There will be many more 2011 Fantasy Football Rankings and features in the late spring and summer, including tons of 2011 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts, Player Rankings, Sleepers and Busts. I’ll also have an extensive 2011 NFL Fantasy Football Preseason Stock Report.
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings – Top 10 (May 5):
This is an early 2011 Fantasy Football Top 10. I’ll expand this to a Top 150 after the 2011 NFL Draft.
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Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings
Adrian Peterson killed his fantasy owners once again with another lackluster December. However, he remains the No. 1 fantasy player, even in the wake of Brett Favre’s retirement. Consider Peterson’s 2008 numbers when Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte were his quarterbacks: 1,760 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns. Not bad. I don’t see Peterson getting to 1,760 – Minnesota’s offensive line isn’t as good as it used to be – but he should still post some great stats.
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Chris Johnson, RB, Titans
I didn’t like Chris Johnson at all going into the 2010 season. He led the league in carries in 2009, and I thought he’d have a solid, but down year. Well, his YPC dropped from 5.6 to 4.3, but it wasn’t necessarily due to fatigue; his offensive line just really struggled to open up holes.
Johnson’s line can’t be worse in 2011. The Tennessee front graded out as the league’s worst run-blocking unit last season, and it’ll be a huge surprise if the Titans don’t find upgrades via free agency.
The one concern with Johnson, however, is the quarterbacking situation. Vince Young is gone, so opposing defenses no longer have to worry about another running threat coming out of the backfield.
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Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jaguars
Maurice Jones-Drew registered 1,641 total yards in just 14 games despite playing with a bum knee. Jones-Drew hasn’t shouldered much of a workload in his career thus far, so I expect him to bounce back with a phenomenal 2011 campaign. And don’t worry about the seven touchdowns; that was just a fluke. He scored 16 times in 2009.
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Arian Foster, RB, Texans
Arian Foster had an amazing year, rushing for 1,616 yards, catching 66 balls for 604 more yards and scoring 18 touchdowns. The only concern with Foster is Ben Tate; the second-round rookie will be back and should steal some touches. However, I wouldn’t be too overly concerned about that. Foster is way too talented, and he’s essentially guaranteed at least 12 touchdowns working in Houston’s prolific offense.
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LeSean McCoy, RB, Eagles
LeSean McCoy is producing like Brian Westbrook – only he doesn’t seem to have the same injury concerns that plagued Philadelphia’s former tailback.
McCoy rushed for 1,080 yards, caught 78 balls for 592 more yards and scored nine times in 15 games last year. With opposing defenses worried about QB Eagles No. 7’s running ability, McCoy will benefit by picking up chunks of yardage in Philadelphia’s explosive offense.
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Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Steelers
I’m a big fan of Rashard Mendenhall this year despite his apparent support for terrorism. Mendenhall rushed for 1,274 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2010 despite the fact that his offensive line was in shambles. Things can’t possibly be worse in 2011, so look for his numbers to improve.
Mendenhall will not be in my top five, however, because he’s not a big part of the passing game. He caught just 23 balls last year.
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Andre Johnson, WR, Texans
Despite missing three games last year (including Week 16, to the chagrin of his fantasy owners – i.e. me) Andre Johnson hauled in 86 receptions for 1,216 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s still the No. 1 fantasy receiver (though Calvin Johnson is close), and well worth a mid first-round pick in your draft this summer.
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Ray Rice, RB, Ravens
After a prolific rookie campaign, Ray Rice disappointed in 2010 – and by “disappointed,” I mean 1,223 rushing yards and 556 receiving yards.
As disgruntled fantasy owners know, however, Rice had trouble finding the end zone. He saw his touchdown total drop from eight in 2009 to six in 2010. I have to believe his 2011 season will be more like 2009; Rice struggled to find running lanes behind a injured offensive line. Baltimore presumably will fix the front this offseason. Plus, Willis McGahee is a free agent.
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Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers
Aaron Rodgers should be the consensus No. 1 quarterback. In 14-and-a-half games, Rodgers compiled 3,922 yards, 28 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions despite missing stud tight end Jermichael Finley for half the year. What separates Rogers from Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are his rushing numbers; he compiled 356 rushing yards and four extra scores.
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Calvin Johnson, WR, Lions
If Matthew Stafford can stay healthy for a change – I know, a huge if – the sky’s the limit for Calvin Johnson. Megatron barely had his starting quarterback under center last year, yet he still managed to generate 77 catches, 1,120 yards and a whopping 12 touchdowns working with Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton.
More 2011 Fantasy Football Articles:
2011 Fantasy Football: Home
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 9/1 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 6/26 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Downloadable Spreadsheets - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Rankings - 8/27 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Auction Values - 8/27 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2011 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 Traditional - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 PPR - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 Touchdown - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Real League Draft - 8/31 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Fake Mock - 8/25 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Experts Draft - 8/25 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Forum 2-QB Mock - 7/21 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Mock Draft Scenarios - 7/17 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Auction: Mock PPR Auction - 7/14 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Forum PPR Mock - 7/7 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Forum Mock - 7/3 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Four-Man PPR Draft - 6/19 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Draft: Fox Sports - 5/5 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Articles:
2011 Fantasy Football Injury Reports: Week 2 - 9/18 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Weekly Rankings: Week 2 - 9/18 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Week 2 Add/Drop - 9/13 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Training Camp Stock - 9/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Start Em, Sit Em - 9/6 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Preseason Stock - 9/3 (Walt)
2011 Preseason Recap and Fantasy Football Notes - 9/3 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Preseason Targets - 9/3 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Late-Round Sleepers - 9/1 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Round-by-Round Strategy - 9/1 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Value Comparison - 9/1
2011 Fantasy Football: Must-Have Players - 8/24 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Busts, Players to Avoid - 7/25 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 7/24 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 7/23 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Various League Strategy - 7/18 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Three-Dimensional Running Backs - 7/16 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: ADP Analysis - 7/15 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: First-Round Bust History - 7/10 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 7/9 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 7/4 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Analysis - 7/1 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 6/18 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 6/12 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 6/5 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Stock Up (Draft) - 5/6 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Stock Down (Draft) - 5/6 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Buy Low - 4/8 (Walt)
2011 Fantasy Football: Defense Strategy - 4/8 (Walt)
Running Backs with Most Carries - 4/8 (Walt)
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NFL Picks - Dec. 13
2025 NFL Mock Draft - Dec. 11
NFL Power Rankings - Dec. 9
2026 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 29
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
