Week 2 Fantasy Football Rankings: Yahoo, ESPN, CBS

It isn’t easy being a rankings whore. Actually, it is pretty easy. Just put in whoever is ranked best based on whatever the site tells you and sit back and take the credit.

Of course, that is an easy way to lose.

If you want to win, you have to look at the matchups and you have to get information from more than one source. For example, Stephen Janikowski is a top five kicker per CBS and ESPN but doesn’t even crack the top 25 for Yahoo. That should give you pause.

Below are rankings which show each site’s points and their consensus (i.e. average) ranking. Use this to help you towards fantasy victory. All are based on projected points as of Monday.

QUARTERBACK

Player

Team

Vs.

Y! Pts

Y! Rank

CBS Pts

CBS Rank

ESPN Pts

ESPN Rank

Avg Rank

Drew Brees

NO

TB

20

3

30

3

23

2

3

Aaron Rogers

GB

WAS

21

2

32

2

22

5

3

Cam Newton

CAR

BUF

18

8

25

4

23

2

5

Peyton Manning

DEN

NYG

22

1

36

1

17

12

5

Robert Griffin III

WAS

GB

19

5

22

9

25

1

5

Colin Kaepernick

SF

SEA

19

5

22

9

23

2

5

Tom Brady

NE

NYJ

20

3

25

4

17

12

6

Matthew Stafford

DET

AZ

17

11

25

4

22

5

7

Michael Vick

PHI

SD

18

8

22

9

22

5

7

Matt Ryan

ATL

STL

19

5

23

7

19

11

8

Couple big surprises here:

The 49ers showed the world that the Green Bay secondary couldn’t stop a baby lamb, let alone a passing-running quarterback. Expect big things from RGIII – knee or no knee…Michael Vick becomes an interesting play going against a weak Charger team….Russell Wilson doesn’t break the top 10 facing a tough 49ers defense.

RUNNING BACKS

Player

Team

Vs.

Yahoo

Y! Rank

CBS

CBS Rank

ESPN

ESPN Rank

Avg Rank

LeSean McCoy

PHI

SD

16

1

20

1

16

4

2

Adrian Peterson

MIN

CHI

15

4

19

2

18

1

2

Doug Martin

TB

NO

16

1

18

3

16

4

3

Ray Rice

BAL

CLE

14

5

16

5

16

4

5

Arian Foster

HOU

TEN

16

1

14

7

15

8

5

C.J. Spiller

BUF

CAR

14

5

13

8

17

2

5

Trent Richardson

CLE

BAL

14

5

13

8

16

4

6

Matt Forte

CHI

MIN

14

5

16

5

15

8

6

Jamaal Charles

KC

DAL

14

5

17

4

11

13

7

Steven Jackson

ATL

STL

14

5

13

8

13

12

8

Running backs projections are tighter than the running lanes; C.J. Spiller saw last week against the Patriots. Per Yahoo, there is only a two point difference between #1 and #10….Doug Martin seems high here. The Buccaneers will be either in a shootout or playing behind most of the game. He’ll have some red zone opportunities but they won’t be running the ball a lot….I’ll trust ESPN’s lack of trust in Jamaal Charles this week against the Cowboys. It smells like a skunk game waiting to happen.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Player

Team

Vs.

Yahoo

Y! Rank

CBS

CBS Rank

ESPN

ESPN Rank

Avg Rank

Calvin Johnson

DET

AZ

13

1

17

1

15

1

1

Larry Fitzgerald

AZ

DET

11

5

17

1

15

1

2

Demaryius Thomas

DEN

NYG

12

2

15

5

14

5

4

Vincent Jackson

TB

NO

10

9

16

3

15

1

4

Julio Jones

ATL

STL

12

2

14

8

14

5

5

Dez Bryant

DET

KC

12

2

14

8

14

5

5

Andre Johnson

HOU

TEN

10

9

16

3

14

5

6

Julian Edelman

NE

NYJ

11

5

14

8

14

5

6

Randall Cobb

GB

WAS

10

9

14

8

15

1

6

Brandon Marshall

CHI

MIN

11

5

15

5

13

11

7

This is your wake-up call. It is time to pick up Julian Edelman and to start playing him weekly. He is the Wes Welker that we were speculating about….Andrew Johnson feels really low here. He has the potential to get some big TD plays this week against the Titans.

TIGHT ENDS

Player

Team

Vs.

Yahoo

Y! Rank

CBS

CBS Rank

ESPN

ESPN Rank

Avg Rank

Jimmy Graham

NO

TB

11

1

14

1

13

1

1

Jason Witten

DAL

KC

8

3

12

3

11

3

3

Tony Gonzalez

ATL

STL

9

2

11

5

11

3

3

Vernon Davis

SF

SEA

8

3

11

5

11

3

4

Julius Thomas

DEN

NYG

7

5

11

5

11

3

4

Jordan Cameron

CLE

BAL

6

9

12

3

12

2

5

Jermichael Finley

GB

WAS

7

5

11

5

9

8

6

Jared Cook

STL

ATL

7

5

13

2

5

11

6

Greg Olsen

CAR

BUF

7

5

10

9

6

10

8

Kellen Winslow

NYJ

NE

6

9

7

13

11

3

8

During the pre-season, yours truly talked about the great sleepiness potential in the tight end department. Evidence A is Julius Thomas and Evidence B is Jordan Cameron. Thomas is owned in only 56% of Yahoo leagues and Cameron is at a (still too low) 80%. Each is facing a stout defense and is still top 5 potential….Antonio Gates barely missed the list. While ESPN and CBS had him higher, Yahoo rankings have him lower.

KICKER

Player

Team

Vs.

Yahoo

Y! Rank

CBS

CBS Rank

ESPN

ESPN Rank

Avg Rank

Stephen Gostkowski

NE

NYJ

8

3

11

2

15

1

2

Randy Bullock

HOU

TEN

8

3

11

2

14

2

2

Justin Tucker

BAL

CLE

9

1

11

2

11

4

2

Matt Bryant

ATL

STL

9

1

11

2

11

4

2

Matt Prater

DEN

NYG

8

3

10

7

12

3

4

This might be the best week to prove that kickers should never be taken before the last round. Each site’s ranking has at least one top 5 kicker that doesn’t even crack the top ten of the other sites! Besides the aforementioned Janikowski, there is Greg Zuelein, Phil Dawson and David Akers….Josh Scobee is owned in only 1% of Yahoo leagues and … hey someone has to lead the Jaguars in scoring…Randy Bullock is a consensus #2 kicker this week but is owned in only 17% of Yahoo leagues. If all the aforementioned kickers are taken, Kai Forbath (16%) seems like a steal going against the Packers.

DEFENSE

Player

Team

Vs.

Yahoo

Y! Rank

CBS

CBS Rank

ESPN

ESPN Rank

Avg Rank

Patriots

NE

NYJ

15

1

17

2

11

1

1

Texans

HOU

TEN

11

3

18

1

7

2

2

Cowboys

DAL

KC

13

2

12

5

6

4

4

Bengals

CIN

PIT

10

5

13

4

7

2

4

Bears

CHI

MIN

9

7

14

3

6

4

5

If your league deducts for penalties, beware the cowboys. Otherwise, they proved last week they are the sleeper defense team this year. It isn’t too late to pick them up (20% ownership in Yahoo). Best of all they are facing Alex “I can’t handle a new system again” Smith.

Good luck out there… and when in doubt, always bet against the Jaguars.

Brian Reddoch is a CraveOnline reporter and rabid fan of all teams Seattle. You can follow him on Twitter @ReddReddoch or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.

Photo Credit: Getty

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