Fantasy Football Re-Rankings Week 4 through Week 17: Vick Up, Favre Down
Who should I trade for in fantasy football? Who should I get rid of?
Aside from asking which player should start from week to week, these are the two most commonly asked fantasy football questions during the season.
Re-ranking the players every week isn’t something that is commonly done, but that’s exactly what this article is for. The following rankings can best be described as saying that they are “now through the end of the season” rankings.
As fantasy football owners, we need to look at the current situation as well as the future. Though a player may have had a poor game one week, it does not necessarily mean that the trend will continue. In fact, in many cases, a big game or a bad game can be a key time to either acquire or sell-off a player to uneducated fantasy owners.
So where do your players rank now? Whose value is up, whose is down? Read on to find out.
Note: Because this is the first week of these rankings, the "Previous Rank" category will be blank for this week. In the future, this category will be used to show how much the player has moved up or down from the previous week.
Quarterback Rankings: Week 4 through Week 17
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The top tier of quarterbacks right now includes Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees. These three are relatively interchangeable and any of them could be considered the top fantasy quarterback going forward. Rodgers’ rushing ability (two touchdowns on the ground already this season) gives him some extra value to consider when ranking these players.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Vick has become an absolute fantasy stud. With his week three performance over the Jaguars in which he had four total touchdowns, he is now a top-3 scorer at quarterback and an every-week starter in every league. It might not last forever, but ride it while it’s hot.
Pop Quiz: Philip Rivers is currently leads all quarterbacks passing yardage—which quarterback is second? The answer may surprise you, but it is actually Denver Broncos QB Kyle Orton, who has thrown for an impressive 1,078 yards in three games. Apparently the loss of Brandon Marshall isn’t going to affect the Broncos’ passing game as much as we thought.
Although he hasn’t taken a snap yet this season, Ben Roethlisberger is ranked 14th on the list. Pittsburgh quarterbacks Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch have filled in adequately during his suspension, the Steelers will be excited to have him back in week five.
Brett Favre has tumbled down the quarterback rankings and may not be worth a starting spot in most lineups at the moment. His favorite receiver, Sidney Rice, should be back at some point this season, but week six appears to be the earliest point for his return. Favre has struggled to get acquainted with any of the other Vikings receivers and a mediocre performance at home against the Lions doesn’t help his case for getting back on track.
Ryan Fitzpatrick took over the starting job in Buffalo in their week three game against the Patriots. He looked pretty good in the performance, passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns, though he did also throw two interceptions in the loss. One positive for Fitzpatrick’s fantasy value is that the Bills cut Trent Edwards on Monday, making the quarterback controversy a thing of the past—Fitzpatrick is the Bills’ starter for the foreseeable future.
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | PREVIOUS RANK |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | -- |
| 2 | Peyton Manning | IND | -- |
| 3 | Drew Brees | NO | -- |
| 4 | Tom Brady | NE | -- |
| 5 | Matt Schaub | HOU | -- |
| 6 | Tony Romo | DAL | -- |
| 7 | Mike Vick | PHI | -- |
| 8 | Philip Rivers | SD | -- |
| 9 | Joe Flacco | BAL | -- |
| 10 | Jay Cutler | CHI | -- |
| 11 | Brett Favre | MIN | -- |
| 12 | Kyle Orton | DEN | -- |
| 13 | Eli Manning | NYG | -- |
| 14 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | -- |
| 15 | Donovan McNabb | PHI | -- |
| 16 | Vince Young | TEN | -- |
| 17 | Matt Ryan | ATL | -- |
| 18 | Carson Palmer | CIN | -- |
| 19 | Mark Sanchez | NYJ | -- |
| 20 | Chad Henne | MIA | -- |
| 21 | Matt Hasselbeck | SEA | -- |
| 22 | Josh Freeman | TB | -- |
| 23 | Matthew Stafford | DET | -- |
| 24 | Derek Anderson | ARI | -- |
| 25 | David Garrard | JAC | -- |
| 26 | Sam Bradford | STL | -- |
| 27 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | BUF | -- |
| 28 | Alex Smith | SF | -- |
| 29 | Bruce Gradkowski | OAK | -- |
| 30 | Matt Cassel | KC | -- |
| 31 | Jake Delhomme | CLE | -- |
| 32 | Jimmy Clausen | CAR | -- |
| 33 | Shaun Hill | DET | -- |
| 34 | Kevin Kolb | PHI | -- |
| 35 | Seneca Wallace | CLE | -- |
| 36 | Kerry Collins | TEN | -- |
| 37 | Max Hall | ARI | -- |
| 38 | Matt Moore | CAR | -- |
| 39 | Jason Campbell | OAK | -- |
| 40 | Josh Johnson | TB | -- |
Running Back Rankings: Week 4 through Week 17
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It has been a disappointing beginning of the season for many of the top picks, namely Jacksonville Jaguars star running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew has been a fantasy stud since he entered the league, but has failed to crack 100 yards rushing and hasn’t scored a touchdown. The Jaguars face the Indianapolis Colts in week four—the same team which allowed Arian Foster to rush for over 200 yards in week one. If he can’t get things going next week, it’s going to be hard to believe that he will be able to get back to fantasy stardom.
Falcons’ running back Michael Turner finally got into the end zone in week three, rushing 30 times for 114 yards and a score in Atlanta’s surprise win over the New Orleans Saints. Though Atlanta seems to be willing to give carries to Jason Snelling (14 in week three), Turner remains the primary back and should be so unless he gets hurt again.
The Denver Broncos have struggled so far to run the ball, but it got even worse in week three without regular starter and 2009 first round draft pick Knowshon Moreno. The Broncos brought in former Patriots RB Laurence Maroney, but he averaged just 2.0 yards per carry on 12 carries and failed to get into the end zone on a couple goal line runs; while Correll Buckhalter didn’t fare much better, contributing just 12 rushing yards in Moreno’s absence. Denver will need to get their running game going if they hope to stay in games, but with Moreno’s hamstring injury potentially knocking him out for more than one game, this backfield might be one to stay away from for the time being.
Jamaal Charles continues to impress in limited work, ceding most of the carries to veteran running back Thomas Jones. Though Charles has actually rushed for more yardage and scored more fantasy points through the first three weeks of the season, Jones seems to be the coaches’ favorite option and will likely to continue to receive the vast majority of the ever-important goal line carries. Both backs have value in fantasy leagues, but an injury to either one of them could boost the other’s value significantly.
Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells made his return to the lineup in week three, rushing 14 times for 75 yards in the Cardinals’ win over the Raiders. Tim Hightower still received 11 carries, but produced just 40 yards and will likely receive fewer touches as Wells gets healthier. The Cardinals have struggled to pass the ball with Derek Anderson so there is a good chance that Wells could be a big-time fantasy contributor if he can stay off the injury report.
The Buffalo Bills’ running game is just a terrible situation. Though running back CJ Spiller scored two touchdowns on Sunday against the Patriots, one was on a kick return and the other was on a reception. Spiller has just 38 rushing yards in three games on 12 carries. Meanwhile, Fred Jackson has been equally disappointing and had just 8 yards in week three. Oddly enough, it seems that Marshawn Lynch appears to be the favorite back—at least for the time being—of this poor-decision-making coaching staff. Lynch has 30 carries for 143 yards over the past two weeks, but it’s hard to tell if the Bills are trying to lure trade offers for the disgruntled back, or if they are truly content with giving him the majority of the carries. Whatever the case, the Bills’ offense is among the absolute worst in the league and their running game should be steered clear of as much as possible, at least until we get a better idea of what they’re going to do with this trio of backs.
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | PREVIOUS RANK |
| 1 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | -- |
| 2 | Chris Johnson | TEN | -- |
| 3 | Frank Gore | SF | -- |
| 4 | Michael Turner | ATL | -- |
| 5 | Maurice Jones-Drew | JAC | -- |
| 6 | Rashard Mendenhall | PIT | -- |
| 7 | Ray Rice | BAL | -- |
| 8 | Steven Jackson | STL | -- |
| 9 | Arian Foster | HOU | -- |
| 10 | Cedric Benson | CIN | -- |
| 11 | LeSean McCoy | PHI | -- |
| 12 | Matt Forte | CHI | -- |
| 13 | Pierre Thomas | NO | -- |
| 14 | DeAngelo Williams | CAR | -- |
| 15 | Jahvid Best | DET | -- |
| 16 | Beanie Wells | ARI | -- |
| 17 | Knowshon Moreno | DEN | -- |
| 18 | Ronnie Brown | MIA | -- |
| 19 | Ryan Mathews | SD | -- |
| 20 | Ahmad Bradshaw | NYG | -- |
| 21 | Joseph Addai | IND | -- |
| 22 | Thomas Jones | KC | -- |
| 23 | Shonn Greene | NYJ | -- |
| 24 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | -- |
| 25 | Jamaal Charles | KC | -- |
| 26 | LaDainian Tomlinson | NYJ | -- |
| 27 | Darren McFadden | OAK | -- |
| 28 | Brandon Jackson | GB | -- |
| 29 | Ricky Williams | MIA | -- |
| 30 | Peyton Hillis | CLE | -- |
| 31 | Justin Forsett | SEA | -- |
| 32 | CJ Spiller | BUF | -- |
| 33 | Felix Jones | DAL | -- |
| 34 | Clinton Portis | WAS | -- |
| 35 | Cadillac Williams | TB | -- |
| 36 | Marion Barber | DAL | -- |
| 37 | Michael Bush | OAK | -- |
| 38 | Laurence Maroney | NE | -- |
| 39 | Marshawn Lynch | BUF | -- |
| 40 | Jerome Harrison | CLE | -- |
| 41 | Brandon Jacobs | NYG | -- |
| 42 | Donald Brown | IND | -- |
| 43 | BenJarvus Green-Ellis | NE | -- |
| 44 | Mike Tolbert | SD | -- |
| 45 | Bernard Scott | CIN | -- |
| 46 | Rashad Jennings | JAC | -- |
| 47 | Fred Jackson | BUF | -- |
| 48 | Tim Hightower | ARI | -- |
| 49 | Willis McGahee | BAL | -- |
| 50 | Tashard Choice | DAL | -- |
| 51 | Reggie Bush | NO | -- |
| 52 | Steve Slaton | HOU | -- |
| 53 | Leon Washington | SEA | -- |
| 54 | Chester Taylor | CHI | -- |
| 55 | Correll Buckhalter | DEN | -- |
| 56 | Fred Taylor | NE | -- |
| 57 | Darren Sproles | SD | -- |
| 58 | John Kuhn | GB | -- |
| 59 | Kareem Huggins | TB | -- |
| 60 | Toby Gerhart | MIN | -- |
Wide Receiver Rankings: Week 4 through Week 17
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It has been an oddly productive start to the season for Patriots receiver Randy Moss, who has caught just four passes in the past two weeks, three of which went for touchdowns. Although Moss will assuredly get on track with more yardage, he remains one of the absolute elite touchdown scorers in the history of the NFL. In fact, his three touchdowns this season put him ahead of Terrell Owens for fourth on the NFL’s all-time touchdown leader board. Though he is not what he was in his prime, Moss remains an elite fantasy receiver and an every-week starter no matter the matchup.
It was an oddly unproductive fantasy day for Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin. Austin, Tony Romo’s usual favorite target, led the NFL in receiving yardage going into week three, but finished with just two catches for 20 yards in the Cowboys’ first win of the season over the Houston Texans. Meanwhile, Romo looked to rookie Dez Bryant and veteran Roy Williams who caught five passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Though Austin remains the Cowboys’ leading pass-catcher, Romo proved that he can take advantage of the other weapons in this offense should the opposing defense try to shut down Miles Austin.
After struggling through the first two weeks of the season in a new offense, Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall had his coming out party in Miami as he caught 10 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. Marshall is the clear top target in the Miami offense and although the Dolphins remain a run-heavy offense, he can certainly be a top fantasy receiver if Chad Henne looks his way as often as he did in week three.
As I wrote in an article on Monday night, I believe that Colts wide receiver Austin Collie has surpassed Reggie Wayne as the top fantasy target in Indianapolis. Call it a hunch or even an overreaction, but he has been targeted more than Wayne, has been more productive with his catches, and doesn’t have to face the opposing team’s top cornerback. If Collie can continue leading all Colts receivers in targets, there’s practically no way he doesn’t finish as a top-15 fantasy receiver.
The Jacksonville Jaguars passing game is a total debacle. Quarterback David Garrard has been on-again, off-again in the Jaguars’ first three games and that has led to even more inconsistency from the already inconsistent Jaguars receiving group. Mike Sims-Walker failed to catch a single pass in week one, caught 10 passes in week two, and then caught just two passes in week three. Meanwhile, Mike Thomas has seen fewer targets go his way with each week, culminating in just two catches week three. Things should eventually turn around for this offense, but for right now, neither Sims-Walker nor Thomas is worth much more than a flex play candidate in most leagues.
There seems to be very little indication as to which wide receiver in Denver will end up being the most productive fantasy player. Through three weeks of the season, Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Lloyd, Eddie Royal, and Demaryius Thomas have all caught ten or more passes and all have caught at least one touchdown. It’s very possible that all four of these players finishes with quality fantasy seasons, but Demaryius Thomas is certainly the most talented of the group and is ranked the highest practically solely for that reason.
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | PREVIOUS RANK |
| 1 | Andre Johnson | HOU | -- |
| 2 | Randy Moss | NE | -- |
| 3 | Roddy White | ATL | -- |
| 4 | Miles Austin | DAL | -- |
| 5 | Brandon Marshall | MIA | -- |
| 6 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | -- |
| 7 | Anquan Boldin | BAL | -- |
| 8 | Wes Welker | NE | -- |
| 9 | Austin Collie | IND | -- |
| 10 | Greg Jennings | GB | -- |
| 11 | Reggie Wayne | IND | -- |
| 12 | Calvin Johnson | DET | -- |
| 13 | DeSean Jackson | PHI | -- |
| 14 | Hakeem Nicks | NYG | -- |
| 15 | Steve Smith | CAR | -- |
| 16 | Chad Ochocinco | CIN | -- |
| 17 | Marques Colston | NO | -- |
| 18 | Michael Crabtree | SF | -- |
| 19 | Donald Driver | GB | -- |
| 20 | Steve Smith | NYG | -- |
| 21 | Malcom Floyd | SD | -- |
| 22 | Mike Wallace | PIT | -- |
| 23 | Santana Moss | WAS | -- |
| 24 | Jeremy Maclin | PHI | -- |
| 25 | Dez Bryant | DAL | -- |
| 26 | Sidney Rice | MIN | -- |
| 27 | Hines Ward | PIT | -- |
| 28 | Braylon Edwards | NYJ | -- |
| 29 | Percy Harvin | MIN | -- |
| 30 | Mike Williams | TB | -- |
| 31 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | -- |
| 32 | Eddie Royal | DEN | -- |
| 33 | Dwayne Bowe | KC | -- |
| 34 | Mike Sims-Walker | JAC | -- |
| 35 | Jabar Gaffney | DEN | -- |
| 36 | Pierre Garcon | IND | -- |
| 37 | Santonio Holmes | NYJ | -- |
| 38 | Derrick Mason | BAL | -- |
| 39 | Kevin Walter | HOU | -- |
| 40 | Mike Thomas | JAC | -- |
| 41 | Jacoby Jones | HOU | -- |
| 42 | Terrell Owens | CIN | -- |
| 43 | Johnny Knox | CHI | -- |
| 44 | Mario Manningham | NYG | -- |
| 45 | Lee Evans | BUF | -- |
| 46 | Steve Breaston | ARI | -- |
| 47 | Louis Murphy | OAK | -- |
| 48 | Mark Clayton | STL | -- |
| 49 | Roy Williams | DAL | -- |
| 50 | Legedu Naanee | SD | -- |
| 51 | Vincent Jackson | SD | -- |
| 52 | Robert Meachem | NO | -- |
| 53 | Mohamed Massaquoi | CLE | -- |
| 54 | Devin Hester | CHI | -- |
| 55 | Nate Washington | TEN | -- |
| 56 | Josh Cribbs | CLE | -- |
| 57 | Brandon Lloyd | DEN | -- |
| 58 | Laurent Robinson | STL | -- |
| 59 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh | SEA | -- |
| 60 | Josh Morgan | SF | -- |
| 61 | Kenny Britt | TEN | -- |
| 62 | Chris Chambers | KC | -- |
| 63 | Devery Henderson | NO | -- |
| 64 | Chaz Schilens | OAK | -- |
| 65 | Bernard Berrian | MIN | -- |
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Tight End Rankings: Week 4 through Week 17
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Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is starting to get hot. Though he hasn’t officially scored a touchdown yet, Aaron Rodgers has looked his way many times in the red zone, one of which was caught for a touchdown (but later overturned due to offensive holding) during Monday night’s game against the Bears. Don’t fret, though—the touchdowns will come. In the meantime, Finley has caught 17 passes for over 250 yards receiving in the first three games. This guy is an absolute fantasy stud.
Brent Celek is starting to slip down the fantasy boards. After beginning the season my fourth ranked tight end, he has slipped to sixth and that’s pretty much on reputation alone. He has been very disappointing so far, failing to break 50 yards or score a touchdown yet this season. With players like the Jets’ Dustin Keller and the Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez breaking out this season, Celek will need to get on the same page with Mike Vick if he wants to remain a top-10 fantasy tight end.
Don’t look now, but there’s a new tight in Kansas City named “Tony.” No, Tony Gonzalez hasn’t returned, but rookie tight end Tony Moeaki has been doing his best Tony Gonzalez impersonation through the first three weeks of the season. Moeaki has established a great connection with quarterback Matt Cassel, catching 12 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns already this season. Moeaki, a third round draft choice out of Iowa, was never a big-time receiving threat in college, but seems to be learning on the go in the NFL. It’s too early to make him an every-week starter, but pay attention to this young potential star.
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | PREVIOUS RANK |
| 1 | Dallas Clark | IND | -- |
| 2 | Antonio Gates | SD | -- |
| 3 | Vernon Davis | SF | -- |
| 4 | Jermichael Finley | GB | -- |
| 5 | Chris Cooley | WAS | -- |
| 6 | Brent Celek | PHI | -- |
| 7 | Tony Gonzalez | ATL | -- |
| 8 | Visanthe Shiancoe | MIN | -- |
| 9 | Dustin Keller | NYJ | -- |
| 10 | Kellen Winslow | CLE | -- |
| 11 | Aaron Hernandez | NE | -- |
| 12 | Jason Witten | DAL | -- |
| 13 | Zach Miller | OAK | -- |
| 14 | Jermaine Gresham | CIN | -- |
| 15 | John Carlson | SEA | -- |
| 16 | Greg Olsen | CHI | -- |
| 17 | Tony Moeaki | KC | -- |
| 18 | Heath Miller | PIT | -- |
| 19 | Brandon Pettigrew | DET | -- |
| 20 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | -- |
| 21 | Jeremy Shockey | NO | -- |
| 22 | Todd Heap | BAL | -- |
| 23 | Tony Scheffler | DET | -- |
| 24 | Kevin Boss | NYG | -- |
| 25 | Marcedes Lewis | JAC | -- |
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
