2008 Fantasy Football All-Pro Team

This is simply the top scorers (thru week 13) at each position, for the 2008 season. In the past we had pool payouts for this stuff but…

---

2008 Fantasy Football All-Pro Team

This is simply the top scorers (thru week 13) at each position, for the 2008 season. In the past we had pool payouts for this stuff but since this wasn’t about gambling, we decided it wasn’t a critical portion of the game and ditched that. If anybody has complaints about the list, please let me know.

QB’s

• 1st Team: Drew Brees (180 points) — he may not be a consistent winner but he’s proving to be a more efficient and productive Aaron Brooks for New Orleans, and he’s this year’s winner of the top QB spot.
• 2nd Team: Kurt Warner (165 points) — Warner’s resurgence ensures he’ll be a HOF both in the NFL and fantasy football.
• 3rd Team: Aaron Rodgers (164 points) — This was a great performance for a first year starter, and another piece of evidence in why quarterbacks need to sit & learn to develop into a franchise quarterback.
• Top Rookie: Joe Flacco (121 points) — Most people would say its Matt Ryan but Flacco’s running ability and big arm have led to a high scoring rookie year. I think Ryan is the safer franchise bet but Flacco has a higher upside.

RB’s

• 1st Team: Michael Turner (157 points) — This is easily the biggest surprise of the year, Turner had showed talent backing up LT in San Diego but few fantasy pundits predicted this type of explosion.
• 2nd Team: DeAngelo Williams (154 points) — Williams has been a monster down the stretch and is actually far & away the highest scoring fantasy back after his huge week 14 performance. If he keeps it up, he’ll be winning fantasy championships this year.
• 3rd Team: Thomas Jones (153 points) — Jones finally delivered for the Jets & fantasy owners what they expected in ’07. I guess its better a year late than never.
• Top Rookie: Matt Forte (145 points) — In what likely will go down as one of the greatest years for rookie RB’s (Steve Slaton 132 & Chris Johnson 125) with 4 guys at 10+ TD’s and three that should finish with 1500+ total yards and a lot more promise behind that, Forte has consistently been the best. If he keeps up the current pace and Chicago wins their division, he should be the NFL rookie of the year too.

WR’s

• 1st Team: Anquan Boldin (131 points) — Boldin missed two games but he has been a scoring machine & a beast in a great Arizona passing offense this year. As you’ll see, his running mate Fitzgerald is just behind him on his list which speaks volumes about Kurt Warner in ‘08.
• 2nd Team: Larry Fitzgerald (121 points) — Fitz is mister consistency, he had some down weeks but by & large he was accountable for ten points nearly every week.
• 3rd Team: Calvin Johnson (121 points) — CJ and Fitz actually tied but I put him as the 3rd team guy because his production was so unpredictable. If the Lions could stablize their QB and running situation, CJ could be the dominant fantasy WR for the next half decade…or he could languish in this place of uncertainty.
• Top Rookie: Eddie Royal (85 points) — The second round pick surprised people with a monster opening game on national television and remained an important addition to a strong Denver offense all season long. Royal should be a stud in the years to come as he matures and better understands defenses.

TE’s

• 1st Team: Tony Gonzales (87 points) — TG is a certain first ballot hall of famer and is having one of his most productive seasons during another terrible Chiefs season.
• 2nd Team: Antonio Gates (65 points) — Gates had an off year and is on pace to post the worst stats of his career in a full season. But he’s still the number two fantasy tight end, albeit in a down year.
• 3rd Team: Jason Witten (61 points) — Witten is a consistent top 5 tight end coming off arguably his career year.
• Top Rookie: John Carlson (43 points) — the 2nd round pick out of Notre Dame looks like a solid outlet receiver for the Seattle Seahawks to build around in their passing game.

Summary:
It’s interesting to note that most of the QB’s, WR’s & TE’s were on many pundits top 5 lists to start the season and are perennial studs (likely Hall of Famers) but the RB list contains three players who haven’t ever been top 10 candidates. It’s partly the nature of the position but also a trend that is pushing NFL franchises to share carries and keep a stable of options in the backfield. In ’09 I wonder if we’ll see a continued resurgence in the RB position in fantasy football or whether passing will return to be king like in ’06 & ‘07.