The Shark Re-Draft XL 2023-RB rankings in May can suction a golf ball thru a garden hose, let me demonstrate it for you (1 Viewer)

[Ministry of Pain]

I have a lot to say when I glanced over the RB rankings on FFP which is just a hub of a lot of sites and writers and a lot of people glance at their preseason rankings as foolish as they might be, it told me a lot about the mindset of many Redrafters as we turn towards June-July and a lot of "hype reports" as I call them. Some coach boasting about their skill players or some motor mouth on ESPN that has to try and draw ratings, blatantly cloud the truth of what to expect.

Never fear, MoP is hear to set you on the right path or course of action. You might recall last year we were bullish on the SF RB1 slot, we just didn't know that player for SF wasn't even on the team back in August...
Had we known? Well things might have played out differently. I still traded for CMC mid season in a lot of my redraft leagues. Some worked out well, some did not, just how it goes sometimes.

Before I embark on a journey I don't plan on finishing, I thought it might be good to go over some quick ground rules...

Rule #1-You Dynasty Folks keep your traps SHUT!!! We don't need your help! You are complete poison for the average person just trying to compete in redrafts. We know you have the inside track on building a team that will never come into fruition or see the light of day because its loaded with 1st Round picks in 2030 as you have mortgaged the present for what might happen down the road. MoP still loves you

Rule #2-I've changed course over the years. 25 years ago, RB1, RB2, RB3, maybe RB4, we'll get to those dirty Wide Receivers later in the draft...not so much anymore. Nowadays I am a firm believer in grabbing as many WR1 types as possible and if you believe in your heart that a preseason WR2/3(AJB last year, cough cough) is a WR 1 in sheep's clothing, by God you run to the podium with their name and don't look back, there is nothing to debate here IMHO.

As I look at the Top Tiers, Tier 1 is only 4, Tier 2 is only another 5 down the list, but the reality is 10-12-14 teams are all going to want to draft at least 1 quality RB, 2 if possible and a slew of Half Backs to fill Half a spot wherever they can insert them. The fact is there aren't enough top RBs to go around. The challenge is not many folks truly know the order that all these guys will end up in. Preseason 1-2-3-4-5 6-7-8-9-10, it rarely and never ends the way they project. Injuries, media bias both locally and nationally, the inability to field an RB2, these things plague us all but hopefully we can dodge bullets together.

-This is mostly going to be hot takes or gut reactions to the lists I see on many websites, mainly to get folks talking with each other.
-I did Tier 1 and Tier 2, I'm already tired. I'll add new tiers according to the rankings every few days, by the end of the month they should all be listed.
I see a lot of value in the upcoming tiers

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Tier 1 according to the Websites

CMC-of course he is going to be the preseason #1, the challenge is living up to the projection. CMC has only rushed for 1,200+ yds one time in his career, in his 6 seasons he has only rushed for 1,000+ yds 3 x, mostly because of injuries. It feels like he is a shoe in for 15 TDs in this offense, however you stack it up. That plus his ability to be a force in the passing game. 85/740yds in the passing game last year. McCaffrey is likely to go #1 overall in a lot of drafts and for good reason but you do put yourself in a tough spot on the 2 / 3 turn, usually the RBs there are better value but you also have many WRs you will want to take a stab at, certainly 1 WR at least.

Austin Ekeler- 70/1558/20 TD and then 107/1637/18 TD, and yet all I ever hear from the folks who draft this guy is that he’s not what they hoped for, why? Is it 50 points one week, 10 the next? He’s got a stud QB throwing lasers and darts ahead of him, it’s hard to fathom why folks would even hesitate drafting him. He isn’t likely to crack 1,000 yds rushing but when you put his receiving skills into play and his ability to rack yards, this is an easy pull in the 1st Rd. I might like him better than CMC.

Jonathan Taylor- Up to this point I started feeling foolish that I had glanced over the rankings and shook my head No No No, and I do love CMC and Ekeler but then you see JT here near the top and I start getting weak knees fast. 2171 yds in 2021, and is that Head Coach still in the building? How about the one who coached most of the year after him? Who is the QB they are rolling with? I’ll discuss him later or in another thread but just to let you know, I don’t see the Rookie QB as an asset but I bet a lot of Dynasty Heads see this as a HUGE PLUS for Taylor…but we are in the MoP’s Redraft and those types of thoughts are taboo and lead folks into Dire Straits, we’ve gotta move these Color Flat Screens

-Just think of the quality WRs you have to pass on in order to hitch your wagon to the Indianapolis Colts in 2023, personally I’ll pass.

Saquon Barkley-He’s not even signed or said he would play to my knowledge. He’s irritated that he is under a franchise tag, Daniel Jones gets $150+MM, the whole thing stinks to high heaven but yeah take him #4 overall and see how that works out at the end of the year.


Tier 2

Bijan Robinson XXX, landmines have taken my sight , taken my speech, taken my hearing, taken my arms, taken my legs, taken my soul, left me with life in Redraft HELLLLLLLLLLL

Josh Jacobs- Has he signed his deal for 2023? Last I heard he was franchise tagged and was not signing the deal yet. Who is the starting QB? Who is the Head Coach and what is his track record? Things worked alright last year but I don’t see stability in the offense right now. I’m not even sure Devante Adams can feast with Jimmy G chucking the rock, just my initial reaction. Pass for me right now.

Nick Chubb- I do like Chubb and I am admitting that with Watson, the Browns offense should be respectable and Chubb should see some easier running lanes with Watson occupying most defensive schemes for Sundays. I like that he is mixed into the middle of Tier 2, can pair him with a stud WR in the 1st and 2nd Rd and then go BPA in the 3rd depending on where he is typically drafted.

Tony Pollard- I have to see who Dallas might or might not bring in to pair with him after Zeke was sent packing. I would not assume Pollard is going to see all the touches in Dallas. He’s also coming off a pretty nasty injury but is expected to be healthy for camp and Week 1. Can he handle a full load over 17 weeks? MoP gut says this is too high

Derrick Henry- An old man but an old man that has been places and done great things. You are betting that he can have another strong season like you have seen in the past and the team is in transition on offense plus they traded AJB and it impacted their passing game immensely, likely have not gotten back to the point they were with AJB, tough to take Henry and say you are solid at RB1.

 

[JohnnyU]

Robinson will lead the league in rushing in 2023

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Robinson will lead the league in rushing in 2023

Metallica: One (Official Music Video)

Metallica's official music video for “One,” from the album “...And Justice for All.” Subscribe for more videos: https://metallica.lnk.to/subscribeListen to M...

www.youtube.com

-MoP in the Field of Battle was able to interview some of the ones who drafted Robinson and here is what they said

"Now that the Draft is thru with me, I'm waking up I cannot see
Not much left of my team, nothing is real but waivers now

...Hold my breath as I wish for Re-Death, oh please God Wake ME!!!"

 

[Ilov80s]

Robinson will lead the league in rushing in 2023

But what’s his TD and reception numbers look like?

 

[JohnnyU]

Robinson will lead the league in rushing in 2023

But what’s his TD and reception numbers look like?

TDS are too unpredictable.

 

[travdogg]

Pretty much in agreement with your takes here, with the caveat that I like Pollard a ton. Like #2 overall RB a ton. I think he's getting being held behind Zeke held against him too much. I see a guy with elite talent, and no holes in his game. The one hole he had was pass blocking and he more than fixed it.

I wouldn't be shocked if Pollard was RB1 overall, he's been better the more touches he gets in games. The 2 games Zeke missed (one of which was with Dalton starting) Pollard has 26-200-5 rushing, and 7-79 receiving. He's not gonna be used as a 300+ carry guy, but I think 240 carries and 70 catches is doable. That's not all that different than a CMC workload.

I'll be curious to see what you think of Rhamondre Stevenson. I've personally got him higher than some of these guys.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Robinson will lead the league in rushing in 2023

But what’s his TD and reception numbers look like?

Is too high a number?

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Robinson will lead the league in rushing in 2023

But what’s his TD and reception numbers look like?

TDS are too unpredictable.

Is that so?
Ekeler has 20 and 18 TDs last 2 seasons,
38 TDs over 34 games, it's not so unpredictable

 

[Deamon]

Robinson will lead the league in rushing in 2023

But what’s his TD and reception numbers look like?

TDS are too unpredictable.

"td's are unpredictable" is a statement by a guy trying to pump up a dude in a below avg offense.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Tier 3...again i didn't make these Tiers up, just reporting what I see

Tier 3

Rhamondre Stephenson-I like him perhaps the least in this 3rd tier. I had him in so many leagues last season but that was 2022 and I don’t see a total repeat of last year. I think they will try and use him a lot, maybe volume could be his calling card but the Patriots tend to rotate their RBs whenever they can. Last season it appeared like RS got a huge chunk of the touches, I think a new OC, slightly different offense and style, still prefer RS as an RB2 behind several others coming down the log flume

Travis Etienne Jr- 1,125 on the ground, this guy is not a gadget type, he’s relied on to move the chains quite a bit, had a 5.1 ypc but the 35/316 has me pause since Jax needed receivers last year, I thought he might have collected more catches. Maybe he can improve on that number but there are more mouths to feed this year. 5 TDs, that could easily rise somewhere in the 8-10 range. More skill weapons helps increase his chances of being left open or overlooked and busting a big play. I hope last year was just the start and that he can improve upon 2022 after he missed all of his rookie season with injury.

Breece Hall- I am optimistic that Rodgers allows for more holes to open up in the running game and also Rodgers will find ways to get him the ball on screens and short passes which he flashed quite a knack for with some big plays last season. I am definitely eye ballin this guy despite my bias against the Jets since I root for Miami, let’s be honest. And the fact he is on a short list of guys i would consider rolling with as a weekly starter, I want to see the camp reports and find out more but I like the QB upgrade even though i don’t particularly care for Aaron Rodgers, as a person let’s say. He seems selfish yet I know he would add a stability they haven’t often seen over the last 30-40-50 years.

Najee Harris- IN IN IN IN IN…this guy was so overvalued last year, you get a huge discount with so many FF players/managers getting burned last season. I’m not sure I love the Pittsburgh offense but they are going to see an improvement in the OL and a 2nd season with Pickett, good strong coaching, good strong owner and Front Office, don’t overlook Harris as a possible life saver after you feast on other positions in the first 2-3 rounds.

Kenny Walker III- Why did the Seahawks draft Charbonnet? Maybe because they don’t want to abuse Walker and they want him to not feel the entire burden as he heals and gets back to full speed. I would look at it as a blessing in Dynasty but in Redrafts we gotta face the facts. I still like Walker an awful lot and don’t mind pairing him with Charbonnet as long as it doesn’t become a total split system. One or the other will eventually be the lead RB IMHO. Camp reports will tell us a lot, can we revisit this in August?

Aaron Jones- Hasn’t lost a step, splits a lot of time and snaps with AJD and it hasn’t slowed him down much. Packers will need a good running game and a RB like Jones that can bail their QB out on pass plays. I like Jones but not as much as when Rodgers was in charge of the Offense.
RB2 is about right for him, but several weeks he will hit the Top 5-10 IMO.

Tier 4 has like 10 RBs coming up that are listed in it. And I like a bunch of these guys coming up. Might be another good year to sit back on RB and feast everywhere else.
There are so many to choose from right now.