The Too Early Fantasy Top 3 Rankings: QB, WR, RB
As the NFL season approaches, and more importantly the Fantasy Season, it is the perfect time to start preparing for your leagues. Whether you play just for fun or are in it for the money, you always want to make sure you go into the year with as much knowledge as possible, and here I am going to break down who I think will be your best option at the three main skill positions.
Starting with the captain of the team, the quarterback position is an extremely important position. However out of these three positions I would place them 3/3 in terms of necessity. Yet the top five or six QBs each year in fantasy give you a major point advantage compared to the rest of the field.
1) Justin Herbert - In just his second year, Herbert put up great numbers boasting him to a second place finish in fantasy quarterback rankings. His growth from his rookie to sophomore season and just overall talent gives him the X factor for me to put him finishing first. Another huge factor are the returning studs he has at his disposal in Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler, as well as Mike Williams who just got a huge extension. Ekeler’s ability to be a top tier pass catching back gives Herbert just another weapon to throw to and rack up yards and points this season.
2) Joe Burrow - Another young star that was taken just a few picks ahead of Herbert in their draft class, after an astounding sophomore year coming back from injury he lead a Bengals team that had four straight sub .500 years to the Superbowl. A super talented guy with a pretty big arm, his ability to get out of the pocket to keep plays alive and get the ball to his star wideouts, as well as his newly refurbished offensive line, puts him in a perfect position for a great fantasy finish. Throwing to guys like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins makes his job a lot easier as well. After finishing as the eighth ranked QB last season even with sitting out week 18, he looks to follow it up with another great year with a different Super Bowl outcome this time.
3) Russell Wilson - This offseason he made a big change and is switching teams for the first time in his career. He moves to a super competitive division and to a team that with the addition of him, could be real contenders. He arrives to Denver with a very deep and talented WR room, paired with a very dangerous RB duo. He has weapons across the board backed by an improved offensive line from what he had in Seattle. After missing some time from a thumb injury last year, I think he is poised to put up big numbers as he will of course be a huge part of the offense. The Broncos brought him in to be able to move the ball through the air which is something they have not had success with for a few years. Him being in a stacked division with three other top 10 QBs means he will be doing a lot to win games this year.
Next I will move onto the most important position in fantasy football, the running back. This is a position with a lot of extremely talented guys at the top of the rankings so it is hard to put some of these guys over the others. Formatting differences like PPR and Standard can also bump some of these guys up or down a spot but here is my general consensus rating.
1) Derrick Henry - In all honesty I don’t think there is much I really need to say to explain this ranking. Henry is an absolute fantasy monster and has been at the top of the rankings the last few years. For the first time in the career he suffered a serious injury that kept him to only 8 games. However through those eight weeks he was well by himself at the RB1 ranking. At 219 carries and 10 touchdowns he was well on pace to have over 400 carries, 20 touchdowns, and right at 2,000 yards. Those are absurd numbers and as we all know, volume is everything in fantasy so to be touching the ball that many is a sure tell sign of putting up great fantasy numbers.
2) Christian McCaffrey - Quite possibly the most polarizing name in all of fantasy football, McCaffrey is someone who when it comes to talent is with utmost certainty the most talented RB in the NFL. The only thing the holds him back is his very deep history with injuries. The consensus number one pick the last 4 years, if he can stay healthy his snap share of well over 50% pushes him to insane numbers like in his last fully healthy season in 2019. He tallied nearly 1,400 yards rushing and nearly 1,100 yards receiving with 19 total TDs. Of course with those number playing in a PPR League puts him even further above the rest of the field. He finished the year as RB1 with 355 points, in which RB2 (Derrick Henry) finished with “only” 275 points. After battling through multiple injuries the next two years he still averaged 24.5 fantasy points through his 4 full games played last year which wear numbers that of course had him at RB1. The difference between McCaffrey and the rest of the RBs is night and day when he stays healthy. The only thing you have to ask yourself is if you are willing to take the risk this year again.
3) Jonathan Taylor - Last years RB1, Taylor has cleared the 1,000 yard rushing threshold both of his first two years in the league, with last year being a superb year where he finished with 1,800 yards on 5.5 yards per carry and 18 TDs. The addition of veteran QB Matt Ryan this offseason only boosts his pass catching work as he may be in line to see more check downs when the mediocre receiving core around him can’t find a way to get open. Also, running behind the best offensive line in the league has its perks and Taylor has used them to the absolute fullest and I don’t see him stopping now. Just like any of the three I have named, he has the potential to finish higher and even repeat as RB1, to be frank I just cannot put him at RB1 because there has not been a repeat in consecutive years since the ‘02 and ‘03 season. While these types of records are meant to be broken, I am a man of stats, and the stats say that putting Taylor here in the preseason is just right.
Moving on to our last group, we find ourselves with a very large and often frustrating group. In a position where it can be hard to find a teams true top wide receiver or dealing with injuries and bad QB play, it is always important to make sure you are watching all the WRs throughout the year to make sure you are always prepared.
1) Justin Jefferson - The young star has been an absolute standout since his rookie year two seasons ago. As someone who did not want to believe all the hype after his rookie year, I can now say I was drastically wrong and he is absolutely the real deal. After seeing a big increase in major categories like targets, catches, yards, and touchdowns you can only assume he will keep up producing the way he does. Another big thing is that coming out of OTA’s, he told reporters that he really likes his new OC and says he is turning the Vikings into a “new age” offense in a good way and he is very excited for the season coming up. Finishing last year as WR4 I think he is prime and ready to to make that last jump and finish this year as WR1.
2) Mike Evans - Mike Evans is the face of consistency and reliability at the WR position. Through his eight years in the league he has yet to miss the 1,000 yard receiving mark which is a very impressive feat. Now while this ranking may come to the surprise of some, I think he is more poised than ever for a big year. With co-star receiver Chris Godwin still recovering from a torn ACL at the end of last season still not having a timetable to return, as well as Rob Gronkowski still yet to resign, Evans is a shoe in to be Brady’s favorite target. As a guy who has a WR1 finish in his career he has the size, the talent, and the team to help him put up a great fantasy regime this year. For a guy that has only been over the 90 receptions mark once and never over 100 (which is quite the task), I think the fact that the other significant members of the receiving core missing time, as well as playing with the best QB he has had in his career primes him for a great year as well as breaking that 100 receptions milestone for the first time.
3) Ja’Marr Chase - This freshman phenom was the driving force behind the Bengals cinderella season last year as well as his phenom QB. After a stellar 1450 yard and 13 TD season, he shows no signs of stopping this type of performance. Last years WR3 has gotten some second hand help as well this offseason as the Bengals went out and spoiled his QB with a brand new offensive line. While having two other standout WRs to play with (Tee Higgins being one who I think will be a top 8 fantasy WR this year) helps open up the field for him as defenses cannot simply just focus on him. Joe Burrow’s favorite target will need to work on his hands a little bit as he also led the league in drops with 11, yet even with that he still managed to have one of the best WR seasons last year as well as one of the best rookie WR seasons ever. He has as high of a ceiling as any other WR and quite honestly the only thing holding him back is the his teammate Tee Higgins who could take Chase’s spot on this list as they are both set for a bare minimum top 10 fantasy season this year.
