2017 Fantasy Football Big Board: Preseason Top 150 Rankings (Updated 8/15)

NOTE –  We have begun using a new, much more user friendly rankings platform thanks to Fantasy Pros. Check out these much more updated rankings here.

Why You Need a Big Board (and how to use it properly)

Training Camp is full in swing, preseason action has officially arrived, and real football is less than a month away. Though 85 and sunny outside, I’m spending my remaining summer vacation days as a melting puddle on my couch, churning out DraftWizards by the second, tugging to all the “best-shape-of-his-life” puff pieces, and watching every lineman sled drill of NFL’s Inside Training Camp Live. #TheGoodLife

This preseason has already been filled with a plethora of noteworthy injuries, early game performances, depth chart developments, and now suspensions and trades. This Big Board is by far the most up-to-date one in the market, capturing every important swing and shake thus far. Moreover, a combined Big Board of all the positions is crucial, as it illuminates the different tiers, drop offs, and general ebbs and flow of a draft, which simply can’t be captured with only positional rankings.

Though I am very confident in these rankings, you also need to be flexible while using them, keeping the draft, your team makeup, and the market in mind at all times.  Player “runs” and expected twists happen during every single fantasy draft, and locking in any one ranking setas if it’s an unchangeable list would be ill-advised. With this in mind, two quick strategies I recommend:

A) Draft by talent, not need — but if you can make both work, great. Don’t, for example, just draft a tight end like Eric Ebron in Round 6 because you don’t have the position, especially if all the high-end TE1s are gone. Notice that low-end TE1s are falling all the way to Round 10, and gain some depth at the other positions.

That being said, if you’ve gone, say, RB – RB to begin the draft and I have Marshawn Lynch four spots above Davante Adams, you would still want to go with Adams in Round 3 given he’s in a similar “Talent Tier,” but fills a desperate need.

B) Know the market prices, and capitalize upon the bargains when they exist. This means that even if I have Eric Decker at 46 overall, he’s not going until the 88-90 range. Of course I want to secure Decker if I have him this highly ranked, and will reach a round early to do so, but there’s no need to pay what I feel his value is if the market sets the price lower. Instead, find assets you still really like and who are bound to be off the board, and pluck the cheap bargains later to reap the full benefits. Note – I include the Expert Consensus Ranking and ADP of every player so their “Market Price” is very clear compared to my own personal values.

Finally, while I plan to add quick blurbs on each player in the near future, this is just a simple “Cheat Sheet” list that will be continually updated. If you want more in-depth analysis on individual players, make sure to check out my positional rankings. Here, I grade every single player using our Fantasy Stock Formula, as well as track any important Stock Up or Stock Down movements to keep every profile in-depth. These take a while to format, so occassionally the Big Board will have changes that are not yet reflected:

• Quarterbacks
• Running Backs
• Wide Receivers
• Tight Ends

Scoring and Rosters: These rankings assume 1/2 PPR and 4 pt passing TD scoring, as well as a 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, and 1 Flex starting lineup. If you have specific questions on how my rankings might adjust to your league requirements (i.e. 2 QB, no flex, standard or full PPR), be sure to hit me up on Twitter or comment below! Without further adieu, I present my first Fantasy Football Top 150 Big Board of the 2017 Preseason:

2017 Fantasy Football Big Board: Preseason Top 150

8/15 Update: Big Board now reflects Ezekiel Elliotts’ suspension, Sammy Watkins and Jordan Matthews’ trades, and the first week of preseason action.

Note: I’ll be writing a far more in-depth Draft Day Manifesto for our August Update Draft Guide where I’ll breakdown of 2017’s Fantasy Stock Market. Still, one massive change reflected on this updated Big Board is my need for multiple Top-15 WRs. I also note the fluidity of each tier, meaning how susceptible it is for change based on further preseason development:

Who’s egregiously high and way too low? What is The Wolf’s smartest and dumbest moves here? Sound off below,  or pepper your favorite expert’s newly revived Twitter page with all your fantasy dilemmas and shred my soul into a 10 lb bag of sharp cheddar.

Needless to say, fantasy preparation is at it’s absolute peak, and The Roto Street Journal has you covered all summer long. Indeed, true Fantasy Wolves have been chugging away since the final whistle of the Super Bowl. Still, there’s plenty of time for you “August Sheep” to get caught up. Start by checking out our FREE Fantasy Football Market report (monster update coming in 2-3 weeks). Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.For audio based learners or those with long commutes, make sure to subscribe (and rate us 5 stars) and tune into the Fantasy Fullback Dive on iTunes or Stitcher.