Which NFL Teams Have the Best Fantasy Rosters?

Fantasy football owners only have the most athletic, most talented, and the best scoring machines in the NFL. It’s the team that you wish you could watch on TV.

NFL teams don’t have the money to ever actually harness these players hence generating the “fantasy” term.

There are teams that do have multiple legit fantasy football players on the roster.  Normally you wouldn’t take two players from the same team, but certain teams have multiple guys who score week in and week out.

What if you are a big fan of a certain team and just want to draft players that are on the team, could it translate in to fantasy wins?

Or say there is a team that you know is going to stack up points week in and week out, and nearly everybody touches the ball throughout the game. Do you just draft players from that team to ensure production?

You probably wouldn’t do any of those things but it does make this writer curious.

Let’s take a look at who the best “reality” teams would be in “fantasy” leagues.

 

1. New Orleans Saints

Well how can you not start with the No. 1 offense last year. They have legit fantasy players in just about every position.

Drew Brees is obvious—the No. 1 scorer in fantasy football last year. 

The No. 1 receiver on the team, Marques Colston, is projected to be off the board by the third round.Also if he can stay healthy Colston can catapult his way back among the elite receivers of the league.   

Jeremy Shockey if healthy could prove to be an elite pass catching tight end again. The preseason and camp will be key points to watch his progress.

Both running backs are legit as well. Bush is wanted for his total yards production and Pierre Thomas for his rushing numbers.

Thomas is projected to be drafted somewhere in between the third and the fourth rounds, and Bush somewhere in the fifth or sixth rounds.

Every position has close if not already elite talent across the board.

What makes this team even more interesting than the others is the fact that drafting all the players from this team is very possible. Each player is spaced out enough in the projections to pull off the board if you went Brees, Colston, Thomas, Bush, and Shockey in that order.

Just a thought, not a suggestion.

 

2. Arizona Cardinals

How can a team that has three receivers go over a 1,000 yards last season not fare well in a fantasy football league?

Kurt Warner still has something left in the tank, especially with the weapons that he has at his disposal surrounding him. For the most part Warner has been ranked as the third or fourth elite QB in fantasy.

Larry Fitzgerald could be argued to be the best receiver in the NFL last year. Over 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns is a great fantasy year for any player. Only expect more of the same as he further develops.

Fitzgerald’s counter parts Boldin and Breaston both were among the top-25 wide receivers in yards production last season. If Boldin really wants to prove he deserves that pay raise then this would be the year to have a breakout season.

The one thing they lacked last season was a running game to reach legit fantasy status. That does have the potential to change this year however with the drafting of Chris Wells.

Many people have Chris Wells as a possible sleeper pick this year as do I. Wells is projected to about round eight according to ESPN.

This team would probably be much harder to actually draft for since there isn’t much spacing in the projection between Arizona’s wide receivers. Even so this team could give any fantasy owner a run for his/her money. 

 

3. Houston Texans

This team is rising as one of the best offenses to the NFL.

Matt Schaub still has not fully proven himself for a full season in the NFL. Having said that, when he plays healthy he can be just as good as anybody in the NFL.

Projected at about the fifth or sixth round he could be a great pick that late.

Andre Johnson a receiver amongst the best in the NFL last season, with the argument that he was the best. 

Lead the league in catches and yards last season (115 receptions and 1,575 yards).  Definitely will be taken in the first two rounds.

Kevin Walter is no scrub on the other side of Johnson either. Walter, last season silently was able to produce nearly 900 yards and eight touchdowns giving him a solid season that is fantasy worthy to be your third receiver on your team.

Steve Slaton is a rising star and may prove to be a two way threat this season. Slaton is a running back that can catch out of the backfield making him a dynamic fantasy option.

Slaton is  projected to be off the board by the second round.

This is another team that would be difficult to draft all the players from there given how close in rank Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton are but never the less this team will score many fantasy points this season.

 

4. Atlanta Falcons

Falcons are  fantasy studs in just about every position. Youthful young stars are going to make this team a very good offense for years to come.

Matt Ryan had a phenomenal rookie season that lead his team to the playoffs. Looking to prove there will be no sophomore slump, he will breakout this season with the surrounding talent and addition of Tony Gonzalez.

Projected at about the fifth round.

Michael Turner has achieved superstar status in the NFL after his first full starting season.  Falcons offensive line is good, and because the Falcons should have more of passing game installed next season it could take the pressure off of Turner’s shoulders a little bit.

Roddy White was in the top five receivers when it came to yards, top 10 for receptions, and top 15 for touchdowns last season.

The touchdowns more than any other category will increase, because I expect the Falcons to throw the ball more in the red zone with Gonzalez and White as options.

Tony Gonzalez will be the best tight end this year, mark my words. He is finally out of his unhappy situation with the Chiefs and into a new revamped offense with the Falcons.

A fantasy team like this could intimidate some owners during the year. This team like the Saints has the possibility of being completely drafted by one owner because of the rankings being spaced just enough apart.

 

5. New England Patriots

Patriots have been a high powered offense over the last few years even before they had Moss and Welker. Now with them there the offense has produced above and beyond the rest breaking records in 2007.

Tom Brady is probably without doubt the best QB of this decade. However there is doubt by some of his return to the game this year after having missed a year.

I don’t doubt at all, Brady will be ready for the season and will have a great fantasy year especially with the numerous amount of receivers at his disposal.

Brady is projected to be the second QB taken in the draft. 

Randy Moss never starts a season without his share of non believers. Nobody believed in him in 2007 and then went on to have a year of a lifetime. Now two years later he has people calling him old and that he has lost step once again.

The scene is set for him to yet again to prove those non believers wrong.

Wes Welker just piles on receptions and yards throughout his career by picking up all the short to intermediate routes. Welker had over 100 catches last season and over a 1,000 yards.

Great as you second receiver scoring around 8-12 points a game.

Patriots lack a fantasy legit running back on their team though. Only way that could change is if Laurence Maroney drastically steps up his game.

Even if the Patriots don’t set records again they will be one of if not the highest scoring units this year.

In order to draft this team you would have to use your first three rounds. If you think you can mix and match running backs this could prove your genius.

Once again just a thought, not a suggestion.

Quarterback First, Running Back Second

Nearly all experts and fantasy football owners have Peterson as the No. 1 pick in this years draft. Projecting a running back to be the No. 1 pick is the common trend. Peterson is the guy this year, before him it was LT.

It makes sense though, more points are granted for rushing touchdowns and yards. Running backs can be a double edge sword as well producing receiving points along with their rushing totals.

Quarterbacks though, especially the elite quarterbacks, produce many more touchdowns and yards than any other position. Still they are considered second in value to the running backs.

Drew Brees as of now is ranked 12th on the top 100 list on ESPN behind nine running backs. Brees though was the leading point scorer in fantasy football last year.

You know who was second last year in fantasy points?  That’s right another quarterback, Aaron Rodgers was second in points last year.

Adrian Peterson was ninth in fantasy football points last season. He wasn’t even the highest scoring running back, DeAngelo Williams and Michael Turner were ahead of him on the list.

In the top ten fantasy football scorers last season seven of them were quarterbacks. In order to win at fantasy you have to score the most points, which in order to do that you have to get the highest scoring players.

Statistics don’t lie more times than not the quarterback is the highest scoring player on your respective teams. These facts bring me to my question.

Why not draft quarterback first?

There is never a debate on who a quarterback will split touches with. Quarterbacks are proved to be much more durable than running backs. All offensive plays start with the quarterback but end with any variety of players. There are more passing attempts on teams than there are rushing attempts.

Quarterbacks are the most valuable fantasy point scorers and should be drafted with the most valued pick in the fantasy draft. 

Fantasy Quarterbacks for 2009

If you are like me you want to get a head start on your draft boards this year. Everyone wants to figure out who should be at the top, finding that later round steal, and which players you should down right avoid taking this year.

I’ll go through who should be at the top, who are this year’s sleepers to watch, and who not to get.

 

Top Five

1. Drew Brees broke the passing yards record last season and only looks to continue this year. Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas in the backfield have teams still having to respect the run even without Deuce McAllister and of course watching wherever Bush goes line up is still a problem for teams.

Add that with a healthy Marquis Colston this year with Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson to stretch the field not to mention Jeremy Shockey underneath, this offense is ready for another huge year in which they ranked first in total points (463) last season.

 

2. Kurt Warner is still the man in Arizona. On top of the fact that Boldin is still on the team. I would put almost any quarterback in this spot when you have Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to throw to all season.

Both Fitzgerald and Boldin went over 1,000 yds last season (Fitzgerald 1,431 and Boldin 1,038). Arizona will be playing this year to show that they are for real and the way they will do that is let Warner lead them.

 

3. Peyton Manning is year in and year out in the top five. Usually I would have him No. 1 or 2 but because Harrison is gone and their running game was in question last year I have him ranked at No. 3 which is still respectable. 

Reggie Wayne will be a very productive number one this year leaving not much to worry about with the absence of Harrison. Warner only gets the edge over Manning because Boldin stayed giving him two of the most explosive wide receivers in the game again this season.

 

4. Tom Brady will probably be the most talked about quarterback this summer for fantasy team owners. Is he healthy? Will be rusty if he is healthy? All of these are legit questions. Then again it’s Tom Brady we are talking about. Patriots went out and made additions this off season to place yet even more pieces for Brady to play with.

Additions like Joey Galloway, Fred Taylor, and drafting Brandon Tate which could turn out huge for them down the road accompanied with of course Moss and Welker. I have Brady ranked fourth only because he did not play last year however taking him as your first quarterback will pay its dividends.

 

5. Philip Rivers, main thing to take from this is that he threw 34 tds last season and showed that he is going to hit his prime as the starting quarterback. I believe we can all face the facts and finally say that Philip Rivers has turned out to be better than Eli Manning. The passing game for the Chargers took off last season with a hurt LT.

LT being healthy this season will help the passing game further as a good running game always does. One thing that you can always count on is that Rivers will be consistent in his production and performance throughout his campaign this year.

 

Top Five Sleepers

1. Carson Palmer will fly under the radar in most drafts this year. He only played four games last year before injury and in those four games he threw 3 TDs with 4 interceptions.

Even with TJ Houshmandzadeh gone, the Bengals’ organization did well in signing Laveranues Coles to replace him. Given Palmer is healthy look for big numbers from him.

 

2. Matt Hasselbeck another quarterback under the radar due to injury last season. He has felt great in mini camps and has a new weapon in TJ Houshmandzadeh to get synced with. Seahawks are coming out the gate with an attitude to win back the NFC West. Hasselbeck will be a big reason for success this year in Seattle.

 

3. Matt Ryan performed extremely well as a rookie and there will be no sophomore slump for this kid. As a rookie during the regular season he went 265-434 giving him a 61.1 completion percentage, 3,440 yds, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Expect even bigger numbers this year with an offense that added a future Hall of Fame tight end in Tony Gonzalez.

 

4. Matt Cassel could put up decent numbers this year. He will be working the same offense he had in New England. Also he has a couple of weapons to work with such as Dwayne Bowe and if L.J. Johnson can get back to form. Cassel also has the benefit of playing in an AFC West division which besides the Chargers don’t have very good defenses.

 

5. Kyle Orton really might have benefited from the trade to Denver. Under McDaniels they will be running that spread New England offense which requires quick strikes, accuracy, and game management.

Orton fits this bill almost perfectly not to mention having guys like Eddie Royal, Brandon Marshall, and Knowshon Moreno to throw to all over the field. 

 

Top Five Not to get

1. Eli Manning does not have Plaxico Burress nor Amani Toomer at the receivers position anymore. There size and experience made Manning look better than what he is. Manning still has bad decisions and mechanics get sloppy at times. The Giants do have Steve Smith who is a solid No. 2 but will have the top receiver position for them this year.

Hakeem Nicks could turn out to be a good receiver down the line but he won’t be there answer to the loss of Burress this year. Most of all Giants will be run first again this year.

 

2. Jay Cutler is a great addition for the Bears who havn’t had a quarterback since the stone age. However don’t expect great things from him this year do to lack of depth in targets this year. Matt Forte will be good and Greg Olsen will benefit from Cutler but the list stops there.

It’s great they have Hester developing as a receiver but a developmental prospect shouldn’t be your top receiver. Cutler will soon find out that the Bears our still a more of a defensive town than an offensive one.

 

3. Neither 49ER QB should be taken, signed, or even thought about. Crabtree is a playmaker, not a miracle worker. My grandmother has a better arm than Shaun Hill, and Alex Smith plays like my cat who is scared of anything that moves. The ‘Niners will run about 80 percent of the time as well.

 

4. Tarvaris Jackson is the projected starter for the Vikings. Vikings have weapons around him like Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, and Adrian Peterson behind a really good offensive line. Jackson will never make it in this league though because of his decision making and accuracy.

That’s even if he in fact does become the starter for the Vikings this year. Adrian Peterson will carry the offense for the Vikings.

 

5. Jason Campbell is on his last year maybe as the Redskins man behind center. Before the draft we started to see this when the Redskins were heavy in talks to trade up for Mark Sanchez and earlier than that for Cutler. Clinton Portis will be asked to carry most of the workload for this offense giving Campbell to limited passing attempts this year.

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