Don't do your fantasy football draft without this information! If you have already done your fantasy draft, go fuss at your league commissioner for having it so early before possible injuries to key players. There is still a slight risk of injury to some players, and you wouldn't want to get stuck having drafted one! With that said, I have created my fantasy draft information with a week left in the preseason since some of you have wanted it earlier.
Here are my feelings about fantasy football. I used to play it and have won leagues before, but I found that I had to pull for my drafted players who often belonged to teams that I hated which caused me a lot of grief. So, I haven't played in several years, but I know the players very well, so a lot of people ask me fantasy football questions, and I'm happy to help them out.
Below, you will find my ranking by position followed by an overall ranking. So, print this out, get a pen to check off players as they are drafted, and beat those people who set their draft on automatic pilot!
The rankings are for PPR (Point Per Reception) Leagues but wouldn't change too much for Standard Scoring Leagues since they are scored nearly the same.
Good luck!
QB
Rank Player Pos Team
1 Josh Allen QB Bills
2 Lamar Jackson QB Ravens
3 Patrick Mahomes QB Chiefs
4 Jalen Hurts QB Eagles
5 Dak Prescott QB Cowboys
6 C.J. Stroud QB Texans
7 Anthony Richardson QB Colts
8 Joe Burrow QB Bengals
9 Jordan Love QB Packers
10 Brock Purdy QB 49ers
11 Tua Tagovailoa QB Dolphins
12 Caleb Williams QB Bears
13 Jayden Daniels QB Commanders
14 Jared Goff QB Lions
15 Aaron Rodgers QB Jets
16 Kyler Murray QB Cardinals
17 Trevor Lawrence QB Jaguars
18 Kirk Cousins QB Falcons
19 Matthew Stafford QB Rams
20 Justin Herbert QB Chargers
21 Deshaun Watson QB Browns
After that, pick whomever makes sense to you at quarterback.
RB
Rank Player Pos Team
1 Christian McCaffrey RB 49ers
2 Breece Hall RB Jets
3 Bijan Robinson RB Falcons
4 Jahmyr Gibbs RB Lions
5 Jonathan Taylor RB Colts
6 Saquon Barkley RB Eagles
7 Travis Etienne RB Jaguars
8 Derrick Henry RB Ravens
9 James Cook RB Bills
10 Kyren Williams RB Rams
11 Isiah Pacheco RB Chiefs
12 De’Von Achane RB Dolphins
13 Josh Jacobs RB Packers
14 Rachaad White RB Buccaneers
15 Aaron Jones RB Vikings
16 Joe Mixon RB Texans
17 Kenneth Walker RB Seahawks
18 Alvin Kamara RB Saints
19 Rhamondre Stevenson RB Patriots
20 James Conner RB Cardinals
21 D’Andre Swift RB Bears
22 David Montgomery RB Lions
23 Najee Harris RB Steelers
24 Trey Benson RB Cardinals
25 Nick Chubb(injured - omit) RB Browns
26 Zamir White RB Raiders
27 Zack Moss RB Bengals
28 Austin Ekeler RB Commanders
29 Jaylen Warren RB Steelers
30 Brian Robinson Jr. RB Commanders
31 Jonathon Brooks RB Panthers
32 Raheem Mostert RB Dolphins
33 Tony Pollard RB Titans
34 Tyjae Spears RB Titans
35 Gus Edwards RB Chargers
36 Devin Singletary RB Giants
37 Javonte Williams RB Broncos
38 Ezekiel Elliott RB Cowboys
39 Chase Brown RB Bengals
40 Rico Dowdle RB Cowboys
41 Blake Corum RB Rams
42 Zach Charbonnet RB Seahawks
43 Jerome Ford RB Browns
44 Ty Chandler RB Vikings
45 MarShawn Lloyd RB Packers
46 Antonio Gibson RB Patriots
47 Tyler Allgeier RB Falcons
48 Chuba Hubbard RB Panthers
49 J.K. Dobbins RB Chargers
50 Kendre Miller RB Saints
51 Adonai Mitchell RB Colts
After that, just pick your favorite players to finish out the position.
WR
Rank Player Pos Team
1 Tyreek Hill WR Dolphins
2 CeeDee Lamb WR Cowboys
3 Ja’Marr Chase WR Bengals
4 Justin Jefferson WR Vikings
5 Amon-Ra St. Brown WR Lions
6 A.J. Brown WR Eagles
7 Puka Nacua WR Rams
8 Garrett Wilson WR Jets
9 Drake London WR Falcons
10 Davante Adams WR Raiders
11 Marvin Harrison WR Cardinals
12 Chris Olave WR Saints
13 Mike Evans WR Buccaneers
14 Brandon Aiyuk WR 49ers
15 Nico Collins WR Texans
16 Jaylen Waddle WR Dolphins
17 DJ Moore WR Bears
18 DK Metcalf WR Seahawks
19 Michael Pittman WR Colts
20 Deebo Samuel WR 49ers
21 Stephon Diggs WR Texans
22 DeVonta Smith WR Eagles
23 Cooper Kupp WR Rams
24 Malik Nabers WR Giants
25 Rashee Rice WR Chiefs
26 Tank Dell WR Texans
27 Zay Flowers WR Ravens
28 Keenan Allen WR Bears
29 Amari Cooper WR Browns
30 Christian Kirk WR Jaguars
31 Calvin Ridley WR Titans
32 Tee Higgins WR Bengals
33 George Pickens WR Steelers
34 Terry McLaurin WR Commanders
35 Chris Godwin WR Buccaneers
36 Hollywood Brown WR Chiefs
37 Diontae Johnson WR Panthers
38 Jordan Addison WR Vikings
39 Jayden Reed WR Packers
40 Xavier Worthy WR Chiefs
41 Christian Watson WR Packers
42 DeAndre Hopkins WR Titans
43 Ladd McConkey WR Chargers
44 Rome Odunze WR Bears
45 Brian Thomas Jr. WR Jaguars
46 Courtland Sutton WR Broncos
47 Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR Seahawks
48 Curtis Samuel WR Bills
49 Jameson Williams WR Lions
50 Keon Coleman WR Bills
51 Tyler Lockett WR Seahawks
52 Brandin Cooks WR Cowboys
53 Jerry Jeudy WR Browns
54 Mike Williams WR Jets
55 Jakobi Meyers WR Raiders
56 Joshua Palmer WR Chargers
57 Darnell Mooney WR Falcons
58 Romeo Doubs WR Packers
59 Josh Downs WR Colts
60 Khalil Shakir WR Bills
61 Gabe Davis WR Jaguars
62 Ja’Lynn Polk WR Patriots
After that, just pick your favorite players to finish out the position.
TE
Rank Player Pos Team
1 Sam LaPorta TE Lions
2 Dalton Kincaid TE Bills
3 Travis Kelce TE Chiefs
4 Mark Andrews TE Ravens
5 Trey McBride TE Cardinals
6 George Kittle TE 49ers
7 Jake Ferguson TE Cowboys
8 Evan Engram TE Jaguars
9 Kyle Pitts TE Falcons
10 David Njoku TE Browns
11 Dallas Goedert TE Eagles
12 Dalton Schultz TE Texans
13 Brock Bowers TE Raiders
14 Pat Freiermuth TE Steelers
15 Cole Kmet TE Bears
16 T.J. Hockenson(injured) TE Vikings
17 Luke Musgrave TE Packers
18 Taysom Hill TE Saints
19 Hunter Henry TE Patriots
20 Noah Fant TE Seahawks
21 Cade Otton TE Buccaneers
22 Tyler Conklin TE Jets
23 Ben Sinnott TE Commanders
24 Jonnu Smith TE Dolphins
25 Chigoziem Okonkwo TE Titans
26 Mike Gesicki TE Bengals
After that, it probably doesn’t much matter who your second-string tight end is.
DEF/ST
1. San Francisco
2. Dallas
3. Cleveland
4. New York Jets
5. Baltimore
6. Pittsburgh
7. New Orleans
8. Cincinnati
9. Jacksonville
10. Kansas City
11. Miami
12. Chicago
13. Detroit
14. Philadelphia
K
1. Justin Tucker BAL
2. Harrison Butker KC
3. Brandon Aubrey DAL
4. Jake Elliott PHI
5. Jake Moody SF
6. Evan McPherson CIN
7. Greg Zuerlein NYJ
8. Ka’imi Fairbairn HOU
9. Cameron Dicker LAC
10. Younghoe Koo ATL
11. Cairo Santos CHI
12. Jason Sanders MIA
13. Matt Gay IND
14. Dustin Hopkins CLE
Overall
1. Christian McCaffrey RB SF
2. Tyreek Hill WR MIA
3. CeeDee Lamb WR DAL
4. Ja’Marr Chase WR CIN
5. Justin Jefferson WR MIN
6. Amon-Ra St. Brown WR DET
7. Breece Hall RB NYJ
8. Bijan Robinson RB ATL
9. A.J. Brown WR PHI
10. Puka Nicua WR LAR
11. Garrett Wilson WR NYJ
12. Jahmyr Gibbs RB DET
13. Jonathan Taylor RB IND
14. Saquon Barkley RB PHI
15. Drake London WR ATL
16. Davante Adams WR LV
17. Marvin Harrison WR ARI
18. Chris Olave WR NO
19. Travis Etienne RB JAX
20. Derrick Henry RB BAL
21. Mike Evans WR TB
22. Brandon Aiyuk WR SF
23. Nico Collins WR HOU
24. James Cook RB BUF
25. Kyren Williams RB LAR
26. Josh Allen QB BUF
27. Lamar Jackson QB BAL
28. Patrick Mahomes QB KC
29. Jalen Hurts QB PHI
30. Jaylen Waddle WR MIA
31. Isiah Pacheco RB KC
32. De’Von Achane RB MIA
33. DJ Moore WR CHI
34. DK Metcalf WR SEA
35. Sam LaPorta TE DET
36. Michael Pittman WR IND
37. Deebo Samuel WR SF
38. Stephon Diggs WR HOU
39. Devonta Smith WR PHI
40. Cooper Kupp WR LAR
41. Dalton Kincaid TE BUF
42. Travis Kelce TE KC
43. Malik Nabers WR NYG
44. Rashee Rice WR KC
45. Tank Dell WR HOU
46. Zay Flowers WR BAL
47. Mark Andrews TE BAL
48. Trey McBride TE ARI
49. Josh Jacobs RB GB
50. Rachaad White RB TB
51. Keenan Allen WR CHI
52. Amari Cooper WR CLE
53. Christian Kirk WR JAX
54. Aaron Jones RB MIN
55. Joe Mixon RB HOU
56. Kenneth Walker RB SEA
57. Alvin Kamara RB NO
58. Dak Prescott QB DAL
59. C.J. Stroud QB HOU
60. Anthony Richardson QB IND
61. Joe Burrow QB CIN
62. Jordan Love QB GB
63. Calvin Ridley WR TEN
64. Tee Higgins WR CIN
65. George Pickens WR PIT
66. George Kittle TE SF
67. Terry McLaurin WR WAS
68. Chris Godwin WR TB
69. Jake Ferguson TE DAL
70. Evan Engram TE JAX
71. Kyle Pitts TE ATL
72. Marquise Hollywood Brown WR KC
73. Diontae Johnson WR CAR
74. Jordan Addison WR MIN
75. Jayden Reed WR GB
76. Xavier Worthy WR KC
77. Brock Purdy QB SF
78. Tua Tagovailoa QB MIA
79. Christian Watson WR GB
80. Rhamondre Stevenson RB NE
81. James Conner RB ARI
82. D’Andre Swift RB CHI
83. David Montgomery RB DET
84. Najee Harris RB PIT
85. DeAndre Hopkins WR TEN
86. Ladd McConkey WR LAC
87. Trey Benson RB ARI
88. Rome Odunze WR CHI
89. Brian Thomas Jr. WR JAX
90. Cortland Sutton WR DEN
91. Nick Chubb RB CLE(injured - omit)
92. Zamir White RB LV
93. Zack Moss RB CIN
94. Austin Ekeler RB WAS
95. Jaylen Warren RB PIT
96. Brian Robinson Jr. RB WAS
97. Jonathon Brooks RB CAR
98. Raheem Mostert RB MIA
99. Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR SEA
100. Tony Pollard RB TEN
101. Curtis Samuel WR BUF
102. David Njoku TE CLE
103. Jameson Williams WR DET
104. Keon Coleman WR BUF
105. Dallas Goedert TE PHI
106. Dalton Schultz TE HOU
107. Tyjae Spears RB TEN
108. Gus Edwards RB LAC
109. Caleb Williams QB CHI
110. Jayden Daniels QB WAS
111. Jared Goff QB DET
112. Aaron Rodgers QB NYJ
113. Kyler Murray QB ARI
114. Devin Singletary RB NYG
115. Javonte Williams RB DEN
116. Brock Bowers TE LV
117. Tyler Lockett WR SEA
118. Trevor Lawrence QB JAX
119. Kirk Cousins QB ATL
120. Ezekiel Elliott RB DAL
121. Chase Brown RB CIN
122. Rico Dowdle RB DAL
123. Blake Corum RB LAR
124. Zach Charbonnet RB SEA
125. Brandin Cooks WR DAL
126. Jerry Jeudy WR CLE
127. Matthew Stafford QB LAR
128. Justin Herbert QB LAC
129. Mike Williams WR NYJ
130. Jakobi Meyers WR LV
131. Joshua Palmer WR LAC
132. Darnell Mooney WR ATL
133. Romeo Doubs WR GB
134. Jerome Ford RB CLE
135. Ty Chandler RB MIN
136. Pat Freiermuth TE PIT
137. Cole Kmet TE CHI
138. T.J. Hockenson TE MIN(injured first 4 weeks)
139. Josh Downs WR IND
140. Khalil Shakir WR BUF
141. Gabe Davis WR JAX
142. MarShawn Lloyd RB GB
143. Antonio Gibson RB NE
144. Tyler Allgeier RB ATL
145. Ja’Lynn Polk WR NE
146. Chuba Hubbard RB CAR
147. J. K. Dobbins RB LAC
148. Kendre Miller RB NO
149. Adonai Mitchell RB IND
150. Luke Musgrave TE GB
151. Deshaun Watson QB CLE
152. Taysom Hill TE NO
153. Hunter Henry TE NE
154. Noah Fant TE SEA
155. Cade Otton TE TB
156. Tyler Conklin TE NYJ
157. Ben Sinnott TE WAS
158. Jonnu Smith TE MIA
159. Chigoziem Okonkwo TE TEN
160. Mike Gesicki TE CIN
Defense/Special Teams – Never take more than one!
If you can get one of these first 4 defenses/special teams when you have 4 picks left in your draft, then do it.
1. San Francisco
2. Dallas
3. Cleveland
4. New York Jets
If you have NOT taken one of the above defenses/special teams when you have 3 picks left in your draft, then take one of these next 10 best defenses/special teams.
1. Baltimore
2. Pittsburgh
3. New Orleans
4. Cincinnati
5. Jacksonville
6. Kansas City
7. Miami
8. Chicago
9. Detroit
10. Philadelphia
Kicker – Never take more than one!
If you can get one of these 6 kickers when you have 2 picks left in your draft, then do it.
1. Justin Tucker K BAL
2. Harrison Butker K KC
3. Brandon Aubrey K DAL
4. Jake Elliott K PHI
5. Jake Moody K SF
6. Evan McPherson K CIN
If you have NOT taken one of the above kickers, then take one of these with your very last pick.
1. Greg Zuerlein K NYJ
2. Ka’imi Fairbairn K HOU
3. Cameron Dicker K LAC
4. Younghoe Koo K ATL
5. Cairo Santos K CHI
6. Jason Sanders K MIA
7. Matt Gay K IND
8. Dustin Hopkins K CLE
Auction Drafts (Salary Cap Drafts)
I know some of you participate in Auction Drafts which are also called Salary Cap drafts where you have a certain amount of money to spend to draft your players and nominate then bid on each player until you complete your draft. I’ll just tell you that you better know your players VERY WELL or you might get eaten alive by more knowledgeable drafters. If you don’t know the players well, stay away from this kind of draft. Each of those Auction Drafts are unique depending on how the bidding goes early on, so I can’t give you hard and fast rules, but here are a few of my general rules to follow for this kind of draft…
The starting point could be something like this.
QB – 7%
RB – 40%
WR – 45%
TE – 5%
D/ST – 2%
K – 1%
This is not a strict limit. Let your budget be your guide.
You could use my player rankings to help you set player tiers and go for mid-level, but don’t wait until only the last guy in your tier is left or you might get into a bidding war. Look for value as opposed to a strict plan.
Tips … Don’t wait too long for nominating your guys to bid on.
Follow bidding wars with players you don’t want.
Pair starting RBs by nominating their backup because maybe the person who got the starter will overbid for his backup.
If you have $200 to spend, allocate at least $170 to your starters, maybe even $180 or $185.
QB (draft 1 starter) - $20 would be the sweet spot. You get similar results for $20 as you do for $30+. If you can’t get a higher end QB, like one of the top 4 for about $20-$30, go for a $5 option.
RB (draft 2 starters) - $61-$80 is the sweet spot, but $61-$100 is all right. If you get a top player, like McCaffrey, pair him with a $20’s guy for $90-$100. Gibbs and Henry are a good combo for about $75.
WR (draft 2 or 3 starters depending on league) – You almost can’t spend too much on wide receivers. $81-$100 is the sweet spot, but $100+ is not bad for top wide receivers.
TE (draft 1 starter) – If you can get a top 4 tight end, then it’s all right to spend $40, but you would have to go cheaper at other positions. Otherwise, go cheap for less than $10 since there is not much separation after the first few players.
FLEX (draft 1 starter) – Do not pay big for the FLEX position. Go with a mid-level player who has good upside, maybe someone like WR Zay Flowers or WR Jordan Addison or a similar level RB.
BENCH – Go for high upside, very cheap players, like rookies.
One reasonable strategy would be to get an elite RB and 3 good to elite WRs.
Good luck with the Auction Draft. You’ll need it!
May God always be your number 1 draft pick!
Draftman Rick
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