BY SAMIR NAWAZ – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
Although it seems like it was just the other day that the 49ers were choking away the Super Bowl, here we are with another season upon us. More importantly (at least for some), it’s the start of a new NFL fantasy football season. In short, it is the chance to get in arguments with your friends, ignore your family on Sundays (and Monday night and Thursday night), and have your production at work cut in by half and waste hundreds of hours over a prize pool of $500.00. What a time to be alive!
In any event here are my thoughts for the 2013 season.
QUARTERBACK:
If I have one piece of advice surrounding the quarterback position it is this; don’t believe the hype. Although the talent pool might be deeper, there are still only three premiere quarterbacks in fantasy football today and their names are Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. After that you should be aware that there is significant drop to the next tier of quarterbacks and after that an even steeper drop in terms of both production and reliability.
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And while I am not saying that Colin Kaepernick or Cam Newton will not put up numbers, but in taking them know that they, like most mobile quarterbacks will be prone to injury, bad decision making and inconsistency.
TIER 1: Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady
TIER 2: Matt Ryan, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning
TIER 3: Joe Flacco, Jay Cutler
TIER 4: Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton
Sleeper pick: Andrew Luck
RUNNING BACK:
Although there is a lot of talent at the running back position, unless you have the first pick in your draft and land Adrian Peterson, your expectations in terms of the number two through seven picks at running back should not be all that different. As I always advocate, running back is the diciest position in fantasy football and you should be wary of putting a lot of stock into the position for three very good reasons (injury, inconsistency year-to-year and the increasingly popular “running back by committee”). As such always remember that when it comes to fantasy football running backs, buyer beware.
TIER 1: Adrian Peterson
TIER 2: Marshawn Lynch, Ray Rice, LeSean McCoy
TIER 3: Adrian Foster, C.J. Spiller, Doug Martin
TIER 4: Stevan Ridley, Trent Richardson, Jamaal Charles
TIER 5: Alfred Morris, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Forte
TIER 6: Darren McFadden
Sleeper picks: Justin Forsett, DeMarco Murray, Lance Dunbar
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WIDE RECEIVER:
Given my propensity to favour the air, naturally it is here where I would be telling you to spend your mid-round draft picks or, in the case of an auction draft, your hard earned fantasy dollars. While the talent pool is deep like at quarterback, there is a significant drop off after the top three or four guys. However, unlike quarterback, if you are smart and draft/spend well even late, you can still get very decent talent for your squad.
TIER 1: Calvin Johnson
TIER 2: Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, A.J. Green
TIER 3: Roddy White, Andre Johnson, Vincent Jackson
TIER 4: Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Wayne, Mike Wallace, Danny Amendola, Marques Colston
TIER 5: Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas
TIER 6: James Jones, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson
TIER 7: Victor Cruz, Brandon Marshall, Hakeem Nicks, Antonio Brown, Pierre Garcon
Sleeper picks: DeSean Jackson, Steve Johnson, Torrey Smith, Greg Jennings, Percy Harvin, Terrance Williams
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TIGHT END:
The best kept secret about this year is the following; tight end is the make or break position for your league. Almost every league in fantasy has a spot dedicated year-in, year-out to the tight end spot. Usually people do not pay much mind to filling the spot, and figure that there is a ton of talent at the position and almost anyone will do. These people could not be more wrong.
Just like quarterback, you only get one tight end in most leagues, and as such a solid TE can be all the difference given that a super-solid tight end like Jimmy Graham will get almost double the production out of the roster spot then a solid tight end like Owen Daniels. As such heed my advice and snatch up a good TE while you can because this year, perhaps more than in recent memory, they are rare.
TIER 1: Jimmy Graham
TIER 2: Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez
TIER 3: Rob Gronkowski (due to injury)
TIER 4: Vernon Davis
TIER 5: Kyle Rudolph
TIER 6: Owen Daniels, Jermichael Finley, Greg Olsen
Sleeper: Heath Miller, Jordan Cameron