TE Tiered Fantasy Football Rankings: 2011 Draft Kit

With camps started and most additions and subtractions already done, it was time to get my first set of rankings out there. I already have my QB Tiers – RB Tiers and WR Tiers finished, with just Ds hoping to get finished by Tuesday.

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

It used to be a nothing position, right in line with kickers, but it’s deeper than ever before – Tight Ends!

TE Tier I

Antonio Gates
Dallas Clark
Jermichael Finley

Tier II

Vernon Davis
Jason Witten

Tier III

Zach Miller
Owen Daniels
Chris Cooley

Tier IV

Brandon Petitgrew
Tony Gonzalez
Mercedes Lewis
Jimmy Graham
Jermaine Gresham
Kellen Winslow
Dustin Keller
Rob Gronkowski

Tier V

Brent Celek
Vinsanthe Shiancoe
John Carlson
Heath Miller
Jared Cook
Greg Olson
Toni Moeaki
Kevin Boss
Aaron Hernandez
Lance Kendricks
Ed Dixon
Todd Heap
Ben Watson
Anthony Fasano

Not as many tiers in the field of TEs, but that’s because you should almost never own more than 1 – since there’s 32 starters, that leaves a bunch of guys that could play in case of injury. We’d love to have a guy from the first 3 tiers of TEs because even at the bottom of that group, the potential upside is high. It all starts with Antonio Gates, and we were 1 foot injury away from putting him in a tier all by himself. Because Clark and Finley are so talented, and have such huge roles in their respective passing attacks, they deserve to be here with Gates. Not one of these guys was healthy in 2010, but we have big dreams in ’11.

Vernon Davis and Witten sit by themselves in Tier 2 and that’s because they just haven’t been good enough to get into Tier 1, but they are both talented enough to be the top TE in the league. I have a feeling Witten is going to have a big year, but there’s a lot of talent out wide in Dallas, and the running game should be better this season. Davis still has Alex Smith throwing him the ball, but as the team’s #1 receiver, he’ll get the looks.

Zach Miller still doesn’t have a team, but if he can be good in Oakland, he can be good anywhere. Ideally he’ll go to a place where he’s a Top 2 target – if so, he’ll be great, even as the 3rd guy, he’ll impress – but if he’s the #1 guy again, he doesn’t have Top 2 tier upside. Owen Daniels had what was close to a lost year, he just didn’t get up to speed until late. The “until late” part of that has us excited, because he was impressive down the stretch, and that’s the guy we always thought was the 2nd best WR in Houston. Chris Cooley is the best ball catcher in Washington, and we expect Beck to use him early and often. Fewer drops in 2011 will go a long way for Cooley’s fantasy stock.

These are the last group of guys we’d feel comfortable starting – but they are a step down from the first three tiers. Petitgrew has great PPR upside with all the balls he gets. Not a big play threat, but consistency from the TE is nice. Gonzalez is old, but still good – we’re unsure how many looks he’ll get with White and now Julio Jones on the other side. Lewis had a great year, but we are always scared about Jacksonville’s passing offense. Graham and Gresham should be much better in 2011, they are both very talented. Winslow still has the talent to be a starter at TE, but he got lost a couple times last season – Keller and Gronkowski both have TD upside for good teams.

Tier 5 has some guys that have been good players – Celek, Shiancoe, Carlson, Miller, Olson, Heap, Watson and Boss – they’ve all been Top 10 TEs at some point over the last 5 seasons – but looking at the way it stacks up, we’re just not sure about these guys.

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

2009 Fantasy Football Tiered Player Rankings: Lucky Lester’s Top 220

I’m back again with yet another fantasy article, this one rates out my top 220 players for this season and this season only. I’ve already busted out a dynasty chart (without rookies) for the next three years, you could check that out here. It’s an older article, and while some things have changed, that look should give you a decent view of the future if you find yourself in a dynasty league late this fall – but remember, it happened before the draft, and thus is without rookies, a valuable resource in dynasty leagues.

I’ve also spent a little time busting out some tiered rankings for each position, hopefully helping you on draft day – check that out here. I’m breaking these down into tiers as well, because a ranking list is nothing without a little crying game. Also, looking at my final rankings and my earlier tiered rankings, you’ll see some small differences. Why? Well, that’s because things happen over a month that give me reason to move players up and down. Nothing is concrete!

When I rank players, I’m not saying, “this is going to be the final points standings at years’ end”, no, I’m saying that this is the order of value, fantasy points, and upside going into draft day, a sort of cheat sheet to help you assess value on D-Day. Hope this helps!

First Tier

1.	Adrian Peterson – Favre signing just enough to get him on top.
2.	Maurice Jones Drew
3.	Matt Forte
4.	Michael Turner – I might not be giving him enough credit, looks great!

Second Tier

5.	LaDainian Tomlinson
6.	Steve Slaton
7.	Frank Gore
8.	Andre Johnson
9.	Larry Fitzgerald
10.	DeAngelo Williams – J-Stew’s injury woes has Williams moving up.
11.	Steven Jackson
12.	Chris Johnson
13.	Randy Moss – Randy is Tom’s favorite weapon.
14.	Brian Westbrook

Third Tier

15.	Steve Smith
16.	Calvin Johnson
17.	Clinton Portis – All four of these backs are great value picks…
18.	Ronnie Brown - …
19.	Ryan Grant - …
20.	Brandon Jacobs – His O-line is the stuff championships are made of.
21.	Marion Barber
22.	Tom Brady
23.	Drew Brees

Forth Tier

24.	Anquan Boldin – Best #2 in the league.
25.	Reggie Wayne – Still one of the best with one of the best tossing him balls.
26.	Greg Jennings
27.	Darren McFadden – all the talent in the world, lots of touches.
28.	Roddy White
29.	Terrell Owens
30.	Marques Colston

Fifth Tier

31.	Marshawn Lynch
32.	T.J. Houshmandzadeh – Housh looks like a 115 catch guy to me.
33.	Eddie Royal – Marshall moves down, Eddie moves up!
34.	Vincent Jackson
35.	Dwayne Bowe
36.	Derrick Ward – A pretty risky pick considering RB talent in Tampa Bay.
37.	Larry Johnson
38.	Knowshon Moreno – I still believe!
39.	Wes Welker
40.	Jason Witten

Sixth Tier

41.	Reggie Bush
42.	Joseph Addai – Running with something to prove, should be decent.
43.	Chad Johnson
44.	Anthony Gonzalez – This guy is crafty.
45.	Pierre Thomas
46.	Roy Williams
47.	Kurt Warner
48.	Peyton Manning
49.	DeSean Jackson – Has looked better in year 2, moving up my list.
50.	Aaron Rodgers
51.	Phillip Rivers
52.	Antonio Gates
53.	Tony Romo
54.	Donovan McNabb
55.	LenDale White
56.	Felix Jones
57.	Thomas Jones
58.	Julius Jones – No love for JJ, I think he’ll be solid.
59.	Ray Rice
60.	Dallas Clark
61.	Tony Gonzalez

Seventh Tier

62.	Matt Schaub – Please stay healthy and prove me right!
63.	Lee Evans
64.	Bernard Berrien – Brett at least gives Berrien more flavor.
65.	Matt Hasselbeck – Matt’s moving up my list.
66.	Santana Moss
67.	Braylon Edwards
68.	Jonathan Stewart – Many upside here.
69.	Jamal Lewis – His offense may be terrible, but his O-line is solid.
70.	Tim Hightower
71.	Carson Palmer – Hurt again?
72.	Lance Moore
73.	Beanie Wells
74.	Jay Cutler – Looked better than I thought he would, but still not top notch.
75.	Chris Cooley
76.	Matt Ryan – I’m not believing 25+ touchdowns in year 2.
77.	Brandon Marshall – I hear he’s having some problems. 

Eighth Tier

78.	Leon Washington – I think he’ll be used more this season.
79.	Cedric Benson
80.	Willie Parker
81.	Hines Ward
82.	Owen Daniels
83.	Greg Olsen
84.	Santonio Holmes
85.	Jericho Cotchery
86.	Antonio Bryant
87.	Devin Hester – Hasn’t shown much in the pre-season, should change though. 

Ninth Tier

88.	David Garrard
89.	Matt Cassel
90.	Kellen Winslow – has yet to catch a ball in the pre-season.
91.	Torry Holt
92.	Rashard Mendenhall
93.	Ben Roethlisberger
94.	Donald Brown
95.	Jerious Norwood – One of the best back-up backs in the league.
96.	Darren Sproles
97.	Ahmad Bradshaw – looks really good in the pre-season.
98.	John Carlson
99.	Kyle Orton
100.	Nate Burleson – people are forgetting about him, do.
101.	Donnie Avery – Should be healthy by week one, #1 receiver late.
102.	Derrick Mason – old and good, not unlike the guy right below.
103.	Donald Driver

Tenth Tier

104.	Trent Edwards – Like him with Lee and TO out wide.
105.	Fred Jackson
106.	Kevin Walter
107.	Brett Favre – Hmmm…. I wonder.
108.	Zach Miller
109.	Dominik Hixon
110.	Cadillac Williams – Looked good to me, hope he gets more touches.
111.	LeSean McCoy
112.	Nate Washington – Better than people know, hurt early, good late pick.
113.	Joe Flacco
114.	Josh Morgan
115.	Daunte Culpepper – If the job was his, guarantee, I’d rank him higher.
116.	Chad Pennington
117.	Jason Campbell
118.	Ted Ginn Jr. – Super fast WR coming into his own.
119.	Steve Breaston
120.	Chris Henry – Yes, the #3 is ranked higher than the #2.
121.	Vinsanthe Shiancoe
122.	Earnest Graham
123.	Laveranues Coles
124.	Percy Harvin
125.	Jabar Gaffney
126.	Michael Crabtree – This guy is a soap opera already.
127.	Tony Scheffler
128.	Dustin Keller
129.	Fred Taylor
130.	Kenny Britt – Moving on up, lots of talent.
131.	Kevin Curits – Not sure if his upside is high enough for me to get late.
132.	Correll Buckhalter
133.	Jake Delhomme
134.	Jeremy Shockey
135.	Willis McGahee
136.	Chester Taylor
137.	Michael Bush
138.	Shaun Hill
139.	Eli Manning
140.	James Davis
141.	Shonn Greene – Like his talent, just don’t like 3rd RBs too much.
142.	JaMarcus Russell – has looked solid so far this pre-season.
143.	Le’Ron McClain
144.	Sammy Morris
145.	Justin Forsett

Eleventh Tier

146.	Laurence Maroney
147.	Tashard Choice
148.	Marc Bulger
149.	Chaz Schillens – hurt early, but looks good to me.
150.	Patrick Crayton
151.	Michael Clayton
152.	Isaac Bruce
153.	Joey Galloway
154.	Mark Clayton
155.	Earl Bennett ¬– Not sure he is fast enough.
156.	Maurice Stovall – Could be in line for starting duties.
157.	Brady Quinn
158.	Bobby Engram
159.	Vernon Davis
160.	Mohammad Massoquoi
161.	Peyton Hillis
162.	Hakeem Nicks
163.	Jeremy Maclin – The speedster might be a nice second half pick-up.
164.	Mark Sanchez
165.	Glen Coffee
166.	Steve Smith (NYG)
167.	Chris Chambers
168.	Anthony Fasano
169.	Jamaal Charles
170.	Mike Bell
171.	Sidney Rice
172.	Edgerrin James
173.	Ricky Williams
174.	Troy Williamson – Has the speedster finally arrived?
175.	Deion Branch
176.	Justin Fargas
177.	Brandon Petitgrew
178.	Laurent Robinson – liked him better than Mike Jenkins in ATL too.
179.	Michael Jenkins
180.	Mushin Muhammad
181.	Kevin Boss
182.	Malcom Kelly
183.	Brent Celek
184.	David Clowney – Becoming number two?
185.	Mark Bradley
186.	Miles Austin
187.	Bo Scaife
188.	Ladell Betts
189.	JerMichael Finley
190.	Chris Brown – could be a TD stealer, but I doubt it.
191.	Devone Bess
192.	DeShawn Wynn
193.	Mike Walker
194.	James Jones
195.	Dominic Rhodes
196.	Pierre Garcon
197.	Jordy Nelson
198.	Michael Vick – In deep leagues, maybe?
199.	Limas Sweed – Nate Washington’s targets?
200.	Antwan Randel-El
201.	Deon Butler
202.	Kevin Jones
203.	Jonnie Lee Higgins
204.	Heath Miller
205.	Marion Manningham
206.	Robert Meachem
207.	Brian Robiskie
208.	Chase Coffman
209.	Todd Heap
210.	Brandon Jackson – Could be #2 still, had a tough camp.
211.	Byron Leftwich
212.	Matthew Stafford
213.	Kerry Collins
214.	Sage Rosenfels – So much for sleeper, thanks Brett!
215.	Matt Leinart
216.	Vince Young
217.	Chad Henne
218.	Samkon Gado
219.	Bernard Scott
220.	Tarvaris Jackson – Mr. Irrelevant could play well if he gets the chance.

Fantasy Baseball Preview: Tiered Closer Rankings

I hate spending high draft picks on closers- that’s why I’ll never have the studs on this list. I like to take chances on closers and only rarely does that hurt me. That being said, there are some sure things on this list that you won’t have to pay too much to get – here are my relief pitcher rankings.

Relief Pitchers

Tier 1

1. Jonathan Papelbon – Great. Young.

2. Mariano Rivera – Awesome. Old.

3. Joe Nathan – Consistently dominant.

4. Brad Lidge – Strikeout machine, perfect last season in saves. Will be good again in ’09.

5. Joakim Soria – Better than advertised – offense should be better in ’09.

6. Francisco Rodriguez – Despite all the hate, and talks of his demise, he’ll be good in New York.

Tier 2

7. Jose Valverde – All he’s going to do is get 40+ saves, strike out 10 or 11 per 9 innings, and let you not worry one second about your save guy.

8. Brian Fuentes – He comes into a great situation on a very good team that plays a lot of close games. Fuentes is a solid saves artist.

9. Jonathan Broxton – He’s as much of a power strike out closer that you’ll find, and the Dodgers will give him plenty of save opps.

10. Carlos Marmol – Marmol was the dirtiest closer in Chicago last year, even though he pitched in the 7th and 8th innings. He’ll be solid in that spot this season.

11. B.J. Ryan – He struggled a bit after a tough injury, but this guy will get his stuff back and he’s a  crafty save artist indeed.

12. Kerry Wood – Wood had a nice first season as a closer, and should get plenty of chances to do work in Cleveland.

13. Bobby Jenks – Chubby face, and body, but a good player that consistently gets between 30-40 saves.

Tier 3

14. Trevor Hoffman – Out of San Diego means more save chances for Hoff – he may be old, but I see at least one more good year in him.

15. Heath Bell – Taking Hoff’s spot in San Diego, I’m not the only one that expects a solid closer career out of Heath Bell.

16. Matt Capps – He may close for the Pirates, but he’s good when he gets his chances. He has better numbers than anyone in this tier.

17. Francisco Cordero – Cordero has a safe closer job – there’s not a ton of people out of the top 15 that you can say that about.

Tier 4

18. Huston Street – Top 10 upside, but the guy has sand in and around his va-j-j and that could cause an infection that limits his chances to close all year long. Ridiculous. He’s allergic to air I think. At least it’s more fresh in Colorado.

19. Brian Wilson – San Francisco save machine? This guy definitely is that. Despite an ERA and WHIP that left something to be desired last season, Wilson accumulated 41 saves. He was worth what you paid, and that will happen again this year.

20. Chad Qualis – I like Qualis. I think he keeps the job in Arizona – the Diamondbacks probably play better this season, and this kid could get 35 saves in ’09.

21. Frank Francisco – He’s got dirty powerful stuff and he’s the closer in Texas. He’s in a hitters park but if you can’t touch his pitches how can you do much damage with them?

22. Joey Devine – I’m not even sure Devine gets the closer nod, but he’s had some great numbers coming out of the bullpen and if he gets the chance it’s probably his to keep.

23. Matt Lindstrom – Nothing is great about Lindstrom except the Marlins will probably play in a lot of close games, he’s their closer, and he’ll probably gather 30 saves.

24. Brandon Lyon – I’ve never been too impressed with Lyon, but then again, there’s not much that says closer about him except for the fact that he does a good job closing games. Cheap saves anyone?

Tier 5

25a. Rafael Soriano – I like Soriano to emerge at some point for the braves, as their closer – I think he’s the better option, but…

25b. Mike Gonzalez – This guy is the closer coming in I reckon, and while things might change, he did do a fine job getting the job done in the 9th toward the end of last season.

27a. Chris Perez – I like Perez, and all his youth and skill, to take the closer job in St. Louis – but Tony LaRussa is crazy and he could try to give the job away to….

27b. Jason Motte – I don’t think he’s the best option to close games for the Cards, but if he gets the gig he’ll get you some cheap saves.

29a. George Sherrill – Sherrill was a tale of two seasons, most definitely – he was a great option for fantasy owners in the first half before struggling down the stretch – was it his shoulder woes or is that what you’re getting?

29b. Chris Ray – Before his injury woes, Ray was a very effective closer – will he beat out Sherril in his first season back?

30. Fernando Rodney – Who knows, he’s got the best stuff in the Detroit bullpen, there’s a chance he gets the job when Lyon is unimpressive.