Dominating your fantasy football league is not easy, and one way to get a leg up on the competition is through the draft. Solid waiver grabs, quality trades, and making the correct start/sit decisions play a huge factor in the outcome of your season, but it all starts in your fantasy league's draft. Your first round pick isn't gonna be too difficult to choose, and neither is your second round pick. And to be honest, your probably not going to lose sleep over who you take in the third round either. Grabbing an underrated player who may be getting overlooked later on in your draft is where you can really make a positive impact on your roster. Over the next few weeks I'll be taking a look at each offensive position and highlighting some players who I think you can wait on, rather than cash in all your chips on a high-priced, big-name guy in earlier rounds.
Let's take a look at the men who will lead your offense this year -- the quarterbacks...
Monthly Archives: June 2014
2014 Rankings: Top-200 | Top-200 (Half-PPR) | Top-200 (PPR) | QB | RB | RB (PPR)| WR | WR (PPR) | TE | TE (PPR) | K | DST | IDP Rankings: Top-100 | DL | DB | LB
Welcome to the second part of receiver rankings, where we here at Razzball put the PP in PPR. Wait, what? As stated in the standard receiver rankings, I find this position the hardest, though your mom never complains. ICE BURN. Just the sheer volume of names combined with the fact that your standard roster size requires at least three to four of them, well, you now know what's going on in my general vicinity. And if you're that close, WATCH OUT, for you will like love the cut of this jib. Because I guess it's 40's throwback vernacular Thursday. [Puts on fedora, winks, begins to swing dance.] So let's go ahead and begin the great quest to put our PP in PPR (there's gotta be a better way to say that) and get to the rankings… (wearing pants is optional, but frowned upon in this establishment.)
2014 Rankings: Top-200 | Top-200 (Half-PPR) | Top-200 (PPR) | QB | RB | RB (PPR)| WR | WR (PPR) | TE | TE (PPR) | K | DST | IDP Rankings: Top-100 | DL | DB | LB
It's wide receiver ranking time folks, and perhaps more than running backs, I find this position the hardest to work with. Not because it has a boner (though I have no idea how to verify this), but because of the sheer amount of names. There is no dearthness here my friends. And the process involves a lot of research and time, I mean, did you know there's something called a Boykins in the NFL? I thought Boykins was what the Three Stooges did to each other all those years. Also, I was quite surprised that Carolina did, in fact, have wide receivers on their depth chart. I had just assumed they were going to line-up 10 blockers and have Cam Newton throw to himself. Boy was I off. That's actually going to be Cleveland's strategy with Johnny Manziel. Oh, and I also found out that Riley Cooper has been doing a great job since being sent to rehab for racism. To be honest, I found nothing wrong with what he said there, except for the part where he speaks with words. But that's not all I learned. Yes, you might be surprised by this... completely astounded I tell ya, but I also have some fantasy knowledge to drop. CRAZY, I know. So let's get fantasy relevant... (That's what she said. Uh, wait, that doesn't really work here.)
The free agency period and NFL draft has come and gone, rookies are being signed, and teams are actually taking the field. All this means is that not only are we closer to baseball season being over (thank you!), but it's time for fantasy football (it's a year-round thing for some of us. Shhhhh, please don't tell my wife...)
The rankings are starting to tumble out here at Razzball, and the most recent was the tight end position (Non-PPR Rankings, PPR Rankings). The first thing I did with the newly released rankings was start digging for players that I feel are being ranked lower than they should be. I know it's nothing new, but I am all about finding those draft day bargains. I want to try and get maximum value for each one of my draft selections. With all that being said, I am going to shine some light on three players that will bring much more in return compared to their current rank. I will be focusing on the PPR ranks and 12-team leagues, being that is what the Razzball Commentary Leagues (RCL) will be using for scoring.
2014 Rankings: Top-200 | Top-200 (Half-PPR) | Top-200 (PPR) | QB | RB | RB (PPR)| WR | WR (PPR) | TE | TE (PPR) | K | DST | IDP Rankings: Top-100 | DL | DB | LB
As noted in the Tight Ends Rankings for leagues that use standard scoring, or "O.G. scoring", as we Tupac fans like to call it, we are now getting to the meat and potatoes of the fantasy rankings, because I remember being hungry. Then again, I'm always hungry. Mostly for alcohol, but, you know, protein and starch... I got room for ya. Regardless, I bring you the tight end rankings for PPR leagues. And while everything I address for standard leagues still generally applies here, you'll definitely see some movement of players, based on their value from receptions or the lack thereof.
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends
June 17, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Fantasy Football Rankings | 7 Commentsby: Jay
2014 Rankings: Top-200 | Top-200 (Half-PPR) | Top-200 (PPR) | QB | RB | RB (PPR)| WR | WR (PPR) | TE | TE (PPR) | K | DST | IDP Rankings: Top-100 | DL | DB | LB
Now we're getting to the meat and potatoes of the fantasy rankings, perfect for the protein-starch diet which has netted me zero results. While last week's ranking extravaganza with an opening salvo of kickers and defense was such a memorable experience, in that, it wasn't, this week, we start getting serious. But not too serious, because we are talking about tight ends, more specifically, our tight ends, which probably needs less pants. Why? Because everything needs less pants. Think about it.
Running Backs? They Don’t Run… They Catch!
June 16, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Buy/Sell | 3 Commentsby: walt
With the NFL's ever increasing shift to throwing the football, the traditional running back that carries the football 30 times per game is becoming harder to find. Even NFL teams aren't really worried too much about getting running backs. There wasn't even one drafted in the first round this year! Fantasy owners have been told for years to stock pile running backs, and in the past that has been good advice. In today's fantasy leagues, however, you have to draft the right kind of running backs.
2014 Rankings: Top-200 | Top-200 (Half-PPR) | Top-200 (PPR) | QB | RB | RB (PPR)| WR | WR (PPR) | TE | TE (PPR) | K | DST | IDP Rankings: Top-100 | DL | DB | LB
When planning the rankings release schedule, getting rid of the Kickers and DST rankings as fast as possible was a priority for me. They are just soooo the opposite of what you really need to care about, that even implementing a strategy seems like a waste. Trust me, that time and energy is better spent elsewhere. Like Redtube. Or volunteering at your local shelter. Both scholarly pursuits in my honest opinion. Regardless, DEF is still a category, and leaving it off the rankings would seem like a missing tooth. Pittsburgh knows what's up.
NFL Sheds Some LBs for Bikini Season
June 11, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, IDP Report |by: Kevin Kumpf
It’s been hot as hell for two months here in Texas, but the rest of the country seems to consider Memorial Day Weekend as the kickoff of the summer. The NFL is no different apparently, as it’s using the start of bikini season to get rid of those excess LBs. In this case, I’m talking about Sean Lee and Daryl Washington, but Andy Reid and the Ryan brothers can always stand to drop some weight. Let’s take a look at how the loss of two studs for the season affects the IDP landscape for 2014:
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers
June 10, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Fantasy Football Rankings | 5 Commentsby: Jay
2014 Rankings: Top-200 | Top-200 (PPR) | Top-200 (Half-PPR) | QB | RB | RB (PPR)| WR | WR (PPR) | TE | TE (PPR) | K | DST | IDP Rankings: Top-100 | DL | DB | LB
A lot of people come to me and ask "How should I go about drafting a kicker?". And I respond, "Really bro, that's what you want to talk about?" Actually, not really. None of that ever happens, and there's a good reason for that. First, I'm always in my mom's basement, so no one really comes up to me to ask about anything. Secondly, no one actually cares about kickers. Okay, okay, there are *some* people who draft kickers for one reason or another, but all those reasons are wrong. The Razzball approved strategy here is: Don't be that guy you know. Which I guess is the opposite of Velveeta's new slogan. We aim high here folks. Look, they are what they are, and that's a low-tier position on the totem pole of fantasy football. And that's no joke, because the totem pole exists. Somewhere in New Mexico, with the face of Roger Goodell and Cobra Commander. Hail HYDRA!, amiright? Anyhow, let's go over a few things about this position (that's what she said), and then rank-o-rama starts. Prepare your alcoholic beverages...
The 2014 Razzball Rankings Are Coming
June 9, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Fantasy Football Rankings | 9 Commentsby: Jay
We all know winter is coming. What this post presupposes is, what if we aren't Game of Thrones? And so, as has been stated in the title, the time to release rankings for the 2014 Fantasy Football season is among us. Here's how it'll all play out:
June 10th - Kickers
June 12th - Defense and Special Teams
June 17th - Tight Ends
June 19th - Tight Ends (PPR)
June 24th - Wide Receivers
June 26th - Wide Receivers (PPR)
July 1st - Running Backs
July 3rd - Running Backs (PPR)
July 8th - Quarterbacks
July 10th - Top-200
July 15th - Top-200 (Half-PPR)
July 17th - Top-200 (PPR)
*Updated 6/14
And don't worry, we'll still be covering league news, IDP rankings, and Draft Strategy in or around those dates above. (Also, projections sometime in July) Basically, we're making a Draft Kit, which I guess I could have just told you earlier and saved all this typing, but them's the way it goes sometimes. But not really, because I have no idea what I'm saying at this point. The more important question is, do I ever? No. Not really.
Lindy’s Magazine Mock Draft Review 2014
June 5, 2014 | 2014 Fantasy Football, Mock Draft | 22 Commentsby: SethDaSportsMan
You know fantasy football season is right around the corner when the NFL Draft passes us by, but it really hits you when you start doing mock drafts.
For many, doing mocks in May is a tad bit early, but I am one of the millions of fantasy owners who have embarked on this journey – whether I like it or not!
Fantasy football is becoming increasingly more popular – not to say it wasn’t a juggernaut already – but there are people playing it all around the globe and from all walks of life. While people used to draft a team or two a week or so before Opening Kickoff, you now have guys (and girls) with multiple teams (we’re talking dozens here), and they’re drafting all year round. Dynasty league gurus have affectionately coined the term: “In dynasty leagues, there is no offseason”. Such is the ADD/OCD culture we live in today.
I wasn’t planning on doing a mock so early, but I was invited by the esteemed website, Lindy’s Sports, to participate in a mock draft that would later be featured in their magazine's 2014 Fantasy Football Preview Edition. When glancing at some of the names on draft order list, I was sure that this would be a challenge. Amongst my mock-mates were writers from some of the biggest fantasy football sites and publications out there. This was gonna be interesting.
The following is a recap of what went down for me on that warm, Southern California night. The settings for the mock are as follows: 14 teams, 14 roster spots (3 WR/2 RB/FLEX format), non-PPR, standard scoring settings. I had the 14th pick.
