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Super Bowl XLIX Rankings

Evan Silva provides updated Depth Charts for all 16 AFC Teams

Well, we made it. There’s only one game left in the NFL season: Super Bowl XLIX. That’s 49 for those who prefer using Arabic numerals. It’s the last dance and your last chance to take down your playoff league.

As I’ve done throughout the playoffs, I’ll break down positional rankings by tiers for standard fantasy scoring, giving my thoughts along the way. Since there’s so much variety in playoff contests, I’ll try to be as general as possible. How to use them is up to you.

Quarterback

1. Tom Brady – NE (vs. SEA)

Remember back in September when people though Brady was done? The collective conscious was a little off on that one. He may not be in 2007 form, but Brady has consistently put up QB1 numbers since early October. Through two postseason games, Brady has racked up 593 passing yards while throwing for three scores in each of the Patriots’ victories. Of course, he’s going to have his hands full against a Seattle defense that held opposing offenses to just 185.6 passing yards per game in the regular season. Seahawks DC Dan Quinn unleashed a masterpiece in last year’s Super Bowl, but Bill Belichick is a vastly more challenging opponent in a chess match than Adam Gase. It wouldn’t shock me if the Seahawks shut Brady down, but his high ceiling gives Brady the edge over Wilson this weekend.

2. Russell Wilson – SEA (vs. NE)

Wilson’s performance was pretty ugly for much of the Conference Championship, as the quarterback threw four picks and wasn’t able to generate any offense through the first three and a half quarters. He managed to salvage a modest fantasy day thanks to his and the Seahawks’ last-minute heroics. The Patriots proved a reasonably tough matchup for quarterbacks in the regular season, with only 10 teams yielding fewer fantasy points per game to the position. While Joe Flacco put up 292 yards and four touchdowns on the New England in the Divisional round, the Pats stymied Andrew Luck last week, holding the impressive young quarterback to 126 yards and zero scores through the air. New England’s pass rush was especially disruptive against the Colts with Rob Ninkovich, Chandler Jones, and Jamie Collins combining for 19 QB pressures per Pro Football Focus. This bodes poorly for Wilson, who was sacked 42 times in the regular season, which ranked sixth among starting quarterbacks.

Running Back

1. Marshawn Lynch – SEA (vs. NE)

Beast Mode has let his play do the talking in the playoffs, with the veteran racking up 183 yards from scrimmage on 26 touches in the Conference Championship. Lynch is also averaging a score per game over his last five. The Patriots were a mid-pack fantasy matchup in the regular season, but they’ve proven susceptible to the run so far in the postseason, yielding an average of 4.7 yards per carry through their first two games. While the Pats held the entire Colts offense in check in the Conference Championship, Justin Forsett managed 146 combined yards and a score in the Divisional round. Lynch is playing arguably the best football of his career right now and should see a healthy dose of touches in this one. He’s far and away the top running back option for the Super Bowl.

2. LeGarrette Blount – NE (vs. SEA)

Getting cut mid-season typically doesn’t work out well for most NFL players, but it was one of the best things that could have happened to Blount. The Pats snatched him up in Week 12, and Blount promptly scored twice and totaled 78 yards against the Lions. He wasn’t much of a fantasy options in the games that followed, but then the Conference Championship happened. Just like he did in last year’s Wild Card round, Blount ran all over the Colts to the tune of 148 yards and three scores on 30 carries. We expected the Pats to run it down Indy’s throat, and that’s exactly what they did. It’s unlikely we see the same game plan this weekend out of New England. That being said, don’t expect Blount to completely disappear. The Seahawks have yielded 267 yards on the ground in two games this postseason.

3. Shane Vereen – NE (vs. SEA)

With just three rushes over his last three games, Vereen doesn't figure to get much work as a runner. However, he's likely to get in on the action in the passing game. So far in the playoffs, Vereen has seen nine targets, catching seven for 80 yards. His ceiling isn’t high, but Vereen should see a handful of targets on Sunday.

4. Robert Turbin – SEA (vs. NE)

5. Jonas Gray – NE (vs. SEA)

6. Brandon Bolden – NE (vs. SEA)

7. Christine Michael – SEA (vs. NE)

8. James Develin – NE (vs. Sea)

So far in the playoffs, Turbin has nine carries for 27 yards. He’s unlikely to be much of a factor. ... Inactive in the Divisional round, Gray had four carries for four yards in garbage time in the Conference Championship. ... With Gray active last week, Bolden played just one snap. ... Michael has yet to play a snap in the postseason despite being active for both of Seattle’s games. ... Sure, Develin scored in the Conference Championship, but that was only the tenth time he’s touched the ball this season.

Wide Receiver

1. Julian Edelman – NE (vs. SEA)

A true target monster, Edelman has seen 24 balls thrown his direction in the playoffs. He's caught 17 of them for 172 yards. Per PFF, Edelman tends to line up most frequently on Tom Brady’s right, which means he’ll see his share of Richard Sherman. ESPN's Ed Werder reported on Tuesday that Sherman has torn ligaments in his elbow. Sherman insists he’s playing, but the injury will almost certainly hamper him. That being said 70 percent of Sherman is still better than most corners in the league. Still, Edelman will see plenty of volume on Sunday, making him the strongest play at receiver.

2. Doug Baldwin – SEA (vs. NE)

After posting lackluster numbers in the Divisional round, Baldwin managed a rock solid six catches for 106 yards in the Conference Championship. Mike Clay of PFF points out that Baldwin lines up in the slot frequently, which is where the Pats typically use Kyle Arrington. However, Baldwin believes he’ll be up against Darrelle Revis. At Tuesday’s Media Day Baldwin said: “I'm going to bring my sunblock, my shades, and a hat and I'm going to go to Revis Island and see what I can do.” If this is true, Baldwin may not be able to do much. Over the last four games, opposing quarterbacks have thrown just ten balls into Revis’ coverage with receivers catching six for 96 yards per PFF.

3. Brandon LaFell – NE (vs. Sea)

LaFell wasn’t able to follow up on his Divisional round heroics in the Pats’ Conference Championship win. Despite again seeing six targets, LaFell managed just 28 yards on four catches. Lining up more frequently on the left, LaFell is more likely to be in Byron Maxwell’s coverage than Richard Sherman’s. While that’s certainly a good thing, LaFell is at best Tom Brady’s third option in the passing game. He offers a high ceiling, low floor combination that can be volatile for fantasy purposes.

4. Jermaine Kearse – SEA (vs. NE)

In the Conference Championship, Kearse saw six targets from Russell Wilson. He only caught one of them, and you know which one. From a consistency standpoint, Kearse isn’t the best fantasy option. However, he’s shown in both playoff games that he can get open down the field and find the end zone. If Revis is on Baldwin, Kearse will see the more physical Brandon Browner.

5. Danny Amendola – NE (vs. SEA)

6. Ricardo Lockette – SEA (vs. NE)

7. Kevin Norwood – SEA (vs. NE)

8. Bryan Walters – SEA (vs. NE)

Amendola followed his huge Divisional round performance with one catch for three yards and one carry for negative-two yards. ... Lockette gets the preference among Seattle’s other receivers. He played 49 snaps in the Conference Championship compared to just four for Norwood and three for Walters.

Tight End

1. Rob Gronkowski – NE (vs. SEA)

Despite seeing eight targets, Gronk was relatively quiet in the Conference Championship. Even so, he still managed to find the end zone. He’s now found pay dirt in each of his last five games. Seattle has been vulnerable to tight ends at times this season, so look for the Pats to lean heavily on Gronkowski.

2. Luke Willson – SEA (vs. NE)

Willson wasn’t much of a factor during the regular season, but he’s really come into his own in the playoffs. He’s caught six of nine targets for 79 yards and a score. He won’t rival Gronkowski’s production, but Willson has proven to be a viable red zone target.

3. Michael Hoomanawanui – NE (vs. SEA)

4. Tim Wright – NE (vs. SEA)

5. Tony Moeaki – SEA (vs. NE)

6. Cooper Helfet – SEA (vs. NE)

Defense

1. Seahawks - (vs. NE)

2. Patriots - (vs. SEA)

Kicker

1. Stephen Gostkowski - NE (vs. SEA)

2. Steven Hauschka - SEA (vs. NE)