Fantasy Football Re-Rankings at Week 7: Jets’ Tomlinson Continues to Move Up

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.

Quarterback Rankings: Week 7 Through Week 17

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 11: Quarterback Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings walks back to the sideline against the New York Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium on October 11, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

“Big” Ben Roethlisberger made a successful return on Sunday after missing the team’s first four games due to a suspension. In his first game back, Roethlisberger led his team to a victory while throwing for 257 yards, three touchdowns, and just one interception. Though he looked a bit rusty on a few passes, he moves up a spot this week and should be a borderline top-10 quarterback from here on out.

-Vikings quarterback Brett Favre falls down three more spots this week, down to 13th among quarterbacks. Though Minnesota won an important game over Dallas, Favre and the passing game didn’t look much better than they did before they got Randy Moss.

The offensive line has to take some of the blame in this situation as Favre has been harassed constantly by opposing defenses, including taking many hits at the hands of the Cowboys. Favre threw for just 118 yards and although he didn’t throw an interception, he threw just one touchdown in the win. Minnesota needs Favre to get things going if they want a chance to win the NFC North.

-Injuries during Monday’s Jaguars and Titans game knocked both quarterbacks David Garrard and Vince Young out of the game in the first half. Backups Trent Edwards and Kerry Collins finished out what ended up being a boring, lopsided victory for the Titans, but the injuries to the starting quarterbacks were the big news.

David Garrard suffered a concussion and will likely miss at least a few days of practice this week before Sunday’s contest with the Chiefs. He is currently listed as questionable. Vince Young, also listed as questionable, reportedly thought he was “done for the season” after a knee injury he sustained during the game. Young has since been quoted as saying that the knee “feels pretty good,” and chances are looking better that he will be back for this week’s game against the Eagles.

-Speaking of the Eagles, head coach Andy Reid announced that there is “a pretty good chance” that Kevin Kolb will get his third straight start on Sunday against the Titans. Kolb had a monster game in week 6, throwing for 326 yards, three touchdowns, and just one interception in the Eagles’ victory over the Falcons.

Despite DeSean Jackson going down with a scary concussion early in the game, Kolb made use of many other receivers, namely Jeremy Maclin, to produce a nice game with Mike Vick still nursing a rib injury. With Vick out and Kolb performing so well, the job may very well be Kolb’s to lose from here on out.

-The news out of Carolina that Matt Moore will be back in as the Panthers’ starting quarterback in week 7 may be of some importance for those in deep leagues. The Jimmy Clausen experiment was an admitted failure by coach Fox and he will turn back to the guy who was listed as the starter going into the season.

Moore did play a bit during week 5’s blowout loss to the Bears, but he threw two interceptions in the process. This offense has struggled mightily and neither player is really much of a fantasy option other than in very deep leagues.  

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	PREVIOUS RANK	MOVEMENT
1	Peyton Manning	IND	1	0
2	Drew Brees	NO	2	0
3	Aaron Rodgers	GB	3	0
4	Philip Rivers	SD	4	0
5	Tony Romo	DAL	5	0
6	Matt Schaub	HOU	6	0
7	Tom Brady	NE	7	0
8	Joe Flacco	BAL	9	1
9	Kyle Orton	DEN	8	-1
10	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	11	1
11	Matt Ryan	ATL	12	1
12	Eli Manning	NYG	13	1
13	Brett Favre	MIN	10	-3
14	Carson Palmer	CIN	14	0
15	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	15	0
16	Donovan McNabb	WAS	16	0
17	Jay Cutler	CHI	18	1
18	Kevin Kolb	PHI	20	2
19	Mike Vick	PHI	17	-2
20	Chad Henne	MIA	21	1
21	Matthew Stafford	DET	23	2
22	Josh Freeman	TB	22	0
23	Vince Young	TEN	19	-4
24	Matt Hasselbeck	SEA	24	0
25	Matt Cassel	KC	27	2
26	Sam Bradford	STL	25	-1
27	Alex Smith	SF	32	5
28	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	28	0
29	Bruce Gradkowski	OAK	29	0
30	David Garrard	JAC	26	-4
31	Max Hall	ARI	33	2
32	Kerry Collins	TEN	38	6
33	Matt Moore	CAR	40	7
34	Jason Campbell	OAK	34	0
35	Trent Edwards	JAC	NR	-
36	Jake Delhomme	CLE	35	-1
37	Seneca Wallace	CLE	37	0
38	Shaun Hill	DET	31	-7
39	David Carr	SF	39	0
40	Jimmy Clausen	CAR	30	-10
41	Caleb Hanie	CHI	36	-5
42	Todd Collins	CHI	43	1
43	Derek Anderson	ARI	41	-2
44	Josh Johnson	TB	42	-2
45	Matt Flynn	GB	44	-1
46	Drew Stanton	DET	NR	-

Running Back Rankings: Week 7 Through Week 17

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

FOXBORO, MA - SEPTEMBER 26: BenJarvus Green-Elllis #42 of the New England Patriots celebrates his touchdown with teammates Sammy Morris #34 and Danny Woodhead #39 in the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium in the second half on Septe

The top-three running backs remained the same this week including Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, and Frank Gore—but Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner has fallen from the fourth place position all the way down to seventh.

Turner contributed just 45 yards on 15 carries during the Falcons’ loss to the Eagles and failed to reach even eight fantasy points for the fourth time in six games this season. Though the other two games have been nice, the inconsistency we’ve seen from him and this running game has been extremely disappointing. It’s hard to justify putting Turner on your bench, but he’s certainly not back to being an elite running back.

-Another perceived-to-be elite back going into 2010 was Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew. After scoring 14 or more touchdowns in three of his first four seasons, Jones-Drew is on pace for less than six touchdowns in 2010 while rushing for under 4.0 yards per carry for the first time in his career.

His lack of use in the passing game, with just 12 receptions this season, has also been a big disappointment. When you look at Jones-Drew’s lack of production, it’s no surprise that this team is among the very worst in the league. There’s still time for him to turn this season around, but for now, 13th among running backs may actually be too kind.

-New York Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson has moved into the top-10 for the first time this season. It’s crazy to think that Tomlinson was going in the eighth or ninth round in most drafts and is now a must-start fantasy player every week after it appeared that his days as a fantasy-relevant back might be over.

It’s hard to believe that Tomlinson can keep up this pace over the course of an entire season, but he is just too hot to not put in your lineup at this point.

-The Patriots’ BenJarvus Green-Ellis has become a surprisingly productive fantasy player. With touchdowns in three straight games, Green-Ellis has become the Patriots’ goal line back—a spot that used to be considered relatively pointless, but may be more important now that the team is without Randy Moss. Green-Ellis moves up a few spots to 29th among running backs.

The Patriots have also made use out of undrafted free agent Danny Woodhead, who actually out-produced Green-Ellis in yardage, but didn’t get the goal line carry on Sunday. Woodhead’s biggest asset for the Patriots may be his ability as a receiver, as he caught five passes for 52 yards. He makes the list for the first time as the 48th ranked running back and should be a hot add this week.

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	PREVIOUS RANK	MOVEMENT
1	Adrian Peterson	MIN	1	0
2	Chris Johnson	TEN	2	0
3	Frank Gore	SF	3	0
4	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	5	1
5	Ray Rice	BAL	6	1
6	Arian Foster	HOU	7	1
7	Michael Turner	ATL	4	-3
8	Matt Forte	CHI	8	0
9	Steven Jackson	STL	10	1
10	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	15	5
11	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	11	0
12	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	13	1
13	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	9	-4
14	LeSean McCoy	PHI	12	-2
15	Cedric Benson	CIN	14	-1
16	Jamaal Charles	KC	17	1
17	Ryan Mathews	SD	18	1
18	Beanie Wells	ARI	16	-2
19	Pierre Thomas	NO	19	0
20	Jahvid Best	DET	20	0
21	Peyton Hillis	CLE	21	0
22	Thomas Jones	KC	25	3
23	Knowshon Moreno	DEN	26	3
24	Ronnie Brown	MIA	22	-2
25	Ryan Torain	WAS	34	9
26	Shonn Greene	NYJ	23	-3
27	Joseph Addai	IND	24	-3
28	Felix Jones	DAL	27	-1
29	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	32	3
30	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	28	-2
31	Darren McFadden	OAK	29	-2
32	Michael Bush	OAK	35	3
33	Mike Tolbert	SD	30	-3
34	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	31	-3
35	Ricky Williams	MIA	33	-2
36	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	37	1
37	Fred Jackson	BUF	36	-1
38	Cadillac Williams	TB	38	0
39	Jason Snelling	ATL	32	-7
40	CJ Spiller	BUF	39	-1
41	Brandon Jackson	GB	40	-1
42	Clinton Portis	WAS	41	-1
43	Willis McGahee	BAL	42	-1
44	Justin Forsett	SEA	43	-1
45	Marion Barber	DAL	44	-1
46	Tim Hightower	ARI	45	-1
47	Chris Ivory	NO	57	10
48	Danny Woodhead	NE	NR	-
49	Laurence Maroney	NE	47	-2
50	Bernard Scott	CIN	48	-2
51	Mike Hart	IND	49	-2
52	Reggie Bush	NO	54	2
53	Rashad Jennings	JAC	50	-3
54	Jerome Harrison	PHI	51	-3
55	Derrick Ward	HOU	62	7
56	Ladell Betts	NO	46	-10
57	Donald Brown	IND	52	-5
58	Tashard Choice	DAL	53	-5
59	Darren Sproles	SD	55	-4
60	Mike Bell	PHI	56	-4
61	Chester Taylor	CHI	58	-3
62	Fred Taylor	NE	59	-3
63	Leon Washington	SEA	60	-3
64	John Kuhn	GB	61	-3
65	Correll Buckhalter	DEN	63	-2
66	Steve Slaton	HOU	64	-2
67	Kareem Huggins	TB	65	-2
68	Toby Gerhart	MIN	66	-2
69	Kevin Smith	DET	67	-2

Wide Receiver Rankings: Week 7 Through Week 17

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 17: Calvin Johnson #81 of the Detroit Lions catches the ball on an 87-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium on October 17, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Gian

Miles Austin was held to two-or-less fantasy points for the second time in his last three games. What’s crazy is that in the other three games, Austin has been over 140 yards receiving on nine or more receptions in each game. Austin did catch a long touchdown pass that was called back due to offensive pass interference, but that doesn’t help much for fantasy value.

It’s hard to keep Austin out of your lineup due to his huge ceiling, but Tony Romo seems to be developing a connection with Roy Williams, who has now caught five touchdown passes in the past three games. Austin falls a spot down this week to 4th among wide receivers while Roy Williams moves up 31st among wide receivers. Despite the Cowboys failing to win games, this passing game is among the best in the league for fantasy points.

-Calvin Johnson is just ridiculous. Listed as questionable with a shoulder injury going into the week and going up against one of the league’s best pass defenses, Calvin Johnson had to be considered a risky play in week 6—and that was before quarterback Shaun Hill went down to an injury.

Now on third string quarterback Drew Stanton, Calvin Johnson’s chances were even more diminished—but again, this guy is just ridiculous. Johnson answered by catching five passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. The bye week comes at a great time for Johnson and quarterback Matt Stafford, who should both be ready to go in week 8.

-Randy Moss made a quiet return to the Metrodome for the Vikings in week 6, catching just five passes for 55 yards and failing to get into the end zone. He is certainly opening things up for other players in the Vikings’ offense, but Brett Favre is struggling heavily at the moment and it’s hurting everyone in this passing game. Until we see Favre get into the groove, it’s going to be tough for Moss—or anyone in the Vikings’ passing game—to be too productive.

-After a horrific helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked him out of Sunday’s game, it is very unlikely that DeSean Jackson will be ready to play for the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday. Jackson had already scored two touchdowns in the game by the time that he sustained a concussion, but the hit is one of a few that actually led to the NFL changing rules on hits this week.

With the official report not known yet on how soon Jackson will be back, he moves down a few spots this week due to the uncertainty.

-With DeSean Jackson hurt, quarterback Kevin Kolb turned to second-year wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to fill in with some of the big plays that we have become accustomed to seeing from Jackson. Maclin stepped up in a huge way, catching seven passes for 159 yards and two touchdown, his second multiple-touchdown game of 2010.

Though Jackson is still considered to be the more valuable of the two receivers, it’s actually a lot closer than most people would think. Maclin had actually outscored Jackson through the first five games of the season.

-The Patriots traded to re-acquire Deion Branch in week 6, and they certainly made use of him in his first game back in New England. Branch caught nine passes for 98 yards and Tom Brady’s only touchdown pass of the day.

Though he should still be considered the second option at best in this passing game behind Wes Welker, Deion Branch has catapulted himself into fantasy relevance and will be one of this week’s most popular waiver wire acquisitions.

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	PREVIOUS RANK	MOVEMENT
1	Roddy White	ATL	1	0
2	Andre Johnson	HOU	2	0
3	Brandon Marshall	MIA	4	1
4	Miles Austin	DAL	3	-1
5	Anquan Boldin	BAL	6	1
6	Reggie Wayne	IND	7	1
7	Calvin Johnson	DET	14	7
8	Greg Jennings	GB	8	0
9	Randy Moss	MIN	5	-4
10	Austin Collie	IND	9	-1
11	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	11	0
12	Wes Welker	NE	12	0
13	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	13	0
14	DeSean Jackson	PHI	10	-4
15	Malcom Floyd	SD	15	0
16	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	18	2
17	Michael Crabtree	SF	19	2
18	Percy Harvin	MIN	20	2
19	Donald Driver	GB	16	-3
20	Braylon Edwards	NYJ	22	2
21	Mike Wallace	PIT	23	2
22	Chad Ochocinco	CIN	17	-5
23	Steve Smith	NYG	21	-2
24	Terrell Owens	CIN	24	0
25	Brandon Lloyd	DEN	25	0
26	Dez Bryant	DAL	28	2
27	Santana Moss	WAS	26	-1
28	Marques Colston	NO	27	-1
29	Steve Smith	CAR	29	0
30	Hines Ward	PIT	31	1
31	Roy Williams	DAL	38	7
32	Mike Williams	TB	32	0
33	Eddie Royal	DEN	30	-3
34	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	33	-1
35	Mike Thomas	JAC	36	1
36	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	35	-1
37	Lance Moore	NO	37	0
38	Pierre Garcon	IND	39	1
39	Dwayne Bowe	KC	41	2
40	Kenny Britt	TEN	46	6
41	Johnny Knox	CHI	40	-1
42	Sidney Rice	MIN	42	0
43	Jabar Gaffney	DEN	43	0
44	Kevin Walter	HOU	44	0
45	Deion Branch	NE	55	10
46	Lee Evans	BUF	45	-1
47	Mike Sims-Walker	JAC	34	-13
48	Davone Bess	MIA	49	1
49	Steve Johnson	BUF	48	-1
50	Derrick Mason	BAL	50	0
51	Louis Murphy	OAK	51	0
52	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	SEA	58	6
53	Danny Amendola	STL	54	1
54	Brandon Tate	NE	52	-2
55	Legedu Naanee	SD	47	-8
56	Mario Manningham	NYG	53	-3
57	James Jones	GB	56	-1
58	Devin Hester	CHI	57	-1
59	Nate Washington	TEN	60	1
60	Mike Williams	SEA	NR	-
61	Josh Cribbs	CLE	59	-2
62	Robert Meachem	NO	67	5
63	Michael Jenkins	ATL	NR	-
64	Jacoby Jones	HOU	62	-2
65	Steve Breaston	ARI	63	-2
66	Josh Morgan	SF	64	-2
67	Vincent Jackson	SD	65	-2
68	Chris Chambers	KC	66	-2
69	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	68	-1
70	Devery Henderson	NO	69	-1
71	Chaz Schilens	OAK	70	-1
72	Bernard Berrian	MIN	71	-1
73	Mardy Gilyard	STL	72	-1
74	Deon Butler	SEA	NR	-
75	Nate Burleson	DET	NR	-
76	Jason Avant	PHI	NR	-
77	Jordy Nelson	GB	NR	-
78	Earl Bennett	CHI	NR	-

Tight End Rankings: Week 7 Through Week 17

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 26: Tony Gonzalez #88 of the Atlanta Falcons in action against the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome on September 26, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Falcons defeated the Saints 27-24. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Ge

It was a quiet week from the tight end position overall in week 6, but veteran Tony Gonzalez produced the only multiple-touchdown day, catching two of them in the Falcons’ loss to the Eagles on Sunday. Gonzalez, the all-time leader in touchdown receptions as a tight end, has proven this season that he still has it. He may not be an elite tight end anymore, but he certainly has to be considered an every-week starter for most teams who have him.

-The NFL’s top tight end, Antonio Gates, went down with an injury early in week 6, suffering what is now believed to be a sprained toe. Gates and receiver Malcom Floyd both missed a good chunk of the game which helped the St. Louis Rams defeat their San Diego Chargers, but while Floyd is expected to be out at least one week, Gates is expected to be back for week 7’s big game against the Patriots.

-I mentioned last week that the acquisition of Randy Moss for the Minnesota Vikings may actually negatively affect tight end Visanthe Shiancoe the most of anyone—but not even I expected it to be this much.

Shiancoe has caught just two passes in two games since Randy Moss joined the Vikings, including a zero-catch performance this past Sunday. In fact, backup tight end Jim Kleinsasser has out-produced Shiancoe in that time span.

Much of this can be attributed to the fact that the Vikings had to use Shiancoe to help chip DeMarcus Ware and the Cowboys’ pass rushers last week, but there is growing concern among fantasy circles that Shiancoe is now an afterthought in the Vikings’ offense. As such, he falls five spots this week down to 14th among tight ends and is no longer an every-week guaranteed starter as he was in 2009.

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	PREVIOUS RANK	MOVEMENT
1	Antonio Gates	SD	1	0
2	Dallas Clark	IND	2	0
3	Vernon Davis	SF	3	0
4	Dustin Keller	NYJ	6	2
5	Chris Cooley	WAS	4	-1
6	Brent Celek	PHI	5	-1
7	Zach Miller	OAK	7	0
8	Aaron Hernandez	NE	8	0
9	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	10	1
10	Kellen Winslow	TB	11	1
11	Jason Witten	DAL	12	1
12	John Carlson	SEA	13	1
13	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	15	2
14	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	9	-5
15	Tony Moeaki	KC	14	-1
16	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	18	2
17	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	17	0
18	Heath Miller	PIT	21	3
19	Todd Heap	BAL	24	5
20	Benjamin Watson	CLE	25	5
21	Jeremy Shockey	NO	16	-5
22	Jermichael Finley	GB	19	-3
23	Greg Olsen	CHI	20	-3
24	Rob Gronkowski	NE	22	-2
25	Tony Scheffler	DET	23	-2
26	Anthony Fasano	MIA	26	0
27	Bo Scaife	TEN	27	0
28	Kevin Boss	NYG	28	0