FPL Draft – Player Rankings

An essential tool in any Fantasy drafter’s kit is a customised draft board.

This is a list of players ranked in order of where you would draft them in. It’s incredibly useful to have your own personal rankings on hand during draft day. When it is your turn to pick a player in the draft, you only have a small amount of time to choose from a huge list of players. Having all players ranked beforehand should save you from getting stage fright and drafting the wrong player under pressure. A good starting point for creating your own draft board is to rank all players by their prices in the standard FPL game.

Ideally this will follow some of the key rules I outlined in my previous article about draft strategy.

This includes streaming defenders, whereby defenders are picked on short term fixtures and can be regularly drafted in and out throughout the season. This is crucial as defenders will dominate the free player list as there are more of them in the game.

Another key strategy is to prioritise strikers as there are limited numbers in this group who can score significant points in the game. Strong midfield options as well as starting goalkeepers should also figure prominently as the number of quality options is also limited

Below is my personal list, as it stands, of the top 120 Premier League players for the season-long FPL Draft game for a standard eight team league. Expect players to move up and down the list as pre-season continues and more transfers are finalised. This should give a broad guide to how to approach draft night and which players to target.

Player Rankings

1. Harry Kane(FWD1)-Has increased his goal tally in each of the last 3 seasons.
2. Alexis Sanchez(MID1)-Transfer to City would only boost his potential.
3. Romelu Lukaku(FWD2)-Clear 2nd favourite to win the Golden Boot.
4. Sergio Aguero(FWD3)-Still averaged 5.6 PPG last season
5. Alexandre Lacazette(FWD4)-Scored 28 in 30 league games for Lyon
6. Dele Alli(MID2)-18 goals and 11 assists for a 21 year old. Sky’s the limit.
7. Kevin De Bruyne(MID3)-A ridiculous 21 assists last year but only 6 goals.
8. Sadio Mane (MID4)-Was on pace for 18 goals and 9 goals if not for AFCON & injury.
9. Gabriel Jesus(FWD5)-Only Kane had a higher PPG in 16/17
10. Christian Eriksen(MID5)-His fantasy points have gone up every year he’s been in the league.
11. Philippe Coutinho-(MID6)-Scored >10 goals for the first time in 16/17.
12. Mesut Ozil (MID7)-Lacazette should help. Sanchez leaving would hurt.
13. Jamie Vardy(FWD6)-Scored 8 in 13 games after Craig Shakespeare took over
14. Roberto Firmino(FWD7)-Versatile. Can play as a midfielder or striker.
15. Leroy Sane(MID8)-Nailed down a starting spot last season. Could breakout big.
16. Gylfi Sigurdssson(MID9)-Move to a better club should boost his potential.
17. Eden Hazard(MID10)-Has scored 190 points 4 out of 5 years. Would be MID2 if not for injury.
18. Jermaine Defoe(FWD8)-2 seasons with 15 goals each. Now plays for a good team.
19. Christian Benteke(FWD9)-When he’s the number 1 striker, he’s good for 10 goals.
20. Pedro(MID11)-Less rotation risk with Hazard out.
21. Heung-Min Son(MID12)-Only 3 midfielders managed more goals (14).
22. David Silva(MID13)-Never had less than 9 assists in a season.
23. Henrikh Mkhitaryan(MID14)-Scored more goals in the Europa League than Premier League.
24. Paul Pogba(MID15)-The team will be built around him but he’s never scored more than 8 in a league season.
25. Joshua King(FWD10)-2 goals in 1st 17 games. 14 in last 19.
26. Manolo Gabbiadini(FWD11)-Flashed promise with 4 goals in 1st 3 games and 2 in EFL Cup.
27. Michel Antonio(MID16)-Unique OOP and Reverse OOP potential.
28. Mohammad Salah(MID17)-Difficult to see where he fits in regularly
29. Raheem Sterling(MID18)-7 goals and 14 assists last year. Heavy competition.
30. Dwight Gayle(FWD12)-2nd top scorer in the Championship.
31. Troy Deeney-(FWD13)-Still scored 130 points despite being dropped
32. Wilfried Zaha(MID19)-Palace a good bet to improve this year led by Zaha.
33. Ross Barkley(MID20)-A move to Spurs would hurt his minutes.
34. Adam Lallana(MID21)–Liverpool midfield now incredibly crowded
35. Manuel Lanzini(MID22)-Stepped into the void Payet left.
36. Fernando Llorente(FWD14)-Could miss start of season. 15 goals in debut year.
37. Salomon Rondon(FWD15)-May lose place to Jay Rodriguez.
38. Saido Berahino(FWD16)-0 goals last year. Once scored 14 goals in a season.
39. Sam Vokes(FWD17)-Padded his stats with 5 goals in last 5 games.
40. Cesc Fabregas(MID23)-Difficult to predict when he starts and when he sits.
41. Willian(MID24)-Early season punt until Hazard get back.
42. Sandro Ramirez(FWD18)-One to watch in pre-season. Forget him if Wayne Rooney takes striker position.
43. Michy Batshuayi (FWD19)-He is Chelsea’s only striker who actually wants to be there.
44. Aaron Ramsey(MID25)-1 league goal in 16/17. Formation change could be last shot at finding 13/14 form.
45. Davy Klaassen(MID26)-Will have to fight off Barkley & Wayne Rooney.
46. Bernardo Silva(MID27)-Minutes will be very low at first.
47. Riyad Mahrez(MID28)–Set to leave. Arsenal are reportedly interested.
48. Dusan Tadic(MID29)-Ranked 9th in the “Creativity” metric.
49. Nathan Redmond(MID30)-Only 4 clubs scored less goals than SOT in 16/17. He’ll be involved if they score more.
50. Georginio Wijnaldum(MID31)–Will be rotated more with Liverpool in the UCL.
51. Juan Mata(MID32)–Always an attacking threat. Never a regular starter.
52. Andre Ayew(MID33)-Only 1 year removed from scoring 171 points.
53. Theo Walcott(MID34)-High-risk. Only 6 midfielders scored more goals (10) last year.
54. Anthony Martial(MID35)–Rumours swirling that he is on the way out.
55. Marcos Alonso(DEF1)-Borderline midfielder. Crosses, shoots and takes free kicks.
56. Junior Stanislas-(MID36)-9th best midfielder by PPG last season.
57. Anthony Knockaert(MID37)-Injury scare. Scored 15 goals last year from midfield.
58. Matt Ritchie(MID38)-Scored over 100 points for BOU 2 years ago.
59. Andros Townsend(MID39)-Nailed down the spot opposite Zaha.
60. Robert Snodgrass(MID40)-Still has 3 seasons of 100+points.
61. Cesar Azpiliceuta(DEF2)-The undisputed king of BPS.
62. Gary Cahill(DEF3)-Captain and goal threat.
63. James Milner(DEF4)-The new Leighton Baines. Scored 7 penalties and took 91 corners.
64. Danny Rose(DEF5)-Was on pace to finish as a top 5 DEF if not for injuries.
65. Kieran Trippier(DEF6)–Kyle Walker’s leaving means this is his job now.
66. Antonio Valencia(DEF7)–Could be rotated with Darmian when the fixtures pile up.
67. Victor Moses(DEF8)-Room for growth on 3 goals & 3 assists.
68. Kyle Walker(DEF9)–Could be Pep’s new Dani Alves.
69. Steve Mounie(FWD20)-Record signing. Starting FWD role is his to lose.
70. Divock Origi(FWD21)-Seems to be ahead of Sturridge in pecking order.
71. Marcus Rashford(FWD22)-Struggled to find goals from the LW position.
72. Wayne Rooney(FWD23)-He’s only got to beat Sandro for the FWD position.
73. Tammy Abraham(FWD24)-23 goals in 41 games for Bristol City last year. Only 19 years old.
74. Toby Aldeweireld(DEF10)-12 of Spurs’ 17 clean sheets were at home. Now they play at Wembley.
75. Jan Vertonghen(DEF11)-5 goals & 3 assists in 12/13 season. Since then he has 1 goal & 1 assist.
76. David Luiz(DEF12)-Possibly the one at threat from Rudiger.
77. Laurent Koscielny(DEF13)-Has scored over 120 points in 4 straight years despite never making 3000 minutes.
78. Hector Bellerin(DEF14)-Switch to RWB could make him the right footed Alonso.
79. Leighton Baines(DEF15)-Great value if he is back on penalties and plays LWB.
80. Eric Bailly(DEF16)-Nailed on defender in a Mourinho team.
81. Shkodran Mustafi(DEF17)-Arsenal usually good for 10-15 clean sheets.
82. Nacho Monreal(DEF18)-Will play either LCB or LWB.
83. Sead Kolasinac(DEF19)-Averaged a goal or assist every 3.25 games in the Bundesliga last year.
84. Victor Lindelof(DEF20)- No team kept more CS than MUN in 16/17.
85. Hugo Lloris(GK1)-Has more than 140 points in 3 of last 4 years.
86. Thibaut Courtois(GK2)-Splitting hairs between Spurs, Chelsea and MUN goalkeepers.
87. David De Gea(GK3)-A move to Real Madrid could still happen this summer.
88. Petr Cech(GK4)-Made the 5th most saves of any GK last year.
89. Tom Heaton(GK5)- Picked up 21 Bonus Points last year. The next best GK had 10.
90. Jordan Pickford(GK6)-Less shots to save, but bound to improve on 4 CS.
91. Ederson(GK7)-MCI conceded the least number of shots last season.
92. Nathaniel Clyne(DEF21)-Only 2 assists last year despite being 2nd in “Creativity”.
93. Ryan Bertrand(DEF22)-His 4.4 PPG was higher than Valencia, Luiz & Aldeweireld.
94. Virgil van Dijk(DEF23)-If he does move to LIV, he goes up to the 80s on this list.
95. Charlie Daniels(DEF24)-7th top scoring defender in FPL last year.
96. Vincent Kompany(DEF25)-His 5.2 PPG was 2nd to only Alonso amongst defenders.
97. Dejan Lovren(DEF26)-Liverpool have kept over 10 CS every season for 6 years.
98. Joel Matip(DEF27)-Ranked 112 points higher than Lovren on the “Threat” metric.
99. Ashley Williams(DEF28)-Has over 700 BPS in 3 straight years.
100. Michael Keane(DEF29)-Should be nailed for a 2nd straight 100 point season.
101. Patrick van Aanholt(DEF30)- 11 goals over last 2 seasons. Wilfried Zaha has 9.
102. Fraser Forster(GK8)-SOT have kept 12-15 CS every year for 4 years.
103. Jack Butland(GK9)-In 2015/16 Butland scored 132 points despite missing 7 games.
104. Kasper Schmeichel(GK10)-His dad used to be a goalkeeper. I’m struggling here…
105. Simon Mignolet(GK11)-Quelled transfer rumours with a run of good form.
106. Nathan Ake(DEF31)In his 8 starts, BOU conceded 3 goals on 4 occasions.
107. Gareth McAuley-(DEF32)-6 goals last year. 4 goals in previous 3 years.
108. Christian Fuchs(DEF33)
109. Cedric Soares(DEF34)
110. Asmir Begovic(GK12)
111. Ben Foster(GK13)
112. Joe Hart(GK14)
113. Lukasz Fabianski (GK15)
114. Heurelho Gomes(GK16)
115. Nicolas Otamendi(DEF35)
116. Aleksandar Kolarov (DEF36)
117. Marcos Rojo (DEF37)
118. Craig Dawson(DEF38)
119. Jose Holebas(DEF39)
120. Jose Fonte(DEF40)