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All-Thanksgiving Team '14: Russell, rookie receivers and Rob Lowe

Before we turn our attention to blissfully congruous plates full of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries and stuffing, let's first offer some words of gratitude to those players that have consistently stuffed our fantasy stat sheets this season. Here are the players the Yahoo fantasy staff would like to give thanks to this holiday season:

Who are you most thankful for at QB?

Brandon Funston – RUSSELL WILSON. As a Seahawks fan, the team's Super Bowl hangover has been tough to watch at times. But you have to wonder just how much further this team would fall in the standings without Wilson. Despite a receiving corps that lacks a single true playmaker (especially now that Percy Harvin has been booted), Wilson has delivered top 5 QB returns through the first three months of the season. And he's done it mostly on the ground (644 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs). He's a magician at work behind center, holding this team (and your fantasy team) together with sleight of hand and misdirection despite a severe lack of protection and supporting talent in the passing game.

Andy Behrens– Here's a fun fact from my fantasy portfolio: The combined record of my JAY CUTLER-led teams is 39-21. Bwahahaha. Cutty is where the relationship between fantasy and reality breaks down. He's actually a top-10 QB in the fake game, currently on pace for 4,100 yards and 32 TDs. (Hat tip to Marc Trestman, who's left him on the field to compile stats in a pair of terrible blowout losses.)

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Brad Evans – RYAN TANNEHILL. What will it take for fanatics to fully embrace Tanny? Whether per game average or total points, the signal caller ranks top-10 at his position. Blessed with a friendly rest-of-season schedule (at NYJ, Bal, at NE, Min), he is the singular reason why a number of owners will experience a champagne shower in the near future.

Scott Pianowski – KYLE ORTON. He's been adequate as a quarterback in 2-QB or jumbo flex leagues, but I'm saluting Orton for a different reason. Sammy Watkins was a modest producer during the EJ Manuel days, but he jumped into the WR2 class when Orton got the call. Robert Woods has also had his moments, here and there.

Dalton Del Don – BEN ROETHLISBERGER. He’s on pace to finish with 4,756 passing yards, which would be a career high by nearly 500 yards. Roethlisberger’s two-game stretch in which he threw for 862 yards and posted a 12:0 TD:INT ratio was epic.

Who are you most thankful for at RB?

Brandon – JUSTIN FORSETT. I own just one share of Forsett in my fantasy portfolio, and that share keeps paying dividends week after week. Almost universally undrafted in fantasy leagues, he's delivered at least 6.5 fantasy points in every game this season, and he's the No. 6 overall fantasy back since Week 4 (better than Le'Veon Bell and Marshawn Lynch, among many, many others).

Andy – JEREMY HILL was a mid or late-rounder for me in a few leagues, and he's keeping a couple of 'em afloat lately. The upcoming schedule is inviting (at TB, Pit, at Cle), and he seems to have forced his way into a job-share.

Brad – LE'VEON BELL. When nearly everyone in the fantasy community refused to draft him, Bell remained the object of my affection. His impeccable vision, patience, burst, power and versatility are very Arian Foster-like. With a cake walk schedule remaining (NO, at Cin, at Atl, KC), he will likely be the centerpiece on many championship rosters. 

[Week 13 rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | Tight End | Kicker | DST]

Scott – MATT FORTE. Durable, consistent, and always on the field – what else could you want from a first-round pick? Forte has participated in 90.8 percent of Chicago's offensive snaps, a rate no other running back is close to (Le'Veon Bell is barely over 80, in second place, and then it dips into the 70s). Maybe the Zero RB way of thinking nets you a better batting average in the first round, but if you hit on an early backfield star, you set yourself up for a terrific slugging percentage.

Dalton – EDDIE LACY. He started off slow, but Lacy has really turned it on of late, totaling 552 yards with five touchdowns over the past four games. In a year with down production from the running back position, those who spent a first round pick on Lacy can’t complain.

Who are you most thankful for at WR?

For the greatest catch ever, we thank you, ODB. (USAT)
For the greatest catch ever, we thank you, ODB. (USAT)

Brandon – ROOKIE RECEIVERS. My man-crushes in this '14 rookie class seem endless. With an influx of sudden-impact talent like Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin, Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant, Jordan Matthews, Brandin Cooks and John Brown (all top 40 wideouts in per game fantasy average), you can rest assured that you'll no longer have to hear that tired old "Year 3 WR breakout" theory anymore. I'm already worried about how high a pick I'm going to have to use to assure the rights to Beckham in next year's drafts.

Andy – EMMANUEL SANDERS, easy. EASY. Sanders has already beat the projections of most experts, and he still has five games remaining. Even when he gets concussed, he still manages to give us 100-plus yards and a score. He's reached triple-digit yardage in seven games this season. Sorry, but the Cody Latimer breakout has been delayed indefinitely.

Brad – ANDREW HAWKINS. The Rodney Dangerfield All-Star is on pace for 80 receptions and 1,110 yards. Still, because he's hit pay-dirt only two times in 10 games, visionless owners refuse to roster him. Under 40 percent owned in Yahoo leagues, he is the most disrespected receiver in fantasy. Bottom line: he's the poster child for the PPR cause.

Scott – DEMARYIUS THOMAS. The quiet September, wasn't that cute? Thomas has ripped up the league since Denver's bye, posting a silly 69-1051-8 line through the past eight weeks. He's the best wideout in the game right now, and no one is all that close.

Dalton – JEREMY MACLIN. He didn’t have a top-20 ADP among wide receivers, but Maclin has been the No. 5 fantasy wideout so far this year. The previously injury-prone Maclin has remained healthy and has already posted a career high in receiving yards in a season.

Who are you most thankful for at TE?

Brandon – DELANIE WALKER. I picked up Walker late in a couple leagues, refusing to use even a middle-round pick on the position. In the couple leagues that I landed Zach Ertz with that same strategy, it's been the equivalent of a kick in the crotch. But with Walker, no complaints. He's delivered at least 9.7 fantasy points in five games and in those games that he came in under that mark, more often than not he at least was able to offer up 40-50 yards - certainly an acceptable floor for the TE position.

Andy – I can't claim to have a pet tight end who's tearing up the league, but I do own a few MARTELLUS BENNETT shares. That's worked out just fine (628, 5 TDs). I'll give Bennett full credit for playing through injury, too. A zillion things have gone wrong this season for the Bears, but Bennett isn't one of them.

Brad – DWAYNE ALLEN. An ankle sprain of an unknown variety has sidelined him the past two weeks, but prior to the setback he hitpaydirt in seven of nine games. In other words, he's everything we expected Vernon Davis to be.

Scott – GREG OLSEN. Olsen was a Top 10 tight end in 2012 and 2013, so he was a known commodity before the year. A repeat of the established level would have been fine, but Olsen has actually jumped a tier. He's on pace for career bests in receptions, yards, and YPC, and he might get there in the touchdown column, too.

Dalton – ROB GRONKOWSKI. He’s totaled 403 receiving yards with five touchdowns over the past four games, and despite getting off to a slow start while recovering from knee surgery, he leads all tight ends with 812 yards on the year (the next closest is Greg Olsen with 719). Gronk has returned first round value this season.

Anybody/anything else you want to give thanks to/for this holiday season?

Thankfully, Johnny Manziel was tuned out in '14. (USAT)
Thankfully, Johnny Manziel was tuned out in '14. (USAT)

Brandon – NO JOHNNY MANZIEL (or Tim Tebow). While I'm as interested in the next guy/gal to see how Manziel will do as a fantasy QB, I needed a break from the ridiuculous media frenzy that tends to suck the life out of my NFL TV/Radio/Online experience. To have a year where I wasn't inundated with news of every breath taken by a Tebow or Manziel has been sweet relief. With the battery recharged, I'll be ready to handle 16 weeks of a Johnny Football circus, if it comes to that.

Andy – I'm thankful for the 2013 LSU Tigers, because they've given us a cornicopia of fantasy goodness: Jeremy Hill, Jarvis Landry, Alfred Blue, Odell Beckham Jr., et al. I'm not really sure how that group managed to lose three games with all that offensive talent and a top-25 D, but I'm just glad they all made it safely to the league. Many thanks, Coach Miles.

Brad – ROB LOWE. No matter if it's the creepy, painfully awkward, overly hairy or scrawny-armed version, Lowe's DirecTV spots, regardless how many times they are played every NFL Sunday, repeatedly crack me up. Best line: "My cable's out so I'm at the rec center watching folks swim." For those that live in highly urbanized areas, that, actually, isn't far from the truth. Weird voyeurs are everywhere. Thanks for the laughs, Benjamin Kane.

Scott – I'm thankful for the Internet. I wonder if we take it for granted now and again. If you want football stats or research, Pro-Football Reference is your Disneyland. If you want a conversation (or an argument), Twitter is open, 24 hours a day. Yahoo's here to host your games and score them, and ready with an answer to any and all questions. The snappiest highlights are instantly reviewable in a matter of seconds. We live in a beautiful world.

Dalton – The NFL Sunday Ticket’s “Game Mix” channel. I used to go to sports bars, but it’s hard to beat the comfort of your own home while watching up to eight games at once on the same screen. Nothing beats 10 straight hours of football on Sundays this time of year.