Updated Fantasy Football Positional Rankings, Post-Draft

Rookies tend to be overrated in fantasy leagues, a fact which can be blamed on the television hoopla of the modern NFL draft. Casual observers buy into the hype hook, line and sinker.

We are here now to spread some sanity and perspective. There are a lot of really good veteran football players who were well-regarded prospects years before. They're now in their prime.

We give you updated fantasy football rankings for 2014, position-by-position, in this slideshow. You will notice rookies appear throughout, but likely a lot later than most of you initially imagined.

If we had to give you an overall rookie ranking right now, our rankings would parse down to:

1. RB Bishop Sankey, Tennessee Titans
2. RB Tre Mason, St. Louis Rams
3. QB Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns
4. WR Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills
5. WR Odell Beckham, New York Giants
6. WR Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints
7. WR Cody Latimer, Denver Broncos
8. WR Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9. TE Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions
10. RB Terrance West, Cleveland Browns
11. RB Andre Williams, New York Giants
12. RB Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers
13. WR Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers
14. Marqise Lee, Jacksonville Jaguars
15. QB Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings

Don't worry, these are sure to change in the next four months.

Quarterbacks: Johnny Manziel a Plug and Play Starter for Browns, 2-QB Formats

Johnny Manziel easily wound up in the right place for his fantasy value among the drafted rookies, getting a star like Josh Gordon and a burgeoning gem of a tight end Jordan Cameron to work with. First-year quarterbacks usually don't get those kind of polished targets to work with.

Ask Blake Bortles, the first quarterback to go off the board Thursday night at No. 4 overall.

Coincidentally, Manziel's No. 1 target might be headed for the same fate as the Jacksonville Jaguars' Justin Blackmon, who they are not counting on to play next season, as reported by Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union. It came out Friday on ESPN.com, as reported by T.J. Quinn and Don Van Natta Jr., Gordon is facing a season-long suspension for testing positive for marijuana.

Until Gordon is officially suspended, though, we consider Manziel a starter for the Browns and two-quarterback leagues right away. Bortles barely checks into the top 35, while Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr and Day 3 Houston Texans quarterback selection Tom Savage are just a few clicks ahead.

Early 2014 Quarterback Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
4. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
5. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
6. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
7. Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
9. Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers
10. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
11. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
12. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
13. Robert Griffin, Washington Redskins
14. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals
15. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
16. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
17. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Eli Manning, New York Giants
19. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
20. Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns—ROOKIE
21. Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins
22. Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
23. Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals
24. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
25. EJ Manuel, Buffalo Bills
26. Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings—ROOKIE
27. Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans
28. Josh McCown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29. Matt Schaub, Oakland Raiders
30. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Houston Texans
31. Tom Savage, Houston Texans—ROOKIE
32. Geno Smith, New York Jets
33. Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders—ROOKIE
34. Michael Vick, New York Jets
35. Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars—ROOKIE

Running Backs: Rookies Here Will Need Some Time to Rise in the Depth Charts

Running backs fell to record depths in the draft this weekend, but that won't stop us from caring more about this position's rookies than any other in fantasy. While there are some intriguing talents, none of the running backs selected can be projected to start at this point.

Bishop Sankey and Tre Mason have the best chances to start, while arguably the No. 1 running back on the draft board, Ohio State's Carlos Hyde, will have to leapfrog Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, Marcus Lattimore and perhaps LaMichael James on the depth chart before he is even draftable in fantasy.

Hyde's team is a running one, though, and his style fits the San Francisco 49ers' style of physical play. The same goes for new Cincinnati Bengals back Jeremy Hill and the New York Giants' Andre Williams.

Early 2014 Running Back Rankings

1. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs
2. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles
3. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
4. Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
5. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
6. Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers
7. DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys
8. Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins
9. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10. Arian Foster, Houston Texans
11. Montee Ball, Denver Broncos
12. C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills
13. Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Zac Stacy, St. Louis Rams
15. Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals
16. Reggie Bush, Detroit Lions
17. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
18. Shane Vereen, New England Patriots
19. Chris Johnson, New York Jets
20. Knowshon Moreno, Miami Dolphins
21. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
22. Trent Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
23. Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers
24. Ben Tate, Cleveland Browns
25. Steven Jackson, Atlanta Falcons
26. Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots
27. Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals
28. Rashad Jennings, New York Giants
29. Toby Gerhart, Jacksonville Jaguars
30. Joique Bell, Detroit Lions
31. Bishop Sankey, Tennessee Titans—ROOKIE
32. Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills
33. Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders
34. Maurice Jones-Drew Oakland Raiders
35. Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins
36. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
37. Tre Mason, St. Louis Rams—ROOKIE
38. Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
39. Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
40. Chris Ivory, New York Jets
41. Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles
42. Danny Woodhead, San Diego Chargers
43. Shonn Greene, Tennessee Titans
44. David Wilson, New York Giants
45. BenJarvus Green-Ellis Cincinnati Bengals
46. Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints
47. Robert Turbin, Seattle Seahawks
48. Bernard Pierce, Baltimore Ravens
49. Marcus Lattimore, San Francisco 49ers
50. Vick Ballard, Indianapolis Colts
51. Donald Brown, San Diego Chargers
52. LeGarrette Blount, Pittsburgh Steelers
53. Andre Brown, Houston Texans
54. Knile Davis, Kansas City Chiefs
55. Bilal Powell, New York Jets
56. Roy Helu, Washington Redskins
57. Christine Michael, Seattle Seahawks
58. Ahmad Bradshaw, Indianapolis Colts
59. Terrance West, Cleveland Browns—ROOKIE
60. Andre Williams, New York Giants—ROOKIE
61. Kendall Hunter, San Francisco 49ers
62. Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers—ROOKIE
63. Ronnie Hillman, Denver Broncos
64. Daniel Thomas, Miami Dolphins
65. Bryce Brown, Buffalo Bills
66. Khiry Robinson, New Orleans Saints
67. Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons—ROOKIE
68. Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals—ROOKIE
69. Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers—ROOKIE
70. Ka'Deem Carey, Chicago Bears—ROOKIE
71. Johnathan Franklin, Green Bay Packers
72. Jacquizz Rodgers, Atlanta Falcons
73. James Starks, Green Bay Packers
74. Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders
75. Dexter McCluster, Tennessee Titans
76. Brandon Bolden, New England Patriots
77. James White, New England Patriots—ROOKIE
78. Lache Seastrunk, Washington Redskins—ROOKIE
79. Stepfan Taylor, Arizona Cardinals
80. C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos
81. Jerick McKinnon, Minnesota Vikings—ROOKIE

Wide Receivers: Proliferation of Rookies Deepens an Already Deep Pool Here

More than 30 wide receivers were selected this weekend in what was a remarkably deep draft for the position. There are some serious long-term talents in this class, but the shear number of rookie wideouts hearkens back to everyone's Economics 101 days.

The law of supply and demand suggests you should not place much stock in the rookie wideouts this season, even if there are scores of potentially good ones for fantasy owners. That latter point is the very reason. You can score a comparable talent later on the cheap. There just are so many to choose from.

Just look at last year's first wideout drafted, Tavon Austin. He ranks behind this year's No. 1 rookie Sammy Watkins...by almost 10 spots. Even if the talents aren't crap, picking rookie receivers is a crapshoot.

Early 2014 Wide Receiver Rankings

1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
2. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
3. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
4. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
5. Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears
6. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
7. Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns
8. Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears
9. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
10. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers
11. Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
12. Pierre Garcon, Washington Redskins
13. Victor Cruz, New York Giants
14. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
15. DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins
16. Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers
17. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons
18. Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers
19. Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
20. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
21. Wes Welker, Denver Broncos
22. Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens
23. Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
24. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles
25. Eric Decker, New York Jets
26. Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints
27. T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts
28. Percy Harvin, Seattle Seahawks
29. Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings
30. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs
31. Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals
32. Kendall Wright, Tennessee Titans
33. Cecil Shorts, Jacksonville Jaguars
34. Mike Wallace, Miami Dolphins
35. Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills—ROOKIE
36. Hakeem Nicks, Indianapolis Colts
37. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts
38. Steve Johnson, San Francisco 49ers
39. Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos
40. Sidney Rice, Seattle Seahawks
41. Golden Tate, Detroit Lions
42. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
43. James Jones, Oakland Raiders
44. Tavon Austin, St. Louis Rams
45. Danny Amendola, New England Patriots
46. Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers
47. Steve Smith, Baltimore Ravens
48. Terrance Williams, Dallas Cowboys
49. Aaron Dobson, New England Patriots
50. Odell Beckham, New York Giants—ROOKIE
51. Rueben Randle, New York Giants
52. Greg Jennings, Minnesota Vikings
53. Kenny Stills, New Orleans Saints
54. Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
55. Marvin Jones, Cincinnati Bengals
56. Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles
57. Brian Hartline, Miami Dolphins
58. Denarius Moore, Oakland Raiders
59. Mike Williams, Buffalo Bills
60. Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints—ROOKIE
61. Cody Latimer, Denver Broncos—ROOKIE
62. Kenbrell Thompkins, New England Patriots
63. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers—ROOKIE
64. Jarrett Boykin, Green Bay Packers
65. Justin Hunter, Tennessee Titans
66. Robert Woods, Buffalo Bills
67. Markus Wheaton, Pittsburgh Steelers
68. Rod Streater, Oakland Raiders
69. Brandon LaFell, New England Patriots
70. Andre Roberts, Washington Redskins
71. Santonio Holmes, Free Agent
72. Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers—ROOKIE
73. Marqise Lee, Jacksonville Jaguars—ROOKIE
74. Nate Washington, Tennessee Titans
75. Kenny Britt, St. Louis Rams
76. Marlon Brown, Baltimore Ravens
77. Jerricho Cotchery, Carolina Panthers
78. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers—ROOKIE
79. Dexter McCluster, Tennessee Titans
80. Jeremy Kerley, New York Jets
81. Malcom Floyd, San Diego Chargers
82. Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles—ROOKIE
83. Andrew Hawkins, Cleveland Browns
84. Lance Moore, Pittsburgh Steelers
85. Josh Huff, Philadelphia Eagles—ROOKIE
86. Paul Richardson, Seattle Seahawks—ROOKIE
87. Da'Rick Rogers, Indianapolis Colts
88. Eddie Royal, San Diego Chargers
89. Jermaine Kearse, Seattle Seahawks
90. Mohamed Sanu, Cincinnati Bengals
91. Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars—ROOKIE
92. Jalen Saunders, New York Jets—ROOKIE
93. Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh Steelers—ROOKIE
94. Stedman Bailey, St. Louis Rams
95. Jacoby Jones, Baltimore Ravens

Tight Ends: Pass-Happy Offense Almost Gets Eric Ebron Among Fantasy Starters

Eric Ebron might have been more needed by the New England Patriots or New York Giants—two tight-end-friendly teams with TE-friendly quarterbacks—but it is hard to knock the Detroit Lions as a destination for any pass receiver. The Lions throw the ball with the best of them, ranking third behind the record-setting Denver Broncos and the old record-holders, the New Orleans Saints.

Ebron was the clear-cut leader at the position in this draft class, and who cares if he is a horrible blocker? We certainly don't in fantasy.

Early 2014 Tight End Rankings

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints
2. Julius Thomas, Denver Broncos
3. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
4. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers
5. Jordan Cameron, Cleveland Browns
6. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
7. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers
8. Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins
9. Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears
10. Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens
11. Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts
12. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
13. Jermichael Finley, Free Agent
14. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings
15. Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions—ROOKIE
16. Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams
17. Ladarius Green, San Diego Chargers
18. Owen Daniels, Baltimore Ravens
19. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
20. Charles Clay, Miami Dolphins
21. Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts
22. Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers
23. Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans
24. Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals
25. Andrew Quarless, Green Bay Packers
26. Joseph Fauria, Detroit Lions
27. Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles
28. Scott Chandler, Buffalo Bills
29. Garrett Graham, Houston Texans
30. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals
31. Tim Wright, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32. Jace Amaro, New York Jets—ROOKIE
33. Brandon Myers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
34. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers—ROOKIE
35. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Defense/Special Teams: Jadeveon Clowney Et Al Move Houston Texans into Top 10

The Houston Texans put their eggs in the defensive basket, clearly, going with Jadeveon Clowney at No. 1 overall and stealing projected first-round pick Louis Nix, a defensive tackle, at No. 83 overall in the third round. We move them into the top 10 defenses on the strength of those moves, while the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers stuck to their franchise staple, defense, throughout as well.

There looks to be a lot more depth at this position, giving you even more reason to wait on picking a defense on draft day—perhaps tending to it right before you select your kicker.

Early 2014 Defense/Special Teams Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks 
2. San Francisco 49ers 
3. Carolina Panthers 
4. Denver Broncos 
5. Cincinnati Bengals 
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
7. St. Louis Rams 
8. Arizona Cardinals 
9. Kansas City Chiefs 
10. Houston Texans 
11. New England Patriots 
12. Baltimore Ravens 
13. New York Jets 
14. New Orleans Saints 
15. Pittsburgh Steelers 
16. Green Bay Packers 
17. New York Giants 
18. Cleveland Browns 
19. Buffalo Bills 
20. Miami Dolphins

Kickers: Detroit Lions' Nate Freese Has a Chance to Make Rookie Impact

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Kickers are worthless enough in fantasy football. Rookie kickers tend to be even less important.

But, put an accurate kicker like Boston College's Nate Freese on a team that plays in a dome and lights up the scoreboard, well, we might just have something in fantasy there. We would select Freese over the likes of long-time fantasy fave Sebastian Janikowski, because that Oakland Raiders offense is still pitiful.

Early 2014 Kicker Rankings

1. Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots
2. Matt Prater, Denver Broncos
3. Steven Hauschka, Seattle Seahawks
4. Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens
5. Phil Dawson, San Francisco 49ers
6. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers
7. Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts
8. Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons
9. Alex Henery, Philadelphia Eagles
10. Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys
11. Shayne Graham, New Orleans Saints
12. Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings
13. Greg Zuerlein, St. Louis Rams
14. Ryan Succop, Kansas City Chiefs
15. Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears
16. Nick Novak, San Diego Chargers
17. Nick Folk, New York Jets
18. Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals
19. Caleb Sturgis, Miami Dolphins
20. Nate Freese, Detroit Lions—ROOKIE

Follow @EricMackFantasy

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, was the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report this past season. He is now an NFL featured writer here. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.