2014 IDP Season Review: Defensive Backs

With the 2015 NFL Playoffs underway and Super Bowl XLIX just around the corner, it’s time to wrap up our position-by-position look at what went right (and wrong) for IDP owners in 2014.

If you’re playing in an IDP playoff league and searching for player rankings for the Conference Championship Games, look no farther than Fantasy Sharks , where weekly player rankings will carry right through to Glendale, Arizona and the Super Bowl.

Numbers in parentheses denote Final Preseason Ranking/2014 Finish.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Charles Woodson – SS, Oakland Raiders (DB17/DB2)

It’s what become something of an annual event in IDP leagues, many fantasy owners in 2014 threw dirt on Charles Woodson, convinced that a combination of age and the return of Tyvon Branch meant the end of the line for Woodson as an elite fantasy option. Well, Branch got hurt again, once again Woodson stared down Father Time, and once again it was Father Time who blinked.

All Woodson did in 2014 was tally a career-high 112 total tackles, adding a sack and four interceptions en route to his best IDP finish since 2011. However, with the 38-year-old set to hit free agency and the Raiders starting over yet again under new head coach Jack Del Rio, the future Hall of Famer allowed to Levi Damien of SB Nation that 2014 may just have been the end of the line.

“Physically, like I said, I feel good, as a player,” Woodson said. “We gotta see if the team wants ME back. And I think part of it would be what happens with coaching-wise.”

If it was, then Woodson went out in style.

Honorable Mention: Harrison Smith – FS, Minnesota Vikings (DB2/DB1), Morgan Burnett – SS, Green Bay Packers (DB3/DB3)

BUST OF THE YEAR

Kenny Vaccaro – SS, New Orleans Saints (DB6/DB66)

Many people have referred to Vaccaro as a doppleganger of sorts to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, due to their uncanny physical similarity. Well, the pair shares something else as well — both probably wish they could get a mulligan on a wildly disappointing 2014 season.

Entering the season, many IDP pundits expected a breakout second year from Vaccaro thanks to the departure of veteran Roman Harper . Instead, Vaccaro struggled mightily, both from an NFL perspective (Vaccaro graded as the NFL’s third-worst safety in 2014 per Pro Football Focus ) and in IDP leagues.

In fact, by the end of the season defensive corrdinator Rob Ryan was trying to spin the fact that Vaccaro had been demoted to a subpackage role while speaking with Mike Triplett of ESPN . “I think our guys have always been multiple,” Ryan said. “And look, we need to get some juice going on defense. And I think what we’ve done has helped. I think we get guys in some familiar roles, some guys in the roles that they maybe are built for. But at the end of the day we have guys that play multiple positions, and that’s a good thing to do.”

Then Vaccaro was a healthy scratch in Week 17. Spin that, Rob.

(Dis)Honorable Mention: Mark Barron – SS, St.Louis Rams (DB7/DB72), Stevie Brown – SS, New York Giants (DB12/DB173)

STEAL OF THE DRAFT

Antoine Bethea – SS, San Francisco 49ers (DB28/DB8)

With Bethea moving on to San Francisco after eight seasons in Indianapolis, the prevailing wisdom in 2014 was that Bethea’s IDP prospects were set to take a hit. After all, playing behind the best cadre of linebackers in the National Football League does not generally bode well for one’s tackle opportunities.

Unless, of course, all those linebackers are either hurt or suspended.

Now, that wasn’t the only reason Bethea had the season he did in 2014. The 30-year-old played as well as he ever has, with members of the media, including Cam Inman of The Bay Area News Group anointing Bethea the team’s MVP. “He replaced Donte Whitner with aplomb,” Inman wrote, “and nary a penalty. His veteran poise kept together an injury-depleted defense, as well as a young secondary that’s allowed the fifth-fewest passing yards. He has the second-most tackles and interceptions (on the team).”

Granted, Bethea’s 86 total tackles were his lowest number since 2007, but he was able to make up for that drop-off with an uptick in big plays, including his first career touchdowns. Besides, how Bethea made his way back inside the top 10 isn’t nearly as important as the fact he got there.

Honorable Mention: T.J. McDonald – SS, St. Louis Rams (DB26/DB10), Jason McCourty – CB, Tennessee Titans (DB31/DB9)

WAIVER WIRE WONDER OF THE YEAR

Rashad Johnson – FS, Arizona Cardinals (NR/DB4)

Want yet another reason why it’s wise to wait on the defensive back position in IDP drafts? Try this on for size — of the top 12 defensive backs in Fantasy Sharks Default IDP SCoring in 2014, fully half started the year ranked outside the top 50. Half.

That included Johnson, who most IDP pundits (myself included) figured would spend much of the season watching from the sidelines or playing on special teams. Well, it would appear that someone forgot to tell Johnson, and back in October defensive coordinator Todd Bowles told Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona that Johnson didn’t appear ready to give up his spot in the starting lineup any time soon. “It’s still young in the season, but both guys (Johnson and strong safety Tony Jefferson) are smart, both guys are tough, and they’ve filled in admirably.”

In fact, Johnson “filled in” so admirably for Tyrann Mathieu that the sixth-year pro ended the season a 16-game starter for the first time in his career, playing over 1,000 snaps and tallying 92 total tackles and four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Toss in top-five fantasy numbers, and Johnson is just the latest in a long list of defensive backs to rise from obscurity to IDP prominence overnight.

Honorable Mention: Mike Adams – SS, Indianapolis Colts (NR/DB6), Michael Griffin – FS, Tennessee Titans (NR/DB5)

Gary Davenport is the IDP Senior Staff Writer at Fantasy Sharks, an NFL and Fantasy Football Analyst at Bleacher Report, a Contributing Author and Associate Editor at Football Diehards and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America. Gary’s IDP work has been featured in a number of national print publications and on both satellite and terrestrial radio, and he was a finalist for the FSWA Web Article of the Year in 2013.

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