Fantasy Football Top 25 by Position

Just finished watching the Saints/Texans.
Foster looked good. He found the endzone twice (including a nice 28 yard score) and managed 47 yards on 5 carries.
Ben Tate also got work with the starters and turned in a really good performance. He ran for speed and power, showing good vision and footwork on his 9 carries for 95 yards. He also added a TD. If Foster were to go down then Tate becomes a strong RB2.

Pierre Thomas drew the start for the Saints and we saw more of him early then we did Ingram. A near 50/50 split wouldn't be a shock. Ingram's clearly getting GL work though, adding his 2nd short TD of the preseason. Ingram's still the better fantasy option, especially in standard formats. Pierre Thomas' past PPR value could be killed by the addition of Sproles.

About to check out the Vikings/Seahawks.

Not much worth reporting on in the Vikings/Seahawks game. McNabb wasn't bad in his limited work but he's still no better than a low end QB2. His best days are way behind him.
Tavaris Jackson looked awful again. Don't even think about drafting him.
Pete Carroll claims he wants to get Leon Washington more involved. Washington had 26 yards on 4 carries and rotated with Forsett after Lynch came out. Right now, Lynch is the only Seahawk back with any fantasy value (and it's probably not much).

Watching the Bills/Broncos right now on my DVR. There was a report yesterday that the starting RB job in Buffalo is CJ Spiller's to lose. Spiller in fact did get the start last night, and looked terrible. He finished with 10 yards on 6 carries. Included in there was a carry for 14 yards, so you can figure out how those other 5 carries worked out. He did catch a couple passes though so has some PPR value. Fred Jackson looked good though managing 34 yards on his 4 carries. He also
I understand the Bills are one of the worst run franchises in the NFL and Chan Gailey shouldn't be a head coach. He is a good offensive mind though and should know better than playing Spiller ahead of Jackson. I wonder if maybe there's pressure from the front office to play Spiller since the team wasted a 1st round pick on him last year.

In Denver, Knowshon Moreno had a nice outing with 49 total yards and a couple receptions. He's a RB to target in PPRs for sure. I'd guess he gets 65% to 70% of the work but definitely not GL work.
McGahee did find the endzone twice but wasn't that impressive overall. One score was on a 13 reception, but during the season we'll usually see Moreno in that situation. The other score was a 1 yard run (which we will see from him this year), but he only managed 6 total yards on 5 carries.
Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't look good. I thought he could be a QB2 with upside but right now looks like nothing more than a low end QB2. Chan Gailey has a history with backup Tyler Thigpen (who looked decent) so I imagine we'll see him some this year.
Tebow got all of 2 passes and didn't enter until late in the 3rd quarter as the clear QB3 in Denver. People are still taking fliers on him late in fantasy drafts and they need to stop. He has ZERO value right now.

The Raiders/49ers game was awful. Campbell left with an apparent concussion but claimed after the game he was okay. I'm sure he's ready to go week 1 but is only a low end QB2.
Gore was good in limited work and McFadden didn't play.
Kendall Hunter could be a name to watch. He managed 105 yards and a score on 9 carries. If Gore goes down injured, then the rookie from Oklahoma State could become a focal point of the offense and would have RB2 value.

Couple more games tonight.
San Diego/Dallas on NBC
Cincinnati/New York Jets

agree with you on Kendall hunter... between Gore being unhappy with not getting a new contract and the staff seemingly not happy with Dixon, hunter could have some impact this season

Saw earlier that he was making trade demands. Hunter should move immediately onto fantasy radars.

Think the staff likes Xavier Oman more than Anthony Dixon right now.

Benson looked pretty ordinary 2nite... that "offensive" line and lack of offensive talent doesn't do him any favors... pretty sure he won't be on any of my teams.

I'm (gulp) really impressed with Felix Jones this offseason.
Just did a big update to my RB Situation Thread and wrote nothing but good things about him. He really has low end RB1 potential in that offense if he stays healthy.

So who is the top RB now?  I am leaning Foster right now, I am not sold on AP staying injury free again, and Minnesota seems to have taken another step back.

The Chris Johnson holdout is seriously starting to worry me too. Adam Schefter is reporting today that he expects it to last into the season. It's gotten to the point where I don't think he can be #1 overall.

The sophmore slump for running backs like Foster is always a concern. Peterson is probably the safest #1 pick. You mention being worried about him staying healthy but the guys been pretty healthy his whole career. Unless a players injury prone then you can't start worrying about or predicting injuries until they actually start happening.

Keep an eye on Ray Rice. He's looking better and better all the time as one of the top couple picks.

Told ya.

Also, I think Foster might be the real deal. He should be safer than AP because. AP has a bigger work load and less help on offense. AP will have a grind of a season. McNabb won't be able to stretch the field enough for AP to get any good looks. They will load up on him.

Basically McNabb's inability to move and stay alive in the pocket will be what retards AP from being a truly elite fantasy back. Could be wrong on this one, but Minnesota will be in a constant grind and that will take its toll on AP.

I've moved Foster back to #1 on my list but think Peterson's actually the safer play. Foster's only done this once. Peterson's been a top 3 fantasy RB 4 straight years.

Reports are that Colts management doubts Peyton Manning will be ready to go week 1.
The team's brought in Kerry Collins as insurance. This would have a negative impact on all Colts fantasy players. Nothing crazy since it shouldn't be any more than a couple games Collins starts at most, but worth dropping guys a spot or 2.

Three preseason games in store for tonight. I'll have fantasy thoughts on all 3 late tonight or tomorrow. Here's a few things I'll be watching.

Carolina-Cincinnati
If Andy Dalton doesn't look any better in the Bengals 3rd preseason game then they seriously have to consider going with Bruce Gradkowski to start the season.
Certainly watching Cam Newton as well. As long as he avoids injury tonight and in the 4th preseason game, then he's the week 1 starter. More importantly though, can he get in a rythm with guys like Steve Smith and Greg Olsen.

Cleveland-Philadelphia
I'll go out on a limb and say that Vick plays a little better against Cleveland D than he did against Pitt D (crazy right lol). Whatever tonights outcome, I think he's still going a little high in most fantasy drafts.
Browns have a number of guys I have late round interest in. Colt McCoy has been fantastic so far in the preseason. We usually see the starters the longest in the 3rd preseason game, so we should see quite a bit of McCoy against that highly publicized Eagles secondary. Also watching Greg Little, who sounds like the real deal, and running back Montario Hardesty. Right now Little's definitely worth a late round flier. Hardesty was on many sleeper lists so we'll see what he can do.
Watch the Browns TE's as well for possible midseason pickups. Ben Watson was a favorite of McCoys last year and Evan Moore reminds many of Jermichael Finley.

Washington-Baltimore
Looks the Redskins will start John Beck but we should see plenty of Rex Grossman as well. Both guys have looked good in the preseason but it sounds like the staff really wants Beck under center week 1.
Ryan Torain's still out which should give Roy Helu the chance to backup Tim Hightower early in the season. Keeping an eye on him tonight.
Like what I saw between Joe Flacco and Lee Evans last week against the Chiefs. A similar performance tonight and Evans becomes a legit WR3.

Thoughts from 8/25 preseason action.

 

Panthers-Bengals:

Can Newton was terrible through the air going 6/19 for 75 yards. He did manage a couple nice runs. One was for an 18 yard score and another for 26 yards on a 3^rd and long. Right now though, you can’t even think about drafting him.

Steve Smith only had 1 catch but Newton threw his way about 8 or 9 times. If Newton ever learns to throw then Smith could become a fantasy factor again. Until then, he’s probably only a WR4.

Andy Dalton had easily his best outing of the preseason, managing to find AJ Green on a nice 40 yard score in the 2^nd quarter. Dalton looked the way of TE Jermaine Gresham numerous times, who finished with 4 grabs for 48 yards. He’s a TE2 with upside.

Cedric Benson was a pleasant surprise finishing with 68 yards and a score. He did rack up 16 carries on 2 drives which is unbelievable. I would guess he gets a very heavy work load, probably even too heavy. Bernard Scott was maybe even better. He also found the endzone and managed 63 yards on only 6 carries. I’d say he’s worth a late flier in all formats.

 

 

Redskins-Ravens:

After a slow start that included a pick 6, Joe Flacco got things going on the Ravens 4^th drive with a 35 yard TD strike to Lee Evans. He also had 2 more catches for another 25 yards. Evans is a quality WR3 this year with WR2 potential. Sad to think what could’ve been if he got with a QB like Flacco earlier in this career.

Anquan Boldin wasn’t to be out done, hauling in 5 balls for 73 yards a score. He’s also a quality WR3 and definitely a WR2 in PPR leagues.

I’m happy to see Ray Rice getting the GL work. He’s a no brainer top 5 pick.

Rookie TE Ed Dickson is another of many TE2s with upside. He caught 3 balls for 57 yards.

Tim Hightower looked good, scoring on a 37 yard run after making a great cut back across the field. If he can hang onto the ball, so far so good, then he should get the bulk of the work.

The Redskins rotated both QBs and both had their moments. John Beck came on late in the 1^st quarter for the Redskins third drive, completing a 33 yard pass to Anthony Armstrong on a nicely thrown ball.  He did throw a 3^rd quarter interception, but was impressive leading the Redskins down the field for a TD the very next drive.
Grossman got the start and was average the opening couple possessions. He returned for the 5^th & 6^th series, leading an impressive 2 minute drive that was capped with a 24 yard TD to Santana Moss.

I think the Redskins staff lean to John Beck, but this QB battle is super close. To the surprise of many, myself included, both of these guys have looked like decent QBs.

 

Browns-Eagles:

I can’t say it enough, Michael Vick is going TOO HIGH in fantasy drafts. While Thursday’s performance was better than what we saw last week against the Steelers, he still stunk. On the first series he was sacked and fumbled it away. The second series he fumbled a Center-QB exchange (fortunate to get it back) and followed that play up by throwing into triple coverage while on the run. Somehow that ball wasn’t picked. He did manage to throw a pick on the 3^rd series, a ball that was just thrown up when Vick was pressured, but was bailed out by a bogus roughing the passer call.

In general, he holds the ball too long thinking he can make every play, forces balls in triple coverage, and overthrows receivers.

Like Donovan McNabb though, Vick will probably rack up tons of junk yards dumping the ball of short. Lesean McCoy finished with 7 receptions for 69 yards. He’s going to be a PPR monster.

After a couple great games to start the preseason, Colt McCoy looked far more ordinary last night. I’m sure some of that was thanks to the highly publicized Eagles secondary, but McCoy didn’t seem to get much help from his guys. Evan Moore dropped what would’ve been about a 25 yarder, and Brian Robiskie was called for offensive pass interference on a 40 yard gain that came on a perfect thrown ball. McCoy is still a low end QB2.

Peyton Hillis was solid again in limited work. It looks like he’ll be a major part of the passing game again. I still have some worries about him, but definitely give him a bump in PPR rankings.

Montario Hardesty was very average in his debut finishing with only 15 yards on 5 carries.

Only 2 games tonight:

Green Bay-Indy

St. Louis-Kansas City

I’ll check these games out and have some fantasy thoughts tomorrow.

This weekend and next weekend are far and away the 2 most popular draft weekends, so GL everyone.

Thank you for the thread......very good read!  

Here’s what I took from last night’s 2 preseason games.

 

Packers-Colts:

Aaron Rodgers looked fantastic and should’ve cemented himself as the #1 QB on all draft boards last night.

It’s looking more and more like an even split between Ryan Grant (7 touches) and James Starks (6 touches). While Starks did only have 1 actual carry compared to Grant’s 6, they played a nearly even number of downs. Grant’s major overvalued in fantasy drafts right now, going consistently in the early to 20s at RB. In comparison, Starks is going in the late 30s at RB and proves major value.

Curtis Painter was average at best. I would expect to see Kerry Collins for around 3 quarters of the 4^th preseason game. Still have a feeling Manning’s ready for week 1 though.

 

Rams-Chiefs:

Despite his 2 TD throws, Sam Bradford was average last night. Being a second year QB he’ll have his ups and downs. I expect more ups though and he’s a quality QB2 with upside.

Liked most of what I saw from Steven Jackson on his 15 carries for 72 yards. If he can find the endzone more this year then he’s a steal in fantasy drafts.

Matt Cassel looked awful again. He’s a very low end QB2 and will have a negative impact on the fantasy value of all Chiefs players.

 

Nine games scheduled for today. I’ll be watching/keeping an eye on most over the next day and should have some thoughts on each.
I have all 3 of my major fantasy drafts coming up next week/weekend and I’m starting to chomp at the bit

Aaron Rogers is the best QB in the NFL right now, but that doesn't necessarily translate to #1 fantasy. Green Bay will roll this year and that could be a problem. The lack of competition in the NFC north might keep his numbers. low, as they will often get up early and let their defense do the rest and run the ball. I've been a loyal to Rogers the last 2 years and he is not the best fantasy QB. Even the superbowl run year he was not a top QB fantasy wise.

Starks definitely has some value. Grant has definitely lost a step and could go down early. Again, the Packers will get up early in games and run the ball so this good be a diamond in the rough with Starks.

I could see Starks and Grant each having 75+ yards per game.

So where do you rank Rodgers at QB then? And who is your #1 QB?

I think Rogers is #1 but... I do agree with slik they may rest him a lot since they should win rather easily in that division and he might "rest" those end of season games we need. 

Also great thread! A must read for me to keep up to date 

I would say Vick, Brady, Rogers, Brees, Rivers in that order.

Vick in a bad outing will score what most QB's do because of his rushing ability. Tom Brady will be tossing the ball quite a bit because the run game isn't so strong, a lot of screen passes too. I like all the targets for Brady too with Hernandez/Gronkowski. And good ole Bellichick never minds running up the score either.

There were quite a few preseason games on Saturday night and here’s a few things that I took from the action.

 

Patriots-Lions:

Matthew Stafford is a stud! He’d been on fire in the Lions first couple preseason games, but last night he was nearly flawless going 12/14 for 200 yards and 2 scores. If he stays healthy then I really think he’ll be rock solid QB1.

One guy Stafford continues to look towards is Nate Burleson who should be shooting up WR rankings. Right now I’d draft him as a WR4 with WR3 upside.

The Detroit TE’s were also heavily involved as Stafford connected with Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Schefter for 3 balls each. Schefter still isn’t worth drafting at this point but Pettigrew has nice PPR value.

Speaking of TE’s, Brady seems to love his as well. While Rob Gronkowski finds himself much higher in most fantasy rankings, it’s Aaron Hernandez who I’ve been far more impressed with this preseason. Last night was no exception as he caught 5 for 46 in the 1^st half. By comparison, Gronk only hauled in 2 balls for 19 yards. Right now, Hernandez appears to be a steal, averaging the 17^th TE taken in mock drafts. Gronk could be a little overrated as TE #10.

 

Jaguars-Bills:

Start as many QBs and WRs as you can against this Jag secondary. Last night, they helped modest QB2 Ryan Fitzpatrick look like a star, as he produced a perfect QB rating in the 1^st half going 11/12 for 165 yards and 2 TDs.

Both Bills RBs were average though. As expected, Fred Jackson got the start, but only managed 33 yards on 9 carries. CJ Spiller did manage his best preseason rushing performance however that was only 21 yards.

Jag offensive players did little worth taking about.

One thing that might be worth note is the 5 passes caught by Mike Thomas. He’s probably a low end WR2 in PPR leagues.

 

49ers-Texans:

Undoubtedly the most important event in this game was Arian Foster tweaking his hamstring. It is the same hammy he’d injured early in camp, and neither he nor Gary Kubiak, seem worried. Right now I don’t have any week 1 concerns for him but this situation is worth keeping an eye on.

Following Alex Smith’s 2/6 for 17 yards and a pick, and Colin Kapernick’s 6/16 for 52 yards and a pick, I’m avoiding all 49ers pass catchers in drafts. So sorry to Vernon Davis, Braylon Edwards, and Michael Crabtree but you’re all off my draft board.

 

Dolphins-Bucs:

I was absolutely thrilled to see Chad Henne hook up Brandon Marshall on a 60 yard TD bomb. If we can get any sort of competence from Henne, then Marshall is a steal at his current draft average as the 16^th WR.

My concerns about LeGarette Blount continue to grow after his 5 carry, 10 yard performance last night. Through 3 preseason games he now has 14 carries for a whooping 29 yards.

He did manage 3 receptions but I think that’s a little bit of fluke since he only had a total of 5 last year.

 

Falcons-Steelers:

We saw an incredible 42 passes in the 1^st half from Matt Ryan, which should be the most obvious sign yet the Falcons will open their offense up this year.
Ten of those passes were to Roddy White (8, 101, 1), while 12 were to Julio Jones (5, 59) who may also become an elite WR this year.

I was already avoiding Michael Turner before this game. Now I want nothing to do with him.

Antonio Brown is officially no longer a sleeper. That’s what happens when Big Ben finds you for 77 and 44 yard TDs. I would guess that Emmanuel Sanders has probably lost his #3 WR job.

Cowboys-Vikings:

I didn’t see much in this one that could have impact on fantasy drafts.

Tony Romo (15/20, 144), Felix Jones (8 touches, 38 yards, 1 TD), and Adrian Peterson (14 carries, 81 yards) were all efficient in limited work.

Bernard’s Berrian’s 49 yard TD was more a product of horrible coverage then a great throw and catch. Do not draft him.

 

Bears-Titans:

Matt Forte had a nice outing, managing 89 total yards and a score. What I really liked seeing though, was that he got the GL work, scoring from the 3 yard line. Marion Barber did leave the game with an injury, but it wasn’t until after Forte’s score.

Jay Cutler’s favorite WR was Earl Bennett, who Cutler targeted 5 times in the 1^st half. Bennett finished the night with 6 catches for 89 yards and could be a low end WR3 in PPR leagues.

With Javon Ringer still injured, it was Jamie Harper that drew the start for Tennessee. He managed a below average 2.7 yards on his 13 carries. If the Chris Johnson hold out extends into the season then Harper will likely get some work along with Ringer.

 

Seahawks-Broncos:

Knowshon Moreno put together a respectable 58 yards on his 11 touches but it was Willis McGahee with the short TD. This is something that Moreno owners will have to deal with all year, making him nothing more than a low end RB2 in standard leagues.

Rookie TE Julian Thomas, along with WRs Eric Decker and Eddie Royal, each finished with 4 receptions. Decker and Royal could be worth late round fliers. Thomas will go undrafted but is another one of these young TEs to watch early in the season.

I have nothing good to say about Seattle’s offense. I’m adding them to my “don’t draft list” with the 49ers.

Tavaris Jackson played into the 4^th quarter and threw for a grand total of 93 yards. Hell, Charlie Whitehurst threw for 53 yards and he didn’t come on until the 6:11 mark of the 4^th quarter.

 

 

 

 

Chargers-Cardinals:

I’m sure Cardinals fans are thrilled to finally see Kevin Kolb throw a TD pass, and of course it would come to Larry Fitzgerald. While Kolb did finish with 200 yards, it came on a pedestrian 11 for 20. He needs to increase his completion percentage for sure.

Beanie Wells played well. He ripped off a nice 24 yard run and finished with 64 yards on his 10 carries.

Much to my surprise, Ryan Matthews was far better than Mike Tolbert. Matthews produced a 6.9 yard average on his 10 carries compared to Tolbert’s 3.7 yard average on 7 carries. Tolbert did get passing down work again though, hauling in 2 balls for 27 yards.

 

 

Couple more games left in our third round of preseason action.
Saints-Raiders tonight and Jets-Giants tomorrow. I’ll post any relevant fantasy thoughts on those.

Very informative as always bstuart... I'm buying into the Jimmy Graham hype, if you can't land a top flight TE, it might be worth it to wait 3 or 4 more rounds and grab Graham. He's crazy athletic and is just going to get better as this is only his 2nd year in the nfl

Really liked the look of him last night as well.

Haven't yet got around to doing any sort of write for that Saints-Raiders game from last night. Probably put a few thoughts together tomorrow from it and the Jets-Giants tonight.