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I'm working on my rankings for 2011 and while this is extremely preliminary (i.e. pre-draft), I wanted to toss these out and get some feedback. No rookies are ranked and obviously the draft will change things and assuming the lockout ends, free agency and maybe trades will influence the rankings further.

But take a look at what I'm working on at the moment and let me know your feedback.

QUARTERBACKS
1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Drew Brees
3. Tom Brady
4. Michael Vick
5. Peyton Manning
6. Philip Rivers
7. Tony Romo
8. Ben Roethlisberger
9. Matt Schaub
10. Eli Manning
11. Matt Ryan
12. Jay Cutler
13. Josh Freeman
14. Sam Bradford
15. Joe Flacco
16. Matt Cassel
17. Matthew Stafford
18. Mark Sanchez
19. Carson Palmer
20. Donovan McNabb
21. Ryan Fitzpatrick
22. Kyle Orton
23. Chad Henne
24. David Garrard
25. Jason Campbell

RUNNING BACKS
1. Arian Foster
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Chris Johnson
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Jamaal Charles
6. LeSean McCoy
7. Ray Rice
8. Frank Gore
9. Michael Turner
10. Rashard Mendenhall
11. Matt Forte
12. Steven Jackson
13. Jonathan Stewart
14. Darren McFadden
15. Ahmad Bradshaw
16. Cedric Benson
17. Jahvid Best
18. Ryan Mathews
19. DeAngelo Williams
20. Peyton Hillis
21. Bejarvus Green-Ellis
22. James Starks
23. Joseph Addai
24. LeGarrette Blount
25. Shonn Greene
26. Knowshon Moreno
27. Felix Jones
28. Pierre Thomas
29. Mike Tolbert
30. LaDainian Tomlinson
31. Ryan Torain
32. Reggie Bush
33. Fred Jackson
34. Thomas Jones
35. Ryan Grant

WIDE RECEIVERS
1. Andre Johnson
2. Roddy White
3. Calvin Johnson
4. Hakeem Nicks
5. Reggie Wayne
6. Greg Jennings
7. Larry Fitzgerald
8. Dwayne Bowe
9. Marques Colston
10. DeSean Jackson
11. Vincent Jackson
12. Dez Bryant
13. Mike Williams (TB)
14. Wes Welker
15. Mike Wallace
16. Brandon Marshall
17. Miles Austin
18. Mike Williams (Sea)
19. Jeremy Maclin
20. Kenny Britt
21. Brandon Lloyd
22. Anquan Boldin
23. Sidney Rice
24. Johnny Knox
25. Percy Harvin
26. Steve Johnson
27. Steve Smith (NYG)
28. Hines Ward
29. Steve Smith (Car)
30. Pierre Garcon
31. Santonio Holmes
32. Michael Crabtree
33. Terrell Owens
34. Malcolm Floyd
35. Austin Collie
36. Santana Moss
37. Chad Ochocinco
38. Derrick Mason
39. Deion Branch
40. Mike Thomas
41. Donald Driver
42. Lance Moore
43. James Jones
44. Jordy Nelson
45. Nate Washington
46. Lee Evans
47. Laurent Robinson
48. Davone Bess
49. Anthony Armstrong
50. Nate Burleson

TIGHT ENDS
1. Dallas Clark
2. Antonio Gates
3. Jermichael Finley
4. Vernon Davis
5. Jason Witten
6. Owen Daniels
7. Tony Gonzalez
8. Chris Cooley
9. Zach Miller
10. Kellen Winslow
11. Greg Olsen
12. Brandon Pettigrew
13. Marcedes Lewis
14. Dustin Keller
15. Jimmy Graham
16. Rob Gronkowski
17. Brent Celek
18. Visanthe Shiancoe
19. Todd Heap
20. Aaron Hernandez
21. Heath Miller
22. Jermaine Gresham
23. Ben Watson
24. Tony Moeaki
25. Kevin Boss

KICKERS
1. David Akers
2. Garrett Hartley
3. Stephen Gostkowski
4. Matt Bryant
5. Neil Rackers
6. Mason Crosby
7. Josh Brown
8. Sebastian Janikowski
9. Adam Vinatieri
10. Dan Carpenter
11. David Buehler
12. Nate Kaeding
13. Nick Folk
14. Lawrence Tynes
15. Billy Cundiff
16. Robbie Gould
17. Josh Scobee
18. Jason Hanson
19. Jay Feely
20. Rob Bironas
21. Connor Barth
22. Olindo Mare
23. Jeff Reed
24. John Kasay
25. Graham Gano
26. Ryan Succop
27. Phil Dawson
28. Matt Prater
29. Rian Lindell
30. Ryan Longwell
31. Mike Nugent
32. Joe Nedney

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
1. Green Bay
2. Pittsburgh
3. Chicago
4. New England
5. NY Jets
6. San Diego
7. NY Giants
8. Dallas
9. Atlanta
10. Baltimore
11. Philadelphia
12. Oakland
13. Arizona
14. Tampa Bay
15. Minnesota
16. Indianapolis
17. New Orleans
18. St. Louis
19. Detroit
20. Seattle
21. Kansas City
22. San Francisco
23. Tennessee
24. Washington
25. Cleveland
26. Buffalo
27. Miami
28. Cincinnati
29. Jacksonville
30. Carolina
31. Houston
32. Denver

I should say that when I compile my rankings each year what I basically do is a first version where I'm essentially throwing names at the wall and seeing who sticks. It's not all that scientific but this gives me a preliminary foundation for where to start ranking everyone going forward.

I normally wouldn't show these rankings to anyone since they are subject to massive change so consider yourselves lucky to see my first rough draft. Or consider me really stupid for showing everyone this list first.

Either way, that's pretty much how I approach things. The more in-depth analysis will come later after I start tinkering.

As much as I'd like BIG Mike Williams to be ranked there (I have him in my home keeper leauge) I think 18 is way too high. 30 would be more where I'd draft him.

Other personal preferences:

Steve Smith (NY) down to about 36
Steve Johnson up to about 18
Cedric Benson down to about 24
Jamal Charles flip flopped w/ MJD
Stafford up to about 11
Jimmy Graham higher (maybe 8 or so)

Pete, I will say that of all the positions that will change (and all of them will ) wide receiver is likely to undergo the most significant change. There are a number of WRs who I can't get a good handle on right now and Big Mike is definitely one of them. I have been moving him from 20-30 and settled on 18 for now mainly so I could post the list.

Steve Smith of the Giants is definitely someone whose value is on shaky ground right now. Steve Smith of the Panthers too for that matter.

I can't rank Stafford much higher mainly because I do not trust him to stay healthy. Love his talent and the talent around him, do not have any faith whatsoever that he can stay healthy. He is extremely brittle.

I originally had Graham ranked 9th but TEs look insanely deep next season. This may be the deepest I've seen the TE position in years. Tons of options I like. But I do like Graham a lot and he's definitely someone whose value could rise going forward.

[ April 18, 2011, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

Jared Cook

Tom,

I agree with your top 4 receivers. Beyond that, not so much.


Wayne

Originally posted by Coltsfan:
Tom,

I agree with your top 4 receivers. Beyond that, not so much.


Wayne You just don't like where I'm ranking Collie.

Wide receivers are tough for me right now as I said before. I expect massive changes there. I feel good about the first 10-13 or so (order could change for some but I don't know if any other WRs will crack that group) but after that there are a lot of question marks for me.

For instance, Reggie Wayne is way to high at #5. He would need a Collie injury to finish that high. I have Mike Wallace easily in the top 10 WR's this year. I don't have Desean Jackson anywhere near that high. Hines Ward at WR28 doesn't make much sense to me. Hines just went at 11.14 in the trendsetters which put him at WR #55.

Honestly there are a bunch more at WR that just seem completely out of whack here. But obviously I could be wrong here. In regards to Collie, I sincerely hope that everyone out there completely buys into your ranking of him this year! My favorite fantasy football site did have him ranked at WR5 this year and I didn't see that until yesterday so it was nice to get another confirmation.

At TE I would swap Gonzo with Jimmy Graham and that would be much closer to what you will see happening in drafts this year. Like Scott said, Jared Cook isn't even on the list and I think he has top 10 potential this year. Why is Greg Olsen that high?

I was probably too critical before but it seems like a lot of the upside guys are really ranked low.


Wayne

Wayne, you're such a "Colts Fan".

Keep in mind this is a very rough first draft as I said.

To address some of your points:

Wayne caught 111 passes and had five receptions or more in 11 games. He is still the go-to WR in that offense and I don't think Collie (or Garcon or Clark) is a threat to steal that role away from him.

I like Wallace a lot and he's definitely someone who could rise up my rankings.

I'm a huge DeSean Jackson fan. Guy is flat-out a big-time talent. As long as he stays healthy and Vick stays healthy, I could see him catching double-digit touchdowns next season.

Ward is likely to be someone I will drop as time goes on.

Olsen is another who probably will drop although I still think he's very talented and needs to be utilized more by the Bears.

Like I said about WRs, though, once I get past 15 or so I think the next 15-25 could see major fluctuation. Again, please keep in mind this is just a rough draft I'm posting for discussion purposes. My rankings will change and they will change quite a bit. Trust me.

[ April 18, 2011, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]