- QB Russell Wilson – Seahawks
- QB Marcus Mariota – Titans (Oregon)
- WR Brandin Cooks – Saints (Oregon State)
- RB Thomas Rawls – Seahawks
- WR Markus Wheaton – Steelers (Oregon State)
- RB Jonathan Stewart – Panthers (Oregon)
- K Steven Hauschka – Seahawks
- TE Julius Thomas – Jaguars (Portland State)
- TE Jimmy Graham – Seahawks
- K Travis Coons – Browns (Washington)
Besides the recent trade which sent the number one pick in this year’s draft from Tennessee to L.A., there isn’t much going on in the NFL/Fantasy world right now. So, might as well do some rankings.
In this installment of Fantasy Scrambler, I took some time to rank the top ten fantasy prospects from the Seahawks as well as from the Northwest schools. (Sorry Cougs, but there aren’t any WSU players worth mentioning here).
My rankings take into account last year’s performances as well as projections for the upcoming season.
Russell Wilson finished third among QB’s in fantasy last year, which makes him the easy choice for #1 on my list. The Seahawks seem poised to contend for the playoffs once again, despite the retirement of running back Marshawn Lynch. This should put Wilson in position to put up another huge pile of fantasy points.
Marcus Mariota played pretty well last year even with the poor protection his O line provided. With the addition of former Eagle, Demarco Murray, at running back, Mariota should get some relief from defenses keying on the second year QB. His production and continued improvement will keep him near the top of this list all year long.
Next up is Brandin Cooks, wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints. Cooks finished 12th in WR fantasy scoring last season and with QB Drew Brees throwing him the ball again this year, there’s no reason not to think he can’t match his point totals from last year, if not improve upon them. Thus, Cooks lands at #3.
At #4, Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls is poised to take over for the retired “Beast Mode”. He was highly productive in his first year, rushing for 830 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 147 carries. The Seahawks are still contenders in the NFC West and their running game is a big reason why. The only question for Rawls is how well he will bounce back from the broken ankle he suffered in week 14 last year.
Markus Wheaton has been thrust into the number two wide receiver spot for the Steelers due to the suspension of Martavis Bryant. Wheaton has steadily improved each year he has been in the league and must now prove he can take some pressure off of “All World” wideout Antonio Brown. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be looking for Wheaton to step up this year which is why he is ranked fifth.
Super Bowl runners up Carolina made a bold move last year by letting free agent running back Deangelo Williams sign with Pittsburgh. This made oft-injured Jonathan Stewart the bell cow for the Panthers. Stewart went on to play in 13 games and proved he could handle the work load of a featured back. QB Cam Newton’s monster fantasy numbers are the main reason why Stewart isn’t higher than sixth on this list.
Whether or not you like kickers, there is no denying the value of good ones. Steven Hauschka has developed into one of the best in the NFL. He finished fifth in fantasy scoring for kickers last season making 40 PAT’s and 29 field goals. The upcoming campaign should offer just as many scoring opportunities for one of the most accurate kickers in the league, which puts Hauschka at a solid #7.
The #8 spot is claimed by Julius Thomas, tight end for the Jaguars. His injured finger kept him out of the first four games a season ago; otherwise, he certainly would have better numbers than his 455 yards and 5 touchdowns he ended up with. Thomas’ health along with QB Blake Bortles’ continued progression, should allow this tight end to score enough fantasy points to keep him on the list.
Seattle’s tight end, Jimmy Graham, would be higher than ninth if it weren’t for the Seahawks’ inability to fully integrate the former All Pro into their offense last year after they traded their talented center, Max Unger, for the franchise tight end. A full offseason of learning the system and meshing with QB Wilson should positively impact Graham’s fantasy production this time around. For now, this one-time fantasy stud is near the bottom of my top ten Northwest fantasy players.
Rounding out the top ten is Cleveland Browns kicker, Travis Coons. He made 28 out of 32 field goals last year to go along with 22 extra points. Being a good kicker on a bad team is what makes Coons my tenth player on this board. The only thing that will knock this guy down is if the Browns are so bad they can’t even get into field goal range.
I hope you all enjoy these rankings. Let me know if you agree with me or if I totally missed the mark. Hit me up on Twitter @MaahsScrambler. “Keep On Scramblin’”!
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