Will Jay Cutler ever be a QB1 in fantasy football?

You know the feeling. Every year the season of fantasy drafts rolls around and there are those few players who you so badly want to see turn things around, but they never do. You give them a shot, draft them on your team and they completely let you down. Mediocre seasons, unfulfilled expectations and broken dreams. All of the sudden, you’re deciding to play them in spots where they have a great matchup, but that fails as well. So you simply give up on that player and place them on your bench.

With that said, let’s look at five players who need big years in 2015 to remain fantasy relevant moving forward in their careers, as well as their expected fantasy impact.

Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

Cutler is one of the most frustrating quarterbacks in the NFL from a fantasy perspective. Look at his 2014 fantasy numbers alone, just for starters. Using scoring that features six points for every passing touchdown and .04 points for every passing yard, Cutler was mediocre at best. On a per-game average, he sat No. 12 overall among quarterbacks with 20.71 points per game. What makes Cutler even more frustrating is the inconsistent play. He went from scoring an average of 24.42 points per game in his first six games, to an average of 19.45 points in his final six games.

Cutler may not even be the quarterback for the Chicago Bears after 2015 if things don’t drastically improve. He may land somewhere else, but it’ll likely be a far worse situation than the one that he’s in currently for fantasy owners.

Fantasy Impact: How you felt about Cutler in 2014 is probably the exact way you feel about him in 2015. If you want to take the shot on him, have at it. If not, I wouldn’t blame you. He still has plenty of offensive weapons, even without Brandon Marshall, so there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to put up strong fantasy numbers this season. Then again, Cutler has often underwhelmed throughout his career.

Darren McFadden, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Every single season, McFadden is one of those guys who you think is worth “taking a flyer on.” Unfortunately, it almost never pays off. Just last season alone, McFadden ranked No. 51 among running backs, averaging a whopping 6.8 points per game in non-PPR scoring. McFadden simply hasn’t topped 1,000 yards or five touchdowns since 2010, when he rushed for 1,157 yards and seven scores.

He’s shown that he has the ability to make plays at times, but health has been a major concern. With that said, if McFadden proves unable to produce behind the incredible offensive line that the Dallas Cowboys have put together, then that may be all she wrote when it comes to his time as a player you’ll even consider looking at in fantasy.

Fantasy Impact: Want to take a shot on McFadden late? This is the year to do it. He has what you’d call a golden opportunity in front of him in Dallas. Can he take advantage of it though? Well, only time will tell, but I wouldn’t rely on McFadden as a fantasy starter.

Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Patterson was expected to be the next home run hitter in the NFL, but things just didn’t go according to plan in his second NFL season. Now, Patterson heads into year three of his career looking to make a statement after producing just 33 catches for 384 yards and one score last season. What makes the situation with Patterson even more interesting is the fact that the Minnesota Vikings traded for Mike Wallace this offseason.

Will the addition of Wallace help or hurt Patterson in 2015? In all honesty, it probably can’t hurt him all that much. Patterson has the upside, but he needs to get on the same page with Teddy Bridgewater immediately if he wants to turn a corner and live up to the potential that he showed at times during his rookie season.

Fantasy Impact: Patterson is risky. If you want to draft Patterson, don’t overpay for him. He’s going to be a total wild card in 2015 and unless your roster is so stacked at that point in the draft that you can stomach the risk, it may not be worth the headache.

Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Any quarterback can succeed in Chip Kelly’s offense, right? Well, now’s the time for Bradford to make some noise. While he’s obviously struggled with a boatload of injuries throughout his NFL career, he needs to remain healthy and prove that he can be a starting quarterback at the NFL level. Not only has Bradford missed 31 games over his five NFL seasons, but he’s also failed to blow us away when he’s been on the field.

During his last full season in 2012, he completed just 59.5 percent of his passes for 3,702 yards with 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The good news for Bradford is that he was off to a good start in 2013, throwing 14 touchdowns to only four interceptions through seven games before suffering another injury.

Fantasy Impact: The fantasy impact should be that Bradford will excel in Kelly’s system, but I’m not completely sold on it. I do think Bradford is a better quarterback than Mark Sanchez. Bradford will likely be drafted higher than he should be in most 10 or 12-team leagues, making it not worth the risk. If he does fall to a later round and you can get him as a QB2, give him a shot.

Michael Crabtree, WR, Oakland Raiders

I’m not sure what there really is to say when it comes to Crabtree. He’s possibly the most frustrating fantasy wide receiver out there. Over the span of his first four years with the 49ers, he improved each season in terms of receptions and yards, with his best year coming in 2012 when he hauled in 85 balls for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. Since that point? Quite the drop off.

Over the last two seasons, Crabtree missed 11 games in 2013 and then saw his numbers drop to 68 receptions for 698 yards and four scores in 2014, while playing in all 16 games. His move to the Oakland Raiders is worrisome, as they haven’t exactly produced fantasy studs at the receiver position, but he may be just the weapon that Derek Carr needs.

Fantasy Impact: If Crabtree can’t get it rolling this season, he’s probably going to take an even deeper dive in fantasy drafts than he has in recent seasons. This is truly a make-or-break type year for Crabtree, but if Carr is able to take the next step in his young NFL career, he may do well pairing up with Crabtree in 2015.

Jeff Smith is the Director of Fantasy Content for ProFootballSpot.com. Check us out on Twitter or Facebook and join the discussion here