James Koh's top 100 fantasy players for 2016

Published: May 12, 2016 at 01:34 PM

With the NFL draft in the rearview mirror, it's time to turn our attention to next season. And one of summer's best shows has returned, as the "Top 100 Players of 2016" series is back on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network. So set your DVR for that!

James Koh's Top 100 Fantasy Players for 2016

Odell Beckham Jr., Giants (WR1)
1. Antonio Brown, Steelers (WR2)
2. DeAndre Hopkins, Texans (WR3)
3. Julio Jones, Falcons (WR4)
4. Todd Gurley, Rams (RB1)
5. Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys (RB2)
6. David Johnson, Cardinals(RB3)
7. Le'Veon Bell, Steelers (RB4)
8. Adrian Peterson, Vikings (RB5)
9. Rob Gronkowski, Patriots (TE1)
10. Dez Bryant, Cowboys (WR5)
11. Allen Robinson, Jaguars (WR6)
12. A.J. Green, Bengals (WR7)
13. Eddie Lacy, Packers (RB6)
14. Lamar Miller, Texans (RB7)
15. Doug Martin, Buccaneers (RB8)
16. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (QB1)
17. Cam Newton, Panthers (QB2)
18. Jordy Nelson, Packers (WR8)
19. Devonta Freeman, Falcons (RB9)
20. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs (RB10)
21. Alshon Jeffery, Bears (WR9)
22. Sammy Watkins, Bills (WR10)
23. Mike Evans, Buccaneers (WR11)
24. Thomas Rawls, Seahawks (RB11)

OBJ over Antonio Brown??? Yeah, yeah, calm down I get it but here's the thought process: we're watching a guy who is still a developing talent and that is scary as hell. Beckham is entering his third year, a year where most wide receivers really find their groove. Racking up 1,450 yards and 13 scores last year, what the hell does that mean for this year? I don't think 1800 and 15 are out of reach at all.

With Ben McAdoo at the helm, you can expect a bit more gas in terms of tempo meaning more opportunities and I love that fact that Eli Manning has been an absolute work horse, having NEVER missed a game since being becoming the starter in 2004. The same, obviously, can't be said of Ben Roethlisberger, and we saw a significant dip in production with Brown once Big Ben was on the mend.

Other notes -- Darren McFadden in 10 starts had 1,400-plus total yards, what is Zeke going to do? Peterson is 31 and coming off of a 350-plus touches last year. He's a cyborg but even machines break down. Eddie Lacy = P90X + contract year.

Carlos Hyde, 49ers (RB12)
1. Russell Wilson, Seahawks (QB3)
2. Brandon Marshall, Jets (WR12)
3. Amari Cooper, Raiders (WR13)
4. Matt Forte, Jets (RB13)
5. Jeremy Langford, Bears (RB14)
6. Latavius Murray, Raiders (RB15)
7. Mark Ingram, Saints (RB16)
8. Demaryius Thomas, Broncos (WR14)
9. LeSean McCoy, Bills (RB17)
10. Brandin Cooks, Saints (WR15)
11. Keenan Allen, Chargers (WR16)
12. Julian Edelman, Patriots (WR17)
13. Jarvis Landry, Dolphins (WR18)
14. Kelvin Benjamin, Panthers (WR19)
15. Doug Baldwin, Seahawks (WR20)
16. Randall Cobb, Packers (WR21)
17. Emmanuel Sanders, Broncos (WR22)
18. Andrew Luck, Colts (QB4)
19. Jeremy Maclin, Chiefs (WR23)
20. Greg Olsen, Panthers (TE2)
21. Tyler Eifert, Bengals (TE3)
22. Dion Lewis, Patriots (RB18)
23. Golden Tate, Lions (WR24)
24. T.Y. Hilton, Colts (WR25)

I'm probably stupidly high on Langford and I figure he'll be in some kind of forsaken John Fox timeshare but even still, 1,200+ total and six to eight scores is a pretty safe projection for him. Ka'Deem Carey and Jordan Howard are relatively uninspiring and I'm shocked so many analysts are picking apart a guy who made some great catches and showed off his explosiveness and all-around skills, on the road, against a good Rams defense. (Highlights here.)

Doug Baldwin was ridiculously hard to rank. If he was a second-year player I think the fantasy community would be goo-goo, ga-ga over him but we have a long and disappointing history with Angry Doug. Ultimately I pushed Baldwin up above guys like Cobb and Emmanuel Sanders because the Seattle offense seems to be morphing into an attack that will rely heavily on Russell Wilson. If that's the case, we saw last year who the beneficiary of that will be as Baldwin exploded for a ridiculous 530 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final six games.

C.J. Anderson, Broncos (RB19)
1. Eric Decker, Jets (WR26)
2. Jordan Reed, Redskins (TE4)
3. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (QB5)
4. Ryan Mathews, Eagles (RB20)
5. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers (RB21)
6. Jeremy Hill, Bengals (RB22)
7. Michael Floyd, Cardinals (WR27)
8. Jordan Matthews, Eagles (WR28)
9. Drew Brees, Saints (QB6)
10. Giovani Bernard, Bengals (RB23)
11. Ameer Abdullah, Lions (RB24)
12. Matt Jones, Redskins (RB25)
13. John Brown, Cardinals (WR29)
14. DeSean Jackson, Redskins (WR30)
15. Melvin Gordon, Chargers (RB26)
16. DeMarco Murray, Titans (RB27)
17. Jay Ajayi, Dolphins (RB28)
18. Tyler Lockett, Seahawks (WR31)
19. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals (WR32)
20. Donte Moncrief, Colts (WR33)
21. Tom Brady, Patriots (QB7)
22. Gary Barnidge, Browns (TE5)
23. DeVante Parker, Miami (WR34)
24. Delanie Walker, Titans (TE6)

I honestly wanted to drop DeMarco further but the running back depth at this point gets pretty ugly. Unproven Matt Jones? Jay Ajayi and his degenerative knee? Duke Johnson and the Cleveland offense? Yikes. I actually don't mind loading up on upside wide receivers in this range (read: Moncrief, Lockett, Jones) and then swing for the fences again in the next couple rounds on running backs. See below.

Marvin Jones, Lions (WR35)
1. Duke Johnson, Browns (RB29)
2. Eli Manning, Giants (QB8)
3. Blake Bortles, Jaguars (QB9)
4. Michael Crabtree, Raiders (WR36)
5. Dorial Green-Beckham, Titans (WR37)
6. Ladarius Green, Steelers (TE7)
7. Kenneth Dixon, Ravens (RB30)
8. Frank Gore, Colts (RB31)
9. Corey Coleman, Browns (WR38)
10. Allen Hurns, Jaguars (WR39)
11. Markus Wheaton, Steelers (WR40)
12. Derek Carr, Raiders (QB10)
13. Tony Romo, Cowboys (QB11)
14. Julius Thomas, Jaguars (TE8)
15. Kirk Cousins, Redskins (QB12)
16. Josh Doctson, Redskins (WR41)
17. Stefon Diggs, Vikings (WR42)
18. Tyrod Taylor, Bills (QB13)
19. Travis Benjamin, Chargers (WR43)
20. Coby Fleener, Saints (TE9)
21. Philip Rivers, Chargers (QB14)
22. Steve Smith Sr., Ravens (WR44)
23. Marcus Mariota, Titans (QB15)
24. Derrick Henry, Titans (RB32)

I'm giving Kenneth Dixon a 9th-round grade but I can 1,000,000,000 percent guarantee you I will be overpaying for his services come draft day. I might get stupid and take him in the 6th just to make sure, that's how high I am on him. Guys I love in this range: Ladarius Green, Kirk Cousins, Josh Doctson. I really think Cousins has a chance be this year's Blake-Bortles type breakout guy and as a result expect Josh Doctson to have a big-time impact on the back half of the season.

Why wait? CLICK HERE to get your 2016 NFL Fantasy season started.

-- Follow James on Twitter @JamesDKoh

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