Mission statement? Please, spare me the time. If the purpose of an endeavor is so murky that such tedious claims of intent are necessary, then I don’t want a part of it. I am constantly shocked at the inundation of “mission statements.” They are taking over. We must fight their infestation. I see them at grocery stores, gas stations (Really? We need a mission statement regarding fuel for my vehicle?), chain restaurants, book clubs, public transportation centers, and even on the badges and equipment of janitorial services. Please, people. Please.
So, consider what follows as instead more of a guide: how to interpret, apply, and use a weekly “flex rankings” column. I will keep my spiel front and center at the top of every weekly flex discussion in case you have forgotten my rankings philosophy and my promises to you, the reader, the owner.
MY MISSION STATEMENT
What frustrates me above all else are so-called fantasy advice columns that fit into one of two categories:
- They refuse to stray from conventional wisdom, often until it’s weeks too late to save or help your season or
- They only offer rankings commentary on the “big-name” guys that everyone knows to play anyway. Gee, Adrian Peterson will have a bounce back week and I shouldn’t bench him for Danny Woodhead? Thanks!
Each week I will examine what I consider to be the most pressing issues facing fantasy owners. I will try to focus only on issues that you may actually be concerned with, namely: marginal flex players, tough matchup decisions, and above all else, how to assimilate new information from the previous week. This is a column of the people, by the people, for the people (thanks, Abe). And as long as I’m offering oaths, I promise to always tackle the difficult questions as I see them, not be chained by conventional wisdom, and not allow traditional or draft-position bias to affect my weekly rankings.
And with that, let’s get to it.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Top 75
1. Ray Rice
2. Rashard Mendenhall
3. Adrian Peterson
4. LeSean McCoy
5. Chris Johnson
6. Beanie Wells
7. Calvin Johnson
8. Andre Johnson
9. Darren McFadden
10. Maurice Jones-Drew
Pressing Issue 1: The Big Boys
For the time being, and likely until further notice, Rice maintains the no. 1 spot. Last week, Giants running backs racked up 131 yards on 34 carries against St. Louis and caught 6 passes for another 62 yards. I shudder to think what Rice may do with all of the touches. Am I too high on Wells? I wasn’t last week, when I had him higher than nearly every other ranker I saw. I will stick with the Beanie love. I don’t think the Seahawks will be able to do much to keep him out of the endzone, potentially multiple times. Once again, both receiving Johnsons find their way into my top-10, while another Johnson (the Titan) needs to perform in a great matchup before his owners lose all patience and sanity.
11. Peyton Hillis
12. Michael Turner
13. Jahvid Best
14. Vincent Jackson
15. Frank Gore
16. LeGarrette Blount
17. Ben Tate
18. Roddy White
19. Matt Forte
20. Larry Fitzgerald
Pressing Issue 2: Matchups
I wrote last week about why Forte would be downgraded. The short version: his numbers last year against the Pack were terrible. Given the additional injuries to the Bears O-line and skill positions, I’m actually concerned that 19 might be a bit high. Time will tell, and I’ve seen most rankers keep him in their top-10. You can stick with the majority rules theory if you’d like, but I won’t be. In this group, I am the most nervous about Vincent Jackson. While the matchup against the Chiefs, who can’t stop anyone at the moment, is great on paper, two things keep bothering me:
- Antonio Gates won’t like being shut out last week
- I could see this game getting out of hand early and the need to look for Jackson disappearing.
Obviously you’re playing V-Jax, but it’s certainly a scenario that can cause some concern.
Finally, last week I ranked Arian Foster as if he’d play- what a disappointment. This week I’m ranking Ben Tate as if Foster won’t.
21. Kenny Britt
22. Fred Jackson
23. Ahmad Bradshaw
24. Greg Jennings
25. DeSean Jackson
26. Cedric Benson
27. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
28. James Starks
29. Dez Bryant
30. Steve Johnson
Pressing Issue no. 3: The RB2 Position
If you didn’t take two studs, there’s a lot of potential at the RB2 position this year... surprisingly so, almost. The modern NFL is clearly a pass-first league and the emergence of some dominant receivers who put up consistent weekly target numbers has, in my opinion, increased the value of the WR positions and affected and will continue to affect fantasy draft strategy. I think the Bills stars can continue to put up good offensive production this week. The Patriots can score, we know this, but what we don’t know is if their defense can stop anybody. I’ll be interested to see how they gameplan, in particular for Steve Johnson. Still, as I mentioned earlier this week, I think the AFC East is a fantasy-friendly division and I wouldn’t be surprised if this game involved a lot of scores. Thus, Green-Ellis and Jackson move up a bit accordingly.
31. Mike Tolbert
32. DeAngelo WIlliams
33. Wes Welker
34. Brandon Marshall
35. Jeremy Maclin
36. Steve Smith
37. Willis McGahee
38. Daniel Thomas
39. Ryan Matthews
40. Santonio Holmes
41. Hakeem Nicks
42. Jermichael Finley
43. Anquan Boldin
44. Tim Hightower
45. Santana Moss
46. AJ Green
47. Johnathan Stewart
48. Mike Williams (TB)
49. Darren Sproles
50. Thomas Jones
Pressing Issue no. 4: Injury Impact
To be clear: both Eagles wide receivers- Jackson and Maclin- need significant downgrades if Vick is out. With Jamaal Charles done for the season, it seems most likely that Thomas Jones will receive the brunt of the workload in Kansas City but my ranking here suggests roughly what I think he will be able to do with it. Of course also, I’m assuming McGahee continues to get a significant number of touches until Knowshon Moreno is back at full speed.
What’s this? A tight end not named Rob Gronkowski or Antonio Gates? In his last two games against the Bears, Finley has 14 catches for 185 yards, and the Bears have injury concern at the safety position this week, too. I like AJ Green. He’s a nice upside play on a developing offense. Probably flex-worthy in most formats.
51. Reggie Wayne
52. Rob Gronkowski
53. Robert Meachem
54. Devery Henderson
55. Antonio Gates
56. Jordy Nelson
57. Felix Jones
58. Shonn Greene
59. Jason Witten
60. Mark Ingram
61. Percy Harvin
62. Marshawn Lynch
63. Pierre Thomas
64. Plaxico Burress
65. Reggie Bush
66. Roy Helu
67. Julio Jones
68. Ryan Grant
69. Danny Woodhead
70. Joseph Addai
71. Brandon Jacobs
72. Dexter McCluster
73. Mario Manningham
74. Eric Decker
75. David Nelson
Pressing Issue no. 5: Depth Chart WRs
Again, due to the pass-heavy nature of the league, there are a lot of options to fill your WR slots. Of this last tier, I would keep an eye on Decker and Julio Jones. Decker is making a name for himself in Denver while Jones, if you watch the way he plays, is definitely the real deal, and making Atlanta’s draft day move look like a stroke of genius. I’m lower than most on both Giants receivers. Perhaps I’ve simply been watching too many Eagles games. I don’t like any receiver matched up against that secondary. I really dislike ranking Felix Jones. He hasn’t done much for anyone recently and Dallas is a run-second team. Still, he’s the starting back on a good offense. I just don’t know what to do with him... and if I could, I’d avoid owning him. Same with Hightower and Helu. We may soon be seeing another RBBC in Washington, if it isn’t one already. I think the Saints WRs are ranked in the order I’d like to play them, but both are reasonable plays this week. Regarding the New Orleans backfield, It’s just too muddy to see through. I have the backs in the same order- who I’d like to have first- but don’t feel too confident playing any of them.
Feel free to partake in my fellow Knuckleheads Positional Rankings below:
As always, I rank them as I see them. Best of luck, tweet me your lineup questions: @petethegreekff