Better late than never and here is the first set of positional rankings from Sean and I. After hours of talking about where to rank everyone (mostly defenders) these are our consensus ranks for Draft Fantasy with a focus on Fantrax. But before we get to those, let’s backtrack for a second because everything is better with a story.
With the home of American style draft fantasy soccer moving to Fantrax due to Togga’s hiatus, Sean and I will also be joining the team at Fantrax to provide everyone with that sweet draft content that you all deserve. During the preseason that will include these ranks as well as team previews. Once the season starts we’ll transition into more focused content in regards to draft fantasy with different features popping up as needed. It’s something that we’re very excited to share with you all and this season is gonna be a ride.
Looking at these draft fantasy ranks, they’ll be focusing on leagues that are set up with Togga scoring but that doesn’t mean they can’t be translated into your specific league as well. One of the selling points of a Fantrax league is the ability to customize everything and with the addition of flex positions and dual position eligibility, sometimes players will be valued differently in your league than they are in standard leagues. If that’s the case, feel free to comment or reach out on Twitter with your scenario and Sean and I will do our best to help with your questions on how your personal ranks may be different from ours.
Looking at the ranks this season, a lot will look different to Togga users due to the massive reclassification of forwards that used to be midfielders. Leroy Sane, Eden Hazard, Willian and Sadio Mane are a few of a long list that are now forwards making the pool of availability much deeper at forward than in years past. This means that players like Kevin de Bruyne and Christian Eriksen (our top two midfielders) are likely more valuable overall than owning the top two forwards.
But enough chit-chat, let’s run through these positions because that’s what you’re here for right?
Ready to try your hand on the fantasy pitch? Head on over to Fantrax to start or join a league today.
Consensus Ranks for Draft Fantasy
Forwards
[table “214” not found /]Mohamed Salah (#1): Put simply, Salah was brilliant last season. He scored 32 goals, supplied 10 assists and won pretty much every award possible. Across 36 appearances, the Egypt international averaged a goal every 91 minutes and never went more than two matches in a row without getting on the scoresheet. Salah was also essentially matchup proof as Manchester United was the only club he failed to return a goal or an assist against. Last but not least, his 32 goals came from 67 shots on target, meaning he found the back of the net with roughly every other shot he put on target (2.09).
This season, Salah should pick up where he left off right away given Liverpool’s appealing run of opening fixtures: West Ham (H), Crystal Palace (A), Brighton (H), Leicester (A), Spurs (A), Southampton (H). Projecting fixture strength long-term is a tricky task, but it’s worth noting the Reds only come up against top-six sides in back-to-back matches twice down the stretch. If you’re worried his goal production will regress this season, take solace in his peripheral numbers. Last season, Salah ranked second in both shots and shots on target, seventh in successful dribbles and, amongst all players classified as forwards, third in key passes. My point? He will likely finish in the top five in close to all those metrics, and rack up enough points to be a top-three forward even if he misses the 20-goal mark.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (#2) / Alexandre Lacazette (#12): With new manager Unai Emery at the helm, Bob Dylan would agree in saying the times they are a-changing’ at the Emirates. Aubameyang is being touted for a Golden Boot challenge, with the bookmakers backing him at 7-to-1. Arsenal has strengthened their defense and found an heir for Petr Cech in goal. But most notably, Emery has used multiple formations with both Lacazette and Aubameyang being on the pitch at the same time. Auba has been used on the flank, and Laca has taken up a place as the central striker, forming a dynamic duo highlighted by pace and powerful off-ball movement. Can they co-exist without hindering each other’s draft fantasy value? With three goals apiece thus far in this preseason, it looks likely.
Sergio Aguero (#10) / Gabriel Jesus (#20): Pep Guardiola is expected to stick with the 4-3-3 system from their title-winning campaign, meaning one of his two supremely talented strikers will have to settle for a place on the bench each match. Aguero is getting older, but his excellent scoring record dictates valuing him as the number one going into the season. He’s scored 20-plus goals in each of the last four seasons. Jesus will get his fair share of goals and could even usurp the starting role down the stretch. However, for the time being, the pair should be viewed as a package deal. If you want one of them, save yourself the mid-season meltdown by drafting both.
Alvaro Morata (#21): Should Morata stay or should he go? For draft fantasy purposes, I would wait on Morata and see how far he falls. If you can get him late in the fifth or early in the sixth round and he leaves, it won’t come at the cost of ruining your team. On the flip side, if he stays, you have pulled off an excellent piece of business. It is worth noting that while Olivier Giroud is the next man up, Michy Batshuayi could work his way back into the mix.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (#27): Mitrovic scored 12 goals in 20 Championship appearances on loan at Fulham during the second-half of last season. Without another capable striker regarding his skill set and overall impact, the club signed him on a permanent basis this summer. Best case scenario, you get a 15-goal man for the price of a low-end second forward. In the event he doesn’t come through, he’ll still rack up enough points from shots on target and aerials duels to be a viable third forward.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh (#39): Concerning forwards entering their debut Premier League campaign, Jahanbakhsh is perhaps the most intriguing. The Iran international joined Brighton from Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar after scoring 21 goals last season in 33 league appearances, a total that crowned him the top-scorer in the Eredivisie in 2017/18. A pacy winger known for his eye for goal, Jahanbakhsh was also an active creator during his final term at Alkmaar. He ranked third in the league in assists with 12 and placed ninth in key passes per match with 2.4. In Jahanbakhsh, Brighton manager Chris Hughton has added a pacy winger to complete Pascal Gross and ideally lessen the scoring load on 34-year-old frontman Glenn Murray. All things considered, he fits the bill as a sleeper third forward.
Midfielders
[table “215” not found /]Kevin De Bruyne (#1): An electrifying creator who is in the prime of his career, De Bruyne claimed the first Premier League Playmaker of the Year award last season by leading the league with 16 assists. In the previous two seasons, no player has made more assists (34) or supplied more key passes (209) than the Belgian. The only midfielder to come close to those numbers in that span is Christian Eriksen, with 26 assists and 207 key passes. De Bruyne’s vision is supplemented by his elite ball-striking abilities from a distance as nine of his 14 goals since the start of the 2016/17 season have come from outside the box. With a seemingly endless cache of complimentary attacking talent at the Etihad, De Bruyne will challenge Mohamed Salah as the most popular No.1 overall pick.
Mesut Ozil (#3) / Henrikh Mkhitaryan (#6): Unlike Manchester City’s midfielders not named Kevin De Bruyne, the Arsenal duo of Ozil and Mkhitaryan are locks to start every match when fit this season. The arrival of new manager Unai Emery and his new tactical approach should unlock each player’s full fantasy potential, the most significant factor reflected with the rankings. Ozil is slightly favored because of his track record at Arsenal when playing in a more advanced position.
Back in 2015/16, the German topped the Premier League in assists (18) during a season where Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott were the best of his supporting cast. If Ozil can recapture the form from three years ago, he could be in for a monster year thanks to the presence of Aubameyang and Lacazette. The case of Mkhitaryan has everything to do with him finally hitting his full potential. Despite being a flop at Manchester United, talent isn’t the issue. He scored two goals and provided four assists in 797 minutes last season after swapping Old Trafford for the Emirates. Look for the pair to co-exist as top-10 midfielders this season.
James Maddison (#21) / Marc Albrighton (#48): Leicester City supporters have been preparing for life without Riyad Mahrez for quite some time. With the club’s chief offensive architect now at Manchester City, the question everyone is asking is straightforward: how do the Foxes replace him? The first option on the list is summer signing James Maddison, who joined from Norwich City in a £22 million move that could rise to £24m with add-ons. Maddison will operate in support of Jamie Vardy and as a result, is well placed to be Leicester’s top midfielder in fantasy. Marc Albrighton is the second beneficiary with his place on the wing seemingly secured as long as manager Claude Puel sticks with a midfield four. Demarai Gray went unranked but is also firmly in the conversation, especially after seeing minutes as a striker in pre-season with Vardy on leave after the World Cup. He’s worth a bench spot and has an extremely high-ceiling if he can deliver when given a chance in the starting XI.
Luka Milivojevic (#29): Milivojevic was one of the top breakout performers last season. He returned 10 goals and two assists, as well as 71 interceptions and 52 successful tackles. However, fantasy managers need to temper expectations considering seven of his ten goals came from penalties. Drafting Milivojevic as your second midfielder and banking on another term where he converts seven of eight chances from the spot-mark is bold. With that said, the Serbian will still be an instrumental piece. Milivojevic will likely continue as a primary set-piece taker and supply a steady dose of defensive actions. The safe play is to value him as a high-end third midfielder.
Ross Barkley (#37): The forgotten England international is a good shout for comeback player of the year. Barkley arrived at Stamford Bridge from Everton for what appeared to be a steal in a 15m move, but struggled with a hamstring injury and made just two appearances under Antonio Conte during the second half of last season. The multidimensional midfielder enters this term entirely fit with a clear line to playing time in Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 formation. Barkley started on the left side of a three-person midfield in all three of Chelsea’s pre-season friendlies. With new signing Jorginho and Cesc Fabregas nailed-on until N’Golo Kante is fit after his World Cup exploits, Barkley is positioned to be a starter early on. The former Everton man scored five goals and tallied nine assists in his last injury-free season.
Defenders
[table “216” not found /]While we’ve gone by the player for most of the rankings, this is a point we’re going to discuss players in the context of their teams because in draft fantasy, defenders are the most dependent of any position of those around them. We’re going to start with the elephant in the room.
Chelsea: The entire team is a crapshoot with new manager Maurizio Sarri and the defense is no exception. But getting a handle on what is going on can make a big difference in getting the most out of your draft fantasy squad. It is looking like Chelsea will line up in a 4-3-3 which could make Victor Moses (#23) the odd man out. While Moses was a fixture in an Antonio Conte side, in a traditional four-man back line he could be useless. The only reason that he isn’t ranked lower is because we don’t have the slightest clue on how Chelsea will line up this season.
If Sarri opts for four at the back, Moses won’t be the only defender to take a hit as Marcos Alonso (#1) and Cesar Azpilicueta (#5) will also regress from last year. Alonso isn’t as good in a back four as he is in a back five and all of Azpilucueta’s assists last season went to Alvaro Morata who may not be starting this season. But it isn’t all doom and gloom for the defense as David Luiz (#28) and Davide Zappacosta (#48) are on the rise in ranks this year.
Tottenham/ Arsenal: Rotation concerns will temper the expectations surrounding the defenses in North London as we don’t know who will start at center back for Tottenham or outside back for Arsenal. Handcuffing will be key for draft fantasy success as Toby Alderweireld (#41) owners will want Davidson Sanchez (#21) and Hector Bellerin (#14) owners would be well served by owning Stephan Lichtsteiner (not ranked) to keep everything in order.
Elsewhere, Jan Vertonghen (#4) and Shkodran Mustafi (#24) are the most nailed on defensive assets of these teams making them draft fantasy gods. In Vertonghen’s case, he was the third highest scoring defender last year and was the only true center back in the top five. While Virgil van Dijk (#3) is usually the first center back off the board (for good reason) Vertonghen has a case for number one if not being a very close second.
Crystal Palace: is also in need of their own line because over the pace of a full season James Tomkins (#16) would have been a top 20 scoring defender justifying our ranking of him. While three goals from the defenders cool finishing was nice, we came for the four combined tackles and interceptions per game and stayed for the 7.6 clearances per game. Simply put, James Tomkins is a vacuum and vacuums need to be in your draft fantasy team. Keeping with Palace, Patrick van Aanholt (#13) is one of the best attacking full backs in the league and will likely be off the board by the eight round. PVA did bits in scoring five goals in 25 appearances and over a full season, his numbers don’t seem flukey with Palace adding more to the attack.
Leicester: took the biggest jump in preseason ranks with Harry Maguire (#7th), Ricardo Pereira (#22), and Ben Chilwell (#39) all making the top 50 defenders with Jonny Evans barely missing out. The Foxes have something for everyone in draft fantasy and while Maguire is the most well-known name of the bunch, beware of the World Cup hangover in his case.
Goalkeepers
[table “217” not found /]Goalkeepers are always the forgotten men in draft fantasy leagues but that shouldn’t be the case as they can single-handedly win you a match. David de Gea is the consensus number one as he should be but even if you miss the Man United shot-stopper, there will be plenty to go around along with some great streaming options depending on the game week.
Lukasz Fabianski: a shot-stopping demigod, Fabianski has joined West Ham to hopefully stabilize their leaky defense. As long as he doesn’t catch the Joe Hart flu, it should be a productive year as per usual for him but with more clean sheets due to a better backline. Fabianski with protection is a scary thing. Fabianski was second in saves behind only Jack Butland of Stoke City and a mixture of stellar saves plus protection from Issa Diop will pay dividends.
Bernd Leno/ Petr Cech: As with every position for the Gunners, it’s a coin flip on who may start week in and week out. Both have question marks to their game but a starting keeper on a top six side has immense value due to clean sheet potential. Be wary if you draft one of them but with Fantrax lineups not locking until one minute before each player’s game kicks off, that gives you time to swap one for the other until Unai Emery determines who the number one is.
Odds and Ends: Alex McCarthy could offer value if he’s starting but this is another rotation risk with Southampton bringing in highly rated youth keeper Angus Gunn to push him and fight for the top spot himself. Thibaut Courtois is a top five keeper if he stays at Chelsea but his uncertain future is both sandbagging his rank while boosting that of possible Chelsea target Jordan Pickford.
Here we are, iteration one of the full season draft fantasy ranks. As with any good ranks, these will be updated every few days until the season is officially underway.
How do flex players work?
Agreed. The usefulness of these rankings, during a draft, becomes quite limited when there is no way to compare players across positions.
Yes, we wanted to do a full 150 and next time around we will but right now, it’s trying to get everything out in a timely manner. All feedback is appreciated and noted on how to do better next time.
Depending on your league setup, some players are eligible for multiple positions and have a flex where you can play any outfield player.