Yet to Draft? Take a look at the exclusive ChillGrill.biz fantasy football tiers list. I know a lot of leagues drafted this weekend, but I couldn’t post these until now or else my friends would always know who I was going to take! These tiers are geared toward non-PPR leagues, so adjust accordingly if receptions earn you extra points. They are meant to balance all circumstances, however. Brandon Marshall, for example, is a Tier 2 or 3 player with a Tier 17 maturity level, so this list takes the risk of him missing the season for some reason into consideration. Regardless, this list should serve as an interesting time capsule to review for accuracy after the season. Enjoy.
QB
Tier One: Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady
Tier Two: Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Matt Schaub, Philip Rivers
Tier Three: Donovan McNabb, Jay Cutler, Carson Palmer
Tier Four: David Garrard, Matt Ryan, Trent Edwards, Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Cassel
Tier Five: Brett Favre, Jason Campbell, Ben Roethlisberger, Kyle Orton, Eli Manning, Shaun Hill, Jake Delhomme, Kerry Collins, Joe Flacco, Byron Leftwich
Tier Six: Mark Sanchez, Chad Pennington, Matthew Stafford, Brady Quinn, Marc Bulger, JaMarcus Russell
RB
Tier One: Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Forte
Tier Two: LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams, Steve Slaton, Brian Westbrook, Marion Barber, Frank Gore, Ronnie Brown, Brandon Jacobs, Steven Jackson
Tier Three: Pierre Thomas, Chris Johnson, Clinton Portis, Ryan Grant, Darren McFadden, Kevin Smith
Tier Four: Marshawn Lynch, Cedric Benson, Ray Rice, Willie Parker, Larry Johnson
Tier Five: Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Beanie Wells, Johnathan Stewart, Jamal Lewis, Felix Jones, Knowshon Moreno, Joseph Addai, Thomas Jones, Julius Jones, Derrick Ward
Tier Six: Darren Sproles, Leon Washington, Fred Jackson, Donald Brown, LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Edgerrin James
Tier Seven: Earnest Graham/Cadillac Williams, Ladell Betts, Chester Taylor, Le’Ron McClain, Rashard Mendenhall, Laurence Maroney/Fred Taylor/Sammy Morris, James Davis, Michael Bush, Tim Hightower, Jerious Norwood, Glen Coffee, Tashard Choice, Shonn Greene, Ricky Williams, Willis McGahee
WR
Tier One: Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson
Tier Two: Reggie Wayne, Anquan Boldin, Marques Colston, Steve Smith (CAR), Greg Jennings, Roddy White
Tier Three: Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, Vincent Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Wes Welker, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Roy E. Williams
Tier Four: Lee Evans, DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Antonio Bryant, Santana Moss, Bernard Berrian, Brandon Marshall, Braylon Edwards, Chris Henry (CIN), Santonio Holmes, Jerricho Cotchery, Donnie Avery
Tier Five: Hines Ward, Donald Driver, Anthony Gonzalez, Torry Holt, Derrick Mason, Kevin Walter, Lance Moore, Steve Breaston, Chaz Schilens, Laveranues Coles
Tier Six: Josh Morgan, Earl Bennett/Devin Hester, Ted Ginn, Jr., Hakeem Nicks, Percy Harvin, Patrick Crayton, Steve Smith (NYG), Justin Gage/Kenny Britt/Nate Washington, Muhsin Muhammad, Domenik Hixon, Robert Meachem
TE
Tier One: Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark
Tier Two: Tony Gonzalez, Owen Daniels, Greg Olsen
Tier Three: Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, Chris Cooley, Visanthe Shiancoe, Dustin Keller, Vernon Davis
Tier Four: John Carlson, Anthony Fasano, Tony Scheffler, Kevin Boss, Martellus Bennett, Zach Miller
Tier Five: Heath Miller, Bo Scaife, Brandon Pettigrew
In case anybody out there cares, I mentioned my fantasy drafts took place this weekend. Here are my draft-day rosters heading into the season:
– 10-team $30 buy-in league:
Start: 2 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB/WR, 1 WR/TE, 1 K, 1 DEF, 1 DL, 1 LB, 1 DB
QB: Kurt Warner, Matt Schaub, Byron Leftwich
RB: Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Ray Rice, Julius Jones, Laurence Maroney
WR: Calvin Johnson, Vincent Jackson, Bernard Berrian, Chris Henry, Torry Holt, Josh Morgan, Robert Meachem
TE: Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow
K: Ryan Longwell (Minnesota)
DEF: MIN
DL: Mario Williams
LB: Patrick Willis
DB: Oshiomogho Atogwe
– 10-team $20 buy-in league (bonus points for each completion, reception, and rushing attempt):
Start: 2 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB/WR, 1 WR/TE, 1 K, 1 DEF
QB: Drew Brees, Trent Edwards, Brett Favre
RB: Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, Cedric Benson, Knowshon Moreno, LenDale White, Ladell Betts, James Davis
WR: Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Dwayne Bowe, Chris Henry, Torry Holt
TE: Martellus Bennett
K: Nick Folk (Dallas)
DEF: NYJ
And finally, for what it’s worth, the three players I didn’t get in either league that I find myself coming out of draft weekend really wishing I had? Anquan Boldin, Kevin Smith, and Vernon Davis.
