2008 Fantasy Football Top Draft Picks
Tomlinson, Peterson and Brady Lead List of the Best FF Players
Jul 31, 2008
1. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers. A lot of sites are picking Adrian Peterson for the first overall pick. Those guys are crazy. LT is still the best bet. He had 1,950 total yards and 18 touchdowns last season -- and it was a bad year for him. He's not yet on a decline.
2. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings. Last year was not a fluke, but the risk of injury and the lack of an effective Minnesota passing game keep him out of the top spot.
3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots. A quarterback is probably only worth a top three pick if he is going to throw for at least 4,000 yards and approach 40 touchdowns. Brady will do both in 2008.
4. Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams. Last year was a disappointment after Jackson's monster 2006 season. But the Rams have a new offensive coordinator who is going to make certain that Jackson is the focus of the offense. Look for him to top 1,900 total yards and score 12-15 touchdowns.
5. Randy Moss, New England Patriots. 23 Touchdowns. 1,493 Yards. That was last year. Even if Moss's production drops by a quarter, he's a steal at good pick at the five spot. And there's always the chance that he and Brady do it again. Moss is that good.
6. Marion Barber III, Dallas Cowboys. For everyone who's ever wanted Barber on their fantasy team but skipped over him because he shared carries with Julius Jones, Seattle's signing of the latter must be music to your ears. Barber is a beast, and if he can get 20-25 touches per game, look out.
7. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles. Westbrook continues to improve year after year. This could be an MVP-type year for the multi-purpose back from Philly.
8. Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Colts. Even with a weak finish to the season, Addai topped 1,350 total yards and scored 15 touchdowns.
9. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts. Yes, take him here. The rest of the running backs have too many questions and Manning is going to deliver 4,000 yards and 30 TDs, at least.
10. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins. Portis is multi-dimensional and he came on strong in the second half of 2007 (829 yards rushing; 6 TDs in the last 8 games). He's also only 27 years old, even though it seems like he's been around forever. If Portis stays healthy, he will get the ball, and he will produce. A high quality player who comes with high risk.
11. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers. Gore gets the nod over seemingly more talented backs like Maurice Jones-Drew and Reggie Bush for three reasons. First, he is a true feature back who will get a minimum of 20-25 touches per week. Secondly, he showed in 2006 that if he is healthy and gets a little bit of offensive line help, he can put up huge numbers. Finally, Mike Martz is San Fran's new offensive coordinator, and he plans to further develop Gore's receiving skills, which will only increase his fantasy production.
12. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys. Romo's 2007 numbers were staggering (4,211 yards, 36 TDs). Maybe he should be ranked higher. If you think he can repeat what he did last year, take him 8th or 9th. For those who expect a slight dropoff from his breakout season, Romo is a good bet at 12.
13. Braylon Edwards, Cleveland Browns. The sky seems to be the limit for this guy. In his third season, Edwards teamed up with Derek Anderson to form one of the most potent pass-catch combos in the NFL. Edwards had 80 catches for 1,289 and 16 touchdowns. Even more attractive is his consistency; Edwards scored at least one touchdown in 11 of the Browns' sixteen games last year.
14. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts. Marvin Harrison's days of being the number one guy have very likely come to an end, and Reggie Wayne proved last year that he is more than able to take over duties as Peyton Manning's top receiver. Wayne posted a career high in yards with 1,510. He also caught ten touchdowns in 2007. Look for him to grab 12 this year.
15. Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys. His numbers speak for themselves, year in and year out. He's even deadlier now that he's teamed up with Tony Romo. That's his quarterback, man. In 2008, look for T.O. to have at least 1,250 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns.
I recognize that this list is top-heavy on wide receivers and seems to run contrary to the conventional wisdom of taking running backs early and often. But as coaches try to preserve players with fewer carries per game, and now with the advent of so many two-back systems, the running back position (with the exception of a few studs) just ain't that deep this year.
So unless you can get one of the top five backs, think about using a high pick on a QB or a top flight receiver, and then balance out your backs with two guys who rank between 10 and 20 on the Top 20 Running Backs List.
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