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Photo via: Rams/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
Mike Nowak/Chargers.com
1 Deshaun Watson
2 Russell Wilson
3 Tom Brady
4 Jared Goff
5 Aaron Rodgers
6 Matthew Stafford
7 Josh Allen
8 Kirk Cousins
9 Carson Wentz
10 Jacoby Brissett
11 Ryan Tannehill
12 Kyler Murray
13 Gardner Minshew
14 Philip Rivers
15 Andy Dalton
RB
1 Saquon Barkley
2 Dalvin Cook
3 Leonard Fournette
4 James Conner
5 Christian McCaffrey
6 Le'Veon Bell
7 Chris Carson
8 Aaron Jones
9 Todd Gurley
10 Nick Chubb
11 James White
12 Latavius Murray
13 Josh Jacobs
14 Austin Ekeler
15 Sony Michel
16 Derrick Henry
17 Marlon Mack
18 Devonta Freeman
19 Carlos Hyde
20 Tevin Coleman
21 LeSean McCoy
22 Melvin Gordon
23 Phillip Lindsay
24 Ty Johnson
25 Royce Freeman
26 Jamaal Williams
27 Chase Edmonds
28 David Johnson
29 Miles Sanders
30 Joe Mixon
WR
1 DeAndre Hopkins
2 Cooper Kupp
3 Stefon Diggs
4 Chris Godwin
5 Michael Thomas
6 Julian Edelman
7 T.Y. Hilton
8 Tyreek Hill
9 Tyler Lockett
10 Julio Jones
11 Kenny Golladay
12 Allen Robinson
13 Mike Evans
14 Courtland Sutton
15 John Brown
16 Robert Woods
17 Golden Tate
18 JuJu Smith-Schuster
19 Keenan Allen
20 Brandin Cooks
21 D.J. Chark
22 Corey Davis
23 Marvin Jones
24 Odell Beckham Jr
25 Kenny Stills
26 Larry Fitzgerald
27 Terry McLaurin
28 Tyler Boyd
29 Emmanuel Sanders
30 Dede Westbrook
31 Calvin Ridley
32 Robby Anderson
33 D.K. Metcalf
34 D.J. Moore
35 Alshon Jeffery
36 Phillip Dorsett
TE
Photo via: Chiefs/Facebook
1 Travis Kelce
2 George Kittle
3 Hunter Henry
4 Darren Waller
5 Austin Hooper
6 Evan Engram
7 Zach Ertz
8 Jimmy Graham
9 Gerald Everett
10 Greg Olsen
11 T.J. Hockenson
12 Jared Cook
13 Eric Ebron
14 Vance McDonald
15 Darren Fells
Defense/ST
1 Patriots
2 Steelers
3 Jaguars
4 Vikings
5 Rams
6 Saints
7 49ers
8 Lions
9 Packers
10 Bears
11 Bills
12 Seahawks
13 Colts
14 Chargers
15 Titans
Kicker
1Greg Zuerlein
2Wil Lutz
3Robbie Gould
4Chris Boswell
5Mason Crosby
6Matt Prater
7Mike Nugent
8Josh Lambo
9Ka'imi Fairbairn
10Zane Gonzalez
11Joey Slye
12Cody Parkey
13Harrison Butker
14Jason Myers
15Dan Bailey
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Following Houston's 6-4 road trip, the Astros returned home to finish the first "half" of the season before the All Star break hosting Florida and Texas. Houston's road trip was filled with clutch performances in New York, dominance in taking 3 of 4 in Toronto, and a dose of close calls and tough realities with a short-handed team against Minnesota.
Now the Astros hope to take care of business against the lowly Marlins and division rival Rangers. The Texas series, in particular gives Houston the opportunity to reassert their hold on the #2 spot ahead of the Rangers who have won their last 5 games in a row (as of the time this was published). Both teams have won 7 of their last 10 games and hope to catch a free-falling Seattle team to overtake the division lead.
Dana Brown told the media last week he expects both Justin Verlander and Kyle Tucker to be reactivated following the All-Star break but Tucker's updates continue to be more promising than Verlander's and MUCH more promising than Lance McCullers. Astros manager informed the media this week that McCullers has been shut down from throwing after his arm did not respond well to his recent bullpen sessions and the team is formulating the plan for what's next for the embattled pitcher. McCullers hasn't pitched since the 2022 postseason and underwent season-ending flexor tendon surgery last June. McCullers is under contract with Houston until 2026.
An eventual return for Kyle Tucker would spur a juggling act from Joe Espada to find a proper balance of time for all his outfielders, none of which have separated themselves offensively. Chas McCormick had a great month of June recording an .804 OPS but that run looks more like an anomaly as his scuffles have continued over the past 2.5 weeks, recording just 4 hits over his last 32 plate appearances.
While Jake Meyers has wowed fans and teammates with his glove this season, his offense has hit a skid, hitting just .184 with a .565 OPS over the past month. After rookie Joey Loperfido's torrid debut, he too has struggled with the bat, hitting just .216 with .599 OPS over the same time period.
An unexpected bright spot has been the recent play of first baseman Jon Singleton. Over the last 4 weeks, "Big Jon" is batting .302 with an .802 OPS. It's worth mentioning that Singleton's season numbers are better than Florida's Josh Bell, who drew interest from Astros fans over the past several seasons as a potential answer at first base. Bell has 135 more ABs this season so its not quite an apples-to-apples comparison but there's no doubt Singleton's contributions were sorely needed following the release of Jose Abreu.
To watch part 1 of this week's episode of Stone Cold StrosStone Cold Stros, just click the video above or to listen to the entire episode on podcast, search "Stone Cold Stros" in your favorite podcast app or click one of the following links.