Welcome to the final week of The Denver Post’s fantasy coverage for the 2014 season. Good luck to all those playing in Week 17. Congrats to those who won a fantasy title this year and condolences to those who fell just short.
Instead of examining what few players are worth a pickup on the waiver wire or looking at starts and sits this week, The Post looks forward to 2015 for some early predictions on which players fantasy owners should keep — if they are in a keeper league — or consider drafting in the early to middle rounds.
QUARTERBACKS
No-brainer keepers
Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady
Look out for … Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Last season, Wilson finished as a top 10 QB — finishing eighth with more than 3,000 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and more than 500 rushing yards. With one week left to go in 2014, Wilson is the third-highest scoring quarterback — in most standard leagues — according to NFL.com. Wilson has emerged as the premier dual-threat quarterback in fantasy, amassing a staggering 842 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns to supplement a decent 3,236 passing yards and 20 passing TDs. At this point, Wilson would be an absolute keeper if Marshawn Lynch was staying in Seattle, but sadly that doesn’t look like it will be the case. Much like Broncos running backs owe much of their success to Peyton Manning, Wilson owes much of his success to “Beast Mode” in that defenses have to scheme against Lynch to prevent him from dominating the run game. It doesn’t always work . Losing Lynch may knock Wilson from keeper status, but Seattle’s signal caller is definitely someone owners should keep an eye on heading into next season.
Look out for … Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
In another example of a solid running game lifting the passing game, “Big Ben” may return to the ranks of the NFL’s elite under the impressive play of fantasy’s best back in Le’Veon Bell. Bell has been an outstanding threat on the ground for Pittsburgh this season, which means that defenses will have to game plan for him. He’s also a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield, which only serves to bolster the Steelers’ already prolific passing attack that also houses the league-leading Antonio Brown, the boom-or-bust deep threat that is Martavis Bryant and the veteran tight end Heath Miller. Long story short, Pittsburgh’s stock is beginning to rise and it may be only a matter of time before the black and gold rejoins the ranks of the AFC’s elite. Such a resurgence would make Roethlisberger all the more valuable. He will likely finish the season just shy of the top five in fantasy with 4,635 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.
RUNNING BACKS
No-brainer keepers
Le’Veon Bell, DeMarco Murray, Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles
Keep and look out for … Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
Lynch has been nothing short of spectacular for fantasy owners this season, rushing for more than 1,200 yards for the fourth straight year. At 12 rushing touchdowns with a game left to go and the top seed in the NFC playoffs on the line next week, Lynch is likely to set a career high in rushing touchdowns, already posting a career-best four receiving touchdowns. But while the numbers look pretty, the reports around the Seattle locker room aren’t. last month that the Seahawks plan to move on from Lynch after this season. Some outlets have even reported that Lynch is considering retirement after the 2014 season. One has to consider the toll on his body as rushing for 1,200 yards a season for four years can’t feel good. Also, Lynch’s attitude surrounding his responsibilities to the news media has gotten noticeably worse. He’s gone from not answering questions at all to “trolling” reporters with the to every question they pose. No matter what team he lands on next season, Lynch is an obvious keeper but owners should monitor the situation carefully in the offseason.
Beware … C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos
Owners who have C.J. Anderson in their lineups should consider themselves lucky and enjoy the ride while it lasts. It’s a true testament to the production of the Denver running game to see Anderson in the top 20 of the highest-scoring fantasy backs this season despite starting just seven weeks ago. In such a short amount of time, Anderson has 762 yards rushing, 304 yards receiving and seven combined touchdowns. The question is: Will it last? Given the unpredictability of Denver’s running game in the past couple years, is it that farfetched to see someone else in the lead role next season? Those who took a gamble on Montee Ball this season lost, and with the Broncos’ high expectations it could only be a matter of time before someone else earns favor in Denver.
WIDE RECEIVERS
No-brainer keepers
Antonio Brown, Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Jordy Nelson
Keep … T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts
It’s clear to the casual observer that Hilton is the No. 1 receiver in Indianapolis. So it makes sense that he is fantasy’s No. 10 receiver and veteran Reggie Wayne is nowhere near the top 25. With Wayne’s time at the end of the season, Hilton’s era is just beginning and with Andrew Luck at the helm, Hilton looks like the next big receiver for the Colts. Hilton has 1,345 yards and seven touchdowns on the year.
Look out for … Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos
In March, the Broncos signed Sanders to a three-year deal in which he was expected to fill the role Eric Decker had before he left for New York. Though it was seven long weeks before Sanders scored his , he has proven himself as a valuable and reliable target for Peyton Manning, posting multiple 100-plus-yard games throughout the 2014 season. Since his first score in Week 7, Sanders has racked up an additional eight touchdowns, placing him among fantasy’s top five highest-scoring receivers. He and fellow wideout Demaryius Thomas make up fantasy’s most prolific receiver duo, surpassing Green Bay’s Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. With both Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas set to hit the free-agent market at the end of this season, owners should pay attention to what happens in Denver this offseason. Should one of them depart, Sanders’ role would increase exponentially. As for quarterback Peyton Manning, the Broncos .
Tomorrow: In The Post’s final fantasy football article for the season, we’ll evaluate a second group of players based on how their prospects shape up for next season.
Hugh Johnson: 303-954-1037, hjohnson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/HughJohnsonDP
