
Photo via: Saints/Facebook
These are my very early ranks, so keep in mind I post these on Thursday. Make sure you check the injury report on Sunday for players that have missed practice. If it doesn't look like a player will play this week, I typically won't rank him. Keep in mind, these are PPR rankings, and don't forget to set your lineup for Thursday Night Football.
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
QB
Rodgers should bounce back after a tough loss against the Chargers. Photo by Andy Lyons/GettyImages
1 Lamar Jackson
2 Drew Brees
3 Patrick Mahomes
4 Russell Wilson
5 Aaron Rodgers
6 Philip Rivers
7 Kyler Murray
8 Dak Prescott
9 Jimmy Garoppolo
10 Jameis Winston
11 Josh Allen
12 Matt Ryan
13 Jared Goff
14 Matthew Stafford
15 Derek Carr
RB
Feed Zeke...Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
1 Christian McCaffrey
2 Saquon Barkley
3 Ezekiel Elliott
4 Dalvin Cook
5 Aaron Jones
6 Alvin Kamara
7 Josh Jacobs
8 Mark Ingram
9 Derrick Henry
10 Marlon Mack
11 Melvin Gordon
12 Le'Veon Bell
13 Nick Chubb
14 Jaylen Samuels
15 Chris Carson
16 Austin Ekeler
17 Tevin Coleman
18 David Johnson
19 Todd Gurley
20 David Montgomery
21 Damien Williams
22 Devin Singletary
23 Devonta Freeman
24 Ronald Jones
25 Latavius Murray
26 Jamaal Williams
27 Matt Breida
28 J.D. McKissic
29 Joe Mixon
30 Tarik Cohen
WR
Thomas comes in at No.1 this week. Photo by New Orleans Saints/Facebook
1 Michael Thomas
2 Chris Godwin
3 Amari Cooper
4 Julio Jones
5 Cooper Kupp
6 Tyreek Hill
7 Mike Evans
8 Tyler Lockett
9 Keenan Allen
10 Davante Adams
11 Stefon Diggs
12 Kenny Golladay
13 Emmanuel Sanders
14 Allen Robinson
15 D.J. Moore
16 John Brown
17 Mike Williams
18 Golden Tate
19 Calvin Ridley
20 Christian Kirk
21 Michael Gallup
22 Odell Beckham Jr
23 Marvin Jones
24 Zach Pascall
25 Sammy Watkins
26 Jamison Crowder
27 Devante Parker
28 Robert Woods
29 Marquise Brown
30 JuJu Smith-Schuster
31 Tyler Boyd
32 Larry Fitzgerald
33 D.K. Metcalf
34 Tyrell Williams
35 Danny Amendola
36 Jarvis Landry
TE
It's hard not to like Henry against the Raiders. Photo via:Chargers/Facebook
1 George Kittle
2 Travis Kelce
3 Hunter Henry
4 Austin Hooper
5 Darren Waller
6 Mark Andrews
7 Greg Olsen
8 Gerald Everett
9 Jared Cook
10 Jonnu Smith
11 Jack Doyle
12 Jason Witten
13 T.J. Hockenson
14 Mike Gesicki
15 Vance McDonald
DEF
1 Ravens
2 Colts
3 Bills
4 Saints
5 Bears
6 Cowboys
7 Rams
8 Giants
9 Chargers
10 49ers
11 Steelers
12 Vikings
13 Packers
14 Lions
15 Browns
KICKER
1 Justin Tucker
2 Wil Lutz
3 Robbie Gould
4 Harrison Butker
5 Brett Maher
6 Zane Gonzalez
7 Michael Badgley
8 Greg Zuerlein
9 Matt Gay
10 Mason Crosby
11 Matt Prater
12 Adam Vinatieri
13 Joey Slye
14 Dan Bailey
15 Steven Hauschka
Most Popular
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Are Awesome
As of 9:42 Central Daylight Saving Time Friday night, the Astros (and all other baseball players) are officially the Boys of Summer, officially so far as the season is concerned anyway. When the summer solstice arrived last year the Astros were nine games off the lead in the American League West. So in addressing the rhetorical axiom “what a difference a year makes,” the difference in the Astros’ case is a whopping 14 games as they start the weekend atop their division by five games. At this point in the season last year the Astros’ record in one-run games was a brutal 5-14. In 2025 they are 13-7 in games decided by the narrowest of margins.
That the Astros are just 4-5 in road games against the two worst teams in the American League is no big deal, other than that every game counts in the standings. Still, just as was losing two out of three at the pathetic White Sox earlier this season, it is no doubt disappointing to the Astros to have only gotten a split of their four-game set with the Athletics. The A’s had gone 9-28 in their last 37 games before the Astros arrived in West Sacramento. The former-Oaklanders took the first game and the finale, as the Astros’ offense played bi-polar ball over the four nights. Two stat-padding explosion games that totaled 24 runs and 35 hits were bookended by a puny one-run output Monday and Thursday’s 5-4 10-inning loss. Baseball happens. Nevertheless, as the Astros open their weekend set versus the Angels, they have gone 17-7 over their last 24 games to forge their five-game division lead.
The New York Yankees’ offense has been by a healthy margin the best attack in the American League so far this season. The reigning AL champions snapped a six-game losing streak Thursday. The Yankees mustered a total of six runs over those six losses, including being shutout in three consecutive games. The baseball season is the defining “it’s a marathon not a sprint” sport. With 162 games on the schedule, combined with the fact that the gap in winning percentage between the best teams and the worst teams is smaller than in any other sport, making much about a series, or week or two of games is misguided, apart from all the results mattering.
The future is now
Without context, statistics can tell very misleading stories. Cam Smith is having a fine rookie season and has the looks of a guy who can blossom into a bonafide star and be an Astro mainstay into the 2030s. But it’s silliness that has anyone talking about the big month of June he’s having. Superficially, sure, going into Thursday’s game Smith’s stat line for the month read a .321 batting average and .874 OPS. Alas, that was mostly about Smith’s two monster games in the consecutive routs of the Athletics. Over those two games Cam went seven for nine with two home runs and two doubles. Over the other 14 games he’s played this month Smith is batting .213 with an OPS below .540.
Cam Smith is a long-term contender for best acquisition of Dana Brown’s tenure as General Manager. If his career was a single game Smith is still in the first inning, but if his career was a stock it’s a buy and hold. If the Astros were for some reason forced to part with all but two players in the organization, I think the two they would hold on to are Smith and Hunter Brown. Jeremy Pena would be another strong candidate, but he turns 28 in September and is two seasons from free agency (unless the rules change in the next collective bargaining agreement). Smith is 22 and under Astros’ control for another five seasons, he’s not even presently eligible for salary arbitration until the 2028 season. Brown turns 27 in August and is currently ineligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.
Angels in the outfield
Hunter Brown pitches opposite Yusei Kikuchi Friday night. Kikuchi was Dana Brown’s big in-season move last season, and Kikuchi was excellent with the Astros which set up to get the three-year 63 million dollar deal he landed with the Halos. After a slow start to his season Kikuchi has been outstanding the past month and a half, with a 2.28 earned run average over his last nine starts. Brown’s 1.88 season ERA is second-best in the big leagues among pitchers with the innings pitched to qualify in the category. Only Pirates’ stud Paul Skenes has a better mark, barely so at 1.85.
Kikuchi was a stellar rental who helped the Astros stretch their consecutive postseasons streak to eight. There was an absurd amount of vitriol over what Dana Brown gave up for him. Joey Loperfido is 26 years old and having a middling season at AAA. Will Wagner is 26 years old and back in the minors after batting .186 with the Blue Jays. Jake Bloss is the one guy who maaaaaybe some day the Astros wish they still had. Bloss is out into 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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