Early Rankings Early Drafts

The early fantasy football player rankings are a thrill-seekers paradise!  Ryan Grant has been dropped to like part-time platoon back status in the rankings. I've participated in several mocks, most of which were of somewhat questionable quality, and only one early league draft.  Here's what I noticed:

1) Wide receiver seems perilously shallow.  Seriously, after like the top 12 guys, who disappeared in a flash, I found myself desperately wishing I had taken wideouts in rounds 2, 3, and 4!  It might just be me, but I suspect I'll be forced to bump WR up on my draft boards because of the paucity of reliable targets out there. And my next bullet didn't help this feeling at all, to wit....

2) The uncertainty surrounding free-agency this year seems to have affected RBs the most: there were plenty of potential top 20 and even possible top 10 caliber backs available deep into the middle rounds.  Guys like Ryan Mathews, who should not be ranked below RB20, were available in round 7 or later?!  Shonn Greene was still on the shelf at these rounds as well.  Jonathan Stewart, his pal DeAngelo,  and even Forte were going way too late (round 5).

3)  Michael Vick is not going as high as many of us thought he would.  He seems to be going around QB5, which is nice for him, but clearly does not reflect a belief that he will return to that jaw-dropping level of performance we saw last year.

4)  The quarterback position is not being given its proper due.  Anyone who knows me or has played in a league with me knows how much I favor the RB position but the numbers just don't lie: over the last 3 years, committee backfields, increasing emphasis on passing, and injuries have led to an almost precipitous drop in the early round values of RBs in fantasy drafts, mostly to the benefit of QBs. QBs provide not only the highest points per game, but also the greatest consistency (at the elite level) over all other fantasy football positions.  In my only "real" draft so far, Tom Brady didn't get nabbed until the 4th round.

That is much too late.  Seriously.



Some people shy away from early drafts because of fears of injury, but also because of all the uncertainty surrounding free agency and what the depth charts will look like. Others, like myself, will jump right in there on the basis of the idea that my guesses are better than your guesses about what will happen to the question marks. For example in my first real draft I ended up grabbing Mathews and Stewart (already had Turner and Shady) because I felt that they were significantly more valuable than the available WRs on the board. (my personal ranking has Mathews no lower than RB12) By the time the season starts, if I really feel pressed at WR, I should be able to trade these guys for much better WRs than were available at the point in the draft.  What do you think?