Way-Too-Early 2018 Fantasy Football Rankings

Super Bowl LII has yet to happen and the NFL draft is still months away, but it's never too early to start prepping for next year's fantasy football season.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images (Johnson), Joe Sargent/Getty Images (Brown), Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images (Gurley), Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images (Bell)

The 2017 fantasy football season is still warm, and the Super Bowl is still nearly a month away. Does that mean it’s too early to turn the page to 2018? Of course not. Fantasy football has become a year-round endeavor, and it won’t be long before we’re talking about free agency, the draft, mini-camps and OTAs. At that point, it might as well be the 2018 NFL season.

With that in mind, below are SI.com’s first fantasy football rankings for the 2018 season. Many of these players, most notably guys like Allen Robinson, Jarvis Landry and Kirk Cousins, may be on new teams next season, and these rankings assumed a league-average landing spot for all free agents. We’ve also included rookies sure to be hot commodities in the fantasy world, like Saquon Barkley and Nick Chubb.

Running backs reign supreme at the top of the overall rankings, and while Todd Gurley just finished off a season for the ages, a familiar name finds himself in the top spot. Until further notice, the fantasy football world still belongs to Le’Veon Bell. Get players Nos. 2 through 100 below.

Top 100

1. Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Todd Gurley may have been the top player in 2017, but the fantasy football world still belongs to Bell. He just put the finishing touches on his third season with at least 1,800 total yards and nine touchdowns in the last four years. He’s the best bet to return first-round value, and his versatile skill set makes him the ideal player for the modern NFL. No other player can match Bell’s floor/ceiling pairing.

2. Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams

3. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

4. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

5. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

6. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants

7. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans

8. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

9. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

10. Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

11. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

12. Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Gordon may not be the flashiest player in the league, but the bottom line is he delivers for his fantasy owners. He set career highs in 2017 with 1,105 rushing yards, 58 receptions, 476 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Now entering his fourth season and a key member of a strong Chargers offense, Gordon should be a safe pick late in the first round or early in the second round of 2018 fantasy drafts.

13. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

14. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

15. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

16. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

17. Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints

18. Brandin Cooks, WR, New England Patriots

19. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

20. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

21. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

22. Saquon Barkley, RB

A rookie has led the NFL in rushing both of the last two seasons (Ezekiel Elliott, Kareem Hunt). Barkley is this class’s best bet to extend the streak to three years. Barkley will be a high first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, and while his landing spot matters, he’s going to have a ton of fantasy value regardless of which team selects him.

23. Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

24. LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills

25. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

26. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

27. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings

28. Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks

29. Jay Ajayi, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

30. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

31. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears

32. Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins

33. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

34. Tyreek Hill, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

35. Allen Robinson, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

36. Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers

37. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

38. Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans

Watson was well on his way to a top-five season at the quarterback position before tearing his ACL in practice. Assuming he’s ready to go for Week 1, there’s every reason to believe he will pick up right where he left off. With an elite receiver in DeAndre Hopkins and high-level rushing skills, Watson has the ceiling to the be No. 1 fantasy quarterback in all scoring formats.

39. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

40. Dion Lewis, RB, New England Patriots

41. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

42. Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts

43. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

44. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts

45. Josh Gordon, WR, Cleveland Browns

46. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans

47. Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins

48. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings

49. Alex Collins, RB, Baltimore Ravens

50. Samaje Perine, RB, Washington Redskins

51. Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers

It wasn’t just Aaron Rodgers’s injury that led to a down season for Nelson. He’s not the deep threat he once was, and while his chemistry with Rodgers is unparalleled by any other quarterback/receiver pairing, he doesn’t have the fantasy ceiling he once did. Davante Adams is the No. 1 receiver in Green Bay now, and there remains a chance that Nelson is playing his football elsewhere next season.

52. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

53. Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys

54. C.J. Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos

55. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

56. Michael Crabtree, WR, Oakland Raiders

57. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

58. Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions

59. Josh Doctson, WR, Washington Redskins

60. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

61. Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Wentz’s recovery from his ACL tear will be one of the biggest storylines of the 2018 preseason. We’re slotting him here for now, but that assumes he’ll be ready to go for Week 1. Given the timing of his injury, that is far from a guarantee. If Wentz isn’t ready for the start of the season, he won’t be the only Eagle to tumble down the fantasy rankings.

62. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

63. Chris Thompson, RB, Washington Redskins

64. Derrius Guice, RB

65. Nick Chubb, RB

66. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks

67. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

68. Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans

69. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos

70. Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

71. Sammy Watkins, WR, Los Angeles Rams

72. Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins

Cousins will be this offseason’s most interesting free agent. At this point, it seems likely that he won’t be back in Washington. That will make him the most sought after player in the league. Cousins may never be a top-flight quarterback, but he’s unquestionably suited to lead a Super Bowl contender. He’ll likely be a QB1 no matter where he ends up, and he’ll almost certainly increase the value of the players around him.

73. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

74. Marvin Jones, WR, Detroit Lions

75. Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots

76. D’Onta Foreman, RB, Houston Texans

77. Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams

78. Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts

79. Duke Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns

80. Hunter Henry, TE, Los Angeles Chargers

81. Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers

It was mostly a lost season for Olsen, but he proved just how good he still is when healthy. The Panthers will address the receiver position during the offseason, but Olsen is likely to remain Cam Newton’s top target. Olsen is one of the few reliably productive tight ends in the league, and has the ability to play his way into the same territory as Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce.

82. Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

83. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers

84. Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears

85. Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers

86. Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants

87. Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams

88. Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers

89. Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans

90. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

91. Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

92. Cameron Meredith, WR, Chicago Bears

Meredith was one of the most popular players in the fantasy community last summer before tearing his ACL in the Bears third preseason game. Remember, the Bears were ready to lean on him as their No. 1 receiver, and while they’ll certainly be aggressive with the position in free agency and the draft, Meredith should have a big role in 2018.

93. Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots

94. Pierre Garçon, WR, San Francisco 49ers

95. Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets

96. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

97. Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants

There’s sure to be plenty of change for the Giants in 2018 after a disastrous 2017 season, and Shepard could end up making this ranking look foolishly low. He won’t have the same target share next season with a healthy Odell Beckham, but the right coach and quarterback could make something interesting out of the Giants offense. Even if Shepard is the third option in the passing game behind Beckham and Evan Engram, he’ll have a high ceiling every week.

98. Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

99. Isaiah Crowell, RB, Cleveland Browns

100. Kenneth Dixon, RB, Baltimore Ravens