2005 Keeper Rankings

For owners in keeper and dynasty leagues, there’s no such thing as an off-season. The time between the final whistle of the regular season and next year’s opening kickoff is far from dreary, but filled with opportunities to get a jump on the competition by wheeling, dealing and tweaking those keeper lists. To gain a first glimpse at which players look like the most desirable options for 2005 and beyond, we asked six Cafe veterans to list their top 30 keepers as they see them at this early date.

To compile these rankings, each player was assigned a rank by all six rankers; the lower this score compared with other players, the better. By combining these lists, we can see both individual preferences and the overall consensus among the rankers.

Average rank indicates the average of the scores assigned to a player by each person (for this calculation, players not appearing in an individual list were assigned a score of 31). Each ranker’s list can be seen in the six columns at the right.

Enjoy, and good luck fine-tuning those keeper lists!

KEEPERS	Avg Rank	T T T	Z i m m	C C	H a w k	A r l o	C u n a
LaDainian Tomlinson – RB, SD	1.00	1	1	1	1	1	1
Shaun Alexander – RB, Sea	2.17	2	2	3	2	2	2
Edgerrin James – RB, Ind	3.83	4	4	4	5	3	3
Willis McGahee – RB, Buf	3.83	3	3	2	4	7	4
Peyton Manning – QB, Ind	6.67	6	5	5	10	4	10
Ahman Green – RB, GB	7.50	10	11	6	7	5	6
Domanick Davis – RB, Hou	8.33	5	6	13	6	11	9
Randy Moss – WR, Min	8.33	11	7	7	9	9	7
Jamal Lewis – RB, Bal	8.50	7	9	10	11	6	8
Daunte Culpepper – QB, Min	9.67	8	8	9	12	8	13
Clinton Portis – RB, Was	10.00	13	16	11	3	12	5
Deuce McAllister – RB, NO	11.67	12	12	8	16	10	12
Kevin Jones – RB, Det	12.50	9	13	12	8	19	14
Terrell Owens – WR, Phi	13.00	14	10	14	13	16	11
Chris Brown – RB, Ten	15.00	16	14	16	15	14	15
Priest Holmes – RB, KC	15.50	15	15	15	19	13	16
Torry Holt – WR, StL	18.17	17	17	18	20	20	17
Corey Dillon – RB, NE	19.50	20	19	19	26	15	18
Julius Jones – RB, Dal	19.83	18	18	22	21	18	22
Tiki Barber – RB, NYG	21.33	19	21	21	22	17	28
Donovan McNabb – QB, Phi	22.17	27	26	17	17	26	20
Rudi Johnson – RB, Cin	23.50	29	30	20	14	29	19
Chad Johnson – WR, Cin	24.00	31	20	23	18	31	21
Brian Westbrook – RB, Phi	24.33	23	22	26	25	27	23
Antonio Gates – TE, SD	25.00	22	23	25	31	25	24
Marvin Harrison – WR, Ind	25.50	25	24	29	27	22	26
Curtis Martin – RB, NYJ	26.83	26	25	31	31	23	25
Steven Jackson – RB, StL	27.00	30	27	27	23	24	31
Andre Johnson – WR, Hou	27.17	24	31	24	24	31	29
Javon Walker – WR, GB	27.83	21	31	28	28	28	31
Tony Gonzalez – TE, KC	28.33	28	31	30	31	22	27
Fred Taylor – RB, Jax	29.83	31	28	31	29	30	30
Donald Driver – WR, GB	30.67	31	29	31	31	31	31
Michael Clayton – WR, TB	30.83	31	31	31	30	31	31

Legend
TTT = TTTBone
Zimm = M_Zimm
CC = Canadian_Cheesehead
Hawk = VHawk15
Cuna = Canacuna

Assumed League Settings:

Head-to-head scoring with playoffs in weeks 15 and 16, 16-man rosters with the following starters:

1 QB
2 RB
3 WR
1 TE
1 K
1 Team Defense

along with a seven-man bench (any positions).

Scoring assumed is as follows:

Offense:
1 point per 25 passing yards
1 point per 10 rushing or receiving yards
6 points per passing, rushing, receiving or return touchdown
-2 points per interception or fumble

Kicking:
3 points per field goal up to 39 yards
4 points per field goal between 40 and 49 yards
5 points per field goal over 50 yards
1 point per extra point

Defense:
2 point per sack
1 point per blocked kick or punt
4 points per interception or fumble recovery
6 points per defensive touchdown
1 points per safety
1 point per return touchdown
10 points for a shutout
7 points for allowing up to 6 points
4 points for allowing up to 13 points
1 points for allowing up to 20 points
0 points for allowing up to 27 points
-1 points for allowing up to 34 points
-3 points for allowing over 35 points

Thanks to the veteran fantasy owners who, early as it is, already started thinking about the upcoming season!