Top 200: 2012 PPR Fantasy Football Player Rankings (Updated 8/12)

The last thing we wanted to hear to open the preseason was crucial injuries to potential top-10 options at the running back position. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we got, as rookie phenom Trent Richardson had another minor knee surgery and Ryan Mathews went down against the Packers.

What To Make Of Ryan Mathews Injury

Mathews had everything laid down at his feet to be the fourth running back off the board in fantasy drafts. One carry into the preseason and a broken clavicle will set him out likely into the first few games of the season.

Considered a four to six-week injury, there are some that believe this has the chance to linger up to eight weeks.

It's also reasonable to believe Mathews may be eased back into his feature role for a few games, especially if Ronnie Brown looks effective while Mathews is out of action.

The good news is, you now have a chance to pick up a player who would've gone in the middle of the first round of all drafts as low as the third or fourth round. It's just a matter of believing you can acquire enough depth at running back to wait on Mathews until he comes back to the lineup.

Even if Mathews doesn't have a full workload, he's at least a flex play start. Mathews played at an RB2 level last year and an RB1 level early on while sharing time with Mike Tolbert.

The only downside to Mathews game is his injury problems, but I believe his upside is worth taking in the third round and maybe even the back end of the second round. Look to Brown as a hand cuff in the later rounds for early-season production.

Trent Richardson's Knee

Richardson has all the tools to be an elite running back in this league, but much like his former teammate, Mark Ingram, it appears knee problems are a concern.

Early in August, Richardson went under the knife for the second time this year, and while he's expected back before the season, it's questionable if he will play a full 16-game schedule.

As is typically the case with knee problems, we want to see if Richardson is having to take time off in practice because of swelling in the knee.

Reggie Bush is a player who comes to mind that had grand expectations, but when you read reports about him in camp, even early on, he would miss time because of this problem. Now, we don't know if Richardson will have those issues, but the point is, we aren't likely to know one way or the other until the regular season (after draft day) begins.

When healthy, Richardson should touch the football 20-plus times a game and is still worthy of high-end RB2 consideration. Like many running backs after Ray Rice, Arian Foster and LeSean McCoy, they bring both upside and concerns of some kind.

	Player	POS
1	Arian Foster	RB
2	LeSean McCoy	RB
3	Ray Rice	RB
4	Aaron Rodgers	QB
5	Tom Brady	QB
6	Calvin Johnson	WR
7	Darren McFadden	RB
8	Matt Forte	RB
9	Drew Brees	QB
10	DeMarco Murray	RB
11	Jimmy Graham	TE
12	Rob Gronkowski	TE
13	Maurice Jones-Drew	RB
14	Darren Sproles	RB
15	Andre Johnson	WR
16	Matthew Stafford	QB
17	Steven Jackson	RB
18	Jamaal Charles	RB
19	Chris Johnson	RB
20	Julio Jones	WR
21	Wes Welker	WR
22	Brandon Marshall	WR
23	Larry Fitzgerald	WR
24	Trent Richardson	RB
25	Roddy White	WR
26	Cam Newton	QB
27	A.J. Green	WR
28	Greg Jennings	WR
29	Victor Cruz	WR
30	Peyton Hillis	RB
31	Jordy Nelson	WR
32	Fred Jackson	RB
33	Marshawn Lynch	RB
34	Antonio Brown	WR
35	Ahmad Bradshaw	RB
36	Demaryius Thomas	WR
37	Eric Decker	WR
38	Steve Smith	WR
39	Brandon Lloyd	WR
40	Ryan Mathews	RB
41	Isaac Redman	RB
42	Doug Martin	RB
43	Adrian Peterson	RB
44	Dez Bryant	WR
45	Percy Harvin	WR
46	Jeremy Maclin	WR
47	Hakeem Nicks	WR
48	Michael Turner	RB
49	Reggie Bush	RB
50	Antonio Gates	TE
51	Stevie Johnson	WR
52	Dwayne Bowe	WR
53	Mike Wallace	WR
54	Matt Ryan	QB
55	Marques Colston	WR
56	Miles Austin	WR
57	Eli Manning	QB
58	Kevin Smith	RB
59	Pierre Garcon	WR
60	Willis McGahee	RB
61	Vernon Davis	TE
62	Robert Griffin III	QB
63	Aaron Hernandez	TE
64	Reggie Wayne	WR
65	Michael Vick	QB
66	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	RB
67	Torrey Smith	WR
68	Stevan Ridley	RB
69	DeSean Jackson	WR
70	Shonn Greene	RB
71	Nate Washington	WR
72	Philip Rivers	QB
73	Greg Little	WR
74	Fred Davis	TE
75	Jason Witten	TE
76	Frank Gore	RB
77	C.J. Spiller	RB
78	Jermichael Finley	TE
79	Vincent Jackson	WR
80	Donald Brown	RB
81	Tony Romo	QB
82	Denarius Moore	WR
83	Peyton Manning	QB
84	Beanie Wells	RB
85	Brandon Pettigrew	TE
86	Mike Williams	WR
87	Roy Helu	RB
88	Jonathan Stewart	RB
89	Jacob Tamme	TE
90	Malcom Floyd	WR
91	Darrius Heyward-Bey	WR
92	Ryan Williams	RB
93	Ronnie Brown	RB
94	Mark Ingram	RB
95	Laurent Robinson	WR
96	Titus Young	WR
97	Jacquizz Rodgers	RB
98	DeAngelo Williams	RB
99	Jay Cutler	QB
100	Cedric Benson	RB
101	Alshon Jeffery	WR
102	Kenny Britt	WR
103	Ben Tate	RB
104	Mikel Leshoure	RB
105	LeGarrette Blount	RB
106	Ben Roethlisberger	QB
107	Davone Bess	WR
108	Kyle Rudolph	TE
109	Terrell Owens	WR
110	Michael Crabtree	WR
111	Carson Palmer	QB
112	Rashad Jennings	RB
113	Emmanuel Sanders	WR
114	Anquan Boldin	WR
115	David Wilson	RB
116	Andrew Luck	QB
117	Ronnie Hillman	WR
118	Austin Collie	WR
119	Kendall Wright	WR
120	Robert Meachem	WR
121	Kendall Hunter	RB
122	Delone Carter	RB
123	Jake Locker	QB
124	Santonio Holmes	WR
125	Jermaine Gresham	TE
126	Randy Moss	WR
127	Toby Gerhart	RB
128	Daniel Thomas	RB
129	Tony Gonzalez	TE
130	Danny Amendola	WR
131	Danny Woodhead	RB
132	Joe McKnight	RB
133	Andy Dalton	QB
134	Evan Royster	RB
135	Jared Cook	TE
136	Lance Moore	WR
137	Pierre Thomas	RB
138	Doug Baldwin	WR
139	Randall Cobb	WR
140	Joe Flacco	QB
141	Coby Fleener	TE
142	Robert Turbin	RB
143	Jonathan Dwyer	RB
144	Jonathan Baldwin	WR
145	James Starks	RB
146	Alex Green	RB
147	Leonard Hankerson	WR
148	Steve Smith, Stl	WR
149	Josh Freeman	QB
150	Shane Vereen	RB
151	Brandon LaFell	WR
152	Brent Celek	TE
153	Bernard Scott	RB
154	Sidney Rice	WR
155	Owen Daniels	TE
156	Michael Bush	RB
157	Rueben Randle	WR
158	Ryan Fitzpatrick	QB
159	James Jones	WR
160	Chad Johnson	WR
161	Tim Hightower	RB
162	Bilal Powell	RB
163	Kellen Davis	TE
164	Nate Burleson	WR
165	Montario Hardesty	RB
166	Isaiah Pead	RB
167	Christian Ponder	QB
168	Earl Bennett	WR
169	Brian Quick	WR
170	Matt Cassel	QB
171	Scott Chandler	TE
172	Felix Jones	RB
173	Justin Blackmon	WR
174	Matt Flynn	QB
175	Santana Moss	WR
176	Mike Goodson	RB
177	Alex Smith	QB
178	Rashard Mendenhall	RB
179	Golden Tate	WR
180	Armon Binns	WR
181	Tim Tebow	QB
182	Dexter McCluster	WR
183	Kellen Winslow	TE
184	Ed Dickson	TE
185	Lamar Miller	RB
186	Matt Schaub	QB
187	Keyshawn Martin	WR
188	Donald Jones	WR
189	Brandon Jacobs	RB
190	Tony Moeaki	TE
191	Jerome Simpson	WR
192	Sam Bradford	QB
193	Bernard Pierce	RB
194	Steve Breaston	WR
195	Ryan Broyles	WR
196	Dustin Keller	TE
197	Michael Floyd	WR
198	John Skelton	QB
199	D.J. Williams	TE
200	Dwayne Allen	TE

2012 PPR Rankings -  QB | RB | WR | TE | Cheat Sheets |