Fantasy Football 2017: Initial Preseason Big Board

It's go time, folks.

Fantasy football draft season is upon us once again. It's the best time of year for fans of the hobby. Everyone is 0-0 and has hopes of bringing home a championship.

Of course, with those hopes comes pressure. Have a bad draft, and the season can be over before it starts.

Have a good one, though, and it's time to start planning how to spend that prize money.

OK, let's not get nuts—but it's still vitally important if you want to leave the draft with a competitive team that you enter it prepared.

Say, with a position-by-position big board that includes a ranking of the top 100 players overall as the preseason gets underway.

Rankings are based on a PPR scoring system that awards one point for 10 rushing or receiving or 25 passing yards, six points for all touchdowns and one point per reception.

Quarterback

David Goldman/Associated Press

Quarterbacks are the unquestioned kings of the National Football League. They win the most awards, land the biggest contracts and have the biggest impact on a team’s success.

That’s not the case in fantasy football, though. Elite options like Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots are fantastic players who will all but surely rack up fantasy points.

But it’s a deep position, with proven veterans like Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions and Philip Rivers of the Los Angeles Chargers available later on.

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM
1.	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers
2.	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints
3.	Tom Brady	New England Patriots
4.	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons
5.	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks
6.	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts
7.	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers
8.	Ben Roethlisberger	Pittsburgh Steelers
9.	Jameis Winston	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10.	Derek Carr	Oakland Raiders
11.	Marcus Mariota	Tennessee Titans
12.	Philip Rivers	Los Angeles Chargers
13.	Matthew Stafford	Detroit Lions
14.	Kirk Cousins	Washington Redskins
15.	Dak Prescott	Dallas Cowboys
16.	Eli Manning	New York Giants
17.	Tyrod Taylor	Buffalo Bills
18.	Andy Dalton	Cincinnati Bengals
19.	Carson Palmer	Arizona Cardinals
20.	Ryan Tannehill	Miami Dolphins
21.	Carson Wentz	Philadelphia Eagles
22.	Blake Bortles	Jacksonville Jaguars
23.	Sam Bradford	Minnesota Vikings
24.	Alex Smith	Kansas City Chiefs
25.	Joe Flacco	Baltimore Ravens
26.	Trevor Siemian	Denver Broncos
27.	Deshaun Watson	Houston Texans
28.	Brian Hoyer	San Francisco 49ers
29.	Jared Goff	Los Angeles Rams
30.	Mike Glennon	Chicago Bears

Running Back

John Froschauer/Associated Press

The running back position had fallen out of favor a bit in recent years. There were too many high-end busts in the backfield and too many wide receivers consistently posting big stat lines.

That is, until last year—when huge seasons by the likes of David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals), Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys) keyed something of a backfield renaissance.

However, some caveat emptor action is in order for the “Big Three” tailbacks in 2017. All three surpassed 370 total touches last year if you count their work in the postseason.

And the “Curse of 370” doesn’t spare many souls.

Rank	Player	Team
1.	David Johnson	Arizona Cardinals
2.	Le’Veon Bell	Pittsburgh Steelers
3.	Ezekiel Elliott	Dallas Cowboys
4.	Melvin Gordon	Los Angeles Chargers
5.	LeSean McCoy	Buffalo Bills
6.	DeMarco Murray	Tennessee Titans
7.	Devonta Freeman	Atlanta Falcons
8.	Jay Ajayi	Miami Dolphins
9.	Jordan Howard	Chicago Bears
10.	Lamar Miller	Houston Texans
11.	Leonard Fournette	Jacksonville Jaguars
12.	Todd Gurley	Los Angeles Rams
13.	Isaiah Crowell	Cleveland Browns
14.	Spencer Ware	Kansas City Chiefs
15.	Mark Ingram	New Orleans Saints
16.	Christian McCaffrey	Carolina Panthers
17.	Ty Montgomery	Green Bay Packers
18.	Marshawn Lynch	Oakland Raiders
19.	Tevin Coleman	Atlanta Falcons
20.	Frank Gore	Indianapolis Colts
21.	Ameer Abdullah	Detroit Lions
22.	Carlos Hyde	San Francisco 49ers
23.	C.J. Anderson	Denver Broncos
24.	Eddie Lacy	Seattle Seahawks
25.	Dalvin Cook	Minnesota Vikings
26.	Joe Mixon	Cincinnati Bengals
27.	Bilal Powell	New York Jets
28.	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29.	Adrian Peterson	New Orleans Saints
30.	Derrick Henry	Tennessee Titans
31.	Paul Perkins	New York Giants
32.	Danny Woodhead	Baltimore Ravens
33.	Matt Forte	New York Jets
34.	Duke Johnson	Cleveland Browns
35.	Theo Riddick	Detroit Lions
36.	Mike Gillislee	New England Patriots
37.	Rob Kelley	Washington Redskins
38.	LeGarrette Blount	Philadelphia Eagles
39.	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia Eagles
40.	Terrance West	Baltimore Ravens
41.	Jonathan Stewart	Carolina Panthers
42.	Samaje Perine	Washington Redskins
43.	Latavius Murray	Minnesota Vikings
44.	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals
45.	Jamaal Charles	Denver Broncos
46.	C.J. Prosise	Seattle Seahawks
47.	James White	New England Patriots
48.	Thomas Rawls	Seattle Seahawks
49.	Charles Sims	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
50.	Joe Williams	San Francisco 49ers

Wide Receiver

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

On one hand, given his robotic production over the last four years (an average of 120-plus catches, 1,500-plus yards and 10-plus touchdowns), an argument can be made that Antonio Brown of the Piitsburgh Steelers should be the pick at 1.01 in fantasy drafts.

If there’s such a thing as “bust-proof,” Brown’s it.

And he’s not the only stud wide receiver out there. Far from it.

On the other hand, there’s no denying that wide receiver is a much deeper pool of fantasy talent than in the backfield in 2017. You have a better chance of finding a fantasy starter in the eighth round at receiver than at running back.

That makes wideout easily the most flexible position in fantasy this year.

Whether they are your primary or secondary focus, there’s something for everyone.

Rank	Player	Team
1.	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers
2.	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons
3.	Odell Beckham	New York Giants
4.	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals
5.	Mike Evans	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6.	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers
7.	Mike Thomas	New Orleans Saints
8.	Amari Cooper	Oakland Raiders
9.	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys
10.	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos
11.	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts
12.	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans
13.	Jarvis Landry	Miami Dolphins
14.	Brandin Cooks	New England Patriots
15.	Doug Baldwin	Seattle Seahawks
16.	Allen Robinson	Jacksonville Jaguars
17.	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals
18.	Alshon Jeffery	Philadelphia Eagles
19.	Keenan Allen	Los Angeles Chargers
20.	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions
21.	Michael Crabtree	Oakland Raiders
22.	Davante Adams	Green Bay Packers
23.	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills
24.	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots
25.	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos
26.	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers
27.	Willie Snead	New Orleans Saints
28.	Stefon Diggs	Minnesota Vikings
29.	Terrelle Pryor	Washington Redskins
30.	Brandon Marshall	New York Giants
31.	DeSean Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32.	Pierre Garcon	San Francisco 49ers
33.	Jamison Crowder	Washington Redskins
34.	Donte Moncrief	Indianapolis Colts
35.	Tyreek Hill	Kansas City Chiefs
36.	DeVante Parker	Miami Dolphins
37.	Martavis Bryant	Pittsburgh Steelers
38.	Marvin Jones	Detroit Lions
39.	Eric Decker	Tennessee Titans
40.	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers
41.	John Brown	Arizona Cardinals
42.	Jeremy Maclin	Baltimore Ravens
43.	Adam Thielen	Minnesota Vikings
44.	Quincy Enunwa	New York Jets
45.	Corey Davis	Tennessee Titans
46.	Kenny Britt	Cleveland Browns
47.	Cameron Meredith	Chicago Bears
48.	Jordan Matthews	Philadelphia Eagles
49.	Sterling Shepard	New York Giants
50.	Mike Wallace	Baltimore Ravens

Tight End

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

The tight end position is the most confusing and frustrating in fantasy football in 2017.

There are eight or nine players I have any real faith in as an every-week fantasy starter. And even that group is riddled with question marks.

The consensus No. 1 option at the position (New England’s Rob Gronkowski) has been fantasy’s top tight end in two of the past four years. In the other two, he missed at least half the season.

Jordan Reed of the Washington Redskins, Jimmy Graham of the Seattle Seahawks and Tyler Eifert of the Cincinnati Bengals all share similarly lengthy injury histories.

There are all of two players (Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and Carolina’s Greg Olsen) who I am reasonably confident will both stay healthy and produce.

Outside that? It’s a crapshoot, really.

Rank	Player	Team
1.	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots
2.	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs
3.	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers
4.	Jordan Reed	Washington Redskins
5.	Jimmy Graham	Seattle Seahawks
6.	Tyler Eifert	Cincinnati Bengals
7.	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans
8.	Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles
9.	Kyle Rudolph	Minnesota Vikings
10.	Hunter Henry	Los Angeles Chargers
11.	Martellus Bennett	Green Bay Packers
12.	Jack Doyle	Indianapolis Colts
13.	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys
14.	Eric Ebron	Detroit Lions
15.	Coby Fleener	New Orleans Saints
16.	Austin Hooper	Atlanta Falcons
17.	Cameron Brate	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18.	Zach Miller	Chicago Bears
19.	C.J. Fiedorowicz	Houston Texans
20.	Antonio Gates	Los Angeles Chargers
21.	Jared Cook	Oakland Raiders
22.	Evan Engram	New York Giants
23.	Julius Thomas	Miami Dolphins
24.	O.J. Howard	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
25.	Charles Clay	Buffalo Bills
26.	Dwayne Allen	New England Patriots
27.	Jesse James	Pittsburgh Steelers
28.	David Njoku	Cleveland Browns
29.	Tyler Higbee	Los Angeles Rams
30.	Vance McDonald	San Francisco 49ers

Kicker

Nick Wass/Associated Press

If there’s only one piece of advice you take from this article—one thing you listen to—please let it be this.

The difference between the No. 1 fantasy kicker and the No. 12 kicker in a given season is usually only two or three points a game—and that assumes you’re able to properly predict the top option at a notoriously unpredictable position.

Good luck with that.

Given that, there’s only one thing to do. Assume the resting kicker yoga position (What? It could be a thing.), take a deep, cleansing breath and repeat after me.

I will not draft a fantasy kicker until the final round.

I will not draft a fantasy kicker until the final round.

I will not draft a fantasy kicker until the final round.

Rank	Player	Team
1.	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens
2.	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots
3.	Matt Bryant	Atlanta Falcons
4.	Dan Bailey	Dallas Cowboys
5.	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers
6.	Adam Vinatieri	Indianapolis Colts
7.	Matt Prater	Detroit Lions
8.	Cairo Santos	Kansas City Chiefs
9.	Will Lutz	New Orleans Saints
10.	Sebastian Janikowski	Oakland Raiders
11.	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos
12.	Graham Gano	Carolina Panthers
13.	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers
14.	Blair Walsh	Seattle Seahawks
15.	Dustin Hopkins	Washington Redskins
16.	Josh Lambo	Los Angeles Chargers
17.	Phil Dawson	Arizona Cardinals
18.	Steven Hauschka	Buffalo Bills
19.	Nick Novak	Houston Texans
20.	Caleb Sturgis	Philadelphia Eagles
21.	Ryan Succop	Tennessee Titans
22.	Kai Forbath	Minnesota Vikings
23.	Nick Folk	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
24.	Andrew Franks	Miami Dolphins
25.	Aldrick Rosas	New York Giants
26.	Jason Myers	Jacksonville Jaguars
27.	Jake Elliott	Cincinnati Bengals
28.	Greg Zuerlein	Los Angeles Rams
29.	Zane Gonzalez	Cleveland Browns
30.	Chandler Catanzaro	New York Jets

Defense/Special Teams

RICK SCUTERI/Associated Press

I get the temptation to reach a little bit for a top fantasy defense like the Arizona Cardinals.

The Redbirds have posted top-three fantasy finishes in NFL.com default fantasy scoring each of the last two years. They have everything a fantasy owner could want—a strong pass rush, ball-hawking defensive backs and a solid return game.

Oh, and they play the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers four times.

However, if you don’t like paying retail, there are plenty of “streaming” options available later on. Find a team available late with a good matchup or two to open the season.

When those matchups dry up, just dump it and grab another off the waiver wire.

Rank	Team
1.	Arizona Cardinals
2.	Denver Broncos
3.	Houston Texans
4.	Kansas City Chiefs
5.	Seattle Seahawks
6.	Minnesota Vikings
7.	New England Patriots
8.	Carolina Panthers
9.	New York Giants
10.	Philadelphia Eagles
11.	Los Angeles Rams
12.	Jacksonville Jaguars
13.	Atlanta Falcons
14.	Baltimore Ravens
15.	Green Bay Packers
16.	Pittsburgh Steelers
17.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18.	Los Angeles Chargers
19.	Oakland Raiders
20.	Cincinnati Bengals
21.	Dallas Cowboys
22.	Buffalo Bills
23.	Miami Dolphins
24.	Tennessee Titans
25.	Washington Redskins
26.	Detroit Lions
27.	New York Jets
28.	Cleveland Browns
29.	Indianapolis Colts
30.	San Francisco 49ers
31.	Chicago Bears
32.	New Orleans Saints

Top 100 Overall

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

A quick note before I roll out the top 100 fantasy football players of 2017.

By no means should this cheatsheet or any other (including your own) be a black-and-white cast-in-stone guide for your fantasy draft. You shouldn’t always draft Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley ahead of New England Patriots wideout Brandin Cooks just because the former is listed a bit higher than the latter.

Fantasy drafts are like snowflakes—no two are alike. The scoring vagaries of a league can have a sizable impact on player values. So can the proclivities of the people drafting.

Just as an example, most of the leagues I play in now are “industry” ones. The other owners are fantasy pundits/experts/whatever just like I (allegedly) am.

In almost all of those drafts, quarterbacks fall farther than when I’m drafting against friends or family. I already have Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers pretty low at 32, but in those leagues, it’s not that unusual to see him drop a full round past that.

Consider this a general guide more than a detailed set of instructions. Then adjust as you see fit.

A prepared fantasy drafter is a successful one.

And a flexible fantasy drafter even more so.

Good luck!

Rank	Player	Position	Team
1.)	Antonio Brown	WR	PIT
2.)	David Johnson	RB	ARZ
3.)	Le’Veon Bell	RB	PIT
4.)	Julio Jones	WR	ATL
5.)	Odell Beckham	WR	NYG
6.)	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	DAL
7.)	Melvin Gordon	RB	LAC
8.)	A.J. Green	WR	CIN
9.)	Mike Evans	WR	TBB
10.)	LeSean McCoy	RB	BUF
11.)	DeMarco Murray	RB	TEN
12.)	Jordy Nelson	WR	GBP
13.)	Devonta Freeman	RB	ATL
14.)	Jay Ajayi	RB	MIA
15.)	Mike Thomas	WR	NOS
16.)	Jordan Howard	RB	CHI
17.)	Lamar Miller	RB	HOU
18.)	Amari Cooper	WR	OAK
19.)	Dez Bryant	WR	DAL
20.)	Rob Gronkowski	TE	NEP
21.)	Demaryius Thomas	WR	DEN
22.)	Leonard Fournette	RB	JAX
23.)	TY Hilton	WR	IND
24.)	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	HOU
25.)	Todd Gurley	RB	LAR
26.)	Jarvis Landry	WR	MIA
27.)	Brandin Cooks	WR	NEP
28.)	Isaiah Crowell	RB	CLE
29.)	Doug Baldwin	WR	SEA
30.)	Travis Kelce	TE	KCC
31.)	Spencer Ware	RB	KCC
32.)	Aaron Rodgers	QB	GBP
33.)	Mark Ingram	RB	NOS
34.)	Allen Robinson	WR	JAX
35.)	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	ARZ
36.)	Drew Brees	QB	NOS
37.)	Alshon Jeffery	WR	PHI
38.)	Christian McCaffrey	RB	CAR
39.)	Keenan Allen	WR	LAC
40.)	Ty Montgomery	RB	GBP
41.)	Tom Brady	QB	NEP
42.)	Marshawn Lynch	RB	OAK
43.)	Golden Tate	WR	DET
44.)	Tevin Coleman	RB	ATL
45.)	Michael Crabtree	WR	OAK
46.)	Frank Gore	RB	IND
47.)	Matt Ryan	QB	ATL
48.)	Ameer Abdullah	RB	DET
49.)	Greg Olsen	TE	CAR
50.)	Davante Adams	WR	GBP
51.)	Carlos Hyde	RB	SFO
52.)	Jordan Reed	TE	WAS
53.)	Russell Wilson	QB	SEA
54.)	C.J. Anderson	RB	DEN
55.)	Eddie Lacy	RB	SEA
56.)	Sammy Watkins	WR	BUF
57.)	Cam Newton	QB	CAR
58.)	Julian Edelman	WR	NEP
59.)	Dalvin Cook	RB	MIN
60.)	Joe Mixon	RB	CIN
61.)	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	DEN
62.)	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	CAR
63.)	Jimmy Graham	TE	SEA
64.)	Andrew Luck	QB	IND
65.)	Willie Snead	WR	NOS
66.)	Bilal Powell	RB	NYJ
67.)	Stefon Diggs	WR	MIN
68.)	Doug Martin	RB	TBB
69.)	Tyler Eifert	TE	CIN
70.)	Terrelle Pryor	WR	WAS
71.)	Adrian Peterson	RB	NOS
72.)	Brandon Marshall	WR	NYG
73.)	Derrick Henry	RB	TEN
74.)	Paul Perkins	RB	NYG
75.)	Danny Woodhead	RB	BAL
76.)	DeSean Jackson	WR	WAS
77.)	Pierre Garcon	WR	SFO
78.)	Jamison Crowder	WR	WAS
79.)	Donte Moncrief	WR	IND
80.)	Ben Roethlisberger	QB	PIT
81.)	Matt Forte	RB	NYJ
82.)	Duke Johnson	RB	CLE
83.)	Tyreek Hill	WR	KCC
84.)	DeVante Parker	WR	MIA
85.)	Theo Riddick	RB	DET
86.)	Martavis Bryant	WR	PIT
87.)	Mike Gillislee	RB	NEP
88.)	Rob Kelley	RB	WAS
89.)	Jameis Winston	QB	TBB
90.)	Marvin Jones	WR	DET
91.)	LeGarrette Blount	RB	PHI
92.)	Marcus Mariota	QB	TEN
93.)	Darren Sproles	RB	PHI
94.)	Delanie Walker	TE	TEN
95.)	Derek Carr	QB	OAK
96.)	Terrance West	RB	BAL
97.)	Eric Decker	WR	TEN
98.)	Randall Cobb	WR	GBP
99.)	John Brown	WR	ARZ
100.)	Jeremy Maclin	WR	BAL