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Stupid Early 2014 Fantasy Football Rankings

Yeah, I know. Plenty of you out there are heading into the most important week of you fantasy season. And if you’re lucky, it will be followed by yet another even more important game. But I don’t care about you right now.

It’s those of us out there who missed out — too bitter to let the fantasy season slip away until next fall. Those of us who lost Aaron Rodgers and Julio Jones. Those of use who are frustrated by tie-break rules. Those of us who passed on Nick Foles. Those of us who drafted Ray Rice. Those of who outscored three playoff teams but lost to the top scoring team by 0.7 points in Week 12 and fell one game short.

Those of us who have nothing left to play for in 2013. It’s you I am talking about. What better way to ensure that something like this never, ever happens again? Get a stupid-early jump on your 2014 draft prep. Here’s our top-40… dig in!

2014 Fantasy Football Rankings

RankPlayerTeam
1LeSean McCoyPHI
2Adrian PetersonMIN
3Jamaal CharlesKC
4Calvin JohnsonDET
5Matt ForteCHI
6Marshawn LynchSEA
7Alfred MorrisWAS
8C.J. SpillerBUF
9A.J. GreenCIN
10Dez BryantDAL
11Drew BreesNO
12Aaron RodgersGB
13Demaryius ThomasDEN
14Rob GronkowskiNE
15Jimmy GrahamNO
16Cam NewtonCAR
17Brandon MarshallCHI
18Julio JonesATL
19Arian FosterHOU
20Eddie LacyGB
21Matthew StaffordDET
22Peyton ManningDEN
23Victor CruzNYG
24Josh GordonCLE
25Reggie BushDET
26Doug MartinTB
27Percy HarvinSEA
28Zac StacySTL
29Randall CobbGB
30Alshon JefferyCHI
31Shane VereenNE
32Vincent JacksonTB
33Roddy WhiteATL
34DeSean JacksonPHI
35Andre JohnsonHOU
36Maurice Jones-DrewJAX
37Ryan MathewsSD
38David WilsonNYG
39LeVeon BellPIT
40Knowshon MorenoDEN

22 responses to “Stupid Early 2014 Fantasy Football Rankings”

  1. Kevin says:

    So we are assuming Giovanni Bernard suffers a serious injury in the offseason? Otherwise why would he not be up there? He should be Top 15 at worst, most likely Top 10.

    He is the #10 RB in ppr formats as a rookie only getting about 40% of the snaps. As his snaps increase so will his production making him one of the best in fantasy football

    • Kevin,
      Thanks for the feedback, interestingly, Gio Bernard is No. 41 in these rankings and just missed the cut for this list. Love the talent, the biggest issue is just the role heading into next year. Given the way BJGE has played of late, it is not out of the question that the Bengals would employ a similar split next year — why mess with what works?

      All that said, the last five RBs hear (MJD, Bell, Wilson, Mathews, Moreno) and Bernard are all right there, and I wouldn’t argue if you wanted to flip the order. If we were drafting for 2014 right now, however, Bernard would not be a late-first/early-second round pick for me, as you have suggested.

  2. Ryan says:

    Spiller seems high? I know RB is a rare commodity, but given his troubles this year wouldn’t you rather have Eddie Lacy? I think I would go Non-RB at that point.

    • Ryan – Lacy has looked solid this season (and even more-so when Aaron Rodgers has been in the mix), but I am a sucker for C.J. Spiller. We’ve seen the talent on display this season — albeit not consistently — and we just cannot escape the fact that, at times, he looks as explosive on tape as any player in football.

      Both backs face an interesting situation in terms of playing time as Fred Jackson is under contract with the Bills again in 2014 while Lacy will presumably be competing with Jonathan Franklin for snaps once Franklin is fully healthy again.

      At the end of the day, I must agree with you that the batch of top-tier receivers will impinge on the first round in 2014 more than ever. If you want to draw the line one spot earlier than me, you will get no argument here.

  3. Brandon says:

    No way Josh Gordon falls that far next year. He is arguably second only to Calvin right now. I don’t think it will be much different next season. He’s just one of those guys you can’t cover. In a 12 team league he will sneak into the 1st round a little next year, but he’s not gonna make it to the end of the 2nd round often.

    • A new QB and some more talent on that offense would go along way towards Gordon returning first-round value again in 2014. Bottom line though, Megatron, A.J., Dez, DT, B-Marsh, Julio, Gordon…. wow what a top-heavy position!

  4. Zach says:

    Is there something happening with DeMarco Murray I don’t know about?

  5. Jimmy says:

    Couple problems
    I would push benard up, going somewhere around martin and bush and stacy
    Even though Manning carries more risk with age… he will not sit that long in 95% of drafts, push him up 10 spots
    I can’t see Chicago producing two top 12 receivers… and with their qb uncertainties I see it hard to put A jeffery that high.
    I guess I am way higher on eddie lacy than you… I’d put him above morris and probably spiller. 6-9 rank

    I like your placement of most guys… knowshon, Spiller, the top 5,
    I like the placement of the “bigger names” from a couple years ago… AJ, MJD, White, Vjack

  6. Ryan says:

    I can keep Spiller for a 4th round pick next year, so I have to admit that I am very happy to see him as a potential first rounder. Especially if Fred Jackson leaves

  7. steve says:

    Stafford ahead of Peyton Manning? Your list lost all credibility when I saw that.

  8. Danny says:

    Really tho? Percy 27? You really think Percy stock will rise that much? I could keep him in. 13th rd next year or lacy in the 4th. What would you prefer? Ppr league.

    • Danny,
      Just for context, these ranks were originally compiled back at the beginning of December, just before Harvin had the set-back with his hip… obviously much has changed since then. Still, Percy should have a chance to prove that he’s capable of being a healthy play-maker in the post season and, if he does, a top-40 pick is justified.
      At the moment — with all the questions about his health — Lacy is the obvious choice here. Down the line, however, I think there is a real debate between the two. Based on talent alone, I LOVE Percy as a 13th rounder heading into next season and if he passes all the tests in terms of health (granted, that’s a big IF), then he’s the choice for me.

  9. Christopher Anthony (@RealChrisCutts) says:

    Gronk at 14 and Graham at 15 seems a bit off to me. Even if Gronk is ready week 1 I think he should be 22-28, Graham however I think is fine 10-15. I saw Gordon and Lacy being defended so I won’t comment on that. Instead I will defend Zac Stacy, he should be a 1st rounder next year (8-12). Stacy has nobody to take carries away from him (Maybe Tavon Austin) and he has looked good against solid D’s this year. I would kill to be able to get Jamaal and Stacy with my first 2 picks. Also Le’veon Bell I think Deserves to be in the 15-20 area. He’s a feature back that can catch the ball out of the backfield. If Bell stays healthy he will see a ton of touches.

    • Chris,

      I have to agree with you and things can certainly change quickly. The rankings were compiled before Gronk’s injury so he would likely drop outside the top-30 for me heading into next season. Stacy is under-ranked a bit as well and has the look of a late first rounder next season following his solid performance down the stretch.

  10. Billy says:

    I am eager to see what foster has left in the tank and to see where and what tate has to offer. I was very impressed with bell. After coming off of the foot injury as a rookie he looked good, leaping over people etc. I love the way they use him, sometimes OC’s get fancy…Haley seems like its a perfect fit, flex him out wide…screens….shovel passes. The kid is ligit. His ypc is below average…however these last few games it seems better. Zac Stacy is so much better than advertised. I am also very eager to see what he produces in a soph year. Glad to see they moved on from the other scrubs.

  11. Daniel says:

    I’d be very suprised if Tate resigned with the texans, I’d imagine foster will come back healthy and recieve a big workload.

  12. Wild Bill says:

    Although not addressed in your top 40 – I think it’s interesting to look at the Oakland Running Back situation. McFadden was a heavy favorite at the start of the season and Jennings looks to be the new stud. Do you see McFadden going to another team and becoming their “go-to guy”?

    • Billy says:

      They are talking about Latavius Murry, I think that’s his name. They may have to keep Jennings. I think Jennings can be a top 10 back in fantasy. Hes big and fast and has soft hands, problem is…not only his hands are soft…he has a hard time staying on the field. Truth be told it could be argues that Marcel Reece is the best option there, I would love for gmen to scoop him up.

    • I agree with Billy here, Latavius Murray will be a name to keep an eye on this offseason. I tend to think that DMC will be elsewhere next season –likely on a 1-year prove it deal — and Jennings (also a free agent) will look to cash in following his strong performance this season. It doesn’t make a ton of sense for Oakland to hand out a huge contract to either guy with some young talent on a developing roster, but obviously we will learn a whole lot more next season.

      Looking ahead, in the right situation, DMC becomes a nice gamble in the 7th or 8th round while Jennings is likely a top-50 pick if he’s got an inside track to a starting job.

  13. Scott says:

    Josh Gordon will be the 2nd highest drafted WR after Calvin Johnson. Julio Jones will be the 3rd WR taken.

  14. C$ says:

    No Murray. I understand he’s injury prone, but I’d def put him in top 10 for RB’s next yr. Dude is so solid when he plays.

  15. Anyone who leaves Peyton Manning out of the top 20, and doesn’t have him as their top fantasy QB — has earned my love and respect!! 🙂

    Well done, Wayne. Thinking outside the box wins championships!

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