My positional rankings from week 9 onward (1 Viewer)

[travdogg]

So, now that we are on week 9, I'm looking more and more to the home stretch/playoffs, and that has an influence on my rankings. 1-2 week fill-ins are less prioritized, and players temporarily out, are valued closer to their healthy value. With that in mind...

QB:

Tier 1
1. Josh Allen(1)
2. Lamar Jackson(3)

Tier 2
3. Patrick Mahomes(4)

Tier 3
4. Kyler Murray(2)...getting a little worried about his rushing. Hasn't topped 21 yards in a month.

Tier 4
5. Tom Brady(5)
6. Matthew Stafford(8)
7. Jalen Hurts(6)

Tier 5
8. Justin Herbert(7)

Tier 6
9. Dak Prescott(9)
10. Joe Burrow(10)
11. Russell Wilson(NR)...looks likely to be back in week 10, and has a nice schedule to close the season out.
12. Aaron Rodgers(11)
13. Taysom Hill(NR)...Walmart Jalen Hurts, with a better play caller. 

Tier 7
14. Kirk Cousins(12)
15. Derek Carr(13)
Dropped off: Matt Ryan(loss of Ridley) Daniel Jones(rushing production is dropping off, and isn't a good enough passer to overcome that)

 

[travdogg]

RB:

Tier 1
1. Austin Ekeler(2)
2. Christian McCaffrey(7)

Tier 2
3. Dalvin Cook(3)

Tier 3
4. Jonathan Taylor(5)
5. Darrell Henderson(13)
6. Ezekiel Elliott(4)
7. Najee Harris(6)
8. Aaron Jones(9)
9. D'Andre Swift(8)
10. Saquon Barkley(15)

Tier 4
11. Alvin Kamara(10)
12. Joe Mixon(14)
13. Nick Chubb(11)
14. James Robinson(12)

Tier 5
15. Cordarrelle Patterson(17)...11th at WR
16. Kareem Hunt(28)...requires some patience, but could be TD and receiving leader down the stretch for Browns, in extra conservative offense.
17. David Montgomery(29)
18. Leonard Fournette(16)

Tier 6
19. Elijah Mitchell(20)
20. Damien Harris(18)
21. Michael Carter(22)
22. Chase Edmonds(NR)...is back to out-touching Conner, and actually got a TD last week. Looks like the shoulder was the issue.

Tier 7
23. Josh Jacobs(19)
24. Chris Carson(NR)...could be a waste of a roster spot, but could be a solid RB2, worth the risk if he is ok. 
25. Antonio Gibson(21)
26. Clyde Edwards-Helaire(NR)...Darrell Williams was last seen losing work to (not Frank) Gore. Maybe CEH is actually being missed right now.
27. Myles Gaskin(NR)...has at least 15 touches in 2 straight, and a great schedule remaining.
28. Adrian Peterson(NR)...likely gets 1st crack at replacing Henry, tires are almost bald, but he's capable of occasional big plays still.

Tier 8
29. James Conner(26)
30. Melvin Gordon(30)
Dropped out: Derrick Henry(not expecting him back until the NFL playoffs) Khalil Herbert(love the guy, but expecting Montgomery back in a week, and Bears don't seem as likely as I hoped to keep Herbert involved, based on Williams playing over Herbert until he got hurt again) D'Ernest Johnson(wasn't as involved as I expected) Zack Moss(unfortunately isn't putting Singletary away) Tony Pollard(much less involved post bye week) 
 

 

[travdogg]

WR:

Tier 1
1. Tyreek Hill(2)
2. Davante Adams(1)

Tier 2
3. Cooper Kupp(4)
4. Ja'Marr Chase(5)
5. Justin Jefferson(3)
6. Stefon Diggs(6)

Tier 3
7. Deebo Samuel(8)
8. DK Metcalf(17)...fared a lot better with Geno than I expected, is primed for an explosive finish with Wilson coming back.
9. DeAndre Hopkins(9)
10. DJ Moore(10)

Tier 4
11. Mike Williams(11)
12. Diontae Johnson(12)
13. AJ Brown(14)
14. Keenan Allen(13)

Tier 5
15. Hollywood Brown(15)
16. Mike Evans(16)
17. CeeDee Lamb(18)
18. Adam Thielen(24)...has been a lot more 1B than #2 for the Vikings of late.
19. Chris Godwin(20)
20. Amari Cooper(21)
21. Terry McLaurin(19)
22. Tee Higgins(22)
23. Michael Thomas(NR)...seems close to returning and had some chemistry with Hill.

Tier 6
24. Antonio Brown(23)
25. Michael Pittman(34)...my issues were Hilton and targets. Hilton has gotten hurt twice since returning, and a 15 target game gives me a lot less to nitpick about.
26. Robert Woods(25)
27. Tyler Lockett(26)
28. Brandin Cooks(27)

Tier 7
29. Courtland Sutton(29)
30. Chase Claypool(30)
31. Sterling Shepard(39)...clearly Jones favorite target, just needs to stay healthy. 
32. Jaylen Waddle(36)...Parker's return didn't effect Waddle at all, though he didn't do a lot with his 12 targets, its clear Tua loves throwing to him.
33. Jerry Jeudy(31)

Tier 8
34. Christian Kirk(33)
35. Marvin Jones(35)
36. Kadarius Toney(NR)...seems like the definition of boom/bust, more likely to bust than boom, but talent is there. Feels like a guy to target in 2022.

Tier 9
37. Emmanuel Sanders(32)...stranglehold on the #2 job doesn't seem as locked in after goose egg.
38. AJ Green(NR)
39. Cole Beasley(NR)
40. Jakobi Meyers(NR)
Dropped out: Calvin Ridley(maybe I'm being pessimistic, but I'm treating this as a pseudo retirement) DeVonta Smith(its just not happening, not enough volume for more than 1 useful pass catcher, and that's Goedert) Laviska Shenault(probably should be playing a Patterson-like role if they don't want him as a downfield WR) Corey Davis(low volume, low upside, why bother?)  Henry Ruggs(blew right past Watson as leagues least likeable player) 

 

[travdogg]

TE:

Tier 1
1. Travis Kelce(1)

Tier 2
2. Darren Waller(3)
3. Kyle Pitts(2)

Tier 3
4. Mark Andrews(4)
5. George Kittle(8)

Tier 4
6. Mike Gesicki(7)
7. TJ Hockenson(5)
8. Logan Thomas(9)
9. Dallas Goedert(6)

Tier 5
10. Rob Gronkowski(NR)...still worried about his health, but too much upside to fully fade.
11. Dawson Knox(NR)...nobody stepped up in his absence yet, always interested in a part of an elite offense.
12. Dalton Schultz(NR)...Dak loves him, and I'm starting to think Gallup might take a backseat to Schultz, and mostly run clear outs.
13. Noah Fant(10)

Tier 6
14. Tyler Higbee(11)

Tier 7
15. Hunter Henry(12)
Dropped out: Zach Ertz(occasional splash plays, but no higher than #4 target most weeks) Jared Cook(been under 30 yards in all but 2 games) Tyler Conklin(afterthought in the redzone, not enough volume to make up for it)

 

[voiceofunreason]

Looks good. Nitpiks-Ceedee and AJ Brown have to go up. I own Mike Williams and DJ Moore a lot and neither makes me really comfortable. Still think the QB play makes DJ Moore closer to a wr3. I don't know what to make of Mike Williams, guess he's just super boom/bust. 

 

[TheWinz]

Trav,

I love seeing your weekly weekings, but was hoping you could expand on it for clarity.  In particular, can you provide your reasoning why CMC is listed at #2?

- In order to assign him a ranking, I have to assume you have a return week in mind, right?
- If you were the Dalvin Cook (#3) owner, would you trade him straight up right now for CMC (#2)?

Just trying to get inside your head a bit more and see how you are coming up with your rankings.  TIA

 

[jbz]

Lots of faith in a KC bounce back! 

I think AJ Brown should be higher

 

[C-Bound]

No Devante Parker love?

 

[Team Smokin']

No Devante Parker love?

With another "good game" Parker will rise. I just picked him up for free off the FA and starting him this week. Btw.. Parker continues to be a stud year after year once healthy. Tua is playing well enough. I also own Waddle in another league. Both are upside WR 3's. 

Another guy on the rise would be Hunter Renfrow because of sheer targets alone. 

 

[travdogg]

Looks good. Nitpiks-Ceedee and AJ Brown have to go up. I own Mike Williams and DJ Moore a lot and neither makes me really comfortable. Still think the QB play makes DJ Moore closer to a wr3. I don't know what to make of Mike Williams, guess he's just super boom/bust. 

Its tough to move Lamb higher, as there is only so much he can do in that offense when everyone is healthy. AJ Brown is a guy who I will likely move up, but I want to see how he fares without Henry. So much of Brown's production is off of PA, and now that will be less effective. Its possible an increase in volume offsets that, but its kind of in the I wanna see it first category. 

In Williams case, I think he was just the victim of Belichick making him the priority, and taking him away, as so many before him have fallen victim to, and he wasn't healthy for the Ravens game. I can't explain the Raiders game so much, but Herbert missed him open deep a couple times, and it was mostly the Ekeler show that week.

Moore has been a bit of  disappointment of late, and the QB play has been the main culprit. Consider this a vote that CMC returning will make life easier for the entire offense.

Trav,

I love seeing your weekly weekings, but was hoping you could expand on it for clarity.  In particular, can you provide your reasoning why CMC is listed at #2?

- In order to assign him a ranking, I have to assume you have a return week in mind, right?
- If you were the Dalvin Cook (#3) owner, would you trade him straight up right now for CMC (#2)?

Just trying to get inside your head a bit more and see how you are coming up with your rankings.  TIA

There was some talk that CMC was hoping to return to practice this week. Today he was designated to return from IR. Week 10 seems likely. 

The rankings are mostly based on being a decent to good team. Obviously if you are an owner who started 2-6 or something, you'll value guys who aren't back yet less.

I would trade Cook for CMC if I were a playoff team. With Henry out, likely for the season, there is simply nobody that possesses more upside. The only reason he's not #1, is his increasingly troubling lack of durability. 

Lots of faith in a KC bounce back! 

I think AJ Brown should be higher

I think KC gets it figured out. There is too much talent there, and Reid is too good of a HC not to. 

No Devante Parker love?

Not yet. He's the #3 target in a mediocre(at best) passing game. He did outproduce Waddle last week, but I don't see that being the case going forward. If it does remain the case, he'll make the list, but I want to see more first.