2018 Fantasy Football Rankings v4

The last time I updated my rankings, it was right after the NFL draft and the Caps/Penguins series was just underway.  Here we are now in June and the Caps are actually in the Stanley Cup Final!

Not a lot has changed in the NFL in the last month or so though.  There have only been a couple of quasi-meaningful free agent signings: C.J. Anderson to the Panthers and Brandon Marshall to the Seahawks.  There are a couple of signings that haven't happened yet that could have bigger fantasy impacts, including guys like Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray.  Mark Ingram got hit with a 4 game ban for PEDs, so that was a story for a minute or two.  OTAs got underway, and Hunter Henry tore his ACL.  To me, that's a big injury for fantasy because I had him as a top-5 TE.  Of course now everyone is wondering if the Chargers will re-sign Antonio Gates, who could probably end up as a TE1 if he's back with his old team.  To me, this just demonstrates how bleak the tight end landscape is.  I don't feel all that confident about anyone outside of the top 3 or 4 guys now.  So if I don't get one of them, I'll be waiting a while on the position.

Speaking of certain positions like TEs (and QBs), I've lowered a few because I don't like drafting players at those positions with early bye weeks.  While I like Cam Newton to be a top-10 fantasy QB this year, I don't like his early bye.  When your starting QB has a Week 4 bye, it means you're basically forced to draft 2 QBs.  If you don't, you'll be scrambling to pick someone up after just a couple of weeks, and I don't like that scenario.  If you're into drafting two QBs anyway, then Cam's a good pick.  I just usually don't go that route.  The same goes for tight ends.  Greg Olsen and Jordan Reed both have Week 4 byes, and Trey Burton is off in Week 5.  I'm not saying that none of those guys will be top-10 fantasy TEs this year, but who knows?  Maybe none of them will be. 

Either way, I don't like having to snag a backup tight end that early.  It means you'll have to waive some rookie you don't want to give up on just yet...OR you may need to waive Reed or Burton because they get off to a slow start anyway.  Let's be honest though.  If you draft Jordan Reed as your tight end, you'd better draft a second tight end.  I've lowered some of those guys accordingly, and I even moved Trey Burton down to my watch list.  That's not to say you shouldn't draft him, but I probably won't.  I'll likely have Jordan Howard as one of my keepers, and I really don't want more than one Bear on my roster (and then both of them to have an early bye week).  Remember: these are my rankings.  Deal with it.  :)

The other big change in my rankings is going from a top-180 to a top-156.  My 12-team league eliminated kickers this year (YESSSSS!!!!), so we now have two keepers and an 11 round draft...so 13x12 = 156.  Don't worry.  I'll still have a ton of guys in my watch list below the top-156, and I'll be moving people in and out of my main rankings as we get closer to the preseason.  If you have a question about a guy outside of the top-156, shoot it over in the comments.  Unless it's a kicker.  In which case, keep it to yourself.

Let's get to the rankings, shall we?

1. Le'Veon Bell

2. Todd Gurley

3. Ezekiel Elliott

4. Alvin Kamara

5. David Johnson

6. Antonio Brown: Decided to move him down here with Hopkins and have all RBs in top-5.

7. DeAndre Hopkins

8. Saquon Barkley: Swapped him with Dalvin Cook. Hard not to buy into his hype.

9. Leonard Fournette

10. Dalvin Cook

11. Kareem Hunt

12. Melvin Gordon 13. Odell Beckham, Jr. 14. Michael Thomas 15. Julio Jones 16. Keenan Allen: Hunter Henry ACL tear has me moving him up a couple of spots.  17. Rob Gronkowski: Also slightly up with Hunter Henry's injury. It's ugly after top-5 or so TEs... 18. Davante Adams 19. A.J. Green   20. Mike Evans 21. Doug Baldwin: Up to the bottom of this tier. Should be a top-10 WR this season. 22. LeSean McCoy 23. Devonta Freeman            24. Jerick McKinnon 25. Jordan Howard 26. Christian McCaffery: Down just two spots with the Panthers signing C.J. Anderson. 27. Joe Mixon: Up to the bottom of this RB tier. Bengals O-line improved. 28. T.Y. Hilton  29. Adam Thielen 30. Alshon Jeffery: He felt a little high in Round 2. Down to this WR tier. 31. Stefon Diggs: In a contract year and now with Cousins throwing to him. Up a couple of spots. 32. Jay Ajayi  33. Alex Collins: Dixon will be in the mix, but Collins proved he can be the guy. Up.  34. Derrick Henry   35. Aaron Rodgers 36. Amari Cooper 37. Larry Fitzgerald: I know he's old, but he still feels like he belongs up here in this WR tier. 38. Tyreek Hill: I'll be keeping K. Hunt and don't trust Mahomes just yet. Down to this WR tier. 39. Zach Ertz 40. Travis Kelce: Likewise with Kelce. Moved Ertz above him.  Wentz >>> Mahomes. 41. Kenyan Drake 42. Derrius Guice: Up near the top of this RB tier. Feels like he'll be the workhorse.  43. Rashaad Penny: Also moved him WAY up assuming he'll be the lead back in Seattle.  44. Lamar Miller 45. Marvin Jones 46. Demaryius Thomas: I always end up a little too high on Demaryius. Down a couple of WR tiers. 47. JuJu Smith-Schuster 48. Brandin Cooks 49. Michael Crabtree  50. Sony Michel: Too good and in too good of an offense to not be in top-50. Up. 51. Ronald Jones: Will move down if the Bucs sign AP or DeMarco Murray, but they haven't yet... 52. Marshawn Lynch: Not sure why Doug Martin scared me, but I had Marshawn WAY too low. 53. Tevin Coleman   54. Mark Ingram: A 4 game ban for PEDs and a Week 6 bye. Yikes. Down. 55. Russell Wilson  56. Deshaun Watson  57. Carson Wentz 58. Jimmy Graham 59. Golden Tate 60. Josh Gordon: Swapped him with Landry. Gordon with more upside.  61. Corey Davis 62. Allen Robinson: Assuming I'll keep Jordan Howard, I'm lowering A-Rob.  63. Devin Funchess 64. Jarvis Landry 65. Dion Lewis: Felt I had him and Aaron Jones a little high.  Moved both down a few spots. 66. Aaron Jones  67. Marlon Mack: By the time real games start, I'm not so sure he's the starter. Down. 68. Tom Brady: Moved him and Brees down to a tier of their own. 69. Drew Brees 70. Chris Hogan: Moved him above Edelman. Hogan in a contract year, and Edelman injury prone. 71. Will Fuller  72. Robby Anderson: Coming off a great season. UP, though a suspension could be looming... 73. Julian Edelman 74. Royce Freeman: Down a RB tier because I think Booker could win the job. 75. Jamaal Williams: Needed to be in top-100. Could end up with most FPs in GB's backfield. 76. Chris Thompson: Down slightly. Seems like Guice could be the real deal. 77. Kirk Cousins  78. Cam Newton: While I like Cam's receiving options now, I don't like the Week 4 bye.  Down. 79. Evan Engram: Felt like he needed to be down a little more with OBJ back this year. 80. Kyle Rudolph: Moved ahead of Greg Olsen. I really hate the Week 4 bye for a TE... 81. Greg Olsen: Once I realized he had the Week 4 bye, I moved him down to this TE tier. 82. Emmanuel Sanders 83. Randall Cobb: With Jordy out of the picture, Cobb felt too low in the 90s. Up. 84. Kelvin Benjamin 85. Robert Woods 86. DeVante Parker 87. Sterling Shepard  88. Jordy Nelson: Moved him down to this WR tier. Getting old and in a new system.  89. Isaiah Crowell 90. C.J. Anderson: Down slightly, but the JStew role in Carolina isn't terrible...  91. Nick Chubb: Put him in my top-100 and Hyde just outside of it.   92. Rex Burkhead: I felt I dropped him too low. Should still have big role in the offense. 93. DeMarco Murray 94. Frank Gore  95. Sammy Watkins 96. Pierre Garcon 97. Dez Bryant: The longer he's without a team, the more he drops in my rankings... 98. Allen Hurns: Felt he needed to be higher, as he's the likely #1 target for Dak/Dallas...  99. Marqise Lee: Lots of WRs in Jacksonville, but he feels like the #1 guy. 100. Calvin Ridley: Top-70 felt a little high. Down a couple of WR tiers. 101. Andrew Luck 102. Philip Rivers: After careful consideration, I swapped him and Stafford with Goff/Jimmy G. 103. Matthew Stafford 104. Carlos Hyde: Down to this RB tier, but this feels so low for him... 105. Tarik Cohen 106. D'Onta Foreman 107. Giovani Bernard: Down a RB tier. Mixon likely to handle a bigger workload this year. 108. Cooper Kupp: Down a WR tier. Watkins gone, but Gurley/Cooks/Woods options first. 109. Kenny Stills: He felt too low, so he's up a WR tier.   110. Rishard Matthews: Him too. 111. Nelson Agholor 112. Josh Doctson 113. Mike Williams   114. Marquise Goodwin: Him three. 115. Kerryon Johnson 116. Bilal Powell 117. Devontae Booker 118. Theo Riddick 119. Jared Goff 120. Jimmy Garoppolo 121. Jamison Crowder: Down a WR tier. It's uncertain as to who Alex Smith will throw to most. 122. Cameron Meredith: He just felt like he belonged up in this WR tier. 123. D.J. Moore: Not feeling confident about rookie WRs just yet. Down to this tier with Gallup. 124. Michael Gallup 125. Tyrell Williams: Up slightly with Hunter Henry out for the season. Big red zone target...   126. Matt Breida: McKinnon won't be a 3 down back, and Breida could get a lot of touches. Up. 127. Duke Johnson: Moved down after the Browns drafted Chubb, but he still felt too high. Down. 128. Peyton Barber: Up to this RB tier. As long as Bucs don't sign someone else, he'll have big role.  129. Corey Clement: Eagles re-signed Sproles, so Clement down a couple of RB tiers. 130. Delanie Walker  131. Jordan Reed: The dreaded Week 4 bye, and he'll probably be hurt by then anyway. Down. 132. Austin Seferian-Jenkins 133. Paul Richardson: He could actually be the #1 WR in Washington. Up.  134. Geronimo Allison 135. Martavis Bryant 136. Mohamed Sanu: Up to this WR tier. Boring pick that will be a solid FLEX. 137. Tyler Lockett   138. Nyheim Hines  139. Kenneth Dixon: Should compete with Collins for touches, as long as he stays active.  140. Spencer Ware: Moved into top-156. Handcuff for Hunt (who I'll keep)...also contract year. 141. Tyler Eifert 142. Mike Gesicki  143. Matt Ryan 144. Alex Smith 145. Chargers DEFENSE 146. Broncos DEFENSE 147. Jaguars DEFENSE 148. Ravens DEFENSE 149. Rams DEFENSE 150. Saints DEFENSE: I keep moving them up, but I hope to get one of my top-3 Ds. 151. Eagles DEFENSE 152. Vikings DEFENSE 153. Steelers DEFENSE 154. Patriots DEFENSE 155. Chiefs DEFENSE 156. Seahawks DEFENSE Watch List: QBs Jameis Winston Derek Carr Ben Roethlisberger Patrick Mahomes Dak Prescott Sam Darnold Marcus Mariota Case Keenum Eli Manning Blake Bortles Mitch Trubisky Andy Dalton RBs Jordan Wilkins: Mike Clay thinks Wilkins will lead the Colt backfield in touches, so added here. LeGarrette Blount: Patricia may use him as goal line back, but lots of RBs in Detroit. Down. Latavius Murray: As long as Dalvin is healthy for Week 1, he's a pure handcuff.  Down. Doug Martin: Down to the watch list until we see his usage in Raider offense. Ty Montgomery: All the way down to the watch list until further notice. Samaje Perine: With the hype around Guice gaining steam, Perine felt like he belonged down here. Chris Carson: Same with Penny and Carson. He just feels like an afterthought for fantasy. C.J. Prosise Jonathan Stewart James White Jeremy Hill Jalen Richard DeAndre Washington Joe Williams Eddie Lacy Charles Sims Orleans Darkwa Terrance West Javorius Allen Chris Ivory James Conner Alfred Morris Damien Williams Austin Ekeler John Kelly Darren Sproles: He's not done just yet...added to the watch list. Elijhaa Penny: If you draft DJ, probably want Penny as the handcuff. Added to watch list. Ameer Abdullah: Down to the watch list. I feel like he'll be out of the mix in Detroit. T.J. Yeldon: Basically just a handcuff if Fournette gets hurt. Down to the watch list. WRs Kenny Golladay Chris Godwin DeSean Jackson James Washington: Will he fit in right away in Pittsburgh? Felt like he belonged down here. Christian Kirk: He also doesn't feel like a top-150 guy just yet... J.J. Nelson Brice Butler: Moved down to watch list too. Not sure I want a Cardinal WR other than Fitz. Brandon Marshall: Signed with the Seahawks. One year deal. Stays in watch list for now. Jaron Brown: Down to the watch list with the Seahawks signing Marshall. Terrelle Pryor: Down to the watch list. I can't trust him after last season. Quincy Enunwa Dante Pettis: He belonged down to the watch list. No sure thing he'll even be a starter. Jordan Matthews: Removed from my top-150 til he shows me something. Malcolm Mitchell Corey Coleman Jeremy Maclin Willie Snead John Brown Kevin White Taylor Gabriel John Ross Chester Rogers: I don't see why he couldn't be the #2 WR in Indy. Added to the watch list. Ryan Grant Dontrelle Inman Ted Ginn Kenny Britt Dede Westbrook: Down to the watch list. Too many WRs in JAX, including D.J. Chark now. Keelan Cole D.J. Chark Eric Decker Jermaine Kearse Travis Benjamin Mike Wallace: Lots of mouths to feed in Philly. Will be inconsistent. Down to watch list. Mack Hollins Kendall Wright Donte Moncrief Jaleel Scott Anthony Miller Courtland Sutton Deon Cain TEs Rico Gathers: With Witten out of the picture and Dallas with not great WRs, Gathers added. Antonio Gates: Move well into top-180 if the Chargers re-sign him. For now, the watch list. Trey Burton: Down to the watch list. Week 5 bye kind of stinks & I'll likely keep J. Howard. Benjamin Watson Jack Doyle Eric Ebron Charles Clay Austin Hooper George Kittle David Njoku Luke Wilson: Could be the #1 TE in Detroit. Added to the list. Nick Vannett: Also a deep sleeper, who could replace some of Graham's lost production. Jake Butt Hayden Hurst Mark Andrews