1/4 way through the season- top 10 dynasty RBs and WRs (1 Viewer)

[fruity pebbles]

Mine-

RBs

1. Zeke - if he wasn’t such a bonehead he’d be a tier by himself, only guy who’s both young and proven

2. Hunt - have him higher than most but this kid just completes me

3. Gurley - looks like he could be #1 right now but I haven’t complete forgot about his dismal last season

4. Bell- little older than the guys in front of him, only thing dropping him a bit

5. Fournette- almost put him ahead of Bell but just couldn’t yet

6. DJ- I’ll take heat I’m sure for this but he’ll be nearly 27 next time he takes meaningful snaps. Add in the state of flux the Cards will soon be in and I wouldn’t trade any of the guys ranked higher for him.

7. Freeman- good back, great situation. Could see some ranking him higher but he is the last of a tier break for me.

8. Cook- big tier break here, next few guys are close. Even with the ACL I’d take him here and hope he hits no recovery roadblocks

9. Mixon- he makes me nervous, I fear he may be overrated but I see a fantastic run a couple times a game and I say to myself, dudes gonna be huge if he can put it together.

10. Gordon or McCaffrey- we get return yardage and ppr, if you do as well id take Christian here. Otherwise Gordon but damn I think he looks average every time I watch him.

WRs

1. Evans- love the big man, no explanation necessary

2. Odell- prolly have him number 1 based on talent but worse QB situation and gets hurt a fair share

3. Antonio- big tier break here. Would drop him based on age but all the guys I feel comfortable with are nearly as old.

4. Julio- stop getting friggin hurt, dudes a Ferrari. Awesome to drive but always in the shop getting fixed.

5. Hopkins- looks like he finally has a QB, based on my team I might not trade him for 3 or 4.

6. M Thomas- real deal, gonna be an untouchable asset soon

7. Cooper- this is a drop for me but I can’t drop him any further, think he’s a huge buy low right now

8. Tyreek- I play in return yardage leagues so he’s money. He’s money anyways but would drop him a few spots if you dont

9. Green- 30 next season, never gonna get equal value for him again so its ride it til the end.

10. Hilton- Luck needs to get back, great buy low though for the second half of the season

honorable mention- 

Diggs- need to see a little more, plus the Vikes o is gonna be non existent I fear

Cooks- great talent imo, needs a great situation

Keenan- kind of a volume compiler, never been a huge fan

Corey Davis- like the talent, just too much risk ranking him much higher.

 

[Shutout]

I would disagree on David Johnson just because,for RBS, 2, 3, 4 years is an eternity for RBS and many of them change dramatically in a year or two. So, for me, know g what he can do, being 27 means almost nothing to me.  I really like your list but I don't put as much emphasis on the age because while a 23 year old back looks great when he's hot, they can look used up by the time they are 25 or 26.  

 

[fruity pebbles]

I would disagree on David Johnson just because,for RBS, 2, 3, 4 years is an eternity for RBS and many of them change dramatically in a year or two. So, for me, know g what he can do, being 27 means almost nothing to me.  I really like your list but I don't put as much emphasis on the age because while a 23 year old back looks great when he's hot, they can look used up by the time they are 25 or 26.  

Not just age on him. Cards look like a team in transition to me. They look like they could be a dumpster fire in a year or two. Not a huge difference in the top 7 for me. DJ may be 6th but it’s a small gap between him and Hunt.

 

[Shutout]

Not just age on him. Cards look like a team in transition to me. They look like they could be a dumpster fire in a year or two. Not a huge difference in the top 7 for me. DJ may be 6th but it’s a small gap between him and Hunt.

Every team can change in two years.  Look at patriots from last year to now or panthers from their superbowl year to the next: it changes quick.  I just think it's too much stock to put into age or timelines.  DJ is 40-45% of the cards offense...Of course they look worse right now.  

Just hard for me to look at a guy like Hurley, who I really like, and think he is better than DJ.  Just 8 months ago, that would seem silly. But, we are picking nits here.   Lots of great players at the top of the lists 

 

[menobrown]

Not just age on him. Cards look like a team in transition to me. They look like they could be a dumpster fire in a year or two. Not a huge difference in the top 7 for me. DJ may be 6th but it’s a small gap between him and Hunt.

Plus the RB's you have ahead of him are really good and help you know. I'd have put DJ right where you have him, would have had Dalvin over him before his ACL.

 

[msudaisy26]

Disagree with D. Johnson because he was an older rookie, I think he will age better than most backs  and last year was horrible for the Cardinals and he was the offense. 

Disagree with Cooks at receiver. He is a better NFL player than fantasy. He should be near 20, he has been in perfect situations his whole career. 

I would put Freeman closer to the bottom of RB1, things change fast in the NFL and unlike Fournette, Johnson and some others he needs a good situation to succeed. 

Hill needs to be closer to 15 to 20. Most people don't play in return league. 

 

[fruity pebbles]

Disagree with D. Johnson because he was an older rookie, I think he will she better and last year was horrible for the Cardinals and he was the offense. 

Disagree with Cooks at receiver. He is a better NFL player than fantasy. He should be near 20, he has been in perfect situations his whole career. 

I would put Freeman closer to the bottom of RB1, things change fast in the NFL and unlike Fournette, Johnson and some others he needs a good situation to succeed. 

Hill needs to be closer to 15 to 20. Most people don't play in return league. 

Who would you put ahead of Freeman? I said I’d drop Hill some if no return yardage. But these rankings are for my leagues.

 

[msudaisy26]

Who would you put ahead of Freeman? I said I’d drop Hill some if no return yardage. But these rankings are for my leagues.

I would put, Cook, Gordon, CMac, Mixon, all ahead of him. 

 

[voiceofunreason]

Disagree with D. Johnson because he was an older rookie, I think he will age better than most backs  and last year was horrible for the Cardinals and he was the offense. 

Disagree with Cooks at receiver. He is a better NFL player than fantasy. He should be near 20, he has been in perfect situations his whole career. 

I would put Freeman closer to the bottom of RB1, things change fast in the NFL and unlike Fournette, Johnson and some others he needs a good situation to succeed. 

Hill needs to be closer to 15 to 20. Most people don't play in return league. 

So the college touches don't count?

 

[msudaisy26]

So the college touches don't count?

Not the same as NFL, but they do. 

 

[kutta]

I think it's crazy that people are putting Hunt ahead of DJ after only 3 games. Let's see if he can keep this up. DJ had an entire season of amazing production, plus a very impressive rookie season. Anyone trading DJ for Hunt is making a big mistake, IMO.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I think it's crazy that people are putting Hunt ahead of DJ after only 3 games. Let's see if he can keep this up. DJ had an entire season of amazing production, plus a very impressive rookie season. Anyone trading DJ for Hunt is making a big mistake, IMO.

He's also 5 years older and has two relatively significant injuries in barely 1 season's worth of starts and is on a team headed towards a major dumpster fire that he was struggling to run behind in his only action this year.

DJ has his risks too.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

He's also 5 years older and has two relatively significant injuries in barely 1 season's worth of starts and is on a team headed towards a major dumpster fire that he was struggling to run behind in his only action this year.

DJ has his risks too.

I own Johnson in two leagues and Hunt in one (one of the leagues I own Johnson). I don't see how I wouldn't take Hunt for DJ if offered. I'm a contender though so the help this season would be enticing on top of the other factors you list.

 

[Biabreakable]

Nice lists FP thanks for the post.

I agree with some of this but disagree with parts as well. Some of the responses so far address those disagreements.

I think I am closer to Shutouts point of view about RB. Things change fast for these players so I don't factor age into the evaluation as much in regards to them as I would a WR. At the same time you bringing up that David Johnson is already an older RB by the time he can play again is compelling, and him being an older rookie prospect was a factor in how I ranked him at that time (incorrectly in retrospect). I can see both sides of this one. Also agree that the Cardinals replacement for Carson Palmer as well as some aging offensive linemen has to make you wonder what their offense will be like next year and if they do decline how that might affect Johnson.

I have been a Cooper supporter for a long time and I hope he is able to turn things around at some point this season. If he does you will be right that he is a good buy low target right now. That said I think you have him too high, even if he was performing as well as last year, which he clearly isn't. I got to see him play a bit in the most recent game for the first time and I was a bit shocked at how badly he was doing. I wonder if there is something we don't know about him affecting his play? Off field stuff? I don't know but he didn't look like the same player as last year or even as good as he did in college to me. That said last year when Golden Tate was in a funk and I watched him, I had a very similar reaction. Tate ended up turning it around later on in the year after I had given up on him. Maybe the same thing happens with Cooper this year. Just saying he didn't look very good when I watched him on Sunday at all.

 

[fruity pebbles]

Yeah. I knew DJ would be polarizing. I think he has a lot more risk than people realize. Main risk is depreciating value imo. Next season he needs to hit the ground running or he becomes a hard sell. Any hiccup in his production or injury and people start to wonder if the end is near. Young guys can take that drop and maintain their value. 

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Here are mine.  This was a really tough exercise.  I tried really hard to think of it as if I had these guys on my team and was fielding offers for the other guys straight up to prevent consensus thoughts from biasing things.  That was more difficult to do than I would have thought.

I'm generally more reactionary in my dynasty rankings in season as I think people often have a tendency to wait until the offseason to make big moves for players.

1) Hunt - objectively it should probably be Zeke but I said I'd do this as if I were putting my money where my mouth is, and if I received an offer of Zeke for Hunt I would decline it.  Hunt is exactly the kind of RB I always look for, tree trunk legs to run through tacklers without slowing.  I have less worries about him in a non-ideal situation than I do with Zeke just because unscientifically I feel like I see him make something out of nothing more often.  His pass catching ability is also a nice fallback though Zeke is improving there.

2) Zeke - see above

3) Bell - His main risk is Big Ben moving on but TDs were already Bell's weak point anyway.  Have been on the Bell train since day 1.

4) DJ - Loses out to Bell based on availability this season as well as even larger concerns about the team around him.

5) Fournette - Another guy I've been high on for a while.  I would have liked to see a few pop plays by now but he's producing on an abysmal offense and his use in the passing game has answered his biggest questionmark.

6) Cook - Might have had him higher before the injury.  He looks the part to me.  Reminds me of Hunt in that he tests athletically poor but he makes up for it by being elite in other undervalued areas like vision and leg strength.

7) Freeman - I believe in the talent, not just the situation.  Coleman should be moving on in a few years as well.

8) Gurley - Will probably get a lot of flack for this one and it's hard to argue with a solid player getting the volume he does, but he just doesn't impress me as a player that much.  Maybe that's my problem more than his.

9) Mixon - Tricky choice here as I don't feel like I'm as high on him as most.  Very worried about him being another Richardson (stud athlete with lousy vision that makes for a lousy RB), but I like risk in FF and this is a straight upside ranking).

10) Howard - I love his strength and burst.  I think he's a decent buy low candidate.

WR

1) OBJ - Unbelievable body control, ball skills, and agility.

2) Evans - More stable QB situation than OBJ, more stable personality than OBJ, but still falls behind because he hasn't quite hit the top end production that OBJ has.

3) Hopkins - He might actually have a real QB now.  Young with a history of elite production that is back on pace for it again.

4) Cooks - Probably will take a lot of flack for this one but I promised myself I'd rank these as if I were looking at these guys straight up in a trade for one of my teams and I wouldn't trade Cooks straight up for any of the WRs below him here.  Elite body control and ball skills.  He reminds me of a less strong OBJ.  He's been with QBs that like to spread the ball around but I believe in his talent.

5) Diggs - I'm worried that this is just another 4 game illusion like it was the last two years, but the upside here is basically a young Antonio Brown, which is the way he's scoring right now.  Give me the risk, baby.

6) Brown - Always tough to weigh immediate productivity vs age.  Brown is right at that point where a massive value drop is coming so you almost have to be onboard to the end if you hold him beyond this year.  He's also at that age where any kind of injury or slump will depress his value by a factor of 10 over what it would do to a younger player.

7) Thomas - Talent hasn't flashed for me but the production and efficiency is there so it's tough to argue too much.

8) AJG - Stud when healthy, also in that tentative value bridge right behind Brown though.

9) Julio - Honestly I would probably be selling if I had him.  People still have memories of that monster season 2 years ago but that was old crappy Matt Ryan who just force-fed him an insane number of targets.  New elite Matt Ryan reads the field and Julio's target share has suffered immensely since then.  He also has a body type that just worries me in terms of staying productive into his 30's.

10) Hilton - Should pick up where he left off when Luck comes back.

 

[stuckinthemuck]

At this time next year you'll see the following guys in the top ten:

RB

Saquon Barkley

Derrius Guice

WR

Allen Robinson

Corey Coleman

 

[kutta]

At this time next year you'll see the following guys in the top ten:

RB

Saquon Barkley

Derrius Guice

WR

Allen Robinson

Corey Coleman

Barkley I agree with. The other three, not so much.