The NFL Playoffs are here and like many, I am playing in a playoffs fantasy league.
Funny to think that 14 years ago I had to create one from my own imagination as no sites offered anything like it. I also had to reach into the way back machine and use pencils and paper to keep track of the team, their players, their stats, and add up the results by hand.
My, how technology has changed things since then!
But everyone is looking for players rankings, and depending on the type of league you play in, the rankings can vary. If you play in one where each round is a brand new slate, it makes life easier. If you’re in the type of league where you have to choose with an eye on who is likely to be in the Super Bowl, it changes the whole fantasy football draft dynamic.
For those in the latter types of league, the fantasy football draft analyzer software at FantasyFootballStarters.com has projected out each round of the playoffs thru the Super Bowl with the projected stats and rankings of each player at each position. Using its game prediction algorithm I have also written a commentary of the Power Analyzer Playoffs and Super Bowl predictions for each game. I was kind of surprised at the results the Analyzer had come to.
For those who prefer a little more human intuitiveness, I also have my own Super Bowl 46 and playoffs predictions posted at FFS as well. Even though they are my own predictions, I am a little surprised at who I picked, too. Usually Championships are won by playing great defense. But I see a matchup between two offensive juggernauts.
In my most recent fantasy football blogs post, I go over the Wild Card Weekend matchups and provide some extra commentary about each matchup. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the first round as every matchup finds itself having valid arguments to be made for either side winning each game.
As for fantasy playoffs player rankings for wild card weekend, here’s what our fantasy football lineup analyzer has players ranked based on a simple standard scoring system:
Quarterbacks
Drew Brees will also be a great playoffs league fantasy QB!
1) Drew Brees
2) Matt Ryan
3) Matt Stafford
4) Eli Manning
5) T.J. Yates
6) Ben Roethlisberger
7) Andy Dalton
Tim Tebow
No surprises here. The NFC teams are all stacked with great QB’s from a fantasy perspective while the AFC teams each have question marks. Kind of surprising Yates is the top AFC QB but he did have 300 yards and 2 TD’s in a week 14 matchup against the Bengals during the regular season.
Running Backs
1) Darren Sproles
2) Arian Foster
3) Ahmad Bradshaw
4) Isaac Redman
5) Kevin Smith
6) Michael Turner
7) Pierre Thomas
Willis McGahee
9) Brandon Jacobs
10) Cedric Benson
Sproles is a boom or bust #1 RB this week. Foster is a safer choice but he struggled for only 41 yards against the Bengals earlier in the year. Surprising Bradshaw is so high considering the Falcons run defense was top 10 this season. Redman’s a bit of a wild card but if Pittsburgh’s protecting a lead I can see it.
Wide Receivers
1) Marques Colston
2) Roddy White
3) Julio Jones
4) Calvin Johnson
5) Victor Cruz
6) Robert Meachem
7) Hakeem Nicks
Antonio Brown
9) Andre Johnson
10) Mike Wallace
Both Falcons WR’s making it in the top 3 isn’t surprising considering how poorly the Giants secondary has played and how hot both guys have been recently. Meachem at 6th is a boom or bust type of pick, but it helps him that Lance Moore isn’t expected to play. A little surprised A.J. Green didn’t crack the top 10 but his production since his shoulder injury has been down, Dalton’s play has cooled off, and the Texans are a top 5 pass defense.
Tight Ends
1) Jimmy Graham
2) Brandon Pettigrew
3) Tony Gonzalez
4) Jermaine Gresham
5) Jake Ballard
6) Joel Dreessen
7) Tony Scheffler
Owen Daniels
9) Travis Beckum
10) Heath Miller
No argument from me here at any spot. Dreessen over Daniels makes sense as Dreessen has been the preferred goal line target. No surprise at all no Denver TE’s are listed. Will Tebow complete more than 8 passes this week?
Kickers
1) Mike Nugent
2) John Kasay
3) Neil Rackers
4) Matt Bryant
5) Jason Hanson
6) Shaun Suisham
7) Lawrence Tynes
Matt Prater
Nugent as the top kicker but Cincinnati to lose the game? Guess the software program sees FG’s instead of TD’s in the Bengals immediate future.
Defenses/Special Teams
1) Cincinnati Bengals
2) Pittsburgh Steelers
3) Atlanta Falcons
4) New Orleans Saints
5) Houston Texans
6) Denver Broncos
7) Detroit Lions
New York Giants
Very surprised to see a team that gets sacks like the Giants do ranked 8th. Also surprised the Bengals place 1st overall despite not being predicted to win the game. To be fair, the Texans did have 4 fumbles in their regular season meeting so that accounts for something.
