Ranking the 15 Biggest Fantasy Football Surprises of 2014

By Sean Cordy

Biggest Fantasy Football Surprises of 2014

Baltimore Ravens v Pittsburgh Steelers — Like we overvalue some players, we also overlook others. Some we expect to be mid-round talent, whereas they could possibly be your best player. Then there are some who no one had on their radar even during preseason, and churned out some great performances to wrap up the season for the savvy waiver-wire hawks.

15. WR Mike Evans

Cincinnati Bengals v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

15. WR Mike Evans

Cincinnati Bengals v Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Evans finds his way on to this list not because he was surprisingly good -- we anticipated that -- but because he exceeded expectations. Not many people could have expected he would have more yards to date than Vincent Jackson and almost 10 more TDs.

14. WR Steve Smith

steve smith fantasy

14. WR Steve Smith

steve smith fantasy — After spending a lifetime in Caroline, many didn't think Smith could learn new tricks in Baltimore this season. But this old dog learned new tricks easily, and improved from last season as a top-20 WR.

13. WR Kelvin Benjamin

Carolina Panthers v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

13. WR Kelvin Benjamin

Carolina Panthers v Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Like Evans, many anticipated Benjamin to be a good WR option, but not exactly this great. With one more game left, Benjamin is just one yard shy of the 1,000-yard mark. He also has nine TDs to his name and is a top-50 player, who was originally projected outside the top 100; not bad for a rookie.

12. RB Chris Ivory

ChrisIvory-Maddie Meyer Getty

12. RB Chris Ivory

ChrisIvory-Maddie Meyer Getty - Copy — Chris Johnson came into the Jets' organization expecting to take over the lead role, but Ivory had plans of his own. Both failed to surpass 1,000 yards, but Ivory emerged as the primary back and scored three times as much as Johnson and had nearly 200 yards more than the supposed top RB in Johnson coming into the season.

11. QB Joe Flacco

Baltimore Ravens v Indianapolis Colts

11. QB Joe Flacco

Baltimore Ravens v Indianapolis Colts — Looking at Flacco's history, it may not be a surprise how well he played, being ranked around the same among QBs. But as the 14th-ranked QB this season, he scored about 40 points more than last season and even had blockbuster games like his five-touchdown performance; that's something we haven't seen from the likes of Flacco before.

10. RB Mark Ingram

Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints, Fantasy Football

10. RB Mark Ingram

Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints, Fantasy Football — We've been waiting for this Ingram for awhile now, the former Heisman Trophy version of Ingram. What's most surprising about Ingram is how he was able to shift the entire Saints' running approach, becoming almost a feature back rather than a piece of a the RB committee. Had he not fallen to injury, he could have been a top-10 RB this season.

9. QB Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson FanDuel

9. QB Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson FanDuel — Wilson was always thought to be a good fantasy QB, but he really came into his own this season. He's ranked just inside the top 10 of QBs in the past two seasons, but he upped his production to be that third-ranked quarterback this season thanks to his legs. Wilson leads the league in yards per carry with 7.5, which helped him top 800 yards rushing with six scores this season.

8. TE Antonio Gates

Antonio Gates

8. TE Antonio Gates

AntonioGates1 — Just when we gave up on him, Gates came out of the wood work to rank as the second best TE in fantasy football this season. At 34 years old, it would seem the best years were behind him, but he had his best season since 2009 thanks to 12 touchdowns (one behind his career best in 2004).

7. RB Ahmad Bradshaw

Ahmad Bradshaw Fantasy

7. RB Ahmad Bradshaw

AhmadBradshaw - Copy — Looking at his overall production, it doesn't appear that Bradshaw was all the much a surprise. He was a borderline top-100 player and broke the barrier, but that's including his time spent on the IR. Before his injury, Bradshaw was a top-40 player, scoring from all over the field. He was the Colts' Swiss Army knife and scored just about every game.

6. QB Derek Carr

Houston Texans v Oakland Raiders

6. QB Derek Carr

Houston Texans v Oakland Raiders — The rookie from Fresno wasn't even supposed to start this season, but for those that invested in the hope he would play were well compensated. He was likely an end-round pick, but he ended up being the top rookie QB and was a borderline starter throughout the season.

5. Minnesota Vikings Backup RBs

Washington Redskins v Minnesota Vikings

5. Minnesota Vikings Backup RBs

Washington Redskins v Minnesota Vikings — Not to say that either Matt Asiata or Jerick McKinnon are at the level of Adrian Peterson, but maybe it's really the system in place in Minnesota that makes RBs excel. Asiata and McKinnon took over in the wake of Peterson's suspension and were both week-to-week starters for owners scouring the waiver wire. If Peterson is to fall out even further, both backs are worth looking into next year.

4. WR Mohamed Sanu

Mohamed Sanu

4. WR Mohamed Sanu

Mohamed Sanu — Before the season started, the only WR from Cincinnati anyone had on their radar was A.J. Green. He had a slightly better season, but Sanu is definitely the more discussed of the two. In the wake of Green's absence, Sanu showed he could be a WR1 for many teams and showed versatility for GMs, scoring from both receiving and passing.

3. WR Martavis Bryant

Indianapolis Colts v Pittsburgh Steelers

3. WR Martavis Bryant

Martavis Bryant — Bryant played in only nine games to date, and he's scored seven times. That's quite a feat for any receiver. Had he played all season, he could be looking at trip to the Pro Bowl. He was the lesser-known receiver out of Clemson to Sammy Watkins this season, and would have had arguably the better season considering his limited playing time.

2. QB Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck

2. QB Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck Indianapolis Colts — Like Wilson, we've always seen great play from Luck, but this is the season he really came into his own: better than we could have imagined. In a league with the likes of Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers, you'd expect one of them to be the top QB. But it was Luck that came out on top this season, needing only 399 more yards to top 5,000 and passing 15 more TDs than his career high with 38 this season.

1. WR Odell Beckham Jr.

3odellbeckham

1. WR Odell Beckham Jr.

3odellbeckham - Copy — After playing in only 11 games, Beckham was still able to manage a season with just as many TDs and over 1,100 yards receiving. That's an incredible stat line for any player, but especially a rookie. Can you imagine if he had played the whole season? He'd be having a Randy Moss-like rookie season, and that's quite the compliment.

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