By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
Quarterbacks
1. Tom Brady – Because Brady plays in the AFC, risk-adverse fantasy players may want to go with Tony Romo, as Dallas’ path to the Super Bowl is certainly easier than New England’s. Moreover, Brady might get the two best secondaries in the NFL for his first two opponents (Pittsburgh and Indianapolis). Still, he did finish with a passable 50:8 TD:INT ratio this season.
2. Tony Romo – The Cowboys are probably the team most likely to play three games, but Terrell Owens is hurt, and they limped into the postseason. Still, unlike New England, Romo will never have to deal with poor weather.
3. Peyton Manning – It’s not comforting knowing a matchup against a 16-0 team awaits Indy during its second game, but the Colts have more than a fighting chance to win that contest.
4. Brett Favre – If you think a healthy Green Bay team has a good shot at going to Dallas and winning, then move Favre up these rankings. On the flip side, Seattle (Green Bay’s likely first opponent) allowed the fewest TD passes in the league this year and has a puncher’s chance of winning that game in Lambeau.
5. Matt Hasselbeck – The Redskins secondary has been playing very well (6.0 YPA), but Seattle is extremely tough to beat at home, so Hasselbeck owners are likely to get at least two games out of him. The Seahawks’ pass-heavy ways often leads to big stats from the QB, who should finally have a healthy WR corps as well.
6. Jeff Garcia – The Giants secondary is beatable, and Tampa Bay should have to pass heavily to keep up with the high-powered Cowboys offense Round 2. However, the Bucs really only have the upside of playing two games.
7. Ben Roethlisberger – Most people are picking the Jaguars to beat the Steelers Round 1, and while Jacksonville is a very good team, it’s going to be awful tough to win in Pittsburgh for the second time in three weeks.
8. David Garrard – If you feel strongly about the Jags making a deep playoff run, go ahead and bump the impressive Garrard (7.7 YPA) up your list. However, I devalued all Steelers and Jaguars because that’s the toughest first round game to handicap, and the winner will likely be rewarded with a matchup against the 16-0 Patriots during Round 2.
9. Philip Rivers – Rivers is shaky at best, but San Diego is very likely to play two games, with a home matchup against the Titans Round 1.
10. Eli Manning – The Giants have played very well on the road this year, but Tampa Bay is equally as tough to beat while at home. The Bucs’ secondary allowed a miniscule 6.0 YPA this season.
11. Todd Collins – Washington looks like the perennial “just happy to be here” team in this year’s tournament.
12. Vince Young – When playing fantasy football during the NFL playoffs, there’s really no reason to not have your league use the team quarterback format over individual players. There’s usually no transactions allowed after the draft, and why have injuries ruin the fun?
Running Backs
1. Marion Barber
2. Joseph Addai
3. LaDainian Tomlinson
4. Laurence Maroney
5. Ryan Grant
6. Earnest Graham
7. Najeh Davenport
8. Maurice Jones-Drew
9. Fred Taylor
10. Brandon Jacobs
11. Clinton Portis
12. Shaun Alexander
13. Maurice Morris
14. LenDale White
15. Julius Jones
16. Kevin Faulk
17. Kenton Keith
18. Michael Pittman
19. Brandon Jackson
20. Michael Turner
Wide Receivers
1. Randy Moss
2. Reggie Wayne
3. Wes Welker
4. Terrell Owens (only because of his “iffy” health status)
5. Greg Jennings
6. D.J. Hackett
7. Bobby Engram
8. Anthony Gonzalez
9. Patrick Crayton
10. Joey Galloway
11. Donald Driver
12. Santonio Holmes
13. Hines Ward
14. Plaxico Burress
15. Chris Chambers
16. Marvin Harrison
17. Reggie Williams
18. Santana Moss
19. Deion Branch (check status)
20. Jabar Gaffney
21. Donte’ Stallworth
22. Terry Glenn
23. Vincent Jackson
24. Nate Burleson
25. Ike Hilliard
26. James Jones
27. Dennis Northcutt
28. Amani Toomer
29. Antwaan Randle El
30. Roydell Williams
Tight Ends
1. Jason Witten
2. Dallas Clark
3. Antonio Gates
4. Chris Cooley
5. Ben Watson
6. Heath Miller
7. Donald Lee
8. Alex Smith
9. Marcedes Lewis
10. Kevin Boss
11. Marcus Pollard
12. Ben Utecht
Kickers
1. Nick Folk
2. Stephen Gostkowski
3. Adam Vinatieri
4. Mason Crosby
5. Josh Brown
6. Nate Kaeding
7. Matt Bryant
8. Jeff Reed
9. Josh Scobee
10. Lawrence Tynes
11. Shaun Suisham
12. Rob Bironas
Team Defense
1. Dallas
2. New England
3. Indianapolis
4. Green Bay
5. Seattle
6. Chargers
7. Buccaneers
8. Steelers
9. Jaguars
10. Giants
11. Redskins
12. Titans
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