The Freaks Combined Cheat Sheets

Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | Kickers | Team Defenses

Pre-season is here, and for the next few weeks your whole mission in life is to find an edge for your fantasy football draft. We give a lot of knowledge across this site, but these cheat sheets are the distilled essence of it all.

Hey, the freaks know that you shouldn't take someone's cheat sheet as the word of god. We know it's just an opinion, and that's why we give you five opinions from experienced and diverse viewpoints.

We rank on a straight performance scoring system, so you TD-only and TD-distance leaguers might want to take this with a grain of salt. For the rest, read on. 

Last Updated: August 27, 2006

StingRay's Individual Cheat Sheets

Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | Kickers | Team Defenses

Larry Johnson had 28 less fantasy points then Shaun Alexander and Alexander set the NFL touchdown record last season. What’s so amazing about Larry Johnson’s stats is that he put up those numbers in only 9 games. Priest Holmes may not play this year so the Chiefs running game will be in Johnson’s hands. He should be the number one pick in every fantasy draft.

Shaun Alexander was phenomenal last season but he no longer has offensive guard Steve Hutchinson anchoring the line with Walter Jones so that should slow him down a little. Still, Alexander has scored 87 touchdowns in the last 5 years.

LT scored 20 touchdowns last season but he did not finish the season strong. Tomlinson scored 1 touchdown and failed to rush for over 100 yards in any of his last 5 games. I should know since he cost me a fantasy title in one of my leagues. I have my concerns with Philip Rivers at QB but Tomlinson is too good to drop any farther down on my list.

Tiki Barber was the 4th rated back in fantasy last year and I see no reason why he shouldn’t finish there again. Teams have to account for Jeremy Shockey, Plaxico Burress, and Amani Toomer so defenses can’t load up against the run to stop Tiki.

Steven Jackson showed last year that he can be a dominant back in the NFL when given the ball but under the Mike Martz regime it was impossible. Jackson only carried the ball more than 20 times twice last season. Now that Mike Martz is gone Jackson should be more of the focal point of the Rams offense.

Rudi Johnson rushed for over 1,450 yards in each of the last two seasons and with Carson Palmer recovering from a knee injury I would expect more of the same. Rudi Johnson’s weakness is that he rarely catches the football. Last season Rudi caught 23 passes for 90 yards and no touchdowns.

Ronnie Brown showed some skills last year and he averaged a solid 4.4 yards per carry but he had to virtually split carries with Ricky Williams. Ricky Williams has been suspended for the season so Ronnie Brown could get close to 300 carries. If Daunte Culpepper is healthy enough to start and play this season the Dolphins will be a very good offensive team.

Portis has not been the touchdown machine he was in Denver but the yards were solid. Portis ran for over 1,500 yards last season and with the additions of Brandon Lloyd and Antwaan Randle El to help out the passing game Portis should find more room to make big plays. Update- i dropped him down due to the shoulder injury.

Brian Westbrook is an all purpose back (617 rushing yards and 616 receiving yards) but the Eagles refuse to give him the ball near the goal line. Westbrook had only 3 rushing touchdowns and 4 receiving touchdowns. In the last two seasons Westbrook has rushed for a total of 6 touchdowns. His lack of goal line attempts and his inability to make it through one full season since he entered the league 4 years ago makes me nervous.

Willie Parker is a game breaking back but his lack of touches near the goal line concerns me.

Lamont Jordan had a pretty good season for a first time full starter. He posted 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns in only 14 games. I’m not sure if he can repeat last year’s performance but he is a perfect number two running back who has the ability to post numbers as good as any top 10 running back. Update----So far this preseason Lamont Jordan has not looked good at all. In fact the Raiders offensive line has looked terrible.

Jamal Lewis will rebound in 2006 and he has the ability to be a top 10 back.

Warrick Dunn averaged a very impressive 5.1 yards per carry and rushed for over 1,400 yards. Those are great numbers but his 4 touchdowns on the season are not. Update--Now that Duckett is gone I think Dunn could post double digit touchdowns.

Edgerrin James won't find the running lanes like he did in Indianapolis but he will be a top 10 fantasy back. The Cardinals have two great receivers to keep defenses honest and Edge will improve this running game dramatically.

Corey Dillon was banged up last year and it showed in his yards per carry average. In 2004 Dillon averaged 4.7 yards per carry but last season he had a career low 3.5 yards per carry average. Even though Dillon only started in 10 games and failed to rush for over 1,000 yards he still managed to score 13 touchdowns.

Kevin Jone has talent and he's not in a running back by comitte sheet so I would take a chance on him if he fell to me.

DeShaun Foster was supposed to be the starter last season but the fantasy world was rocked when Stephen Davis started the season and managed to score 12 rushing touchdowns compared to Foster’s 2. Davis is gone so Foster will be the main back heading into the season if he can stay healthy and keep rookie running back DeAngelo Williams on the bench.

Cadillac Williams started the season off strong, rushing for over 100-yards the first 3 weeks of the season before being slowed down due to injuries. His size is a concern but the Bucs believe in him so he will get his chance to post solid fantasy stats.

I have a good feeling about Chester Taylor if he ends up being the number one back in Minnesota. Taylor is a good back with great hands. The Vikings plan on running the football this year. In the off-season the Vikings signed former Seattle Pro Bowl OL Steve Hutchinson and ex Kansas City fullback Tony Richardson. Taylor is one to keep an eye on this preseason.

Bush is too talented to drop any farther on this list. If you are in a keeper league you must take him at this point.

Davis has misses all of preseason and his stock is dropping rapidly.