Top 2015 Fantasy Football Steals

A yet another exciting and thoroughly unpredictable fantasy football season has officially come to a close and now it's time to reflect on how this year's big winners forged their path to success. If you take a good, hard look at your league champion's roster, you'll more than likely find at least one player who was drafted past the first few rounds that played a major role in that team's championship run. With that in mind, here's a look at the biggest steals of the 2015 season by position.

Note: All of the average draft positions were determined by where these players were drafted in the four leagues I played in. I'm well aware that this is not a flawless system, but it was the best possible metric I could use for this piece as it least provides some form of indication as to where these players were drafted in a majority of leagues.  

Quarterback: Carson Palmer (Cardinals)
Average Draft Position: 140.0 (19th quarterback overall)
Stats: 4,671 YDS, 35 TD, 11 INT
Position Rank: 5th
Honorable Mentions: Eli Manning (Giants), Tom Brady (Patriots), Phillip Rivers (Chargers)


Running Back: Doug Martin (Buccaneers)
Average Draft Position: 71.5 (25th running back overall)
Stats: 1,402 Rushing YDS, 6 TD, 33 REC, 271 Reeving YDS, 1 TD
Position Rank: 4th
Honorable Mentions: Devonta Freeman (Falcons), Jonathan Stewart (Panthers), Danny Woodhead (Chargers)


Wide Receiver: Brandon Marshall (Jets)
Average Draft Position: 59.3 (25th wide receiver overall)
Stats: 109 REC, 1,502 YDS, 14 TD
Position Rank: 5th
Honorable Mentions: Michael Floyd (Cardinals), Eric Decker (Jets), Allen Robinson (Jaguars)


Tight End: Tyler Eifert (Bengals)
Average Draft Position: 112.0 (11th tight end overall)
Stats: 52 REC, 615 YDS, 13 TD
Position Rank: 6th

Honorable Mentions: Delanie Walker (Titans), Jordan Reed (Redskins), Antonio Gates (Chargers)

 Defense: Denver Broncos
Average Draft Position: 146.5 (13th defense overall)
Stats: 52 sacks, 14 INT, 13 FUM REC, 5 TD
Position Rank: 1st
Honorable Mentions: Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals