I have a close friend in one of my leagues. I like him in real life, but in fantasy he is kind of a annoying. Every week he complains which of his guys failed to meet expectations. What expectations? The ones he pulled from the site we’re pulling from.
He is a rankings whore. He only looks at one site and is a slave to whomever they say is the best play. I’ll keep him anonymous for now, but if you know me then please make sure you heed this advice: look at many sources and grab a consensus — if you can’t make a prediction on your own. At the very least, read this article each week to get a consensus of who is getting ranked where. And, friend… remember me come the holidays when you’re leading your league.
Below is a ranking showing each sites 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.
QUARTERBACKS
QB Notes – Pay close attention to ESPN’s ranking of Cap’n Kaepernick. They have him ranked so much lower than everyone else. They may be overly discounting his horrible handling of the crowd noise in Seattle … or they think Seattle just told the league how to contain him… Barely missing the list is Terrelle Pryor. ESPN has him No. 4, which is a huge surprise, even facing a questionable Denver secondary. Congrats to him… Matt Ryan and Tony Romo both seem like nice safe bets.
RUNNING BACKS
RB Notes: Marshawn Lynch will help fantasy owners taste the rainbow this week as he faces the Jaguars. It seems prognosticators are having a tough time predicting run defense still. A) is Doug Martin against New England (ESPN has him #16) and Evidence B) is Arian Foster, going against the Ravens (CBS has him #11). I’d trust the higher rankings… Chris Johnson is back and will be bringing the thunder to the Chargers. Trent Richardson learning a new scheme, new play calls and … ah, heck, he can’t do worse than with Cleveland.
WIDE RECEIVERS
WR Notes – As a public service humble-brag, last week, I said to pick up Julian Edelman and he caught 15 passes for 78 yards. How is he still unowned in 14% of Yahoo leagues!?… Saying A.J. Green will have a big day against the swiss cheeseheads of Green Bay is too easy… Barely missing the list is Pierre Garcon and Vincent Jackson… Emmanuel Sanders is the best unowned free agent out there.
TIGHT ENDS
TE Notes – Rob Gronkowski may or may not be back. ESPN and Yahoo have him questionable and a top projected tight end. CBS not so much… Antonio Gates is back… at least for this week against the Titans… Jordan Cameron is proving he is no fluke but what will happen to him with a new QB and RB?
KICKERS
K Notes – Expect lots of extra points from Hauschka. Hopefully, this week Matt Bryant only gets one attempt per kick. Randy Bullock of Houston barely missed the list and is only owned in 12% of Yahoo leagues. For that matter, Kai Forbath of Washington is at 5% and is projected only two point behind the leader.
DEFENSE
DEF Notes – The Seahawks are the clear favorites this week. Of course, you should know our rule around here … when in doubt, bet against the Jaguars… Bears and Broncos are consistent picks but I think the Broncos secondary is suspect, though I like their special teams… Yahoo doesn’t trust the Patriots as much as ESPN and Yahoo… The Bills and Chargers (Yahoo’s No.4) are owned in less than 30% of leagues so there is still time to pick them up.
Good luck out there… and when in doubt, always bet against the Jaguars (it bears repeating).
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
