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Earlier this week, the ESPN fantasy staff released their super early Top 300 players list for 2015. As usual, you won’t see a slew of St. Louis Rams’ players on the list. And after much scrolling, the first recognizable name of a player donning horns is rookie running back Todd Gurley. He dropped in on the staff’s list at 49 overall; the 22nd ranked RB.
Your second target? The guy who Gurley is - apparently - going to outproduce in 2015: Tre Mason. Mason ranked 83rd overall on the staff’s list, and is their 36th ranked RB.
How about the rest of the squad?
|
Name
|
Overall Ranking
|
Positional Rank
|
|
Todd Gurley
|
49
|
RB22
|
|
Tre Mason
|
83
|
RB36
|
|
Rams’ Defense
|
134
|
D/ST4
|
|
Brian Quick
|
164
|
WR56
|
|
Kenny Britt
|
207
|
WR69
|
|
Benny Cunningham
|
264
|
RB100
|
|
Tavon Austin
|
270
|
WR89
|
|
Stedman Bailey
|
293
|
WR96
|
Eight total players made the Top 300....so if you’re playing in a 10-team league, over half of these players wouldn’t even be on your radar. Even in a 12-team league, ESPN wouldn’t have you taking Kenny Britt. And they’re clearly not on the Tavon Austin hype train.
Matthew Berry - the lead fantasy expert at ESPN - has his own rankings, which are broken down by position.
A few notes from the Talented Mr. Roto’s rankings:
Quarterback
Nick Foles ranks 29th overall on Berry’s list...11 spots behind Philadelphia Eagles’ QB Sam Bradford [QB18]. According to these rankings, you probably want nothing to do with Foles...unless you’re an optimistic Rams’ fan.
Running Back
Running backs are one of, if not the, most important position in fantasy football, and therefore Berry ranks 80 RB’s [as opposed to 35 QB’s]. Gurley is still the top Rams’ target, and ranks 25th on Berry’s list. Mason dropped in at 42, and Cunningham is Berry’s RB70.
Wide Receiver
WR, like RB, comprises a healthy chunk of your starting fantasy squad and therefore Berry goes with a Top 80 for this position. Like the staff rankings, Brian Quick is still the first Rams’ receiver you’ll want to target, coming in as the draft’s 49th best WR. Kenny Britt, the team’s leading receiver last year, ranked 67th on Berry’s list. Stedman Bailey, who made the staff’s Top 300 list, didn’t make Berry’s list of 80.
Tight End
Berry highlighted 25 TE’s to target in your fantasy draft, and not a single one them play for the St. Louis Rams.
Defense/Special Teams
The Rams’ ranked as DST4 on the fantasy staff’s rankings, but Berry has Sack City as the 3rd best defense to target in the upcoming year. The Seahawks and Texans would be the only two defense/special team’s units you’d want to eye ahead of them...and you’d probably be safe to let your homer-ism get the best of you with this one. Gregg Williams is dialing it up in 2015.
Kicker
"Legatron" makes the list as K12...if you’re a Blair Walsh fan. Greg Zuerlein doesn’t make Berry’s Top 20 kicker rankings. And that isn’t a surprise.