Fantasy Football
Matthew Berry, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Matthew Berry's 2015 fantasy football rankings

Fantasy NFL

I wish there was another word other than rankings. Like guidelines. That's probably a much better title for this, frankly. Matthew Berry's 2015 Fantasy Football Player Guidelines. Of course, that doesn't play as well as rankings in search engines, but what do I care? I already got your click.

The point is, this list of players is NOT to be followed religiously. First, because the scoring in your league may not be the same as ESPN standard scoring, which is what these ranks are based on. That's a 10-team non-keeper league with one quarterback, two running backs and two wide receivers, a tight end, a stupid kicker, a team D/ST, a flex spot and six bench spots. Four points for a touchdown pass, one point every 25 yards passing and another one for every 10 yards rushing or receiving. So you'll have to adjust a little mentally if your league does not use these settings.

Even if it does, this should still be a guideline. Every draft is different; every league is different. You know your league better than I do. Is it easy to replace injured guys on the waiver wire or is it picked bare? That'll help determine how many (if any) handcuffs you roster for your studs and when you reach for them. It'll help determine if you need a second quarterback or tight end and frankly, when to draft a quarterback. Do they go early or late in your league?

I never like going into a draft with a hard-and-fast plan of what I want to do. There are players I like more than others and theories that inform when and where I will take certain positions, but in general, I let the draft come to me and assemble the best team I can with what is presented to me in any given round. As a result, rankings for your draft should change as you assemble your team, your team needs change with every player you roster, and the value of each available player shifts as each player is drafted.

And finally, it should be a guideline because, well, it's your team, my friend! Not mine. You'll have to live with it all season long, so you'll feel better about it if you've made the choices rather than just following my rankings (or anyone else's) blindly.

Now, so you know, this is designed with my biases and basic draft principles this year in mind -- in general, I value safety early, upside later, waiting on QB and TE except at upper tier -- and I'll get more into that in my upcoming Draft Day Manifesto. Where you see multiple players from the same position right in a row, it's likely that I feel they are very similar. I've put them in an order based on my preference, of course, but it's a very similar tier and I'm not all that upset if you want to pick one guy over the other in that range.

Finally, realize that rankings are a fluid list of value (perceived or actual) on draft day, and in fantasy, value changes daily if not more often. So check here for updates and always make sure to look at the "time stamp" at the top so you'll know exactly when something was posted. With all that out of the way ... let's dive in!

Editor's note: These rankings will be updated throughout the summer, so please check back for the latest changes.

Latest update: Sept. 7

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