1 ppg in standard scoring) struggling to break 10 points each week and value guys like Greg Olsen providing similar production most weeks (8.3 ppg).

6. Sleeping On Le'Veon Bell

 le'veon bell
Aaron Doster - USA TODAY Sports

6. Sleeping On Le'Veon Bell

le'veon bell
Aaron Doster - USA TODAY Sports

His season started with a DUI arrest and a timeshare in the Pittsburgh backfield with LeGarrette Blount, so many fantasy owners overlooked the talented Bell. But by midseason, he has played Blount off the Steelers’ roster and emerged as arguably the best all-around back in the NFL to the delight of those fortunate enough to have him in their lineup.

5. Writing Off Tom Brady

tom brady
Winslow Townson - USA TODAY Sports

5. Writing Off Tom Brady

 tom brady
Winslow Townson - USA TODAY Sports

A slow start had many ready to write off Brady and the Pats’ offense. But after a humbling loss to Kansas City in Week 5, Brady has been a top-10 play at the position week in and week out. It’s a harsh lesson in patience for any fantasy owners who dropped or traded Brady thinking that his best football was behind him.

4. Trying To Figure Out Patriots' Running Back Rotation

lagarrette blount
Robert Hanashiro - USA TODAY Sports

4. Trying To Figure Out Patriots' Running Back Rotation

lagarrette blount -
Robert Hanashiro - USA TODAY Sports

Another year and Bill Belichick is still proving how much he hates fantasy football. If you tried to roll the dice and pick the hot hand out of this backfield rotation, you had to hope to get very lucky. Would it be Shane Vereen? Brandon Bolden? Jonas Gray? Blount? Only Belichick knows for sure and he isn’t telling any of us.

3. Believing Nick Foles Could Find Sustained Success

 nick foles
Kevin Jairaj - USA TODAY Sports

3. Believing Nick Foles Could Find Sustained Success

 nick foles
Kevin Jairaj - USA TODAY Sports

Nick Foles was a great success story in 2013, seizing the starting quarterback job of the Philadelphia Eagles. Many suspected that success would continue in 2014 and drafted Foles to lead their team. Unfortunately, a slow start gave way to a broken collarbone and Foles never materialized as a legitimate fantasy starter.

2. Buying The Hype On Cordarrelle Patterson

 cordarelle patterson
Derick E. Hingle - USA TODAY Sports

2. Buying The Hype On Cordarrelle Patterson

 cordarelle patterson
Derick E. Hingle - USA TODAY Sports

Everyone was sky-high on Patterson coming into the season and he looked like a prime breakout candidate after his season-opening performance against St. Louis (3 rec, 25 yds, 3 rushes, 102 yds, 1 TD). But things fell apart in a hurry for Patterson after that. He hasn’t recorded more than two catches in a game since Week 8 and eventually lost his starting job in the Minnesota offense, much to the chagrin of fantasy owners who drafted him.

1. Drafting Adrian Peterson In The First Round

 adrian peterson
Jeff Curry - USA TODAY Sports

1. Drafting Adrian Peterson In The First Round

adrian peterson
Jeff Curry - USA TODAY Sports

Nobody knew before the season that Adrian Peterson would miss basically the entire season after getting put on the Commissioner’s Exempt list. The season-long suspension was highly controversial for both the player and the NFL but it was killer for fantasy players who were unlucky enough to wind up with the Minnesota running back this season.

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