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Well…it’s that time of year again. Grab your magazines, leave the wife in the dust, call your college/work/drinking buddies and let’s get down to the most entertaining 3 hours of fantasy sports each year. The Fantasy Football Draft. |
| Not picking LT number #1? Get your head examined. |
This year the Fantasy Football landscape is blessed with an abundance of quality Running Backs. Your MO should still require that you go RB/RB in rounds 1 & 2 in almost all formats (Aside for Peyton Manning) so let’s start our rankings with a look at the most coveted position in fantasy football.
[NOTE: If you don’t want to read my ramblings…I’ll make it easy on you…see the link of my rankings below]
For a quick background of my ranking system, I look at a players production from the previous season in relation to the other players in the league. I then look at their projected values based on rough projections done by CBS Sportsline. I include a ranking based on injury history and throw in a dash of my personal view on what a player should be ranked. All on a scale of 1 to 10. From this I get an aggregate ranking of up to 40 value points. Enjoy.
RUNNING BACK Rankings – TOP 10
1 – Tomlinson, LaDainian RB SD (39.70)
* LT has been a workhorse. With the emergence of BREES and the Chargers style of play – he continues to be an MVP Fantasy Football player. #1 overall pick every time.
2 – Alexander, Shaun RB SEA (39.30)
* Not a big fan of Alexander overall but you cannot deny his TD totals. Alexander once again was a machine in 2004 finding the end zone 20 times total. You cannot argue that. I like Manning #2 overall but most will tell you that Alexander is the #2 player on the board.
3 – James, Edgerrin RB IND (37.10)
* Ahhh. The most coveted position and the leagues most explosive offense brings us “Edge”. James is Terrell Owens without the audacity. Manning will be chucking all year again, but James is the workhorse. Barring injury – you know what he gives you. That is a nice feeling.
4 – Holmes, Priest RB KC (36.30)
* Injury concerns drop Holmes. Some have him the #1 player overall. Not me. I have this very weird prophetic feeling that Larry Johnson will emerge this season and all because Holmes has another major injury.
Holmes could be a point machine or Wally Pipp.
5 – McGahee, Willis RB BUF (36.20)
* I like this guy this year. Something tells me he’s going to be the #1 Back in the NFL from a carries standpoint. (You’ll notice certain players are highlighted on my rankings – These are guys I think are breakout players this year)
6 – Green, Ahman RB GB (36.10)
* I’ve had Green before. You cannot argue his numbers – but something always bothers me about him. If you have a pick between 7-10 you have to take him, but it’s not ideal.
7 – Davis, Domanick RB HOU (35.80)
* When I crunched all my numbers this one surprised me. It really did. He came up as #7 and I thought about it. He’s a real sleeper. This is the kind of pick you make when you are tired of the Ahman Greens and Corey Dillons of the world and you want to try something new. This could be a big year.
8 – Dillon, Corey RB NE (35.80)
* With Weis in South Bend, you now will see the Pats lean on Dillon more and more. He’s a special back in a special system. He’s not the superstar the top 5 gives you…but well…he’s a producer.
9 – Westbrook, Brian RB PHI (35.70)
* Big time ability. Contract year. McNabb’s goto guy with Owens acting like a whiner. I’m telling you people…as an Eagles season ticket holder…get on board. Buckhalter is finished. Finished. His backup is Ryan Moats, a sweet looking rookie, but not proven. McNabb loves throwing to Westbrook but this will also be his first 1,000+ yards rushing season. Enjoy.
Westbrook leads a vaunted Eagles offense. He is electric and with a full year – will put up huge numbers.
10 – Johnson, Rudi RB CIN (35.50)
* RUDI! RUDI! RUDI! Slap me for the tired cliche. I love the Bengals offense in Fantasy Football this year and Carson Palmer will be a stud. That said – grab the RB who will lead the charge. If he’s there in round 2 – GRAB HIM!!!
QUARTERBACK Rankings – TOP 10
1 Manning, Peyton QB IND (39.9)
* I’m not going to waste our time writing about Peyton. If you don’t know why he’s this high then you need to play Fantasy Hockey.
2 Culpepper, Daunte QB MIN (38.4)
* To be honest, I have concerns about Culpepper throwing to Nate Burleson, Kelly Campbell and Travis Taylor all game all year. He grades out real high on my list but if you can pick two RB’s in rounds 1 and 2 and let some other team take the Culpepper risk real high…please do.
3 McNabb, Donovan QB PHI (37.6)
* I’m way too biased to give an accurate read out on Donovan. Let’s just say if Owens plays his heart out, McNabb may give Peyton a run for his money as the #1 Fantasy QB.
More Eagles? Well my name IS Big Philly…Donovan is a big time player and with Owens and Westbrook plus a healthy LJ Smith…Well, skies the limit.
4 Brady, Tom QB NE (37.4)
* Brady just gets it done. I think you’ll see the Patriots defense step back this year which means more passing for Brady. He’s a great QB but not elite in the Fantasy world…I’d rather see you pick…
5 Collins, Kerry QB OAK (37)
* …Mr.Collins. Little do you guys know that I went to Penn State! Seriously though – man the Raiders are loaded. I see a big year for Kerry. BIG YEAR! I mean the Raiders might not be great but in the AFC WEST and with Randy Moss in town…forget it. Get Collins in round 4/5 and be very happy.
Kerry. Meet Randy. Time to put up big Fantasy Numbers.
6 Favre, Brett QB GB (36.5)
* I am pretty tired of this guy. He’s downright annoying but he still knows how to make big plays. He’s punch drunk and throws too many costly picks – but Javon Walker wants a new deal, right? So big year for him…
7 Brees, Drew QB SD (35.6)
* Tough one with Brees. He had some huge weeks last year – and I think he’ll put up good numbers…not great. If you can get by without picking him – probably a good idea. One year does not a career make.
8 Palmer, Carson QB CIN (35.1)
* BREAKOUT ALERT. BREAKOUT ALERT. Here is your man. If you don’t get COLLINS, get Palmer. This guy will put up huge numbers this year. Trust me. Grab two RBs high – maybe a Torry Holt in round 3 and then pick Palmer in round 4. You’ll win your league without blinking.
Don’t pass up Palmer. He’s about to be a stud Fantasy Football player.
9 Harrington, Joey QB DET (34.4)
* Well. Here’s the guy everyone wants to know about. Will he have a huge season or will Jeff Garcia come in quickly and use all that talent? I’m saying Harrington does very well (Think he went 9/9 in his first preseason game). Barring injury, this guy might be a star in FFL.
10 Delhomme, Jake QB CAR (34.4)
* Why in the world did Delhomme end up this high? Not sure BUT he does have Steve Smith back and some other nice weapons. Rod Gardner, Kerry Colbert etc. You could do worse.
WIDE RECEIVER Rankings – TOP 10
1 Harrison, Marvin WR IND (38.8)
* Big time QB. Big time WR. The only issue I have is that Reggie Wayne was stealing points like Shawn Kemp steals pay checks last year. However 40+ TDs for Manning means multiple people can have big years. Can’t miss with Harrison.
2 Moss, Randy WR OAK (38.1)
* HUGE SEASON. Believe it. He’ll be called upon to run go routes all day and night for the Raiders. Collins will be pumping the ball deep and Moss will enjoy. Hurts that he leaves the dome turf world but he should be fine.
3 Holt, Torry WR STL (37.4)
* People often sleep on Holt during my draft days. Not sure why. The RAMS may be somewhat inconsistent but he’s a big play guy with some huge games in his back pocket. With ISAAC BRUCE going the way of the dinosaur soon, HOLT will be Bulger’s main man for awhile.
Big Play Torry Holt should torch NFC West secondaries yet again.
4 Owens, Terrell WR PHI (37.3)
* Ahhh. Mr.Malconent. Wah Wah Wah. I can’t feed my family on a zillion dollars a year. Shut up and play football. [Note: When he does play he’s downright silly]
5 Johnson, Chad WR CIN (36.7)
* Palmer Breakout = Chad Johnson Monster Year.
6 Walker, Javon WR GB (36.6)
* Walker was a huge fantasy player last year. He’s not happy about his deal and is ready to show the world why. I think you might want to invest in him this year.
7 Wayne, Reggie WR IND (36.1)
* Thief. That should be Wayne’s nickname. He steals more fantasy points from Harrison then you can imagine. It causes the owners of COLTS receivers to have some real quiet weeks but some real huge weeks. He’s a beautiful #2 wideout and a solid #1.
8 Ward, Hines WR PIT (35.4)
* Back in camp after a holdout. He’s also fighting for his $. I like these kind of players. Owens, Walker and Ward all want more money meaning they will play lights out. I don’t, however, think Big Ben is going to have a big year. So caveat emptor.
9 Horn, Joe WR NO (35)
* Fantasy Football mainstay. Pick HORN in round 3 and call him your #1 WR and things could be worse. Brooks is erratic which hurts his value but he’s a damn good player.
10 Williams, Roy WR DET (34.9)
* Roy is on the cusp of being a top 5 on this list. Having to share the ball with Mike Williams and Charles Rogers hurts. I still think he has a monster year.
Roy Williams is a superstar waiting to happen.
TIGHT END Rankings – TOP 10
1 Gonzalez, Tony TE KC (20)
2 Gates, Antonio TE SD (19.9)
3 Witten, Jason TE DAL (18.8)
4 Shockey, Jeremy TE NYG (18.7)
5 Smith, L.J. TE PHI (18.6)
6 Heap, Todd TE BAL (17.5)
7 Crumpler, Alge TE ATL (17.4)
8 Troupe, Ben TE TEN (17.3)
9 Watson, Ben TE NE (17.2)
10 McMichael, Randy TE MIA (16.1)
KICKER Rankings – TOP 10
1 Akers, David K PHI (19.9)
2 Vanderjagt, Mike K IND (19.8)
3 Vinatieri, Adam K NE (19.5)
4 Elam, Jason K DEN (18.7)
5 Janikowski, Sebastian K OAK (18.1)
6 Graham, Shayne K CIN (18)
7 Carney, John K NO (17.2)
8 Longwell, Ryan K GB (17.1)
9 Rackers, Neil K ARI (17.1)
10 Stover, Matt K BAL (17)
D/ST Rankings – TOP 10
1 Ravens, DST DST BAL (19.8)
2 Patriots, DST DST NE (19.2)
3 Bills, DST DST BUF (19)
4 Panthers, DST DST CAR (18.9)
5 Buccaneers, DST DST TB (18.2)
6 Eagles, DST DST PHI (18.1)
7 Steelers, DST DST PIT (18)
8 Falcons, DST DST ATL (17.6)
9 Bears, DST DST CHI (17.4)
10 Jets, DST DST NYJ (16.8)
…So there you have it. Those are the BIG PHILLY annual Fantasy Football draft rankings. Take RB’s early and steal a Carson Palmer or Kerry Collins in round 4/5 and you are on your way.
Enjoy the 2005 NFL Season and Good luck!
[DISCLAIMER: Not responsible for any poor advice]
12 replies on “Sportscolumn.com 2005 Fantasy Football Preview (Rankings)”
um Culpepper is by far better than Manning.
Even without Moss, he is. And his stats will show it.
Why am I writing this? Now someone will steal my pick!!!
What? Culpepper will not do better than Manning did you watch the NFL last year?
he was better… …until Moss went down. It took him a couple of games, but that final game without Moss he threw two TDS and was back to his normal self. He has to learn to play without Moss, which he did. He had 27 TDS thru 9 games, which was one less than Manning. He threw for more yards than Manning and also threw either 37 or 39 TDS (I forget).
And this year, even without Moss, he’ll do better than Manning (statistically). He is a better QB and his stats will prove it.
Plus, he’ll pick up fantasy points running the ball, which Manning won’t do b/c refs will call his fake spikes incomplete.
Of all the arguments I anticipated… …this was the lease likely.
Culpepper lost the best deep threat in the game and a player who drew double and triple teams – yet people think he’ll have MORE SUCCESS with Kelly Campbell, Travis Taylor and Nate Burleyson?
Huh?
Peyton Manning is in a class by himself at QB. Just my two cents.
just wondering where is portis on your running backs list?
i think he is much better than rudi johnson and many others
you must have forgotten
Portis isn’t in the TOP 10 There’s a link to my full rankings in the story. Clinton Portis had a terrible year in comparison to how he played as a Bronco.
He doesn’t deserve to be in the top 10 playing for the awful Redskins and having teams play 9 men in the box because they have zero passing game.
Portis does deserve to be in the top ten. From a football standpoint: Last year was Portis’ best year as a pro. He played for the worst offense in the league and still managed to rush for over 1300 yards, making him the eigth leading rusher in the NFL. He had virtually no blocking and his team was no threat to pass. He had to work for every single yard he gained.
From a fantasy standpoint: The Skins offense can only get better and Joe Gibbs will give Portis as many carries as any other back will get in the league. He also put on more weight to better fit Gibbs’ system, which has been tinkered with since last season to better suite Portis. Portis had a better fantasy season in 2004 than Ahman Green and he will do the same this year.
All good points… …However – he had 5 TD’s rushing and 3 receiving which is not a top 10 back. Yardage is respectable from a top 10 standpoint but not scoring.
The SKINS simply put are not very good and while PORTIS may have a good year – I don’t see him being better thant the top 10 backs I have listed.
Please understand that I owned Portis last season and felt first hand how frustrating he is in Washington.
Could he be top 10? Most definitely.
Portis Portis looked great Friday night and Ahman Green only had 7 TD’s last year.
Portis looked great in a preseason game? Stop the presses.
Ryan Leaf looked great in preseason.
Portis AND the skins stink however, I am very concerned about Ahman Green. I took him with my 12th pick cause he was the best RB on the board but given the fact that Brett Favre will absolutely suck this year (despite Suzy Kolber, Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman simultaneously fellating him), opposing defenses will just tee up on Green.
ya I have him and Driver. Other than that, I have a great team.
I’m considering dropping Aaron Brooks and picking up Kurt Warner……..