Rankings Updates

Dominic Rhodes signed a one year deal with the Colts. This news gives him a considerable boost and Kenton Keith a substantial drop in the rankings. It is unclear how the backup role to Addai will play out, but it looks like Rhodes and Hart will be in the mix. I actually am going to drop Addai a couple spots as well because it looks like he could lose a little playing time as well.

Many thought Julius Jones would be the primary back in Seattle, but reports since my original rankings suggest there will be much more of a committee, so I have dropped Jones some.

On Draft day, many thought Kevin Smith wouldn’t fit in with the Detroit offense, but it has since been reported that Detorit runs the same offense that Smith ran in during college. I have dropped Tatum Bell and increased Kevin Smith’s ranking.

Shaun Alexander, Marvin Harrison, Michael Strahan, and Chad Johnson have all been in the news and should be watched to see how their situations might affect their rankings.

 

Draft Day 2

Lions select Kevin Smith RB - I have dropped Smith based on this selection. Normally, Detroit taking a RB would add value, but I’m not sure Smith fits the Detroit offense.  Tatum Bell may have significant value this year.

Chiefs select Jamaal Charles RB - Charles’ value takes a big hit with this selection.  I had him ranked fairly high, but he joins a crowded backfield, so he should struggle to see the field.

Giants select Mario Manningham WR - Manningham could have a lot of value down the road, but he’ll probably fight for playing time this year.

Colts select Mike Hart RB - Hart slipped some, but with Kenton Keith’s recent troubles, he could have some decent value in Indy.

 

Draft Round 2

I won’t list every pick in the draft, I will just list those moves that have enough fantasy impact to change my rankings or position players that were drafted early that aren’t on my list that some may question if they have value or not.

Rams select Donnie Avery WR - The Rams taking the first WR off the board could have had some value, but Avery doesn’t seem polished enough to step in and make an immediate impact.

Redskins select Devin Thomas WR - Thomas should get plenty of opportunity, so I have bumped him up in my rankings.

Packers select Jordy Nelson WR - Nelson remains off my list because he shouldn’t see the field too much with Driver, Jennings, and James Jones in front of him.

Seahawks select John Carlson TE - Carlson could see enough time in his first year to have a little value. He just makes the list with this pick.

Bills select James Hardy WR - Hardy should see enough opportunity to have some value this year. I’ve added him to the WR list.

Broncos select Eddie Royal WR - Could be a good long term solution, but shouldn’t have much value this year.

Bears select Matt Forte RB - Forte gets a big boost landing in Chicago. He could challenge Benson for the starting job.

Eagles select DeSean Jackson WR - Jackson finds himself in a good situation in Philadelphia, but his value doesn’t really change on the list because he was already ranked fairly high.

Redskins select Malcolm Kelly WR - Kelly should also get a shot for some playing time in Washington. His spot on the list seems right, but Antwaan Randle El drops here because drafting two highly rated WRs can’t be a good sign for his role.

Steelers select Limas Sweed WR - Sweed drops a little just because he may not have a significant role right away in Pittsburgh.

Ravens select Ray Rice RB - Rice becomes a handcuff for Willis McGahee. This is a good role and his value increases slightly.

Packers select Brian Brohm QB - I didn’t add him to the list, but if Rodgers struggles, Brohm could be worth picking up.

Dolphins select Chad Henne QB - I also didn’t add him to the list, but their should be competition for the QB job in Miami.

Round 1 Note: Word out of Carolina is DeAngelo Williams role could be reduced and Stewart could be the primary back. My rankings have swapped the two who were closely ranked anyway.

 

Round 1 (continued)

11. Bills select Leodis McKelvin CB

12. Broncos select Ryan Clady OT

13. Panthers select Jonathan Stewart RB - i dropped both Stewart and DeAngelo Williams with this pick. This shows Carolina isn’t comfortable with Williams carrying the load, but I’m not sure Stewart plays as large a role as he would have if another team chose him.

14. Bears select Chris Williams OT

15. Chiefs select Branden Alberts OG

16. Cardinals select Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

17. Lions select Gosder Cherilus - I have to give Tatum Bell a big jump up here, not so much because Cherilus will be a big improvement, but because this shows Tatum Bell could be the featured back in Detroit.

18. Ravens select Joe Flacco QB

19. Panthers select Jeff Otah OT

20. Buccaneers select Aqib Talib CB

21. Falcons select Sam Baker OT

22. Cowboys select Felix Jones RB - This is where I thought Jones would go and had him and Barber ranked accordingly, but in looking back at it, I needed to drop Barber below Portis who I am liking more this year.

23. Steelers select Rashard Mendenhall - Both Willie Parker and Mendenhall slip significantly on my list because of this. I thought Mendenhall would have a better opportunity.

24. Titans select Chris Johnson RB - Johnson makes the list with this selection although I think it is a reach and he’ll be more of a 3rd down back. LaMont Jordan slipped off with this pick.

25. Cowboys select Mike Jenkins CB

26. Ravens select Duane Brown OT

27. Chargers select Antoine Cason CB

28. Seahawks select Lawrence Jackson DE

29. 49ers select Kentwan Balmer DE

30. Jets select Dustin Keller TE - Keller makes the list and will swap spots the player he likely replaces, Chris Baker.

31. Giants select Kenny Phillips FS

 

Round 1 (picks 1-10)

1. Dolphins select Jake Long OT - I wrote about this one already.

2. Rams select Chris Long DE - This helps the Rams poor defense, but doesn’t have fantasy impact.

3. Falcons select Matt Ryan QB - I don’t think Ryan starts right away, but I do expect the Falcons to be bad and Ryan to eventually see some time.  Chris Redman drops a little and Ryan makes the list with this pick.

4. Raiders select Darren McFadden RB - Raiders went with best player available, which adds McFadden to an already crowded backfield.  I have dropped McFadden a bit because of this, I left Fargas alone because I already knew the backfield would be crowded, I dropped Michael Bush a little, and also dropped Lamont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes considerably because I think they may be the odd men out.

5. Chiefs select Glenn Dorsey DT - As with the Rams, this helps the Chiefs poor defense, but doesn’t have fantasy impact.

6. Jets select Vernon Gholston DE - The Jets get a young pass rusher and I give them a slight boost.

7. Saints select Sedrick Ellis DT - As with the Rams and Chiefs, this helps the Saints poor defense, but doesn’t have fantasy impact.

8. Jaguars select Derrick Harvey DE - The Jags get younger and improve their D-line, but their defense is already very good and it is hard to change their ranking with this addition.

9. Bengals select Keith Rivers LB - Another bad defense that is helped out, but doesn’t have fantasy impact.

10. Patriots select Jerod Mayo LB - The Pats get a little youth for their aging linebacker core, but their defense is already very good and it is hard to change their ranking with this addition.

No major Fantasy impact in the first 10 picks.  For future picks, I will only write something about the pick if I change the rankings in any way.

 

Jared Allen Traded

Jared Allen has been traded to the Minnesota Vikings.  This improves an already very good Viking defense and has been reflected in my rankings.  The Chiefs didn’t even make the ranking to start, so I can’t drop them.

 

Alexander Released

Shaun Alexander was released by the Seahawks today.  I think everyone assumed this would happen, but now that it is definite, I bumped Julius Jones and Maurice Morris in my rankings.  I left Alexander where he was because I expect he’ll be signed elsewhere and serve as a backup, which is how I had him ranked anyway.  Where he ends up could affect his ranking.

 

Jake Long is a Dolphin

With the first pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Michigan Left Tackle Jake Long.  This may have fantasy impact, but both the QB and RB situation in Miami is so up in the air, I don’t know whose value to increase. Assuming he is healthy, Ronnie Brown should receive the bulk of the carries, but RBs returning from torn ACLs are hard to get excited about.

 

Kickoff!

I had to push to get this thing started. We are less than a week away from the Draft and I had hoped to get it launched prior to Free Agency. No big news to report that will affect rankings (refer to my pages), but here are some recent items that may be of interest:

• Brandon Jacobs apparently had wrist surgery, but it sounds like it should be healed for training camp.
• Jared Allen left Minnesota without a contract. Depending on where he goes, it could boost that teams defense.

There is a lot of draft talk going on, but it is hard to adjust the rankings based on rumors. I found it hard to rank this year’s class at all because so much of it depends on opportunity. We will know soon enough.