Fantasy Big Board 1.0
By Dan Viens
The NFL Draft is in the books, rosters and roles are taking shape, and Summer is nearly upon us. Time to turn our focus to Fantasy Football.
Over the next couple of months I’ll be taking a look at positional rankings, rookie impact, sleepers, potential busts, and doing plenty of mock drafts. But it all starts with the Big Board. Here’s my first, very early look at the Top 50.
My criteria at this point was to focus primarily on guys that you can trust. I took very few risks on this list. As we progress through the offseason things will start to take shape and my rankings will reflect that.
What….. no Adrian Peterson?!?!
Case in point. A healthy A.P., motivated to prove to the world that he’s just as good as ever, would obviously rank high on anyone’s list. But no way am I going to assume that a big, physical RB can be 100% less than a year after tearing his ACL…. until we get medical reports otherwise.
One final note: I base my rankings on the PPR format. It’s what I play, and with NFL teams throwing the football more than ever, it seems to be the most common format as we move forward.
- Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore — Best pure fantasy player in the league right now. And he’s trying to get paid too.
- Cam Newton, QB, Carolina
- LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia
- Arian Foster, RB, Houston — If he starts the season healthy, watch out.
- Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay
- Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville
- Ryan Matthews, RB, San Diego — No more Mike Tolbert, Matthews is finally the Man in SD.
- Calvin Johnnson, WR, Detroit
- Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England
- Tom Brady, QB, New England
- Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seattle — Project his last 9 games (after the running game clicked) and Lynch goes 1,447 yds, 14 TD’s.
- Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans
- Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee — IF he’s re-committed to running hard.
- Jimmy Graham, TE, New Orleans
- Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit
- Andre Johnson, WR, Houston
- Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona
- DeMarco Murray, RB, Dallas
- Trent Richardson, RB, Cleveland — This year’s top rookie, no question.
- Roddy White, WR, Atlanta
- A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati
- Victor Cruz, WR, N.Y. Giants — Big play potential seperates him and Nicks.
- Matt Forte, RB, Chicago
- Eli Manning, QB, N.Y. Giants — Could finally be a fantasy force.
- Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta
- Steve Smith, WR, Carolina
- Wes Welker, WR, New England
- Greg Jennings, WR, GB
- Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia — Last year he went #1 in a lot of leagues, but durability makes him a risk.
- Mike Wallace, WR, Pittsburgh
- Hakeem Nicks, WR, N.Y. Giants
- Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland — Major durability concerns, otherwise he’s top 10.
- Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta
- Brandon Marshall, WR, Chicago
- Marques Colston, WR, New Orleans
- Roy Helu, RB, Washington
- Peyton Manning, QB, Denver — The guy who took him in the 6th round in my keeper league last year will be rewarded.
- Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas
- Brandon Lloyd, WR, New England — If that knee holds up, gives Brady his first post-Moss deep threat.
- Tony Romo, QB, Dallas
- Darren Sproles, RB/KR, New Orleans
- Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego
- Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay
- Vincent Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay
- Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore — This year’s Mike Wallace?
- Fred Jackson, RB, Buffalo
- Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh — Commitment to offensive line should keep him upright and healthy.
- Peyton Hillis, RB, Kansas City — One year deal. Motivated. Watch out.
- Matt Schaub, QB, Houston
- Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay — Ultimately I think he becomes the feature back in Greg Schiano’s offense.
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