Year End Awards: All Draft Day Steal Team/Draft Day Steal Of The Year

It happens every year. Players outperform their draft position big time. You go back and look and go "wow I can't believe this guy was taken in the 10th round" etc. Here are the players who had a way bigger impact than their draft position would have indicated.

QB

Andrew Luck (Bigger Balls)

Drafted: 5th Round (54th Overall) By Mayra

# of QB's Drafted/Kept Ahead of Luck: 5

QB Rank: 1

Overall Rank: 1

4761 Passing Yards, 40 Passing TD's, 16 INT's, 273 Rushing Yards, 3 Rushing TD's, 6 Fumbles Lost, 344 Fantasy Points

 

I thought about Russell Wilson here, but Dad alternated his QB's too much with Tom Brady that Wilson's impact wasn't close to being as big as Andrew Luck. I was in the camp that Andrew Luck would be nothing but a Ben Roethlisberger middle of the road type fantasy QB. I'd seen the previous couple of years, and Luck was good and serviceable, but not great. You can win with him as your QB, but he's not going to be the cornerstone of your team. I wasn't the only one who thought that. After the usual 3 were kept (Brees, Manning, Rodgers) Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford were the next two QB's taken off the board and finally in Round 5, it was Mayra who took the shot on Luck. Luck proved why I'm just a guy who writes a blog that 12 people read, because he was beyond great. As Brees and Manning get a little older, it was obvious this year that Luck is ready to take the reigns as THE QB to own in fantasy football. He's a BIG reason Mayra had the kind of success we've never seen before in our league. He ended up finishing as the #1 overall player in our league. Not bad for someone taken after 53 others were selected. Unfortunately, that Finals performance is a huge blemish on what was a Fantasy MVP season, but Mayra might not have gotten to where she was without his contributions. He's going to be one of the most highly coveted players in next year's draft. 

WR

Emmanuel Sanders (Dr. Light's Robots)

Drafted: 5th Round (52nd Overall) By Matt

# of WR's Kept/Drafted Ahead of Sanders: 21

WR Rank: 7

Overall Rank: 33

101 Receptions, 1,404 Receiving Yards, 9 Receiving TD's, 1 2 PT Conversion, 44 Rushing Yards, 242.5 Fantasy Points

 

That 5th Round ended up being pretty damn important looking back. As wrong as I was about Luck, I was even MORE wrong about Emmanuel Sanders. Honestly, at the time, I thought this was a reactionary pick that was destined to be a bust and thought Sanders was OVERDRAFTED because of the Wes Welker suspension. Sanders is a good player, but he was nothing more than a complimentary player in Pittsburgh, and I figured it would be the same here and that maybe for a few games he'd get a target uptick while Welker was out, but then he'd regress back and a be a decent but not dependable starter on Matt's squad. I....DON'T....KNOW...SHIT. Sanders had a breakout season and fit in perfectly with Peyton Manning and that high octane offense. Not only did Sanders finish as the 7th best receiver overall, he caught the most two important TD's in league history as he clinched Matt's improbable Championship Title. 21 receivers were taken ahead of him..including such "studs" as Cordarrelle Patterson, Michael Floyd, and Keenan Allen. Sanders won't be on this Draft Day Steal team next season, too many teams will by vying for his services and who can blame them.

WR

Jeremy Maclin (Rocket Man)

Drafted: 6th Round (64th Overall) By Eugene

# of WR's Kept/Drafted Ahead of Maclin: 27

WR Rank: 9

Overall Rank: 35

85 Receptions, 1,318 Receiving Yards, 10 Receiving TD's, 224.5 Fantasy Points

 

Winning teams take risks when other teams try to stay conservative. Those are the teams that have successful seasons. Teams were scared away from Jeremy Maclin's injury problems so 27 receivers (including Michael Crabtree a couple of picks earlier) were taken before Eugene decided the reward far outweighed the risk and grabbed Maclin in Round 6. He rewarded him with a top 10 WR season and helped get Eugene 3rd place. The funny thing was, I actually traded for him as part of the Randall Cobb deal, but when my season was over, Eugene reacquired him for a 6th round pick. He definitely helped form one of the most dangerous receiving groups in the league. 

WR

T.Y. Hilton (Winter Is Over)

Drafted: 6th Round (63rd Overall) by Alex

# of WR's Kept/Drafted Ahead of Hilton: 26

WR Rank: 12

Overall Rank: 41

82 Receptions, 1,345 Receiving Yards, 7 Receiving TD's, 1 Fumble Lost, 20 Rushing Yards, 213 Fantasy Points

 

I thought about Mike Evans here, but Evans split his time with 3 teams, and on both mine and Leland's squad he wasn't used often. Hilton had more of an impact on Alex's team and helped Alex make the playoffs in his debut season. Hilton was the main beneficiary of Andrew Luck's ascension into stardom and as Reggie Wayne gets older, things can only get better for Hilton. Hilton missed week 16 but actually outscored Alshon Jeffrey and Mike Evans who Yahoo has inexplicably ranked higher than him. Hilton is definitely one of those game changing receivers who can put up monster games at any given notice. I don't think 26 receivers will be drafted before him next season. 

RB

Lamar Miller (Rocket Man)

Drafted: 8th Round (88th Overall) by Eugene

# of RB's Kept/Drafted Ahead of Miller: 31

RB Rank: 9

Overall Rank: 37

1,099 Rushing Yards, 8 Rushing TD's, 38 Receptions, 275 Receiving Yards, 1 Receiving TD, 3 Fumbles Lost, 190 Fantasy Points

 

I didn't realize just how valuable a player Miller was until I looked at his stats. I just assumed Eugene's weakest spot was his RB2 slot, but how can you call a guy who finished as the 9th overall fantasy running back a "weak link"? Miller was finally given a full shot as the starter, after a couple of Knowshon Moreno injuries, and he made the most of it. Considering that 31 RUNNING BACKS were taken before Miller, this was another brilliant late round pick by Eugene. Washed up backs like MJD and Chris Johnson, unproven rookies like Bishop Sankey were all taken before Miller. Just more proof that elite talent isn't always found in those early rounds of the draft.

RB

Ahmad Bradshaw (Bigger Balls)

Drafted: 14th Round (163rd Overall) By Mayra

# of RB's Kept/Drafted Ahead of Bradshaw: 51

RB Rank: 27

Overall Rank: 99

425 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TD's, 38 Receptions, 300 Receiving Yards, 6 Receiving TD's, 2 Fumbles Lost, 127 Fantasy Points

 

This story could've been so much sweeter had Bradshaw not gotten hurt yet again and it cost him basically weeks 11-16. How Bradshaw was playing, there's no doubt Mayra wins it all had he stayed healthy all season. That's one of the main reasons Bradshaw slipped so low in the draft. But to slip all the way to the last round? Really...JAMES WHITE and LANCE DUNBAR were taken before him? Insane, but excellent late round drafting is why Mayra made it undefeated all the way to the finals. 51 running backs were taken before him. What if's don't count for much, but there's no denying Bradshaw's impact and he more than deserves to be on this squad.

TE

Antonio Gates (Bigger Balls)

Drafted: 13th Round (150th Overall) By Mayra

# of TE's Kept/Drafted Ahead of Gates: 16

TE Rank: 2

Overall Rank: 43

69 Receptions, 821 Receiving Yards, 12 Receiving TD's, 182.5 Fantasy Points

 

Two years ago when I had Antonio Gates..he was a shell of his former self. He looked beyond done and it looked like the emergence of LaDarius Green would end up being the official downfall of Gates great career. Fast forward to now and he just finished having the 2nd best fantasy season by a tight end this season...wait...WHAT?! Really..Gates is STILL producing?? Yep...and once again, another very late draft pick by Mayra paid off huge dividends. Gates wasn't even drafted to by Mayra's tight end..Kyle Rudolph was. An injury to Rudolph "forced" Mayra to sub Gates in and she never looked back as Gates had a career resurgent year. It's funny that Green, Gates heir apparent was drafted over him along with all the "breakout" young tight ends like Dennis Pitta, Zach Ertz, Travis Kelce, and Jordan Cameron. At the end of the day the old man still had some gas left in that tank and he's not ready to let go of his elite tight end status just yet.

Draft Day Steal Of The Year

Antonio Gates (Bigger Balls)

 

 When you get the 2nd best player in a position that's historically weak at pick #150 that's beyond a steal. Mayra's keepers and early round picks were essential in her success but picks like Gates were just as important to Mayra's historic season.