Album reviews are suspended here at The Full TO for the next four to five weeks, because it is time for my annual fantasy football rankings. This week, as is usual, I will begin with quarterbacks.
First, lets take a look at how I did last year:
*Note: These are based on 6 points for passing touchdowns, because that
is what my main fantasy league goes by (not my decision).
Picked No. 1 for 2016, Drew Brees. Actually finished: 2. Very good selection. A lot of people thought he might fall off due to age, but that was certainly not the case.
Picked No. 2 for 2016, Ben Roethlisberger. Actually finished: 11. He was hurt a couple times on some vicious hits. By average his rank was actually 7th.
Picked No. 3 for 2016, Aaron Rodgers. Actually finished: 1. Underestimated Rodgers, but he had healthy receivers and showed that he is still very much in his prime.
Picked No. 4 for 2016, Russell Wilson. Actually finished: 13. Had some injury issues early on in the year, which limited his mobility. That hurt his ranks.
Picked No. 5 for 2016, Matthew Stafford. Actually finished: 6. The QB I targeted last season proved to be fortuitous.
Picked No. 6 for 2016, Andrew Luck. Actually finished: 5. Another really good job, Luck did a lot without much help offensively. He has a couple of talented receivers and Frank Gore keeps Goring.
Picked No. 7 for 2016, Cam Newton. Actually finished: 21. I was not expecting the precipitous fall of the Panthers after going 15-1 in 2015. That hurt Newton.
Picked No. 8 for 2016, Derek Carr. Actually finished: 7. Another strong pick, and I expect him to be even better this year, now that the Cooper/Crabtree combo is legit.
Picked No. 9 for 2016, Blake Bortles. Actually finished: 10. Pretty spot on with Bortles, who is awful in real life, but continues to put up fantasy numbers.
Picked No. 10 for 2016, Philip Rivers. Actually finished: 9. Pretty well done.
All in all it was pretty solid apart from a few selections. However, quarterbacks are pretty much the easiest to choose from year-to-year. If I can get six or seven more or less right in the top 10, that makes my odds pretty good. I just need to find value again this season like I did last year with Stafford.
My picks for 2017 at the QB position:
1. Tom Brady: Everybody is making a huge deal about Brady being 40. Big deal. That won't slow him down a bit. Actually with the skills of Brandin Cooks in his stable now, this year could be as close to the record-setting 2008 Brady as we'll ever see this year.
2. Aaron Rodgers: Pretty hard to overlook Rodgers after what he did a year ago. Add the giant Martellus Bennett roaming in the red zone and over the middle and Rodgers is poised for another giant year.
3. Derek Carr: I truly believe that Carr will take another step forward. He should be fully recovered from his broken leg, and I expect that Cooper/Crabtree will be great again and Marshawn Lynch could help open up some passing lanes too.
4. Matt Ryan: Pretty hard to argue with the guy who tosses it up to Julio Jones. Jones had injury issues all year and still put up great numbers, helping Ryan. He also benefited from young guys like TE Austin Hooper and RB Tevin Coleman hauling in passes and making plays.
5. Kirk Cousins: I don't really like Kirk Cousins as a quarterback. At least not in real life. In fantasy, he has thrown for nearly 5,000 yards for two straight years, and with Terrelle Pryor, who broke out last year, in his corner. He should be just as good.
6. Matthew Stafford: I expect Stafford to hold pat here at No. 6, but he'll also be drafted like he is the No. 6 QB, so I'll be avoiding him on my team's this year. Kenny Golloday could be a good deep threat addition for Stafford.
7. Marcus Mariota: Mariota should really be poised to make a step up this year. It's his third season and the Titans added a ton of weapons (Eric Decker, Corey Davis) to go along with an already strong arsenal. This means only good things for Mariota should he stay healthy.
8. Drew Brees: I had Ryan Tannehill in this spot, but we'll move Brees up one since Tannehill is out for the season. I think Brees will probably dip a little due to both age and the loss of Brandin Cooks.
9. Eli Manning: Adding some great weapons in Brandon Marshall and rookie TE Evan Engram should really help Manning put up some great numbers. He seems to have good fantasy years in odd years. Plus, OBJ.
10. Russell Wilson: A healthy Russell Wilson should rack up some rushing yards, and he's a very good passer too. I contemplated putting Roethlisberger and Andy Dalton at this spot due to their better assets around them, but Wilson's legs are an even better asset.
My goal, as has been the case for the past 10 years at least, is to try and find one of the two or three QB's who are being drafted in the 15+ range, but who produces top 5 or top 10 numbers. It worked really well last year. This helps me focus on racking up RB and WR in the first 8-10 rounds, and sneaking a guy like Eli Manning or Marcus Mariota in the 11-12th round. Honestly, Tannehill was that guy for me until he got hurt. Going to have to re-evaluate before my draft, Aug. 26.
I will rank the ever-important running back next week. In the mean time, Here is a link to the photos I uploaded to smugmug for this week: Legion state and Region 8C weekend 1.
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