Sports
T.O's fantasy minute
Tyler Ohmann
08/06/2013
Hello again and welcome to another year of T.O’s Fantasy Minute. I will once again try and scoop out a little of my fantasy knowledge and try and help those who need some advice for the upcoming fantasy season. Enjoy.
Last season I advised taking an elite quarterback early if possible, which wasn’t a terrible deal if you managed to nab Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. However, many other fantasy drafters had nearly as good of luck taking guys like Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III or Matt Ryan much later. Because of that increased depth I advise taking a more traditional approach this season.
With a shortage of strong running backs, I advise (and plan to) try and stock up on rushers early and often this season. Whereas last year I would have been happy to have an elite quarterback in my pocket early, this year I plan on waiting six or more rounds to draft one, since the depth is so great at that position.
Since depth is also strong at wideout, waiting on them later than usual wouldn’t be a bad play either.
Obviously I don’t want to tell you what to do specifically, I only intend to guide you, but basically this is what I would suggest doing in general at this year’s draft (obviously tweak if something comes up).
In a standard league I would like to draft something like this: Round 1: RB, Round 2: RB, Round 3: WR, Round 4: RB, Round 5 WR, Round 6: RB/WR, at least to start. From there you’ll obviously want to take the best available player, possibly a top-10 QB, a strong third WR or maybe a good TE.
As always I still try and advocate taking the best possible player available based on your league’s scoring, but in general running backs are the get this season.
However, this week I’m here to start off the month of August by ranking the top passers (in my humble opinion) in standard leagues this summer:
1. Drew Brees (Saints): Brees was the top statistical quarterback in most leagues last season as he tossed a league-best 43 touchdowns and had the most yards with 5,177. Considering he still has his top threat in tight end Jimmy Graham and reliable pass catchers in Marques Colston and Lance Moore, I would imagine to get more of the same from him in 2013. Brees did turn 34 in January, which could be a cause for concern, but considering what guys like Brady and Peyton Manning are doing, I would not be too apprehensive.
2. Peyton Manning (Broncos): Speaking of Peyton, he is going to jump up his production this season, mostly due to the fact the Broncos added to his receiving corps (Wes Welker anyone). Manning is one of the best passers to guys in the slot and with Welker roaming in that area it should only make Peyton get better this season.
3. Cam Newton (Panthers): If there is one thing that’s for sure it’s Newton being able to run the ball all over every defense. With 741 yards and eight touchdowns on the rushing side of the ball, he wouldn’t have been a bad option at running back. He’s only going to get better in his third year as the Panthers still have the veteran Steve Smith and an improved Brandon LaFell at wideout.
4. Aaron Rodgers (Packers): You can’t really argue with Rodgers’ statistics over the past couple seasons. He has thrown for 4,000 yards, 39 or more touchdowns at eight or fewer interceptions each of the last two seasons. Plus he usually cops a rushing touchdown or three each year. However, his offensive line was banged up last season, as he got sacked a horrible 51 times. The departure of receiver Greg Jennings drops his stock some as well.
5. Matt Ryan (Falcons): When you have two of the best and most talented wide receivers catching your passes, things are bound to go well for you. With Julio Jones and Roddy White running routes, the new multi-millionaire (five years, $103.75 million, $59 million guaranteed) should have no problem equaling or even surpassing last year’s strong totals.
6. Tony Romo (Cowboys): Another signal caller with a new (perhaps overly tall) stack of cash who should flourish in his prime this season, Romo has a lot of strong targets to haul in his tosses. Dez Bryant blossomed into one of the best receivers in the league and the trusty hands of Jason Witten allow Romo to be as strong as ever in 2013.
7. Matthew Stafford (Lions): While Stafford had a worse year than in 2011 last season, he still didn’t disappoint fantasy owners too much. He finished with nearly 5,000 yards and added four rushing touchdowns. Oh, and he helped the best receiver in the NFL break the single season receiving yards mark. With Reggie Bush to help stabilize the running game and catch balls out of the backfield, Stafford is poised to return to 2011 form this season.
8. Tom Brady (Patriots): A lot of people will have Brady ranked much higher, but they are in denial about the loss of his weapons. With Wes Welker out the door and an injury-prone Danny Amendola in his slot, plus that guy Aaron something that has his problems, Brady doesn’t have what it needs to take to be elite in his corner. He might hit 4,000 yards, but don’t expect to see him over 30 touchdowns this year.
9. Robert Griffin III (Redskins): When healthy RG3 is a megastar both in fantasy and elsewhere. However, after blowing a knee in the playoffs last season, it’s worrisome that RG3 can be RG3 this year, at least to start the year. He’s supposedly right on track to be ready for week one, but I’m skeptical that he can return to form that quickly, even after what Adrian Peterson did last season.
10. Russell Wilson (Seahawks): Only a week ago Russell Wilson was at No. 5 on this list, but after the news that newly acquired Percy Harvin has to have hip surgery, and that Sidney Rice is gallivanting with “non-surgical” knee treatments in Switzerland, I don’t trust his options as much anymore. Wilson was the surprise of the season last year when he lead the Seahawks to the playoffs, but a quarterback is only as good as his weapons, and Wilson’s are sidelined.
11. Andrew Luck
12. Josh Freeman
13. Ben Roethlisberger
14. Andy Dalton
15. Joe Flacco
16. Eli Manning
17. Jay Cutler
18. Alex Smith
19. Matt Schaub
20. Philip Rivers
Hope this helps you in your upcoming draft. Look for the ever-important running back rankings next week.