Deranged Hermit
Not cool & Pissed
Alright, boring day at work means DH is thinking about his fantasy teams. We did this last year and it was well recieved, so let's give it another shot.
Since pretty much all my leagues are PPR, my rankings will reflect that. I'll do QB and WR eventually, but here's the important one: RBs. Note this is not necessarily where I would draft them, but how I think things will fall by season's end. Obviously you'd be a fool to draft Matthews at 6, when he could be had several picks later (according to a few mocks I've seen). If you have 1.6, trade back a few picks and pick up Matthews there.
1. Chris Johnson
With the contract issues settled, I see little reason not to grab him at number one.
2. Maurice Jones-Drew
Next to no competition for carries, MoJo will be leaned on heavily by the Jags again this year. Will also catch a ton of balls.
3. Adrian Peterson
Yes, he is a stud, but there is something that really bothers me about him this year. It could be the fumbles, it could be Favre wanting to chuck the ball a million times a game, it could be facing tough Defenses weeks 14-16 (I expect NYG, CHI and PHI to be closer to what they were two years ago as opposed to what they were last year). I digress though, the guy has no competition for carries and could easily be argued to be taken at 1 so not a bad deal at 3.
4. Frank Gore
Again, little competition for carries, that seems to be the staple of the top tier so far. Singletary wants to run the ball and has the horse to do so. He has a sweet schedule to do it too.
5. Ray Rice
The fact that Rice is at 5 shows how good I think the top 4 are. No slight to Rice, I just think he has a tougher schedule. That playoff schedule is pretty nice though.
*Note, I see a huge drop-off here*
6. Ryan Matthews
Some years I become enamored with a certain rookie and maybe over value him. That might be the case here but, as I've stated nymerous times, there's no real competition for him on a team who loves to run the ball. Plus, with Jackson suspended and a likely holdout, he could see many a dump-off pass thrown his way this year.
7. Steven Jackson
I see a whole bunch of red flags about this pick, but the talent and opprotunity are too big to ignore. When he plays, he's a PPG beast.
9. Michael Turner
I would draft him in a second over some of the WR I've seen drafted ahead of him in the various leagues I've drafted already. The man is a yardage and TD machine and should be totally recovered from his knee injury from two years ago.
9. Jamaal Charles
Huge limb I'm going out on here, but I really liked what I saw from him last year. Huge red flag though, week 14 and 16 he has SD and TEN so you don't have the cup cake playoff teams he had last year. Having TJ there does concern me a bit, but I really think they want to build aroud the young guy. Incedentally, this is where I would take a WR over a RB were I faced with this in the 1st round of a draft.
10. DeAngelo Williams
Like Turner, he doesn't catch a lot of balls, but, unlike Turner, he has stiff competition for carries. I don't think Stewart overtakes him this year, but I don't like what I see after that.
*Note, I see a drop in talent here, but not as significant as between picks 5 and 6*
11. Pierre Thomas
This guy gets no respect because he plays with the constantly over-rated Reggie Bush. I think he can return to his TD total from two years ago barring significant injury. Makes a decent RB1, a great RB2.
12. Knowshon Moreno
He wasn't the stud I expected him to be last year, but you know what, 1200 total yards and 9 TDs ain't bad for a rookie. With no competition for carries, I see him building on that this year.
13. Rashard Mendenhall
Many have him much higher, but I see PIT having a lot of offensive problems this year. I wouldn't mind him being my RB2, but I wouldn't draft him as high as I've seen him go lately.
14. Beanie Wells
Like Mendenhall, I like his opportunity, but hate the situation. I think they have a LOT of problems at QB and I think that will cause a lot of problems for the offense as a whole. I know this is blasphemy to say, but I'm even down of Fitz this year.
15. Ryan Grant
Another guy who gets little respect, Grant has quietly been a more than solid RB2 two years in a row. GB has a high octane offense and that should lead to many scoring chances for Grant.
16. Shonne Greene
This is a guy who I really don't know where to put. I know there are a lot of Greene Kool-Aid drinkers out there, but the guy doesn't catch a lot of balls and will probably be replaced on passing downs by someone who DOES catch a lot of balls: LT2. I also can see him getting dinged up since he likes to just put his head down and punish the defender.
*note, yet another tier drop here*
17. Cedric Benson
This makes me as a Bears fan cry, but he does belong here. I don't see a better season than what he did last year, but I could see it being at least close. The off-field issues drop him a bit for me.
18. Jon Stewart
Easily could sky rocket if anything happens to DeAngelo. Like I said earlier, I don't see this year as his breakout year, but he'll be top 10 next year.
19. Joe Addai
Pretty much everyone in the Indy offense scores, and I don't see Addai as being the aberration. I also wasn't impressed with Donald Brown last year.
20. LeSean McCoy
I was torn here with McCoy and Felix Jones, but McCoy doesn't have a RB the caliber of Barber taking touches away, so he gets the nod.
Players just missing the cut: Felix Jones, Ronnie Brown and Jahvid Best
Since pretty much all my leagues are PPR, my rankings will reflect that. I'll do QB and WR eventually, but here's the important one: RBs. Note this is not necessarily where I would draft them, but how I think things will fall by season's end. Obviously you'd be a fool to draft Matthews at 6, when he could be had several picks later (according to a few mocks I've seen). If you have 1.6, trade back a few picks and pick up Matthews there.
1. Chris Johnson
With the contract issues settled, I see little reason not to grab him at number one.
2. Maurice Jones-Drew
Next to no competition for carries, MoJo will be leaned on heavily by the Jags again this year. Will also catch a ton of balls.
3. Adrian Peterson
Yes, he is a stud, but there is something that really bothers me about him this year. It could be the fumbles, it could be Favre wanting to chuck the ball a million times a game, it could be facing tough Defenses weeks 14-16 (I expect NYG, CHI and PHI to be closer to what they were two years ago as opposed to what they were last year). I digress though, the guy has no competition for carries and could easily be argued to be taken at 1 so not a bad deal at 3.
4. Frank Gore
Again, little competition for carries, that seems to be the staple of the top tier so far. Singletary wants to run the ball and has the horse to do so. He has a sweet schedule to do it too.
5. Ray Rice
The fact that Rice is at 5 shows how good I think the top 4 are. No slight to Rice, I just think he has a tougher schedule. That playoff schedule is pretty nice though.
*Note, I see a huge drop-off here*
6. Ryan Matthews
Some years I become enamored with a certain rookie and maybe over value him. That might be the case here but, as I've stated nymerous times, there's no real competition for him on a team who loves to run the ball. Plus, with Jackson suspended and a likely holdout, he could see many a dump-off pass thrown his way this year.
7. Steven Jackson
I see a whole bunch of red flags about this pick, but the talent and opprotunity are too big to ignore. When he plays, he's a PPG beast.
9. Michael Turner
I would draft him in a second over some of the WR I've seen drafted ahead of him in the various leagues I've drafted already. The man is a yardage and TD machine and should be totally recovered from his knee injury from two years ago.
9. Jamaal Charles
Huge limb I'm going out on here, but I really liked what I saw from him last year. Huge red flag though, week 14 and 16 he has SD and TEN so you don't have the cup cake playoff teams he had last year. Having TJ there does concern me a bit, but I really think they want to build aroud the young guy. Incedentally, this is where I would take a WR over a RB were I faced with this in the 1st round of a draft.
10. DeAngelo Williams
Like Turner, he doesn't catch a lot of balls, but, unlike Turner, he has stiff competition for carries. I don't think Stewart overtakes him this year, but I don't like what I see after that.
*Note, I see a drop in talent here, but not as significant as between picks 5 and 6*
11. Pierre Thomas
This guy gets no respect because he plays with the constantly over-rated Reggie Bush. I think he can return to his TD total from two years ago barring significant injury. Makes a decent RB1, a great RB2.
12. Knowshon Moreno
He wasn't the stud I expected him to be last year, but you know what, 1200 total yards and 9 TDs ain't bad for a rookie. With no competition for carries, I see him building on that this year.
13. Rashard Mendenhall
Many have him much higher, but I see PIT having a lot of offensive problems this year. I wouldn't mind him being my RB2, but I wouldn't draft him as high as I've seen him go lately.
14. Beanie Wells
Like Mendenhall, I like his opportunity, but hate the situation. I think they have a LOT of problems at QB and I think that will cause a lot of problems for the offense as a whole. I know this is blasphemy to say, but I'm even down of Fitz this year.
15. Ryan Grant
Another guy who gets little respect, Grant has quietly been a more than solid RB2 two years in a row. GB has a high octane offense and that should lead to many scoring chances for Grant.
16. Shonne Greene
This is a guy who I really don't know where to put. I know there are a lot of Greene Kool-Aid drinkers out there, but the guy doesn't catch a lot of balls and will probably be replaced on passing downs by someone who DOES catch a lot of balls: LT2. I also can see him getting dinged up since he likes to just put his head down and punish the defender.
*note, yet another tier drop here*
17. Cedric Benson
This makes me as a Bears fan cry, but he does belong here. I don't see a better season than what he did last year, but I could see it being at least close. The off-field issues drop him a bit for me.
18. Jon Stewart
Easily could sky rocket if anything happens to DeAngelo. Like I said earlier, I don't see this year as his breakout year, but he'll be top 10 next year.
19. Joe Addai
Pretty much everyone in the Indy offense scores, and I don't see Addai as being the aberration. I also wasn't impressed with Donald Brown last year.
20. LeSean McCoy
I was torn here with McCoy and Felix Jones, but McCoy doesn't have a RB the caliber of Barber taking touches away, so he gets the nod.
Players just missing the cut: Felix Jones, Ronnie Brown and Jahvid Best
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