Archive for the Rankings Category

Fantasy Football: Way Too Early 2013 Rankings

By on December 31, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . | 6 Comments

Time to break out the handy ole Magic 8 Ball...

Time to break out the handy ole Magic 8 Ball…

I realize the season just ended, but I had fun tweeting with a bunch of you last night about what our 2013 fantasy football draft boards might look like and wanted to put some of those thoughts into writing before I moved on to fantasy basketball and fantasy baseball. There’s a LOT that can happen before next September (and coaches are literally getting fired as I type this), but it’s never too early for all of us addicts to start thinking about next year, right!

 

I’ll preface this by saying I haven’t given more than a few hours thought to any of these rankings, but here are some quick lists (overall top 10 and then position-by-position) of where I’d rank guys for next year as of December 31, 2012. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

 

Yup...you're number one, buddy

Yup…you’re number one, buddy

Overall Top 10 for 2013
I could probably interchange anyone from 2-10 and feel fine about it (A lot of this has to do with your QB strategy, but I personally like to wait for better value lower in the draft so I didn’t include Brees/Rodgers/Brady in here)

     

  1. Adrian Peterson – is there any argument?
  2. Doug Martin – tied Arian as the 2nd highest-scoring RB in his rookie season
  3. Arian Foster – I’m a little worried about wear and tear, but he’s safe at 3
  4. C.J. Spiller – Gailey is gone, Fred Jackson might be too…is he top 3 if so?
  5. Calvin Johnson – I hate taking WRs early, but he’s as safe as they come
  6. Alfred Morris - finished 5th among RBs this year. Shanahanigans are the only downside to Alf
  7. Marshawn Lynch - he worries me a bit, but I can’t argue with what he’s done
  8. Ray Rice - still finished 6th amongh RBs. An absolute steal if he drops this far (I’ll probably end up taking him earlier than 8th)
  9. Trent Richardson – might be too high, but he’ll only get better and is Swiss watch consistent
  10. LeSean McCoy – huge unknown with the new coaching staff, but I’ll gladly take him at 10

 

Close, but no cigar: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Stevan Ridley, Jamaal Charles, A.J. Green, Dez Bryant, Brandon Marshall

 

Can Aaron Rodgers re-capture his crown...er...belt?

Can Aaron Rodgers re-capture his crown…er…belt?

Top 10 Quarterbacks for 2013
If you like playing it safe with your first or second round pick…this list is for you.

 

  1. Aaron Rodgers – actually finished tied for 2nd with Brady in 2012, but I’ll take youth at 1 here
  2. Drew Brees – finished as the top fantasy QB in a “down” year. I’ll take him over Brady (and I’m a Pats fan)
  3. Tom Brady – I could argue him at 1-3, but 3 sounds about right for now
  4. Cam Newton – as “bad” as he was this year…he was pretty damn good
  5. Robert Griffin III – if he can stay healthy (big IF), he’s probably top 3
  6. Peyton Manning – have to worry about regression a tad, but he’s easily top 8
  7. Matt Ryan – faded a bit in the middle of season, but still a solid plug-and-play each week
  8. Matthew Stafford – still finished 10th in a down year (so I guess we know his floor)
  9. Andrew Luck – some will say this is too low, but I just can’t justify him any higher than 8th at the most
  10. Eli Manning – he went too high in 2012 drafts, but 10th will be a steal if (when) he bounces back in 2013

 

Close, but no cigar: Tony Romo, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, Josh Freeman

 

Free C.J. Spiller!!!

Free C.J. Spiller!!!

Top 10 Running Backs for 2013
This is basically a re-hash of my top 10 list so scroll up if you want explanations on any of these guys.

 

  1. Adrian Peterson
  2. Doug Martin
  3. Arian Foster
  4. C.J. Spiller
  5. Alfred Morris
  6. Marshawn Lynch
  7. Ray Rice
  8. Trent Richardson
  9. LeSean McCoy
  10. Jamaal Charles

 

Close, but no cigar: Stevan Ridley, Frank Gore, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, DeMarco Murray

 

Everyone else is just playing for second with Calvin Johnson around

Everyone else is just playing for second with Calvin Johnson around

Top 10 Wide Receivers for 2013
This list is probably going to the most fluid over the offseason, but there are plenty of great options at fantasy football’s deepest position for next year.

 

  1. Calvin Johnson – no explanation needed
  2. A.J. Green – I’ll take the youth/stability over the next two guys
  3. Dez Bryant – this is probably too high, but the sky is the limit
  4. Brandon Marshall – neither he nor Dez have “stability”, but I guess I took youth with Dez at three
  5. Demaryius Thomas – Eric Decker is the only reason I don’t have him above Marshall
  6. Andre Johnson – bounced back in a big way in 2012 and he’ll definitely improve on only four TDs
  7. Julio Jones – he’s about as frustrating as they come, but just too good to pass up
  8. Vincent Jackson – one of this year’s biggest steals should continue to produce as Freeman matures
  9. Roddy White – another pain in the ass (see Julio Jones), but still very productive
  10. Michael Crabtree – I could’ve put about 15 guys here, but I’ll take a leap with the Crabman

 

Close, but no cigar: Eric Decker, Victor Cruz, Marques Colston, Wes Welker, Reggie Wayne, Randall Cobb

 

Yo Soy Fiesta!!!

Yo Soy Fiesta!!!

Top 10 Tight Ends for 2013
So much for the “year of the tight end”. This position is the biggest cluster F of them all…and please stop drafting anyone who doesn’t use the phrase “Yo Soy Fiesta” in the first two rounds!

 

  1. Rob Gronkowski – like with RB and WR…number one isn’t even an argument in TE
  2. Jimmy Graham – disappointing year (partly due to injuries), but he still finished 1st among TEs due to Gronk’s injury
  3. Aaron Hernandez – if he stays healthy (a big IF), he could challenge Gronk for number one
  4. Jason Witten – this spot probably belongs to the next guy, but I think Witten will usurp him next year
  5. Tony Gonzalez – assuming he doesn’t retire, he’s easily a top five TE next year
  6. Owen Daniels – relatively unheralded, but the guy just keeps producing
  7. Greg Olsen – unless something changes, he’s basically Cam’s 2nd-best target
  8. Kyle Rudolph – he went missing for a few weeks here and there, but he’s only getting better
  9. Antonio Gates - yup…that’s the sound of me banging my head against the wall
  10. Vernon Davis – that other sound is me banging my head against the wall again

 

Close, but no cigar: Brandon Myers, Dennis Pitta, Heath Miller (top 10 if healthy), Jermaine Gresham, Brent Celek

 

So what do you think? Anyone I missed? Anyone you think I have rated too high? Too low? Let me know what you think in the comments section below…I’m looking forward to debating this for the next 9 months!

 

And if you want even more 2013 analysis, go check out the first round of a mock draft that my buddy David Gonos put together on his website. As has come to be expected from Gonos…it’s great stuff.

 

 

Week 17 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on December 29, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , , .

You're almost there, Sissyphus

You’re almost there, Sissyphus

If you’ve ever wondered why people only do 16 week leagues in fantasy football, my rankings this week shouldn’t leave any doubt. Everything you know (or thought you knew) about the 2012 season goes out the window this week as playoff teams rest starters and non-playoff teams test starters.

 

To be honest, I almost didn’t do rankings this week since they don’t count towards the FantasyPros.com Accuracy Challenge (I finished 32nd out of 87 this year), but I didn’t want to be a chump and leave you guys hanging if you’re in one of those weird 17 week leagues. Putting these together felt like Sissyphus pushing his rock up a hill, but I grit my teeth and got through ranking the Thaddeus Lewises, Terrelle Pryor’s, and Brian Hoyer’s of the world. Blech…  

 

I’ll quit babbling and leave you guys with the final rankings of the 2012 season, but if you’re looking for a Week 17 league to join, come play in a 20-team league I put together on FanDuel!  
 

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

 
 

Week 16 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on December 19, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , .

“If you ain’t first, you’re last!”

If you’re reading this, you’re likely in the finals of your league. Congratu-freaking-lations! But before we start patting ourselves on the back, let’s remember the wise words of Mr. Ricky James Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last!” .

 

For the past few weeks, I put together a few rules to live by in your fantasy playoffs. I hope those have come in handy (and if you’re reading this, I must have done something right to keep you coming back. Now that you’ve gotten to the championship round, it’s time to add a couple rules to some the holdovers from the last few weeks:

 

  1. The time for nostalgia and loyalty is over…your draft was over three months ago. Playoffs are the time to throw name-brands out the window and forget about where you drafted a guy (I’m looking at you, Vernon Davis) and play the hot-hands (I’m looking at you, Dennis Pitta).
  2. Fantasy football is essentially a large puzzle, so make sure you use all the puzzle pieces you can to help make your decisions. Recent performance, carries/targets, matchups, weather, previous games against a team, and rankings are all helpful pieces, but make sure you use them as part of a large picture…not in a vacuum.
  3. Put in extra time this week. You’ve probably gotten this far by doing a lot of research, but this is for all the marbles…you can always do more. Go solicit as many opinions as you can, go read as many columns as you can, and go crunch as many numbers as your brain will allow before it explodes. If you can learn as much about each of the criteria I listed in #2, you’ll be well on your way to winning your matchup.
  4. That said…don’t overthink your start/sit decisions! You very well may be wrong come Monday morning, but as long as you feel good with your decisions using the criteria I outlined in #1-3, you can’t really be mad about anything. If you can look back and say, “I was wrong, but I’d still make that same decision if I had a do-over”, there’s nothing to complain about. No regrets, right? (I’ll stop now before I turn this post into a “No Fear” t-shirt).
  5. This is the time for no-holds-barred fantasy football (ya, I know you’ve been playing that way all along, but this is different). If your opponent has RG3 and hasn’t grabbed Kirk Cousins already…scoop him up! If your opponent is a little weak at RB…go grab every relevant RB you can. I know you’ve probably been ruthless all season, but it’s time to step it up a notch.

 

Alright, enough of that…I think it’s time to get to the rankings. Good luck this week! (note: I’ll be updating these throughout the week, so make sure you keep checking back before kickoff!)
 

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

 
 

Week 15 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on December 12, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , .

Depending on how your league is set up, you’re either one week into your fantasy playoffs or you’re about to enter the Thunderdome for the first time this weekend. Last week, I put together a few rules to live by in your fantasy playoffs and I’m going to post them again since they’re still obviously very relevant (the extra bonus here is that I don’t have to think of anything original to write this week):

 

  1. The time for nostalgia and loyalty is over…your draft was over three months ago. December is the time to throw name-brands out the window (I’m looking at you, Larry Fitzgerald and Ryan Mathews) and play the hot-hands (I’m looking at you, Danario Alexander and maybe even David Wilson).
  2. Fantasy football is essentially a large puzzle, so make sure you use all the puzzle pieces you can to help make your decisions. Recent performance, carries/targets, matchups, weather, previous games against a team, and rankings are all helpful pieces, but make sure you use them as part of a large picture…not in a vacuum.
  3. Don’t overthink your start/sit decisions! You very well may be wrong come Monday morning, but as long as you feel good with your decisions using the criteria I outlined in #2, you can’t really be mad about anything. If you can look back and say, “I was wrong, but I’d still make that same decision if I had a do-over”, there’s nothing to complain about. No regrets, right? (I’ll stop now before I turn this post into a “No Fear” t-shirt).

 

Alright, enough of that…I think it’s time to get to the rankings. Good luck this week! (note: I’ll be updated these throughout the week all the way up until kickoff on Sunday, so keep checking back!)

 

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

 
 

Week 14 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on December 4, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , .

After a long and strange season (don’t worry, I’m not about to break into a high school yearbook quote), we’ve finally reached the fantasy football playoffs — for most of you, at least. As such, here’s a few tips before we get to my Week 14 Rankings:

 

  1. The time for nostalgia and loyalty is over…your draft was over three months ago. December is the time to throw name-brands out the window (I’m looking at you, Larry Fitzgerald and Ryan Mathews) and play the hot-hands (I’m looking at you, Bryce Brown and Cecil Shorts).
  2. This is a very large puzzle, so make sure you use all the puzzle pieces you can to help make your decisions. Recent performance, carries/targets, matchups, weather, previous games against a team, and rankings are all helpful pieces, but make sure you use them as part of a large picture…not in a vacuum.
  3. Don’t overthink your start/sit decisions! You very well may be wrong come Monday morning, but as long as you feel good with your decisions using the criteria I outlined in #2, you can’t really be mad about anything. If you can look back and say, “I was wrong, but I’d still make that same decision if I had a do-over”, there’s nothing to complain about. No regrets, right? (I’ll stop now before I turn this post into a “No Fear” t-shirt).

 

After toeing the line between a high school yearbook and a No Fear t-shirt, I think it’s time to get to the rankings. Good luck this week! (note: I’ll be updating these throughout the week, so keep checking back!)


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Week 13 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on November 28, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings.

 

Trent Richardson has a JUICY matchup in Oakland this week

UPDATED on Sunday, December 2nd

 

I’m going to be out for a bit this morning, so if you don’t hear from me on Twitter, you can contact any of the FantasyTrade411 guys for advice: @JakobMD, @WHUDEY, @SlimCliffy, @jcswigga, @RoJoPal, @KMACChuck

 

And while you’re here…make sure you sign up for the exclusive FantasyTrade411 Freeroll on DraftStreet if you haven’t already!
 

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Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on November 21, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings. | 1 Comment

Who wants some Turducken??

As you have probably noticed, I answer a LOT of questions on Twitter.

 

Unfortunately, it’s gotten to the point where I can’t always get to them all. I apologize ahead of time to those of you who I can’t get back to (it’s nothing personal, I promise), but if you don’t hear back from me, there’s two things you can do. First of all, keep trying. I’m not saying to spam my twitter feed, but if you don’t hear back from me in a few hours, send your question again and I’ll try my best to get to it. Your second line of defense is my weekly rankings. If you have a start/sit question, just check out my rankings – they’re in order for a reason and will more than likely help answer your question on who to start.

 

With the help of a great application on FantasyPros.com, I’ll be giving you guys my weekly fantasy football rankings each and every week (and I’ll be able to update them as the week goes on with a click of a button). The addition of mid-week games this year is making this process a little tougher, but I’ll try to get my rankings up on early each week and will do my best to update them as much as possible as we get closer to the Thursday/Sunday games (disclaimer: I put a bunch of guys currently listed as Questionable lower than they should be, but I’ll move them up later in the week if I hear they’re going to play. Like I said, these rankings will be updated throughout the week, so make sure you keep checking back):

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Week 11 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on November 14, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , , .

 

 

This pains me as a Patriots fan, but I’ll give you one guess as to who my top WR is this week…

As you have probably noticed, I answer a LOT of questions on Twitter.

Unfortunately, it’s gotten to the point where I can’t always get to them all. I apologize ahead of time to those of you who I can’t get back to (it’s nothing personal, I promise), but if you don’t hear back from me, there’s two things you can do. First of all, keep trying. I’m not saying to spam my twitter feed, but if you don’t hear back from me in a few hours, send your question again and I’ll try my best to get to it. Your second line of defense is my weekly rankings. If you have a start/sit question, just check out my rankings – they’re in order for a reason and will more than likely help answer your question on who to start.

 

With the help of a great application on FantasyPros.com, I’ll be giving you guys my weekly fantasy football rankings each and every week (and I’ll be able to update them as the week goes on with a click of a button). The addition of mid-week games this year is making this process a little tougher, but I’ll try to get my rankings up on early each week and will do my best to update them as much as possible as we get closer to the Thursday/Sunday games (disclaimer: I put a bunch of guys currently listed as Questionable lower than they should be, but I’ll move them up later in the week if I hear they’re going to play. Like I said, these rankings will be updated throughout the week, so make sure you keep checking back):

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

 

 

Week 10 Fantasy Football Rankings

By on November 7, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , .

 

New Rule: Any D/ST going against Tickle Me Romeo’s team is automatically #1 in my weekly rankings

UPDATED: Sunday, November 11th

 

As you have probably noticed, I answer a LOT of questions on Twitter. Unfortunately, it’s gotten to the point where I can’t always get to them all. I apologize ahead of time to those of you who I can’t get back to (it’s nothing personal, I promise), but if you don’t hear back from me, there’s two things you can do. First of all, keep trying. I’m not saying to spam my twitter feed, but if you don’t hear back from me in a few hours, send your question again and I’ll try my best to get to it. Your second line of defense is my weekly rankings. If you have a start/sit question, just check out my rankings – they’re in order for a reason and will more than likely help answer your question on who to start.

 

With the help of a great application on FantasyPros.com, I’ll be giving you guys my weekly fantasy football rankings each and every week (and I’ll be able to update them as the week goes on with a click of a button). The addition of mid-week games this year is making this process a little tougher, but I’ll try to get my rankings up on early each week and will do my best to update them as much as possible as we get closer to the Thursday/Sunday games (disclaimer: I put a bunch of guys currently listed as Questionable lower than they should be, but I’ll move them up later in the week if I hear they’re going to play. Like I said, these rankings will be updated throughout the week, so make sure you keep checking back):

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

Week Nine Fantasy Football Rankings

By on November 4, 2012
This entry is filed under Fantasy Football, Rankings and tagged , , .

 

UPDATED AT 1 AM ON SUNDAY MORNING: I’m going to be driving all morning, so I won’t be able to answer any questions before kickoff, but I updated these as well as I could to help make your lineup decisions. There’s a couple in there that I won’t be able to update (Calvin Johnson, Jordy Nelson) but I took the safe route on both and ranked them pretty low. Good luck!

 

Careful, RG3…that move is trademarked!

As you have probably noticed, I answer a LOT of questions on Twitter. Unfortunately, it’s gotten to the point where I can’t always get to them all. I apologize ahead of time to those of you who I can’t get back to (it’s nothing personal, I promise), but if you don’t hear back from me, there’s two things you can do. First of all, keep trying. I’m not saying to spam my twitter feed, but if you don’t hear back from me in a few hours, send your question again and I’ll try my best to get to it. Your second line of defense is my weekly rankings. If you have a start/sit question, just check out my rankings – they’re in order for a reason and will more than likely help answer your question on who to start.

 

With the help of a great application on FantasyPros.com, I’ll be giving you guys my weekly fantasy football rankings each and every week (and I’ll be able to update them as the week goes on with a click of a button). The addition of mid-week games this year is making this process a little tougher, but I’ll try to get my rankings up on early each week and will do my best to update them as much as possible as we get closer to the Thursday/Sunday games (disclaimer: I put a bunch of guys currently listed as Questionable lower than they should be, but I’ll move them up later in the week if I hear they’re going to play. Like I said, these rankings will be updated throughout the week, so make sure you keep checking back):


Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros
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