*In honor of NFL Network's "Top 100 Players of 2017" series (airing Mondays at 9 p.m. ET), the NFL Fantasy team is releasing their preliminary top 100 or 200 fantasy players of 2017 lists as well. Below are James Koh's rankings, and you can view other analysts' via the tabs above. *
For my top three guys, I honestly think they're interchangeable. I ultimately leaned a little more towards the better offenses in Pittsburgh and Dallas meaning more scoring opportunities for Le'Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott.
Arizona scares me a little bit (a lotta bit) because the passing game could very well suffer a precipitous fall. Carson Palmer is getting up there in age and could completely come apart. Larry Fitzgerald is seemingly impervious to Father Time but we started to see him show his age a bit later in the season last year. I get that David Johnson was amazing regardless of game script but he does carry a tad bit more risk than Lev or Zeke.
The name that probably sticks out is Michael Thomas. I have him in my top 10 and if you want to get crazy, come on with me. In 2016, Thomas had 92 catches and tuned up opposing defenses for more than 1,100 yards to go along with an eyebrow-raising nine touchdowns. With Brandin Cooks gone, Thomas could be walking into an even bigger share of that Saints offense. Listen, Thomas could absolutely underperform first round expectations, but his upside is in the range of 1,500 yards and 12-15 touchdowns. Sign me up for that league-altering potential all day long.
I surprised myself with how high I had Leonard Fournette (L4 for those of you hip to the game). If Blake Bortles doesn't progress or, heaven forbid, regress, the Jaguars and Fournette will have a lot of negative game scripts. I think the LSU product is significantly better than advertised in the passing game but even still, a pass-heavy approach isn't great for Fournette's statistical ceiling.
But forget the potential negatives, working in his favor is his anticipated share in the run game. Both Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon were utterly uninspiring, averaging 3.8 and 3.6 yards per carry, respectively. I think a 1,000-yard, six-to-eight touchdown season is a fair, if not conservative, estimate for Fournette and he has a very healthy floor.
This is where things get spicy. I'm insanely high on Cleveland right now, at least in terms of fantasy. After revamping their offensive line for 2017 and infusing talent across the board, you can't help but have visions of 2007 where the Browns added serious o-line talent which included drafting Joe Thomas. That was a year where Braylon Edwards went off for nearly 1,300 yards and a ridiculous 16 touchdowns. Free agent acquisition Jamal Lewis, out of nowhere, resurrected his career rushing for more than 1,300 yards (1,552 total) on 4.4 yards per carry after a 3.6 ypc average in his last year in Baltimore.
Similarly, Isaiah Crowell could be in line for a huge, seemingly out-of-nowhere, boost a la J-Lew. Hue Jackson has shown a penchant for power running, meaning the Crow could fly free this year.
I'll leave my Marshawn Lynch platitudes to Adam Rank who, like me, is hyphy on Beast Mode running behind that massive o-line in the Yay.
I think Samaje Perine will easily win the starting job in Washington because let me tell you, Perine is an absolute savage. At worst, he's a productive two-down back and a goal-line thumper. I will buy all the shares of Perine this year if you won't.
I'm probably over-ranking Martellus Bennett but he's a guy I'm going to consistently overpay for come draft time. Even going back to his Cal days, Aaron Rodgers has loved throwing to his tight ends and the Black Unicorn is easily the most talented TE he's ever played with (don't even think about @-ing me). A 60-reception, 800-yard, eight-touchdown campaign is more than doable and would put him in line for a top-five finish at the tight end position. Bennett could be a couple fluke plays and/or an injury to a key player away from a special season.
The theme of this group reads like "50 Shades of Grey" in that it's handcuff city. Derrick Henry, Kareem Hunt and D'Onta Foreman have massive upside.
Finally, keep an eye on Adam Thielen. He doesn't have the sexiest game in the world but that dude can play. He will likely fall in drafts because of his lack of name value but he has 90-catch, 1,100-yard upside. He's an absolute steal in this part of your draft.
*Have a question about my rankings? Want more projections? Want to yell at me for no reason? Hit me on Twitter, @JamesDKoh. *
