Antonio Brown (84) is the top player on our Fantasy Football board. Photo Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
TIERS by position
Sorting comparable players into tiers can lead to successful value-based drafting. Here’s how we group them for 2016.
QUARTERBACKS
TIER 1
Cam Newton CAR
Aaron Rodgers GB
Andrew Luck IND
TIER 2
Ben Roethlisberger PIT
Russell Wilson SEA
Drew Brees NO
Carson Palmer ARI
Eli Manning NYG
TIER 3
Blake Bortles JAC
Derek Carr OAK
Tony Romo DAL
Andy Dalton CIN
Tom Brady NE
TIER 4
Philip Rivers SD
Kirk Cousins WAS
Marcus Mariota TEN
Jameis Winston TB
Brock Osweiler HOU
TIER 5
Tyrod Taylor BUF
Matt Ryan ATL
Jay Cutler CHI
Ryan Tannehill MIA
Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ
Robert Griffin III CLE
Matthew Stafford DET
ANALYSIS: Newton should be a first-round consideration in most leagues, and Rodgers and Luck, both coming off down seasons, aren’t far behind … Given the outstanding depth at this position in 2016, you might be able to wait until the fourth or fifth round to grab one of the dynamic players in Tier 2 … Romo and Brady would be ranked higher than Tier 3 if not for an injury and suspension. Bortles, Carr and Dalton need to continue their development as players but all three have major upside … Tier 4 is where you’ll find quality backups and spot starters. Among them, Cousins could easily jump a tier in 2016.
RUNNING BACKS
TIER 1
Le’Veon Bell PIT
David Johnson ARI
Ezekiel Elliott DAL
Todd Gurley LA
Adrian Peterson MIN
TIER 2
Doug Martin TB
Lamar Miller HOU
Jamaal Charles KC
Mark Ingram NO
Matt Forte NYJ
TIER 3
C.J. Anderson DEN
Devonta Freeman ATL
Jonathan Stewart CAR
Carlos Hyde SF
TIER 4
LeSean McCoy BUF
Eddie Lacy GB
Ryan Mathews PHI
DeMarco Murray TEN
Latavius Murray OAK
Jeremy Hill CIN
Jeremy Langford CHI
Jay Ajayi MIA
Thomas Rawls SEA
TIER 5
Matt Jones WAS
Giovani Bernard CIN
Dion Lewis NE
Chris Ivory JAC
Karlos Williams BUF
Frank Gore IND
Danny Woodhead SD
TIER 6
LeGarrette Blount NE
Ameer Abdullah DET
Melvin Gordon SD
Derrick Henry TEN
Isaiah Crowell CLE
Charles Sims TB
Justin Forsett BAL
TIER 7
Duke Johnson CLE
C.J. Prosise SEA
Theo Reddick DET
Paul Perkins NYG
T.J. Yeldon JAC
Tevin Coleman ATL
James Starks GB
Bilal Powell NYJ
Darren Sproles PHI
Ronnie Hillman DEN
Javorius Allen BAL
Devontae Booker DEN
Rashad Jennings NYG
ANALYSIS: The five backs in Tier 1 are all top-of-the-first-round fantasy talents, though some drafters will be reluctant to take a rookie, Elliott, that high. Any of the five could finish 2016 with more than 1,700 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns … Three of the five players in Tier 2 (Martin, Miller, Ingram) have yet to record strong seasons in back-to-back years. Charles is coming back from a torn ACL and Forte is moving to a new team. That means there’s a significant gap between Tiers 1 and 2 … If you miss on your RB1 in the first couple of rounds, you’ll want to take one of the small handful of players in Tier 3. The players farther down are too risky … Lacy and Hill, coming off disappointing seasons, are the most intriguing players in Tier 4. Lacy was a monster back in 2014 (1,586 total yards, 13 touchdowns); he could easily jump a tier (or two) with improved focus and conditioning … Farther down in Tiers 5 and 6 you’ll find some quality prospects looking to break out (Jones, Abdullah, Gordon) mixed in with pass-catching specialists and fading veterans. Any of the backs in Tier 5 would be terrific as a flex or RB3 in competitive fantasy leagues … Tier 7 is stacked with late-round wild cards.
WIDE RECEIVERS
TIER 1
Antonio Brown PIT
Odell Beckham Jr. NYG
Julio Jones ATL
DeAndre Hopkins HOU
Dez Bryant DAL
TIER 2
Allen Robinson JAC
A.J. Green CIN
Brandon Marshall NYJ
Jordy Nelson GB
Alshon Jeffery CHI
TIER 3
Sammy Watkins BUF
Mike Evans TB
Amari Cooper OAK
Brandin Cooks NO
Keenan Allen SD
T.Y. Hilton IND
Julian Edelman NE
Demaryius Thomas DEN
Eric Decker NYJ
Doug Baldwin SEA
Kelvin Benjamin CAR
Jeremy Maclin KC
TIER 4
Golden Tate DET
Jarvis Landry MIA
Donte Moncrief IND
Randall Cobb GB
DeSean Jackson WAS
Larry Fitzgerald ARI
Michael Floyd ARI
Emmanuel Sanders DEN
Michael Crabtree OAK
DeVante Parker MIA
John Brown ARI
Jordan Matthews PHI
Marvin Jones DET
Allen Hurns JAC
TIER 5
Corey Coleman CLE
Tyler Lockett SEA
Kevin White CHI
Steve Smith BAL
Willie Snead NO
Stefon Diggs MIN
Travis Benjamin SD
Vincent Jackson TB
TIER 6
Mohamed Sanu ATL
Sterling Shepard NYG
Laquon Treadwell MIN
Michael Thomas NO
Torrey Smith SF
Ted Ginn Jr. CAR
ANALYSIS: Brown might be the most bankable player in fantasy football, and no one would protest if he’s taken with the first overall selection. The other receivers in the top tier also should be long gone by the end of the first round in any reputable fantasy league … The five players in Tier 2 may be borderline first-rounders, but they’re definitely desirable commodities in the second round. Going WR-WR at the top of the draft is a viable strategy these days; barring injury, it would be hard to go wrong with any of the players in the top two tiers … Things get dicey in Tier 3. Watkins could miss a game or two because of foot surgery; Evans managed just three touchdowns last season; Edelman has been injury-prone; Baldwin may be just a flash in the pan; and Thomas and Decker could be saddled with marginal quarterbacks. Allen is the most likely of this group to vault into a higher tier … Tier 4 is where you’ll go for your WR3 and flex players in conventional formats. Landry, who had 110 receptions last year, has loads of plausible upside, as do Parker and Jones … The final two tiers feature some roster-filling veterans, plus four rookies (Coleman, Shepard, Treadwell, Thomas) whose roles will be fleshed out during the preseason.
TIGHT ENDS
TIER 1
Rob Gronkowski NE
TIER 2
Greg Olsen CAR
Jordan Reed WAS
TIER 3
Tyler Eifert CIN
Travis Kelce KC
Zach Ertz PHI
Coby Fleener NO
Delanie Walker TEN
Ladarius Green PIT
TIER 4
Julius Thomas JAC
Austin Seferian-Jenkins TB
Martellus Bennett NE
Antonio Gates SD
TIER 5
Jared Cook GB
Gary Barnidge CLE
Jimmy Graham SEA
Eric Ebron DET
Dwayne Allen IND
Jason Witten DAL
TIER 6
Jordan Cameron MIA
Zach Miller CHI
Austin Hooper ATL
Ben Watson BAL
Kyle Rudolph MIN
Jermaine Gresham ARI
ANALYSIS: Gronkowski piled up 72 receptions, 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns in 15 games last season; he’s in a tier of his own. While fantasy baseball analysts dismiss the idea of position scarcity, the football experts aren’t so sure. Gronkowski is a player to consider at the end of the first round or early in the second … Olsen and Reed, the only players in the second tier, are high-volume receivers in good situations, but taking either one before the fourth round is probably a reach … If you miss out on the top three, you should be satisfied with any of the six players in Tier 3 … Tier 4 rounds out the group of potential TE1 candidates. Seferian-Jenkins, who has been injury-prone, and Bennett, moving to a new team, could easily jump a tier by season’s end.
