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ESPN RB Rankings


fitzkek
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Blocked - could you just post them?

 

1. LaDainian Tomlinson: The easy No. 1 overall pick in most fantasy leagues for the 2007 season. Set to deliver another terrific season of all-around fantasy numbers.

2. Larry Johnson: Some people want to move him out of this spot to "shake things up." I need better reasons than comparisons to Jamal Anderson's past workload. The offensive line also has dealt adequately with changes before.

3. Steven Jackson: Reception totals will be down in a more balanced passing game, but Jackson will carry most fantasy teams deep into the postseason.

4. Frank Gore: Touchdown numbers will rise as the team improves around him and he gets to finish off more scoring drives. He'll be the focal point of an offense that will improve in 2007.

5. Willie Parker: Don't expect too much of a drop in touchdown totals, because the Steelers haven't found the ideal physical runner to complement him yet. He'll come through with another outstanding fantasy season.

6. Brian Westbrook: He's the top playmaker on the Eagles, and will continue to provide his fantasy owners with outstanding all-around production. Ultra-tough for his size, he has proved he can play through pain.

7. Joseph Addai: The starting job is now his, and he should become a complete fantasy standout who catches passes and finishes off many Colts' drives with short scoring runs.

8. Rudi Johnson: The safe pick. Johnson is set to provide his fantasy owners with yet another season of 1,300-plus rushing yards and double-digit rushing scores.

9. Shaun Alexander: Until I know more information for sure about his foot, Alexander drops out of my top five. He said it still might be cracked, Mike Holmgren said it's not, but we don't know anything for certain.

10. Reggie Bush: In leagues that award points for receptions, Bush is going to be an elite player and top-five pick for 2007. Bush will come through with a major breakthrough year.

11. Travis Henry: This season, the Broncos clearly will go with one running back, and Mike Shanahan won't get his usual chances to frustrate fantasy owners.

12. Willis McGahee: The best seasons of his career begin in 2007, as McGahee becomes the crux of the Baltimore offense. He's the power runner the Ravens have needed since Jamal Lewis started to decline.

13. Ronnie Brown: When Miami stabilizes its quarterback situation, Brown will see a rise in point-per-reception leagues, as he should start to flash his receiving skills more in 2007.

14. Deuce McAllister: He'll be a fine finisher on many scoring drives for one of the NFL's best offenses, and the yardage totals will be good again.

15. Maurice Jones-Drew: He's an ideal No. 2 fantasy running back. The touchdown numbers will be outstanding again, even if they drop just a bit.

16. Cedric Benson: This is the year when he flourishes or completely falls on his face. I say he benefits from a regular workload and scores at least eight touchdowns.

17. Laurence Maroney: More opportunity doesn't instantly translate into outstanding production in this case. I want real proof that Maroney can handle being a featured running back. I believe he will be inconsistent.

18. Thomas Jones: I could be undervaluing him here. Jones is going to be a very reliable fantasy starter with the Jets.

19. Edgerrin James: He should be more dependable than he was in 2006, as there will be a concerted effort in Arizona to improve the running game.

20. Marshawn Lynch: The upside and versatility are apparent, and all he has to do is seize an opportunity to start right away. Lynch will be a good No. 2 fantasy running back in his rookie year.

21. Marion Barber III: He's simply the better of the two Dallas running backs, and that will become more clear in 2007, when he delivers even more quality fantasy outings.

22. Clinton Portis: He's going to share carries with another highly productive runner in Ladell Betts. While that might keep Portis healthy, it will hurt his overall fantasy production.

23. Brandon Jacobs: A superb value pick after the third round, Jacobs is going to become a very good No. 2 fantasy starter this year. We all know he can score, but he's going to show us more in 2007.

24. Ahman Green: When he shows his best years are definitely behind him, the Texans will realize they still have problems at running back.

25. Carnell Williams: He still can be a quality fantasy starter, and Cadillac will be a fine value selection if he can stay healthy this year.

26. Jamal Lewis: He should post decent overall numbers this year in Cleveland, and should come through with respectable touchdown totals.

27. DeAngelo Williams: This is the year when he takes the starting job for good and begins his rise to fantasy stardom.

28. Chester Taylor: He still will catch a healthy amount of passes and won't get overworked like he was last year, so Taylor should be a good flex player even though his value has taken an obvious hit.

29. Fred Taylor: The yardage totals are still quite good, but he simply doesn't score often enough.

30. Adrian Peterson: The upside is obvious, but he won't be rushed into a prime role and Peterson won't explode often enough to be a quality fantasy starter in his rookie year.

31. Ladell Betts: He can provide you with some pretty good outings even if he shares touches with Portis, and an injury can always lead to more playing time.

32. Julius Jones: He's going to have to battle hard to keep Marion Barber III from vaulting past him on the depth chart for good.

33. Vernand Morency: He isn't cut out to carry a heavy load, but he has the speed and confidence to come through with some quality fantasy performances.

34. Jerious Norwood: A sleeper who will explode more often this season, even if he shares touches.

35. LaMont Jordan: He can perform respectably if he stays healthy.

36. Warrick Dunn: His days as a decent fantasy starter definitely are numbered.

37. Tatum Bell: If Kevin Jones isn't healthy, he'll have some decent outings.

38. DeShaun Foster: About to be pushed into a secondary role, always an injury risk.

39. LenDale White: Has a great opportunity, but doesn't look like he is ready for it.

40. Kevin Jones: Offseason signings by Detroit make me very wary of his foot problem.

41. Brandon Jackson

42. Chris Henry

43. Corey Dillon

44. Reuben Droughns

45. Anthony Thomas

46. Mike Bell

47. Michael Turner

48. Dominic Rhodes

49. Leon Washington

50. T.J. Duckett

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22. Clinton Portis: He's going to share carries with another highly productive runner in Ladell Betts. While that might keep Portis healthy, it will hurt his overall fantasy production.

 

Even though he was nursing that fluke shoulder injury while sharing time with Betts this past year (only getting 20+ carries in 2 of 8 games)... Portis averaged almost 1 TD per game and was on pace for over 11-1200 total yds. Even in a 3:1 share situation in the Skins' run heavy O... that's over 250 touches for Portis.

 

As for Deangelo Williams, to say he's on his way to fantasy stardom is very premature. Lately, Fox has continually insisted upon a shared backfield even though Deshaun Foster seems like a poor man's Tatum Bell. Also they've changed their run scheme this offseason. Fox may wise-up but it sure doesn't seem it'll happen anytime soon especially after it was so glaringly obvious that what they were doing on O last year wasn't working.

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LJ at #2? Not with eight men in the box.

 

Rudi over SA? :D

 

 

 

Spot on. You've gotta figure a healthy SA getss 15+ TDs. Rudi, model of consistency gets 12 every year. Valuable, but no SA.

 

And sorry, the Chiefs regress this season and LJ takes the hit. How can these guys not see that and pretned because it's happened before (line issues solved) it'll happen again - with different coach, and a crappy one IMO at that?

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Even though he was nursing that fluke shoulder injury while sharing time with Betts this past year (only getting 20+ carries in 2 of 8 games)... Portis averaged almost 1 TD per game and was on pace for over 11-1200 total yds. Even in a 3:1 share situation in the Skins' run heavy O... that's over 250 touches for Portis.

 

As for Deangelo Williams, to say he's on his way to fantasy stardom is very premature. Lately, Fox has continually insisted upon a shared backfield even though Deshaun Foster seems like a poor man's Tatum Bell. Also they've changed their run scheme this offseason. Fox may wise-up but it sure doesn't seem it'll happen anytime soon especially after it was so glaringly obvious that what they were doing on O last year wasn't working.

 

 

I agree with you, people are going to sleep on Clinton Portis. He's 26 years old and one of the 4-5 most talented backs in the league. He does have injury concerns, but who doesnt outside of Tomlinson? While Betts put up huge numbers last year, he reminds me more of a Nick Goings from a few years back in the sense that he surprised people for one year. If you look at his 250 or so carries, he only scored 4 touchdowns. Clinton Portis is still the man. I'm actually predicting he ends this upcoming season around the 6-8 highest scoring back. People are sleeping on him the way people slept on Duece McCallister last year, and Portis in my opinion is way better.

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LJ at #2? Not with eight men in the box.

 

Rudi over SA? :D

 

 

I also see Larry Johnson taking another step back this year. He was great last year, but didnt live up to the hype coming in off his 05 season. With the attempts he took last year, I think he drops in production, but is still a top 6 back... Just not one or two.

 

As for Rudi Johnson goes, he's a guy that I want to stay far away from. Yes he has been a model of consistancy for years, but the past few years he's seem to wear down... Especially last year. I think he's taken a pounding and should be closer to 12...

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I also see Larry Johnson taking another step back this year. He was great last year, but didnt live up to the hype coming in off his 05 season. With the attempts he took last year, I think he drops in production, but is still a top 6 back... Just not one or two.

 

Not to mention the fact that Roaf, Shields, AND Green are now gone.

 

As for Rudi Johnson goes, he's a guy that I want to stay far away from. Yes he has been a model of consistancy for years, but the past few years he's seem to wear down... Especially last year. I think he's taken a pounding and should be closer to 12...

 

Spot on. You've gotta figure a healthy SA getss 15+ TDs. Rudi, model of consistency gets 12 every year. Valuable, but no SA.

 

I traded Rudi for Addai straight-up back in January. I had owned Rudi for two years and he's a solid, reliable back. But he's also a plodder who almost never has big games, his yds/carry were down last year, he's never on the field on 3rd down, and his offense's strength is the passing game. I figured that Rudi's 80-90 rushing yds and maybe one TD on a good day isn't going to help me win a championship. Conversely, Addai is youger, more talented, heavily-used in Indy's passing game, and he had a couple phenominal games last year, despite being in an RBBC situation.

Edited by Bill Swerski
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Clinton Portis is still the man. I'm actually predicting he ends this upcoming season around the 6-8 highest scoring back.

What worries me the most about Portis really isn't Portis. It's the defense and Saunders.

 

Saunders-I don't know if the offense just wasn't up to speed on his system last year or it was the play calling or what. There were times when all they needed to do was run the football and they're running end arounds. Cooley took a while to get going as well.

 

Defense-They did some wacky things last year when they got behind. They couldn't hold leads (which I suppose is part Saunders/offense's fault). They couldn't force turnovers. Teams were driving on them at will which seemed to throw off their game plan on offense. While Landry may help they didn't add much of any help for the front 7 which is where it started... they couldn't sack anybody so the secondary was getting torched.

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What worries me the most about Portis really isn't Portis. It's the defense and Saunders.

 

Saunders-I don't know if the offense just wasn't up to speed on his system last year or it was the play calling or what. There were times when all they needed to do was run the football and they're running end arounds. Cooley took a while to get going as well.

 

Defense-They did some wacky things last year when they got behind. They couldn't hold leads (which I suppose is part Saunders/offense's fault). They couldn't force turnovers. Teams were driving on them at will which seemed to throw off their game plan on offense. While Landry may help they didn't add much of any help for the front 7 which is where it started... they couldn't sack anybody so the secondary was getting torched.

 

I think that Saunders and the offensive struggles could be looked at as the first year in the scheme, injuries at key positions, and bringing in the future qb. This is still the same team that went 10-6 and made some noise in the playoffs two years ago... I'm not saying they're going to win ten games, but I don't think they're as bad as people think. Put it this way... I would much rather be a redskins fan that a Giants fan at this point.

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Not to mention the fact that Roaf, Shields, AND Green are now gone.

I traded Rudi for Addai straight-up back in January. I had owned Rudi for two years and he's a solid, reliable back. But he's also a plodder who almost never has big games, his yds/carry were down last year, he's never on the field on 3rd down, and his offense's strength is the passing game. I figured that Rudi's 80-90 rushing yds and maybe one TD on a good day isn't going to help me win a championship. Conversely, Addai is youger, more talented, heavily-used in Indy's passing game, and he had a couple phenominal games last year, despite being in an RBBC situation.

 

Very true... Johnsons YPC took a huge swan dive when Roaf announced his retirment. Last year he loses a HoF left tackle... This year he loses a HoF guard. Nice. I hope Brodie Croyle can keep defenses honest... :D

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17. Laurence Maroney: More opportunity doesn't instantly translate into outstanding production in this case. I want real proof that Maroney can handle being a featured running back. I believe he will be inconsistent.

 

This is very disappointing to see him this low.

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Spot on. You've gotta figure a healthy SA getss 15+ TDs. Rudi, model of consistency gets 12 every year. Valuable, but no SA.

 

And sorry, the Chiefs regress this season and LJ takes the hit. How can these guys not see that and pretned because it's happened before (line issues solved) it'll happen again - with different coach, and a crappy one IMO at that?

 

 

 

Talking about foot worries me. SA should be rated higher but I'm staying away.

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Anybody surprised to see Fast Willie at #5?

 

A little but the only reason I can think of dropping him below Addai/Rudi/SA is the new coach.

 

Aside from that I can see the argument for him being above Rudi and SA... FWP is featured but is more explosive and has fresher legs.

 

I can see him having a slight edge over Addai just because we've seen what FWP can do over a full season. I think I'd still rather have Addai before FWP just because Indy's overall team situation is much better (ie. no coaching changes, great O, good enough D etc.).

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