Hot or Not: Fantasy Football Edition

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Fantasy Football is opening on a Web site near you, and the following are players who should be on your radar as well as those who do not deserve the hype.

The first five are players who are a little far down the list on most rankings who deserve to be a little higher.

5. Thomas Jones

Yahoo! Rank: 39 (18th RB)

ESPN Rank: 29 (17th RB)

Notable undeserving player ahead of him: Kevin Smith

Here's a guy who's apparently getting labeled as a one-year wonder even though he's had success in the past. I mean, in the Yahoo! Rankings he is behind Marshawn Lynch even though Lynch is set to miss three games.

Jones had 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Normally, with those type of numbers and his offensive line, you would think he would be in the top 20 at the very least.

4. Lee Evans

Yahoo! Rank: 66 (22nd WR)

ESPN Rank: 64 (21st WR)

Notable undeserving player ahead of him: Santonio Holmes

Lee Evans got 1,000 yards with no help and a second-year quarterback that started for his full first season and didn't crack the top 50 when T.O. came to town? Seeing single coverage and backup cornerbacks all year will produce awesome numbers for Evans.

3. Jay Cutler

Yahoo! Rank: 73 (10th QB)

ESPN Rank: 76 (12th QB)

Notable undeserving player ahead of him: Matt Schaub

Jay Cutler is getting a bad rap by these rankings because of his immature way of handling things in Denver, but make no mistake he has a fire that will be used to make people pay for doubting him.

He was the fifth ranked player in Yahoo! in 2008, and while he probably will not see that type of production this year, he will still be a top 20 point producer.

2. Joseph Addai

Yahoo! Rank: 40 (20th RB)

ESPN Rank: 49 (24th RB)

Notable undeserving player ahead of him: Pierre Thomas

Last season, Joseph Addai was unfortunate to have injuries to his offensive line and no help behind him at running back. This year he has Donald Brown to shoulder the load in the backfield, so expect him to return to his 2007 form, which saw 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns.

1. Anthony Gonzalez

Yahoo! Rank: 71 (26th WR)

ESPN Rank: 83 (29th WR)

Notable undeserving player ahead of him: Hines Ward

So Anthony Gonzalez finally gets a shot to be a staple in Peyton Manning's offense, and he gets stuck with a sub-par ranking. With Marvin Harrison gone, the reins have been turned over to Reggie Wayne and Gonzalez, and I expect both to have 1,000-yard seasons.

Expect these five players to do better than their rankings indicate.

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