Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson or Maurice Jones-Drew?

That’s pretty much what we were all wondering at the start of drafts last summer, right? OK, perhaps some threw Ray Rice into that group. Well, none of those four names grace the Fantasy Sports Writers Association ballot for most valuable fantasy player of 2010.

Those candidates are: Patriots QB Tom Brady, Texans RB Arian Foster, Browns RB Peyton Hillis, Lions WR Calvin Johnson, Eagles QB Michael Vick.

Four of those seem no-brainers for inclusion, though I’m quite surprised by Calvin Johnson. The Lions’ No. 1 wideout had a good season, particularly when you consider that he played with three different starting quarterbacks. He didn’t, however, lead the league in receptions, receiving yards or touchdown catches. And unlike Foster, Hillis and Vick, Johnson was a very early pick in probably just about every league.

Roddy White, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Lloyd and arguably a few others look like stronger representatives at wide receiver from here.

The other categories on the FSWA football ballot look like this:

Rookie of the Year (listed in alphabetical order):
Jahvid Best, RB, Lions
LeGarrette Blount, RB, Buccaneers
Sam Bradford, QB, Rams
Chris Ivory, RB, Saints
Mike Williams, WR, Buccaneers

Best Value Pick (new this year):
Arian Foster, RB, Texans
Peyton Hillis, RB, Browns
Brandon Lloyd, WR, Broncos
Darren McFadden, RB, Raiders
Michael Vick, QB, Eagles

Candidates for Best Value Pick had to be drafted outside of the first three rounds of most drafts or generally stand as a waiver pickup. Tennessee running back Chris Johnson won the 2009 fantasy MVP award, and Minnesota wide receiver Percy Harvin took rookie of the year honors.

The FSWA committee that created the ballot comprised NFL.com’s Michael Fabiano (chair), ESPN.com’s Tristan Cockcroft, RotoExperts.com’s Scott Engel, SportsGrumblings.com’s John Georgopoulos and DraftSharks.com’s Lenny Pappano.

FSWA members can vote for the awards by sending an e-mail to president Mike Beacom ([email protected]) by Jan. 7 (this Friday). Members can also vote for the 2010 All-Fantasy Team in that e-mail by selecting the year’s top performing: quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, tight end, kicker, team defense and top individual defensive player.