TE Rankings!

Everyone likes a tight end! I’ve got the top ten for you!

1. Jason Witten- With T.O. gone, Tony Romo can focus on Witten as his top guy. He’s had over 900 yards the last two seasons and it’s not at all a stretch do do so again.

2. Tony Gonzalez- T-Gonz had over 1,000 yards on a sketchy team last year. Now he’s gone to a QB who played well for being a rookie and a team that could use a large red zone target. I’m not saying he’ll get 1,000 yards again, but I don’t think 8 or 9 TDs is out of the question

3. Dallas Clark- With Peyton Manning throwing the ball around, almost all of the guys catching said passes will be valuable. Clark’s been a dependable option for years and this year should be no different.

4. Antonio Gates- Have we ever seen Gates ranked this low? With all of the emerging TEs, Gates moves down the rankings. The Chargers will be running the piss out of the ball but I suspect  Gates will be roughly the same as he is every season.

5. Owen Daniels- His receptions have increased every year he’s been in the league as well as his yards and Y/G. The Texas offense should be better with Steve Slaton developing in his second season. Daniels will get the yards, but AJ and Slaton may take the lion’s share of the TDs.

6. Greg Olsen- Gregory managed to be in the top ten in scoring in 2008 despite the shotty QB situation in Chicago. The Bears added Jay Cutler and still have no viable option in the passing game and Olsen should provide an excellent red zone target.

7. John Carlson- The Seahawks will be spreading the ball around quite a bit in 2009 with the addition of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and a healthy Nate Burleson and possibly healthy Deion Branch. Carlson shined as a rookie and a talented player like that doesn’t go un-noticed.

8. Chris Cooley- Cooley benefits in Washington in the red zone as Santana Moss is a small target. Washington will likely be a run first offense so he may not rack up the yards, but should be a viable fantasy TE anyways.

9. Kellen Winslow- Winslow always seems to be hurt and moved to a team where Byron Leftwich may be the starting QB. Combine his durability with him playing for a new team with possible QB issues and you have him here. He’s got all of the talent in the world, but it’s unlikely he will show that talent.

10. Zach Miller- Miller put up 778 yards on a bad offense last year. His QB and top RB are a year older and Miller could easily rack up 700 yards and a few TDs on the season.

WR Rankings!

Here are the WR rankings for the 2009 season.

1. Larry Fitzgerald- Posted his second consecutive 1,400 yard season and third in the last four years while putting up 10 or more TDs in three of the last four as well. Usually receives 90+ catches per season so should be a good PPR option.

2. Randy Moss- I don’t think I really need to explain much. Healthy Tom Brady + Healthy Randy Moss = Fantasy gold. The only reason I have him here is due to Brady coming off injury. Moss could easily be the number one at season end.

3. Andre Johnson- Johnson is coming off a spectacular 2008 season where he put up 1,575 yards on 115 receptions and 8 TDs. All of this with his main QB injured for part of the season. Like the first two, AJ can move to the top of this list fairly easy and is a sure fire safe bet. Barring injury as always.

4. Calvin Johnson- The dude put up over 1,300 yards with 13 TDs in his second year in the league with poor QB play. He’s still probably going to have poor QB play, but will be a third year guy and you know what they say about third year WRs. As for his ceiling, see the rest of the guys above him.

5. Reggie Wayne- Reggie is about as consistent as they come and with the rest of the guys on this list, you’ll be seeing something that makes them less consistent than Mr. Wayne. Gotta love Peyton Manning’s main guy now that Marvin Harrison is really out of town.

6. Greg Jennings- In Aaron Rodgers’ first full season, Jennings put up over 1,200 yards with 9 TDs. He’s a threat on every play and should see his share of passes come his way. In 2008, he averaged 80 YPG. I’ll take that.

7. Steve Smith- Smith is already hurt but it may not be a big deal for his season debut. I like what Smith is able to do when healthy over the guys behind him. The big concern is his ability to stay healthy, however.

8. Anquan Boldin- Boldin missed four games in 2008 and still put up over 1,000 yards and 11 TDs on 89 receptions. He seems to have decided that he’s not getting anywhere in his contract talks and the trade talks have cooled. I’d be perfectly happy drafting  him here.

9. Roddy White- 2007: Sketchy QB play. 2008: Rookie QB. 2009: QB that put up a good rookie season and still put up solid numbers across the board. Roddy White seems like a sure fire guy to get you around 1,200 yards with 7+ TDs and at this point, I’m happy with that.

10. Marques Colston- It’s hard to think that a WR being thrown to by Drew Brees would be ranked so low. Colston should be putting up 1,200 ish yards and around 10 TDs. He’s another one of those guys that can shoot up the rankings very easily.

RB Rankings! 1-10

1. Adrian Peterson- Yo Adrian! Arguably the most talented player in the NFL, Peterson continues his quest to become a 2,000 yard rusher, joining Barry Sanders and O.J. Simpson among few others. In 2008, Peterson rushed for 1,760 yards, leading the NFL in YPG. Peterson should be the highest scoring running back in standard leagues. Since he does have a large frame for a running back, be aware that he could easily fall victim to more knee and lower body issues. Projection: 1,730 rush yards, 160 reception yards and 15 TDs on the season. Basically the same as last season.

2. Maurice Jones-Drew- While he’s never topped 1,000 yards rushing, Jones-Drew has always been a valuable fantasy option. Over the short (pun intended) career, MJD has been sharing duties with Fred Taylor, who has since left via free agency. Maurice should see over 1,000 yard rushing and near the same amount of reception yards and could account for 15+ TDs this season. Projection: 1,250 yards rushing, 650 reception yards, 18 TDs.

3. Michael Turner- Always shadowed by LaDainian Tomlinson, Turner was finally given his time in the spotlight and quickly made the best of it, rushing for over 200 yards in his first game with the team and again in the last regular season game. Turner received the vast majority of the carries in 2008 with 375 and that causes a bit of an injury concern, but I am confident he’ll remain healthy enough to be the #3 running back on our list. Projection: 1,480 yards rushing, 68 yards receiving and 14 TDs.

4. Steven Jackson- Jackson is quickly becoming the Rich Harden of football. He’s a guy you love when he’s healthy and he’s a guy that breaks your heart usually once a season. Surprisingly, Jackson only missed four games last season and finished with 432 yards rushing in his last four games. Jackson is one of the most talented backs in the league but his biggest problem is durability. If Jackson were completely healthy, he’d be considered for the top spot in the league. But something (track record) tells me that’s kinda unlikely. Projection: 1,390 yards rushing, 350 yards receiving, 12 TDs.

5. Matt Forte- If an all around running back is your forte, then Forte’s your dude. In his first season, Forte exceeded expectations by putting up 1,715 all-purpose yards and scoring 12 TDs. Forte averaged only 3.9 YPC on an offense in need of a QB and the Bears got that in Jay Cutler. The fact that the Bears don’t have too many great receivers for Cutler to throw to, a season mirroring last year seems highly plausible for Forte. Projection: 1,220 yards rushing, 560 yards receiving, 12 TDs.

6. LaDainian Tomlinson- As much as I think LT is done, I have a feeling he’s not quite ready. After being the best RB in the land for years, LT fizzled out with injuries and a 3.8 YPC. Even in a down year, LT put up numbers you wouldn’t see from half of the league. LT’s 3 90+ yard games to finish the season showed he still can be effective. Projection: 1,200 yards rushing, 400 yards receiving, 13 TDs.

7. Clinton Portis- Portis topped 1,400 yards rushing for the fourth time in his career last year, averaging 4.3 YPC. While he’s always been an elite talent at running back when healthy, Portis tends to miss games every now and then or has a nagging injury. He’s been healthy the last two seasons and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it from him again this season. The only reason I have him ranked this low is because of injury concerns. Projection: 1,350 rushing yards, 330 reception yards, 13 TDs.

8. Steve Slaton- Despite being undersized for a running back, Slaton put up a 4.8 YPC average totalling 1,282 yards with 10 total TDs. There’s really nobody else in Houston that can take carries from Slaton and I expect him to be a viable fantasy option this season. Projection: 1,230 rushing yards, 440 receiving yards, 11 TDs.

9. Chris Johnson- In his first full season, Johnson totalled 1,488 yards with 10 scores. The 4.9 YPC ranked 3rd among RBs with over 200 carries. Of the backs that rushed for over 4.5 YPC (with more than 200 carries)  Johnson had the second lowest number of 20+ yard rushes and the fourth lowest 40+ yard rushes. He’s consistently making decent gains and while he has crazy awesome speed, he’s not totally been the HR threat you’d expect. With fatty LenDale White in town, Chris will lose a lot of his carries, but he’ll still remain valuable in fantasy football in 2009. Projection: 1,280 yards rushing, 300 yards receiving, 9 TDs.

10. Brian Westbrook- I’m going against my better judgement here because Westbrook has all of the talent in the world, but he’s one hiccup away from blowing a knee. The Eagles went out and grabbed LeSean McCoy in the draft and seem to like him as the next running back in Philly. Westbrook can be a top five running back when healthy. The key words: ‘when healthy.” He recently had ankle surgery and any position that uses ankles like running back, you’d got to be cautious of. Projection: 970 rushing yards, 500 reception yards and 12 TDs.

QB Rankings!

Well, I’m in a league that is extremely impatient and is already participating in and offline draft and it’s the All Star break so I figured I’d get a bit of football in. Here’s my top 10 QB for yearly leagues (with guys on bye weeks the same time so you know not to take them as a backup.)

1. Drew Brees-Brees has been an elite QB for the past few years and I don’t see him slowing down any time soon. He’s thrown for over 4400 yards the last three season and threw over 5000 last season with 34 TDs and 17 INTs. It also should be noted that at home, Brees put up a QB rating of 115.1, throwing 23 TDs and 5 INTs. His home schedule is as follows: Cincinnati, Miami, Detroit, NY Jets, NY Giants, Atlanta, Carolina, New England, Dallas and Tampa Bay. Kind of a tough schedule, but that leaves a fair amount of easier teams on away games. Houston, Oakland, Philly, Buffalo, Miami, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington, Atlanta and Carolina. It’s not a very easy schedule, but I think Brees is good enough to be a solid fantasy contributor. Other QBs on a BYE: Cutler, Rodgers, Rivers. Luckily, you probably won’t own them if you own Brees.

2. Tom Brady-Last season, the Patriots seemed like sure fire Superbowl participants up until the first game of the season where Tom Brady was eliminated for the  with severe knee damage that required surgery. It’s been almost an entire year and Brady should be back to top form this season. By top form, I don’t mean 50 TDs, I mean 30-36 TDs. If not for the Patriots semi-rough schedule, he could be the top QB this year. Don’t be surprised if he is, I just don’t want to rank a guy coming off major surgery as the top anything. Unless it’s Albert Pujols, then I’d likely rank him top everything. Other QBs on a BYE: Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel, Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich/JoshFreeman/Some random vagrant, Jason Campbell.

3. Peyton Manning- Manning also had a bit of a down year, putting up four less TDs than his previous two seasons with a QB rating at it’s lowest since 2002. Manning lost his go to guy in Marvin Harrison but still has Reggie Wayne and the emerging Anthony Gonzalez. I expect another fairly consistent season with 4000+ yards and roughly 30 TDs from Manning. Other QBs on a BYE: Tony Romo, Chad Pennington, Shaun Hill/Alex Smith.

4. Aaron Rodgers- Last year in his first full season, Rodgers went only one game without passing or rushing for a touchdown and had a QB rating of 93.8 on the season. Expect Rodgers to get more comfortable with his role as well as his receivers in 2009 and possibly put up numbers around those of the previously mentioned field generals. Other QBs on a BYE: Jay Cutler, Drew Brees, P. Rivers.

5. Kurt Warner- Kurt Warner is an old dude, but can still throw the ball and plays for a super pass happy offense. I can see Warner putting up better passing numbers than Rodgers, but being far less mobile and more injury prone. You also have to remember that the Cardinals have a former first round draft pick sitting on the bench in Matt Leinart, although Warner will have to be the guy if this team wants to make it back to the playoffs again. Other WBs on a BYE: Matt Ryan, Jake Delhomme, Donovan McNabb.

6. Tony Romo-Romo lost arguably the most talented receiver in the NFL in Terrell Owens. Luckily for him, Jerry Jones bought very high on another guy to take his place in Roy Williams.Even though Brandon Jacobs doesn’t agree, I think Tony Romo will be a very useful QB for the upcoming season, even with losing his star receiver. You have to remember he’s got one of the better tight ends in the NFL and apparently he favors him strongly. Maybe his ditching of Jessica Simpson will keep him a little less distracted this season. Mark Romo down for 4000+ yards and 26-30 TDs. Other QBs on a BYE: Peyton Manning, Chad Pennington, Shaun Hill/Alex Smith.

7. Phillip Rivers-P. Rivers has all the tools in the world to be a successful QB in the NFL and in his third season as a full time starter, put up 4,000 yards with a 35/15 turnover ratio. If you were to ask me what I expect of Rivers (Although you shouldn’t because I will tell you anyways)  I would say he can get near 4,000 yards, but I’m not counting on another 35 TDs. Should LT remain healthy, he will take away the need to pas the ball as often and add another threat to the field. Other QBs on a BYE: Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees.

8. Donovan McNabb-McNabb has always been one of those dudes that when healthy, can provide you with top five talent. The problem with that is that he’s not always healthy. Last year, McNabb was healthy and provided just mediocre stats. He had a QB rating of 86.4, threw for 3916 yards and had a TD/turnover ratio of 25/16. Now that I think about it, McNabb’s always been about this good but he does have some pretty huge games once in a blue moon. I surely wouldn’t be excited owning him, but I wouldn’t be disappointed. Other QBs on a BYE: Kurt Warner, Matt Ryan, Jake Delhomme.

9. Jay Cutler- Cutler has always played in a run first offense in the NFL, except that offense couldn’t really run. He had decent receivers in 2008 in Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall and now that he’s moved to Chicago, he’s got the man that can really only return kicks in Devin Hester. Luckily, Cutler’s got up and coming tight end Greg Olsen(don’t be surprised if he’s the team’s leading receiver.) You can safely expect Cutler to throw for around 3,800 yards and 25-29 TDs. Cutler also has upside in his mobility and if he can’t find a receiver open, you know he’s going to move. Other QBs on a BYE: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, P. Rivers.

10. Matt Ryan-Atlanta was a run first team last year with Matt Ryan learning and Michael Turner burning (clever, eh?) They went and added a large endzone target in Tony Gonzalez as well. While he only threw for over 300 yards twice last season, he remained fairly decent (considering he was a rookie with no NFL experience) controlling his INTs. If you’re in keeper or dynasty leagues, I think Ryan moves up a ways. But for this season, I’m still not feeling confident enough to rank him above Jay Cutler’s upside and McNabb’s NFL experience. Other QBs on a BYE: Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Donovan McNabb.