FANTASY BIGGEST SURPRISES

December 28, 2005 5:00 AM ET

Some surprises—like finding a forgotten five-dollar bill in your coat pocket or learning Aunt Rose kicked you 50 grand in her will—are great; others—like a hair (not yours) in your fast-food burrito or an audit notification from the IRS—can ruin your day.

When it comes to fantasy football, being pleasantly surprised by a late-round pick or waiver wire acquisition can often times mean the difference between collecting a fat paycheck and some hardware at the end of the season and having plenty of time to get an early start on your fantasy baseball draft.

With that in mind, we salute those who surprised us this season with their unexpected—yet greatly appreciated—stellar play.

Quarterback
Eli Manning, Giants: We knew the bloodlines were good, we just didn't think Elisha would splash onto the scene quite this quickly. For the first couple months of the season, however, he was the best quarterback in the family, tossing 12 touchdowns in the first six games. The last month has been a bit of a struggle, but this was likely the last year you could have snagged Eli as your second quarterback.

Honorable mention goes to Carson Palmer (Bengals), who shot from the bottom of most preseason top-10s to a potential MVP award and side-by-side billing with Peyton Manning as the top fantasy quarterback in the game; Drew Bledsoe (Cowboys), who reunited with Bill Parcells and drank lustily from the fountain of youth early in the season; and Mark Brunell (Redskins), who almost made us forget why we ever called him Brutal with a hot start that helped him establish a personal best with 22 touchdown tosses.

Running Back
Thomas Jones, Bears: Jones was supposed to keep a lineup spot warm until rookie Cedric Benson was ready, but evidently somebody forgot to let Jones in on that little tidbit. While Ced's year started with a holdout and essentially ended with a knee injury, Jones scored six times in his first five games and recorded four triple-digit rushing efforts in the first month and a half of the season. A midseason dry spell had some writing him off again, but he's rebounded with scores in three straight and another 100-yard effort in week 16. Clearly, the Bears have no reason to rush Benson into the lineup.

Samkon Gado, Packers: All it took was being cut by the Chiefs, injuries to Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport, and an ill-timed fumble by Tony Fisher, and—wah-lah!—the new Nigerian Nightmare is born. Gado's run as the Packers' feature back was all too brief, but considering he went from absolutely nowhere to an every-week fantasy starter in the blink of an eye, he deserves this spot. Along the way, he scored seven touchdowns (more than Willis McGahee, Carnell Williams, Jamal Lewis, or Julius Jones) and topped the century mark three times in just six starts.

Honorable mention goes to Mike Anderson (Broncos), who proved that you can never know what Mike Shanahan is thinking; Rueben Droughns (Browns), who became the first Brown in almost two decades to reach the 1,000-yard mark (though more than two touchdowns would be nice); Willie Parker, who gave the Steelers an unfamiliar burst of speed en route to becoming Pittsburgh's first 1,000-yard back since the Bus did it four years ago; and Ricky Williams (Dolphins), who set aside the baggage and the bong long enough to remind us that he once was really, really good.

Wide Receiver
Joey Galloway, Buccaneers: If a Bucs' receiver went in the first dozen rounds of your draft, odds are it was Michael Clayton and not Galloway. One month into the season, however, it was Galloway who had three touchdowns, 316 receiving yards, and a spot on a contender's roster. En route to a career high in yardage and his best touchdown total since 1998, Joey enjoyed an early-season stretch in which he scored in six of seven games and recorded at least 83 yards in six consecutive contests.

Terry Glenn, Cowboys: Clearly it was "Turn Back the Clock" year for receivers, as Glenn notched his career high in touchdowns, his best yardage season since 1999 (and he needs just 56 yards in the finale to replace the "since" with "ever"), and a gaudy 18.2 yards-per-catch average. Glenn grabbed our attention with three 100-yard efforts in the first five games, and though he's only notched one triple-digit affair since, he's scored four times and been on the business end of numerous big plays.

Honorable mention goes to Santana Moss (Redskins), whose 1,400 yards and nine touchdowns were the most pleasant surprise among receivers who were actually drafted in most leagues; Chris Chambers (Dolphins), who continues to somehow put up stats (this year, 11 touchdowns and 1,043 yards through week 16) despite having nothing resembling a legitimate NFL quarterback throwing him the ball; Keenan McCardell (Chargers), another vet likely ignored on fantasy draft day who turned in nine touchdowns as Drew Brees' alternative to Antonio Gates; and Joe Jurevicius (Seahawks), who took advantage of Seattle's thinning receiving corps to emerge as Matt Hasselbeck's go-to guy with nine touchdowns through 15 games.

Tight End
Chris Cooley, Redskins: The common perception was that Cooley's half-dozen touchdowns last season were a bit of an aberration. He refuted those charges by scoring seven times through 16 weeks, tied for second in the league among tight ends, and kicking 766 yards into the mix (sixth in the NFL) as well.

Honorable mention goes to Jerramy Stevens (Seahawks), who finally distanced himself from Itula Mili with five scores and 554 yards; Steve Heiden (Browns), who nearly matched the productivity of more prominent tight ends like Dallas Clark; and Mike Sellers (Redskins), who became the 2005 version of Cooley with just 11 catches and 68 yards… but six touchdowns.

Kicker
Neil Rackers, Cardinals: Nice Rackers was a popular sleeper pick amongst our editorial staff, if only for the opportunity to say "Nice Rackers" and not get slapped. But not even the most ardent Rackers supporter could have expected 38 field goals—six from beyond 50 yards! Moreover, Rackers may have single-handedly won the four games in which he produced at least four field goals.

Honorable mention goes to Jay Feeley (Giants), who leads the NFL in scoring despite missing several clutch treys; Lawrence Tynes (Chiefs), who was fighting for his job in training camp but survived to ride the K.C. offense's coattails to triple-digit points; and Robbie Gould (Bears), salvaged off the scrap heap a month into the season yet still good for almost a Chuck Woolery (two and two) per outing.

 

Defense
San Francisco 49ers: Huh? Fantasy owners usually jumped for joy when a date with the Niners appeared on one of their player's schedules. However, the underappreciated Niners contributed five defensive touchdowns—just one fewer than the mighty Chicago Bears.

Honorable Mention: The Minnesota Vikings threw a bunch of offseason money at the defensive side of the ball, and they got results: five defensive touchdowns and 24 interceptions, both numbers good for second in the league.

The Tennessee Titans were also viewed as a fantasy patsy, and they certainly surrendered their share of fantasy points. But they also mixed in five defensive touchdowns, 38 sacks, and three blocked kicks

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