Fantasy Football Player Rankings & Projections
2008 Top Twenty Preseason Preview
Running Backs Still Rule
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2007 was the year of the quarterback
with Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning and others having
big seasons, but running backs still rule the top rankings.
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1. LaDainian Tomlinson - Chargers - 2008 Preview:
After years of been the hands down number one running back and the
number one overall player in fantasy football LaDainian Tomlinson
finally has competition with Minnesota Viking stud Adrian Peterson.
but his past record will still get him the nod as number one, though
Peterson is tied with him. LT still lead the league with 1,474 yards
but his TD's went down dramatically from the unheard of 28 in 2006
to a still excellent 15 in 2007. The Chargers have an improving
offense and this should give LT a little bump back up in 2008.
2007 Statistics:
1,474 Yds - 15 TD's - 60 Rec - 475 Yds - 3 TD's
2008 Projection:
1,560 Yds - 17 TD's - 57 Rec - 528 Yds - 3 TD's
2. Adrian Peterson - Vikings - 2008 Preview:
Peterson may have finished number one in 2007 if not for an injury
that cost him 2 1/2 games and only gaining 63 yards in his last
two games. Other than that, Peterson looked like Superman in 2007.
The Vikings have a big strong offensive line and the team will be
built around Peterson thus giving him every opportunity to dethrone
Tomlinson as the number player in fantasy football. The big question
for Peterson will be his potential for touchdowns. The Viking passing
game was weak in 2007 and Tarvaris Jackson is not a #1 quarterback
yet. The Vikings do have a talented Sidney Rice at receiver and
they signed Bernard Berrian from the Bears so there is some hope
for improved TD totals in '07.
2007 Statistics:
1,341 Yds - 12 TD's - 19 Rec - 268 Yds - 1 TD's.
2008 Projection:
1,585 Yds - 15 TD's - 36 Rec - 388 Yds - 2 TD's.
3. Brian Westbrook - Eagles - 2008 Preview:
Westbrook's downfall has always been the injury bug and doubt a
few scares over the last two seasons, he has remained basically
injury free. With the confidence that he will play a full season
he must be considered one of the best players in fantasy football.
His receptions and rushing yardage have both increased in each the
previous three seasons culminating in a career highs of 90 receptions
and 1,331 rushing yards in 2007. The other downfall of Westbrook
is his lack of goal line touches. This hasn't changed, but he managed
12 touchdowns by ground and air in 2007. It would be hard to imagine
Westbrook taking another step up in his statistics, but only a small
drop off is expected.
2007 Statistics:
1,333 Yds - 7 TD's - 90 Rec - 771 Yds - 5 TD's.
2008 Projection:
1,235 Yds - 7 TD's - 80 Rec - 698 Yds - 4 TD's.
4. Steven Jackson - Rams - 2008 Preview:
2007 was a disaster for the entire St. Louis Rams offense including
Steven Jackson. The injury to tackle Orlando Pace took its toll
on the entire offense. Jackson himself missed 4 games due to injury.
In 2006 Jackson broke out as a Fantasy Stud with over 1,500 yards
rushing and 90 receptions giving him better than Westbrook-like
numbers plus Jackson gets goal line touches. There is no reason
that Jackson shouldn't return closer to his 2006 form and challenge
Westbrook for the #3 overall player in fantasy football.
2007 Statistics:
1.002 Yds - 5 TD's - 38 Rec - 271 Yds - 1 TD.
2008 Projection:
1,408 Yds - 11 TD's - 61 Rec - 550 Yds - 2 TD's.
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5. Joseph Addai - Colts - 2008 Preview:
Addai was one of the top players in fantasy football until late
in the season when minor injuries and the Colts resting players
ate away at his stats. He only had 38 carries in the last 4 games.
Addai has everything you want in a fantasy back; big-play ability,
goal line touches, good hands and plays on a big-time offense. Expect
a tick up in his overall stats at minimum and at maximum Addai has
the ability to surpass both Westbrook and Jackson and finish as
the #3 overall player in fantasy football.
2007 Statistics:
1,072 Yds - 12 TD's - 41 Rec - 364 Yds - 3 TD's.
2008 Projection:
1,248 Yds - 12 TD's - 44 Rec - 384 Yds - 2 TD's.
6. Frank Gore - 49ers - 2008 Preview:
Gore was expected to have a huge fantasy season in 2007 with the
upstart San Francisco 49ers, but the 49ers never "uped"
for the start, in fact, they regressed. Going into 2008 the only
real question about Gore's fantasy value is how the 49ers offense
will play. A lot of how you feel about Gore's draft position will
depend on how you feel about Alex Smith because if he can't come
through the defenses will key on Gore and he will have a 2007 repeat.
San Francisco did get some help by signing veteran receivers Isaac
Bruce and Bryant Johnson as well as running back DeShaun Foster
to go along with tight end Vernon Davis. A healthy Alex Smith should
improve with these weapons and thus Gore should retain much of his
2006 fantasy value. Even though Gore is at #7, there is very little
drop off, if any, from Gore to #8 Manning, #9 Moss, #10 Grant, #11
Barber, #12 Romo, #13 Portis, and #14 Johnson. If you have anyway
of moving up a spot or moving down 5 or 6 spots it should be done.
2007 Statistics:
1,102 Yds - 5 TD's - 53 Rec - 436 Yds - 1 TD.
2008 Projection:
1,348 Yds - 8 TD's - 58 Rec - 469 Yds - 2 TD's.
7. Tom Brady - Patriots - 2008 Preview:
Brady has always been the best quarterback in the NFL for awhile
now, but at the same time he has been considered an underrated fantasy
quarterback. Well no longer will he be called underrated in fantasy
land. He and the rest of the Patriots exploded in 2007 setting many
new offensive records. Brady threw for 4,806 yards and an amazing
50 touchdowns. His stats did take a bit of a hit toward the end
of the season, but that happens with many quarterbacks on winning
teams, though in this case it was more of teams playing their guts
out to beat the undefeated Patriots. Whether that was do conservative
second half play calling or teams catching on to the Patriot system.
Either way, don't expect another 50 touchdowns in 2008, but the
Patriot offense will remain the same dangerous group they were last
year so Brady should be in line for another big season.
2007 Statistics:
4,806 Yards - 50 TD's - 8 INT's - 69.9%.
2008 Projection: 4,350
Yards - 41 TD's - 10 INT's - 67.1%.
Rankings & Projections by Position
