Travdogg's positional rankings from week 8 onward (1 Viewer)

[travdogg]

QB
Tier 1:
1. Josh Allen (1)
2. Jalen Hurts (2)
3. Patrick Mahomes (3)
Tier 2:
4. Justin Herbert (4)
5. Lamar Jackson (5)
6. Tua Tagovailoa (6)
Tier 3:
7. Joe Burrow (7)
8. Justin Fields (8)
9. Trevor Lawrence (9)
Tier 4:
10. Jared Goff (10)
11. Kirk Cousins (11)
12. Brock Purdy (13), despite the INTs, I think the 49ers need to ask him to do more, as the running game has been mostly ineffective 3 weeks running.
Tier 5:
13. CJ Stroud (12), I'm of 2 minds here. One the 1 hand, a healthier OL should lead to more time to throw, on the other hand, a healthier OL may lead to more success on the ground.
14. Geno Smith (14)
15. Kyler Murray (NR), probably not too early to add him to the list. He's been a top-7 QB ever since his rookie season, and in theory has gotten a playcalling upgrade. How much he runs after the ACL will determine how high he climbs.

Dropped off: Deshaun Watson (15), the conspiracy theorist in me thinks he's not even injured, he just doesn't want to play, and has the NFL's best contract. If he chooses to play, he's still the Browns best option, but we'll see on that front.

 

[travdogg]

RB
Tier 1:
1. Christian McCaffrey (1)
2. Travis Etienne (2)
3. Tony Pollard (5)
4. Austin Ekeler (3)
5. Bijan Robinson (4)
Tier 2:
6. Kenneth Walker (6)
7. De'Von Achane (11)
8. Jonathan Taylor (10)
9. Alvin Kamara (20), volume is crazy (and probably hurting the Saints offense overall) but as long as he's getting it, he's an RB1, I can't keep fighting it, though I do still think he's not a bad sell high, just for really high.
10. Breece Hall (9)
11. Josh Jacobs (7)
Tier 3:
12. Raheem Mostert (12)
13. Saquon Barkley (8)
14. Isiah Pacheco (18)
15. D'Andre Swift (13)
Tier 4:
16. Jahmyr Gibbs (26), taking a peek in the Gibbs thread, you'd think he was coming off a negative yardage game with 4 fumbles or something. Dude just had 126 and a TD against one of the best defenses in the NFL. He looked explosive to me, and I can't see going back to 25+ Monty runs once he's back. There's room for both.
17. David Montgomery (16)
18. Aaron Jones (17)
19. Rhamondre Stevenson (21)
20. Derrick Henry (19)
21. Joe Mixon (14), looks awful, but Bengals have nothing else. Maybe they should give Playoff Lenny a call?
Tier 5:
22. Kyren Williams (15), injury certainly escalated fast. He could still by the guy for the stretch run, but there are some questions.
23. James Cook (23)
24. Brian Robinson (22)
25. Kareem Hunt (NR), he's been a top-15 RB the last 2 weeks, and now Ford is hurt. Its possible his role doesn't change much, but he's got the GL job on lock, and could certainly become a bigger player going forward.
26. Darrell Henderson (NR), as I predicted he was the Rams starter in Kyren's absence and did nothing to suggest he won't be throughout. Its not impossible that he stays involved even when Kyren returns, at least more than Rivers was.
Tier 6:
27. Jerome Ford (24)
28. Alexander Mattison (27)
29. Javonte Williams (NR), looks great, but McLaughlin does too. Hopefully Denver fazes out Perine.
30. James Conner (28)

Dropped off: Rachaad White (25), has topped 50 rushing yards twice all season, and while the receiving is solid, he's ineffective enough that Chase Edmonds coming off IR might actually hurt him. Dameon Pierce (29), the OL is part of the issue, but he's also just not played well. He's also in danger of losing work to...Devin Singletary (30), who just keeps making backfields annoying timeshares. If one of these RBs emerges they'll be a decent flex, if its a true 50-50 RBBC, I'd rather not bother.

 

[travdogg]

WR
Tier 1:
1. Tyreek Hill (1)
2. Stefon Diggs (2)
3. AJ Brown (3)
4. Ja'Marr Chase (4)
Tier 2:
5. Keenan Allen (5)
6. Cooper Kupp (6)
7. Puka Nacua (9)
8. Amon-Ra St. Brown (7)
9. Davante Adams (8)
Tier 3:
10. Justin Jefferson (16)
11. Brandon Aiyuk (10)
12. CeeDee Lamb (11)
13. Jaylen Waddle (14)
Tier 4:
14. DK Metcalf (13)
15. Chris Olave (19)
16. DeVonta Smith (21)
17. Nico Collins (22)
18. George Pickens (31), well last week I said I was split on Pickens and wanted to see how he looked with Dionate back. He looked exactly the same with him as without. He's here to stay, and if Pickett can take a step forward, he could be the next big thing at WR.
19. Jordan Addison (26)
20. Jakobi Meyers (34), why was this guy so underused in NE? He's open nearly all the time, and sure its always under 15 yards, but those add up quick. Quietly has outproduced Adams in PPG, but obviously that is unlikely to hold.
21. Calvin Ridley (20)
Tier 5:
22. DJ Moore (15)
23. Michael Pittman (23)
24. Mike Evans (18)
25. Zay Flowers (29)
26. Diontae Johnson (39), Freiermuth going on IR I think helps both Steelers WRs, as it really concentrates the targets. Those who held during his injury have themselves a high-end WR3.
27. Deebo Samuel (24)
28. Amari Cooper (17), just no confidence in this passing game or even who will be the QB week to week. No fault of Cooper's.
Tier 6:
29. Adam Thielen (12), this is a flag plant. I think Thielen is going to come down quite a bit as teams begin to sell out to stop him, and his age (33) begins to affect him. This isn't based on numbers or trends, this is just a 100% gut feel, but a strong one. He's not gonna crater, but I think he's a great sell high.
30. Christian Kirk (32)
31. Garrett Wilson (28)
32. Christian Watson (27)
33. Tee Higgins (30)
Tier 7:
34. Tyler Lockett (33)
35. Chris Godwin (25)
36. Courtland Sutton (NR), has been the clear #1 in Denver, as much as we'd prefer it not be. He's been a solid WR3 all year, and while it is TD based, he's been impressive at times.
37. Romeo Doubs (NR), everyone around him got hurt, so depending on severity he could be the last man standing. Lots of playing from behind looking to be in Green Bay's future.
38. Josh Downs (NR), might not be high enough, but I'm not sure how much I want to trust this offense, its possible I'm deferring too much to Pittman, and they are closer to equals.
39. Drake London (36)
40. Josh Palmer (NR), probably should have been on the list sooner, but I wanted to see if Johnston got going after the bye. He has looked nowhere near being a threat, and if Herbert keeps refusing to take open checkdowns, Palmer will be at least a tier higher soon.

Dropped off: Hollywood Brown (35), the return of Kyler could help, but right now, Brown is easy to double team and not really worry about anyone else. Terry McLaurin (37), has topped 80 yards in 3 of his last 4, but no TDs since week 2, and a QB who is really playing poorly right now. DeAndre Hopkins (38), unusable without Tannehill. Wonder if he's on the trade block? Jerry Jeudy (40), speaking of the trade block, its probably Jeudy's best chance at usefulness this season.

 

[travdogg]

TE
Tier 1:
1. Travis Kelce (1)
2. Mark Andrews (2)
3. Sam LaPorta (5)
4. TJ Hockenson (3)
Tier 2:
5. George Kittle (4)
6. Dallas Goedert (6)
7. Darren Waller (7)
Tier 3:
8. Evan Engram (8)
9. Taysom Hill (NR), watching Derek Carr these last couple weeks, I'm at a loss why Hill doesn't immediately come in as soon as NO enters the redzone. As much as the brotherly shove gets hyped up, these shotgun QB sweeps Hill runs are almost as unstoppable. The added pass catching work has been a nice bonus and may not go away despite Juwan Johnson's likely return. This is probably a little bold, because the floor is as low as anyone, but the ceiling can be 2 TDs any given week.
10. Kyle Pitts (9)
11. Dalton Kincaid (15), Dawson Knox getting hurt could be all he needs to be a top-10 guy. #2 job is wide open, and Bills are suddenly a shootout team regardless of opponent due to defensive injuries.
Tier 4:
12. Cole Kmet (NR), has had 2 down weeks, so why the move up? Well, I don't see the Bears being this competitive most weeks, let alone leading throughout. I don't think its a Fields vs T-Bag issue.
13. Michael Mayer (14)
14. Logan Thomas (11)
15. Jake Ferguson (10), wonder if there won't be an edict to get Brandin Cooks/Michael Gallup going more out of the bye week.

Dropped off: Luke Musgrave (12), seems like he suffered a decent ankle injury, and Love has been woeful, and seems to prefer Doubs in the redzone. Side note, I thought Kareem Jackson's hit was fine, and while he's had several not fine ones (Meyers in week 1 comes to mind) this season, its weird this one was the straw that broke the camel's back. Musgrave wasn't defenseless and had taken like 8 steps. Jonnu Smith (13), hopefully this is the last I have to mention him. Imagine how good Atlanta's offense could be if Arthur Smith cared more about winning games than upsetting fantasy owners.

 

[BobbyLayne]

16. Jahmyr Gibbs (26), taking a peek in the Gibbs thread, you'd think he was coming off a negative yardage game with 4 fumbles or something. Dude just had 126 and a TD against one of the best defenses in the NFL. He looked explosive to me, and I can't see going back to 25+ Monty runs once he's back. There's room for both.

It's a cesspool in there. Couple butthurt managers who took him late 2nd early / 3rd have been stinking it up for months. Just dropping one poo post after another. Worst thread in TSP these days.

 

[Gally]

QB
Tier 1:
1. Josh Allen (1)
2. Jalen Hurts (2)
3. Patrick Mahomes (3)
Tier 2:
4. Justin Herbert (4)
5. Lamar Jackson (5)
6. Tua Tagovailoa (6)
Tier 3:
7. Joe Burrow (7)
8. Justin Fields (8)
9. Trevor Lawrence (9)
Tier 4:
10. Jared Goff (10)
11. Kirk Cousins (11)
12. Brock Purdy (13), despite the INTs, I think the 49ers need to ask him to do more, as the running game has been mostly ineffective 3 weeks running.
Tier 5:
13. CJ Stroud (12), I'm of 2 minds here. One the 1 hand, a healthier OL should lead to more time to throw, on the other hand, a healthier OL may lead to more success on the ground.
14. Geno Smith (14)
15. Kyler Murray (NR), probably not too early to add him to the list. He's been a top-7 QB ever since his rookie season, and in theory has gotten a playcalling upgrade. How much he runs after the ACL will determine how high he climbs.

Dropped off: Deshaun Watson (15), the conspiracy theorist in me thinks he's not even injured, he just doesn't want to play, and has the NFL's best contract. If he chooses to play, he's still the Browns best option, but we'll see on that front.

Boring. Basically no changes....hahahah

(keep up the good work...always interesting to read)

 

[TheWinz]

Trav, just wondering - I know your rankings are based on rest of season, but do they give extra weight for the fantasy playoff weeks, or is it just how many fantasy points you expect the players to score for the remainder of the season?

 

[eighsse2]

QB
Tier 1:
1. Josh Allen (1)
2. Jalen Hurts (2)
3. Patrick Mahomes (3)
Tier 2:
4. Justin Herbert (4)
5. Lamar Jackson (5)
6. Tua Tagovailoa (6)
Tier 3:
7. Joe Burrow (7)
8. Justin Fields (8)
9. Trevor Lawrence (9)
Tier 4:
10. Jared Goff (10)
11. Kirk Cousins (11)
12. Brock Purdy (13), despite the INTs, I think the 49ers need to ask him to do more, as the running game has been mostly ineffective 3 weeks running.
Tier 5:
13. CJ Stroud (12), I'm of 2 minds here. One the 1 hand, a healthier OL should lead to more time to throw, on the other hand, a healthier OL may lead to more success on the ground.
14. Geno Smith (14)
15. Kyler Murray (NR), probably not too early to add him to the list. He's been a top-7 QB ever since his rookie season, and in theory has gotten a playcalling upgrade. How much he runs after the ACL will determine how high he climbs.

Dropped off: Deshaun Watson (15), the conspiracy theorist in me thinks he's not even injured, he just doesn't want to play, and has the NFL's best contract. If he chooses to play, he's still the Browns best option, but we'll see on that front.

Boring. Basically no changes....hahahah

(keep up the good work...always interesting to read)

Maybe that's why he named the thread as Week 7 again.

 

[Gally]

Tier 4:
16. Jahmyr Gibbs (26), taking a peek in the Gibbs thread, you'd think he was coming off a negative yardage game with 4 fumbles or something. Dude just had 126 and a TD against one of the best defenses in the NFL. He looked explosive to me, and I can't see going back to 25+ Monty runs once he's back. There's room for both.
17. David Montgomery (16)

While I agree that Gibbs looked fine and put up decent numbers they were completely out of the game and playing behind most of the game. I don't see that happening too much and if they are in the lead or neck and neck I don't really see them abandoning Monty. He has played well and done what the Lions want him to do. I think Gibbs will be a game script guy for the near future unless Monty falters or something else changes. While there is room for both I am not sold that Monty won't be getting 20 carries in games they are winning (which should happen more than usual for the Lions).

 

[travdogg]

16. Jahmyr Gibbs (26), taking a peek in the Gibbs thread, you'd think he was coming off a negative yardage game with 4 fumbles or something. Dude just had 126 and a TD against one of the best defenses in the NFL. He looked explosive to me, and I can't see going back to 25+ Monty runs once he's back. There's room for both.

It's a cesspool in there. Couple butthurt managers who took him late 2nd early / 3rd have been stinking it up for months. Just dropping one poo post after another. Worst thread in TSP these days.

Yeah, it was pretty wild. I like to check out the player threads sometimes before doing these, and that was maybe the first time where I was just gobsmacked by the amount of negativity around a guy (especially a rookie) who was coming off a good week.

QB
Tier 1:
1. Josh Allen (1)
2. Jalen Hurts (2)
3. Patrick Mahomes (3)
Tier 2:
4. Justin Herbert (4)
5. Lamar Jackson (5)
6. Tua Tagovailoa (6)
Tier 3:
7. Joe Burrow (7)
8. Justin Fields (8)
9. Trevor Lawrence (9)
Tier 4:
10. Jared Goff (10)
11. Kirk Cousins (11)
12. Brock Purdy (13), despite the INTs, I think the 49ers need to ask him to do more, as the running game has been mostly ineffective 3 weeks running.
Tier 5:
13. CJ Stroud (12), I'm of 2 minds here. One the 1 hand, a healthier OL should lead to more time to throw, on the other hand, a healthier OL may lead to more success on the ground.
14. Geno Smith (14)
15. Kyler Murray (NR), probably not too early to add him to the list. He's been a top-7 QB ever since his rookie season, and in theory has gotten a playcalling upgrade. How much he runs after the ACL will determine how high he climbs.

Dropped off: Deshaun Watson (15), the conspiracy theorist in me thinks he's not even injured, he just doesn't want to play, and has the NFL's best contract. If he chooses to play, he's still the Browns best option, but we'll see on that front.

Boring. Basically no changes....hahahah

(keep up the good work...always interesting to read)

Yeah, QB is pretty stable this year, beyond injuries to Rodgers and Richardson.

One interesting thing of note I noticed was Buffalo doing the tush push against NE. If Josh Allen starts adding that to his game regularly, he's gonna be really scary given the state of Buffalo's defense.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

What has Christian Kirk gotta do to get some respect around here?
15th overall at WR

30th on your list moving forward

-Kirk was 12th overall last year in '22 Redraft

22-15-16-14-14-19 in PPR the last 6 weeks, that is likely Top 10-12, he had a bagel week 1.

And you have Christian Watson just 2 spots past him, I think many would rather start Kirk over Garrett Wilson right now,
Who around Kirk has been anywhere close to as consistent as he has?
30th is way too low IMHO

 

[jobarules]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

 

[Stealthycat]

Tier 6:
29. Adam Thielen (12), this is a flag plant. I think Thielen is going to come down quite a bit as teams begin to sell out to stop him, and his age (33) begins to affect him. This isn't based on numbers or trends, this is just a 100% gut feel, but a strong one. He's not gonna crater, but I think he's a great sell high.

#12 in targets
#7 in receptions
#11 in TDs
#7 in points in one of my leagues
#13 in yards

and had a bye week

and #29 in rating



I think he's worth a little more rating and I'm buying not selling in leagues I want to win in AND he's got a good strength of schedule

 

[Loris]

TE D, Schultz should be Tier 3/4

scoop him if you need TE help

 

[TheWinz]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

Just because he is one of only 3 QB's over 2K passing and leading the league in TD passes, you want him moved up? That's laughable!

 

[travdogg]

Trav, just wondering - I know your rankings are based on rest of season, but do they give extra weight for the fantasy playoff weeks, or is it just how many fantasy points you expect the players to score for the remainder of the season?

I start to make some adjustments for playoff stuff later in the season. I feel like its too tough to tell right now what that will be.

Its mostly how I expect them to go from here forward, with occasional exceptions for guys who are out for whatever reason. Like Jefferson probably won't score the 10th most fantasy points going forward, since he's out at least 2 more weeks. However, once he's back he should be at least top-5, so in those cases its probably more down to where you expect your team to be by that time.

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

Which leads me to this. When Jefferson is back, I expect to move Addison and possible Hockenson down a little.

Cousins is 11th, because he doesn't run, and is currently missing his #1 WR. He'll probably get a bit of bump once Jefferson is back. He's QB7 on the season, and most of that is with Jefferson.

I can concede that I'm probably being too patient with Lawrence (and Ridley by extension) but I feel like that light can turn on any minute. I wouldn't fault anyone for having both lower. That said, I think Fields has a TON more weekly upside (and I'm a fence-swinger) than Cousins, and Burrow is just a better player, who played through an injury he probably shouldn't have been.

 

[travdogg]

What has Christian Kirk gotta do to get some respect around here?
15th overall at WR

30th on your list moving forward

-Kirk was 12th overall last year in '22 Redraft

22-15-16-14-14-19 in PPR the last 6 weeks, that is likely Top 10-12, he had a bagel week 1.

And you have Christian Watson just 2 spots past him, I think many would rather start Kirk over Garrett Wilson right now,
Who around Kirk has been anywhere close to as consistent as he has?
30th is way too low IMHO

Kirk is a guy I'm probably always gonna be a little lower on. I am admittedly a bit of a Ridley backer, and I still think that course corrects at some point (though obviously Kirk has been a better start to date) I also think Kirk benefits greatly from Zay Jones being out. Don't really know his timetable, he's not on IR, so could be as soon as this week, could be after the bye.

That tier could probably be named overachievers I want to get out on, and underachievers I'd consider buying low on.

Tier 6:
29. Adam Thielen (12), this is a flag plant. I think Thielen is going to come down quite a bit as teams begin to sell out to stop him, and his age (33) begins to affect him. This isn't based on numbers or trends, this is just a 100% gut feel, but a strong one. He's not gonna crater, but I think he's a great sell high.

#12 in targets
#7 in receptions
#11 in TDs
#7 in points in one of my leagues
#13 in yards

and had a bye week

and #29 in rating



I think he's worth a little more rating and I'm buying not selling in leagues I want to win in AND he's got a good strength of schedule

I mean, I did say its a complete gut feel and that I have no numbers to really base it on. Its possible I'm being a little ageist. I was expecting Thielen to get off to a hot start (obviously not to this level) but he's a 33 year old in an awful offense. Just feels like a guy to get out on while the getting is good to me. I wouldn't fault anyone for staying the course.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

Just because he is one of only 3 QB's over 2K passing and leading the league in TD passes, you want him moved up? That's laughable!

His QB ratings come with a grain of salt. They value QB running to the extreme and don’t make sense in the context of 6-point pass TD leagues.

 

[travdogg]

Tier 4:
16. Jahmyr Gibbs (26), taking a peek in the Gibbs thread, you'd think he was coming off a negative yardage game with 4 fumbles or something. Dude just had 126 and a TD against one of the best defenses in the NFL. He looked explosive to me, and I can't see going back to 25+ Monty runs once he's back. There's room for both.
17. David Montgomery (16)

While I agree that Gibbs looked fine and put up decent numbers they were completely out of the game and playing behind most of the game. I don't see that happening too much and if they are in the lead or neck and neck I don't really see them abandoning Monty. He has played well and done what the Lions want him to do. I think Gibbs will be a game script guy for the near future unless Monty falters or something else changes. While there is room for both I am not sold that Monty won't be getting 20 carries in games they are winning (which should happen more than usual for the Lions).

I agree Monty isn't going to be abandoned, but I think the heavy volume games could be a thing of the past. He's already had 2 different injuries keep him out of games this season, and as a team with Super Bowl aspirations (even after last week's evisceration) I think we could see more of a 50-50 split going forward, with Gibbs getting the catches, and Monty getting the TDs.

Sort of a Zeke/Pollard set up, but with Gibbs highly unlikely to be as efficient as Pollard was. Anytime either is out, the healthy one is a top-10 guy in my opinion.

I do think Gibbs could certainly become the #3 option in the passing game, at least by receptions, after Amon-Ra and LaPorta.

TE D, Schultz should be Tier 3/4

scoop him if you need TE help

I can see the case for him, but I kinda think his recent run of production is based mostly on Tank Dell being out, and Nico having horrible matchups with Terrell and Lattimore.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Speaking of Pollard, why is he still in tier 1? We now have enough evidence telling us that the McCarthy offense is not the Moore offense.

 

[Loris]

TE D, Schultz should be Tier 3/4

scoop him if you need TE help

I can see the case for him, but I kinda think his recent run of production is based mostly on Tank Dell being out, and Nico having horrible matchups with Terrell and Lattimore.

=========

No biggie - you do great work!

 

[travdogg]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

Just because he is one of only 3 QB's over 2K passing and leading the league in TD passes, you want him moved up? That's laughable!

His QB ratings come with a grain of salt. They value QB running to the extreme and don’t make sense in the context of 6-point pass TD leagues.

I'm trying to hit the most common league settings, which in my opinion are 4pt pass TD, and .5 PPR. Running QBs, especially someone like Hurts, would lose a little luster in a league where all TDs were 6 regardless.

Speaking of Pollard, why is he still in tier 1? We now have enough evidence telling us that the McCarthy offense is not the Moore offense.

I think Pollard has had maybe the worst TD luck of anybody who has been healthy all year. How he only has 2 is mind boggling, he should easily have 5-6. I think that is one of many possible course corrections for the Dallas offense, one that has kicked FAR too many FGs for how much talent they have.

 

[Truebluey]

I know you do .5 ppr, but in normal ppr, I find it fascinating that the current WR leaders include these:

12. Jakobi Meyers (20)
13. Nico Collins (17)
18. George Pickens (18)
19. Jordan Addison (19)
24. Josh Downs (38)
38. Devonta Smith (16)
59. Tee Higgins (33)

I know you're also looking ROS, but it's getting harder to trust Team WR2s like Smith (and Waddle and Higgins) over on-the-field producers like Meyers and Downs.

 

[N Zone]

I think

29. Adam Thielen
should be 13.

30. Christian Kirk
should be more like 15.

and

22. DJ Moore (15)
23. Michael Pittman (23)
I view them more as 17. and 18.

Otherwise I like most every ranking.

 

[LawFitz]

1. You are a brave man putting out these lists for all the sharks to chew on and spit out (in your face).

2. LJax is this year's Hurts.

 

[travdogg]

I know you do .5 ppr, but in normal ppr, I find it fascinating that the current WR leaders include these:

12. Jakobi Meyers (20)
13. Nico Collins (17)
18. George Pickens (18)
19. Jordan Addison (19)
24. Josh Downs (38)
38. Devonta Smith (16)
59. Tee Higgins (33)

I know you're also looking ROS, but it's getting harder to trust Team WR2s like Smith (and Waddle and Higgins) over on-the-field producers like Meyers and Downs.

I'm relatively concerned about Higgins. I think there is a chance its just been some bad beats between Burrow's injury, and then his own, but I've also thought going back to when Chase was out last season, that Higgins is just a #2 WR, who people keep expecting to get better because he's young and on a good offense. I think the gap between Chase and Higgins is only getting larger.

With Smith, I just think he'll start getting better looks as the season goes on. I don't imagine AJ Brown is going to keep this target/yardage pace up since its at Calvin Johnson levels.

I'm a huge Downs fan, I thought he should have gone 30+ picks higher in the NFL draft. I just think that offense wants to be a run heavy team, and won't be pushed to pass as much as they have been. That's why I'm below production of both Pittman and Downs (and higher on Taylor) but I will acknowledge that maybe they should be closer together. Downs has the talent to do it, I just wanna see a little more.

Waddle I have no real concerns about beyond maybe durability, which is something I think is overrated, at least in the sense of predicting injury (not so much with guys already injured) he's gonna have a monster game one of these weeks. Maybe it will be against NE who often tends to sell out to stop 1 guy.

If you could promise Meyers and Jimmy G would both stay on the field all season, I could buy Meyers staying a top-15 WR. Other concerns are that Mayer begins cutting into the Adams/Meyers monopoly a bit, and Jacobs gets going a little more specifically inside the 10, as Meyers TDs have been of the short variety.

Addison is a really interesting one to me. He could have had 4 TDs against SF, as well as a 30+ yard pass. I do wonder what happens when Jefferson comes back, because my gut says Addison is a much better use of targets than Hockenson. So, something is gonna have to give there, unless Kirk throws 50 times a game to support them all.

Speaking of Cousins, man I wish he was the Steelers QB. The only thing stopping Pickens/Johnson from being a slightly (only slightly) lesser version of Kupp/Nacua is Kenny Pickett.

1. You are a brave man putting out these lists for all the sharks to chew on and spit out (in your face).

2. LJax is this year's Hurts.

Thanks! I'm not enough of a perfectionist (egomaniac?) to think I'm gonna be right about everything but I think a little healthy debate is always worthwhile, I'm just always wary of the thought process that is change nothing from preseason or expect what has already happened to keep happening logic. I'm gonna get a lot wrong, and I'm cool with that.

I would vote for Lamar Jackson as the NFL MVP right now. His play has far exceeded the stats. He played well enough to beat Pittsburgh, his team let him down that week.

 

[Joe Bryant]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

First, please drop the "laughable" shots. This can be a super useful thread for people and we can disagree without mocking or laughing at others.

Second, where do you think Cousins should be ranked for rest of season?

 

[jobarules]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

First, please drop the "laughable" shots. This can be a super useful thread for people and we can disagree without mocking or laughing at others.

Second, where do you think Cousins should be ranked for rest of season?

7th

 

[(HULK)]

Could you elaborate on why Mike Evans is so low? He's averaging 78 yards and 2/3 a TD a game right now on 5 receptions a game. Do you think this is going to stop? Thus far he's been a low end WR1 in non-PPR and a high end WR2 in PPR. Bucs can't move the ball on the ground and Evans is consistently decent every week. I get the distrust of his QB but having him at 24 RoS seems like you feel like a large drop off is imminent.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

Just because he is one of only 3 QB's over 2K passing and leading the league in TD passes, you want him moved up? That's laughable!

His QB ratings come with a grain of salt. They value QB running to the extreme and don’t make sense in the context of 6-point pass TD leagues.

I'm trying to hit the most common league settings, which in my opinion are 4pt pass TD, and .5 PPR. Running QBs, especially someone like Hurts, would lose a little luster in a league where all TDs were 6 regardless.

Speaking of Pollard, why is he still in tier 1? We now have enough evidence telling us that the McCarthy offense is not the Moore offense.

I think Pollard has had maybe the worst TD luck of anybody who has been healthy all year. How he only has 2 is mind boggling, he should easily have 5-6. I think that is one of many possible course corrections for the Dallas offense, one that has kicked FAR too many FGs for how much talent they have.

The talent is there, yes. But the scheme is different, and it’s worse. You are expecting that offense to return to what it did last year, and I’m saying I don’t think we can take that as a given.

 

[Joe Bryant]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

First, please drop the "laughable" shots. This can be a super useful thread for people and we can disagree without mocking or laughing at others.

Second, where do you think Cousins should be ranked for rest of season?

7th

No disagreement there. We have him QB8 for rest of season. https://www.footballguys.com/rankings/duration/restofseason?pos=qb

Also, a perfect example of why rankings are so difficult. We're not going to do it here anymore, but put a guy 4 spots from where someone else has him and it's

Thanks @travdogg for doing these. They're difficult. And thanks folks for the good discussion on these. I know when we do them, getting good feedback is super helpful.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Could you elaborate on why Mike Evans is so low? He's averaging 78 yards and 2/3 a TD a game right now on 5 receptions a game. Do you think this is going to stop? Thus far he's been a low end WR1 in non-PPR and a high end WR2 in PPR. Bucs can't move the ball on the ground and Evans is consistently decent every week. I get the distrust of his QB but having him at 24 RoS seems like you feel like a large drop off is imminent.

That's exactly the kind of great feedback that makes a good thread.

 

[jobarules]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

First, please drop the "laughable" shots. This can be a super useful thread for people and we can disagree without mocking or laughing at others.

Second, where do you think Cousins should be ranked for rest of season?

7th

No disagreement there. We have him QB8 for rest of season. https://www.footballguys.com/rankings/duration/restofseason?pos=qb

Also, a perfect example of why rankings are so difficult. We're not going to do it here anymore, but put a guy 4 spots from where someone else has him and it's

Thanks @travdogg for doing these. They're difficult. And thanks folks for the good discussion on these. I know when we do them, getting good feedback is super helpful.

The reason I call it laughable is because he has him ranked low every single week and he has refused to acknowledge what a good fantasy QB he is. Also he has him in Tier 4 where I have him bottom of Tier 2.

 

[FarFromHome]

Appreciate the time. I don't have any issues with most of your rankings. We all know the rest of season rankings flow can be all over the place. I will say by the law of math having Kupp and Puka at 6 and 7 and not having Stafford at least at 15 doesnt add up. Love your work man

 

[Joe Bryant]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

First, please drop the "laughable" shots. This can be a super useful thread for people and we can disagree without mocking or laughing at others.

Second, where do you think Cousins should be ranked for rest of season?

7th

No disagreement there. We have him QB8 for rest of season. https://www.footballguys.com/rankings/duration/restofseason?pos=qb

Also, a perfect example of why rankings are so difficult. We're not going to do it here anymore, but put a guy 4 spots from where someone else has him and it's

Thanks @travdogg for doing these. They're difficult. And thanks folks for the good discussion on these. I know when we do them, getting good feedback is super helpful.

The reason I call it laughable is because he has him ranked low every single week and he has refused to acknowledge what a good fantasy QB he is. Also he has him in Tier 4 where I have him bottom of Tier 2.

Thanks.

First, don't call rankings here laughable again please.

Two, ranking a guy 4 spots from where I, you or anyone else thinks they should be is not a big deal. Especially when it's QB7 to QB11.

Would love to see a paragraph or so elaborating more on the QB7 ranking. Discussion is a great thing.

 

[Timmay]

I feel the exact same way about Josh Downs. I've had him stashed on my bench for 5 weeks. I love the the work he is getting, but I am too scared to start him because I don't trust the offensive scheme. Last week against Cleveland he was a classic stay away from guy / don't start and he went off for the best game of his career. When I watch Colts highlights, he looks like a great slot guy and it is a plus that Minshew is throwing to him instead of A-Rich. I think by end of year, he will be in the tier 5 rankings as he is only going to get better imo.

 

[Truebluey]

Trav, thanks for the excellent response and analysis. You put it perfectly. So hard to predict the future without straying too far from the past.

 

[dschuler]

Great list. WRs past the first 12 become difficult to rank. At least one of the 1B WRs is due to breakout, just going to be so hard to determine who it’s going to be. Is Downs going to be the 1A in Indy instead of Pittman and should their rankings be flipped?
Only WR I think is considerably undervalued is London, who is WR 30 on the year and is ranked 39th. He has an easy schedule coming up and I think will get better as the season progresses. Hard for me to imagine him finishing outside the top 30.

 

[zoonation]

Behind Allen, Tua, Lamar, Mahomes, Herbert, and Hurts?

Seems reasonable. I would say Burrow and Lawrence could end up higher but haven't proven it yet. Goff isn't far behind those 3.

Give me Cousins over Herbert in 6pt leagues.

I also think Burrow and the Bengals are about to light it up, just like they did last year. I am targeting Higgins everywhere.

 

[zoonation]

I love this thread.

Glad to see you have finally come around on Kamara. Although he is still 4 spots too low for ROS

 

[travdogg]

Could you elaborate on why Mike Evans is so low? He's averaging 78 yards and 2/3 a TD a game right now on 5 receptions a game. Do you think this is going to stop? Thus far he's been a low end WR1 in non-PPR and a high end WR2 in PPR. Bucs can't move the ball on the ground and Evans is consistently decent every week. I get the distrust of his QB but having him at 24 RoS seems like you feel like a large drop off is imminent.

You pretty much nailed it. I think the honeymoon period on Mayfield is starting to be over. TB has scored 19 points in 2 games since the bye week.

Appreciate the time. I don't have any issues with most of your rankings. We all know the rest of season rankings flow can be all over the place. I will say by the law of math having Kupp and Puka at 6 and 7 and not having Stafford at least at 15 doesnt add up. Love your work man

Stafford was literally my last cut down to 15. I figured Kyler Murray has a little bit more upside if his running returns even 75%.

Puka and Kupp account for almost 75% of the Rams targets, its the most condensed passing game in the NFL. Hell, even Atwell's TD last week was intended for Kupp.

 

[travdogg]

Great list. WRs past the first 12 become difficult to rank. At least one of the 1B WRs is due to breakout, just going to be so hard to determine who it’s going to be. Is Downs going to be the 1A in Indy instead of Pittman and should their rankings be flipped?
Only WR I think is considerably undervalued is London, who is WR 30 on the year and is ranked 39th. He has an easy schedule coming up and I think will get better as the season progresses. Hard for me to imagine him finishing outside the top 30.

Put London on KC and he might be a young Michael Thomas. My entire issue with him is you never know when someone on the Falcons is going to fall victim to Arthuritis. I do think Atlanta has been passing more than they want to of late, and my guess is Bijan has a blowup game soon, but London has been a solid WR3 after his week 1 egg.

I love this thread.

Glad to see you have finally come around on Kamara. Although he is still 4 spots too low for ROS

Yeah, I kept waiting for the Saints to realize how inefficient all these 4-yard passes to Kamara are, but they've doubled (tripled?) down on them. Feels like poor playcalling on their part with Olave and Thomas, but its also possible (likely) that Carr is just not capable of being a downfield passer anymore and this is what they are stuck with. Kamara has the best workload east of CMC right now, and while he has nowhere near the TD upside, I have to adjust the ranks to acknowledge that 8 catches weekly is a reasonable over/under.

I do still wonder if the TDs go to Taysom Hill or Jamaal Williams, and that's what keeps him from the top-5, and a concern that he'll wear down on this workload as its by far the highest of his career. He's getting 26 touches a week, he's less efficient than he's ever been in his career. His previous career high was in 2021, when he had 22 touches per week, and had his least efficient season to that point. Still, I will agree that for right now, he's a top-5 RB, I'm only ranking him lower because I don't think it can last. I certainly had him WAY too low at 20.

 

[zoonation]

Great list. WRs past the first 12 become difficult to rank. At least one of the 1B WRs is due to breakout, just going to be so hard to determine who it’s going to be. Is Downs going to be the 1A in Indy instead of Pittman and should their rankings be flipped?
Only WR I think is considerably undervalued is London, who is WR 30 on the year and is ranked 39th. He has an easy schedule coming up and I think will get better as the season progresses. Hard for me to imagine him finishing outside the top 30.

Put London on KC and he might be a young Michael Thomas. My entire issue with him is you never know when someone on the Falcons is going to fall victim to Arthuritis. I do think Atlanta has been passing more than they want to of late, and my guess is Bijan has a blowup game soon, but London has been a solid WR3 after his week 1 egg.

I love this thread.

Glad to see you have finally come around on Kamara. Although he is still 4 spots too low for ROS

Yeah, I kept waiting for the Saints to realize how inefficient all these 4-yard passes to Kamara are, but they've doubled (tripled?) down on them. Feels like poor playcalling on their part with Olave and Thomas, but its also possible (likely) that Carr is just not capable of being a downfield passer anymore and this is what they are stuck with. Kamara has the best workload east of CMC right now, and while he has nowhere near the TD upside, I have to adjust the ranks to acknowledge that 8 catches weekly is a reasonable over/under.

I do still wonder if the TDs go to Taysom Hill or Jamaal Williams, and that's what keeps him from the top-5, and a concern that he'll wear down on this workload as its by far the highest of his career. He's getting 26 touches a week, he's less efficient than he's ever been in his career. His previous career high was in 2021, when he had 22 touches per week, and had his least efficient season to that point. Still, I will agree that for right now, he's a top-5 RB, I'm only ranking him lower because I don't think it can last. I certainly had him WAY too low at 20.

Yeah, Carr sucks and the oline can't run or pass block very well. Hence, Kamara gets a bunch of touches and often very little room to do anything with them. Saints are a dumpster fire. I do think Williams will get more carries going forward. But he is a plug.

 

[Tau837]

4. Austin Ekeler (3)

I love these threads, and we have talked about your Ekeler ranking before. IMO this is an example where you are seemingly too committed to your original stance on a player. I would prefer at least 5 RBs you have ranked lower for the rest of the season, and I say this as a serious Chargers fan.

 

[Tau837]

Which leads me to this. When Jefferson is back, I expect to move Addison and possible Hockenson down a little.

You expect Jefferson back, and you expect to move others down because of that. This implies that you are making your rankings based on total points for the regular season. Is that right? Meaning you don't take into account ppg or higher value (fantasy playoff) games?

That doesn't seem to jive with your stance on Fields vs. Cousins, for example.

 

[Tau837]

First, don't call rankings here laughable again please.

Joe, respectfully, IMO you are being heavy handed by weighing in to say not to call a ranking laughable. In the big picture, this is not significant crticism, and there is no indication that @travdogg is bothered by it. There was nothing uncivil about the discourse that warranted interceding. You have made multiple posts in the thread about it, when it otherwise would have been ignored by most everyone... you actually called more attention to it than it would have gotten otherwise. There is no problem here that warrants policing.

I'm sure the answer is going to be some derivative of: it's your board, this isn't what you stand for, you/we strive to be better here, yada yada. I generally agree with how you have managed the forums over the years, but there is no reason to go (IMO) over the top. My recommendation is just to lighten up a bit and save the policing for what actually needs policing. I expect my recommendation will be ignored because you don't agree and have a long history of being over the top about it, but there you have it.

Two cents, and would appreciate it if you don't suspend me over my opinion about it.

 

[BobbyLayne]

ARSB pace:

184 targets 136-1485-8

Pretty solid for WR8 eh

As always thanks @travdogg appreciate the effort & engagement

 

[Judge Smails]

How is cousins #11? This is laughable

Meanwhile JJ 10th, Addison 19th, TJ 4th

First, please drop the "laughable" shots. This can be a super useful thread for people and we can disagree without mocking or laughing at others.

Second, where do you think Cousins should be ranked for rest of season?

7th

No disagreement there. We have him QB8 for rest of season. https://www.footballguys.com/rankings/duration/restofseason?pos=qb

Also, a perfect example of why rankings are so difficult. We're not going to do it here anymore, but put a guy 4 spots from where someone else has him and it's

Thanks @travdogg for doing these. They're difficult. And thanks folks for the good discussion on these. I know when we do them, getting good feedback is super helpful.

The reason I call it laughable is because he has him ranked low every single week and he has refused to acknowledge what a good fantasy QB he is. Also he has him in Tier 4 where I have him bottom of Tier 2.

The past 2 weeks it was the Mahomes ranking that was laughable. He was ranked way too high. Now it's Cousins. Ranked way too low. OK.

 

[Judge Smails]

First, don't call rankings here laughable again please.

Joe, respectfully, IMO you are being heavy handed by weighing in to say not to call a ranking laughable. In the big picture, this is not significant crticism, and there is no indication that @travdogg is bothered by it. There was nothing uncivil about the discourse that warranted interceding. You have made multiple posts in the thread about it, when it otherwise would have been ignored by most everyone... you actually called more attention to it than it would have gotten otherwise. There is no problem here that warrants policing.

I'm sure the answer is going to be some derivative of: it's your board, this isn't what you stand for, you/we strive to be better here, yada yada. I generally agree with how you have managed the forums over the years, but there is no reason to go (IMO) over the top. My recommendation is just to lighten up a bit and save the policing for what actually needs policing. I expect my recommendation will be ignored because you don't agree and have a long history of being over the top about it, but there you have it.

Two cents, and would appreciate it if you don't suspend me over my opinion about it.

Still not good form. There's a better way to say it. "I appreciate the rankings, but disagree on Cousins for XYZ reasons. Have him at 7......"

 

[Tau837]

First, don't call rankings here laughable again please.

Joe, respectfully, IMO you are being heavy handed by weighing in to say not to call a ranking laughable. In the big picture, this is not significant crticism, and there is no indication that @travdogg is bothered by it. There was nothing uncivil about the discourse that warranted interceding. You have made multiple posts in the thread about it, when it otherwise would have been ignored by most everyone... you actually called more attention to it than it would have gotten otherwise. There is no problem here that warrants policing.

I'm sure the answer is going to be some derivative of: it's your board, this isn't what you stand for, you/we strive to be better here, yada yada. I generally agree with how you have managed the forums over the years, but there is no reason to go (IMO) over the top. My recommendation is just to lighten up a bit and save the policing for what actually needs policing. I expect my recommendation will be ignored because you don't agree and have a long history of being over the top about it, but there you have it.

Two cents, and would appreciate it if you don't suspend me over my opinion about it.

Still not good form. There's a better way to say it. "I appreciate the rankings, but disagree on Cousins for XYZ reasons. Have him at 7......"

We can agree to disagree on this. Most of us here are adults who can withstand a little criticism, and don't require kid gloves.