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I was surprised by the Giants’ decision to spend a first-round pick on a running back. They needed a body, no doubt, after allowing Brandon Jacobs to sign with the 49ers in free agency. I figured, however, that 2007 seventh-round pick Ahmad Bradshaw, who rated eighth overall at RB in last season at +14.7, would have inspired them to a little more creativity (read: bargain shopping) at the position where pedigree seems least tied to success.

Wilson, in particular, strikes me as an odd choice. He is within an inch in height and ten pounds of Bradshaw and has a similar skill set. He provides no change of pace. He is depth. When Bradshaw is tired or hurt, Wilson will do Bradshaw things. And that realization sparked my own creativity. Why do the Giants believe they need more Ahmad Bradshaw? Read the rest of this entry »

Updated – 5/2/2012

Note that although the projections show a 16 game projection, they’re essentially weekly projections multiplied by 16 games. This means that injury probability is not involved. For example, you’ll notice that each team’s projected starting quarterback is usually shown as taking 100% of his team’s drop backs. That isn’t realistic when looking at a full season, but it gives us some perspective early in the off-season at which players will be near the top of the rankings each week.

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With the NFL Draft now in the books it’s time to cast an analytical eye back over the selections and see how they will impact IDP fantasy football leagues. We’ve brought in a full quota of IDP writers to give you their thoughts, including IDP Editors Ross Miles and Jeff Ratcliffe, as well as Mike Woellert and Dan Ciarrocchi.

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This article is the second installment in an ongoing series examining how the myriad Premium Stats provided by PFF can be used to your advantage when assembling your fantasy team. In Part 1, we learned how team-level offensive statistics can be used to predict an offense’s collective fantasy output the following season. Part 2 applies similar team-level analyses to the defensive side of your fantasy roster.

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Former Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd found himself in a nice new home when the Cardinals drafted him in the first round. However, it’s his new teammate, Larry Fitzgerald (+23.2), that could be the biggest beneficiary of the addition in 2012.

Starting in 2010, when both Anquan Boldin and Kurt Warner departed the desert, Fitz has seen his numbers drop. Below are two charts. The “No. 2″ receiver on each chart is  the receiver that took the second most snaps at wide receiver each year. In 2008 and 2009, “No. 2″ is solely Boldin. In 2010, it was Steve Breaston. In 2011, it was Andre Roberts.

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Updated May 13, 2012

Collaborative effort of Bryan Fontaine and Chad Parsons.

We will frequently be updating our rookie rankings to provide you the most recent information you need for your dynasty rookie draft. Read the rest of this entry »

Day two of the NFL Draft is in the books. Now we are left to make sense of all the dynasty fantasy football implications of the draft picks selected so far. Again, I brought in Chad Parsons to help me breakdown what you need to know. Find our Day 1 roundtable here.

Here are the questions: Read the rest of this entry »

Day two was less frenetic than the first, but the 2012 NFL Draft still provided plenty of surprises and head-scratchers in the second and third rounds. Which draft picks will have a fantasy impact in redraft formats?

Two guys who initially stand out are Alshon Jeffery and Rueben Randle. When Jeffery was selected by the Bears, I tweeted that he would be the top-scoring rookie receiver. Pairing the 6’4″ receiver out of South Carolina with Brandon Marshall gives Cutler two big targets, and Jeffery will benefit from Marshall’s presence. In fact, Cutler will likely crack my top ten rankings the way they have improved their receiving corps.

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Day one of the 2012 NFL Draft saw a flurry of trades and plenty of surprises. How did the first round look from a redraft perspective in the fantasy realm? Scott Spratt and I wrote down our thoughts below.

Alex:

There was little drama at the top as Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III went to the Colts and Redskins respectively. Looking ahead to their rookie seasons, I would rank RGIII significantly higher than Luck for several reasons: the Redskins are a better team, Shanahan’s offense suits Griffin well, and he is a bigger threat to score fantasy points on the ground.

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Round 1 of the NFL Draft is in the books. Now we are left to make sense of all the dynasty fantasy football implications of the draft picks last evening. For this roundtable edition, I brought in Chad Parsons to help me breakdown what you need to know.

Here are the questions: Read the rest of this entry »