Best Fantasy Football Player Pickups

Michael Vick

Michael Vick began the season as the backup to Kevin Kolb. Kolb got hurt, then Vick got hurt, and there was even a small quarterback controversy. But Vick put up stellar numbers in the air and on the ground after returning in Week 8, including several 40 fantasy point performances.

Peyton Hillis

Jerome Harrison was the Cleveland running back drafted in 2010. Hillis quickly took the starting job, Harrison was traded to Philadelphia and the Browns had their first 1,000-yard rusher since Jamal Lewis. Hillis faded a bit in the fantasy playoffs, but still scored 13 touchdowns this season.

Brandon Lloyd

Lloyd was another undrafted wonder this year, turning in the best season of his career for the disappointing Broncos. He had 1375 receiving yards -- tops in the league as of Week 16 -- on 72 catches and was a No. 1 fantasy starter for almost all season.

Mike Tolbert

Ryan Mathews was drafted right around 14th this year. When the rookie running back struggled, third-year back Mike Tolbert picked up the slack. He was a valuable consistent fantasy running back: He scored a touchdown in all but two games from Weeks 4 to 14.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis

Amazingly, Fred Taylor and Laurence Maroney were the Patriots' running backs drafted in August. But when Taylor and Sammy Morris were lost to injuries, Maroney was traded and the Patriots' offense suddenly reached 2007 levels, Green-Ellis became a quality fantasy starter. His 12 touchdowns included three two-touchdown games.

Josh Freeman

Would you believe Josh Freeman was the 14th best player in fantasy football in Yahoo! standard scoring leagues? Believe it! The second-year player threw for 23 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions. He threw for a career-high five scores against the Seahawks in the fantasy semifinals.

Kyle Orton

While the Broncos struggled this year, Orton's quarterbacking numbers made him a fantasy starter all season until he lost his job near the end of the year. In 13 games, though, he threw for 281 yards a game and 20 touchdowns in a surprisingly potent Broncos passing attack.

Steve Johnson

Sure, he's best known for his tweet blaming God after dropping the game-winning pass against Pittsburgh. But Johnson also caught 77 passes for 1001 yards and 10 touchdowns (through Week 16), making him one of the biggest wide receiver finds on the waiver wire.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

The Harvard man wasn't a starter when the season began. But with the Buffalo run game struggling, Fitzpatrick didn't start until Week 3 and still had his first 3,000-yard season. He threw a touchdown in every game he started until Week 16 and even rushed for 269 yards.

LeGarrette Blount

The rookie from Oregon went undrafted and was claimed off waivers by the Buccaneers from the Titans in early September. Through Week 16, Blount rushed for 941 yards and six touchdowns. One of his best performances came at an opportune time for fantasy owners: On fantasy championship weekend, Blount rushed for 164 yards.

Ryan Torain

Torain last played for two games in 2008 in Denver, but propped up a struggling Washington running game starting in Week 4 with a 70-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Eagles. He got hurt and missed four games, but came back for a 172-yard performance in the last week of the fantasy regular season.

Austin Collie

Peyton Manning's top target this year? It was Austin Collie, until an injury. The second-year receiver scored touchdowns in five of his first six games. He suffered a concussion and missed a lot of time late in the season, but teams that had Collie got off to a good start. He even came back for Week 15 and scored two touchdowns before leaving with another concussion.

Marcedes Lewis

Lewis only had two catches in Jacksonville's opening-week win, but each went for touchdowns -- a sign of things to come. Lewis set career highs with 674 yards receiving and nine touchdowns (though Week 16), making him the third or fourth most-valuable fantasy tight end.

Aaron Hernandez

Rob Gronkowski was supposed to the New England's top rookie tight end. He's the one who was drafted in fantasy. Instead, it was Hernandez who put up the better numbers (but just barely). Hernandez scored more touchdowns (9 to 6), but Gronkowski was relatively more consistent before missing Week 16's game with an injury.

Danny Woodhead

Woodhead, a member of the Jets last season and in training camp this year, was waived early in the year and signed by the Patriots after Laurence Maroney was traded. He scored a touchdown in his first game with New England and eventually became a serviceable third running back, with season highs in carries (13) and yards (93) in Week 16.

Mario Manningham

The Giants' passing attack was actually pretty good this season; Eli Manning threw 30 touchdowns. Both Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks were drafted this season, but Manningham stepped in late in the year when the New York receiving corps was decimated by injuries. Come playoff time, he was huge: He caught 8 passes for 113 yards and two scores in Week 15, and caught four passes for 132 yards and a score in Week 16.

Dez Bryant

It was a short time for Bryant as a possible fantasy starter, but it was very good, especially for a rookie. Bryant had a six-game stretch in which he caught six touchdowns and had games of seven and nine catches. A fractured ankle cost him his season, but it was a nice midseason stretch for fantasy owners.

Lance Moore

Moore went unnoticed for the first part of the season, with just one big game (in Week 3 vs. Atlanta) in the first five weeks, plus the uncertainty of which weapons Drew Brees would throw to. After a one-catch performance in Week 5, he became a more consistent contributor, scoring six touchdowns over the last nine weeks, including scores in Weeks 15 and 16.

Shaun Hill

When Matt Stafford went down with an injury again this year, Hill stepped in to lead an early-season offensive surge for the Lions. He threw nine touchdowns in his five starts from Weeks 2 to 6. Hill got hurt again, too, but another Stafford injury allowed him to throw six more scores on the season. He tossed a pair of scores in a return from another injury in Week 16.

Jon Kitna

The 38-year-old quarterback threw 16 touchdowns in his 10-game stint as Dallas quarterback. He tossed a score in all but one of his starts and was more than a serviceable fantasy starter for Tony Romo owners who lost him for the season. For leagues with bonuses for 300-yard games, Kitna had four.

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