Steelers' Bell reaps MVP accolades

Peyton Manning fell out of the fantasy football MVP race two weeks ago.

Aaron Rodgers turned in his resignation slip last week in Buffalo.

So who does that leave us as this year's winner? To me, it's a four-way battle between Colts QB Andrew Luck, Steelers WR Antonio Brown, Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell and Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray.

It's looking more and more like Murray will give it a go this week, but just how effective he'll be after having surgery on his left hand Monday remains a big question.

But as this is my last column of the year, a winner must be chosen now.

And for my money, this year's MVP is Bell.

Brown (115-1,498-11) certainly had a fantastic season, but Demaryius Thomas and Jordy Nelson are right on his heels for most points at the WR position. Luck has been amazing as well.

Bell, though, ekes out this prestigious award over Murray for two reasons:

1 - If you are in a points-per-reception league, it's no contest: Bell holds a 76-54 edge over Murray in catches.

2 - In the his last four games - two of which have been in most leagues' playoffs - Bell has averaged 207.5 yards from scrimmage (to Murray's 142) and scored 7 TDs (to Murray's 4).

Congratulations to teams who had any of the four worthy candidates as you likely at least qualified for the postseason and are quite likely to be playing for a title this weekend.

Biggest surprise

Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger, DeMarco Murray, Arian Foster and T.Y. Hilton were all names I considered here, but ultimately I think it has to go to Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin.

Coming off major knee surgery, many pundits were hesitant to rank Maclin in the top 20 WRs in the preseason and he was going in the sixth or seventh rounds of most fantasy drafts. Although he's cooled off some, Maclin still enters Week 16 with 78 catches for 1,207 yards and 10 TDs, all career highs with two weeks to add to those gaudy numbers.

A possible top-5 finish among WRs is certainly something nobody saw coming.

Biggest bust

Brandon Marshall, Zac Stacy, Montee Ball and Cam Newton are among the worthy candidates for this category. But the "winner" has to be LeSean McCoy, a top-5 pick in most drafts.

McCoy, who just happened to win last year's Comeback Player of the Year award, is ranked around players like Lamar Miller, Joique Bell, Mark Ingram and Alfred Morris in total fantasy points.

With just 4 TDs and 24 receptions (he averaged 58 catches from 2010-13) McCoy has frustrated his fantasy owners all season and torpedoed most owners hopes from the get-go.

Comeback player

With the 28th pick in our draft in September, I kept staring at one player's name. A player that burned me badly the year before. But a player with such immense talent that I had to take this chance.

And thank God I did.

Houston's Arian Foster - after a miserable, injury-wrecked 2013 - returned to form and was a cornerstone in a historic run by my fantasy team (see more below). Despite missing three games, Foster still has 12 TDs, six 100-yard games and 1,421 yards from scrimmage.

Rob Gronkowski, Randall Cobb and Jeremy Maclin were all certainly worthy candidates, but Foster returned to his pre-injury form in more spectacular fashion than anybody else.

Rookie of the year

The astounding rookie class of receivers this season was led by the Bucs' Mike Evans, the Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. and the Panthers' Kelvin Benjamin.

Beckham deserves the hardware, though, especially when you consider he wasn't even playing until Week 5. Since then, he's the No. 2 fantasy receiver in the land with 71 catches for 972 yards and 9 TDs. That's a 114-yard, 1,555-yard, 14-TD season if you take those numbers over 10 games and adjust for a full season.

My team: My regular, snake-auction league team went 12-1 in the regular season and won the semifinals last week 107-66. The key players this year were Drew Brees, Le'Veon Bell (a keeper), Arian Foster (third-round steal), Jeremy Maclin (sixth round), Jimmy Graham and the Eagles and Rams defenses. The title game should be a tight one as my foe has Tom Brady, LeSean McCoy, Calvin Johnson (facing the Bears), Odell Beckham Jr., Josh Gordon, Kelvin Benjamin and the Seahawks defense.

Good bets

• Lions QB Matthew Stafford and RB Joique Bell at the Bears. Stafford (390 yards, 2 TDs), Tony Romo (205-3) and Drew Brees (375-3) have abused Mel Tucker's defense the last three weeks. Get ready for another explosion of fantasy points on the Lakefront by an opposing team.

• Cowboys QB Tony Romo vs. Indianapolis. The Colts have actually been decent vs. the pass, but it still seems a lock that Romo's good for at least 250 yards and 2 TD passes in what should be a very high-scoring game.

• Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart vs. Cleveland. How can you not love this play with Johnny Manziel still leading a horrific Browns offense? Carolina may have 40 minutes time of possession.

• Bills RB Fred Jackson at Oakland. The Raiders allow the second-most fantasy points to RBs, making Jackson a great flex play.

• Cowboys RB Joseph Randle vs. Indianapolis. My gut says even if DeMarco Murray plays, Randle is a worthy flex option. If Murray's out, Randle vaults into high-end RB2 territory.

• Saints WR Marques Colston vs. Atlanta. Colston's end-of-year hot streak (3 TDs last four) will continue.

• Eagles WR Jordan Matthews at Washington. Matthews' line last time he faced the Skins: 8-59-2.

• Ravens WR Torrey Smith at Houston. Boom-or-bust pick here, but Smith has 8 TDs in the last 11 games.

• Packers defense at Tampa Bay. Once Green Bay puts this away, the points will come rolling in.

Bad bets

• Giants RB Andre Williams at St. Louis. Rashad Jennings figures to sit, but you don't want any part of Williams against a team that hasn't allowed a touchdown in three games.

• Bears RB Matt Forte vs. Detroit. If you're in a title game and you own Forte, you're probably playing him. But I'm not banking on more than 7 points.

• Browns WR Josh Gordon at Carolina. Whoa, Johnny, is this a bad play.

• Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs. Seattle. Injury woes to my WR corps is forcing me to start Fitz, but he's one of the worst plays of the week.

• Texans WR Andre Johnson vs. Baltimore. Johnson, who missed last week with a concussion, has one double-digit fantasy performance all season.

• Broncos TE Julius Thomas at Cincinnati. Tough to trust him yet.

Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh