Feb 5, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) sets to throw under pressure from New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (90) during Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

From my research and the few IDP leagues I’ve been a part of in the past the linebacker position tends to get all the glory. The potential for sacks, forced fumbles, and interceptions to go along with their propensity for tackles makes them the most attractive IDP fantasy targets and you can see that reflected in my rankings.

Defensive backs are always nice because any INT can be turned into a quick pick-six and we all know touchdowns are gold in the world of fantasy football. And if you’re looking to bolster the sack category of your team you can’t go wrong with one of the top pass rushing d-lineman.

I’ve compiled a list of my Top 50 IDP fantasy players for the 2012 fantasy football season so take a look at them and let me know in the comments what you think…

1. Patrick Willis
2. Jason Pierre-Paul
3. Desmond Bishop
4. James Laurinaitis
5. Jared Allen
6. D’Qwell Jackson
7. NaVorro Bowman
8. Sean Lee
9. Justin Tuck
10. Julius Peppers
11. Eric Berry
12. Pat Angerer
13. Derrick Johnson
14. Curtis Lofton
15. Trent Cole
16. Ray Lewis
17. Stephen Tulloch
18. Tyvon Branch
19. Kam Chancellor
20. Paul Posluszny
21. Cameron Wake
22. George Wilson
23. Daryl Washington
24. J.J. Watt
25. Sean Witherspoon
26. Jerod Mayo
27. Mario Williams
28. Karlos Dansby
29. Colin McCarthy
30. Luke Kuechly
31. Roman Harper
32. DeMeco Ryans
33. Von Miller
34. Elvis Dumervil
35. Chris Long
36. Osi Umenyiora
37. Earl Thomas
38. Chris Clemons
39. Jon Beason
40. DeMarcus Ware
41. Cliff Avril
42. Lawrence Timmons
43. London Fletcher
44. Donald Butler
45. Jason Babin
46. Charles Tillman
47. Ed Reed
48. Patrick Peterson
49. Justin Smith
50. Charles Johnson

Jan 22, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) carries the ball during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots in the 2011 AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Ravens 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

If you compare them to my non-PPR rankings you won’t find much of a difference. Ray Rice goes to the top of the board over Arian Foster because of the volume of targets he should receive out of the backfield.

Last season Rice caught 76 balls compared to Foster’s 53 and LeSean McCoy’s 48 and I see that trend continuing. My love for Ryan Matthews keeps on growing and I believe he’ll be the centerpiece of the Chargers offense this year and look for Rivers to dump off to him a lot. Darren Sproles gets a big boost in my PPR RB rankings and deservedly so after watching him in the Saints’ offense last season.

On to the rankings…

Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings

1.     Ray Rice
2.     Arian Foster
3.     LeSean McCoy
4.     Ryan Matthews
5.     Matt Forte
6.     Chris Johnson
7.     Maurice Jones-Drew
8.     Darren McFadden
9.     Darren Sproles
10.  Adrian Peterson
11.  Trent Richardson
12.  Marshawn Lynch
13.  Roy Helu
14.  Jamaal Charles
15.  DeMarco Murray
16.  Doug Martin
17.  Reggie Bush
18.  Steven Jackson
19.  Ahmad Bradshaw
20.  Fred Jackson
21.  C.J. Spiller
22.  Michael Turner
23.  Willis McGahee
24.  Frank Gore
25.  Donald Brown
26.  Beanie Wells
27.  Shonn Greene
28.  Mikel Leshoure
29.  Isaac Redman
30.  Jacquizz Rodgers
31.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis
32.  DeAngelo Williams
33.  Michael Bush
34.  James Starks
35.  Stevan Ridley
36.  Toby Gerhart
37.  Shane Vereen
38.  Mark Ingram
39.  Pierre Thomas
40.  Jonathan Stewart
41.  David Wilson
42.  Jahvid Best
43.  Ben Tate
44.  Kevin Smith
45.  Ronnie Hillman
46.  Tim Hightower
47.  LeGarrette Blount
48.  Isaiah Pead
49.  Ryan Williams
50.  Felix Jones
51.  Daniel Thomas
52.  Rashard Mendenhall
53.  Dexter McCluster
54.  Danny Woodhead

Jan 29, 2012; Honolulu, HI, USA; AFC kicker Sebastian Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders walks into the stadium prior to the 2012 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. Mandatory Credit: US PRESSWIRE

So, let’s get to the fantasy football kicker rankings then:

1. Sebastian Janikowski
2. Mason Crosby
3. David Akers
4. Stephen Gostkowski
5. Matt Prater
6. Dan Bailey
7. Robbie Gould
8. Jason Hanson
9. Alex Henery
10. Rob Bironos
11. Nate Kaeding
12. Billy Cundiff
13. Matt Bryant
14. Garrett Hartley
15. Rian Lindell
16. Dan Carpenter
17. Lawrence Tynes
18. Mike Nugent
19. Neil Rackers
20. Ryan Succop
21. Shaun Suisham
22. Connor Barth
23. Josh Scobee
24. Adam Vinatieri
25. Phil Dawson

Feb 5, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New England Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis (42) is hit by New York Giants middle linebacker Chase Blackburn (93) and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (90)during the second half of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

On the flipside there are the real life defenses of NFL teams that aren’t expected to do much that end up becoming top rated fantasy football defenses at the end of the year and we have to look no further than the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals last year for such examples.

With that in mind here are my current fantasy football team defense rankings:

1. San Francisco 49ers
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Houston Texans
5. Chicago Bears
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Green Bay Packers
8. New York Giants
9. Detroit Lions
10. New York Jets
11. Seattle Seahawks
12. New England Patriots
13. Buffalo Bills
14. Cincinnati Bengals
15. Denver Broncos
16. Kansas City Chiefs
17. Arizona Cardinals
18. Dallas Cowboys
19. Atlanta Falcons
20. New Orleans Saints
21. Tennessee Titans
22. San Diego Chargers
23. Oakland Raiders
24. Miami Dolphins
25. Cleveland Browns
26. Minnesota Vikings
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28. Washington Redskins
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
30. Carolina Panthers
31. St. Louis Rams
32. Indianapolis Colts

June 6, 2012; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) catches a pass on the field during organized team activities at the Falcons training facility. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Fantasy football PPR wide receiver rankings:

1. Calvin Johnson
2. Larry Fitzgerald
3. Roddy White
4. Brandon Marshall
5. Wes Welker
6. Andre Johnson
7. Victor Cruz
8. A.J. Green
9. Greg Jennings
10. Mike Wallace
11. Julio Jones
12. Percy Harvin
13. Hakeem Nicks
14. Steve Smith (Carolina)
15. Jordy Nelson
16. Miles Austin
17. Demaryius Thomas
18. Jeremy Maclin
19. Marques Colston
20. Dez Bryant
21. Antonio Brown
22. Brandon Lloyd
23. Dwayne Bowe
24. Eric Decker
25. Steve Johnson
26. Kenny Britt
27. Vincent Jackson
28. Greg Little
29. Darrius Heyward-Bey
30. Denarius Moore
31. DeSean Jackson
32. Torrey Smith
33. Santonio Holmes
34. Reggie Wayne
35. Pierre Garcon
36. Robert Meachem
37. Anquan Boldin
38. Lance Moore
39. Doug Baldwin
40. Justin Blackmon
41. Santana Moss
42. Michael Crabtree
43. Michael Floyd
44. Titus Young
45. Nate Washington
46. Mike Williams (TB)
47. Sidney Rice
48. Davone Bess
49. Nate Burleson
50. Laurent Robinson
51. Vincent Brown
52. Danny Amendola
53. Brian Quick
54. Reuben Randle
55. Mario Manningham
56. Randy Moss
57. Brian Hartline
58. Kendall Wright
59. Stephen Hill
60. Randall Cobb
61. Eddie Royal
62. Earl Bennett
63. Jacoby Ford
64. Jerome Simpson
65. Jon Baldwin
66. Brandon LaFell
67. Mohamed Sanu
68. Dexter McCluster
69. Golden Tate
70. Leonard Hankerson
71. Devery Henderson
72. Deion Branch
73. Devin Hester
74. David Nelson

May 29, 2012; Allen Park, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) during organized team activities at Lions training facility. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

As always feel free to leave a comment in the comments section of the blog, whether you agree or disagree with my rankings. And feel free to call me an idiot on any ranking you highly disagree with. Fantasy football is nothing more than debate and we encourage it here at GMEN HQ.

Fantasy football wide receiver (non-PPR) rankings:

1. Calvin Johnson
2. Larry Fitzgerald
3. Victor Cruz
4. Roddy White
5. Andre Johnson
6. Greg Jennings
7. A.J. Green
8. Mike Wallace
9. Julio Jones
10. Hakeem Nicks
11. Brandon Marshall
12. Jordy Nelson
13. Steve Smith (Carolina)
14. Wes Welker
15. Miles Austin
16. Demaryius Thomas
17. Jeremy Maclin
18. Dez Bryant
19. Marques Colston
20. Percy Harvin
21. Dwayne Bowe
22. Steve Johnson
23. Antonio Brown
24. Eric Decker
25.  Denarius Moore
26. Brandon Lloyd
27. Kenny Britt
28. Vincent Jackson
29. Torrey Smith
30. Santonio Holmes
31. DeSean Jackson
32. Darrius Heyward-Bey
33. Doug Baldwin
34. Robert Meachem
35. Greg Little
36. Justin Blackmon
37. Santana Moss
38. Reggie Wayne
39. Michael Crabtree
40. Lance Moore
41. Pierre Garcon
42. Sidney Rice
43. Anquan Boldin
44. Mike Williams (TB)
45. Michael Floyd
46. Laurent Robinson
47. Titus Young
48. Reuben Randle
49. Brian Quick
50. Nate Washington
51. Jacoby Ford
52. Stephen Hill
53. Jon Baldwin
54. Brandon LaFell
55. Josh Morgan
56. Nate Burelson
57. Vincent Brown
58. Kendall Wright
59. Danny Amendola
60. Mohamed Sanu
61. Devin Hester
62. Dexter McCluster
63. Deion Branch
64. Jerome Simpson
65. Davone Bess
66. Mario Manningham
67. Randy Moss
68. James Jones
69. Earl Bennett
70. Alshon Jeffrey
71. Randall Cobb
72. Devery Henderson
73. Golden Tate
74. Leonard Hankerson
75. Eddie Royal
76. David Nelson
77. Chad Ochocinco

The top of the tight end rankings belongs to two names and two names only: Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski. Whichever player you have ranked above the other will be based on your personal preference and you can’t go wrong with either one. For me, it’s Graham, mainly due to him being Drew Brees’ number target. In New England Tom Brady will throw to whoever’s open, be it Wes Welker, Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez or Brandon Lloyd, just to throw out a few names at you. It’s a pretty crowded field in New England and that leads me to putting Graham number one.

Jan 29, 2012; Honolulu, HI, USA; NFC tight end Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints (80) dunks the ball over the cross bar after scoring a touchdown against the AFC during the 2012 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

This year in my fantasy football drafts I’m going to target both Graham and Gronkowski, as I think they are far and above better than any other fantasy tight end options. The rest of the pack has some great options to choose from but when it comes to value I’d rather take one of the top two guys than anybody else from the pack. More targets=more opportunities to score. Last year Graham out-edged Gronkowski in the targets category 149-124; although Gronkowski did score 7 more receiving touchdowns and gain 17 yards more on 9 receptions less than Graham. Again, you can’t go wrong with either player.

If I were to wait and draft a tight later in the draft I’d target guys like Coby Fleener, Jared Cook, Tony Moeaki, and Joel Dreessen. I think Dreessen’s the better player out of him and Jacob Tamme but Tamme gets the edge because of his familiarity with Peyton Manning. But we saw what Dreessen could do when given a chance to play whenever Owen Daniels was out in Houston and the numbers were not all that bad; all he needs is a shot and he could shine. On to the rankings…

Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

1.     Jimmy Graham
2.     Rob Gronkowski
3.     Aaron Hernandez
4.     Jermaine Gresham
5.     Jermichael Finley
6.     Antonio Gates
7.     Vernon Davis
8.     Brandon Pettigrew
9.     Coby Fleener
10.  Fred Davis
11.  Jason Witten
12.  Tony Gonzalez
13.  Jacob Tamme
14.  Owen Daniels
15.  Brent Celek
16.  Jared Cook
17.  Kyle Rudolph
18.  Tony Moeaki
19.  Kellen Winslow
20.  Greg Olsen
21.  Dustin Keller
22.  Ed Dickson
23.  Lance Kendricks
24.  Heath Miller
25.  Dennis Pitta
26.  Martellus Bennett
27.  Joel Dreessen
28.  Zach Miller
29.  Evan Moore
30.  John Carlson
31.  Kellen Davis
32.  Marcedes Lewis
33.  Tony Scheffler
34.  Benjamin Watson
35.  Kevin Boss
36.  Dwayne Allen
37.  Anthony Fasano
38.  Rob Housler
39.  James Casey
40.  Michael Egnew
41.  Todd Heap
42.  Chris Cooley
43.  Dallas Clark
44.  Adrien Robinson

Jan 15, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) catches a pass in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at M

Again, it’s still early in the football pre-season for these rankings to matter all that much but they’re a good starting point if you’ve just begun your fantasy football draft preparation.

Feel free to add any comments or disagreements you have with the rankings, along with any messages stating how idiotic my rankings are, in the comments section. For now I hope you get something out of these rankings…

Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings

1.     Arian Foster
2.     LeSean McCoy
3.     Ray Rice
4.     Ryan Matthews
5.     Chris Johnson
6.     Matt Forte
7.     Maurice Jones-Drew
8.     Darren McFadden
9.     Adrian Peterson
10.  Marshawn Lynch
11.  Trent Richardson
12.  Jamaal Charles
13.  DeMarco Murray
14.  Darren Sproles
15.  Doug Martin
16.  Steven Jackson
17.  Roy Helu
18.  Ahmad Bradshaw
19.  Reggie Bush
20.  Fred Jackson
21.  C.J. Spiller
22.  Michael Turner
23.  Frank Gore
24.  Willis McGahee
25.  Donald Brown
26.  Beanie Wells
27.  Shonn Greene
28.  Mikel Leshoure
29.  Isaac Redman
30.  Jacquizz Rodgers
31.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis
32.  DeAngelo Williams
33.  Michael Bush
34.  James Starks
35.  Stevan Ridley
36.  Shane Vereen
37.  Mark Ingram
38.  Jonathan Stewart
39.  David Wilson
40.  Jahvid Best
41.  Ben Tate
42.  Pierre Thomas
43.  Ronnie Hillman
44.  Tim Hightower
45.  LeGarrette Blount
46.  Isaiah Pead
47.  Kevin Smith
48.  Ryan Williams
49.  Felix Jones
50.  Daniel Thomas
51.  Toby Gerhart
52.  Rashard Mendenhall
53.  Peyton Hillis

June 15, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers watches on the 13th hole during the second round of the 112th U.S. Open golf tournament at The Olympic Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Last season my best friend and former fantasy football co-manager started his own league and that was all that I needed to get back into the game. I think the part I love most about fantasy football is the research that goes into your draft preparation and I kind of missed that. Every day there’s a new article for me to read and I just can’t get enough of them. One day I’m reading something about Value Based Drafting and the next I’m reading about potentially underrated PPR players that I can target in my upcoming draft.

When I did play fantasy football before I retired I only played in one league and it was a league where you had to start two quarterbacks. I found the 2-QB league format to be the most challenging and most enjoyable one around because of how difficult it can be to have two starting quarterbacks dressed for an entire season. You never know which QB will eventually suck, get injured, or both and which QB will come out of nowhere to dominate your league.

This year I’m going to be in two leagues: my usual 2-QB league and a PPR league. For the foreseeable future here at GMEN HQ I’m going to start revealing my ranks at each fantasy football position, minus defensive players, in order to both get myself ready for draft day and get a discussion going in the comments section of this blog. If it’s one thing I learned about fantasy football it’s that everybody has an opinion when it comes to fantasy football and wants to talk about their teams or go off on some rant about which player will probably suck this year and who could be a potential sleeper. We all have them so have it in the comments sections; talk about your team, your draft plans, your rankings, tell me how dumb my rankings are, etc. We want your opinions so don’t hold back.

For now I’m only going to provide rankings and leave the analysis for later on in the pre-season when I’ll be updating my rankings. Today’s article will be focusing on my quarterback rankings…

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Matthew Stafford
3. Drew Brees
4. Tom Brady
5. Cam Newton
6. Eli Manning
7. Ben Roethlisberger
8. Philip Rivers
9. Robert Griffin III
10. Jay Cutler
11. Peyton Manning
12. Tony Romo
13. Michael Vick
14. Matt Schaub
15. Matt Ryan
16. Andy Dalton
17. Andrew Luck
18. Jake Locker (*if he wins the starting job, which I think he will)
19. Carson Palmer
20. Joe Flacco
21. Sam Bradford
22. Ryan Fitzpatrick
23. Josh Freeman
24. Mark Sanchez
25. Matt Flynn (*if named starter)
26. Tim Tebow
27. Alex Smith
28. Matt Moore (should beat out Tannehill)
29. Matt Cassel
30. Brandon Weeden
31. Christian Ponder
32. Matthew Hasselbeck
33. Kevin Kolb
34. Ryan Tannehill
35. Joe Webb
36. John Skelton
37. Blaine Gabbert
38. Chad Henne
39. Colt McCoy
40. T.J. Yates
41. Brady Quinn
42. Brian Hoyer
43. Kyle Orton
44. Jason Campbell
45. Tarvaris Jackson
46. Russell Wilson

May 23, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz (80) catches pass during the Giants OTA at the their training facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Let’s start off with the overall Top 200 fantasy football 2012-13 pre-season player rankings with each player’s overall ranking in brackets…

Top 200 Overall

Victor Cruz (26)
Hakeem Nicks (36)
Ahmad Bradshaw (50)
Eli Manning (53)
David Wilson (96)
Reuben Randle (149)
New York Giants (198)

Three Giants in the top 50 and with Manning narrowly missing the cut at #53 overall the Giants have some fantasy firepower one could conceivably build a team around. If I were to draft a team right now and it consisted of Cruz, Nicks, Bradshaw and Manning I think that would be a team I could win with. Take a look at the below 2011-2012 NFL season stats for each player to get a better understanding of the types of years each of those players had:

Victor Cruz: 82 catches, 1,536 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Hakeem Nicks: 76 catches, 1,192 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Ahmad Bradshaw: 659 yards rushing, 267 yards receiving and 11 total touchdowns (9 rushing, 2 receiving).
Eli Manning: 4,933 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and 1 rushing touchdown.

While Bradshaw’s numbers aren’t as eye-popping as you’d like them to be for a fantasy football #1 running back he was injury riddled last season and only appeared in 12 games; yet he still managed 11 total touchdowns. If you take a look at his stats from the previous season it shows a much brighter picture: 1,235 rushing yards, 314 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.

I would put Bradshaw in the second tier of #1 FF RBs, as I think he’ll have a bounce back season and rookie first round pick David Wilson should only help ease Bradshaw’s work load. Cruz and Nicks are both going to produce #1 FF WR stats and you can’t go wrong with drafting either player. As for Manning I think he will have another great year and with the league being a pass first league now with more emphasis being placed on the quarterback play Manning will enjoy throwing to all the weapons he has, which will lead to a lot of stats; the most important thing any fantasy football league manager cares about.

Feb 5, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (44) scores the winning touchdown against the New York Giants during the second half of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Now what about the rooks that made the Top 200 Yahoo! fantasy rankings Wilson and Randle? Randle’s season will be based on where he plays. If he gets that dangerous slot receiver role he could easily have a season like Cruz did last year. He might not get 1,500 yards and 9 touchdowns but 1,000 yards and 6 or 7 touchdowns could be within his reach and that would make him a good #3 WR candidate. Wilson could be the real sleeper here. I already mentioned how I think Bradshaw will return to form but if Wilson comes in and impresses the coaching staff he could be in line for a lot of carries and overshadow Bradshaw. I would draft as a #2 FF RB who could produce #1 FF RB stats.

The Giants’ defense with their sack potential is a worthy team to have on your roster and if you miss out early on some top fantasy defenses like the 49ers or the Ravens then you’ll be happy taking the Giants later on.

Let’s check out the Yahoo! fantasy rankings by position and below you can see how some notable Giants were ranked by position with their overall position ranking in brackets:

May 23, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) throws pass during the Giants OTA at the their training facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

• QuarterbackEli Manning (7)
  Running BackAhmad Bradshaw (20)
  David Wilson (39)
  Wide ReceiverVictor Cruz (6)
  Hakeem Nicks (14)
  Reuben Randle (56)
  Tight EndMartellus Bennett (25)
  KickerLawrence Tynes (17)
  DefenseNew York Giants (8)

A few notes based on the Yahoo! positional rankings… I think they have Eli right where he should be with Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford and Michael Vick ranked ahead of him. The only one of those guys I wouldn’t take before Eli would be Vick… I counted seven running backs (Shonn Greene, Isaac Redman, DeAngelo Williams, Peyton Hillis, Donald Brown, Mark Ingram, and James Starks) I wouldn’t take before Wilson… Nicks is going to be a top ten player by the end of the year and his low ranking is surely due to his pre-season foot injury… Bennett is a wildcard and if he finally puts everything together could be a very late round steal… Tynes is dependable but a kicker is a kicker… The Giants’ D will end up in the top ten and is ranked accordingly.

So, there you have it GMEN HQ readers. Let us know in the comments section what you think of the rankings and which Giants you’re looking forward to drafting this upcoming fantasy football season!