2018 Fantasy Football Rankings for Standard Scoring

One act that can greatly impact how you fare in Fantasy football is to compile your own fantasy football rankings in addition to analyzing others. This gives you advantages in a draft where casual gamers are a slave to ADP or a specific site’s default rankings.

Ranking your own players allows you to target players you value more than others do so you do not have to reach in drafts. For instance LeSean McCoy is my RB10, I have him listed as the 16th overall player in Fantasy, which would put him a few spots ahead of his current 2.07 ADP. If I ended up taking a wide receiver early in the first round, I can feel good that I will have an RB1 waiting for me in a spot I deem valuable- and that’s what Fantasy football is about: Value.

There are players on this list I feel good about. Josh Doctson is my highest ranked Redskins wide receiver and he is being drafted three rounds behind Jamison Crowder. My logic here is I am not going to draft Crowder at his ADP and can wait until the 13th round where I can snag Doctson for, what I would consider to be value. In standard leagues touchdowns weigh heavier than they do in PPR. Most of the time if you are looking at a player in these fantasy football rankings and thinking they are too high, I most likely project a large output in that category. I have Doctson scoring eight touchdowns in 2018. There is a method to my madness.

The Top 250 Fantasy Football Rankings for standard leagues are a little further down the page if you want to get right to them. Right now I’ll share some of the thinking behind different sections of the rankings. If you’re more of a PPR player please check out my Top 250 Players for PPR.

Second/Third Round Strategy

Twelve of the first 16 players being taken in standard scoring leagues are running backs. In these power rankings I have six wide receivers in the Top 16 which means that a couple of them are likely to slip in drafts. This creates potential value and should enable me to be flexible going into drafts.

Sure, people are not going to draft players at their exact ADP, but they are most likely using it as a guide. If you have a set of fantasy football rankings in front of you that you feel confident in, it is a great advantage. In this situation, Fantasy owners are most likely drafting a running back in the first round which means that they will draft a receiver in all likelihood in the second round. This means running backs who may be second-round talents will drop to the third round. This allows you to be more flexible in the first and second as there is less pressure to grab that bell-cow running back.

Fourth/Fifth Round Strategy

This is about the time that I am looking at filling my RB2 slot. If I can get at least two elite-level wide receivers in the first three rounds, I can take shots on running backs I feel will exceed their draft price. This is not quite Zero-RB, but it is a more practical method as you do not paint yourself in a corner.

I am looking at running backs like Royce Freeman (40), Lamar Miller (51), Alex Collins (53), and Marlon Mack (57) who I can utilize on a weekly basis. These guys typically have lower ADP than I have them ranked which gives me wiggle room in drafts and makes it less likely that one of the players I am targeting will be taken. Establish a group of guys you feel good about in this area of the draft, you only need to grab one or two of them – but having viable options will make you better prepared.

Do you think Devontae Booker or Royce Freeman will be the #Broncos‘ starting RB this season? 🤔 https://t.co/XZlxwmayx6

— Broncos Wire (@TheBroncosWire) June 24, 2018

Late-Round Strategy

Most of the time we think about late-round picks as fliers. Someone who could be a lottery ticket in Fantasy but has a slim chance of everything breaking right. In 12-team leagues I do not consider taking a player like this until the 13th or 14th rounds. There are too many players I find value in that can potentially be weekly starters that I am always drafting with my roster structure in mind. Quarterbacks and tight ends present the most value in these rounds. Cameron Brate has a clear path to targets on the Buccaneers offense, especially in the red zone. Touchdowns are king in standard scoring and it is what I look for in a tight end. His ADP is 179 and I have him ranked at 138. I can presumably wait until my last few picks for a tight end in a scenario where I choose to load up on running backs and wide receivers in the middle rounds.

It’s time to ramp up your Fantasy Football prep. These rankings are a start. Another good step would be catching the next episode of Full 60 Fantasy Football, where Joe Pisapia, Scott Bogman and The Welsh break down everything you need to make 2018 a championship season for your Fantasy Football squads.

Conclusion

So go ahead, tear these fantasy football rankings apart. They are subjectively right or wrong any way you slice it. The point is to take something away from this that you can apply to your own Fantasy football success. Set up your own rankings so that you have a cheat sheet ready to go. If you are too lazy, you are in luck! I did the work for you. Find value at running back in the fourth or fifth round if you choose to go wide receiver-heavy early in drafts. There are startable assets throughout the draft. Set yourself up for success by taking players you feel can be plugged into your lineup on a weekly basis until there is only junk left on the board.

Top 250+ Fantasy Football Rankings for Standard Scoring

These Fantasy Football Rankings are just the start. Check back every day for more Draft Prep content to get you all ramped up for Draft Day.