Player Rankings

By Arlo Vander

Why settle for one cheat sheet when you can have eight? We asked eight knowledgeable fantasy veterans to rank the top players at each offensive position as well as team defenses, and then to the average of their results to create a composite cheat sheet. This way, a far more objective ranking can be compiled then by simply using one person’s preferences, yet individual quirks and sleepers can still be seen. Please note that this is a tool for draft preparation; it will not be updated throughout the season.

Average rank indicates the average of the scores assigned to a player by each person; individual preferences can be seen in the eight columns at the right (with a score of 1 indicating the highest ranking).

QB RB WR TE K D

QUARTERBACKS	Avg Rank	V i p e r	S l o w	H o m e y	T e r p	D a n	D a z e y	K a s h	T L Y
Donovan McNabb – Phi	1.13	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1
Peyton Manning – Ind	2.63	3	3	2	4	1	3	2	3
Daunte Culpepper – Min	3.25	2	2	5	3	4	5	3	2
Rich Gannon – Oak	5.00	5	5	3	5	6	7	5	4
Jeff Garcia – SF	5.25	7	6	6	6	3	2	6	6
Kurt Warner – StL	7.25	4	8	11	7	7	10	4	7
Brett Favre – GB	7.63	9	7	9	9	5	4	8	10
Aaron Brooks – NO	7.75	8	9	7	8	9	6	7	8
Drew Bledsoe – Buf	10.38	10	10	10	10	12	12	10	9
Steve McNair – Ten	13.63	14	13	16	13	14	9	19	11
Tom Brady – NE	13.63	11	12	15	12	18	11	18	12
Tommy Maddox – Pit	14.38	16	19	8	15	10	14	13	20
Trent Green – KC	14.88	12	18	14	18	11	17	16	13
Kerry Collins – NYG	14.88	13	11	18	16	19	15	12	15
Matt Hasselbeck – Sea	15.13	15	17	12	14	15	16	11	21
Michael Vick – Atl	(5.75)*	6	4	4	2	8	8	9	5
*Broken leg; out 6 weeks
Brad Johnson – TB	19.13	19	21	17	17	24	23	14	18
Drew Brees – SD	19.88	22	22	23	23	16	19	15	19
Jake Plummer – Den	21.25	18	20	19	19		20	21	22
Jay Fiedler – Mia	21.63	26	16	26	27	17	18	26	17
Patrick Ramsey – Was	22.88	20	26	25	21	20	25	22	24
Jon Kitna – Cin	23.50	21	15	21	22				16
Mark Brunell – Jax	23.88	24	24	29	26	21	24	20	23
Joey Harrington – Det	24.25	23	23	27	20	29	21	25	26
Kordell Stewart – Chi	25.50	25	27	24	24	22	27	24
David Carr – Hou	26.50	27	25			26	22	23	27
Vinny Testaverde – NYJ	( – )*
*Testaverde will start at QB for New York while Chad Pennington is out
Kelly Holcomb – Cle	(28.13)*			20	25				25
*Holcomb has replaced Tim Couch as Cleveland’s starter; the situation remains volatile, however
Jeff Blake – Ari	29.13	29	28	28		28	30	29	30
Chad Hutchinson – Dal	29.38		30	30		30	28	27	29
Tim Couch – Cle	(27.75)*	28		22	30	23	29	28
*Couch has lost his starting job to Kelly Holcomb; the situation remains volatile, however
Jake Delhomme – Car	29.88	30	29		28				28
Brian Griese – Mia	30.50					27
Marc Bulger – StL	30.75				29
Chris Redman – Bal	(29.50)*					25	26	30
*Kyle Boller has replaced Redman as Baltimore’s starting QB
Chad Pennington – NYJ	(14.00)*	17	14	13	11	13	13	17	14
*Broken wrist; out 12 weeks

RUNNING BACKS	Avg Rank	Viper	Slow	Homey	Terp	Dan	Dazey	Kash	TLY
LaDainian Tomlinson – SD	1.50	1	1	2	1	3	1	2	1
Ricky Williams – Mia	2.13	2	2	1	3	4	2	1	2
Marshall Faulk – StL	3.63	3	5	4	5	2	3	3	4
Clinton Portis – Den	3.88	4	3	3	2	6	6	4	3
Priest Holmes – KC	6.00	7	8	8	7	1	4	5	8
Deuce McAllister – NO	6.13	6	4	6	4	13	5	6	5
Shaun Alexander – Sea	6.88	5	7	5	6	9	8	8	7
Travis Henry – Buf	7.75	9	9	7	8	7	9	7	6
Edgerrin James – Ind	8.38	8	6	9	10	8	7	10	9
Ahman Green – GB	9.75	10	11	11	9	5	10	9	13
Tiki Barber – NYG	13.00	11	10	10	11	21	18	11	12
Jamal Lewis – Bal	13.25	12	12	16	13	16	15	12	10
Corey Dillon – Cin	13.75	15	14	15	14	11	14	13	14
Fred Taylor – Jax	14.00	13	13	12	12	15	11	17	19
Curtis Martin – NYJ	15.63	17	18	17	18	10	12	16	17
Charlie Garner – Oak	16.88	16	17	18	17	22	19	15	11
Stephen Davis – Car	17.00	14	15	19	15	20	23	14	16
Eddie George – Ten	17.13	19	20	13	19	14	13	21	18
William Green – Cle	17.63	20	16	14	16	17	17	19	22
Kevan Barlow – SF	21.25	23	21	20	20	18	25	18	25
Warrick Dunn – Atl	22.50	24	25	22	21	23	30	20	15
Trung Canidate – Was	23.13	26	24	26	24	12	27	23	23
Michael Bennett – Min	23.88	18			34	26	16
Anthony Thomas – Chi	25.00	21	29	29	23	19	22	26
Amos Zereoue – Pit	26.13	27	23	25	27		21		24
Stacey Mack – Hou	26.13	28	19	30	25			24	21
Duce Staley – Phi	26.38	22	26	23	26		32	28
Jerome Bettis – Pit	27.75		22	24	33	25	33	27
Antowain Smith – NE	28.25	29	30		28	24	24	29
Garrison Hearst – SF	28.50			21	31		26		29
Troy Hambrick – Dal	29.25				30			22	27
Emmitt Smith – Ari	29.38	30	29	28	32	28	28	30
Moe Williams – Min	(30.88)*					30	35		28
*Williams has been named as Minnesota’s opening day starter
TJ Duckett – Atl	29.75				29		20		30
Olandis Gary – Det	( – )*
*Gary will be Detroit’s primary RB at least until James Stewart returns
Onterrio Smith – Min	30.38						31		26
Marcel Shipp – Ari	30.63				35		35		28
Correll Buckhalter – Phi	30.75					29
James Stewart – Det	(25.25)*	25	27	27	22	27	29	25	20
*Separated shoulder; out indefinitely

WIDE RECEIVERS	Avg Rank	V i p e r	S l o w	H o m e y	T e r p	D a n	D a z e y	K a s h	T L Y
Marvin Harrison – Ind	1.00	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Terrell Owens – SF	2.13	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3
Randy Moss – Min	2.88	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2
Joe Horn – NO	4.50	5	4	4	5	6	4	4	4
Eric Moulds – Buf	5.63	4	5	6	4	8	6	6	6
Plaxico Burress – Pit	7.38	7	6	7	6	10	8	10	5
Torry Holt – Stl	7.38	8	10	8	9	4	7	5	8
David Boston – SD	9.38	10	9	15	7	5	11	9	9
Amani Toomer – NYG	9.63	6	8	10	8	18	9	8	10
Hines Ward – Pit	10.50	9	7	5	10	26	5	7	15
Koren Robinson – Sea	13.13	12	14	11	12	20	16	13	7
Donald Driver – GB	13.38	11	11	12	13	23	12	14	11
Peerless Price – Atl	13.88	16	12	9	11	9	23	12	19
Laveranues Coles – Was	14.75	20	21	13	14	13	13	11	13
Marty Booker – Chi	15.38	13	16	14	16	17	15	15	17
Chad Johnson – Cin	16.63	14	15	19	15	22	18	18	12
Jerry Rice – Oak	16.63	19	18	18	17	21	10	16	14
Isaac Bruce – StL	20.25	21	22	16	22	12	25	26	18
Rod Smith – Den	21.38	17	17	22	18	11	24	20	42
Derrick Mason – Ten	21.63	15	13	17	20	19	17		22
Keyshawn Johnson – TB	22.75	22	28	31	27	7	26	17	24
Donte’ Stallworth – NO	24.00	23	23	20	21	37	29	23	16
Jimmy Smith – Jax	(20.38)*	18	19	21	19	15	27	19	25
*Suspended for 4 games for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy
Curtis Conway – NYJ	24.38	29	20	26	25	16	22	21	36
Troy Brown – NE	24.75	25	24	28	32	25	21	22	21
Chris Chambers – Mia	25.13	24	29	27	26	14	30	25	26
Jerry Porter – Oak	27.13	28	32	23	23	39	20	24	28
Rod Gardner – Was	27.88	26	30	30	24	31	14	27	41
Darrell Jackson – Sea	29.13	27	31	24	31	38	19	30	33
Quincy Morgan – Cle	30.13	30	25	25	28	33	43	37	20
Travis Taylor – Bal	32.50	31	34	35	33	29	31	28	39
Todd Pinkston – Phi	32.63	39	36	34	36	36	28	29	23
Charles Rogers – Det	35.75	46	44	29	30	43	34	31	29
Muhsin Muhammad – Car	36.25	35	26	38	37	35	41	33	45
James Thrash – Phi	37.13	34	39	37	42	27	33	39
Ashley Lelie – Den	37.38	43	42	43	43	28	35	35	30
Joey Galloway – Dal	38.38	33	33	40	45		32		32
Josh Reed – Buf	38.75	32	35	36	35				34
Tim Brown – Oak	39.00	36	40	44	40	24	42	40
Tai Streets – SF	39.38	38	38	39	34	40	39	41
Antonio Bryant – Dal	40.00	42	41	42	38	34	45	32
Corey Bradford – Hou	41.25	44	43			44	38	42	27
Reggie Wayne – Ind	41.38	37	37			45	37	43	40
Ike Hilliard – NYG	41.50	41	45	45		42	40	38	35
Brian Finneran – Atl	41.50	47	27	33	41
Santana Moss – NYJ	43.00	49	47		29				31
Robert Ferguson – GB	(46.88)*								43
*Officially named as GB’s #2 WR
Eddie Kennison – KC	44.50	48	50			30		44
Deion Branch – NE	44.88						36		37
Andre Johnson – Hou	45.13				39		44		38
Javon Walker – GB	45.25	40	46
David Patten – NE	45.38					32		45
Wayne Cherbet – NYJ	45.50			32
Johnnie Morton – KC	45.75							34
Kevin Johnson – Cle	45.88	45	48		44
Bryant Johnson – Ari	46.00							36
D’Wayne Bates – Min	46.63			41
Jason McAddley – Ari	46.63					41
Keenan McCardell – TB	46.63	50	49						44

TIGHT ENDS	Avg Rank	V i p e r	S l o w	H o m e y	T e r p	D a n	D a z e y	K a s h	T L Y
Jeremy Shockey – NYG	1.38	1	1	3	1	1	2	1	1
Tony Gonzalez – KC	2.13	2	3	1	2	2	1	3	3
Todd Heap – Bal	2.50	3	2	2	3	3	3	2	2
Bubba Franks – GB	4.38	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	4
Marcus Pollard – Ind	5.25	5	5	5	6	7	4	4	6
Shannon Sharpe – Den	6.63	6	6	9	5	4	6	6
Randy McMichael – Mia	8.13	7	9	7	9	9	10	9	5
Billy Miller – Hou	8.13	10	7	8	8	8	7	8	9
Alge Crumpler – Atl	9.25	8	10	6	7	17	12	7	7
Doug Jolley – Oak	10.00	9	8	10	11	15	9	10	8
Frank Wycheck – Ten	12.13				14	14	11	12
Stephen Alexander – SD	12.38		15		10	10	15	14
Jerramy Stevens – Sea	12.75		16		12	12
Mikhael Ricks – Det	13.25	12	12		15	21	8
Chad Lewis – Phi	13.63		13		17	13		11	10
Eric Johnson – SF	13.75		14		16	16	14	15
Freddie Jones – Ari	13.88				13	6	20
Anthony Becht – NYJ	14.25	11	11		18	20	16
Kyle Brady – Jax	14.63		18		19	11		13
Byron Chamberlain – Min	15.13		17			19	13
Ken Dilger – TB	16.13		20			18	19
Itula Mili – Sea	16.63						17
Ernie Conwell – StL	16.63		19		20	22
Christian Fauria – NE	16.75						18

KICKERS	Avg Rank	V i p e r	S l o w	H o m e y	T e r p	D a n	D a z e y	K a s h	T L Y
David Akers – Phi	1.25	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	2
Martin Grammatica – TB	2.75	3	2	1	3	3	2	4	4
Jay Feely – Atl	3.75	5	3	7	2	4	6	2	1
John Carney – NO	4.63	2	4	5	4	2	5	10	5
Sebastian Janikowsi – Oak	5.50	7	6	4	5	6	8	5	3
Jason Elam – Den	6.25	9	8	6	7	5	3	6	6
Ryan Longwell – GB	6.50	4	7	3	6	8	9	7	8
Mike Vanderjagt – Ind	6.50	6	5	9	8	7	7	3	7
Adam Vinatieri – NE	9.00	8	10	8	9	10	10	8	9
Olindo Mare – Mia	9.25	11	9	10	10	9	4		10
Jeff Wilkins – StL	11.75	12	12	11	11	11	16	9	12
Mike Hollis – NYG	11.88	10	11	15	12	14	11		11
Jeff Reed – Pit	14.75	13	13	12	15		19		14
Morten Andersen – KC	14.75	14	14	14	16	12	20		17
Ryan Lindell – Sea	15.38	20	16	18	17	13	13		15
Joe Nedney – Ten	15.88		15	13	14	16			16
John Hall – Was	16.63	16		17		15	12		20
Paul Edinger – Chi	16.88		20	16	13	19	14
Jeff Chandler – SF	17.38	17	18	20	18				13
Jason Hanson – Det	17.50	19	19	19	19	17	18		18
Phil Dawson – Cle	17.63	15				18	15		19
Matt Stover – Bal	18.13	18	17		20	20	17

TEAM DEFENSE	Avg Rank	V i p e r	S l o w	H o m e y	T e r p	D a n	D a z e y	K a s h	T L Y
Tampa Bay	1.00	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Miami	2.75	2	2	4	2	6	2	2	2
Philadelphia	3.25	3	5	2	3	2	3	3	5
Carolina	4.63	4	3	3	4	8	8	5	3
Baltimore	5.88	6	4	6	5	11	5	6	4
Pittsburgh	6.50	5	7	5	9	9	4	4	9
Atlanta	9.00	7	8	7	7	3	11		8
Green Bay	10.00	14	17	8	8	7	6	7	13
New England	10.13	9	6	16	6	13	10	11	10
Oakland	10.25	12	11	11	11	4	14	8	11
Washington	11.63	8	10	15	14		7	12	6
Dallas	11.75	10	9	13	12	5		9	15
New York Giants	15.13	15	13	14	15	16	17	10
Tennessee	15.25	13	14	9	10	18	16
Chicago	16.25	11	12	12	13			19
St. Louis	17.00	21	20	19	18	12	9	16
San Diego	17.38	22				15	12	13	14
San Francisco	17.63	20		20		10	13	15
New Orleans	17.75	16				14			7
Jacksonville	17.88		16	10	17				12
Denver	18.13	19				17	15	14	17
New York Jets	18.63	17	15	18	19	19	20	20
Indianapolis	19.38	18	19		16			18
Buffalo	19.38	24	18	17	20		19		16
Cleveland	20.50		17					17
Seattle	20.63	23					18		19
Cincinnati	21.13								18
Kansas City	21.38								20
Detroit	21.38					20