Jene Bramel
Footballguy
DB Tiers
These tiers will obviously change significantly between now and August. But it’s never too early to take a stand and start sorting players into tiers.
I’m going to use this thread to update the defensive line tiers through the summer (they’ll also be translated into my rankings starting in early May after the NFL Draft). Each update will have its own post in the thread, with later posts including a notation for changes from the previous version. I’ll link the post to each version here to keep things (somewhat) organized.
For the purposes of the defensive back tiers, assume a league with 30-40 DB rostered, 20+ starting DB, a balanced scoring system (about 4:1 sack to tackle) and a relatively strong tackle bias.
Discussion is welcome and encouraged.
SPECIAL DB NOTES
My DB strategy (and tiers) is built around the following:
***Plan to hold only the very highest ceiling players on your roster.
***Keep a running list of situations and backup talents that may a high ceiling player.
***Don’t sweat the long, long list of DB2/DB3 guys. Cycle until/unless one of them emerges as a high ceiling player.
***Don’t hesitate to move on from a high ceiling player if there’s good evidence they’ve fallen out of the tier.
The top tier (elite) includes just a handful of players I feel are high ceiling, high floor potentials. I’ll then have a sizable list of guys I’m willing to cycle (DB2 rosterable), with another small handful broken out as the highest upside players of that group (DB1 upside). Finally, I have a list of talents/situations on the backburner (deep developmental only) and I’ll move on those players without waiting for a trend to emerge.
For the purposes of this thread, I’ll also put a longer list of DB2/DB3 guys that I consider just above replacement level, but I think of this group like an electron cloud. There’s an extremely large area that could hold a DB, but the exact number and slot for these DBs will look different whenever you decide to take a snapshot of their position. I’d be waiting for a trend to emerge or a perfect matchup before considering these guys roster holds.
The players in the first three tiers – elite, DB1 upside, every week DB2 upside – are loosely ranked within their tiers. The electron cloud and developmental prospects are not.
I’m also going to break this thread up into S and CB lists, but use the same tiers. Hopefully, that won’t get too confusing.
Post Coaching Changes / Pre Free Agency
Version 1.0 – SF (Post 2)
Post Draft / Pre Camp
Version 2.0 (Post 50)
These tiers will obviously change significantly between now and August. But it’s never too early to take a stand and start sorting players into tiers.
I’m going to use this thread to update the defensive line tiers through the summer (they’ll also be translated into my rankings starting in early May after the NFL Draft). Each update will have its own post in the thread, with later posts including a notation for changes from the previous version. I’ll link the post to each version here to keep things (somewhat) organized.
For the purposes of the defensive back tiers, assume a league with 30-40 DB rostered, 20+ starting DB, a balanced scoring system (about 4:1 sack to tackle) and a relatively strong tackle bias.
Discussion is welcome and encouraged.
SPECIAL DB NOTES
My DB strategy (and tiers) is built around the following:
***Plan to hold only the very highest ceiling players on your roster.
***Keep a running list of situations and backup talents that may a high ceiling player.
***Don’t sweat the long, long list of DB2/DB3 guys. Cycle until/unless one of them emerges as a high ceiling player.
***Don’t hesitate to move on from a high ceiling player if there’s good evidence they’ve fallen out of the tier.
The top tier (elite) includes just a handful of players I feel are high ceiling, high floor potentials. I’ll then have a sizable list of guys I’m willing to cycle (DB2 rosterable), with another small handful broken out as the highest upside players of that group (DB1 upside). Finally, I have a list of talents/situations on the backburner (deep developmental only) and I’ll move on those players without waiting for a trend to emerge.
For the purposes of this thread, I’ll also put a longer list of DB2/DB3 guys that I consider just above replacement level, but I think of this group like an electron cloud. There’s an extremely large area that could hold a DB, but the exact number and slot for these DBs will look different whenever you decide to take a snapshot of their position. I’d be waiting for a trend to emerge or a perfect matchup before considering these guys roster holds.
The players in the first three tiers – elite, DB1 upside, every week DB2 upside – are loosely ranked within their tiers. The electron cloud and developmental prospects are not.
I’m also going to break this thread up into S and CB lists, but use the same tiers. Hopefully, that won’t get too confusing.
Post Coaching Changes / Pre Free Agency
Version 1.0 – SF (Post 2)
Post Draft / Pre Camp
Version 2.0 (Post 50)
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