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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
1 Aaron Rodgers
2 Russell Wilson
3 Matthew Stafford
4 Deshaun Watson
5 Dak Prescott
6 Patrick Mahomes
7 Lamar Jackson
8 Derek Carr
9 Kirk Cousins
10 Josh Allen
11 Gardner Minshew
12 Jimmy Garoppolo
13 Tom Brady
14 Carson Wentz
15 Philip Rivers
RB
1 Dalvin Cook
2 Christian McCaffrey
3 Ezekiel Elliott
4 Saquon Barkley
5 Leonard Fournette
6 Aaron Jones
7 Tevin Coleman
8 Le'Veon Bell
9 Josh Jacobs
10 Nick Chubb
11 James White
12Chris Carson
13 Melvin Gordon
14 Derrick Henry
15 Mark Ingram
16 Mark Walton
17 Austin Ekeler
18 Phillip Lindsay
19 Marlon Mack
20 Jamaal Williams
21 Royce Freeman
22 Adrian Peterson
23 Tarik Cohen
24 Jaylen Samuels
25 Jordan Howard
26 Devin Singletary
27 Miles Sanders
28 Kenyan Drake
29 David Montgomery
30 Carlos Hyde
WR
1 DeAndre Hopkins
2 Amari Cooper
3 Mike Evans
4 Chris Godwin
5 D.J. Chark
6 Tyler Lockett
7 Julian Edelman
8 Stefon Diggs
9 Tyreek Hill
10 Adam Thielen
11 Kenny Golladay
12 Allen Robinson
13 Davante Adams
14 John Brown
15 Michael Gallup
16 T.Y. Hilton
17 Odell Beckham Jr
18 JuJu Smith-Schuster
19 Keenan Allen
20 Tyrell Williams
21 Golden Tate
22 Robby Anderson
23 D.K. Metcalf
24 Alshon Jeffery
25 D.J. Moore
26 Marvin Jones
27 Emmanuel Sanders
28 Danny Amendola
29 Christian Kirk
30 Jarvis Landry
31 Chris Conley
32 Terry McLaurin
33 Courtland Sutton
34 Devante Parker
35 Mike Williams
36 Curtis Samuel
TE
1 George Kittle
2 Travis Kelce
3 Hunter Henry
4 Darren Waller
5 Evan Engram
6 Mark Andrews
7 Zach Ertz
8 Jonnu Smith
9 Darren Fells
10 Jimmy Graham
11 Dallas Goedert
12 Greg Olsen
13 Jason Witten
14 Ryan Griffin
15 T.J. Hockenson
DEF
1 Bills
2 Patriots
3 49ers
4 Seahawks
5 Eagles
6 Cowboys
7 Vikings
8 Browns
9 Jets
10 Packers
11 Bears
12 Panthers
13 Titans
14 Colts
15 Jaguars
KICKER
1 Justin Tucker
2 Robbie Gould
3 Matt Prater
4 Mason Crosby
5 Harrison Butker
6 Jason Myers
7 Brett Maher
8 Joey Slye
9 Adam Vinatieri
10 Nick Folk
11 Josh Lambo
12 Steven Hauschka
13 Ka'imi Fairbairn
14 Dan Bailey
15 Chris Boswell
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Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo 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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