Aug 14, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Houston Texans top fantasy football running back Lamar Miller (26) runs for a first down against the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter at Levi
Fantasy Football Rankings: Preseason Final. These rankings submitted by Matt Rogers, FantasyCPR Editor, to FantasyPros. The results are based on career to date and 2015-2016 statistics, as well as 2016-2017 expectations of the writer.
The NFL preseason is over, teams are making their final roster decisions, and potential for injury evaporates until week 1. So, we can settle on a final set of Fantasy Football Rankings for your league drafts, and in preparation for your team starters for week 1. I recently updated my ‘Expert’ Fantasy Football rankings to FantasyPros, and this article presents the total overall results, regardless of placement. Let’s take a look!
Note, you can scroll down through all 243 picks in the table below and switch between fantasy football scoring options:
2016 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft PositionNext: Top 10 Picks
Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) celebrates a touchdown during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Top 10 Picks
There is few disagreements with the top four picks. Antonio Brown (1), Julio Jones (2), Todd Gurley (3), and David Johnson (4) are in everyone’s top four list, in some order. Where I differ, is the number five spot. As I’ve written before, I’m really high on Lamar Miller (5), and that thought seems to be gaining steam. Miller has always had fantastic potential, but so far in his career he’s played until terrible leadership in Miami. That should change in Houston, a team built for a power running back. This is Lamar’s time to rise. If he does, he’ll easily be a top five pick, and has the potential for more. If he doesn’t, he’ll be burned in all future fantasy draft after this year.
Another pick where I definitely veer off course from the consensus is LeSean McCoy (6). First of all, I understand the NFL is moving more and more to the pass, and quarterbacks and wide receivers are the hot fantasy football options these days. However, there are also now many more high-point options at QB and WR, and for that reason I jump on the small amount of high-value running backs early in my league drafts. Have you ever noticed it’s hard to find a decent Free Agent running back after the draft? It’s because there are limited great options. LeSean McCoy had a rough start in Buffalo last season, but he quietly turned his season around, is healthy, and has almost no competition in his role. McCoy is severely undervalued in fantasy leagues now!
I kept Odell Beckham Jr. (9) and Adrian Peterson (10) in my top 10 because they’re each incredibly talented and should yield high value this season. However, I knocked them down because I’m concerned bout two things. Peterson is aging and has had injury issues in the past, he’s bound to hit a wall soon. I loved Beckham through the first part of last year, but at times he almost fall off the tracks, a good example is the Panthers game. Beckham maybe buying too much into his own hype and I think that’ll catch up to him this year. He’s still in for a fantastic career.
Dec 6, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls (34) celebrates his touchdown during the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Sleepers
The Seattle Seahawks are still trying to figure out how to replace Marshawn Lynch, now that ‘beastmode’ has retired. Thomas Rawls (25) had some brilliant performances in 2015, but struggled with blocking in pass coverage. C.J. Prosise may actually be the answer, a rookie 3rd round draft pick out of Notre Dame. However, Prosise likely will get time to grow. So it’s do or die time for Rawls. He will likely be unleashed on 1st and 2nd down in every game, and I think he can take advantage of the time, pile on hard-earned yards, and pile up a few TD’s as well.
Latavius Murray (27) is the guy in Oakland, and he’ll have a chance to grow this year, combined with what is starting to look like a decent pass game as well. If Carr and gang can continue to mature the passing game for the Raiders, Murray ought to have more carries in the second half, improving his fantasy outcome each week.
Jarvis Landry (36) was a target machine last year (167). Kenny Stills is a hot name coming out of the Dolphins came this summer, but they’d prefer the hot name to be Devante Parker. Since Adam Gase took the helm in Miami, many are suspecting Parker will finally emerge. However, so far Parker is plagued with injury issues. Personally, at least from a fantasy football perspective, I’m over Parker. I’m tired of waiting and I bet the Dolphins are as well. If Parker doesn’t get on the field soon, even with an emerging Stills on the team, Landry’s targets will continue to pile up.
One last comment on Sleepers, Jeremy Langford (38). Ironically, Langford is a sleeper because he quickly rose to prominence with a Matt Forte injury last year, only to fall off a cliff after demonstrating some performance red flags for NFL running backs, like catching out of the backfield and blocking. However, even with those concerns and several additions at running back, the Bears appears confident that Langford can correct his errors and become their top option in the backfield this season. If that is the case, many are sleeping on a fantastic fantasy value here, especially considering the low number of great running backs in the league these days.
Aug 18, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Oakland Raiders linebacker Malcolm Smith (53) tackles Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy (27) during the first quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Who to Avoid
I have stayed away from Eddie Lacy (41) for the past two seasons, and I plan to avoid Lacy again this season. Eddie will have a decent amount of points, so he has to be ranked in the top 100. However, as a fantasy owner, he’s incredibly frustrating to have on your team. Lacy is almost a weekly question-mark to start, continues to appear out of shape, and randomly drops near 0 points some weeks. This season likely is no different, avoid him!
Alfred Morris was a hot fantasy football option in last year’s draft. However, ‘Alf’ had a terrible season and disappointed many fantasy owners. Surprisingly, Morris looks decent in the Cowboys camp this summer. Or, should that really be surprising? Minus the last game of preseason, where each team trots out the players they’re most likely to cut, the Skins run game has been unbelievably terrible this preseason. They simply just can’t move the ball on the ground. That makes me nervous about Matt Jones (72). Jones had some hype heading into this season, expected to be the latest hot RB option for the Skins, reminiscent of Morris. However, the skins may have a bigger issue at hand here. Is there something wrong with their line? Their scheme? Who knows, but something is broken. One more thought on Jones, he struggles to stay health. I say just avoid him!
With Dion Lewis (96) now out 8-10 weeks, this one should be obvious. However, I continue to see people pick Lewis. Yes, he had a great start to last season, and Tom Brady loves him. However, Lewis tore his ACL last season, and appears to be struggling to stay healthy in his return. I’m guessing it’s unlikely Dion even sees the field until November/December. By then, you should only be looking for him as a quick FA pick-up before one of your playoff games. But for the draft, avoid him!
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