The offseason is slowly passing us by, with Offseason Training Activities in full force and the NFL Draft well behind us. That means that many websites are starting to post their offseason Fantasy Football Rankings at each position and their top 200 players overall. Rather than just look at one site's set of rankings, I …
Major Sites’ Top 5 Fantasy Football Rankings 2012
The offseason is slowly passing us by, with Offseason Training Activities in full force and the NFL Draft well behind us. That means that many websites are starting to post their offseason Fantasy Football Rankings at each position and their top 200 players overall.
Rather than just look at one site’s set of rankings, I thought comparing them against each other and drawing an average ranking would work even better for everyone. For more than the top five at each position, click on the links at the top of each table to go to the individual site’s rankings.
Both CBSSports.com (May 24) and ESPN.com (May 22) have updated their rankings recently, and while NFL.com doesn’t show a date, theirs look up-to-date as well. I updated my two-round mock draft earlier in May. Also, NFL.com does not have an overall ranking page just yet.
Top Five Fantasy Football Rankings 2012 – Overall
| Player, Pos, Tm | CBSSports | ESPN | NFL.com | |
| 1. | Arian Foster, RB, HOU | Foster | Foster | N/A |
| 2. | Ray Rice, RB, BAL | Rice | Rice | |
| 3. | LeSean McCoy, RB, PHI | McCoy | McCoy | |
| 4. | Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB | Rodgers | Rodgers | |
| 5. | Tie | Jones-Drew | C.Johnson |
Not since 2008, the year after Tom Brady’s record-breaking season, has a quarterback been considered among the first four picks in a draft. Personally, I’m still a fan of Rice over Foster, but with either of those first two picks, you can’t go wrong.
Top Five Fantasy Football Rankings Quarterbacks
| Player, Tm | CBSSports | ESPN | NFL.com | |
| 1. | Aaron Rodgers, GB | Rodgers | Rodgers | Rodgers |
| 2. | Tom Brady, NE | Brees | Brady | Brady |
| 3. | Drew Brees, NO | Brady | Brees | Newton |
| 4. | Matt Stafford, DET | Stafford | Stafford | Stafford |
| 5. | Cam Newton, CAR | Newton | Newton | Brees |
The sophomore QB out of Auburn gets nudged out by Stafford. I’d rather roll the dice on Newton duplicating or bettering his rookie season over Stafford staying healthy for another full season.
Top Five Fantasy Football Rankings Running Backs
| Player, Tm | CBSSports | ESPN | NFL.com | |
| 1. | Arian Foster, HOU | Foster | Foster | Foster |
| 2. | Ray Rice, BAL | Rice | Rice | Rice |
| 3. | LeSean McCoy, PHI | McCoy | McCoy | McCoy |
| 4. | M. Jones-Drew, JAC | Jones-Drew | Jones-Drew | Jones-Drew |
| 5. | Chris Johnson, TEN | Mathews | Johnson | Johnson |
It seems like MJD has been the “fourth” running back every preseason for the past four years … Owners will have to gamble that last year was an anomaly for Chris Johnson.
Top Five Fantasy Football Rankings Wide Receivers
| Player, Tm | CBSSports | ESPN | NFL.com | |
| 1. | Calvin Johnson, DET | C.Johnson | C.Johnson | C.Johnson |
| 2. | Larry Fitzgerald, ARI | Fitzgerald | Fitzgerald | Welker |
| 3. | Roddy White, ATL | White | A.Johnson | A.Johnson |
| 4. | Wes Welker, NE | Welker | Jennings | Fitzgerald |
| 5. | Andre Johnson | Jennings | Wallace | White |
After Megatron, it’s a crapshoot. Including several other sites, there really is no consensus No. 2 wide receiver out there. CBSSports.com’s Dave Richard has Andre Johnson ranked 13th overall, making him a No. 2 WR in many leagues.
Top Five Fantasy Football Rankings Tight Ends
| Player, Tm | CBSSports | ESPN | NFL.com | |
| 1. | Rob Gronkowski, NE | Gronkowski | Gronkowski | Gronkowski |
| 2. | Jimmy Graham, NO | Graham | Graham | Graham |
| 3. | Aaron Hernandez, NE | Hernandez | Gates | Hernandez |
| 4. | Antonio Gates, SD | Gates | Davis | Gates |
| 5. | Jason Witten, DAL | Witten | Finley | Witten |
Gronk is getting pub as a second-round draft pick, as is Graham in many cases. ESPN’s Chris Harris is not quite on board with the other Patriots tight end, ranking Hernandez seventh at the position.
Top Five Fantasy Football Rankings Kickers
| Player, Tm | CBSSports | ESPN | NFL.com | |
| 1. | David Akers, SF | Akers | Gostkowski | Akers |
| 2. | S. Janikowski, OAK | Gostkowski | Crosby | Janikowski |
| 3. | Mason Crosby, GB | Janikowski | Akers | Kasay |
| 4. | Stephen Gostkowski, NE | Crosby | Janikowski | Crosby |
| 5. | Garrett Hartley, NO | Hartley | Hartley | Bailey |
NFL.com’s writers are split on Saints kickers — of the five NFL.com Fantasy guys, three voted for John Kasay and two voted for Garrett Hartley. The Saints recently re-signed Kasay, despite Hartley’s hip apparently in good condition for the preseason.
Top Five Fantasy Football Rankings Defense/Special Teams
| Player, Tm | CBSSports | ESPN | NFL.com | |
| 1. | San Francisco 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
| 2. | Baltimore Ravens | Steelers | Texans | Bears |
| 3. | Chicago Bears | Ravens | Bears | Lions |
| 4. | Houston Texans | Giants | Ravens | Ravens |
| 5. | Philadelphia Eagles | Packers | Eagles | Texans |
The only thing they all agree on is that the Niners should be the first DST off the board. But think back, when was the last time a preseason top DST ended up as the best DST at the end of the season. It’s always wise to wait after a few DSTs are drafted before you take one.
What are the top fives in your Fantasy Football Rankings 2012?
Related articles:
- Fantasy Football Rankings Redraft
- Top Fantasy Football Climbers and Fallers
- Top 12 Fantasy Football Rookies For 2012
David Gonos
David Gonos spent 5 years as a CBSSports.com Senior Fantasy Writer and three more years writing with SI.com. Over the past 17 years, his work has been published on NFL.com, MLB.com, FanDuel, FoxSports.com and USA Today. Since 2001, he has been tracking down the Top 50-plus Free Fantasy Football Draft Tools online. You can contact David Gonos here.
