You certainly don’t need to read another list of who I think the top 20 guys are going to be because there are already 2000 other sites doing that and usually the difference between the lists are hardly recognizable. So I’m not going to bore you with some crap that looks like:
LT
Westbrook
Jackson
Blah
Blah
Blah
Etc
Etc.
What I am going to do is list a few guys that are going to out perform their current draft positions and guys that just might help you win your fantasy league (think Wes Welker from last year). Everyone will be using some list for the first few rounds and that is fine but the guys below are ready to explode:
10. Amahad Bradshaw RB Giants: This is the dude in the Super Bowl that the Pats just couldn’t tackle. He basically ran up the middle and then drug the pats with him for another 5 yards and pretty much was the difference in that game (no offense Tyre, that was an amazing catch). There is only one problem with Bradshaw, he is #2 on the depth chart behind Brandon Jacobs and they are paying Jacobs a lot of money. However, there are many good things about Bradshaw; he is faster, quicker, runs harder than Jacobs, and Jacobs always always gets hurt. I’m not saying to draft Bradshaw over Jacobs but definitely grab Bradshaw later in the draft and watch him tear it up once Jacobs goes down.
9. Eli QB Giants: Might as well stay with the super bowl champs here. Eli has officially arrived, so much so that he can just go by one name. Word has it that he arrived in camp this year and was just a completely different guy; just oozing with confidence. No Tiki, No Strahan, No shockey = ELI is the MAN on that team. I’m not sure that Eli is going to get you 30 plus TD’s but you will be able to go to war with him week in and week out and he is going way later then guys like Derek Anderson and McNabb and Hasselback and he will probably be better than all those guys.
8. Jerricho Cotchery WR Jets: The guy had 82 grabs last year (think PPR Leagues) and had no one throwing to him, literally no one. He now has one of the all time greats and something tells me this is going to be a huge year for Cotchery. I see something around 100 rec for around 1300 yards and 8 scores. We are talking #1 wideout here at probably half the cost.
7. Maurice Jone-Drew RB Jac: The guy is a human bowling ball. Remember last year when he jacked up Meriman on that block? They guy has #1 talent it’s just that he has to split carries with Fred Taylor. Something tells me that this is the year that Taylor finally gets hurt again and MoJo steps in and just dominates. You probably have to take this guy in rounds 2 or 3 depending on the depth of your league but if Taylor goes down, you will have a bona fide top 5 player on your hands that could win you the playoffs. Remember, having a good fantasy season is nice but it’s all about winning the playoffs and guys like this can do it for you.
6. Calvin Johnson WR Lions: He is huge, super fast, and has ridiculous hands. If he were playing for Saints, Cowboys, Colts, Patriots, he would be a first round pick and he might be next year anyway. He is that good, it’s just a matter of Kitna being able to get him the ball. You can probably get this guy as your number 2 receiver but he will probably outperform your number one guy. In my most recent draft I already had Colston and I was poised to get him in the third round and he went one pick ahead of me and I was devastated but tried not to show in the draft room.
5. Everyone on the Saints, especially Robert Meachem WR NO: The Saints threw the ball more than any other team in the league last year, including the pass happy Patriots. They went to the air over 600 times, so if you are playing in PPR (points per reception) league, you want a lot of Saints on your team, especially Robert Meachem. Sure, Colston will be great, so will Bush (from a catch passing standpoint) and so will Shockey but you will have to take these guys fairly early in your draft. The one guy you can wait on and probably get some good numbers out of will be Meachem. He missed all of last year with some injury that I’m not concerned about at all and now has the inside track as the number 2 receiver on the team. He might have to split time for a while with Devry Henderson and David Patten but these guys have had their chance and have never amounted to much. Colston was often double teamed last year because these guys were so ineffective so something tells me Sean Payton will give this guy a go. So far this preseason, Meachem has been beating everyone down field and catching everything in site.
4. Marvin Harrison WR Colts: I know, I know, I hear you already ripping me for this but just hear me out. Since 1999, not counting last year which was just a throw away with the knee injuries, he has never had fewer than 80 catches or less than 10 TD’s and has had as much as 15 scores and an insane 143 rec. The guy is one of the all time great receivers. He has superior hands, one of the greatest route runners to ever to lace them up, and has a lot to prove this year. This guy was able to wiggle out of the off season shooting incident at his night club and I think is in store for one great last season. Get him as your #2 or #3 and enjoy #1 production.
3. Everyone on the Saints especially Drew Brees QB NO: So his coach basically hates to run the ball, he has weapons all over the field (see above), and a gunslingers mentality. Ya, I like his 08 season already. If your league favors QB scoring, you want this guy. He could approach 5000 yards. Put this one on the board: he will have better numbers than Mr. 50 himself Tom Brady.
2. Chris Johnson RB TEN: For now he is in a time share with Fat LenDale but this guy can flat out fly. Although he might not be good enough to start in shallow leagues because White will be stealing carries from him all year, he can be electric enough from carry to carry that he might just win you a few weeks if you play it right and get a little lucky. Remember, fantasy football is all about getting lucky and I want the guys that have a chance to change a game with one play. This guy certainly can.
1. Darren McFadden RB OAK: I have already heard the criticisms; he fumbles too much, he is just a gapping hole runner, OAK has no QB but I am here to tell you that none of that matters. I am not
sure when it will happen but there will be a week this year when every fantasy owner that passed up on Run DMC sits there on Sunday and watches this guy bust off a couple 50+ yarders straight to the house while they are sitting on Thomas Jones or Michael Turner wondering what they were thinking in round 4 when the next Peterson was staring them in the
face. (how is that for a run on sentence) Don’t let this be you. Reach for him if you have to because this guy is special and he may just win your league for you.
