| Sunday | 08.28.16 | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT | PAGE 9

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Content by JOE KACIKThe Virginian-Pilot

Photography by The Associated Press

GOINGWIDEWIDE RECEIVERS HAVE REPLACED RUNNING BACKS as the trendy picks atop fantasy football drafts this season, especially after several top backs failed to deliver, suffered injuries or became part of backfield committees last year. Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown, the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. and Atlanta’s Julio Jones are the three wideouts going off the board first in most leagues.

QUARTERBACKS

Player Team Bye1. Cam Newton CAR 72. Aaron Rodgers GB 43. Andrew Luck IND 104. Drew Brees NO 55. Russell Wilson SEA 56. Carson Palmer ARI 97. Eli Manning NYG 88. Blake Bortles JAC 59. Kirk Cousins WAS 910. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 811. Philip Rivers SD 1112. Tom Brady NE 913. Derek Carr OAK 1014. Matthew Stafford DET 1015. Tyrod Taylor BUF 1016. Jameis Winston TB 617. Marcus Mariota TEN 1318. Andy Dalton CIN 919. Matt Ryan ATL 1120. Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ 11

RANKINGS

RUNNING BACKS(STANDARD LEAGUES)Player Team Bye1. Todd Gurley LA 82. David Johnson ARI 93. Adrian Peterson MIN 64. Ezekiel Elliott DAL 75. Devonta Freeman ATL 116. Lamar Miller HOU 97. Eddie Lacy GB 48. Jamaal Charles KC 59. LeSean McCoy BUF 1010. C.J. Anderson DEN 1111. Le’Veon Bell PIT 8 12. Doug Martin TB 613. Mark Ingram NO 514. Carlos Hyde SF 815. Latavius Murray OAK 1016. DeMarco Murray TEN 1317. Jeremy Hill CIN 918. Frank Gore IND 1019. Thomas Rawls SEA 520. Jeremy Langford CHI 921. Matt Forte NYJ 1122. Ryan Mathews PHI 423. Isaiah Crowell CLE 1324. Giovani Bernard CIN 925. Melvin Gordon SD 1126. Rashad Jennings NYG 827. Jonathan Stewart CAR 728. Chris Ivory JAC 529. Ameer Abdullah DET 1030. Derrick Henry TEN 1331. Charles Sims TB 632. LeGarrette Blount NE 933. Matt Jones WAS 934. Jay Ajayi MIA 835. Danny Woodhead SD 1136. Duke Johnson CLE 1337. Tevin Coleman ATL 1138. DeAngelo Williams PIT 839. Bilal Powell NYJ 1140. Justin Forsett BAL 841. Christine Michael SEA 542. Arian Foster MIA 843. T.J. Yeldon JAC 544. Spencer Ware KC 545. DeAndre Washington OAK 1046. Theo Riddick DET 1047. Devontae Booker DEN 1148. Shane Vereen NYG 849. C.J. Prosise SEA 550. James Starks GB 4

RUNNING BACKS(PPR LEAGUES)Player Team Bye1. David Johnson ARI 92. Todd Gurley LA 83. Devonta Freeman ATL 114. Lamar Miller HOU 95. Ezekiel Elliott DAL 76. Jamaal Charles KC 57. Adrian Peterson MIN 68. Le’Veon Bell PIT 8 9. Eddie Lacy GB 410. C.J. Anderson DEN 1111. LeSean McCoy BUF 1012. Mark Ingram NO 513. Doug Martin TB 614. Matt Forte NYJ 1115. Carlos Hyde SF 816. Latavius Murray OAK 1017. Giovani Bernard CIN 918. Danny Woodhead SD 1119. DeMarco Murray TEN 1320. Jeremy Langford CHI 921. Duke Johnson CLE 1322. Thomas Rawls SEA 523. Ryan Mathews PHI 424. Frank Gore IND 1025. Ameer Abdullah DET 1026. Jeremy Hill CIN 927. Charles Sims TB 628. Melvin Gordon SD 1129. Rashad Jennings NYG 830. Derrick Henry TEN 1331. Bilal Powell NYJ 1132. Chris Ivory JAC 533. Jonathan Stewart CAR 734. Isaiah Crowell CLE 1335. Theo Riddick DET 1036. DeAndre Washington OAK 1037. Jay Ajayi MIA 838. Tevin Coleman ATL 1139. T.J. Yeldon JAC 540. Shane Vereen NYG 841. Matt Jones WAS 942. Justin Forsett BAL 843. Arian Foster MIA 844. DeAngelo Williams PIT 845. Devontae Booker DEN 1146. C.J. Prosise SEA 547. Darren Sproles PHI 448. James White NE 949. Kenneth Dixon BAL 850. Paul Perkins NYG 8

RANKINGS

WIDE RECEIVERS(STANDARD LEAGUES)Player Team Bye1. Antonio Brown PIT 82. Odell Beckham Jr. NYG 83. Julio Jones ATL 114. Allen Robinson JAC 55. A.J. Green CIN 96. DeAndre Hopkins HOU 97. Mike Evans TB 68. Brandon Marshall NYJ 119. Brandin Cooks NO 510. T.Y. Hilton IND 1011. Keenan Allen SD 1112. Alshon Jeffery CHI 913. Dez Bryant DAL 7 14. Sammy Watkins BUF 1015. Demaryius Thomas DEN 1116. Amari Cooper OAK 1017. Jordy Nelson GB 418. Donte Moncrief IND 1019. Julian Edelman NE 920. Eric Decker NYJ 1121. Larry Fitzgerald ARI 922. Jeremy Maclin KC 523. Randall Cobb GB 424. Kelvin Benjamin CAR 725. John Brown ARI 926. Marvin Jones DET 1027. Tyler Lockett SEA 528. Emmanuel Sanders DEN 1129. DeVante Parker MIA 830. Jordan Matthews PHI 431. Golden Tate DET 1032. Michael Floyd ARI 933. Allen Hurns JAC 534. Michael Crabtree OAK 1035. Willie Snead NO 536. Michael Floyd ARI 937. Jarvis Landry MIA 838. Sterling Shepard NYG 839. Kevin White CHI 940. Doug Baldwin SEA 541. DeSean Jackson WAS 942. Tavon Austin LA 843. Josh Gordon CLE 1344. Torrey Smith SF 845. Corey Coleman CLE 1346. Tyler Boyd CIN 947. Chris Hogan NE 948. Stefon Diggs MIN 649. Michael Thomas NO 550. Phillip Dorsett IND 10

WIDE RECEIVERS(PPR LEAGUES)Player Team Bye1. Antonio Brown PIT 82. Odell Beckham Jr. NYG 83. Julio Jones ATL 114. A.J. Green CIN 95. DeAndre Hopkins HOU 96. Allen Robinson JAC 57. Brandin Cooks NO 58. Keenan Allen SD 119. Mike Evans TB 610. Brandon Marshall NYJ 1111. Dez Bryant DAL 7 12. Alshon Jeffery CHI 913. T.Y. Hilton IND 1014. Amari Cooper OAK 1015. Demaryius Thomas DEN 1116. Jordy Nelson GB 417. Sammy Watkins BUF 1018. Jarvis Landry MIA 819. Julian Edelman NE 920. Donte Moncrief IND 1021. Randall Cobb GB 422. Jeremy Maclin KC 523. Marvin Jones DET 1024. Eric Decker NYJ 1125. Kelvin Benjamin CAR 726. Larry Fitzgerald ARI 927. Emmanuel Sanders DEN 1128. Golden Tate DET 1029. Jordan Matthews PHI 430. DeVante Parker MIA 831. DeSean Jackson WAS 932. John Brown ARI 933. Tyler Lockett SEA 534. Michael Floyd ARI 935. Doug Baldwin SEA 536. Sterling Shepard NYG 837. Willie Snead NO 538. Kevin White CHI 939. Corey Coleman CLE 1340. Tyler Boyd CIN 941. Allen Hurns JAC 542. Michael Crabtree OAK 1043. Torrey Smith SF 844. Tavon Austin LA 845. Josh Gordon CLE 1346. Kamar Aiken BAL 847. Stefon Diggs MIN 648. Michael Thomas NO 549. Phillip Dorsett IND 1050. Rishard Matthews TEN 13

TIGHT ENDSPlayer Team Bye1. Rob Gronkowski NE 92. Jordan Reed WAS 93. Greg Olsen CAR 74. Delanie Walker TEN 135. Travis Kelce KC 56. Zach Ertz PHI 47. Coby Fleener NO 5 8. Gary Barnidge CLE 139. Antonio Gates SD 810. Julius Thomas JAC 511. Vance McDonald SF 812. Martellus Bennett NE 913. Dwayne Allen IND 1014. Jason Witten DAL 715. Tyler Eifert CIN 916. Eric Ebron DET 1017. Clive Walford OAK 1018. Jimmy Graham SEA 519. Zach Miller CHI 920. Jordan Cameron MIA 4

WHY WIDEOUTS? SO MANY ISSUES AT RUNNING BACK

If you’re wondering why so many wide receivers are going off the board early in drafts this year, take a look at the number of running backs who disappointments last season:n DeMarco Murray: After leading the NFL in rushing by a wide margin in 2014-15 with 1,845 yards and 13 TDs for Dallas, he was a bust in Philly last season with 702 rushing yards and six TDs. n LeSean McCoy: He’s been considered a top-10 fantasy running back for years, but knee and hamstring injuries forced him to miss four games in his first year in Buffalo. As a result, he failed to surpass 1,000 yards (895) for only the second time since his rookie season. He also finished with only three rushing TDs.n Eddie Lacy: After averaging 1,158 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs in his first two seasons, he came into training camp last season overweight and wasn’t the same player. The results were downright crushing to his owners: 758 rushing yards (20th) and three TDs.

And then there were the running backs who missed significant time last season:n Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh: He was suspended for the first two games, then missed eight games with a torn MCL and PCL in his knee. This season, he’s suspended for the first three games.n Jamaal Charles, Kansas City: He tore his ACL for the second time in his career and missed 11 games.n Marshawn Lynch, Seattle: After four straight seasons with at least 1,200 rushing yards, there were big expectations for him. He ended up missing nine games with an abdomen injury and retired in February.n Justin Forsett, Baltimore: He wasn’t having that great of a season anyway, and then missed the final six games with a broken arm.n Carlos Hyde, San Francisco: He missed nine games with a foot injury.n Arian Foster, Houston: He missed 12 games with groin and Achilles injuries and has now missed 23 regular-season games in the past three seasons.

SLEEPERS/BARGAINS

QUARTERBACKS

n Philip Rivers, San Diego: He threw for career-high 4,792 yards without WR Keenan Allen last year. Think of what he could do if Allen can stay healthy this year. n Kirk Cousins, Washington: The Skins are deep at WR, have one of the NFL’s best tight ends and are weak at running the ball. Cousins was also the most accurate passer in the league last season.

RUNNING BACKS

n LeSean McCoy, Buffalo: His 2015 stats were down mainly because he missed four games due to injury. But for a guy who has averaged 81.9 rushing yards a game since his rookie season and is in a run-first offense, he’s a worthy third-round pick. n Danny Woodhead, San Diego: If you’re in a PPR league, he has to be on your radar. He finished third among RBs in PPR points last year, yet is going as late as the ninth round in some leagues. n Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati: With the Bengals’ No. 2 and 3 WRs gone via free agency and their top TE expected to miss several games, Bernard is expected to have a bigger role in the passing game. Remember that he had a lot more total yards than Jeremy Hill last season (1,202 to 873).

WIDE RECEIVERS

n Donte Moncrief, Indianapolis: After sharing playing time last year, Moncrief moves into a starting role and is primed to improve on solid numbers in 2015 (64-733, 6 TDs). It helps that he has a healthy Andrew Luck, too. n Marvin Jones, Detroit: He’s emerged as the Lions’ best deep threat and Matthew Stafford’s favorite target in camp, yet he’s barely being drafted among the top 100 players. n Tyler Lockett, Seattle: After 1,915 all-purpose yards (1,231 on returns) and 8 TDs last year, many expect him to take the next step. He’s especially valuable in leagues that give you points for return yards.

TIGHT END

n Vance McDonald, San Francisco: A relatively weak WR corps and Chip Kelly’s history of targeting TEs in the passing game gives McDonald plenty of upside.

ROOKIES TO WATCH

n Ekekiel Elliott, RB, Dallasn Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giantsn Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleansn Corey Coleman, WR, Clevelandn Derrick Henry, RB, Tennesseen Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnatin Dak Prescott, QB, Dallasn DeAndre Washington, RB, Oaklandn Devontae Booker, RB, Denvern C.J. Prosise, RB, Seattlen Josh Doctson, WR, Washington

San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers

Buffalo running back LeSean McCoy

Detroit wide receiver Marvin Jones