Here are my 2009 fantasy football rankings by position. The underscoring designates a drop off from one tier of players to the next within each respective position.
QuarterbacksBrees
Brady
Rogers
___________
Rivers
P. Manning
McNabb
Romo
___________
Palmer
Cutler
___________
Favre
E. Manning
Roethlisberger
Ryan
Schaub
Pennington
___________
Delhomme
Cassell
Garrard
Hasselbeck
Campbell
Orton
Collins
___________
Quinn
Hill
Bulger
Edwards
Stafford
Leftwich
Flacco
Notes – After the first tier of running backs and wide receivers go off the board, start to look for one of the top tier quarterbacks if you don’t see any value where you are drafting. Getting an Aaron Rodgers in early round 4 would be a steal, but take note that he might not last beyond the late part of round 3. Mark my words, he will have a monster year, so don’t regret reaching a little bit if you need to get him on your roster if you already have one of the top running backs and wide receivers.
Running Backs
Turner
Peterson
_____________
Jones-Drew
D’Angelo Williams
Forte
____________
Slaton
Portis
Chris Johnson
Grant
____________
Barber
Tomlinson
Westbrook
Jacobs
S. Jackson
Gore
____________
Kev. Smith
L. Johnson
T. Jones
R. Brown
McFadden
Lynch
Addai
Rice
____________
L White
Benson
J. Jones
P. Thomas
R. Bush
Parker
Moreno
Hightower
B. Wells
____________
Sproles
F. Jones
Mendenall
Shady McCoy
J. Lewis
Notes – Any of the top two tiers of running backs (the top 5) are must take first round picks. If you cannot get one of the top 5 backs, make sure you get two backs from tiers 3 and 4 as your #1 and #2 running backs, then back them up early with a tier 5 back as your # 3. I love Ryan Grant as an early to mid round sleeper this year. Not only is he in camp and back in shape this year, but Green Bay’s offense should be explosive. I also recommend avoiding older backs like Tomlinson or Westbrook as your #1 running back. Go ahead and take a flyer on either of those guys or one of the more injury prone backs like Gore or S. Jackson as your #2 running back, but don’t pin your hopes for an entire season on one of those older or injury prone players when you could be getting guaranteed points from a much safer pick in the first or second round of your draft.
Wide Receivers
Fitzgerald
Calvin Johnson
R. Moss
_____________
A. Johnson
Jennings
Boldin
R. White
S. Smith (Carolina)
_____________
Owens
Wayne
B. Edwards
Marshall
_____________
Welker
Bowe
Colston
Driver
V. Jackson
Lee Evans
Roy Williams
Chad Johnson
T. Gonzalez
Houshmandzadeh
Bryant
H. Ward
S. Holmes
Berrian
Witten
Gates
Royal
D. Clark
S. Moss
Chris Henry
____________
De. Jackson
L. Moore
Earl Bennett
Walters
Mason
Coles
Ginn
Holt
Britt
Nicks
Hixon
Notes – You almost have to grab one of the top receivers in rounds 1 or 2 given the drop off after the top 5 running backs, especially since I am advocating taking two of the top wide receivers interchangeably with your top 2 running backs (unlike past years where it was almost a must to use your top two or even three picks at the running back position). Calvin Johnson could be the best wide receiver in the game right now…don’t be afraid to take him in the first round if the top five running backs and Fitzgerald are gone. “Megatron” was the # 2 wide receiver in conventional fantasy leagues last year without a decent quarterback throwing to him, and while Stafford is raw, but he has already proven himself better than an “in-shape” Daunte Culpepper. The quarterback position in Detroit cannot be any worse than it was last year, and Johnson still had a monster year. Greg Jennings is not exactly a “sexy” pick, but he is a legitimate #1 wide receiver. He will put up big time numbers this year. Likewise, Anquan Boldin gets over-shadowed by teammate Larry Fitzgerald, but Boldin was actually the better fantasy player last season until he fractured his face, after which he miraculously returned two weeks later and continued to put up big numbers. Donald Driver is another sleeper in Green Bay’s high octane offense this season. If you can, grab him as your #3 receiver.
Tight EndGonzalez
Witten
Gates
Clark
____________
Daniels
____________
Schianco
Carlson
Cooley
Fasano
Olsen
J. Finley
Scheffler
Pettigrew
Shockey
Keller
Winslow
V. Davis
Notes – For the first time ever in fantasy football the tight end position is deep. Ideally, you want to grab any of the four tier 1 tight ends. If a tight end run starts before the pick comes back to you, Owen Daniels is the last solid pick before everyone else becomes interchangeable. If you are forced to pick a tight end rated lower than Daniels, make sure you take two in order to play weekly match-ups. Vincente Schianco and Jeremicheal Finley are my two sleepers. Schianco is already a big time red zone target, which should be appealing to Brett Favre given his reliance on TE’s in the past. Finley is a second year TE with a WR body for Green Bay. Look for him to put up 700 yards and 6-7 TD’s this season.
DefenseBaltimore
Pitt
____________
Philly
NY Giants
____________
San Diego
Tenn
Green Bay
Notes – I’m not a big believer in drafting Defenses early, but if you see a huge talent drop off at the skilled positions around rounds 7 or 8 and can grab either Baltimore or Pittsburgh, do it. In one of my leagues Baltimore’s defense put up numbers comparable with Steven Jackson last season, while defenses rated slightly lower were on par with back up running backs who split carries. That is a fairly substantial drop off. Picking up a top defense early will give you two to three points a game against your weekly competition, while spending a 7th or 8th round pick on a marginal backup running back only takes up space on your bench. San Diego could step into the top tier this year if Merriman recovers from his knee injury, while Green Bay is my sleeper even though they are transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4 base given their quality starters and Dom Capers ability to create turnovers.
KickersGostkowski
Akers
Kasay
Elam
Bironas
Crosby
Kaeding
Longwell
K. Brown
Lindell
Stover
Nedney
Vinatieri
Notes – Kickers are a dime a dozen. Don’t waste a pick on one until your very last few picks. Over the years being a leading kicker from the preceding season has had little correlation with how one will score in terms of fantasy points the next. Likewise, if you search the waiver wire around week four or five, you will almost certainly be able to pick up a leading kicker who is on track to become a top five player at that position through the end of the year.
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