The off season is often a slow period as fantasy owners await the start of the combines and NFL Draft before preparing for the upcoming season. It’s also a time we see fantasy outlets prep for mock drafts. While a bit premature, is it really ever too early?
While I have yet to participate in any mock drafts for the 2011 season, I have followed this off season more than I have any previous year (Thanks FFS!). That is partially due to the CBA, which has become a bit more messy in recent weeks.
I took some time reviewing a few online mock drafts and have put together my own top 10 list at each offensive position. My lists are created based off the league scoring from 2010, which you can read here as well as some prognostication (okay, guess) for the 2011 season. Considering we are still some 6 months away from the start of the first pre-season NFL games these lists are bound to change as we get closer to August.
As for my top ten players, I looked at their 2010 statistics, ranking them based on total fantasy points, yards, TDs, rating and their strength of schedule in 2011 based off 2010 records (courtesy of ESPN). As with most of my analysis, nothing is scientific! Sometimes it’s just a wild ass guess.
We will start with the QBs and move through the other offensive positions. Thankfully Russ Bliss has already provided his wisdom and insight with his Fantasy Football Rankings: Early Top 10 QB’s.
QB
Rodgers, Aaron: comes off a big Super Bowl performance, has some strong WRs, a good running game and solid defense.
Brady, Tom: even without a top WR, Brady continues to work wonders with the Pats offense, should be business as usual in 2011.
Brees, Drew: with a healthy running game and emergence of Jimmy Graham, Brees could see another big fantasy year.
Manning, Peyton: injuries decimated the offense in 2010, but Manning worked magic for Indy, healthy WRs he throws for 5000 yards.
Rivers, Philip: needs a healthy running game to supplement the pass attack, which was very good even lacking a #1 WR last season.
Vick, Mike: was Mr Do-It-All last year at QB, running and passing, but can he hold up for a full 16 game season?
Roethlisberger, Ben: missed 4 games in 2010 but had strong numbers the rest of the way.
Flacco, Joe: a year working with Boldin, I think this tandem can flourish in 2011.
Manning, Eli: has a core of good, young WRs with and a solid running game, should only improve.
Schaub, Matt: Foster took away some of the passing game, but a healthy AJ and Daniels could equate to a very good 2011 season.
Other notable QBs not included in the top 10, Matt Ryan (ATL) and Tony Romo (DAL) who was injured much of 2010. Based on his pre-injury performance and how Dallas addresses their running game, Romo could put up top 10 numbers in 2011. Some might question the position of Mike Vick in this list. As was brought up on Fantasy Football Starters, the position of Vick on any list is really dependent on the scoring system. Given the right system, he might slide into the top five.