There hasn't been a ton of activity in the NFL since my last update back in May, but OTAs have built up some hype for certain players (mostly rookies) and I've been mock drafting and reading a few fantasy football articles. Oh, and training camps start in like 2 weeks! That all got me thinking about my own rankings and nudged me to version up the big board.
As far as some of the moves since May that have impacted my list below...
The Chiefs released Jeremy Maclin, which moves Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill up my list. Either could conceivably lead the Chiefs in receiving yards/TDs this year, and Chris Conley also now cracks my top-200.
As for Maclin, he ended up with my wife's team (the Ravens), which was definitely a good move for them after losing Steve Smith to retirement, Kamar Aiken to free agency, and Dennis Pitta to yet another hip injury that'll likely end his career. And while it may seem like a lateral move for Maclin's fantasy value, I actually moved him up a bit. Here's something you may not know: Baltimore has THE most passing attempts in each of the last two seasons. Someone has to try to catch all of those balls in 2017, and Mike Wallace can't do it by himself. And while a lot of people like Perriman's breakout potential this season, I think Maclin is a much better bet in the short term. I also like what the move does for Flacco's fantasy value, though you can still likely get him in the last round of your draft (and that's probably still appropriate).
After letting Brandon Marshall walk, the Jets let Eric Decker go too, and he signed a one year deal with the Titans. Marcus Mariota continues to gain weapons, but this likely hurts the value of other Titan receivers. In fact, I think it could really hurt Delanie Walker's value since Decker is such a red zone threat. As for the Jets, I don't really know what they're thinking, but their receiving corps is now very much unproven. I like Enunwa to lead the bunch, but I could also now see ArDarius Stewart having an impact in his rookie season.
LeGarrette Blount signed with the Eagles since my last blog post, but I had already lowered him with the expectation that he was going to be out of New England. Hence, I didn't lower him even more here.
One thing I didn't mention in my last update was that I landed the #1 pick in my upcoming draft. I know you probably don't care, but let me explain because it does impact my rankings a bit. Anyway, we do a bingo ball lottery thing to determine draft order in my league. We ended up doing it early this year at our dude's beach weekend (which was the first weekend of March Madness). Since I have the top pick in my draft, that means I'll likely be taking Le'Veon Bell unless he:
a. gets busted for weed in the next few weeks
b. holds out over a new contract (unlikely but possible)
c. gets seriously hurt before my draft
What that also means is I'll likely have two RBs on my roster with the same bye week before I even pick in Round 2 of my draft. Jordan Howard is looking like my best potential keeper, and he also gets Week 9 off. In fact, there are SIX teams with a Week 9 bye, so I'm lowering a few other RBs with that same bye. Of course there is a point at which I won't pass up on a guy like Dalvin Cook (especially since I'm in a keeper league), but I've lowered some of these Week 9 RBs accordingly, and I probably won't even look at New England running backs when considering Bellitricks to go along with the Week 9 bye thing. It's just not worth it. Everyone assumes Gillislee is going to fit into the LeGarrette Blount role. But you know what? A month before New England signed him, everyone was saying it'd be Rex Burkhead. And after the 3rd week of the preseason, it could be someone else! No thanks.
Again, these are MY rankings. You probably don't want to lower a RB solely based on his Week 9 bye, but it's just something else to consider if you're looking at bye weeks for your own squad. I typically don't put a lot of stock in the byes because so much can happen between now and, say, Week 9. But when my preseason top two (potential) RBs have the same bye? Well then, I'm considering it.
Enjoy the rankings!
As far as some of the moves since May that have impacted my list below...
The Chiefs released Jeremy Maclin, which moves Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill up my list. Either could conceivably lead the Chiefs in receiving yards/TDs this year, and Chris Conley also now cracks my top-200.
As for Maclin, he ended up with my wife's team (the Ravens), which was definitely a good move for them after losing Steve Smith to retirement, Kamar Aiken to free agency, and Dennis Pitta to yet another hip injury that'll likely end his career. And while it may seem like a lateral move for Maclin's fantasy value, I actually moved him up a bit. Here's something you may not know: Baltimore has THE most passing attempts in each of the last two seasons. Someone has to try to catch all of those balls in 2017, and Mike Wallace can't do it by himself. And while a lot of people like Perriman's breakout potential this season, I think Maclin is a much better bet in the short term. I also like what the move does for Flacco's fantasy value, though you can still likely get him in the last round of your draft (and that's probably still appropriate).
After letting Brandon Marshall walk, the Jets let Eric Decker go too, and he signed a one year deal with the Titans. Marcus Mariota continues to gain weapons, but this likely hurts the value of other Titan receivers. In fact, I think it could really hurt Delanie Walker's value since Decker is such a red zone threat. As for the Jets, I don't really know what they're thinking, but their receiving corps is now very much unproven. I like Enunwa to lead the bunch, but I could also now see ArDarius Stewart having an impact in his rookie season.
LeGarrette Blount signed with the Eagles since my last blog post, but I had already lowered him with the expectation that he was going to be out of New England. Hence, I didn't lower him even more here.
One thing I didn't mention in my last update was that I landed the #1 pick in my upcoming draft. I know you probably don't care, but let me explain because it does impact my rankings a bit. Anyway, we do a bingo ball lottery thing to determine draft order in my league. We ended up doing it early this year at our dude's beach weekend (which was the first weekend of March Madness). Since I have the top pick in my draft, that means I'll likely be taking Le'Veon Bell unless he:
a. gets busted for weed in the next few weeks
b. holds out over a new contract (unlikely but possible)
c. gets seriously hurt before my draft
What that also means is I'll likely have two RBs on my roster with the same bye week before I even pick in Round 2 of my draft. Jordan Howard is looking like my best potential keeper, and he also gets Week 9 off. In fact, there are SIX teams with a Week 9 bye, so I'm lowering a few other RBs with that same bye. Of course there is a point at which I won't pass up on a guy like Dalvin Cook (especially since I'm in a keeper league), but I've lowered some of these Week 9 RBs accordingly, and I probably won't even look at New England running backs when considering Bellitricks to go along with the Week 9 bye thing. It's just not worth it. Everyone assumes Gillislee is going to fit into the LeGarrette Blount role. But you know what? A month before New England signed him, everyone was saying it'd be Rex Burkhead. And after the 3rd week of the preseason, it could be someone else! No thanks.
Again, these are MY rankings. You probably don't want to lower a RB solely based on his Week 9 bye, but it's just something else to consider if you're looking at bye weeks for your own squad. I typically don't put a lot of stock in the byes because so much can happen between now and, say, Week 9. But when my preseason top two (potential) RBs have the same bye? Well then, I'm considering it.
Enjoy the rankings!
Bart
