ESPN position rankings

[julian]

50 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I'm about as far from a Bills homer as it gets, but the roster being 6th - 10th is laughable.  They have question marks but so does every team in the league.  They are a top 3 roster with incredible depth at multiple positions.  If White was healthy, I would list them #1.  Right now my top 3 in no particular order is Tampa, Buffalo, and LA Chargers.  All three have question marks.  Will age finally catch up to Brady?  Can the Chargers rebuilt defense come together quickly?  And in Buffalo can the CBs step up until White and will Davis emerge as a true #2.  

 

This should get the board riled up...

Now if you include coaching then I would agree a 5-7th overall ranking probably is correct. McD and Frazier cost us a SB last year and both are back with a massive question mark at OC.  

Minus the QB 

 

Rams

chargers

Bucs

Browns

Vikings

 

Im talking about starting lineups, it’s just my opinion of course but those 5 teams would be super bowl favourites with Allen at QB.

I wholeheartedly agree on McDermott, better not see another coaching meltdown or the pitchforks will be out.

[TPS]

3 hours ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

WR I don't think is low. 

 

Stefon Diggs is bottom side of the Top 10 WRs in the league. 

 

Gabe Davis has a shot to move up the board this year. 

 

Past that, Crowder is an average veteran, Shakir is a rookie, and McKenzie has never been trusted by this Coaching Staff for high percentage reps. 

Yeah, re-thinking it, they have two guys who have to prove themselves over full season in Davis and Lil dirty.

[DCOrange]

9 hours ago, Kmart128 said:

Yeah not really... Bills definently have a top 10 recieving core... and if they really are ranked 12th then Josh needs to be ranked #1 for what he has done with a 12th ranked core

The WR group was definitely ranked higher last year with Beasley coming off a big year and the addition of Sanders. There's more perceived uncertainty with the WR group this year even if we as fans (and likely the team itself as well) likes the young guys.

 

I would say the teams that should be ahead are (in no particular order): Cinci, Tampa, Miami, Minnesota, Las Vegas, LA Chargers, and the LA Rams. And then there's a few that you could debate like Philly and Seattle, and then a group where I would personally disagree but I can at least kinda understand the argument for Arizona and New Orleans.

 

If you think Davis is a potential stud, it makes sense to rank us in the top 10. If you're more skeptical of him or are simply higher on some established guys that I just don't like all that much anymore (like Jarvis Landry for example), a relatively lower ranking makes sense.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

44 minutes ago, julian said:

Minus the QB 

 

Rams

chargers

Bucs

Browns

Vikings

 

Im talking about starting lineups, it’s just my opinion of course but those 5 teams would be super bowl favourites with Allen at QB.

I wholeheartedly agree on McDermott, better not see another coaching meltdown or the pitchforks will be out.

I agree. That said Bucs and Chargers are SuperBowl favorites already with their current QB.  

[BigAl2526]

Some of the rankings sound OK.  I think some are simply a guess.  The Bills seem to think Ed Oliver is on the verge of a breakout.  Tim Settle was buried on the depth chart at Washington.  Most think he's going to be pretty good, but he could be better than that, kind of like Jordan Poyer when Buffalo signed him away from Cleveland.  Neither Jones nor Phillips are stars, but matched with quality players, they have plenty of ability to cause damage.  They may well end up out playing the expectations that national observers have of them.  We'll need to wait and see though.

[NewEra]

3 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I'm about as far from a Bills homer as it gets, but the roster being 6th - 10th is laughable.  They have question marks but so does every team in the league.  They are a top 3 roster with incredible depth at multiple positions.  If White was healthy, I would list them #1.  Right now my top 3 in no particular order is Tampa, Buffalo, and LA Chargers.  All three have question marks.  Will age finally catch up to Brady?  Can the Chargers rebuilt defense come together quickly?  And in Buffalo can the CBs step up until White and will Davis emerge as a true #2.  

 

This should get the board riled up...

Now if you include coaching then I would agree a 5-7th overall ranking probably is correct. McD and Frazier cost us a SB last year and both are back with a massive question mark at OC.  

I get the gripes about McD…..but wouldn’t the chargers and Bucs also fall as Staley and Bowles have never made the playoffs in combined 6 full seasons. McD has only

missed the playoffs once.  
 

if you include coaching in the rankings, McD and the Bills would absolutely jump the Bucs and chargers (if they were ranked above them to begin with).  

[BADOLBILZ]

59 minutes ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Does anybody actually pay ESPN, for this crap?

My attitude, is 'you've got to be kidding'...

 

 

ESPN+ is bundled with Disney+ and Hulu so A LOT of people pay for it..........just not specifically for ESPN+.   

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I agree. That said Bucs and Chargers are SuperBowl favorites already with their current QB.  

But aren’t……

[YattaOkasan]

1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

They are 1 or 2 in which categories?

 

They were dead last in YAC last season…. And Diggs is great, these rankings are about the WR group as a whole and after Diggs it’s basically Davis potential and a whole bunch of “we’ll see”. 

As stated a million times, It’s a good roster… the defense has no reason not to be great, they are stacked everywhere and have terrific depth… the question is offensively as Josh carries them way too often, and if injuries hit the lack of depth will hurt them.

Specifically they have lead the league in total targets in 2020 and 2021 which have lead to number 1 or 2 in Total yards completions And TDs for that time span.  Basically all the total volume stats. 
 

can’t find a good data source for the rec, TDS, yards but have heard Marino say at least once. The link below shows the total targets by year. So you’re right we are like dead last at RAC (even in 2020, that’s def a real thing) but the passing offense runs through the WRs still. It’s our fastball and it puts up big numbers. Either josh is clear number 1 in the list or this room is at least top 10 cause our RBs and TEs don’t do much (Knox catches Tds and converts big moments) from a raw stats perspective. 
 

I really think you don’t understand how good diggs is. Who is better on the boundary? I don’t know that anyone has been more productive in the last two years on the outside than him. Diggs being the best boundary pushes them to the top 10. I get it’s about the room but the alpha gets weighted more cause he does more. You don’t weight everyone in the room equally. In this analysis you should weight WR1 > WR3 + 4. So from that perspective top 10 basically is if we think Gabe Davis can not have his efficiency crater with double the targets and become a top 25 WR.  Do you think he won’t be too 25?

i addressed your comment on unknown pieces. Do you not agree we put up top numbers in the league production wise?  We ain’t replacing anything special I think you agree there?  So that’s the answer to why peeps think it’s a top 10 unit. We get some of the most production in the league the past two years and there is no reason to think it won’t continue cause we didn’t lose much and have the best boundary WR in the game. 

 

https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/reports/targets-distribution/?year=2021&start=1&end=18

Edited August 20, 2022 by YattaOkasan

[Sierra Foothills]

12 hours ago, TPS said:

Sorry about that.

Other position rankings not mentioned in OP for the Bills:

WR = 12  (low imho)

RB = 24

TE = 13

Edge = 9

LB = 8

CB = 8

 

 

12 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

19 is too low for the DT's...everything else is basically accurate. Maybe WR 9-10 range? OL @ 14 is generous. 

 

Okay, they had the Bills 19th at DTs?

 

If so that's the one that really seems off.

 

Also no ratings for kickers and punters?

 

 

[Buffalo716]

4 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I agree. That said Bucs and Chargers are SuperBowl favorites already with their current QB.  

It’s hard to call a team as Super Bowl favorite like the Chargers who didn’t even make the playoffs

 

They have talent yes but Herbert is not Josh Allen… even if he is a top 5-7 guy 

 

I don’t think their roster is that much better than ours and Josh puts us over 

4 hours ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Does anybody actually pay ESPN, for this crap?

My attitude, is 'you've got to be kidding'...

For 5 bucks a month yea I do buy espn +

Edited August 20, 2022 by Buffalo716

[BigDingus]

13 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

12 for WR is right on the money IMO.

 

Us fans tend to overrate our WR group quite a bit. Diggs massively carries it.

 

Of course, Gabriel Davis has potential, but so far we've only seen some great games & standout plays. Now that veterans like Beasley, Sanders & even J. Brown are gone, we'll get to see where he really stands as a fulltime #2. 

 

I can't see the rankings for each team, but I'd guess we're not even #1 in our division & likely behind the Dolphins with Tyreek & Waddle (again, just a guess).

[DCOrange]

3 hours ago, BUFFALOBART said:

Does anybody actually pay ESPN, for this crap?

My attitude, is 'you've got to be kidding'...

Not for this per se, but I split the cost with my brother and cousin for the ESPN+ streaming stuff

[Ethan in Cleveland]

2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

It’s hard to call a team as Super Bowl favorite like the Chargers who didn’t even make the playoffs

 

They have talent yes but Herbert is not Josh Allen… even if he is a top 5-7 guy 

 

I don’t think their roster is that much better than ours and Josh puts us over 

For 5 bucks a month yea I do buy espn +

Vegas has them ranked 6th so the oddsmakers don’t seem to care about 2021. They are behind the Rams and the Packers. I can understand the Rams being higher but even with Rodgers, Green Bay is not as good as the Chargers.

Herbet’s second year stats blow away Allen’s second year. 38 TD passes and over 5000 yards passing in year 2. He doesn’t have Allen’s running ability but he can make every throw. 

3 hours ago, NewEra said:

But aren’t……

Guess it depends on what you consider a favorite. You are correct Bills are currently listed as the #1. Vegas has Bucs ranked 2 and Chargers 6. So I would put them in SB favorites category. 

[machine gun kelly]

21 hours ago, TPS said:

ESPN posted their position rankings this morning.  The Bills placed 3rd overall, with S the only #1 ranking.  Of their rankings, I think they are off the most on the Bills' DTs, 19th. OL may be their most generous at 14.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/34385106/nfl-position-group-rankings-2022-best-worst-units-all-32-teams-including-quarterback-wide-receiver-edge-rusher

 

QB was ranked 4th.

TPS, you’re first mistake is reading, listening or watching anything ESPN.  These guys are the kings of hot tales with putting zero effort into analysis.  
 

The only thing I go on ESPN is for MNF,

and Matchup.  Those guys do their hw. and I tend to learn something when watching their show.

 

I could care less what these tools write in terms of rankings.  It’s not like NFL MTC guys as they do a lot of objective analysis by position group and hard to argue that much as they lay out how they analyze for each group.

[NewEra]

4 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Vegas has them ranked 6th so the oddsmakers don’t seem to care about 2021. They are behind the Rams and the Packers. I can understand the Rams being higher but even with Rodgers, Green Bay is not as good as the Chargers.

Herbet’s second year stats blow away Allen’s second year. 38 TD passes and over 5000 yards passing in year 2. He doesn’t have Allen’s running ability but he can make every throw. 

Guess it depends on what you consider a favorite. You are correct Bills are currently listed as the #1. Vegas has Bucs ranked 2 and Chargers 6. So I would put them in SB favorites category. 

Most of the world considers the sports books as the governing body.  The bills are the favorite in 99.9% of the books, if not 💯.  That would make the bills THE favorite.   

[TPS]

1 hour ago, machine gun kelly said:

TPS, you’re first mistake is reading, listening or watching anything ESPN.  These guys are the kings of hot tales with putting zero effort into analysis.  
 

The only thing I go on ESPN is for MNF,

and Matchup.  Those guys do their hw. and I tend to learn something when watching their show.

 

I could care less what these tools write in terms of rankings.  It’s not like NFL MTC guys as they do a lot of objective analysis by position group and hard to argue that much as they lay out how they analyze for each group.

No, my first mistake was not starting the post with "Take it with a grain of salt...."

 

It's one analyst's take on trying to rank the various positions.  I don't view it as gospel--there are some I agree with, and some I disagree with, as I noted. 

 

 

[BillsFan619]

#1 in Arm strength

#1 in Toughness

 

They said this about his toughness: “Josh Allen has averaged more than 100 rushing attempts per season through the first four years of his career, and while he has undoubtedly taken some licks, it feels he is more often the one delivering the bigger blow in a collision.” Love it!

 

He made the top 10 in a few other categories as well.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34408660/nfl-quarterback-council-2022-ranking-top-10-qbs-arm-strength-accuracy-decision-making-rushing-ability-more

[Brand J]

8 minutes ago, BillsFan619 said:

#1 in Arm strength

#1 in Toughness

 

They said this about his toughness: “Josh Allen has averaged more than 100 rushing attempts per season through the first four years of his career, and while he has undoubtedly taken some licks, it feels he is more often the one delivering the bigger blow in a collision.” Love it!

 

He made the top 10 in a few other categories as well.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34408660/nfl-quarterback-council-2022-ranking-top-10-qbs-arm-strength-accuracy-decision-making-rushing-ability-more

I think their 10 QBs atop the list in accuracy is questionable. No Josh Allen, but Kyler Murray?

Edited August 24, 2022 by JayBaller10

[Tanoros]

On 8/19/2022 at 8:27 AM, ScottLaw said:

12 for WR is right on the money IMO.

I agree. We all have faith in Davis and McKenzie (trust me, I do big time), but we can’t expect them to be rated near the top until they’ve proven themselves over a full season. 
 

I expect after this season, the Bills wr room will be ranked much higher, and that’s the crutch with exercises like this, you can’t rank guys who haven’t produced ahead of guys who have, yet we all know guys who haven’t produced will break out during the season, but we can only guess who. In the end, you have to perform these exercises based off of proven performance (which is more looking back than forward).