Last week I got my rankings done early, but this week they're a little late. At least I have a good reason for running late though, and her name is Florence. My family was supposed to be in Nags Head all week, and I was planning to do my rankings while sitting on the beach or at least on the house's screened porch. But that didn't work out with this stupid storm rolling in. We had to evacuate, and we didn't want our vacation to end, so we drove south (along with a LOT of other people). We thought we'd either find a place in northern Florida or maybe even drive all the way to my grandma's in Fort Lauderdale. Everything was getting booked left and right, but we finally found a place in Jacksonville Beach, and we spent the night there after a long drive. We had a great day at the beach the next day, and it was well worth the drive to see our daughter excited about getting in the ocean for the first time. But as we looked at what the hurricane was doing, we began to worry we might have a hard time getting back to Virginia if we stayed in Florida a couple more days. So we packed up again and drove all the way home.All of that to say that I haven't had a ton of time to work on my rankings this week since I've been going back and forth between driving and trying to make the most of our vacation. But with the Ravens and Bengals kicking off Week 2 tonight, I wanted to at least get my initial rankings out there while this game is on. In fact, I actually have a new tool to help me do my rankings now, so you'll notice I'm working with a new format below. I'm now able to login to the FantasyPros Expert Platform, and I'm leveraging their rankings tool. So now instead of comparing my rankings to ESPN's, I'll be comparing them to the FantasyPros Expert Consensus Rankings. I'll recap my picks from last week after the rankings table, and I'll do it one position at a time (as usual). Then I'll give you a couple of players I'm high/low on at each position, but it'll now be compared to the ECR.
Bear with me while I work through this new format, but I'm hoping it'll make my rankings even better. I was able to get my picks into the tool before tonight's kickoff, so my Ravens & Bengals players are locked. I'm not totally sure how the tool works just yet, but I might even be able to do a Sunday morning update and have my rankings automatically updated in my blog. Stay tuned.
To the rankings!
QUARTERBACKS
In Week 1, I was high on Andy Dalton (ESPN #17, ME #10) and down on Patrick Mahomes (ESPN #15, ME NOT RANKED). I wasn't too far off with Dalton because he had a pair of TDs and finished as a top-15 fantasy QB - ahead of guys like Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford. Primetime Andy always worries me, so I didn't even rank him in my top-20 QBs this week. Of course he's lighting up this Baltimore defense right now, and I'm sure C.J. Mosley leaving the game early is helping his cause. As for Mahomes, I feel like Tyreek Hill made him look good against the Chargers, and Mahomes finished as the #2 fantasy QB behind...Ryan Fitzpatrick? Sure, why not?! So I was wrong there.
This week, you'll notice I'm 4 spots higher on Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford versus the experts. Did you see what Rodgers did against a good Bears defense last week on one leg? I know the Vikings are good too, but as long as he plays, I don't understand ranking Rodgers any lower than a top-3 QB. As for Stafford, I get why the experts would shy away from him after that disaster of a game on Monday night (against the JETS!). Well, I say he bounces back this week in San Francisco and easily finishes as a top-10 play. That run game still looks terrible, and I expect Stafford to throw the ball 40+ times. I think he'll do a better job with those passes in Week 2.In that same game, I'm down on Jimmy Garoppolo. I realize Detroit's defense looked terrible in Week 1, but the Niners offense didn't look great either. I suppose something has to give, but I'm just not that confident yet in Jimmy G. It's possible Marquise Goodwin misses this game, in which case Jimmy would need to rely on Garcon, Pettis, and Kittle as his best receiving options. Yikes. I'm also down on Cam Newton this week, as he travels to Atlanta to face a Falcons defense that made Nick Foles look like, well, Nick Foles from a couple of years ago. The Panther offense didn't do much in Week 1 either, and without Greg Olsen, I think Cam could struggle on the road in this game.
RUNNING BACKS
Last week I was high on Latavius Murray (ESPN #47, ME #35) and down on Kerryon Johnson (ESPN #36, ME NOT RANKED). While Latavius didn't finish where I ranked him, he did get 11 carries (mostly in the 4th quarter) in what was mostly an easy win. This is basically what I expected and discussed when I made this pick, but I thought he might find the endzone and also find himself as a usable FLEX option. He's a great handcuff in case Cook gets injured, but I still feel like he'll get some touchdowns and have some standalone value this season. As for Kerryon Johnson, he finished worse than Murray and was outside of the top-50 fantasy RBs in Week 1. Fantasy owners would be wise to play it safe and wait to see what happens with this Detroit backfield situation. I'm still not ranking the rookie in my top-50 just yet.
This week, I'm about 10 spots higher than the experts on Tevin Coleman and James White. I'm not convinced Devonta Freeman even plays this week, so I'm down on him versus the ECR. Even if Freeman does play, I feel like he could be limited with his injury. I think Tevin Coleman would easily be a top-20 fantasy RB in that scenario. As for James White, he seems to be the only healthy running back for the Patriots right now. And actually regardless of whether or not Burkhead and/or Michel play against the Jags, I still like White to be heavily involved in the game plan. He's an excellent PPR play this week, but I think he'll be a great value in standard leagues as well.
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| I was high on Devin Funchess (ESPN #38, ME #24) and down on Robert Woods (ESPN #28, ME #40) last week, but both actually finished outside of the top-50. At least Funchess was the "best" receiver for the Panthers, but Woods is sharing targets with Cooks and Cupp, and I'm not that confident in his usage. With Greg Olsen set to miss extended time, I'll continue to be high on Funchess. As for Woods, I'm not ready to trust him in this offense that has Cooks in it now. | ||||||||
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 Last week there wasn't really a fantasy defense I was that high/low on versus the ESPN experts, but I said that would surely change in Week 2. Well, now I'm comparing to the ECR, and it's much easier to pick out those differences. The biggest differences in my rankings this week are the Saints and Cowboys. I'm not believing in the Saints D after they gave up so many points to the Fitzpatrick Buccaneers in Week 1, so I have them outside of my top-10. As for the Cowboys, they actually did pretty well in Carolina in Week 1, and I like for them to step up against Eli Manning and company in their home opener. I'm not sure how good this defense is just yet, but I think they could be a top-15 unit this week. | ||||||||
Good luck to everyone in Week 2!
(Except you, Terry...)
Cheers,
Bart
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