FFB Notebook: WR Rankings (7/22)

Training camps officially open this week, which means fantasy football season is back people! This is my first wide receiver rankings list of the season. The position has grown in importance over the last couple of seasons for 2 reasons. The first being that the NFL is evolving into more of a passing league. The second is a combination of decrease in value at the running back position and the lack of elite pass catchers across the league. With running back committees taking over across the board, you can find value at the running back position throughout the draft, but with so few quality receivers you'll want to target at least one towards the beginning of the draft.

1. Calvin Johnson - ALL HAIL MEGATRON! Whether you believe in the Madden Curse or not, Calvin Johnson has been a staple in the fantasy football community over the last few seasons averaging 80 receptions and over 1200 yards. He was called out by multiple defenses last season, most notably the Dallas Cowboys, and he delivered week in and week out. Johnson will be targeted during the first half of the first round.

2. Greg Jennings - Jennings might be getting long in the tooth, but as long as he is Batman's go to guy, he'll be a hot commodity on draft day.

3. Larry Fitzgerald - Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in football, it's just a shame he doesn't have a quarterback to throw the ball to him. He has the best hands in the league being ranked in the top ten year in and year out with the fewest dropped passes, and he leads that category when you look at the drop per target ratio. With the addition of Michael Floyd, we should see teams start to focus on more than Fitzgerald in the defensive backfield. Floyd won't start immediately though, so don't expect a hot start from Fitzgerald.

4. Marques Colston - Similar to Greg Jenning's rank, as long as Colston remains Brees' favorite target he'll be targeted early in fantasy drafts. Now that both Colston's and Brees' contract situations have been resolved, it is time to go back to work. The two of them should light up the NFC south this season.

5. Brandon Marshall - Talk about a reunion. Brandon Marshall and Jay Cutler used to tear up opponents when they were together in Denver. Now they will get a chance to do it all over again in the windy city. Marshall brings that big bodied possession receiving threat that the Bears have been missing for awhile now. Marshall is the last tier one WR, and will most likely be targeted at the top of the second round.





Rounding out the top 50:
6. Mike Wallace (Stock on the Rise)
7. Wes Welker
8. Victor Cruz
9. Andre Johnson (Sleeper)
10. Hakeem Nicks
11. Miles Austin
12. Dwayne Bowe
13. Roddy White
14. Julio Jones (Stock on the Rise)
15. Jordy Nelson (Sleeper)
16. Randy Moss (Stock on the Rise)
17. A.J. Green
18. Reggie Wayne
19. DeSean Jackson
20. Mike Williams
21. Dez Bryant
22. Vincent Jackson
23. Jeremy Maclin
24. Santonio Holmes
25. Steve Smith
26. Torrey Smith
27. Percy Harvin
28. Nate Washington
29. Mario Manningham
30. Eric Decker (Sleeper)
31. Robert Meachem
32. Pierre Garcon
33. Anquan Boldin
34. Brandon Lloyd
35. Steve Johnson
36. Santana Moss
37. James Jones
38. Michael Floyd
39. Chad Ochocinco
40. Lance Moore
41. Austin Collie
42. Demaryius Thomas (Sleeper)
43. Doug Baldwin
44. Malcolm Floyd
45. Denarius Moore
46. Michael Crabtree
47. Kenny Britt
48. Johnny Knox
49. Nate Burleson
50. Jabar Gaffney

FFB Notebook: RB Rankings (7/5)

1. LeSean McCoy - McCoy enjoyed a career year last season, and will only continue to improve while Michael Vick's rushing attempts decline. Last year's "Dream Team" was nowhere close to being as good as advertised, but McCoy still managed to come out on top, as most players with Elite talent do. With a year to get their act together, the Eagles should come close to meeting their potential, and McCoy will lead the way. I know most people will list Arian foster in the top spot, but he is facing much stiffer competition in Ben Tate than all of the backs on Philly's roster combined. "Shady" McCoy is the closest to a sure thing at running back this season.

2. Chris Johnson - All of the drama is behind him (at least we hope it is), and CJ2K is back and ready to reclaim the rushing title. He's taking a business like approach to this season as he's attended every offseason workout and conditioning session. He would be my top running back this year if he had as good or close to as good of a supporting cast as LeSean McCoy. After an abysmal (and embarrassing) 2011 season, Johnson is pulling out all of the stops to prove that he belongs among the elite at the position. 

3. Arian Foster - Still a dominant force in the backfield for Houston, Arian Foster remains one of the best runners in football.    He still churned out over 1200 yards last season while only appearing in 13 games! That being said, Houston will be keeping an eye on the amount of touches Foster gets this season. First and foremost, they want to protect their home run hitter and second, they have what is turning out to be another great back in Ben Tate. He looked really good later in the season, and Houston can't keep him on a leash forever. Foster still remains a top five pick, just temper your expectations for 2012.

4. Ray Rice - Rice is an absolute beast! He single handedly carries his team at times, and he is a complete all around back. That being said, I do not trust him this season. As we've seen in the past, most players heading into the season with contract issues or holdouts don't perform up to level in which we're used to seeing (Chris Johnson last season). I'm sure Rice will still put up some numbers, but I don't think we'll see him come close to levels that everyone in the fantasy world has come to know and love. He still has pro bowl Fullback Vonta Leach leading the way for him though, so anything is possible.

5. Maurice Jones-Drew – “Pocket Hercules” is one of my favorite all time running backs. He has been the face of the Jacksonville franchise since the days of Fred Taylor. He is still a very capable runner, having won the rushing crown last season, but he also led the league in rushing attempts. That is never a good thing, and too much wear and tear has to eventually show in his game. Jones-Drew is still a first round back, just not the same top 5 pick he used to be.

6. Adrian Peterson – Peterson, when healthy, is the most complete runner in football. He can do it all. He has been a consistent top pick in fantasy leagues for years. Coming off of an ACL tear last season though, has most people, including myself, ranking him a little lower this season as a precaution. ACL’s are no longer the career deathblows that they used to be. Petereson is progressing in rehab a lot quicker than most had predicted and all signs point to him playing very early in the season, if not the first week. Still, the Vikings will most likely take it slow with Peterson, using a committee backfield with Toby Gerhart to start the season.

Rounding out the Top 20:

7. Matt Forte

8. DarrenMcFadden

9. Ryan Mathews

10. Reggie Bush

11. DeMarcoMurray

12. MarshawnLynch

13. Frank Gore

14. StevenJackson

15. MichaelTurner

16. Beanie Wells

17. JamaalCharles

18. Shonn Greene

19. AhmadBradshaw

20. TrentRichardson

Backs to keep an eye on:

Fred Jackson/C.J. Spiller

Peyton Hillis

LeGarrette Blount/Doug Martin

Ben Tate

Joe McKnight

Justin Forsett

Taiwan Jones