RB Tiered Fantasy Football Rankings: 2011 Draft kit

Because there are still additions and cuts going down, the list might change a little bit here and there, but don’t expect anything drastic – we’re feeling pretty good about our rankings. I posted my QB Tiers late last night, and will have WR Tiers, TEs, and Ds up by Tuesday.

If you don’t know about tiered rankings, read this, it might help. “How To Use Tiered Rankings”

The most important position on your team, Running Back!

RB Tier I

Chris Johnson
Adrian Peterson
Arian Foster

Tier II

Maurice Jones Drew
Jamaal Charles
Ray Rice
LeSean McCoy
Frank Gore

Tier III

Michael Turner
Rashard Mendenhall
Matt Forte
Steven Jackson
Darren McFadden
Peyton Hillis

Tier IV

Ryan Matthews
Legarrette Blount
DeAngelo Williams
Jahvid Best

Tier V

Ahmad Bradshaw
Shonn Greene
Ryan Grant
Felix Jones
Jonathan Stewart
Knowshon Moreno

Tier VI

Ben-Jar Green-Ellis
Cedric Benson
Fred Jackson
Mark Ingram
Marshawn Lynch
Joseph Addai
Reggie Bush

Tier VII

LaDainian Tomlinson
Ryan Torain
Daniel Thomas
Ryan Williams
Ronnie Brown
Mikel LeShoure
Mike Bush

Tier VIII

Brandon Jacobs
Beanie Wells
James Starks
Thomas Jones
Roy Helu Jr.
Willis McGehee
Mike Tolbert

Tier IX

Tashard Choice
Rashad Jennings
CJ Spiller
Toby Gerhart
Pierre Thomas
Ben Tate
Demarco Murray
Darren Sproles
Montario Hardesty
Justin Forsett
Anthony Dixon
Javon Ringer
Shane Vareen
Kendall Hunter
Donald Brown
Delone Carter
Jaquizz Rodgers

For the first time in all my years of doing this, there were 4 different #1 overall picks amongst the staff. Nobody made a good enough argument to keep Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, or Arian Foster out of our top overall tier, but we did thwart Papa Weimer’s efforts to get Jamaal Charles’s name in the top tier. With CJ, AP, and Foster topping 3 different lists, as well as going in the Top 3 (or Papa’s case, 4) in each of our individual rankings, the top tier was easy. Nate liked Chris Johnson, Red and Arse liked AP, and with Houston headed more towards running the ball, I went with Foster. Nate’s argument was the best, so we agreed to put CJ atop the list. His upside, no doubt, is incredible.

Maurice Jones-Drew heads Tier 2, but this is a close race. I could easily see Frank Gore staying healthy and ending up ahead of anybody on this list, but when we factor in health risk, the offense they play in, our projections for their respective teams and their importance to their offense, MJD is the best back you can get outside of the top tier. Charles might have the most upside, and my personal favorite is Ray Rice (especially now with Leech signing in Baltimore), and McCoy, in his 3rd season, could conceivably make the biggest jump from yesteryear. Bottom line, Tier 2 is legit.

Tier 3 is also very solid, but there are more questions. With Turner, it’s age, and the perception that he’s slowed down if only a tiny bit. Mendenhall is a very good runner, but his fumbling woes have turned his coach off to goal line carries – that’s never ideal. Forte is another stud runner, but Cutler rarely checks down and goal line carries have been rare. With Marion Barber signing in Chicago, the goal line just got farther away. Steven Jackson is an elite talent, no doubt, but his consistent numbers haven’t been exciting the last couple years. He doesn’t score much and rarely puts up great days. McFadden has injury woes and he’s a Raider – he really impressed at times last season, but I’m not ready to rank him ahead of the rest of Tier 3. Peyton Hillis was great, a real fantasy sweetheart last year. He took the job and ran with it, but Cleveland gets Montario Hardesty back this season, a youngster they really liked heading into 2010 prior to his injury. With a very young team, no passing attack, and a runner to share the load, even the Madden cover boy has his questions (plus, Madden Curse, right?). All in all, these are great #2 options, and even walking away from your draft with Turner and Steven Jackson as your starters wouldn’t be terrible.

Tier 4 is small, but all guys have big time upside. We’ve already seen what DeAngelo can do when his team is winning games and he stays healthy, he was the best fantasy back a few years ago. He’s only 28, and his big signing means the Panthers are dedicated to him. Blount and Matthews (two guys we rank just ahead of Williams) haven’t reached their potential yet, but with both getting the starting job for their improving teams, 2011 could be a great year to invest in the youngsters. Best is another sophomore, but he’s not being hyped around fantasy circles as much as we like him. We understand the risk, and he’s definitely the last back in this tier, but he’s closer to these guys than Tier 5, so he belongs.

The 5th Tier has a bunch of solid upside guys. I like the Top 4 more than the bottom 2, but both J-Stew and Moreno have their arguments. Jones is an interesting case, but we’ll like him a lot more if he’s back to his svelte body weight prior to 2010. Grant is coming off injury, but Starks didn’t impress me much, and if you take a risk here and get a starting RB for the Packers, you win big. Greene and Bradshaw are both semi-time-share back, but I expect both to get the majority of carries for run-first teams.

Tier 6 is full of guys with starting jobs that you can get on the cheap. The only guy with not much upside is Joseph Addai, but he’s probably the most consistent of the group. Many questions surround these guys, but I’d love to have any of the 7 on my team as #4 running backs. Ingram, Jackson, Benson, and Ellis could all pass as #3′s.

Tier 7 has some very talented youngsters, and a couple back-ups in LT and Michael Bush that I think could really impress if they ended up with starters’ carries. Torain should be the starting RB for a team that will get better up front and rely on the run more. Daniel Thomas, Williams and LeShoure are all very talented rookies that could end up with the lion’s share of touches for their teams. I’m not sure where Ronnie Brown will be just yet, but I’ve always thought the Dolphins misused him a bit. He’s a great receiver with good moves in the open field. If he finds a starting gig, he’ll run with it.

Tier 8 and 9 have some options, but I’d only want to take deep chances at this point. Fill your RB slot with the upper tiers, and buy some insurance low with these guys.

Tiered Fantasy Football Rankings QBs: 2011 Draft Kit

Per usual I’m busting out my fantasy rankings a month before the season takes place – it’s still wild in NFL land, and while we have had a plethora of moves in the last week, there’s still decisions to be made. As so, the list might change a little bit here and there, but don’t expect anything drastic.

Overall, we’re pretty excited about our ranking system here at LuckyLester.com – a lot of discussion has gone down, and while we all don’t agree wholeheartedly, these tiered rankings are the consensus. I’ve always been a huge fan of tiered rankings as a draft tool, 10x better than a Top 300 or even positional rankings, because of their usefulness in any draft situation. If you’re unfamiliar with tiered rankings or have never used them as a cheat sheet for your fantasy drafts, check out my “How To Use Tiered Rankings” article. The main idea behind tiered rankings is that you want as many players from the higher tiers as you can get, and you don’t want to settle for low-tier players at any one position if you can help it.

Okay, over the next 2 days I’ll be publishing all 4 positional rankings – QB, RB, WR, TE, and Def – we never rank kickers because they fluctuate so much from year to year – our advice, take a kicker from a good offense – regardless of how good that kicker is – but if he kicks a high percentage, he’s even that much better.

Running Backs – Wide Receivers – Tight Ends – Defense/Special Teams – have all been updated as well.

Quarterbacks!

QB Tier I

Aaron Rodgers
Michael Vick

Tier II

Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
Phillip Rivers
Drew Brees
Tony Romo

Tier III

Matt Schaub

Tier IV

Ben Roethlisberger
Matthew Stafford
Matt Ryan
Josh Freeman
Eli Manning
Kevin Kolb
Joe Flacco
Matt Cassel
Jay Cutler

Tier V

Sam Bradford
Donovan McNabb
Mark Sanchez

Tier VI

Cam Newton
Kyle Orton
Ryan Fitzpatrick
David Garrard
Tarvaris Jackson
Matt Hasselbeck
Chad Henne
Colt McCoy
Alex Smith
Jason Campbell

Tier VII

Tim Tebow
Rex Grossman
Vince Young
Andy Dalton
Christian Ponder
Jake Locker
John Beck
Carson Palmer

These two are the cream of the crop. We ranked Rodgers ahead of Vick because, as a group, we feel that Rodgers is the safer of the two – and his chances of staying healthy are greater. It’s tough to get more upside than Michael Vick, though, so we feel pretty comfortable taking either of these two guys as the #1 quarterback overall.

We’ve moved around a bit with these rankings as free agent signings and trades have piled in. We’re pretty high on Tony Romo, but it’s hard to rank him higher than the other six guys ahead of him on our big board. We just feel he’s definitely in this tier. Brady’s stock has gone up the most, while Manning continues to hang on despite a little worry over his health – he never misses games! All these guys are close, but you have to have one of them (or the guy sitting alone in our next tier) if you want an elite grade from us. There’s not a ton of certainty at the QB position, but these guys are 5 to bank on.

Tier 3 is made up of Matt Schaub and, well, that’s all. WE couldn’t quite put him in the first two tiers because we’d easily rather have any of those Top 7 over Schaub, that feeling was universal. However, we all concurred that we’d rather have him over the rest of the field. Talent, Andre Johnson, and a strong running game behind Foster is what we like. Running the ball a lot more these days limits his consistency.

Tier 4 is where we absolutely draw the line. If you went for that extra stud receiver or running back, hoping that one of the elite 8 came back to you, and they didn’t – then don’t freakout, just hold your horses and take one of these cats when the value seems right. But don’t hold your breath until you pass out and end up with Mark Sanchez and David Garrard as your starting cavalry. We like Big Ben more than Cutler, but not enough to think you’re WAY better off with the former. These guys are all close, and they all have their worries. Big Ben was so very average last year (and most years – fantasy-wise) that we’re just not sold – but he’s safe and he will produce, more than you can be sure about with Stafford, Cassel, Cutler and even Manning (who is a roller coaster every year). Freeman was probably the most consistent guy last year, but we’re being careful with him this time around. We think Stafford has the highest upside, but with his health concerns, probably the riskiest in the bunch. We’re intrigued by Kolb in Arizona, enough to toss him in with the bunch.

Tier 5 is is only three deep, but I personally love Sam Bradford’s upside, especially if they get a proven WR to help him out a bit. Randy, Plax, here’s talking to you, fellas. Bradford has elite upside – I think he’s the best youngster in quite some time – I’m the only one on staff that thinks it, but I’d be happy with him as my starter this year. Okay, maybe not happy, but comfortable… Donovan is getting the benefit of the doubt here, but we certainly are worried. This is the best running game he’s had since Brian Westbrook we doing work for the Eagles, and McNabb has always been a good playaction guy. Sanchez has all the tools, and if he takes the proper steps forward this year – he’ll outperform this ranking.

The second to last tier is full of guys that have starting jobs (we think) and have some upside. But #2s or #3s at the most, here. I’m interested in what Tarvaris Jackson will do as a leader and a teacher of the offensive scheme he’s been learning in Minnesota – he’ll be one of the vets of this offense in Seattle. With Rice and Williams there’s two great targets that will help a QB out – I think he’ll be solid. Not solid enough to want on my fantasy team – ha – but in a pinch….

Tier 7 is borderline off-limits, but hey, Vince Young could be good when Vick is hurt for a few games. That’s why the Eagles got him – it might not be pretty, but he wins games. All these guys could get starts, but all could do very little. Don’t put much stock in them.

How To Use Tiered Rankings: 2011 Draft Kit

Tiered Fantasy Rankings – These are rankings, similar to the cheat sheet you’ve used for drafts for years, but instead of a list that is ordered by numbers, from the very top being the best player and the very bottom being the worst player, tiered rankings break groups of players down in certain talent levels.

Basically, a tier separates groups of players from each other. This ranking still list players in order from best to worst or the guys we’d most like to own all the way to the guys we don’t care to own. But, we also take that long list and break it down into like-players, guys we feel are close enough to equal where you wouldn’t have to reach for one of them – it really assesses value in a way that a Top 300 list really can’t.

This is the best kind of cheat sheet for drafts. It not only gives you a valuable ranking system, but it helps you recognize positional runs in the draft, the value of certain positions over others, a lack of talent left in a single area compared to other positions, and makes the leftover depth much easier to recognize.

The best way to use a tiered ranking cheat sheet is to use it to recognize value left on the board. For example, if it’s your turn, and you’re not sure if you should pick a WR or a RB, you can assess the depth of the position at the current tier level. If you see that there are just 2 WRs left on the board that fit into the 2nd tier, but there are 5 RBs that fit into the current high-tier, you should pick a WR. There are certainly more things to look at than that alone, but it is a very helpful tool in the heat of a draft.

Tiered rankings also help you recognize when it’s okay to reach for a player. If you haven’t picked a QB yet and the only QB left on the board from the first 3 tiers is Phillip Rivers, you might want to scratch your draft strategy for that pick and go with Rivers. His value has a huge jump because he’s the only elite level player left at that position.

Breaking the player pool into tiers is the only way I do it. Sometimes I break the entire draft down into tiers and sometimes I have different lists for each position. It helps me stay organized in the moment and keeps me on track.

I hope you enjoy our Tiered Rankings – all positions (sans kickers) will be posted. Links below…

Running Backs – Wide Receivers – Tight Ends – Defense/Special Teams

NFL Free Agent Moves: Fantasy Football Implications

This is wild! This is crazy! This is an entire summer of free agency in a couple days. They should hold out every year…. Okay, maybe that’s a little much, but the wait has certainly paid off as we are getting an influx of interesting moves, from big name trades to stupid owners refusing to trade people because they’re stubborn idiots without any sense that they aren’t the guy who runs the planet. Yes, this is awesome. Football wise, we’ll see how they all turn out, but what do the big moves mean for the fantasy fire power? I attempt to answer that right now!

Devin Aromashodu: Interestingly enough, this move was announced prior to Sydney’s addition in Seattle. Well, it means a whole heck of a lot more now. The outcast from Mike Martz’s over-coaching will get a chance to be a #2 target in Minnesota behind Percy Harvin. It should be interesting, but I’d say his upside is worth a look late in deep leagues.

Steve Breaston: Breaston in Kansas City is interesting. One wonders if it was Todd Haley (old OC and now current HC in KC – look at all those C’s) that made Breaston a promising big speedster, or if it was Kurt Warner. If you believe it was Haley (and maybe Haley thinks that) then you should grab Breaston late. If you think it was Kurt, and that Cassel’s touchdown-happy second half of the season was flukey, then stay away. Either way, KC is a run-first offense with Dwayne Bowe and 1st Round pick Jon Baldwin, not to mention the wild card Dexter McCluster – so keep your projections for Breaston low, he loses value fleeing Arizona. Early Ducet moves up, though, as he likely gets the nod at #2 opposite Larry Fitzgerald.

Reggie Bush: My good Doctor, Dr. Zarrabi, says that Bush has gained the most value in free agency thus far – I’m not so sure, but I can see where he’s coming from. Bush moves to Miami where he becomes “the guy” or so they say. I don’t know how he’ll ever stay healthy enough to be the guy anywhere, but he’ll definitely help the Dolphins open up their offense, as he’s certainly a game breaker. I’m wondering what role he’ll have in comparison to Daniel Thomas who I project as a better true running back. Taking his talents to South Beach, though, it could get wild! I recently picked Bush in the last round of a fantasy league, so I’ll agree, his stock shoots up – no way he lasts that long after this trade.

Jabar Gaffney: Traded to a place where wide receivers go to die, so no, I don’t expect him to do as much as he did last year which means, he’s not draftable.

Bruce Gradkowski:I guess Bruce is on the list for those of you who are interested in Andy Dalton being the sure-thing starter – I don’t know. I’m not sure if Bruce will every be draftable, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be starting some games in Cincinnati this season – and you know what else? Carson and the Owner will be starting the same amount of games as well.

Matt Hasselbeck: This pretty much squares up the whole “Jake Locker as the starter” situation in Tennessee, if by squares up you mean squashes. Jake was hardly ready to start at UW last season. Hasselbeck is certainly on the downside of his career, but a much better offensive line, a more talented wide receiver, and Chris Johnson instead of a Marshawn Lynch/Just Forsett duo – yeah, I’d say Hass’s stock goes up in Tennessee. I think he’s better than Kerry Collins, and I think he stays healthier by staying off his back in Tennessee.

Santonio Holmes: Holmes likes what he sees in New York, with Mark Sanchez and a talented group of players – I’d trust him with this one. Sanchez will improve, he’s still so very young, and with him will go Holmes who was one of the most talented free agent position players in football this season. He didn’t move, but him leaving money on the table in Washington to stay in NY should tell you a lot about both teams.

Tarvaris Jackson:While Hasselbeck’s stock goes up from last season, so to does Tarvaris Jackson – he’ll probably end up being the starter in Minnesota, and with him comes Sydney Rice to help with the transition. Also, Seattle is looking to have a much improved offensive line. THey’ll move Max Unger to center, where he’ll be above average. Rookie RT, James Carpenter is a solid bookend opposite Russel Okung. Robert Gallary, one of the best OGs on the market, is also signing with the Hawks – but most importantly, maybe, is the addition of Tom Cable as the O-line coach – that will be great for a sour-puss offensive line from last year. I’ve always seen something in Jackson, lets hope I’m not wrong about this guy like I was about Maroney.

Vincent Jackson: I know Vincent didn’t move teams, and he can’t be too happy to be sticking around, but he became a multi-millionaire by signing his tender, and at least by signing his franchise tag he comes into camp on time and gets to play with one of the best young QBs in the league for an entire year (though I hardly see him fighting through injuries). Regardless, he becomes a Top 10 WR and he hasn’t been going as such.

Chad Johnson: He wasn’t a free agent, and neither was the other new Patriot, Albert Haynesworth – in fact, both Ochocinco (I feel dirty even writing that) and Big Al were problem children for their former teams, but the Patriots felt it benefitted them to pay very little for two supremely talented players that could very easily make the difference in a Championship season. Chad is no Randy Moss, don’t get it twisted – he is unlikely to spend much time going over the middle, and he is a high profile wide receiver, hey, he might even take some plays off, but don’t expect Chad to come in and toy with Randy’s touchdown record like Moss did when he got traded to New England. But does he add something big to the Patriots? You bet! I wouldn’t be surprised if he led the team in receiving yards. Al’s the big win here. The Patriots will almost surely find a way to get him to play up to his potential, even if they don’t switch to a 4-3. Remember, he was ticked that the Redskins were playing a 3-4, and he’s going to a perrinial 3-4 squad in New England – but it’ll almost surely be different, and we’ll all learn how you’re supposed to coach a guy like Al.

Kevin Kolb: I think Kolb’s stock goes up the most, obviously – but Arizona should be a great place for him. There are a few backs that are solid in Arizona, Beanie and Ryan Williams both have the upside to be great – if they put it together, and Larry Fitz is a Top 3 receiver in football, if not the best in the game. Kolb is a good player, don’t get it twisted. Sure, the Eagles seem to know when to get rid of players, but this is a different case – this Kolb guy was the kid that Andy Reid chose to start over Mike Vick last season. There’s great upside here, I think he’s a Top 15 QB.

Donovan McNabb: With Rice gone, I’m not sure McNabb is a Top 15 WR. I love Percy Harvin, no doubt, and Percy’s stock has to go up from where it was heading into free agency. McNabb could really use a great run game from the Vikings, he doesn’t have the skills to throw it 35 times like he used to in Philly during his star days, but he still has a very strong arm, and Minnesota might be just the place for him to put an exclamation point on a very impressive career. I hope he does so.

Sidney Rice: I think Rice was the best skill position player on the free agent market, and thus I think the Hawks were very wise to grab him. He instantly becomes their best game breaking talent, and a guy that will stretch the field and dominate 1 on 1 coverage if defenses stack the line of scrimmage. Mike Williams is a decent running partner, even though he is a heavy (meaning light, actually, just more weight) version of Rice. Neither player wins with their elite speed, but Rice is faster, and big/tall like Williams. Tough match-up problems in Seattle. If Jackson can get the ball there (or Whitehurst I guess).

Brad Smith: This is an interesting move for the Bills, I have to be honest. With Stevie Johnson and Lee Evans, there’s not too much room for pass catching options, and with CJ Spiller rocking the return game (for the price of a 1st round pick 2 seasons ago) I’m not too sure the “need” is there.

Donte Stallworth: To Washington… John Beck? Rex Grossman? I don’t know what Washington is up to, but I don’t think I’d put many hopes on Donte.

DeAngelo Williams: Williams didn’t move, but his staying in Carolina might hurt both his and Jon Stewart’s stock, at least a little bit. But I think Carolina has always like DeAngelo more than Stewart, and they paid Williams like he’s the surefire #1 guy. I think Carolina is a better offense than many pundits are expecting. They have an awesome wide receiver, a young QB that can run, and thus make defenses respect his legs, and thus open the running game a little. Jordan Gross is back, and he is their best lineman. Healthier and stronger up front, I expect Williams to break 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2011.

Ask Papa Weimer: Fantasy Football Draft Kit Edition

We’ve been instructed to put together as much “draft help” content up as possible – to change the things we normally do to better aid the masses in putting together winning fantasy squads. From what I’ve been told, the site is going to be popping with such articles, and possibly even a way for you to rank your very own squad based on a new formula. But that will come, for now it’s all about my answers to your questions…

Now, while I’m supposed to make this as much about fantasy drafting as I can, forgive me if I do what I want from time to time and just post some humorous answers to even funnier questions – what’s fantasy football Q&A without a laugh or two?

If you’re new to the site, or me, Papa Weimer, I’m an old terse man with a knack for the sport of football. I’ve spent many an hour winning staring contests with the television on Sundays, Mondays, and sometimes Saturdays and Thursdays… If you want to get a hold of me and see if I can’t assist you in answering one of your questions, send your mail to papaweimer50@hotmail.com – I’ll get to answering your Qs as quick as possible.

Here are some of the emails I’ve answered over the lockout….

Dave in Fernberg asks, “If there’s no NFL season will you finally answer my questions about CFL or continue to shun me by mocking my emails with replies titled, “What does C stand for?”???

Dave, of course I won’t ever answer those emails seriously, because they are jokes, right? I mean, they are mock emails, similar to mock drafts, similar to mock leagues, because they don’t still play games in Canada, do they? I mean, I know Buffalo is basically Canada, but it’s still the US. Canada is where they play hockey, not football. I know you guys get football on your TVs, 98% of your population lives within 100 yards of the US-border, so just pick up a coat hanger, bend it around your hockey stick, plug it into the back of your TV and see if you can’t steal cable from your big red white and blue brother. Silly, Dave….  PS – Where’s Canada?

Dustin in Oregon writes, “I hear the players and owners are getting their ducks in a row – speaking of Ducks, do you think Legarrette Blount could be better than Steven Jackson? My OSU brother in law is giving me 10-1 odds on a $50 bet after I told him that Blount and Jackson will be close. Should I take it or am I just losing $50?”

That’s actually closer for me than you’d think – I would rather have Steven Jackson if I were deciding one way or another, but I like me some big bad Blount force. It’s close enough where I would probably take that bet at a 3-1 payout – so 10-1 sounds great! You have to look at it like this, Steven Jackson hasn’t been a scoring machine ever, so despite his giant percentage of plays in St. Louis, he doesn’t have those high scoring days like some other backs. Playing an entire year is going to help Blount, but not as much as walking into camp with the #1 gig. Caddy Williams is likely gone, and he’s going to be a 3rd down back even if he stays. Blount is the guy, and he runs real hard and is real bit – so I’d put his upside at 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns – but I think his downside is 900 yards and 8 touchdowns – and since Jackson is getting older, his injury risk is going up – I think you have odds too good to pass up, good luck with your angry Duck!

Scott Pa from Texas asked, “I know the lockout is in full effect, so maybe fantasy questions right now will go unanswered, but I’m interested in your rookie RB rankings (if the season actually goes down) – you have a Top 5 for me?”

From one Pa to another, you betcha, bub! From the first time I watched Mark Ingram run, I couldn’t help but think, “that guy is going to be a top 10 RB in the NFL the day he steps foot on the field”. Then he went to the combine and didn’t run super fast – and I figured, I could care less that he wasn’t the fastest back of the bunch after 40 yards, he was still one of the fastest guys to 10 yards and 20 yards – what’s more important? So his top end speed isn’t amazing, and he won’t be busting Jamaal Charles or Chris Johnson 60 yard runs a couple times per year – big deal – he’s still a beast, runs real hard with great balance, and he’s the #1 back in this draft. If I didn’t think so much of Jahvid Best, LeShoure would probably be 2nd, but because Best will almost surely get half the carries, Mikel drops down a spot or two. Ronnie and Ricky are gone, or so it seems, and Daniel Thomas is the next guy in line. He was a solid player as the only offensive threat at Kansas State, and I think he’ll be solid in the league as well. He’s a big back with good speed. The rest goes like this.

Mark Ingram, Daniel Thomas, Ryan Williams, Mikel LeShoure, and Montario Hardesty….

Alright, I know Hardesty was a a draft pick 2 years ago, but he hasn’t played a down yet – so he’s still a rookie, right? Like Blake Griffin in the NBA a couple years ago? If that’s the case, look out for Ben Tate, too… Alright, just a rookie, I’ll go with Roy Helu Jr. Splinter Shanahan can stumble upon a solid runner from time to time, and you never know, Roy could be that guy.

BGTrouble in Alaska asks, “Randy Moss or Chad Ochocinco?”

Ugh… Why didn’t you just throw Terrell Owens in there with those guys. TO would get the nod if it wasn’t for his mystery injury, his probability of starting the season without a team, and his destructive locker room habits. But hey, you didn’t even ask about him… It’s hard for me to believe that Moss will ever be a fantasy force again. The way he gave up last season, his poor shape, his half routes in full effect, I just don’t see him being a guy I’d ever like to start – but with the last pick of my fantasy draft, if he’s there, I might just take him on principal. So I’m a hypocrite, sure, but I’ve been wrong before (like last time Moss was trying to flunk out of the league). He probably has a better feel for the WR position than anybody ever, his physical tools are nightmarish for CBs, and if he got into the right situation, he could stun me and turn into a starter again – but I think Chad Johnson has a better chance of getting that done. I guess there are more places that I think Chad could succeed. Moss needs that special circumstance. Chad just needs to go to a team with a WR better than him and an offensive line that can block long enough for Chad to get open. If I had to pick, I’d take the namechanger!

More of the Draft Kit to come! Hope this helps!

NFL Football: New CBA Goodies!

Heyyyy!!!!! The NFL is back! While it was beginning to look better a couple weeks ago, the long wait is officially over with, and now we don’t have to pretend to like the CFL, whew…. I guess college football could have held us over, but while that certainly would work in basketball (NBA doesn’t hold a candle to the NCAA as far as regular season entertainment) the NFL is the elite of elites and everyone that has ever loved the egg shaped ball with laces can take a deep breath and get excited for pro-ball.

Over the next month the staff at LL.com will be making up for lost time, getting right down to it and providing a nice draft kit for you fantasy football junkies. We’ll also preview some of the season and get to making some picks when the time comes. I hope you’re ready for sound advice in all regards!

For now, I’d like to explore a couple of the great new pieces of the CBA (collective bargaining agreement – you know, that thing that everyone in the league, evil or good, fought over for the last 4 months). There’s also a couple things that aren’t so great – but hey, you win some you lose some.

The poor get richer! Whaaaaaatttt??? That’s right, usually it’s common place to concede that the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Usually, that’s the case – but when it comes to the players making the league minimum in the NFL (Which actually composes most of the league) the minimum just got a little bigger – and it will continue to get bigger. 55 grand per year might not sound like a lot, but, shoooooot, that’s way more than I make!!!!

Rookies lose hold on the hold outs! This is probably the greatest part about the new CBA for the fan. There won’t be rookie holdouts – there’s basically a set price that rookies drafted in certain spots will get paid, with percentages (much lower percentages) of current contracts going to each draft pick. The days of 70 million dollar contracts for over-hyped 1st round quarterbacks are gone, as are the long holdouts, as are the extra fees for sports agents, and extra money for those guys. In fact, even the 3% that goes to agents is going down to 2% – this can’t be any greater!!! Get to camp on time, rook, clock’s a tickin’!

Holdouts were so dumb, that’s one thing the NBA got right!

Less Practice? It looks like the players really put the kibosh on the old fashioned hard nosed football practices – their promised schedules are splattered with days off, non-padded practices, no 2-a-days, no more than 3.5 hours on the field per day (4.5 for training camps), and free ice cream every Tuesday and Thursday.  It’s looking cushy until you realize they have to run into Ray Lewis once a year (twice for all Steelers, Browns, and Bengals) – though I think those teams get a little bonus every time the famous LB draws snot bubbles…Seriously though, no 2-a-days? These guys made rules that they could only work 4 hours a day at most – that’s awesome – I should do that! Wait, I do do that….

Cap the Cap, under the cap, a doo-rag maybe? The new 120 million cap is a little smaller than 2009, but hey, what’s really cool about the cap is the 89% rule. That means that teams under the cap have to at least spend 89% of the 120 million cap on their roster. If they don’t, that leftover money will be added up and dispersed throughout the roster – so if the owner is being super cheap, he just ends up paying everyone else more money – Al Davis hates this, I can promise you that – and therefore, we should all love this! (Al hates puppies, soft things, gummy bears, nectarines, walks on the beach, good movies, laughing, beating hearts, and angels – see….)

There are a ton of things involved with the new league rules, the CBA I mean – but those are my highlights – and I couldn’t be happier!

NFL Football in 2011!!! Fantastic!