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These are my early ranks and I will update them later in the week. Make sure you check the injury report on Sunday for players that have missed practice. 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 from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
QB
1 Patrick Mahomes
2 Lamar Jackson
3 Deshaun Watson
4 Russell Wilson
5 Carson Wentz
6 Matt Ryan
7 Tom Brady
8 Jared Goff
9 Dak Prescott
10 Baker Mayfield
11 Kyler Murray
12 Aaron Rodgers
13 Jameis Winston
14 Philip Rivers
15 Jacoby Brissett
16 Andy Dalton
17 Jimmy Garoppolo
18 Daniel Jones
19 Kirk Cousins
20 Kyle Allen
RB
1 Christian McCaffrey
2 Alvin Kamara
3 Ezekiel Elliott
4 Dalvin Cook
5 David Johnson
6 Nick Chubb
7 Le'Veon Bell
8 James Conner
9 Mark Ingram
10 Leonard Fournette
11 Derrick Henry
12 Austin Ekeler
13 Joe Mixon
14 Devonta Freeman
15 Todd Gurley
16 Chris Carson
17 LeSean McCoy
18 Aaron Jones
19 Melvin Gordon
20 David Montgomery
21 Wayne Gallman
22 Josh Jacobs
23 James White
24 Phillip Lindsay
25 Darrel Williams
26 Jordan Howard
27 Chris Thompson
28 Jaylen Samuels
29 Royce Freeman
30 Matt Breida
31 Sony Michel
32 Carlos Hyde
33 Tarik Cohen
34 Raheem Mostert
35 Miles Sanders
36 Tarik Cohen
1 Julio Jones
2 Keenan Allen
3 Cooper Kupp
4 DeAndre Hopkins
5 Michael Thomas
6 Chris Godwin
7 Odell Beckham
8 Mike Evans
9 Robert Woods
10 Adam Thielen
11 Larry Fitzgerald
12 Tyler Lockett
13 Julian Edelman
14 Brandin Cooks
15 Tyler Boyd
16 Josh Gordon
17 Sammy Watkins
18 Amari Cooper
19 Allen Robinson
20 Emmanuel Sanders
21 Stefon Diggs
22 JuJu Smith-Schuster
23 Marquise Brown
24 Alshon Jeffery
25 Sterling Shepard
26 Calvin Ridley
27 Courtland Sutton
28 D.J. Chark
29 Will Fuller
30 Demarcus Robinson
31 John Brown
32 Auden Tate
33 D.J. Moore
34 Phillip Dorsett
35 Marquez Valdes-Scantling
36 Jarvis Landry
37 Mecole Hardman
38 Curtis Samuel
39 Robbie Anderson
40 Tyrell Williams
TE
1 Travis Kelce
2 George Kittle
3 Zach Ertz
4 Evan Engram
5 Austin Hooper
6 Mark Andrews
7 Darren Waller
8 Will Dissly
9 Delanie Walker
10 Greg Olsen
11 Jimmy Graham
12 Tyler Eifert
13 Jason Witten
14 Eric Ebron
15 O.J. Howard
Defense
1 Patriots
2 Bears
3 Eagles
4 Titans
5 Vikings
6 Bills
7 Panthers
8 Chargers
9 Saints
10 49ers
11 Steelers
12 Texans
13 Jaguars
14 Chiefs
15 Bengals
Kicker
1 Justin Tucker
2 Greg Zuerlein
3 Will Lutz
4 Harrison Butker
5 Joey Slye
6 Robbie Gould
7 Jake Elliott
8 Ka'imi Fairbairn
9 Zane Gonzalez
10 Brett Maher
11 Jason Myers
12 Mason Crosby
13 Adam Vinatieri
14 Matt Bryant
15 Josh Lambo
- It’s the first place Houston Astros against the first place Los Angeles Dodgers as they open their latest head-to-head series. This is not a recording. The two most dominant powers in the sport over the last decade gather at Dodger Stadium this Independence Day weekend. The Astros have a sizable lead in pursuit of their eighth American League West championship in the last nine years. The Dodgers have an even more sizable lead as they chase their fourth straight National League West crown, which would be their 12th in 13 years. Each franchise has won two World Series in that time frame, each has lost two. All Astro and Dodger parties would sign off immediately on a 2025 World Series matchup. This three-game set carries no big picture significance, but every game counts, and it’s just fun seeing these two get after it. It would be more fun if the Astros had Yordan Alvarez available. Then again, the Dodgers won’t have Josh Fields.
Both continue to roll along despite rashes of injuries. When the Astros awoke May 24 their record sat at 26-25. Since then they have gone 26-10. That is a dominant stretch despite this clearly not being a dominant team. The still Alvarez-less offense is mediocre. So is the starting pitching apart from the one-two awesome punch that Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez have been. When Brown or Valdez has been the Astros’ starting pitcher this season, the team record is 25-9. With anyone else making the start, 27-26. They have been every bit as dynamic a duo so far in 2025 that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole were for the Astros in 2019 when Verlander edged out Cole to win his third Cy Young Award. Brown is a lock to be named to his first American League All-Star team this Sunday. Valdez is worthy of a third consecutive selection but could get caught in a numbers squeeze. Eight or nine starting pitchers are picked for each league.
The Dodgers won’t face Brown this weekend, but will have to deal with Valdez on Saturday night. His mound counterpart will be Shohei Ohtani. Oooooooh! Framber didn’t give up a run in 13 innings over his last two starts, and over his last 10 outings has a super-spiffy 1.72 earned run average. The amazing Ohtani is easing back into pitching after his second Tommy John surgery. Ohtani has started three games, totaling just four innings. He has yet to throw 30 pitches in an outing. Saturday he probably will be allowed 30 to 40.
Arms race
While Friday’s outing isn’t remotely a make or break start for Lance McCullers, it does speak to a significant question the Astros hope to find a pleasing answer to over the remainder of the regular season. Who is their third starting pitcher in a playoff series? After Brown and Valdez there is simply no one who inspires confidence at this point. McCullers has been awful his last two times out, jacking up his ERA to 6.61 eight starts into his season. 20 walks issued in 32 2 /3 innings pitched is glaringly bad. McCullers is still reasonably in ramp up mode, but given his injury history along with performance concerns, the third starter spot can’t be considered his to lose. Spencer Arrighetti’s resume is thin but his return at the level he pitched at after the All-Star break last season would be massive. Colt Gordon and Brandon Walter have both done some nice fill-in work, but no one plausibly wants them starting what would be a do or die game if the Astros wind up in a game three of a best-of-three Wild Card series.
Historic achievement
Not as if it’s subplot or anything this weekend, but let’s call it notable that the two active career hits leaders in Major League Baseball share the field this weekend. Jose Altuve this week vaulted past Jeff Bagwell for second in Astros’ history behind Craig Biggio. Altuve enters the weekend 743 hits behind Biggio. He is no lock to catch him before Altuve’s five-year contract expires at the end of the 2029 season. Altuve will be 39 then. Biggio was 41 when he rapped his 3000th hit, then added 60 more before beginning the waiting game for election to the Hall of Fame.
Like Biggio got and presumably someday Altuve will get, Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman will get the call from Cooperstown some day. Like Altuve, Freeman is 35 years old, has won a Most Valuable Player Award, one Gold Glove, and with his selection this week been named an All-Star nine times. Aaron Judge may change this in the next couple of years, but among active players only Mike Trout (by a long shot) has compiled more Baseball-Reference offensive Wins Above Replacement than Freeman (second) and Altuve (third).
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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