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Sorry y’all. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve been around these here football parts, as I’ve been working like a dog getting ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season. In fact, I recently posted this over on the Razzball Baseball site regarding points leagues. But I did figure it was time to get you peeps some overall post combine rankings for the incoming rookie class. I know I went over each position individually and I wanted to provide y’all with the exclusive Josh O Big Board of Fantasy Dynasty Prospects. It’s kind of similar to Mel Kiper’s Big Board, except ya know, mine is awesome and, well, his really isn’t. And mine relates solely to future fantasy value, so there’s that. The hardest part when compiling these prospect rankings is weighing ceilings vs. floors vs. immediate contributions. It was a struggle, but lucky for you, I fought through it and TA-DA, here it is.

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Here we are, the conclusion of Combine Week 2014! We’re finishing up this week with my review of the running backs from the Combine. I will warn you, though, that trying to formulate a long-term fantasy forecast for a running back who has yet to be drafted is tricky business. So much of a running back’s fantasy value is derived from the situation they are brought into (number of touches, type of offensive system) and the offensive line they get the pleasure, or misfortune (see: Lamar Miller) of running behind. A perfect way to illustrate this point is to look back at the running back draft class from last year. Two prime examples immediately come to mind when thinking about how team situations affect fantasy value for running backs. These two players are Christine Michael and Le’veon Bell.

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In case you’ve missed our previous posts regarding the Combine (WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!), I touched on the draft-eligible Tight Ends here, the Quarterbacks here, and will be highlighting the Running Backs tomorrow. But today, please excuse me while I fawn over the wide receiver class, hard. This year has be proclaimed to be the deepest WR class in a long, long time, maybe ever. This class is deep, like real deep. And its not just deep, it has elite level talent at the top, too. You could tell me that any of the top 10-12 guys in the class went in the 1st round and I wouldn’t bat an eye, although I’ve never really understood that saying… I told you yesterday that these wideouts are pretty damn good.  I love the group of WRs in this class more than I do any other position group at the Combine. I seriously love these wide receivers more than Manti Te’o loved Lennay Kekua, you know, until she died. It was such a sad story and touching story… Wait, you mean to tell me none of that was real? Where the hell have I been… Anywho, where was I? Oh yeah, this wide receiver class is thebomb.com. And any discussion of these WRs has to start with:

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Sunday at the combine is when the meat of your fantasy prospects put out. You know what I mean, like, deliver their goods. Wait, that didn’t come out right. Show their stuff? Wow… um, I guess I should say, Sunday is the day that the majority of your future fantasy stars hit the field, in their underwear. The position groups that went out Sunday are all relevant to your future fantasy success: QBs, WRs, and RBs; with the QBs leading off. As discussed in Jay’s Combine primer, my WR review will be coming tomorrow, with RBs coming on Thursday. Tight Ends were already covered here. The class of QBs this year is nothing, if not interesting. We’ve seen recent classes produce instant fantasy stars such as Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson, along with guys who went on to become stars like Colin Kaepernick. Sadly, right now I don’t see any of these QBs providing quite the same fantasy value that Luck (almost 4400 yards passing) and Wilson (100 passer rating) had in their rookie years. However, there are some guys that I believe that can come in and have reasonable fantasy (and real) success their rookie years, along with some who could, under the right coaching, eventually become fantasy starters for your squads down the road.

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It’s almost the end of February, MLB Spring Training is fully underway, and Spring is just around the corner (hopefully). I know, I know, you’re asking yourself “What the hell does any of this have to do with football or my fantasy team?” Well, I’m getting there. This weekend every year, all NFL scouts, coaches, and executives descend upon Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy to watch a bunch of college kids work out in their underwear at the NFL Combine. As discussed in the Senior Bowl review, this time of year is dedicated to the draft, with the Combine being a crucial piece of the proverbial puzzle. The Combine kicked off yesterday with the offensive linemen (who hold zero individual fantasy value) and Tight Ends taking the turf to show their skills. The tight end class this year definitely has some great talent, maybe the most in recent years, and multiple guys could be of interest to fantasy owners, not only in dynasty leagues, but perhaps even this year in redraft leagues.

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The Senior Bowl is typically a key part in the draft evaluation process for all 32 NFL teams. However, it is merely just one piece of the puzzle, with the combine and pro-days looming. This game isn’t the crux of the process. For us dynasty leaguers, evaluating the Senior Bowl should be no different. Lest we forget Senior Bowl’s of the past that saw future NFL studs duds such as Christian Ponder, Isaiah Pead, and Pat White had a great week of practice, earn Senior Bowl MVP honors and then fall on their faces in the show. On the other hand, players like Matt Forte, Russell Wilson, and Alfred Morris performed well in this game and have gone on to have great success in the NFL, but more importantly, on our fake football teams. While most of the guys in attendance are quality football players, the cream of the fantasy crop are mostly underclassmen. This year a record 102 underclassmen declared for the draft, with most of the better future fantasy play-makers residing among them. That isn’t to say that some of the Senior Bowl players shouldn’t be on your radar. Here are some guys to keep an eye on…

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