QB and WR values: The Russell Wilson problem in latest Shuffle Up

Shuffle Up season is here, my friends. Here’s the idea — how would we rank fantasy players if the season were starting right now? These are not weekly ranks, these are rest-of-season ranks.

A few caveats up front. The prices are unscientific in nature, merely used as a way to compare players within their position. I do not compare prices outside of position — a price of a quarterback is only meant to be considered within his positional class. I am generally far less expectant with injury-returning players, so don’t be surprised when I like them less than you do.

Every Shuffle Up is done from scratch. I think it’s counterproductive to justify an old, dated list. I want my current opinions. I considered a modified PPR scoring system for the field players.

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And of course, you’ll disagree with plenty on this list — that’s why we have a game in the first place.

I’ll do quarterbacks and wide receivers in the even weeks, running backs and tight ends for the odd weeks. You can figure out kickers and defenses on your own (keep streaming, streamers; those positions are rarely worth holding for extended periods, and matchups are critical in those streaming decisions).

I reserve the right to edit this list as the day goes along; win the debate, you might win the rank.

Have a major disagreement (and a logical reason)? Catch me on Twitter: @scott_pianowski.

Quarterback
$31 Drew Brees
$30 Tom Brady
$28 Andrew Luck
$27 Cam Newton
$27 Matt Ryan
$26 Aaron Rodgers
$24 Matthew Stafford
$23 Philip Rivers
$20 Jameis Winston
$19 Russell Wilson
$19 Kirk Cousins

I’ve been a major Wilson supporter from the moment he stepped into the league, so it’s painful for me to have him ranked this low. What’s really painful for Wilson is his balky knee and dinged-up ankle; it’s cost him just about all of his mobility. Wilson isn’t doing anything as a runner this season, and it’s also affecting his ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing. And the timing couldn’t be worse, with Seattle’s offensive line one of the worst in football.

[Week 8 rankings: Overall | FLEX | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF | K]

Perhaps Wilson will heal up magically in the second half, though it’s discouraging to note how compromised he’s looked since Seattle’s early bye week. But I think we have to be prudent with Wilson until he proves he’s healthy again, no longer ranking him as an automatic QB1, a fantasy starter. It’s going to be a week-by-week thing for now.

Stafford looks like a perfect fit for the offense Jim Bob Cooter wants to run, and perhaps Stafford is also comforted by the idea that everything no longer has to run through Calvin Johnson . . . Rivers gets a tick down with Melvin Gordon gobbling up touchdowns, and it’s a shame the Chargers passing options aren’t a little better (Woodhead and Allen are long gone; Antonio Gates looks like a player at the end of the line). On the plus side, San Diego’s defense is going to force a lot of shootouts, and Rivers works well with OC Ken Whisenhunt. Once the Bolts get past the Week 8 nightmare against Denver, the schedule opens up nicely.

$18 *Ben Roethlisberger
$18 Derek Carr
$15 Blake Bortles
$14 Marcus Mariota
$13 Tyrod Taylor
$13 Andy Dalton
$13 Eli Manning
$12 Dak Prescott
$11 Carson Palmer
$9 Alex Smith
$8 Joe Flacco
$7 Sam Bradford
$6 Carson Wentz
$6 Jay Cutler
$6 Colin Kaepernick
$6 Ryan Tannehill
$4 Trevor Siemian
$3 Ryan Fitzpatrick
$3 Brock Osweiler
$2 Case Keenum
$2 Cody Kessler
$2 Tony Romo
$2 Landry Jones
$1 Blaine Gabbert

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Wide Receiver
$48 Antonio Brown
$47 Julio Jones
$46 Mike Evans
$46 A.J. Green
$43 Odell Beckham
$42 T.Y. Hilton
$37 Brandin Cooks
$34 Amari Cooper
$33 Brandon Marshall
$33 Alshon Jeffery
$32 Doug Baldwin
$31 Larry Fitzgerald
$30 Allen Robinson
$30 DeAndre Hopkins
$30 Michael Crabtree
$29 Kelvin Benjamin

I don’t see any easy answers with Robinson. Sure, Bortles is awful, but Robinson’s not making life any easier with an ongoing drop problem. The emergence of Marqise Lee is also an issue, another mouth to feed, though Jacksonville’s usage tree is still fairly concentrated. At the end of the day, I still bet on Robinson at this lofty a price because I trust his talent and respect how dynamic he was last year. And the Jaguars, for better or for worse, are going to be a volume offense, even if much of that is driven by the lousy first quarters we routinely see from Bortles.

Benjamin can be a frustrating player, a low-efficiency receiver with a tendency to run sloppy routes and check out from time to time. That said, he also has an NFL body and a ridiculous catching radius, and he can score touchdowns almost by accident sometimes. And given the shoddy nature of Carolina’s young secondary, I expect the Panthers to be forced to press the pace, more often than not, in the second half of the year. The volume presents a reasonable, projectable floor.

$24 Jarvis Landry
$22 Willie Snead
$22 Emmanuel Sanders
$22 Marvin Jones
$21 Demaryius Thomas
$21 Michael Thomas
$20 Jordy Nelson
$20 Randall Cobb
$19 Tyrell Williams
$17 Davante Adams
$17 Ty Montgomery
$17 Jeremy Maclin
$17 Julian Edelman
$17 *Dez Bryant
$17 Golden Tate

Edelman has been on my overrated list for a while, a name player on a glamour offense. Keep in mind the downside here: Edelman generally isn’t a touchdown scorer, there are many mouths to feed in an offense that doesn’t force the ball to many people, and we’ve only seen one full Edelman season out of the last seven. I’d let your opponents know you’re willing to “move a receiver” with the hopes that their eye would settle in on Edelman.

$15 Will Fuller
$15 Terrelle Pryor
$13 Jordan Matthews
$13 Mike Wallace
$13 Stefon Diggs
$12 *Donte Moncrief
$12 Kenny Britt
$12 Travis Benjamin
$12 Cameron Meredith
$11 Cole Beasley
$11 Michael Floyd
$11 Quincy Enunwa
$10 Tavon Austin
$10 DeSean Jackson
$9 Sammie Coates
$9 Jamison Crowder
$9 Chris Hogan

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised when Injury Optimism goes haywire, but I’m seeing a lot of Moncrief expectations that don’t make sense. First, he’s hurt until he isn’t; until we see a productive game on the field, Moncrief is unstartable. And what’s so special about what he’s done since the beginning of 2015? He’s one of the worst wideouts, by efficiency, in the league over that time. Sure, Indy badly needs help on the outside, but that didn’t magically transform Moncrief to a no-doubt fantasy starter over the last year and change. There’s too much positive extrapolation going on here.

$8 Sterling Shepard
$8 Allen Hurns
$8 Brandon LaFell
$7 *John Brown
$6 *Steve Smith
$6 Torrey Smith
$5 Marqise Lee
$5 Anquan Boldin
$5 DeVante Parker
$5 *Corey Coleman
$4 Pierre Garcon
$3 Victor Cruz
$3 Eddie Royal
$3 Brian Quick
$3 Tyler Lockett
$3 Dorial Green-Beckham
$3 Tyreek Hill
$2 Cordarrelle Patterson
$2 Adam Thielen
$2 Kenny Stills
$2 Mohamed Sanu
$2 Kendall Wright
$2 Rishard Matthews
$2 Chris Conley
$2 Marquise Goodwin
$1 Robert Woods
$1 Tajae Sharpe
$1 Adam Humphries
$1 Nelson Agholor
$1 Ted Ginn Jr.
$1 Markus Wheaton
$1 Terrance Williams
$1 Jermaine Kearse
$1 Devin Funchess
$1 Seth Roberts
$1 Jeremy Kerley
$1 Breshad Perriman
$1 Andre Johnson
$1 Justin Hunter
$1 Kamar Aiken