By: Sam DiSorbo, twitter: @analytacist
Welcome back to another fantasy WAR rankings article! After three weeks of action-packed and fulfilling football, we have some great data to use for our WAR model. Let’s begin by taking a look at our QB rankings.
Unsurprisingly, the GOAT, the Michigan-made-monstrosity, Tom Brady, sits atop the leaderboard for fantasy QBs. Coming into the season, ESPN had Brady as the 10th ranked fantasy QB–Brady simply has done what he’s always done, proving his doubters wrong through the first three weeks of play–Brady has thrown 10 TD so far this season, and it appears the Bucs have little intentions of running the ball in the red zone. It will be interesting to see if he regresses to the mean throughout the season, or if he continues to tear up defenses all year.
Time in and time out, Kirk Cousins gets criticized for every aspect of his playing ability–not only is he one of the top rated QBs this season by PFF (ranked 3rd overall with an 89.1 grade), but Cousins has been racking up fantasy points along the way. Ranking 5th in QB WAR, Cousins is a must-start in your fantasy league, whether you hate him or not.
Rodgers, Tanehill, and Burrow have been disappointing to say the least. Coming in ranked as the 7th, 11th, and 13th ranked QBs, all three have fallen out of the top 20 in WAR in the first few weeks of the season. This may be the right time to buy low on these three, assuming they are able to progress to the mean.
At first glance, we see that Mike Williams and Cooper Kupp are leaving the other receivers behind in the dust. These two have taken the league by fire, and it might be a great time to sell high on them, especially Williams, who sits as a WR2 behind Keenan Allen.
Brandin Cooks and DJ Moore have been sneakily good in the first 3 weeks of the season. Putting up 4.5 and 3.6 WAR thus far, these two have potential to become reliable WR2s in your lineup.
There have been many underwhelming fantasy performances from receivers this season, but none worse than those of Julio Jones and Kenny Golladay. Jones has only hauled in 12 receptions for 204 yards, over half of those coming from week 2. While he has serious potential, there needs to be more consistency from Jones before he can be inserted into your weekly lineup. Golladay has only seen 19 targets for a measly 166 receiving yards–He has caught no touchdowns, and is competing for passes with a talented Giants receiving core. It is fairly likely Golladay won’t be producing WR1 or WR2 numbers any time soon–keep him on the bench!
Derrick Henry’s massive week 2 performance has propelled him to the top of the WAR rankings, sitting a whole 2 wins above the next highest back, Aaron Jones. Following Jones is second-year stud Deandre Swift, who has been tearing up defenses despite splitting carries with Jamaal Williams. Swift is becoming a must start in fantasy, and should be considered a RB1 in larger leagues.
Zack Moss is the biggest surprise in our rankings. Averaging around 15.5 points in half PPR leagues, Moss has come out strong as a touchdown machine. If he can continue finding the endzone at the same rate, you’ll be happy you claimed Moss off the waivers.
Another thing to note is Tony Pollard’s ranking–its higher than Zeke’s! By a lot! As of now, Pollard is grabbing you 3.5 WAR, compared to Zeke’s .8. Elliot came into the season as the 5th ranked fantasy RB…was all this hype warranted?
That is all for our post-week 3 fantasy WAR positional rankings! Good luck in your fantasy leagues, and stay tuned for updated rankings in the weeks to come.
M-FANS 