Fantasy football drafts are likely right around the corner for many of you if you haven't already had them, so now is the time to start pouring over player rankings. Personally I usually only take a look at them right before my first draft (hooray procrastination) and then go from there. Others spend a lot of time studying the different rankings, trying to set up a draft board of sorts for when players will be available and all that.
Looking at some rankings recently in order to not procrastinate for a change, I took note of where Lions players were at in the position-by-position breakdown. I thought it would be interesting to see where Lions players came in on CBSSports.com's rankings, because it could be a conversation starter if a player (or unit) is blatantly ranked too high or too low. Here is a look at where the Lions' players came in:
Jamey Eisenberg's Rankings
- Matthew Stafford: 21st quarterback
- Jahvid Best: 23rd running back
- Kevin Smith: 53rd running back
- Maurice Morris: 69th running back
- Calvin Johnson: 4th receiver
- Nate Burleson: 53rd receiver
- Tony Scheffler: 20th tight end
- Brandon Pettigrew: 31st tight end
- Jason Hanson: 30th kicker
- Lions D/ST: 30th
Dave Richard's Rankings
- Matthew Stafford: 19th quarterback
- Jahvid Best: 26th running back
- Kevin Smith: 47th running back
- Maurice Morris: Not ranked
- Calvin Johnson: 10th receiver
- Nate Burleson: 44th receiver
- Tony Scheffler: 24th tight end
- Brandon Pettigrew: 28th tight end
- Jason Hanson: 24th kicker
- Lions D/ST: 23rd
There are slight differences between the two lists that I found interesting. At running back, for example, Best is ranked slightly lower and Smith slightly higher in Richard's rankings. At receiver and tight end, there are similar circumstances. Richard's rankings, compared to Eisenberg's list, have Johnson ranked lower and Burleson higher. At tight end, Scheffler is lower and Pettigrew is higher. It seems the source of disagreement is that Eisenberg thinks the Lions' top player at each position will get the bulk of the workload, whereas Richard has things more balanced.
The other differences come at kicker and D/ST. Eisenberg gives no love to Hanson or the Lions D/ST, ranking both 30th. Richard, on the other hand, has Hanson 24th and the Lions D/ST a somewhat surprising 23rd. That seems a little high considering the D/ST has been at the bottom of the league the last few years, but I'm with him on Hanson. I know he's getting older, had knee surgery again and struggled last year, but 30th in the league? Really? That just seems too low.
What do you think about these rankings? Which players were overrated or underrated? And did Hanson really deserve that low of a ranking? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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