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NICK BAKAY.COM POSITIONAL RANKINGS LIST:

VERSION 4.0

Here is the quick labor day update – featuring a couple of movers and shakers. (Version 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 can be seen as you scroll down.) Take a shot and find out why my pre-season rankings have placed me at the top of the Pro forecast Magazine experts poll for three ears running…

QB: 15

1. Tom Brady - are we kids or what? Assuming health is no issue once the bullets are live, this guy is a real lollipop – draft him anywhere you please and the results will be delightful.

2. Drew Brees – weapons, weapons, weapons. You can win your league with this guy, ‘nuff said.

3. Tony Romo - needs someone to step up as #2 WR, but a strong choice. My Spidey sense says he’ll come back down to earth this year a tad, but not enough to prevent him from posting elite numbers.

4. Peyton Manning – not loving the pre-season dings, hate the Jeff Saturday loss because injuries at Center can totally mess up an offense. Still, Manning is the epitome of reliable, that being said, for the first time ever, you might just want to handcuff whoever ends up being his backup – Sorgi? Or a late, veteran addition. Whoever it is, he’ll be sitting there really late in your draft – like kicker-territory late…

5. Ben Roethlisberger – easy to overlook, but this offense now throws to score and he has looked awesome in his tune-up games.

6. Carson Palmer – two elite WR’s, entering his prime, and the shakey pre-season might just make him a value pick of sorts.

7. Kurt Warner – Potentially great value QB with great weapons, and Leinart is working his way out of the job at an alarming rate

8. Donovan Mcnabb – healed, and he will represent huge value when he slips. Just remember, he has posted great seasons in the past with marginal WR’s, so this is nothing new.

9. Derek Anderson – brutal schedule, but crazy talent in Winslow and Edwards. I’m assuming Anderson heals from the concussion, but keep an eye here. Regardless of whomever ends up starting, the fact is the Browns secondary is atrocious, and therefore we are confident in assuming that they will be throwing the ball in catch-up mode more than those “Browns will make the playoffs” fans might think…

10. Bret Favre – Roll the dice- has good O line & solid WR’s in Cotchery and Coles, plus quality tight ends.

11. Aaron Rogers – tons of weapons, great offensive scheme

12. Jay Cutler – Looking great heading into ’08, and Marshall suspension getting reduced is huge.

13. David Garrard – great young player, hopefully Porter gets healthy, but things have to go right here or his best role may just be as your backup QB.

14. Eli Manning – Never a first-class fantasy starter to date, something tells me that Superbowl win is going to translate to Eli’s taking the next step. Good lord, he even has Favre across town now to pull all the focus off him – that will help. Plenty of scoring firepower in the NFC east, so many games look to be high scoring affairs. Hell, if Peyton doesn’t heal up, he won’t even have to worry about comparisons to his brother this year.

15. Matt Schaub – it’s all about him and Andre staying healthy. Huge upside here, but it comes along with huge caveats.

16. Matt Hasselbeck – solid, but WR’s are suddenly dicey. I know it’s Holmgren’s final hurrah, but something about this offense smells…

RB: 25

1. LaDanian Tomlinson - It’s simple: LT stays healthy and delivers the huge #’s

2. Brian Westbrook – never gets the respect he deserves, no longer a health risk

3. Joseph Addai - young stud in his prime in an awesome offensive system

4. Adrian Peterson - Hasn’t made it through an entire season in two years

5. Steven Jackson – He got paid and Al Saunders = big RB #’s

6. Clinton Portis - awesome player will have a huge ‘08

7. Ryan Grant – got paid, ready to roll

8. Marshawn Lynch – ready to take the next step, needs Jason Peters signed

9. Jamal Lewis – Easy to overlook, but he’s ready to have another big year

10. Marion Barber – every year I think he’s overrated, every year I’m wrong

11. Frank Gore – Martz helps, but Niners Offensive talent hasn’t improved so beware

12. Brandon Jacobs – it’s all about the health, he’s a beast

13. Maurice Jones-Drew – will give you some huge weeks

14. Larry Johnson – Too many carries. I say the wheels have come off, and Croyle looks like a disaster

15. Willie Parker – I say Medenhall = fresh legs = a return to long TD runs

16. Selvin Young – Bronco lead back will deliver, let’s hope it’s Selvin

17. Michael Turner – Potential to be solid, will be a workhorse, but no more

18. Darren Mcfadden – The Raiders are weird, but they know how to run the ball

19. Ricky Williams / Ronnie Brown – Great when healthy in ’07, Parcells runs it, Ricky feels like the alpha dog here by the time the smoke clears

20. Thomas Jones – Rebuilt O-line, Favre helps a lot, worth a shot as your #2 or 3 but simply put, he is no longer explosive

21. Laurence Maroney – why do I think he will be a great value pick this year?

22. Reggie Bush – maybe you won’t hate him if you pick him in the sixth round?

23. Earnest Graham – Looks to share carries this year, but has a shot at great year

24. Willis Mcgahee - A douche bag, and now he’s dinged up. Keep in mind, Witless never runs hard when the team is bad, and this team looks bad in ’08…

25. Felix Jones – so far, the one rookie after Mcfadden who looks like he has the talent to do big things

OTHER ROOKIE BACKS: Matt Forte/Bears and Kevin Smith/Lions will start, but so far neither looks dynamic, neither team runs the ball well. Jonathan Stewart/Panthers has a big upside, but he is not fully healthy and will at best start out as a committee back. As for Rashard Mendenhall/Steelers, they run the ball well, he is poised to be the new Jerome Bettis, but so far in pre-season I am under whelmed… Conversley, the best of the bunch might just be explosive Titans rookie Chris Johnson. A home run hitter all the way here… Oh, and if you have watched my TV segs on NFL Network, you know I have my eye on Houston RB Steve Slayton.)

WR: 25

1. Randy Moss – Duh…

2. Terrell Owens – always delivers

3. Reggie Wayne – outrageous talent, now the #1 guy for Manning, the only “if” here is Peyton’s readiness.

4. Braylon Edwards – hate the bad foot/Browns staff infection risk, but I can’t help loving him, plus the Browns are going to be chucking it a ton this year.

5. Larry Fitzgerald – great season last year, sky is the limit.

6. Marques Colston – officially a mega-reliable stud.

7. Andre Johnson – superb, but he always misses games.

8. T.J. Houshmandzadeh – love him, and with Ocho ding-o’d, only more upside here.

9. Brandon Marshall – great talent, poised to explode, and now that his suspension got reduced to a single game I have bumped him up radically.

10. Santonio Holmes – He and Big Ben will blow it up this year

11. Plaxico Burress – better than you think

12. Steve Smith – bad vibes out of Carolina. Delhomme a mystery, and now Smith suspended for first two games. Conversely, it means he is going to slide down your draft and you will be really tempted when you have a shot at him in round 5 or 6...

13. Greg Jennings – I say he is Roger’s #1 guy

14. J. Cotchery – should hook up with Favre in a big way

15. Chad Johnson – still delivers numbers, but he might be wearing a harness. The fact that Cinci re-signed Chris Henry is all the red flag you could ask for here...

16. Anquan Boldin – despite missing games, had huge per-game stats, and finally the TD’s as well – love him, and if he doesn’t start speaking to his coaches, he might just end up in Dallas!

17. Torry Holt – he’ll slip and give you draft value this year, but Bulger looks schtank.

18. Wes Welker – Huge if you are in a PPR league

19. Calvin Johnson -- looks like he’s ready to really deliver in ‘08

20. Roy Williams – finally will get all those passes that went to Furrey and Mcdonald

21. Chris Chambers - the kind of #1 WR you can snag really late

22. Marvin Harrison – as long as Manning is there, Marvin has finally become a great value pick

23. Nate Burleson -- now the #1 in Seattle, awesome value here

24. Lee Evans – elite talent, and Edwards looked sharp in pre-season, but Lee will give you some goose-egg weeks, so be warned.

25. Dwayne Bowe – the kind of #1 WR you can snag really, really late, but Croyle looks like crap

TE: 10

1. Jason Witten – Elite, and healthy

2. Antonio Gates – it’s all about the toe

3. Kellen Winslow – IF he stays healthy, and he could be the best TE in ‘08, but he won't, so be prepared to draft a rock-solid back up -- a nice, round 15 value pick like Randy McMichael.

4. Chris Cooley – he also doesn’t get enough respect, yet a top 5 TE every year now in West Coast offense

5. Tony Gonzalez – he’ll be sitting there in a value position, take full advantage

6. Jeremy Shockey – it can only get better here, take a shot at the upside

7. Dallas Clark - solid-plus

8. Heath Miller – great late round value

9. Vernon Davis – Martz will make this happen – he has to, and now that Alex Smith has been benched, it can only get better.

10. Tony Scheffler – might bust loose

D/ST: 15
1. Vikings
2. Cowboys
3. Colts
4. Seahawks
5. Chargers
6. Patriots
7. Packers
8. Bears
9. Buccs
10. Bills
11. Lions
12. Giants
13. Arizona
14. Jaguars
15. Steelers

K: 15
Just promise me you won’t take a kicker until it’s the last pick of the draft…

1. Nick Folk
2. Mason Crosby
3. Rob Bironis
4. Stephen Gostkowski
5. Adam Vinatieri
6. Shayne Graham
7. Josh Brown
8. Phil Dawson
9. Josh Scobee
10. Nate Kaeding
11. Robbie Gould
12. Jason Hanson
13. Kris Brown
14. Taylor Mehlaff
15. Ryan Longwell

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