The early entry deadline has passed and the 2009 season is officially in the rearview mirror. So it is time to start looking towards 2010. Our conference Look Aheads are in full swing and National Signing Day (Feb. 4) is quickly approaching.
While these are far from polished, we've also put together our Top 50 quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends heading into spring practice. Consider this a rough early preseason ranking. We haven't tapped into the power of the computer yet and there are still a lot of variables to be ironed out before we can run the projections.
Quarterback
Once again Keenum is clearly the top quarterback/fantasy player in the land. His return takes away any drama of who should be #1. A number of newcomers dot our list. The returns of Robert Griffin, Austin Dantin, and even Jamie Hampton from injury are all intriguing. As are guys that are expected to take over lofty fantasy posts in Dayne Crist, Zach Collaros, Brandon Weeden and Robert Marve. And if Gus Malzahn sticks at Auburn, Cameron Newton's stock goes up. Of course there are few battles to be waged this spring. Most notable will be can Bo Levi Mitchell wrestle his old job back from Kyle Padron? Padron looked very impressive in the Hawaii Bowl. And even though Mike Leach has moved on, Texas Tech could still be a fantasy destination at quarterback with either Steven Sheffield or Taylor Potts. As you can see from our rankings we've given the edge to Padron and Sheffield out of the gate.
| 1) Case Keenum, Houston |
| 2) Colin Kaepernick, Nevada |
| 3) Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M |
| 4) Dwight Dasher, Middle Tenn. |
| 5) Kellen Moore, Boise St. |
| 6) Dayne Crist, Notre Dame |
| 7) Ryan Mallett, Arkansas |
| 8) Ricky Dobbs, Navy |
| 9) Robert Griffin, Baylor |
| 10) Zach Collaros, Cincinnati |
| 11) Austin Davis, Southern Miss |
| 12) Russell Wilson, N.C. State |
| 13) Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon |
| 14) Kyle Padron, SMU |
15) Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU |
| 16) Jake Locker, Washington |
| 17) Blaine Gabbert, Missouri |
| 18) Terrelle Pryor, Ohio St. |
| 19) Austin Dantin, Toledo |
| 20) Steven Sheffield, Texas Tech |
| 21) Taylor Potts, Texas Tech |
| 22) B.J. Daniels, South Florida |
| 23) Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech |
| 24) G.J. Kinne, Tulsa |
| 25) Landry Jones, Oklahoma |
| 26) Jamie Hampton, Troy |
| 27) Diondre Borel, Utah St. |
| 28) Zach Maynard, Buffalo |
| 29) Christian Ponder, Florida St. |
| 30) Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP |
| 31) Zac Dysert, Miami (Ohio) |
| 32) Austyn Carta-Samuels, Wyoming |
| 33) Matt Barkley, USC |
| 34) Bryant Moniz, Hawaii |
| 35) Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma St. |
| 36) Robert Marve, Purdue |
| 37) Andy Dalton, TCU |
| 38) Austen Arnaud, Iowa St. |
| 39) Ryan Lindley, San Diego St. |
| 40) Jacory Harris, Miami (Fla.) |
| 41) Andrew Luck, Stanford |
| 42) Nick Foles, Arizona |
| 43) Omar Clayton, UNLV |
| 44) John Brantley, Florida |
| 45) Trey Revell, UL-Monroe |
| 46) Garrett Gilbert, Texas |
| 47) Cameron Newton, Auburn |
| 48) Stephen Garcia, South Carolina |
| 49) Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech |
| 50) Kevin Newsome, Penn St. |
Running Backs
This could be the deepest fantasy running back class that we've seen in sometime. You could make a case for about 20 different backs being worthy of sitting in the Top 5. We will need the computer's projections to sort this out. The bottom line here is you don't need to reach for running backs on draft day. There are also surprisingly few two-headed monsters to worry about. Of the Top 20 only Alabama's Mark Ingram and Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams have immediate threats to playing time. Kendall Hunter returns healthy for 2010 and Anthony Allen is poised to take over Jonathan Dwyer's position at B-back. We will also be awaiting word on eligibility of guys like Eugene Jarvis, Matt Asiata, MiQuale Lewis (his chances look good) and a number of others.
| 1) Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon St. |
| 2) Mark Ingram, Alabama |
| 3) Donald Buckram, UTEP |
| 4) Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh |
| 5) Vai Taua, Nevada |
| 6) Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma St. |
| 7) Bernard Pierce, Temple |
| 8) John Clay, Wisconsin |
| 9) LaMichael James, Oregon |
| 10) Lance Dunbar, North Texas |
| 11) Daniel Thomas, Kansas St. |
| 12) Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech |
| 13) Alfred Morris, FAU |
| 14) Robert Turbin, Utah St. |
| 15) Noel Devine, West Virginia |
| 16) Jordan Todman, Connecticut |
| 17) Shane Vereen, California |
| 18) Anthony Allen, Georgia Tech |
| 19) Charles Sims, Houston |
| 20) Chad Spann, Northern Ill. |
| 21) Montel Harris, Boston College |
| 22) Frank Goodin, UL-Monroe |
| 23) Brynn Harvey, Central Florida |
| 24) DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma |
| 25) Toben Opurum, Kansas |
| 26) Eugene Jarvis*, Kent St. |
| 27) Sam McGuffie**, Rice |
| 28) Alexander Robinson, Iowa St. |
| 29) Ralph Bolden, Purdue |
| 30) Baron Batch, Texas Tech |
| 31) Charles Clay, Tulsa |
| 32) Eddie Wide, Utah |
| 33) Matt Asiata*, Utah |
| 34) Bryce Brown, Tennessee |
| 35) Evan Royster, Penn St. |
| 36) Chris Polk, Washington |
| 37) Harvey Unga, BYU |
| 38) Darren Evans, Virginia Tech |
| 39) Bryce Beall, Houston |
| 40) Joe Martinek, Rutgers |
| 41) Rodney Stewart, Colorado |
| 42) Ike Nduka, Buffalo |
| 43) Andre Ellington, Clemson |
| 44) Jamie Harper, Clemson |
| 45) MiQuale Lewis*, Ball St. |
| 46) Allen Bradford, USC |
| 47) Phillip Tanner, Middle Tenn. |
| 48) Roy Helu, Nebraska |
| 49) Rex Burkhead, Nebraska |
| 50a) Brandon Wegher, Iowa |
| 50b) Jewel Hampton, Iowa |
* seeking another year of eligibility
** added
Wide Receiver
Our top three of Michael Floyd, DeAndre Brown and Jeff Fuller were chosen because of their combination of talent, system and ability to take over games. Houston's James Cleveland and Hawaii's Greg Salas are certain to go high, but don't forget about their counterparts. They can be equally as valuable and can be had in the later rounds. Vincent Brown was on pace to be one of the top fantasy receivers in the country last year, and his return from a thumb injury is big news for fantasy owners. Late rounders like Kito Poblah and Ronald Johnson are ones to watch. Unlike previous years though, this class looks more top heavy and you'll want to draft early; the late round bargain hunting that we saw last year (Freddie Barnes, Titus Young, etc.) may not be there. Who takes the biggest hit? Texas Tech wide receivers tumble down our rankings with the departure of Mike Leach.
| 1) Michael Floyd, Notre Dame |
| 2) Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M |
| 3) DeAndre Brown, Southern Miss |
| 4) Randall Cobb, Kentucky |
| 5) James Cleveland, Houston |
| 6) Titus Young, Boise St. |
| 7) Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma |
| 8) Vincent Brown, San Diego St. |
| 9) James Rodgers, Oregon St. |
| 10) Armon Binns, Cincinnati |
| 11) Greg Salas, Hawaii |
| 12) Rodney Bradley, Hawaii |
| 13) Austin Pettis, Boise St. |
| 14) Eric Page, Toledo |
| 15) Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh |
| 16) Tyron Carrier, Houston |
| 17) Damaris Johnson, Tulsa |
| 18) Jerrel Jernigan, Troy |
| 19) Darvin Adams, Auburn |
| 20) Patrick Edwards, Houston |
| 21) Aldrick Robinson, SMU |
| 22) Hubert Anyiam, Oklahoma St. |
| 23) Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers |
| 24) T.Y. Hilton, FIU |
| 25) Dwayne Harris, East Carolina |
| 26) Jerrell Jackson, Missouri |
| 27) Greg Childs, Arkansas |
| 28) Donovan Varner, Duke |
| 29) Keith Smith, Purdue |
| 30) Tandon Doss, Indiana |
| 31) A.J. Green, Georgia |
| 32) Kito Poblah, Central Michigan |
| 33) Ronald Johnson, USC |
| 35) Jermaine Kearse, Washington |
| 36) DeVier Posey, Ohio St. |
| 37) LaVon Brazill, Ohio |
| 38) Uzoma Nwachukwu, Texas A&M |
| 39) Alex Torres, Texas Tech |
| 40) Kendall Wright, Baylor |
| 41) Jock Sanders, West Virginia |
| 42) Ryan Whalen, Stanford |
| 43) Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina |
| 44) Marvin McNutt, Iowa |
| 45) Detron Lewis, Texas Tech |
| 46) James Kirkendoll, Texas |
| 47) Malcolm Williams, Texas |
| 48) Scotty McKnight, Colorado |
| 49) Marshall Williams, Wake Forest |
| 50) Juron Criner, Arizona |
Tight End
If you thought last year's tight end class was thin, wait until you get a load of this year's class. Nine of the top ten point scorers from last year are all gone, as is Rob Gronkowski. We are taking a flier on tight end/H-back Lance Kendricks and uber-talented Kyle Rudolph, who is coming off an injury. Brian Kelly hasn't shown a propensity to throw to the tight end over the years, but you have to imagine that will change once he sees what the big fella can do.
| 1) Lance Kendricks, Wisconsin |
| 2) Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame |
| 3) Joe Halahuni, Oregon St. |
| 4) George Bryan, N.C. State |
| 5) D.J. Williams, Arkansas |
| 6) Jeffery Anderson, UAB |
| 7) Luke Stocker*, Tennessee |
| 8) Ladarius Green, UL-Lafayette |
| 9) Orson Charles, Georgia |
| 10) Virgil Green, Nevada |
|
11) Austin Holt, BYU
|
| 12) Weslye Saunders, South Carolina |
| 13) Mike McNeill, Nebraska |
| 14) Jack Doyle, Western Ky. |
| 15) Kyle Efaw, Boise St. |
| 16) Charlie Gantt, Michigan St. |
| 17) Brian Linthicum, Michigan St. |
| 18) Rob Housler**, FAU |
| 18) Drake Dunsmore, Northwestern |
| 19) Ben Guidugli, Cincinnati |
| 20) Zack Pianalto, North Carolina |
| 21) Tracy Moore, Oklahoma St. |
| 22) Kavario Middleton, Washington |
| 23) Alston Umuolo, San Diego State |
| 24) Brandon Barden, Vanderbilt |
| 25) Kyle Adams, Purdue |
| 26) Kyle Nelson, New Mexico St. |
| 27) Blake Ayles, USC |
| 28) Cameron Graham, Louisville |
| 29) Dion Sims, Michigan St. |
| 30) Morrell Presley, UCLA |
| 31) Kevin Koger, Michigan |
| 32) Caz Piurowski, Florida St. |
| 33) Aron White, Georgia |
| 34) Collin Franklin, Iowa St. |
| 35) Vance McDonald, Rice |
| 36) Wayne Times, FIU |
| 37) Max Dedmond, Indiana |
| 38) Philip Lutzenkirchen, Auburn |
| 39) Ben Thayer, Eastern Michigan |
| 40) Alvin Jordan Jr., UL-Monroe |
| 41) Tommy Gallarda, Boise St. |
| 42) Travis Kelce, Cincinnati |
| 43) Chris Pantale, Boston College |
| 44) Shamar Graves, Rutgers |
| 45) Adrien Robinson, Cincinnati |
| 46) Blake Hammond, Western Mich. |
| 47) David Paulson, Oregon |
| 48) Konrad Reuland, Stanford |
| 49) Cody Sparks, Tulane |
| 50) Spencer Ladner, California |
* may be headed to the 2010 NFL Draft
** added
Let the debates wage on who should be the number one running back, wide receiver or tight end. We'll be around all off-season to discuss these and other topics on our Shoutbox on the main page as well as our ATI board.
As for our official preseason rankings and projections, you can look for these just before spring practice starts.