Fantasy Football Top Tens

By Adam Nelson

There are a lot of must-have players if you want to succeed in your fantasy football league. Everybody has a different list of players that they want. Here’s my top-ten lists at a few key positions:
Quarterbacks

1. Peyton Manning (Colts): 4557 yards and a record 49 TD passes. Another 4000-yard, 30-TD season is very likely this year.
2. Daunte Culpepper (Minn): Led the NFL with 4717 passing yards.
3. Donovan McNabb (Phi): McNabb is the leader of his team, not T.O.
4. Tom Brady (NE): All he does is win. Will finish with around 3500 yards and 25-30 touchdowns.
5. Marc Bulger (Rams): As long as he has Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce to throw to, he’ll put up great stats.
6. Jake Delhomme (Car): Losing “Moose” to the Bears is rough, but getting Steve Smith back will be huge.
7. Michael Vick (Atl): Gotta learn to throw as well as he can run.
8. Ben Roethlisberger (Pitt): Had some rookie mistakes during playoffs, but will bounce back and have a great year.
9. Drew Brees (SD): Threw 24 TD passes against only seven picks.
10. Brett Favre (GB): One of the most exciting players in the NFL to watch.

Honorable Mention- Matt Hasselbeck (Sea): 3000-yard passer who will take advantage of opponents keying on Shaun Alexander.

Running Backs

1. LaDanian Tomlinson (SD): 18 total touchdowns and 53 receptions out of the backfield. A threat to score a touchdown from anywhere on the field.
2. Shaun Alexander (Sea): 1866 total yards and 20 touchdowns. A true workhorse, and an elite running back.
3. Priest Holmes (KC): Will bounce back from injury-riddled 2004 to get 15-20 touchdowns.
4. Willis McGahee (Bills): 13 rushing TD’s in only 11 games as Buffalo’s starter. Just how many TD’s can he score in a 16-game season?
5. Corey Dillon (NE): Amazing how great a fit he was for the Patriots (1635 rush yards and 13 touchdowns), and all he cost the Patriots to sign him was a second-round pick.
6. Domanick Davis (Hou): A former fourth-rounder; 13 TD’s last year and rushed for over 1000 yards.
7. Edgerrin James (Colts): Having problems working out a new deal, but unlike T.O., James will likely get the money he wants.
8. Rudi Johnson (Cin): 1454 yards and 12 TD’s. With Rudi at running back and Chad Johnson catching passes, Cinci has a loaded offense.
9. Jamal Lewis (Bal): Struggled in 2004 after a 2000-yard year in 2003.
10. Tiki Barber (Gia): No longer suffering from fumbilitis.

Honorable Mention- Ahman Green (GB): Only eight touchdowns in 2004 and needs to hang onto the football better (fumbled seven times last season).

Wide Receivers

1. Marvin Harrison (Colts): As reliable as they come: His 15 touchdowns last year marked his sixth straight season with ten or more.
2. Chad Johnson (Cin): Seems to get better every year- 95 catches and nine touchdowns in 2004.
3. Randy Moss (Oak): If he stays controversy-free, the sky’s the limit for him in 2005.
4. Torry Holt (Rams): Tied for NFC lead with 94 catches, and had 10 TD’s. Bulger’s favorite target.
5. Terrell Owens (Phi): As talented as they come, but also as greedy. Seven mill a year should be enough for anyone.
6. Andre Johnson (Hou): Biggest deep-threat in underrated Texan receiving corps.
7. Javon Walker (GB): Unhappy in Green Bay. Can he put his bitter feelings aside to post big numbers again (1382 yds, 12 TD’s)?
8. Hines Ward (Pitt): If Ward continues to sit out, Roethlisberger will have lost his best two receivers, and will be playing catch up all season.
9. Joe Horn (NO): Call on him when you need a touchdown.
10. Derrick Mason (Bal): Will do his best to help Kyle Boller repair his unsuccessful career.

Honorable Mentions- Drew Bennett (Tenn) and Steve Smith (Car): Drew Bennett will go out and prove that 2004 was no fluke (28 catches for 517 yards and eight touchdowns in a three-game span last year). Smith will be avoided by many fantasy football players because he’s recovering from a broken leg sustained last year, but he should have a great season as well.

Tight Ends

1. Antonio Gates (SD): Former college hoop star exploded onto the scene last year, and should be counted on for eight-ten touchdowns again this year.
2. Todd Heap (Bal): Injury-filled 2004 hopefully won’t lead to injury-filled 2005.
3. Tony Gonzalez (KC): Led NFL with 102 catches
4. Alge Crumpler (Atl): One of Vick’s best targets
5. Bubba Franks (GB): The next in a long line of reliable Packer tight ends.
6. Dallas Clark (Colts): Not counted on often in Indy’s loaded offense, but gets the job done when needed.
7. Marcus Pollard (Det): Detroit hasn’t had a good tight end in a while. Pollard should change that.
8. Jason Witten (Dal): Has been as good in Dallas as he was at the University of Tennessee.
9. Eric Johnson (SF): The best player that Alex Smith has to throw to (82 catches last year).
10. Ben Watson (NE): Due for a breakout year. Can he emerge from the vast amount of tight ends that NE has?

Honorable Mention- Randy McMichael (Mia): Having troubles with the law. Will it affect his playing status in 2005?

Kickers

1. Adam Vinatieri (NE): The best clutch kicker in NFL history. Only missed two of 33 attempts last year, and has two Super-Bowl-winning kicks.
2. David Akers (Phi): Made 27 field goals last season.
3. Mike Vanderjagt (Colts): Has been frustrated the past couple seasons with the Colts. Will he be leaving town soon?
4. Jeff Wilkins (Rams): Made 81.5% of his field goals in his career
5. Matt Stover (Bal): Entering his 16th season
6. Jason Elam (Den): 100 or more points in all 12 of his seasons
7. Ryan Longwell (GB): Erratic, but kicks a lot of field goals
8. John Kasay (Car): The last original Panther still has a few good years left.
9. Josh Brown (Sea): New on the scene, but already has a 58-yarder to his credit.
10. Nate Kaeding (SD): Scored 114 points last year as a rookie.

Honorable Mention- Sebastian Janikowski (Oak): In 78 career field goal attempts of 40 yards of less, Janikowski has only missed five times.

Defenses

1. Baltimore: Anchored by Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, this defense simply dominates.
2. New England: Losing Tedy Bruschi will hurt, but no team is better at finding quality substitutes than the Patriots.
3. Pittsburgh: Gave up NFL-low 251 points
4. Carolina: Defense was torn to shreds due to injuries last year, but will bounce back in a big way.
5. Buffalo: Only lost one of their final seven games, and only allowed more than 20 points four times in 2004.
6. Philadelphia: Had 47 sacks last season. Defense led by Jevon Kearse, Lito Sheppard and Brian Dawkins.
7. Washington: Third in NFL in defense.
8. Atlanta: Two of the Falcons were in the top ten of the NFC in sacks
9. Arizona: Allowed less than 190 passing yards a game last year.
10. Dallas: Very young defense that is only getting better.

Honorable Mention- New York Jets: Fifth-best run defense in the NFL in 2004, and fourth in points allowed.