Fantasy Football: 5-for-5 preseason edition
By Ryan McCloy
Fantasy Football is not only a way for fans to become engaged with the game, not only a way to gamble on sports with your friends, but also a way to learn life skills like management, negotiation, and diligence.
The majority of free agency has come and gone. The draft picks have all been made. Teams are beginning to round into shape. Now, it’s time for fans to begin assembling their own teams — their fantasy teams. Fantasy football creates, strengthens, and — sometimes — strains relationships with league-mates. If you haven’t played fantasy football before, and you’re already a fan of the sport, I highly encourage trying it out for yourself.
In this edition of 5-for-5, I will share my reasoning on my top 5 fantasy players at each of the 5 key fantasy positions. While some rankings, like Michael Thomas or Christian McCaffrey may seem obvious, some are less widely agreed upon. Allow me to explain:
Quarterback:
1. Lamar Jackson, BAL
2. Patrick Mahomes, KC
3. Russell Wilson, SEA
4. Josh Allen, BUF
5. Kyler Murray, ARI
At the top of the fantasy QB rankings, of course, is last year’s breakout star, MVP, and top fantasy scorer, Lamar Jackson. I think Jackson has the best chance to repeat his performance from a year ago due to his athleticism and style of play.
Mahomes had a freak injury last year that kept him from the fantasy superstardom, but he is still one of the most talented young players in the league.
Russell Wilson is consistently around the top of the league in fantasy points. Is he a fun, sexy pick? No. But He’ll score you points, making him a safe pick at QB.
Josh Allen and Kyler Murray ascend into the top 5 after both finishing with top-8 scoring seasons last year. Both have new weapons (Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins, respectively) that will only boost the value of both talented young QBs.