In the preseason, everyone who plays fantasy football is a prognosticator. We have our own opinions, of course, and we scour the internet and magazine rack to see what everyone else is thinking. And like any sort of auguring, sometimes we get things right, and sometimes, well, not so much. So with the fantasy playoffs right around that proverbial corner, let’s take a look at the leader in fantasy points at each position so far, to see how the fantasy football soothsayer’s did.

Quarterback

- Overview: Aaron Rodgers leads NFL signal-callers in fantasy points despite being fourth in the league in both passing yards and touchdown passes. The reasons for his lofty status are that A) he doesn’t turn the ball over, having thrown just five interceptions, and B) rushing yards. Rodgers has run for 247 yards this season, which is already more than he had all of last year, and he also has three touchdown runs, which is just one behind his total from last season. Comparatively, the three players who have thrown for more touchdown passes than Rodgers – Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning – have a combined total of 19 rushing yards and two scores, both of which came from Brees.

- Surprise: There really aren’t many shockers at the top of the list, so the biggest surprise would probably have to be how low Jay Cutler is. After all, he threw for over 4,500 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. But 20 interceptions equal a lot of lost fantasy points.

Running Back

- Overview: Chris Johnson leads the way, and though most probably didn’t think he’d be the top fantasy running back, he was definitely among the preseason elite. As were Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew, obviously. Ray Rice was something of a question mark because of how Baltimore utilized their running backs last season, but he was being touted as a sleeper candidate fairly early on. Michael Turner has been a bit of a disappointment after some thought there was an argument to be made that he could be the No. 1 overall pick in fantasy drafts, but he’s nearly seven full points per week off of Johnson’s pace.

- Surprise: There are a few very clear eye-openers among this group, with Ricky Williams at the forefront. He wouldn’t be as high up if Ronnie Brown wasn’t lost for the season, but at 32 years of age, nobody believed he would be as effective as he has been in a full-time role. Thomas Jones is another surprising case. He was universally being thought of as someone whose numbers would drop off precipitously due to his age and the amount of carries he got last year, but it hasn’t happened.

Wide Receiver

- Overview: The three wideouts with the most points – Reggie Wayne, Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald – are pretty much the players most everybody believed would be at the top, even though some had believed that Wayne might take a small step backwards. And though there are many recognizable names after that, this is still a fairly interesting group with a few players seemingly coming out of nowhere.

- Surprise: Where do you really start? If you said Miles Austin was a top-five fantasy football wideout before the season, you were pretty much along. Austin getting more involved with the Cowboys’ passing game? Sure. But an explosion of huge numbers was not in the forecast. Neither was the presence of two Vikings receivers that are in the top-15 – Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. Bernard Berrian was the Minnesota wideout most thought would see the greatest benefit from Brett Favre’s arrival, but his numbers are down from last season instead of up.

Tight End

- Overview: Of the top four tight ends in points, three of them – Dallas Clark, Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates – were certainly in the top four in the preseason rankings, and they’ve lived up to that billing. Kellen Winslow might have actually outperformed expectations for him, and if Owen Daniels hadn’t gotten injured, he might head this list. As it is, he’s still eighth, despite having not played since Week 8.

- Surprise: We all knew Vernon Davis had it in him, but most of the fantasy football world was sick of waiting for him. Godot didn’t take this long to arrive. But Davis has finally arrived, and leads tight ends in fantasy points due to his NFL co-leading nine touchdown catches (he’s tied with Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Wayne). On the other end of the surprise spectrum, Jason Witten has about half the fantasy points that Davis has. Witten was many people’s No. 1 tight end, but he didn’t have a 100 receiving yard game until Week 12, and his only touchdown reception came in Week 2.

Tags: , Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Antonio Gates, Brett Favre, Chris Johnson, Dallas Clark, Drew Brees, Fantasy Football, Jason Witten, Jay Cutler, Kellen Winslow, Larry Fitzgerald, Maurice Jones-Drew, Miles Austin, Passing Touchdowns, Passing Yards, Percy Harvin, Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, Ray Rice, Receiving Touchdowns, Receiving Yards, Receptions, Reggie Wayne, Ricky Williams, Rushing Touchdowns, Rushing Yards, Sidney Rice, Statistics, Thomas Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Vernon Davis

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Entry posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 2:26 pm. Filed under tags: , Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Antonio Gates, Brett Favre, Chris Johnson, Dallas Clark, Drew Brees, Fantasy Football, Jason Witten, Jay Cutler, Kellen Winslow, Larry Fitzgerald, Maurice Jones-Drew, Miles Austin, Passing Touchdowns, Passing Yards, Percy Harvin, Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, Ray Rice, Receiving Touchdowns, Receiving Yards, Receptions, Reggie Wayne, Ricky Williams, Rushing Touchdowns, Rushing Yards, Sidney Rice, Statistics, Thomas Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Vernon Davis,
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