Hot or Not: Fantasy Football Edition

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.

The second part of the article is five players who are ranked high and definitely not deserving of their ranking, in no particular order.

5. Pierre Thomas

Yahoo! Rank: 24 (15th RB)

ESPN Rank: 37 (20th RB)

Notable deserving players behind him (Yahoo!): Joseph Addai, Jonathon Stewart

How does a guy who not only splits time, but is also on a team that was 26th in the league in rushing attempts and 28th in rushing yards, get to be in the top 50—let alone the top 25—in Yahoo!?. I prey most of you who play fantasy football will notice this debauchery and stay away from Thomas.

4. Brian Westbrook

Yahoo! Rank: 5 (5th RB)

ESPN Rank: 21 (14th RB)

Notable deserving players behind him (Yahoo!): Ryan Grant, Thomas Jones

It seems that ESPN got it somewhat right, but even they could go much lower. I'm not sure what in the world Yahoo! is thinking putting a guy who is aging and coming off ankle surgery and expected to miss the preseason in the top five. With Lesean McCoy in the backfield now Westbrook's numbers will take a hit.

3. Larry Johnson

Yahoo! Rank: 50 (24th RB)

ESPN Rank: 53 (26th RB)

Notable deserving players behind him (Yahoo!): Knowshon Moreno, Willie Parker

Get someone ranking these players a clue already? Last year I remember the Yahoo! rankings had him as the No. 12 preseason only to have him be suspended by the team for "content detrimental"—and he's in a two-year contract dispute. If Larry Johnson is in a KC uniform in August, he should be automatically dropped to below 100.

2. Brandon Marshall

Yahoo! Rank: 34 (12th WR)

ESPN Rank: 36 (13th WR)

Notable deserving players behind him (Yahoo!): Terrell Owens, Wes Welker, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Roy Williams

If you noticed all the players I named in this one you could probably gather I am passionate about this one. I will probably catch some negative feedback for this, but hear me out.

Brandon Marshall in 2009 has said all of these things; he's unhappy that Cutler was traded, he wants to restructure his contract, and he is not sure if he will attend training camp without a new contract. All of these things turn me away from a player, and I would advise against reaching for Marshall.

Oh yeah...and Kyle Orton is his QB....I forgot.

1. Marion Barber 

Yahoo! Rank: 19 (14th RB)

ESPN Rank: 20 (13th RB)

Notable deserving players behind him (Yahoo!): Thomas Jones, Ronnie Brown

I'm not sure what everyone sees in Barber. He can't handle the load by himself and as a result, sees less carries. With Felix Jones entering his second year, expect him to be much more of an option. The loss of T.O. opening up the field will hurt the overall running game as well. I was surprised to see Marion in the top 20.

Don't get me wrong I still think most of these players will have fantasy impacts, just not the type their rankings would imply.