Fantasy Football Rankings and the Chargers: ESPN’s Mike Clay I’ve become a big fan of ESPN’s Mike Clay over the last couple years. He has consistently been a fan of the Chargers http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/jahleel-addae-jersey , in fantasy and in real life, and continually has picked them to not only make the playoffs in ‘17 and ‘18, but to also challenge for a title.Although the hype he gave the team did not come to fruition last season, the attention he gave to the Chargers’ players in fantasy football was right on the money. In ESPN leagues (PPR scoring), here’s how the the Bolts’ players fared:Melvin Gordon - RB284 Carries1,105 Rushing Yards8 Rushing Touchdowns58 Catches on 83 Targets476 Receiving Yards4 Receiving TouchdownsFinished the year as RB5Keenan Allen - WR102 Catches on 159 targets1,393 Receiving Yards6 Receiving Touchdowns2 Carries9 Rushing YardsFinished the year as WR3Philip Rivers - QBCompleted 360/575 Passes4,515 Passing Yards28 Passing Touchdowns10 InterceptionsFinished the year as QB8Tyrell Williams - WR43 Catches728 Receiving Yards4 Receiving TouchdownsFinished the year as WR45Travis Benjamin - WR34 Catches567 Receiving Yards4 Receiving Touchdowns13 Carries96 Rushing YardsFinished the year as WR50Austin Ekeler - RB47 Carries260 Rushing Yards2 Rushing Touchdowns27 Catches279 Receiving Yards3 Receiving TouchdownsFinished the year as RB45For the upcoming 2018 fantasy football season, here’s how Clay has the Chargers’ skill players ranked:Philip Rivers - QB12Rivers continues to be extremely affordable as a late round quarterback that should yield top-10 scoring numbers at the position. Even with the recent loss of Hunter Henry, Rivers still possesses a plethora of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Look for Mike Williams to pick up some slack while all three running backs should see an uptick in targets.Melvin Gordon - RB10A little lower than I would have expected for Gordon but understandable when you see guys like Leonard Fournette, Kareem Hunt, and Dalvin Cook ahead of him as these guys should be leaned on a lot more while Gordon may end of ceeding carries to Austin Ekeler and rookie Justin Jackson. Fans of Gordon should still be excited as this may push Gordon into a late round 2 or early round 3 consideration.Keenan Allen - WR6I believe this to be just the right spot for Allen after the season he just had. Like Julio Jones of the Falcons, Allen has been slightly allergic to the end zone but eats up enough targets that it doesn’t matter most of the time. He will once again be leaned on heavily in the passing attack http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/dan-feeney-jersey , especially with Hunter Henry out for the year. Anything outside of top-10 production for Allen would be insane.Mike Williams - WR69 (NICE)After a disappointing year for the former seventh-overall pick, it seems like Clay believes Williams is in store for an increased target share after sustaining some healthiness through the off-season. Williams has all the tools in the world to be successful within this offense, but his ability to learn the offense will be the the one thing to hold him back, if he lets it.Tyrell Williams - WR84Quite the drop for Williams after being just two years removed from a 1,000-yard season. Williams unfortunately will lose targets to Mike Williams but he should still get a healthy amount of looks after the loss of Hunter Henry. He is another tall wideout with blazing speed that should find his success on crossers and deeper routes. Depending on how the other Williams progresses, Tyrell might just be the steal of this offense, once again.Travis Benjamin - Not RankedIf Mike Williams comes along like he’s expected to, Benjamin might be the lone guy out of this offense. His looks should increase with Henry’s injury, but his role as a consistent contributor will be in danger, nonetheless. However, Benjamin and the coaches are aware of his role as a deep threat within the offense and you just know he will be good for a long touchdown just about once every three or four weeks.Austin Ekeler - RB59Ekeler was such a nice surprise for Chargers fans last season as he carved out a prominent role for himself in this offense after making the team as a UDFA. Ekeler showed excellent vision and acceleration on his limited carries, making the most of his time on the field. Gordon is still the workhorse of this offense, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ekeler continue to get 6-8 carries a game on top of a couple targets from Rivers http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/denzel-perryman-jersey , as well.Chargers Defense/Special Teams - D/ST8It’s awesome to see the defense and special teams getting some love after a chunk of years in irrelevancy. The defensive backfield is stacked with talent. The duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram has been rated a top-5 passing rushing unit in the NFL. There’s just so much to love here. The Chargers’ defense should be a priority selection in the last several rounds Two passions fuel Jimmy Graham, each related in one way or another with moving quickly through the air.Football in the fall, flying in the offseason.A 1950s-era amphibious plane that he restored to pristine condition also represents how far he has come back from a serious knee injury. Both rebuilds occurred a few years ago while he was playing for the Seattle Seahawks.This season, the aviation enthusiast and pass-catching tight end has landed in Wisconsin for the next leg of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers."They ebb and flow together. It's the two biggest parts of my life," Graham said about flying and football. "I don't think I could be as good at one without the other."Graham, a five-time Pro Bowler, signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Packers in the offseason following three years with the Seattle Seahawks. The Packers brought him in to provide a big target in the red zone for Aaron Rodgers.Through six games, Graham has 27 catches for 349 yards and a score, including 11 receptions on 20 targets over the past two games. With the Packers choppy so far in the red zone, Graham isn't perhaps having quite the touchdown production he initially envisioned."Hopefully they'll start coming my way, too. It's kind of a rough start for us, just not finishing really and not getting the ball down in the end zone http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/mike-williams-jersey ," Graham said after the 33-30 win on Monday night over the San Francisco 49ers."We've got to work off that, with (Rodgers) and these receivers and these running backs and this O-line we've got, we've got a lot more than 30 points in us," Graham said. "And learn from this ... to get to where we're scoring every time we touch the ball. That's the goal. Start fast, finish fast."It's a goal to focus on for next week, though, when the Packers return from their bye to prepare for a game at the Los Angeles Rams.During this off week, Graham figures to be back in the air. He spoke about his love of flying over the summer during the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, about 50 miles southwest of Green Bay."I'll fly on off days. But basically once Wednesday starts, I'm doing nothing but watching film, getting the body ready and running people over," Graham said.He wasn't kidding 鈥?two days later, the Packers started training camp.Graham was drafted by the Saints in 2010 out of Miami. He played only one season of college football following four seasons as a power forward for the Hurricanes' basketball program. He followed in the footsteps of other NFL tight ends with basketball backgrounds such as Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.One of the main reasons he got into football was because "a lot of people didn't believe I could do it http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/philip-rivers-jersey ," Graham recounted."I took that whole idea of how difficult and impossible this thing was going to be and just took one day at a time and kind of used it as fuel," he said.His love of flying goes back to childhood after first seeing the Tom Cruise movie, "Top Gun." He wanted to be a Navy Seal or Marine, but he got bigger and taller, so he played basketball.It was during his junior year at Miami he had the opportunity to sit in a single-engine plane with a pilot certified in aerobatics. The experience got him hooked."Flying was such a want and a dream that I had as a child, the first moment that I had to attack it, I did," Graham said.It was a challenge, too."I feel like in my life, I'm always on the move, and I'm always looking for my next challenge, what can push me. And flying has really fulfilled that in many ways," he added.He wants to share that passion with a new generation of aviators after becoming the honorary co-chair of EAA Young Eagles Program Womens Caleb Sturgis Jersey , which is dedicated to giving youth ages 8 to 17 their first free ride in a plane."He brings a completely different perspective to our Young Eagles program. He's a very accomplished individual, but did it really essentially himself," EAA Chairman Jack Pelton said."As he tells the story, he took his first airplane ride and it hooked him on aviation," Pelton added. "So I think that's going to make him very relatable because that's where he came from."At Oshkosh, Graham gave rides to two young and aspiring pilots in his 1957 De Haviland DHC-2 Beaver. He started restoration on the classic in the summer of 2015.That November, Graham tore a patellar tendon in his knee, an injury that forced him to miss the final month of the season. The plane was finished in the summer of 2016. Graham returned for the 2016 season, and he has played every regular-season game since."I think flying really focuses me, centers me," Graham said. "It gets me to disconnect from the pressures that this game can provide." Custom San Francisco 49ers Jerseys
