Early Fantasy Football Rankings -- TEs

1. Jimmy Graham Is it any wonder that he's #1 on the list? His consistent performance and consistently good numbers have moved Graham into a position where its not too strange to take a TE at the end of the 1st round. I'd be comfortable taking him there or even earlier. 2. Julius Thomas With Eric Decker gone to the Jets, the middle of the field and endzone should be ripe for the picking for either Welker or Orange Julius. 3. Jordan Cameron Cameron is going to be one of the only weapons in Cleveland. With Gordon gone for the year and the rag-tag group of WRs put together by the Browns FO, it may mean that Cameron is a very popular option to go to by either Hoyer or Manziel. 4. Rob Gronkowski Gronk needs to stay healthy. I'm putting him at #4 simply because if he is healthy and can stay that way, he will be a total monster on the field, its just a matter of him staying on the field. 5. Jason Witten Not a sexy pick, but Witten is a constant threat to score points in Dallas. Miles Austin gone, that means Romo is bascially left with Dez as his outside guy and Witten inside. I think his production will increase even more this year.

Early Fantasy Football Rankings -- WR

1. Demaryius Thomas Over the course of the year, Demaryius (Only Winners Get Wings) Thomas was not only productive over the year in terms of overall points, but he was consistent with those points. Compared to other top players from last year, he was one of the most consistent, other than the #2 player on this list. 2. A.J. Green Demaryius Thomas and AJ Green are almost more like a 1 and 1A in terms of both production and consistency. I'll give the leg up to the guy with Peyton Manning throwing the ball though. 3. Calvin Johnson It seems like Megatron is becoming the prime example of a boom/bust player week to week. 5 of 16 weeks he had 5 points or less, and 2 of those weeks he had 0 points. He has performed well over time and maybe the addition of Ebron and Tate will help free him up to be more consistent, but as a guy who was taken in the first round last year, its hard to see the poor production. 4. Brandon Marshall With the emergence of Alshon Jeffery and the return of Jay Cutler, I suspect that Marshall will be an extremely consistent player even more in 2014, even as his age increases. The chemistry between Cutler and Marshall is Fantasy gold. 5. Antonio Brown Yes, the Steelers WR. ADP from what I gather was something about end of the 5th round for most 12 team leagues. He was not only consistent, but he was #6 on the ESPN points list. Not bad for those who were able to pick up what would end up being a top end WR in the 5th round. He shouldn't fall that far this year.

Early Fantasy Football Rankings -- QB

Here's my top 5 QB rankings and reasoning 1. Peyton Manning The field coach will return, and although they will be without Eric Decker, the other weapons will come back and be in full force. I fully expect Peyton to be back in top form and will arguably be one of the most productive QB's in terms of fantasy points. 2. Drew Brees The point scoring QB that he is will produce in bunches, as long as Graham is healthy. There have got to be concerns about whether or not Colston will be able to produce the numbers he has in the past, and if losing Sproles will be impacting the production of Brees. Adding Cooks should help though. 3. Aaron Rodgers The broken collerbone of ARog will have no impact on his play. Although the Packers have lost James Jones, he won't be missed. The emergence of Lacy as a premier feature RB will be a massive help to Rodgers. 4. Andrew Luck While Luck had a very good 2013 in terms of fantasy production, I think he will surpass that number this year. With T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, and Hakeem Nicks, the passing attack for the Colts will be something to be feared. 5. Matthew Stafford Megatron is still in Detroit. They added a TE that has been compared to Jimmy Graham and signed a possible #2 WR in Tate. The Lions also still have Reggie Bush and Joique Bell. The Lions offense is high powered, and they'll need to be to keep up as their defense is still junk.

Early Fantasy Football Rankings -- Running Backs

Here are my top 5 rankings for each position and reasoning. RB: 1. Adrian Peterson What do Adrian Peterson, LaDanian Tomlinson and Emmitt Smith all have in common? Well they're all great running backs headed towards or in the NFL Hall of Fame, and they had Norv Turner as their Offensive Coordinator. AP will again be the focal point of the offense, regardless of QB in Minnesota. In 15 of 21 seasons Turner has had RBs have over 1000 yards rushing. He also uses his RBs as recieving options out of the backfield. Peterson's best year for fantasy production? 2009, when he was used by Darrell Bevel (current Seahawks OC) with Brett Favre at QB 2. Jamaal Charles Charles' production last year was no fluke. 4 of the last 6 seasons he's rushed for over 1100 yards, has only played in less than 16 games 3 of 6 years, and 2 of those 3 were 15 game seasons. Only one year he missed the majority of one season. Andy Reid has a winning formula with Charles and Smith. The only thing that could reduce his numbers would be if the Chiefs get an actual option other than Charles and Bowe in short-midrange throws. 3. Marshawn Lynch There is no doubt that Lynch is a monster of a running back. Beast Mode doesn't really come close to the performance of Lynch in that Seattle offense. The last 3 seasons, Lynch has not had less than 1200 yards rushing, and has increased his recieving yards while scoring at least 12 touchdowns in each of the last 3 seasons. 4. LeSean McCoy McCoy will again be the primary ground mover for Chip Kelly in Philly. The only question is whether or not the Eagles will be able to be as function without DeSean Jackson as the downfield threat. I want to see how both the Eagles respond via the draft and then how defenses respond if the Eagles are unable to keep defenses honest with Maclin and Cooper 5. Matt Forte The trusty catching back in Matt Forte. Luckly for owners of Forte last year, that TD leach Michael Bush seemed to be getting fewer and fewer looks at the goal line. Bush is also a free agent and doesn't look to be resigned by the Bears. This could be great for Forte and his production. It could mean between 3-5 more TD's per year if Forte is allowed the goal line stands and he appeared more than capable last season. Honorable Mention: Eddie Lacy Eddie Lacy was the best late round pick for anyone who nabbed him. For those unfortunate to have taken James Franklin even later, well live and learn. One thing you need to know about Lacy, his production last season alone shows he can be a workhorse back capable of carrying the Packers by himself. A rookie campaign in which he rushed for over 1100 yards and 11 TDs was fantastic production. He averaged a little over 4 YPC, but with a healthy Aaron Rodgers and the respect he commands, that should challenge defenses and allow for freer running for Lacy. He just needs to stay healthy and he could be a force and I think a 1st round pick in fantasy drafts.