NFL Playoff Rankings

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer

The regular season just ended, and I’m already suffering from withdrawals. That’s why I suggest you get six people together and extend fantasy football into the NFL’s postseason. 1 QB, 2 RB, 2WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF is the easy, simplest format, but 2 QB, 2 RB, 4 WR, 2 TE, 2 K, 2 DEF is really the best, especially in a 6-team league. The following rankings assume a one-time draft before the playoffs start, where you keep your players for as long as they last in the playoffs, i.e., it’s slanted toward players likely to play the most games.

That said, I can’t think of a postseason that has ever looked so wide open. I am not confident in one single team playing more than two games. Obviously, finding a team that plays in the Wild Card round that goes far is the biggest coup, and since Indy and New England are the two teams with the highest percentage to play two games, I ranked them accordingly. Remember, those teams that play this weekend can lose in the Championship round and still equal the number of games (3) played by the bye week teams that make the Super Bowl.

While Chicago only has to win two home games, I see New Orleans has the slight favorites to come out of the NFC, with the Eagles as a sleeper to go deep as well. I already mentioned Indy and NE as virtual locks to win Round 1, but I still probably would pick both to lose Round 2, and therefore favor either San Diego or Baltimore to represent the AFC. Be careful not to overrate projected games played, however, as it’s sometimes best to look at pure fantasy ability at face value, which makes Larry Johnson so difficult to rank. Good luck.

Quarterback

1. Peyton Manning
2. Drew Brees
3. Tom Brady
4. Jeff Garcia
5. Philip Rivers
6. Matt Hasselbeck
7. Tony Romo
8. Steve McNair
9. Rex Grossman
10. Eli Manning
11. Chad Pennington
12. Trent Green

Comments: Judging by the draft I was in and other sites’ rankings, it appears I’m higher on Garcia than most. Not only do I like his potential matchups (the Giants are pretty bad, and then a possible shootout in N.O.), but he got 7.0 YPA and had a 10/2 TD/INT ratio since taking over QB duties. Andy Reid’s system is a goldmine for quarterbacks…The Seattle/Dallas game could also easily turn into a shootout, with both teams’ secondaries in complete shambles. If you feel strongly about the winner in this game, go ahead and reach for that team’s signal caller.

Running Back

1. LaDainian Tomlinson
2. Brian Westbrook
3. Shaun Alexander
4. Tiki Barber
5. Larry Johnson
6. Joseph Addai
7. Deuce McAllister
8. Reggie Bush
9. Jamal Lewis
10. Corey Dillon
11. Thomas Jones
12. Laurence Maroney
13. Marion Barber
14. Julius Jones
15. Cedric Benson
16. Leon Washington
17. Cedric Houston
18. Dominic Rhodes
19. Brandon Jacobs
20. Correll Buckhalter – Check Status
21. Michael Turner
22. Kevin Faulk
23. Maurice Morris
24. Mike Anderson
25. Adrian Peterson

Comments: Alexander, Barber, Johnson and Addai are all relatively close in value in my eyes and many will rank those in a different order. Larry Johnson could be huge, but he also plays for the most likely one and done team in the tournament, despite what the point spreads say. The same could be said for Tiki Barber, as Philadelphia’s run defense is vulnerable, but Eli Manning’s play makes them unlikely to win this week. Joe Addai quietly started getting all of the carries toward the end of the season and could be a difference maker in the postseason.

Wide Receiver

1. Marvin Harrison
2. Reggie Wayne
3. Terrell Owens
4. Marques Colston
5. Reggie Brown
6. Reche Caldwell
7. Plaxico Burress
8. Donte Stallworth
9. Terry Glenn
10. Deion Branch
11. Joe Horn
12. Mark Clayton
13. Bernard Berrian
14. Vincent Jackson
15. Muhsin Muhammad
16. Laveranues Coles
17. D.J. Hackett – Check Status
18. Derrick Mason
19. Jerricho Cotchery
20. Eddie Kennison
21. Devery Henderson
22. Eric Parker
23. Darrell Jackson – Check Status (unlikely to play this week)
24. Bobby Engram
25. Mark Bradley
26. Keenan McCardell
27. Nate Burleson
28. Patrick Crayton
29. Troy Brown
30. Tim Carter

Comments: Receiver options are really thin this year and pretty much fall off a cliff after the Indy duo. Don’t forget about Marques Colston, who should finally be 100 percent healthy, and New Orleans could make a run. My advice is to stay away from the Seattle receivers as of now, although it stands to reason that Deion Branch gets plenty of looks with all of those injuries. Vincent Jackson is THE sleeper of the draft, as he started coming on toward the end of the year and looks like the clear-cut No. 1 WR in San Diego.

Tight End

1. Antonio Gates
2. Todd Heap
3. Ben Watson – Check Status
4. L.J. Smith
5. Dallas Clark
6. Tony Gonzalez
7. Jerramy Stevens
8. Jason Witten
9. Jeremy Shockey – Check Status
10. Desmond Clark
11. Matt Schobel
12. David Thomas
13. Chris Baker
14. Daniel Graham
15. Mark Campbell

Kicker

1. Adam Vinatieri
2. Nate Kaeding
3. Robbie Gould
4. John Carney
5. Stephen Gostkowski
6. Matt Stover
7. David Akers
8. Josh Brown
9. Martin Gramatica
10. Jay Feely
11. Mike Nugent
12. Lawrence Tynes

Defense

1. Baltimore
2. Chicago
3. New England
4. San Diego
5. Philadelphia
6. New Orleans
7. Indianapolis
8. Seattle
9. Dallas
10. New York Giants
11. New York Jets
12. Kansas City

Comments: The Ravens enter with the best defense in the league but are likely to face Indy right away, dulling their value somewhat. New England and San Diego are good defenses to target later on.