Fantasy Football All-Star Team 2009

Well, we’re about 3 or 4 weeks removed from the end of the fantasy football season, which is more than enough time for people to get over their inevitable losses and rehash on the season that was. Don’t worry, you made some good picks. Yes, picking Adrian Peterson over Chris Johnson looks dumb now, but it wasn’t nearly as silly as picking Calvin Johnson over Andre Johnson.

But at the end of the day, it’s about the numbers, and there were those players that were far and above the rest when it came to putting up stats.

Here is our All-Star team for the fantasy football season that just ended, and here’s to looking forward to counting down the days until the 2010 fantasy football draft season right here on TheSportsWatchers.com!

Quarterback #1: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (ADP: 35, Final PRK: #1)
Talk about coming out from the shadows, Aaron Rodgers quickly transformed from promising quarterback to prolific in just one off-season. His 30 touchdown passes and 4,434 passing yards made fantasy owners very happy, and limited the bad, throwing just 7 interceptions all season long.

Quarterback #2: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (ADP: 4.7, Final PRK: #2)
Well, I could gloat, but I’m not…psych! I have to gloat a little bit. The world was divided as to which quarterback would have the better season, Tom Brady or Drew Brees, and in most people’s opinion, Brees won out, beating Brady by just 19 fantasy points (ESPN Standard). Yes, it was a small margin of victory, but it was victory nonetheless. Not to mention, Brees stats in his head to head matchup with Brady were probably the difference between their final numbers.

Running Back #1: Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans (ADP: 8.0, Final PRK: #1)
If you saw this coming, you were the only one. Chris Johnson’s speed was the most feared thing in fantasy football season, and his four 35-plus-point fantasy outings probably won weekly matches for fantasy football owners alone. And in half of his games (8) he scored more than 20 fantasy points, making him the runaway fantasy football point king this season. He did all of this despite starting off with 4 of his first 5 games in the single digits.

Running Back #2: Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars (ADP: 4.7, Final PRK: #3)
MJD was a beast this season, and he carried the full load much better than I gave him credit for before the start of the year. Of course, he did slow down a bit in the final 2 games of the season, but much of that can be attributed to the Jaguars offense slowing down as a whole. MJD’s real value this season came from his consistency, as he caught the ball and avoided the fumbles all season long.

Running Back #3: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (ADP: 1.2, Final PRK: #2)
Yes, I could have went with Peterson at #2, but his second half of the season was very disappointing, and I know a few AD owners who lost games because of his fumbling woes. That being said, AD’s ability to catch the ball this season was a welcomed surprised, and you can never keep a guy with 18 rushing touchdowns off the fantasy football all-star team.

Wide Receiver #1: Andre Johnson, Houston Texans (ADP: 13.4, Final PRK: #1)
Once again, I have to take the opportunity to gloat. I had Andre Johnson at the top of my boards before the start of the fantasy football season, and at the top of the board is where he finished. And in all honesty, he was injured and dinged up enough to the point where he could have had a much less productive season. Still, his 101 receptions were 3rd best in the NFL, while his 1,569 receiving yards led all NFL pass catchers.

Wide Receiver #2: Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys (ADP: UNDRAFTED, Final PRK: #3)
You have to make Austin the #3 selection here on expectations alone. This guy wasn’t on anybody’s radar before the start of the season, and he wound up being one of the most explosive football players in the league this past season. Austin wore off a little bit in the waning games of the season, but his three 20+-point games helped make up for the lack of production late in the year.

Wide Receiver #3: DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles (ADP: 61.8, Final PRK: #4)
Yes, Randy Moss was ranked higher, but only slightly. Besides, when a wide receiver gives you a “negative-point” outing, he’s pretty much banished from All-Star voting. That said, Jackson earned this spot, putting up a ton of big plays and big games that made the fantasy owners who drafted him look like genius. Like Austin, his final 2 games weren’t too impressive, but four 20+-point games softened some of the blow he produced late in Week 17.

Tight End #1: Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts (ADP: 53.4, Final PRK: 2)
I could have gone with point-leader Vernon Davis here, but Clark barely played in the final two games and finished just a mere 5 points behind Davis in the standings. Besides, Clark’s 100 receptions gives him the lead in points-per-catch leagues, even though his 10 touchdowns were 3 fewer than that of Davis’s.

Defense #1: San Francisco 49ers (Final PRK: #1)
Well, playing in the NFC West does have its advantages. The 49ers had the pleasure of taking advantage of the Seahawks and Rams on two occasions, and they beat up on the Arizona Cardinals both times they faced off too. The 49ers held their opponents to single digits in six games this season, and they produced turnovers in all but 4 games this year. Chalk it up to Mike Singletary, but these 49ers made plays on defense despite an offense that wasn’t on the field very long.

Kicker #1: Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers (Final PRK: #1)
It’s funny how the best kicker during the season was the worst kicker during the playoffs, but that’s how it played out. Fortunately, for fantasy football players, Kaeding’s playoff woes didn’t cost them. During the regular season, Kaeding was a kicking machine, scoring in the double-digits on 9 occasions, a very rare feat for a kicker. He also made 3 kicks of 50 yards or more, and 6 kicks of 40 yards or more, giving him the bonus points he needed to capture this year’s title of best fantasy football kicker.

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