2017 Fantasy Football: Positional Rankings

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Wide Receivers (PPR)

Tight End

Defense/Special Teams

*All rankings will be subject to change up until the start of the season.

Quarterbacks

We start off here at Quarterback, which is without a doubt the deepest position in fantasy. Everyone has their different strategies of when to draft the position, but a vast majority of experts will wait at Quarterback. When you can wait until the tenth round and choose between Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott, and Derek Carr, it’s tough to convince me to draft Aaron Rodgers in the third or fourth round.

However, everything depends on the format of your league and what rules are in place. If it’s a two Quarterback league, feel free to take a Quarterback when ever you would like. I’ve seen a 2 QB mock draft on ESPN, where experts who missed out on the best six players will go with Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. Quarterbacks also hold more value when a passing touchdown is worth six points instead of four. If your Quarterback throws 30 touchdowns in this scoring format, it’s an additional 60 points for your season.

*Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

When you look at just the rankings, you’ll notice that there’s a lot more hype around younger Quarterbacks, and regression for older Quarterbacks (minus Tom Brady and Drew Brees). Perhaps the biggest indicators of this are Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers. Big Ben has sustained big injuries in both of his last two seasons, and has been terrible on the road as of late. Even though Rivers has played all 16 games since 2006, he has had many injuries to his receiver corps in the last two years and has thrown way too many interceptions. Even though these players aren’t hyped up, they can have great fantasy performances as long as you play the matchups correctly. Drafting them as your second QB, or pairing them with someone drafted a couple rounds earlier can pay huge dividends for you. Below are my Quarterback rankings for this upcoming fantasy football season.

Top 32 Quarterbacks for 2017

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
4. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
5. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
6. Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins
7. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
8. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
9. Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
10. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
11. Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12. Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans
13. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers
15. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
16. Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills
17. Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
18. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals
19. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
20. Eli Manning, New York Giants
21. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
22. Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals
23. Brian Hoyer, San Francisco 49ers
24. Sam Bradford, Minnesota Vikings
25. Jay Cutler, Miami Dolphins
26. Mike Glennon, Chicago Bears
27. Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
28. Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos
29. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
30. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
31. Cody Kessler, Cleveland Browns
32. Tom Savage, Houston Texans

Running Backs

Running back is always a tough position to draft in fantasy because of the volatility of production and injuries. Just because a running back is being drafted in the first round, doesn’t mean he will return that value. In fact, many experts firmly believe that running backs should not be drafted until the later rounds of the draft. This allows fantasy players to load of wide receivers, and address Quarterback and tight end earlier than other owners. Just look at the top ten running backs for this season, only six of my top ten ranked running backs went in the first rounds of drafts last season. That doesn’t even necessarily mean that provided top 30 pick value, but that at their ceiling that is the value they should produce this season.

*Courtesy of FFcouchcoach.com

Now even amidst the strategies of waiting on running backs, I feel we have to continue to draft running backs highly. There are only a few running backs who are considered true bellcow backs, and they provide great fantasy value. Last season, the best wide receivers went first overall in drafts, but the outstanding production from Le’Veon Bell, David Johnson, and Ezekiel Elliott has shot them up to the top of draft boards. Because there are so few bellcow backs in the league, they are all being drafted in the first two or three rounds. Even though the position is the riskiest in fantasy, missing out on this kind of production can badly hurt your fantasy season because of the number of running back committees in the league.

Top 50 Running Backs for 2017 (Standard Scoring)

1. David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
2. Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
3. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
4. LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills
5. Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons
6. Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers
7. Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears
8. Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins
9. DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans
10. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
11. Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders
12. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars
13. Lamar Miller, Houston Texans
14. Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns
15. Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers
16. Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
17. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
18. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
19. Mike Gillislee, New England Patriots
20. Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers
21. Spencer Ware, Kansas City Chiefs
22. Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts
23. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
24. LeGarrette Blount, Philadelphia Eagles
25. Robert Kelley, Washington Redskins
26. Eddie Lacy, Seattle Seahawks
27. C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos
28. Bilal Powell, New York Jets
29. Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions
30. Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons
31. Paul Perkins, New York Giants
32. Terrance West, Baltimore Ravens
33. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
34. Adrian Peterson, New Orleans Saints
35. James White, New England Patriots
36. Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions
37. Danny Woodhead, Baltimore Ravens
38. Jacquizz Rodgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
39. Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles
40. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
41. Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals
42. Jalen Richard, Oakland Raiders
43. Matt Forte, New York Jets
44. Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals
45. Samaje Perine, Washington Redskins
46. Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks
47. Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
48. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
49. Latavius Murray, Minnesota Vikings
50. James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers

Top 50 Running Backs for 2017 (PPR Scoring)

1. Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
2. David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
3. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
4. LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills
5. Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons
6. Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers
7. DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans
8. Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears
9. Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins
10. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
11. Lamar Miller, Houston Texans
12. Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders
13. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers
15. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
16. Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns
17. Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
18. Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers
19. Bilal Powell, New York Jets
20. Danny Woodhead, Baltimore Ravens
21. Spencer Ware, Kansas City Chiefs
22. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
23. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
24. Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions
25. Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions
26. Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts
27. Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons
28. Paul Perkins, New York Giants
29. C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos
30. Eddie Lacy, Seattle Seahawks
31. Mike Gillislee, New England Patriots
32. Terrance West, Baltimore Ravens
33. Robert Kelley, Washington Redskins
34. Duke Johnson Jr., Cleveland Browns
35. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
36. Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles
37. James White, New England Patriots
38. LeGarrette Blount, Philadelphia Eagles
39. Jalen Richard, Oakland Raiders
40. Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals
41. C.J. Prosise, Seattle Seahawks
42. Adrian Peterson, New Orleans Saints
43. Chris Thompson, Washington Redskins
44. Jacquizz Rodgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
45. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
46. Samaje Perine, Washington Redskins
47. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
48. Matt Forte, New York Jets
49. Rex Burkhead, New England Patriots
50. Shane Vereen, New York Giants

Wide Receiver

Wide Receiver is often the most consistent position in fantasy from a production standpoint. The reason that players like Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and Odell Beckham Jr. have been first or second round picks in each of the last three seasons is because of their consistent high level of production. However, this doesn’t mean that wide receivers can’t always live up to expectations. I previously wrote an article shown here, that illustrates the issues regarding all receivers going in the third or fourth rounds of drafts, and what is holding them back from being a WR1. Receivers don’t always get the consistent touches that running backs get, so there can be a fairly low floor on a week to week basis. However, overall the numbers wide receivers are expected to produce are often very consistent. The biggest concerns in drafts are navigating injury history, poor Quarterback play, and ultimately finding the diamond in the rough.

*Courtesy of Backyard Banter

The rankings below are for standard scoring, which traditionally favors running backs over receivers. This is because points are not allotted per touch, so the scoring is seriously dependent on touchdowns. Even though more and more teams are throwing inside the 10 yardline, teams ideally would like to run the ball in for six. This scoring system increases the value in big play threats and red zone threats, like Ted Ginn Jr., Donte Moncrief, and Eric Decker. It also lowers the fantasy value in receivers that catch a lot of passes but don’t have a high touchdown total, like Julian Edelman, Jarvis Landry, and Golden Tate. This is taken into account in the rankings below, and should part of your thought process on draft day.

Top 50 Wide Receivers 2017 (Standard Scoring)

1. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
3. Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
4. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
6. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers
7. T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts
8. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
9. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
10. Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
11. Brandin Cooks, New England Patriots
12. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
13. Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
14. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
15. Alshon Jeffery, Philadelphia Eagles
16. Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars
17. Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders
18. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
19. Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills
20. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
21. Golden Tate, Detroit Lions
22. Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins
23. Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
24. Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos
25. Terrelle Pryor Sr., Washington Redskins
26. Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings
27. Pierre Garcon, San Francisco 49ers
28. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
29. Jamison Crowder, Washington Redskins
30. Donte Moncrief, Indianapolis Colts
31. Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh Steelers
32. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
33. Mike Wallace, Baltimore Ravens
34. Brandon Marshall, New York Giants
35. Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers
36. Eric Decker, Tennessee Titans
37. Cameron Meredith, Chicago Bears
38. Willie Snead, New Orleans Saints
39. Tyrell Williams, Los Angeles Chargers
40. Jeremy Maclin, Baltimore Ravens
41. Anquan Boldin, Buffalo Bills
42. Rishard Matthews, Tennessee Titans
43. Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles
44. DeSean Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
45. Ted Ginn Jr. New Orleans Saints
46. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
47. Kenny Britt, Cleveland Browns
48. Corey Coleman, Cleveland Browns
49. Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans
50. Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills

The rankings below are for PPR scoring, which traditionally favor receivers more than running backs. This is because any player who catches a pass automatically receives a point for the receptions, and a point per 10 yards. Even though this rule doesn’t only help out receivers, this position is the primary beneficiary. This will bump up the value of receivers who catch a lot of passes but aren’t big touchdown threats, like Julian Edelman, Jarvis Landry, and Golden Tate. However, this format also decreases the value of big play threats, like Ted Ginn Jr., Kenny Stills, and Marvin Jones. This is all important to take into consideration on draft day, and focus on understanding your league’s rules.

Top 50 Wide Receivers 2017 (PPR Scoring)

1. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
3. Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
4. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
5. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers
7. T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts
8. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
9. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
10. Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
11. Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
12. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
13. Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins
14. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
15. Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
16. Brandin Cooks, New England Patriots
17. Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos
18. Golden Tate, Detroit Lions
19. Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders
20. Alshon Jeffery, Philadelphia Eagles
21. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
22. Terrelle Pryor Sr., Washington Redskins
23. Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills
24. Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars
25. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
26. Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings
27. Pierre Garcon, San Francisco 49ers
28. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
29. Jamison Crowder, Washington Redskins
30. Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh Steelers
31. Donte Moncrief, Indianapolis Colts
32. Willie Snead, New Orleans Saints
33. Brandon Marshall, New York Giants
34. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
35. Jeremy Maclin, Baltimore Ravens
36. Mike Wallace, Baltimore Ravens
37. Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles
38. Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams
39. Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers
40. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
41. Cameron Meredith, Chicago Bears
42. Rishard Matthews, Tennessee Titans
43. DeSean Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
44. Eric Decker, Tennessee Titans
45. Kenny Britt, Cleveland Browns
46. Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
47. Corey Coleman, Cleveland Browns
48. Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills
49. Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans
50. Kevin White, Chicago Bears

Tight End

Tight End is always a tricky position to draft for fantasy players who aren’t positive what they’re doing. Despite having a strong class of consistent studs in the middle of drafts, players seem to either draft an injury-prone star in the beginning or wait until the last few rounds. The important thing to understand where you are drafting each tight end option. If you look at the top tight ends in Gronk and Jordan Reed, both are being drafted at their ceiling. The concern however is that Gronk hasn’t played a 16 game season since 2011, and Reed never has. This makes these players incredibly boom or bust options, but if they’re falling in drafts, it’s really tough not to pull the trigger.

However, a majority of fantasy experts in the industry don’t care to waste early picks on tight ends. Most of us seem to focus our first five or six rounds completely on running backs and wide receivers. This means we will likely miss out on the top six tight end options, and we’ll wait until the final rounds for the position. This shouldn’t be a concern though because many of these options aren’t being drafted at their ceiling. Just look at Kyle Rudolph, who was the number two tight end in PPR formats last season, and is now being drafted as the 7th or 8th tight end off the board. A lot of these sleeper options are being drafted somewhere in between their normal expectations and their floor, which means these options have lots of upside. Just think about Jack Doyle with no Dwayne Allen in Indy, or Eric Ebron with no more Anquan Boldin in Detroit. All of these options from TE9-TE15 have tremendous upside without having to use a high draft pick on them. This is why so many experts love to wait on the position.

But enough of all this strategy, it all depends how your draft board falls to you. Even though I like waiting at the position, if you love Rob Gronkowski, then take him (or trade for him after he gets injured a couple weeks in). Below are my rankings for Tight Ends in both Standard and PPR formats.

Top 25 Tight Ends 2017 (Standard and PPR Scoring)

1. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
2. Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins
3. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
4. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers
5. Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans
6. Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks
7. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings
8. Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals
9. Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers
10. Martellus Bennett, Green Bay Packers
11. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
12. Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts
13. Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions
14. Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. C.J. Fiedorowicz, Houston Texans
16. Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons
17. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, New York Jets
18. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
19. Coby Fleener, New Orleans Saints
20. Jesse James, Pittsburgh Steelers
21. O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22. Zach Miller, Chicago Bears
23. Julius Thomas, Miami Dolphins
24. Evan Engram, New York Giants
25. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

Defense/Special Teams

Top 20 Defense/Special Teams Units 2017

1. Denver Broncos
2. Seattle Seahawks
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. New England Patriots
5. Houston Texans
6. Kansas City Chiefs
7. New York Giants
8. Arizona Cardinals
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Baltimore Ravens
11. San Diego Chargers
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
13. Chicago Bears
14. Cincinnati Bengals
15. Tennessee Titans
16. Atlanta Falcons
17. Philadelphia Eagles
18. Oakland Raiders
19. Buffalo Bills
20. Green Bay Packers

Kickers

Top 20 Kickers for 2017

1. Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens
2. Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys
3. Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots
4. Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons
5. Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts
6. Matt Prater, Detroit Lions
7. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers
8. Cairo Santos, Kansas City Chiefs
9. Will Lutz, New Orleans Saints
10. Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders
11. Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos
12. Dustin Hopkins, Washington Redskins
13. Graham Gano, Carolina Panthers
14. Caleb Sturgis, Philadelphia Eagles
15. Ryan Succop, Tennessee Titans
16. Nick Novak, Houston Texans
17. Josh Lambo, Los Angeles Chargers
18. Steven Hauschka, Buffalo Bills
19. Randy Bullock, Cincinnati Bengals
20. Phil Dawson, Arizona Cardinals

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Written by

John Leinweber

Warriors, Lions, Raiders, Giants, A's.

Everything Fantasy

My input for the major stories in fantasy

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