Friday, September 23, 2016

Early-Season Top-5 Positional Rankings

Just as everyone predicted, the 2016 fantasy football season is not going according to plan.
At all.

As it concerns injuries, there have been more significant ones in a shorter period of time than most of us are used to, and more than anybody could feasibly prepare for, especially at the running back position.


In ESPN standard scoring leagues, the top five scoring RB's so far this season are:
1. DeAngelo Williams - 49.3 pts
2. Matt Forte - 45.4 pts
3. C.J. Anderson - 41.2 pts
4. Melvin Gordon - 36.7 pts
5. Isaiah Crowell - 35.6 pts


How many of those were 1st-round picks in your leagues?
Likely, none of them: we all know that the first two weeks don't win championships.

Each RB also has the potential to fall out of the top 5 in a couple weeks, considering that Williams will be replaced by Bell as the Steeler's lead back in week 4, Forte is 31 and could slow down quickly over the course of the season, Gordon has only had two good weeks in his NFL career (hint: they were the last two weeks), and Crowell is the lead back for the Browns, who will perish in fiery flames soon.

The RB that may have the best chance to remain in the top 5 through the season is Anderson, though Forte and Gordon are making their cases as well.

And don't forget the flip-flopping of wide receivers!
Here's the top five WR's in ESPN standard scoring leagues so far:
1. Kelvin Benjamin - 38.9 pts
2. Stefon Diggs - 36.4 pts
3. Willie Snead - 35.6 pts
4. Brandin Cooks - 35.2 pts
5. Larry Fitzgerald - 34.2 pts


The interesting thing is that the earliest positional ADP of any of the top 5 WR's is the same as the RB's: C.J. Anderson was selected as the 12th overall RB, and Brandin Cooks was selected as the 12th overall WR.

QB's have remained somewhat around their original predictions, with one overall surprise:
1. Matt Ryan - 52.2 pts
2. Cam Newton - 51 pts
3. Drew Brees - 47.9 pts
4. Derek Carr - 47.3 pts
5. Andrew Luck - 45.6 pts

Carr was toted as a "sleeper" QB prior to the season, but Matt Ryan was not hyped in many circles.
In fact, many had given up on him making an impact beyond being a bye-week filler.

Without diving into the crapshoot of kickers and defenses, let's take a quick peek at the tight end position:
1. Greg Olsen - 26.5 pts
2. Vance McDonald - 20.9 pts
3. Martellus Bennett - 19.8 pts
4. Julius Thomas - 19.5 pts
5. Jack Doyle - 19.2 pts

Only one of those guys was in the original top-5 drafted TE's, so don't feel bad if you made a swing-and-a-miss decision.

If you're already wishing for a complete draft redo, don't worry: you're not alone!

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