What Is A Fantasy Football Article Doing On A Geek Website: Family and Friends Rankings

If you’ve followed my journey through life, you’ll know I love a lot of things. Chihuahuas, Star Wars, Iron Maiden, Magic: the Gathering, a small stuffed cow named Mr. Cow, and fantasy football. So when I found a website that would let me at least write about some of those things (I’m still waiting on Chihuahuas), it’s time to break down one of those barriers. So for the first time in That Hashtag Show history, let’s talk about some fake sports.

Normally every fantasy football season I do a big effort of writing up player profiles on the top 150 plus players. I do rankings. I project point totals. The full gamut of nerdy stats. So this year, I’m changing it up a bit. I know most people are going to skip this opening section to just get to the rankings. Magic: the Gathering articles are similar to this, you just gotta get to the decklists. This year, we’re going to give you all the rankings that you want. Rankings. And you’re also going to get what players I like, and the ones that I dislike at their costs. I don’t believe in “never drafting” certain players. Like Ted DiBiase said, “everyone has a price”.

So you’re going to get a paragraph or two about the top 150 players or so. If you like Christian McCaffrey, draft him. If you want to take Michael Thomas in the top 4 picks, go for it! I might not do that, but also, I’m just some schmuck on the internet. These are my personal PPR (points per reception) rankings, use them to guide your decisions, but that decision is yours. Because it’s your fantasy football team. So let’s get to it.

The Top 150 PPR Players

UPDATED: September 2nd

Christian McCaffrey RB Carolina Panthers
Saquon Barkley RB New York Giants
Ezekiel Elliot RB Dallas Cowboys
Alvin Kamara RB New Orleans Saints
Michael Thomas WR New Orleans Saints
Derrick Henry RB Tennessee Titans
Dalvin Cook RB Minnesota Vikings
Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB Kansas City Chiefs
Joe Mixon RB Cincinnati Bengals
Julio Jones WR Atlanta Falcons
Davante Adams WR Green Bay Packers
Tyreek Hill WR Kansas City Chiefs
Josh Jacobs RB Las Vegas Raiders
Austin Ekeler RB Los Angeles Chargers
Kenyan Drake RB Arizona Cardinals
DeAndre Hopkins WR Arizona Cardinals
Chris Godwin WR Tampa Bay Buccs
Miles Sanders RB Philadelphia Eagles
Allen Robinson WR Chicago Bears
Travis Kelce TE Kansas City Chiefs
George Kittle TE San Francisco 49’ers
Nick Chubb RB Cleveland Browns
Aaron Jones RB Green Bay Packers
Kenny Golladay WR Detroit Lions
Adam Thielen WR Minnesota Vikings
Cooper Kupp WR Los Angeles Rams
Odell Beckham Jr. WR Cleveland Browns
Todd Gurley RB Atlanta Falcons
Robert Woods WR Los Angeles Rams
Calvin Ridley WR Atlanta Falcons
Mark Andrews TE Baltimore Ravens
D.J. Moore WR Carolina Panthers
Chris Carson RB Seattle Seahawks
James Conner RB Pittsburgh Steelers
Patrick Mahomes QB Kansas City Chiefs
Lamar Jackson QB Baltimore Ravens
Mike Evans WR Tampa Bay Buccs
Juju Smith-Schuster WR Pittsburgh Steelers
Amari Cooper WR Dallas Cowboys
Le’Veon Bell RB New York Jets
Tyler Lockett WR Seattle Seahawks
D.K. Metcalf WR Seattle Seahawks
Zach Ertz TE Philadelphia Eagles
A.J. Brown WR Tennessee Titans
D.J. Chark WR Jacksonville Jaguars
Terry McLaurin WR Washington Team
Jonathan Taylor RB Indianapolis Colts
David Johnson RB Houston Texans
Keenan Allen WR Los Angeles Chargers
DeVante Parker WR Miami Dolphins
Darren Waller TE Las Vegas Raiders
A.J. Green WR Cincinnati Bengals
T.Y. Hilton WR Indianapolis Colts
Dak Prescott QB Dallas Cowboys
Mark Ingram II RB Baltimore Ravens
Melvin Gordon RB Denver Broncos
Ronald Jones RB Tampa Bay Buccs
Russell Wilson QB Seattle Seahawks
Deshaun Watson QB Houston Texans
Courtland Sutton WR Denver Broncos
Brandin Cooks WR Houston Texans
Josh Allen QB Buffalo Bills
Stefon Diggs WR Buffalo Bills
Marquise Brown WR Baltimore Ravens
Tyler Boyd WR Cincinnati Bengals
Kareem Hunt RB Cleveland Browns
Diontae Johnson WR Pittsburgh Steelers
David Montgomery RB Chicago Bears
Will Fuller WR Houston Texans
Raheem Mostert RB San Francisco 49’ers
Marvin Jones WR Detroit Lions
J.K. Dobbins RB Baltimore Ravens
Tyler Higbee TE Los Angeles Rams
Hayden Hurst TE Atlanta Falcons
D’Andre Swift RB Detroit Lions
Kyler Murray QB Arizona Cardinals
Tarik Cohen RB Chicago Bears
James White RB New England Patriots
Evan Engram TE New York Giants
Carson Wentz QB Philadelphia Eagles
Julian Edelman WR New England Patriots
Michael Gallup WR Dallas Cowboys
Matt Ryan QB Atlanta Falcons
Jarvis Landry WR Cleveland Browns
Christian Kirk WR Arizona Cardinals
Anthony Miller WR Chicago Bears
Devin Singletary RB Buffalo Bills
Jerry Jeudy WR Denver Broncos
Aaron Rodgers QB Green Bay Packers
Cam Newton QB New England Patriots
Jamison Crowder WR New York Jets
Henry Ruggs III WR Las Vegas Raiders
Jordan Howard RB Miami Dolphins
Sterling Shepard WR New York Giants
John Brown WR Buffalo Bills
Matthew Stafford QB Detroit Lions
Cam Akers RB Los Angeles Rams
Drew Brees QB New Orleans Saints
Phillip Lindsay RB Denver Broncos
Zack Moss RB Buffalo Bills
Darius Slayton WR New York Giants
Jonnu Smith TE Tennessee Titans
Matt Brieda RB Miami Dolphins
Marlon Mack RB Indianapolis Colts
Austin Hooper TE Cleveland Browns
Hunter Henry TE Los Angeles Chargers
Latavius Murray RB New Orleans Saints
Jalen Reagor WR Philadelphia Eagles
Rob Gronkowski TE Tampa Bay Buccs
Kerryon Johnson RB Detroit Lions
Golden Tate WR New York Giants
Tevin Coleman RB San Francisco 49’ers
Emmanuel Sanders WR New Orleans Saints
Noah Fant TE Denver Broncos
Duke Johnson RB Houston Texans
Tom Brady QB Tampa Bay Buccs
CeeDee Lamb WR Dallas Cowboys
Joe Burrow QB Cincinnati Bengals
DeSean Jackson WR Philadelphia Eagles
Mike Williams WR Los Angeles Chargers
Alexander Mattison RB Minnesota Vikings
Ryquell Armstead RB Jacksonville Jaguars
Boston Scott RB Philadelphia Eagles
Ryan Tannenhill QB Tennessee Titans
Darrell Henderson RB Los Angeles Rams
Mike Gesicki TE Miami Dolphins
Preston Williams WR Miami Dolphins
Ben Roethlisberger QB Pittsburgh Steelers
Blake Jarwin TE Dallas Cowboys
Jared Goff QB Los Angeles Rams
Jack Doyle TE Indianapolis Colts
Jared Cook TE New Orleans Saints
Tony Pollard RB Dallas Cowboys
T.J. Hockenson TE Detroit Lions
Nyheim Hines RB Indianapolis Colts
Justin Jefferson WR Minnesota Vikings
Robby Anderson WR Carolina Panthers
Kirk Cousins QB Minnesota Vikings
Antonio Gibson RB Washington Team
N’Keal Harry WR New England Patriots
Deebo Samuel WR San Francisco 49’ers
Ke’Shawn Vaughn RB Tampa Bay Buccs
Mecole Hardman WR Kansas City Chiefs
Breshad Perriman WR New York Jets
Daniel Jones QB New York Giants
Dallas Goedert TE Philadelphia Eagles
Chase Edmonds RB Arizona Cardinals
Curtis Samuel WR Carolina Panthers
Sammy Watkins WR Kansas City Chiefs
Gardner Minshew II QB Jacksonville Jaguars

Leonard Fournette is currently out of my rankings because he’s a free agent, but the absolute earliest I would take him is probably round 10 while he isn’t signed to a team. I’d be comfortable after round 12, but he isn’t likely to last until then. Guys that switch teams after training camp are really unlikely to be any huge fantasy factor. If he signs with the Patriots or Buccaneers, he doesn’t even really help those teams that much due to the other mouths to feed or the backfield mates.

The Top 10: Or 9 Running Backs And Michael Thomas

Christian McCaffrey RB Carolina Panthers
Saquon Barkley RB New York Giants
Alvin Kamara RB New Orleans Saints
Ezekiel Elliot RB Dallas Cowboys
Michael Thomas WR New Orleans Saints
Derrick Henry RB Tennessee Titans
Joe Mixon RB Cincinnati Bengals
Kenyan Drake RB Arizona Cardinals
Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB Kansas City Chiefs
Julio Jones WR Atlanta Falcons

Here’s the top 10. No surprise, that running backs dominate the proceedings. Michael Thomas is a freak of nature and should get somewhere in the range of 160-170 targets again. Derrick Henry should normally get a downgrade in PPR formats, but he doesn’t because he’s the most consistent non-CMC player. He’s going to get the carries unless he gets injured. Kenyan Drake showed that he was a stud in this offense last year, when he likely carried many to fantasy championships. Basically if you have the number one overall pick, there’s no contest, take CMC. Any pick after that is really up to your personal preference.

UPDATE: Dalvin Cook has been moved out of the top 10 due to his contract situation, he has all the talent in the world, but I’m off him for the time being.

Why Catches Are So Important For the RB’s

Kamara, Mixon, CEH, and Drake have the chops and the offenses to jump into that top spot because of usage in the passing game. That’s the key to any of the non-Henry RB’s. You want lots of usage on the ground and catches/targets in the passing game. This year, I don’t really have a pick that I hate taking, but the player in this top 10 that I least want is definitely Dalvin Cook.

His usage was up there with the best of them, but I don’t like all the off the field drama. He held out of camp, he wants a contract, and he’s got a slight injury history. You can’t project out injuries, and anyone carrying a football 200+ times running into the brick wall, is more likely to get injured, but he’s one pick that I might be avoiding. Although his usage is fantastic.

Ranks 11-20 In PPR: The Wide Receivers Come To Play

Davante Adams WR Green Bay Packers
Dalvin Cook RB Minnesota Vikings
Tyreek Hill WR Kansas City Chiefs
DeAndre Hopkins WR Arizona Cardinals
Chris Godwin WR Tampa Bay Buccs
Miles Sanders RB Philadelphia Eagles
Allen Robinson WR Chicago Bears
Aaron Jones RB Green Bay Packers
Travis Kelce TE Kansas City Chiefs
George Kittle TE San Francisco 49’ers

Here’s the point in the draft where you want to grab your wide receivers or tight ends. There are some great values in this spot especially if the first round of your draft is as running back heavy as my top 10. Julio Jones has had over 1300 yards the past four seasons. Tyreek Hill has the potential to score 30 points any given week. Chris Godwin is going to get all the underneath targets from Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. He’s going to be that security blanket for Brady.

I’m avoiding DeAndre Hopkins at his current cost due to a couple reasons. Wide receivers switching teams is normally a recipe for disappointment. Switching teams in the middle of a pandemic without preseason games and training camp is even more troubling. Hopkins has the talent and the target share to break out, but I’d rather go with the safety of Adams, Julio, and Hill over him.

Jones and Sanders are the last of the RB1 players (top 10-ish players at the position). Sanders could be a top 5 back if Doug Pederson gets his head out of his ass and lets him touch the ball more. Jones is in a position for touchdown regression, but the Green Bay offense is more run happy these days.

An Aside On Kittle and Kelce

George Kittle and Travis Kelce are far and away the best tight ends. They command target shares in the same range as high-end wide receivers. So if they were being treated as WR’s for fantasy purposes, I’d have them in that low end-WR1 (top 10-ish) range. Drafting them means that you lose out on some prospective value at the RB/WR position, but that means you have one of the best options at the position. You don’t have to worry about them except for bye weeks or an injury. If you draft towards the top picks, then they are great options to pair with a WR at that 19/20 turn. But just be wary of how your roster might turn out.

Ranks 21-30: My Favorite Tier Of Players

Josh Jacobs RB Las Vegas Raiders
Austin Ekeler RB Los Angeles Chargers
Kenny Golladay WR Detroit Lions
Adam Thielen WR Minnesota Vikings
Cooper Kupp WR Los Angeles Rams
Odell Beckham Jr. WR Cleveland Browns
Todd Gurley RB Atlanta Falcons
Robert Woods WR Los Angeles Rams
Calvin Ridley WR Atlanta Falcons
Mark Andrews TE Baltimore Ravens

Starting off this tier of players is the enigma Josh Jacobs. His role last year with the Raiders was pretty solid. He didn’t catch too many passes, and the Raiders added tons of pass-catchers this year. So he might just be in the Nick Chubb/Jonathan Taylor/Derrick Henry tier of guys who only get rushing attempts. Jacobs could break through and show how decent of a pass-catcher he is, but I’m not banking on it. He’s better suited to be the second RB on your roster.

Austin Ekeler is sort of in the same camp, but on a much different offense than the Chargers had last year. He’s still going to catch passes, but I’m downgrading this Chargers team across the board. They threw almost 600 passes last year, and with Tyrod Taylor or Justin Herbert, they’re going to throw even less. Ekeler also has regression coming in the TD department, but he’s going to get enough volume to be a great second RB on your team. Gurley is someone who people are avoiding because of knee “injuries”. The ailment he’s been playing with, he’s had since college. Going to the Falcons might be the best landing spot for him, he’s one of my targets in drafts for the second RB slot.

The WR’s and Mark Andrews In This Tier

Golladay, Thielen, Kupp, Beckham, Woods, and Ridley are all great guys to target. If you go RB heavy in the first two rounds, these guys all have the ability to jump up into that top 12 for the WR position. I love Calvin Ridley where he’s going in drafts and if you can snag him as your WR2 (13-20th-ish), then consider yourself to be a lucky ducky. Robert Woods had 3 total touchdowns last year. In his Rams career, he’s averaged between 5 and 6 each season. He was in the WR17-ish rank last year depending on scoring, so if you add a couple TD’s his way, he makes for a super safe play.

Cooper Kupp was the WR2 overall before the Rams bye week last year. After that bye week he wasn’t the same player. He could have been playing through an injury or it could be due to a philosophy change in the Rams offense. They started running more 2 tight end playsets after the bye. That meant that Cooper Kupp was off the field around 30% of the time. As Jared Goff’s unquestioned top target, I like Kupp to rebound this year. He’s just as safe as Woods is.

Mark Andrews is the last guy that I want to talk about in this tier. He has the ability and the offense to vault into that top tier. The Ravens are going to throw the ball more this season. Hayden Hurst is no longer on the team, and he could account for 120 targets in this offense as the main passing down option. I like him at his current price, but it’s been slowly rising as the preseason goes on.

Ranks 31-40: A Smattering Of RB’s And The Top QB’s

Nick Chubb RB Cleveland Browns
Patrick Mahomes QB Kansas City Chiefs
Lamar Jackson QB Baltimore Ravens
Mike Evans WR Tampa Bay Buccs
Juju Smith-Schuster WR Pittsburgh Steelers
D.J. Moore WR Carolina Panthers
James Conner RB Pittsburgh Steelers
Amari Cooper WR Dallas Cowboys
Leonard Fournette RB Jacksonville Jaguars
Le’Veon Bell RB New York Jets

So I’ll split this section up into a discussion about drafting a QB this early, and the rest of the players in this tier. Lamar Jackson was an absolute cheat code last year. He was far and away the best rushing QB we’ve ever seen and he only scored 5 times. Based on opportunity and other metrics, he should have scored 13 TD’s last year. So that might be coming for him. He’s going to pass the ball more, because the Ravens couldn’t get more efficient at rushing the ball if they tried from last year.

Jackson isn’t a big bruiser like Cam Newton, that’s not to say he’s small, but the writing is on the wall for other similarly sized rushing QB’s. He’s not going to be able to take hits like that without getting injured. If you really like drafting the best players at the position, then go for Jackson, but his cost is too high for me right now.

Mahomes was injured last year. So he wasn’t at his best, but when he’s on the field, he’s dynamite. You’re going to get, depending on your league settings, between 20 and 30 points every week from him. He makes magical plays, but the difference between Mahomes and Jackson and the third best QB, whoever it may be, isn’t going to be that large. You’re going for safety here. I’d rather have the upside of some of the players around him, but if he slips past that ADP (average draft position) then pounce.

The Best Of The Rest And Some Safe Plays

This is the last of the tier of players where you don’t really have question marks. Players like D.J. Moore are going to be the top dogs on their teams. Moore has question marks about TD scoring because the Panthers offense isn’t slated to be amazing, but he did well last year with terrible QB play. He’s the last of the WR1-2 guys that I’d feel safe taking. Schuster has question marks with Ben Roethlisberger’s health and how his arm is going to look after a horrific elbow injury. He’s moving back to the slot, which bodes well for his production, but it’s still a question mark.

Evans finished as a WR1 last year but he didn’t finish that mark very often during the season. He had huge boom games, but the majority of the time he didn’t give you very good numbers. He finished as a WR2 on the week just 38% of the time. Tom Brady at this point in his career isn’t going to chuck it up into coverage like Jameis Winston was doing last year. He’s a perfect WR2 for your team, because you don’t need safety out of him, but drafting him in the top 10 at the position is a folly.

Bell and Fournette are boring and safe options for your team. Don’t expect top 10 numbers and you’ll be happy. I’ll finish up with Amari Cooper. Cooper doesn’t get the target share in his offense like the other top WR’s in the league. At this point he’s like a poor man’s Tyreek Hill, he has a couple big games mixed in with some real stinkers. That’s the definition of a WR2 to me. I’m not drafting him at his current cost.

Ranks 41-50: The Last Of The Safe WR2’s And RB2’s

Tyler Lockett WR Seattle Seahawks
David Montgomery RB Chicago Bears
D.K. Metcalf WR Seattle Seahawks
Chris Carson RB Seattle Seahawks
Zach Ertz TE Philadelphia Eagles
A.J. Green WR Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Brown WR Tennessee Titans
D.J. Chark WR Jacksonville Jaguars
Terry McLaurin WR Washington Team
Jonathan Taylor RB Indianapolis Colts

I’ll start off with this. D.K. Metcalf has the ability to be a top 10 wideout. Russell Wilson loves targeting him in the red zone, he was in the top 5 in the NFL with red zone targets. If the Seahawks ever decide to throw the ball more, Lockett and Metcalf are both going to be huge values going at this spot. Lockett is the safer of the two, but he had a tremendous season going last year up until his injury. That was a scary one, but he’s over it now, and he should be good to go.

A.J. Green, A.J. Brown, D.J. Chark, and Terry McLaurin all are solid WR2 players. Green is going later than most of them, so he can be had as a WR3/FLEX for your team. A.J. Brown was a great player last year on stupid efficiency. If he gets more targets, then that regression of efficiency shouldn’t matter.

The Last Of The RB2’s

David Montgomery, Chris Carson, and Jonathan Taylor are players that I absolutely LOVE. Taylor has to tussle with Marlon Mack, but he should win the job behind the best offensive line in the league. Montgomery is the only guy in the Bears backfield, but that situation all depends on how that offense runs. Carson has a hip injury that didn’t require surgery, but at this point in training camp, he’s good to go. That injury could flare up, he could fumble more, or Pete Carroll changes his mind about the love affair he has for Carson. If not, Carson is a mega-value going here.

Ranks 51-60: Some Question Marks

Keenan Allen WR Los Angeles Chargers
DeVante Parker WR Miami Dolphins
Darren Waller TE Las Vegas Raiders
Courtland Sutton WR Denver Broncos
Dak Prescott QB Dallas Cowboys
Melvin Gordon RB Denver Broncos
Ronald Jones RB Tampa Bay Buccs
Russell Wilson QB Seattle Seahawks
Deshaun Watson QB Houston Texans
David Johnson RB Houston Texans

We’ve had some great years with Keenan Allen, but I’m not sure this year he’s going to be the rock solid player he’s been. The Chargers are losing 100 plus passes this year. Tyrod Taylor has never been the type of QB to pepper people with targets in the red zone. So while Allen might be a solid WR3 with potential based on volume alone for a WR2 finish, I’m not banking on it.

Parker, Sutton, and Waller were fantastic last year. Ryan Fitzpatrick is projected to be the starter in Miami and his DGAF attitude is probably going to buoy Parker’s value again. Sutton has some competition, but he figures to be the number one target in Denver. Waller Baller is one of my targets at TE due to touchdown regression. He only scored 3 times last year. The Raiders are going to need someone over the middle, and he’s it.

Three QB’s And Some Hopeful Studs

Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson are all pretty interchangeable as the top 5 QB’s. They all will be solid, but don’t take them too early in drafts just because you need a QB. You can wait. Please wait.

Finally, Gordon, Jones, and Johnson are all RB’s with plenty of potential. Gordon is going to share carries with Phillip Lindsay, but he’s probably going to be the A to Lindsay’s B. Jones has all the potential in the world, but Bruce Arians is a wild card, it looks like he’s going to be the man though. Johnson is the last one. He was a first round pick last year. He played well before injuring his back. Could that back injury flare up again? Is he going to average more than like 3.5 YPC (yards per carry)? I’m not sure, but he’s the man in Houston, so he should get all the carries. I’m not comfortable with him as an RB2, but he can fill that spot.

Ranks 61-80: My Favorite Target In All The Land

Mark Ingram II RB Baltimore Ravens
Brandin Cooks WR Houston Texans
Josh Allen QB Buffalo Bills
Marquise Brown WR Baltimore Ravens
Tyler Boyd WR Cincinnati Bengals
Kareem Hunt RB Cleveland Browns
Will Fuller WR Houston Texans
Raheem Mostert RB San Francisco 49’ers
Marvin Jones WR Detroit Lions
J.K. Dobbins RB Baltimore Ravens
T.Y. Hilton WR Indianapolis Colts
Tyler Higbee TE Los Angeles Rams
Hayden Hurst TE Atlanta Falcons
D’Andre Swift RB Detroit Lions
Kyler Murray QB Arizona Cardinals
James White RB New England Patriots
Stefon Diggs WR Buffalo Bills
Evan Engram TE New York Giants
Carson Wentz QB Philadelphia Eagles
Julian Edelman WR New England Patriots

We’re going to pick up the pace with these next sections of players. I’ll start with my targets from this group: Cooks, Brown, Hunt, Dobbins, Hilton, Higbee, Hurst, and Wentz. Cooks is a stud and should be the beneficiary of a lot of the targets that Hopkins vacated. Brown could be the next Tyreek Hill. Hunt is one injury to Nick Chubb from being a top 5 RB. Higbee was the best TE over the last 5 weeks of the previous season.

Dobbins could take over for Mark Ingram and step into the best rushing attack in the league. Hilton is being pushed down boards because of injury, but Phillip Rivers chucks it downfield. Hurst is my favorite target in all of drafts. He’s a physical specimen that should take up many of the targets that made Austin Hooper into a baller. Wentz is my later QB target that could be in the top 5.

Kyler Murray is likely to go in the top 4 QB’s, but he shouldn’t. He was not better than Gardner Minshew last year, and I doubt that improves that much.

Ranks 81-100: Where Your Bench Is Going To Be Safe Or Sorry

Michael Gallup WR Dallas Cowboys
Matt Ryan QB Atlanta Falcons
Jarvis Landry WR Cleveland Browns
Christian Kirk WR Arizona Cardinals
Devin Singletary RB Buffalo Bills
Aaron Rodgers QB Green Bay Packers
Cam Newton QB New England Patriots
Tarik Cohen RB Chicago Bears
Diontae Johnson WR Pittsburgh Steelers
Jamison Crowder WR New York Jets
Henry Ruggs III WR Las Vegas Raiders
Jordan Howard RB Miami Dolphins
Sterling Shepard WR New York Giants
John Brown WR Buffalo Bills
Matthew Stafford QB Detroit Lions
Cam Akers RB Los Angeles Rams
Drew Brees QB New Orleans Saints
Phillip Lindsay RB Denver Broncos
Darius Slayton WR New York Giants
Jonnu Smith TE Tennessee Titans

This tier of players is where you start getting into “my guys” territory. You have your starting lineup filled out, or mostly filled out. So what do you need? High upside guys for your bench? Sure, they’re here. Boring AF, safe guys? We got those. Did you wait on QB and just want someone who’s not going to lose you your week? Those are here. What about my second favorite TE sleeper? Jonnu Smith reporting for duty.

Take your pick with this group because at this point, you could have gold on your hands with Gallup, Johnson, Ruggs, Akers, or Lindsay. Melvin Gordon isn’t the most durable of dudes on the Broncos, and Lindsay has shown us what he can do. People are sleeping on what Jordan Howard has done in his career also. He cannot catch passes to save his life, but he’s a smart runner that the Dolphins signed in free agency before Brieda came to town. If that offensive line is even remotely competent, he can surge into the top 25 at the position.

The Cheat Code Section

Diontae Johnson really depends on how Big Ben comes back from his injury. A lot of my WR corps are probably going to look like: Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett/D.K. Metcalf, and Johnson. Take two stud RB’s and reap the benefits of the WR2 market looking deeper than ever.

Cam Newton could be the steal at QB that we all want. Rushing attempts plus Bill Belichick could unlock the (only 31 years old) QB. QBs like Matt Stafford, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers are not flashy, but Rodgers has finished as a top 10 QB every year that he hasn’t been injured. Stafford was on a roll last year before his injury, so who knows. Best part about these guys is that everyone fades them, so you can just drop them if the Saints decide to exclusively run the ball or if Matt LeFleur just benches Aaron Rodgers. Nothing would surprise me with that moron of a coach.

Ranks 101-120: Your Backup’s Backup And The Fun TE Tier

Jalen Reagor WR Philadelphia Eagles
Anthony Miller WR Chicago Bears
Matt Brieda RB Miami Dolphins
Marlon Mack RB Indianapolis Colts
Austin Hooper TE Cleveland Browns
Hunter Henry TE Los Angeles Chargers
Latavius Murray RB New Orleans Saints
Jerry Jeudy WR Denver Broncos
Rob Gronkowski TE Tampa Bay Buccs
Kerryon Johnson RB Detroit Lions
Golden Tate WR New York Giants
Tevin Coleman RB San Francisco 49’ers
Emmanuel Sanders WR New Orleans Saints
Noah Fant TE Denver Broncos
Duke Johnson RB Houston Texans
Tom Brady QB Tampa Bay Buccs
CeeDee Lamb WR Dallas Cowboys
Mike Williams WR Los Angeles Chargers
Alexander Mattison RB Minnesota Vikings
Ryan Tannenhill QB Tennessee Titans

We’re getting to “cross your fingers and hope” territory. Guys like Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders, and Mike Williams are sure to be safe plays, but likely won’t be lightning rods for upside. You have dudes like Anthony Miller, Noah Fant, Jalen Reagor, and CeeDee Lamb in good situations to succeed, but they have either lots of competition, or are rookies. I like Miller as someone who can jump into that WR2 territory with some luck and more consistent play. Reagor is the one that could completely erupt from this territory because Philly’s WR depth chart is thin and getting thinner.

Lotto Tickets And A Gronk

Lamb is going to compete for targets, but Dallas’s offense is really damn good. Fant finished last year strong but competes for a touches in a crowded passing tree in Denver. Outside of those guys, you’ve got lottery tickets here. Mattison, Coleman, Johnson, Murray, Mack, and Johnson could all be good backs to own. Some need an injury to the guys they’re behind or sharing a backfield with, but this is the season to have backups. 2020 is going to be wild.

Lastly for this tier, I have no idea what Rob Gronkowski is going to do in Tampa Bay. He’s not likely to have that classic Gronk season, but he could be usable. He’s likely to go too early for my blood though, based on name value.

Ranks 121-150: The Worst Of The Best Of The Rest

Darrell Henderson RB Los Angeles Rams
Mike Gesicki TE Miami Dolphins
Preston Williams WR Miami Dolphins
Ben Roethlisberger QB Pittsburgh Steelers
Blake Jarwin TE Dallas Cowboys
Joe Burrow QB Cincinnati Bengals
Jared Goff QB Los Angeles Rams
Jack Doyle TE Indianapolis Colts
Jared Cook TE New Orleans Saints
Tony Pollard RB Dallas Cowboys
T.J. Hockenson TE Detroit Lions
Nyheim Hines RB Indianapolis Colts
Justin Jefferson WR Minnesota Vikings
Robby Anderson WR Carolina Panthers
Kirk Cousins QB Minnesota Vikings
Zack Moss RB Buffalo Bills
Antonio Gibson RB Washington Team
N’Keal Harry WR New England Patriots
Deebo Samuel WR San Francisco 49’ers
Boston Scott RB Philadelphia Eagles
Ke’Shawn Vaughn RB Tampa Bay Buccs
Mecole Hardman WR Kansas City Chiefs
Breshad Perriman WR New York Jets
Daniel Jones QB New York Giants
Dallas Goedert TE Philadelphia Eagles
Chase Edmonds RB Arizona Cardinals
Curtis Samuel WR Carolina Panthers
Sammy Watkins WR Kansas City Chiefs
Gardner Minshew II QB Jacksonville Jaguars
DeSean Jackson WR Philadelphia Eagles

Because WordPress Sucks, I Have To Put A Header Right Here, But I’m Gonna Talk About How Much I Love Blake Jarwin

This is the end folks. You’ve come through almost 5000 words of me rambling about fantasy football. So if you’ve read this far, enjoy me talking about Blake Jarwin. The Cowboys have around 160 targets to spread around with the departure of Jason Witten and Randall Cobb. CeeDee Lamb is going to pick some of those up, but that means Blake Jarwin is the only TE with experience left on the roster. Getting someone at TE who has the ability to have 100 targets thrown his way from Dak Prescott at this stage in the draft, is highway robbery.

Another guy that benefits from the circumstances of his team is Mike Gesicki. The Dolphins are losing pass catchers left and right due to injury or opt-outs. That means Ryan Fitzpatrick, like with Davante Parker, is going to have to DGAF to another receiver. Gesicki is perfect for that, and he might get to that 80-90 target range, which is also a steal here.

Outside of those two TE’s, it’s about getting backups or high upside plays like Tony Pollard, Zack Moss, Chase Edmonds, or Vaughn on the Buccs. With word that Jones might be the man with the plan in Tampa Bay, Vaughn could just be on waiver wire speed dial instead of draftable.

But The Actual Rankings Are In A Different Castle

I like doing that to scare my home-league mates. I write up rankings and player profiles, only to spring on them that I could possibly be lying about the rankings for my own benefit. That’s never been the case though. Like a Doctor, or a Firefighter, or some other way more badass and helpful job, I have a Hippocratic Oath. If you have a question about fantasy sports, I’m inclined to help you. If you’re in the same league as me, I’m inclined to help you. Now if you draft Calvin Ridley before I do, I’m for sure going to curse your name to the heavens, but I’ll still help you.

I like winning. But I like seeing other people win more. It’s some weird thing in my psyche where if I help someone else win a fantasy title, that feels better than just me sitting in my room at 3:24am doing research for my own title. So to all my friends, family, or any random people that click on this looking for fantasy advice in some other sphere, I hope you win. If you have any question about this article, you can ask me on Twitter, or get some sick Magic: the Gathering content and tweets @HunterBolding. I’ll try to keep this updated as the preseason goes on, but these are probably my final ranks that I’m going to use in drafts that I’m in.

For (hopefully) more on Fantasy Football, or any other general pop culture, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

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