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The Oakland Raiders have signed linebacker Rolando McClain, their first-round pick and the eighth overall selection of the 2010 NFL Draft.

By signing McClain, the Raiders will open training camp in Napa (CA) with all of their rookies under contract.

Last year, McClain won the Butkus Award, which is given to college football's top linebacker, and helped to lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to a BCS Championship.

After the draft, R.J. White of NFL FanHouse gave the Raiders an "A" for their selection of McClain in the first round over the workout warriors they typically draft.

Many mock drafts had projected the Raiders selecting offensive tackle Bruce Campbell at that spot. Instead the Raiders waited and selected Campbell in the fourth round.

McClain becomes the third first-rounder to signed. The first two were Dez Bryant of Dallas and Devin McCourty of New England.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the biggest issues of the 2010 NFL off-season has been resolved. At least, temporarily.

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson will earn more than the $550,000 he was scheduled to earn in 2010 as Johnson and the Titans have agreed to move up some escalators in his contract, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

According to ESPN, it is believed that Johnson will earn $2.5 million this season with no additional years added to his original five-year contract.

Johnson, who set the single-season NFL record for yards from scrimmage (2,509), became only the sixth player to rush for more than 2,000 yards and only Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James have rushed for more yards in their first two seasons.

In most fantasy leagues, Johnson will be the first overall draft pick and he ranks first in our Top 150 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet rankings.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Beginning Monday morning, Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb will host what he has dubbed "Hell Week" in Arizona, per Rick Maese of The Washington Post.

With 11 days to go until the Redskins report for training camp on July 29th, McNabb will work with the team's receivers, tight ends and running backs in order to get a head start in their preparation for the upcoming season.

"I think it's important for the specialists on the offense to have that chemistry, to have that bond," McNabb says, "where they can trust me and I can trust them."

Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas shares McNabb's sentiment.

Thomas said, "It's a great time to build that chemistry without the coaches being there. You just get a little of that extra bonding time to lead into training camp."

McNabb's trainer, Brett Fischer, says his Redskins' teammates are in for "an eye opener."

"I think it's an eye opener for them, comparing themselves with their quarterback, with how hard he's working out here. To me, it's him telling them, 'Hey, I'm taking this thing seriously to the next level. Let's go to the next level.'"

It's always beneficial when an offense puts in extra time to develop their chemistry and rapport on a voluntary basis like this. It's even more important when the team has a new quarterback.

McNabb, who is my 11th-ranked quarterback for fantasy football, threw for 3,553 yards and 22 touchdowns in 14 games last year.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 06:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you play fantasy football (and who doesn't?), Ravens running back Ray Rice isn't the first name that pops into your head when you think of underrated players. In fact, he's probably not the second, or third, or fiftieth.

That said, Rice is out to prove that last year wasn't a fluke.

“I still feel like I’m a guy that is underrated,” said Rice in a Monday-morning appearance on ESPN’s First Take, per Mike Duffy of the team's website. ”My plan is to go out there and prove it all over again, that this wasn’t just a one-year thing.”

Last year, only Tennessee's Chris Johnson (who set the NFL single-season record) had more yards from scrimmage than Rice, who finished with 2,041 total yards. In 2010, he's shooting for 2,042+.

“My personal goal is to do more than I did last year as far as total yards, but the overall goal is to win,” he said.

One of the players Rice expects to help open up opportunities for him is new receiver Anquan Boldin.

“He’s going to open up the offense for us, especially for me,” Rice said of Boldin. ”He’s a great blocker down the field, and that’s one of the things that breaks long runs. He can handle the corners and the safeties. Not only can he run and catch, but he can do it all.”

Rice is a consensus top-four pick in fantasy football drafts this year.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In his sophomore season, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco limped to the finish line with nagging injuries. The difference between his first half (2,044 yards, 12 TDs) and his second half (1,569 yards, nine TDs) illustrates that.

Even so, his full season numbers of 3,613 yards and 21 touchdowns were solid, especially on a run-first team that had Mark Clayton as their second-best option at wide receiver.

This off-season, the Ravens have been universally plauded for the additions they've made via trades (Anquan Boldin), free agency (Donte' Stallworth) and the NFL Draft (David Reed and tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta) to bolster the passing attack.

Meanwhile, Flacco has developed an instant chemistry and rapport with the new receivers, according to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

“Probably the most impressive thing Joe was able to do was adapt to Anquan, Donte’ and the two rookie tight ends as quickly as he did,” Cameron told Mike Duffy of the team's website. “You would have felt those four guys had been around each other for at least a couple of years, and they came right off the street. That always tells you something about a guy.”

In my updated fantasy rankings, Flacco ranks ninth on my list of fantasy quarterbacks and 64th overall in our top 150 cheat sheet.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice was a no-show at the camp held at the University of Minnesota by Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald and former receiver Cris Carter, according to Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

And Carter was none too pleased about it as he said, "Sidney is not here so I guarantee he’s not getting no better today."

In turn, Drew Rosenhaus, Rice's agent, tweeted that Rice missed the camp due a lingering hip injury.

"Sidney does not anticipate that this injury will require surgery and he's hopeful that he will be fully healthy for the start of the season," Rosenhaus said in a second tweet (via Judd Zulgad of the Star-Tribune).

Rice told Scoggins over the phone, however, that "everything is alright. I'll be ready to go at camp."

"It's not bad," he said, per Scoggins. "Just being cautious with it. I can run. I'm jogging and sprinting. I'm just not doing a lot of cutting and different things like that. The doctors feel this is the best thing."

Last year, Rice finished with 83 receptions for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns. In two post-season games, Rice had ten receptions for 184 yards and four touchdowns.

In our fantasy football rankings updated yesterday, Rice was the ninth receiver on our list.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When receiver Bobby Engram had his career season (94-1147-6) in 2007, his head coach was Mike Holmgren.

Holmgren, who is now team president of the Cleveland Browns, will be reunited with Engram as the veteran receiver signed with Cleveland today.

But it remains to be seen whether or not Engram will be on the team's 53-man roster at the end of training camp.

Last year, Engram had only five receptions for 61 yards in five games for Kansas City, who released him in November.

Over the past four years excluding his career year (2007), Engram has played in only 25 games. He had a total of 76 receptions for 840 yards and one touchdown in those 25 games.

Engram's reunion with Holmgren could very easily be short-lived although the Browns are not exactly loaded at the receiver position.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NFL pre-season gets underway a month from Thursday (Hall of Fame game between Cowboys and Bengals).

Over the next month, we will release our rankings keeper rankings, point-per-reception (PPR) rankings and our top 150 cheat sheets as well as in-depth player analysis and projections. For now, here is our updated list of the top 20 tight ends for fantasy football:

1. Antonio Gates, Chargers: Despite only ranking sixth among tight ends in targets (114), Gates led tight ends -- and set a career-high -- in receiving yards (1,157) in 2009. With the three-game suspension (and potential holdout beyond that) of Vincent Jackson, Gates should see more targets in 2010. Therefore, I swapped Gates and Dallas Clark in the updated rankings.

2. Dallas Clark, Colts: What's not to like? With a line of 100-1106-10, Clark ranked first in receptions, second in yards and third in touchdowns among tight ends.

3. Vernon Davis, 49ers: The wait is over. Davis finally broke out. Last year's numbers (78-965-13) were essentially better than his two previous seasons combined (83-867-6).

4. Brent Celek, Eagles: Two of Celek's three 100-yard games came in the only two in which Kevin Kolb started. It's hard to not picture an even better season than what he produced in his breakout campaign (76-971-8).

5. Jermichael Finley, Packers: In his final eight games (including the Packers' post-season game), Finley finished with 44 receptions for 575 yards and four touchdowns. Despite missing three games, Finley still finished in the top ten in receiving yards among TEs in his second (and breakout) season.

6. Jason Witten, Cowboys: Witten had a "down" year of 94 passes for 1,030 yards (and only two touchdowns). Many tight ends (or wide receivers) would love to have a "down" year like that. By drafting Dez Bryant in the first round, the Cowboys have another weapon competing for targets.

7. Owen Daniels, Texans: In an injury-shortened half-season, Daniels caught 40 passes for 519 yards and five touchdowns. His pace (80-1038-10) would have ranked him fourth in receptions, third in yards and tied for third in TDs among tight ends.

8. Kellen Winslow, Buccaneers: Considering the weakness of the Buccaneers' receiving corps, he's the only legitimate weapon in the Bucs' passing attack. Last year, Winslow ranked fourth among tight ends in targets (127).

9. Tony Gonzalez, Falcons: Arguably the greatest tight end ever. Gonzalez had more targets (135) than any other tight end and finished with 83 receptions for 867 yards and six touchdowns in 2009.

10. Visanthe Shiancoe, Vikings: Shiancoe has never surpassed 596 yards in one season, but he has been a touchdown machine over the past two seasons (18 TDs).

Continue reading "(Updated) 2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends (TEs)" »

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NFL pre-season gets underway a month from Thursday (Hall of Fame game between Cowboys and Bengals).

Over the next month, we will release our rankings keeper rankings, point-per-reception (PPR) rankings and our top 150 cheat sheets as well as in-depth player analysis and projections. For now, here is our updated list of the top 50 wide receivers for fantasy football:

1. Andre Johnson, Texans: For me, this is (still) a no-brainer. Johnson, who was the third overall pick in 2003, has posted back-to-back 100-reception, 1,500-yard seasons.

2. Calvin Johnson, Lions: After a stellar sophomore campaign (78-1331-12), MegaTron battled nagging injuries in 2009 and even missed two games. Provided he stays healthy, the sky is the limit for this gifted athlete.

3. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals: Over the past three seasons, Fitzgerald has caught a combined 293 passes for 3,932 yards and 35 touchdowns. But it's an understatement to say Matt Leinart (or Derek Anderson) is a downgrade from Kurt Warner, who retired this off-season.

4. Randy Moss, Patriots: All five of his 100-yard games came in the first nine weeks and his attitude and motivation were questioned by some down the stretch. But he has scored 47 touchdowns over the past three seasons. It's hard to question that production.

5. Brandon Marshall, Dolphins: Marshall has had 100+ receptions and 1,100+ yards for three consecutive seasons. With a fat new contract, the random temper tantrum seems unlikely. For now.

6. Reggie Wayne, Colts: Only three players (two receivers) finished the season with at least 100 receptions, 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. If you own Wayne, hope for a few Colts' early-season losses so Wayne plays more than a half in your fantasy championship game.

7. Roddy White, Falcons: Only Andre Johnson (171) had more targets than did White (165) in 2009. In the past three seasons, White has been consistent: 83, 88 and 85 receptions as well as 1,202, 1,382 and 1,153 yards, respectively. Even better, he set a career-high in TDs (11) in 2009.

8. Miles Austin, Cowboys: The list? Andre Johnson and Wes Welker. The topic? Receivers who had more yards than Austin in 2009. The addition of rookie Dez Bryant, who was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round, will take away some targets for Austin in 2010. If it's any consolation (more so for Austin in real life than for you as his fantasy owner), his new girlfriend is Kim Kardashian.

9. Sidney Rice, Vikings: A waiver-wire pick-up for many last year, Rice had more receiving yards than all but three receivers in 2009. Assuming a Favre return, Rice should have another monster season in 2010.

10. DeSean Jackson, Eagles: Despite his size, Jackson is one of most explosive big-play receivers in the league. He ranked second in yards (18.5) per reception and first in the league in receptions of 40 yards or more (10).

Continue reading "(Updated) 2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers (WRs)" »

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NFL pre-season gets underway a month from Thursday (Hall of Fame game between Cowboys and Bengals).

Over the next month, we will release our rankings keeper rankings, point-per-reception (PPR) rankings and our top 150 cheat sheets as well as in-depth player analysis and projections. For now, here is our updated list of the top 40 running backs for fantasy football:

1. Chris Johnson, Titans: 2,006 yards. 11 straight 100-yard games. While those numbers would be nearly impossible to repeat, Johnson can take it to the house on any given play with his 4.24 speed. The question is: Will he do so for his $550,000 salary? On a positive note, a compromise to the contract situation may be reached before the start of the season, per Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

2. Adrian Peterson, Vikings: In three NFL seasons, Peterson has rushed for 1,300+ yards and 10+ touchdowns every year. His fumbling issues are well-documented, but he also had his best season as a receiver (43 receptions for 436) in 2009.

3. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars: In his first season as the featured back, Pocket Hercules delivered with 1,391 rushing yards, 374 receiving yards on 53 receptions and 16 combined touchdowns. My only concern? MJD had two games with single-digit rushing attempts. What if that happens against Washington in week 16?

4. Ray Rice, Ravens: Rice led RBs in receptions (78) and receiving yards (702) in 2009. He was one of only two backs to have over 2000 yards from scrimmage.

5. Michael Turner, Falcons: An ankle injury in week 10 essentially wiped out the rest of his season, but he was getting into a groove before the injury (428 rushing yards on 47 carries (9.1 YPC) and three touchdowns in 2 1/2 games). In his 27 games as a Falcon, Turner has rushed for more touchdowns (27) than he has receptions (11).

(Note: although these rankings are not based on a point-per-reception scoring, I will release my PPR rankings within the next two weeks.)

6. Frank Gore, 49ers: With two first-round picks in the 2010 NFL Draft, the 49ers drafted two offensive linemen (Trent Williams and Mike Iupati), which is obviously a benefit to Gore. In addition to rushing for over 1,000 yards in the past four years, he has also averaged 52 receptions per season during that span.

7. Steven Jackson, Rams: With the Rams' lack of offensive weapons to complement Jackson, opposing defenses know what is coming. Yet Jackson still finished second in the NFL in rushing in 2009 despite being hampered by back issues for the second half of the season.

8. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers: Starting in week four, Mendenhall rushed for 1,068 yards and seven TDs in the final 13 games of the season. (That's a 1300-yard pace.) With Fast Willie in D.C. now, a repeat (or even an improvement) of that pace seems likely.

9. Ryan Grant, Packers: As the runner for one of the league's best aerial assaults, Grant should continue to see a lot of seven-men fronts and open lanes to run. Only four RBs rushed for more yards (1,253) and TDs (11) than Grant in 2009.

10. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers: Despite missing three games last year, Williams has rushed for 2,632 yards and scored 27 touchdowns (25 rushing and two receiving) in the past two seasons. His only drawback? Backfield mate Jonathan Stewart has rushed for close to 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns during that same span.

Continue reading "(Updated) 2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs (RBs)" »

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 06:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)