Fantasy Football Team-by-Team Evaluations

There are a lot of players in the NFL that touch the ball, and that means that there are a lot of players that have the potential to have an impact on your fantasy football team.

Obviously, big name talents often rank among the league leaders in fantasy points, however, Cam Newton, Arian Foster, and Calvin Johnson aren’t the only players that produce on a week-to-week basis when it comes to fantasy football. Sometimes, a team full of less recognizable players can lead a fantasy owner to victory.

When it comes to fantasy football, players can be broken down into four categories — Studs, 2s & Flexes, Situational Pick-ups, and Watch List Residents. Here's how I define each:

Stud: A Top 7 player at their position in terms of fantasy production. This is someone that should be in your lineup every week. The only position where this doesn't apply is TE, where there are at most four studs. Examples: Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Jimmy Graham.

2s & Flexes: The second tier. Regardless of position, these are quality players that will still produce, but have something holding them back from being recognized amongst the fantasy football elite. A lot of rookies and as-yet unproven players with upside moving into starting jobs for the first time will fall into this category. Examples: Eli Manning, Steven Jackson, Antonio Brown

Situational Pick-ups: Players that will be picked late in the draft or will be available on the waiver wire that get hot or have a favorable match-up. Examples: A back-up running back moving into a starting role, D/ST playing against a team with a weak offense.

Watch List Residents: Undrafted players that could become contributors and are therefore worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses. Examples: Pierre Thomas, Robert Woods, Ryan Broyles.

To help you out heading into your fantasy football draft, I've gone team-by-team, division-by-division assigning their skill players into the various categories, offering some analysis on the players listed for each team.

Over the next eight days, we'll roll out one division per day until we've covered both the AFC and NFC. Let's get things started with the AFC East.

Buffalo Bills

Studs: RB C.J. Spiller

2s & Flexes: WR Stevie Johnson, RB Fred Jackson

Situational Pick-ups: TE Scott Chandler

Watch List Residents: WR Robert Woods

Analysis and Outlook: You'll see there isn't a QB listed above, and that makes it hard to find other skill position players capable of having an impact on a week-to-week basis... Spiller is a first-round pick in every format, and capable of leading the league in yards from scrimmage, but even he could fall prey to weak play at QB... Johnson has been a solid WR2/WR3 the last couple years, but hasn't progressed in that time either... He still drops too many balls too... Jackson is a capable handcuff should something happen to Spiller... Chandler is a solid red zone target, but had his season cut short thanks to a blown ACL last year... At most, he's a "grab him while he's hot" option at TE... Plenty of talk coming out of OTAs about Woods' ability to move right into the starting line-up and contribute, so pay attention to what happens in the preseason, and considered the 2013 2nd round pick a potential stash...

Miami Dolphins

Studs: none

2s & Flexes: QB Ryan Tannehill, RB Lamar Miller, WR Mike Wallace

Situational Pick-ups: RB Daniel Thomas, WR Brian Hartline, TE Dustin Keller, D/ST

Watch List Residents: RB Mike Gillislee

Analysis and Outlook: Miami has an emerging offense, but they're going to have to prove themselves a little before I'm completely sold on some of these parts... Tannehill was overshadowed last year, and landed on our Keeper League targets list last week; he's a great athlete, and has more weapons around his this year, so a breakout is possible... Miller will get first crack at replacing Reggie Bush, and has plenty of upside; we just haven't seen him play extended snaps yet, so it's hard to tell how he'll respond in that situation... Wallace is a legit deep threat and one of the fastest receivers in the game, and he should be a favorite target of Tannehill's right away... Thomas has been a disappointment thus far, but he's second in line behind Miller in the backfield, and has to be considered if he moves into the starting line-up at some point... Hartline quietly had a 1,000 yards receiving last year, but only scored once, and he'll lose touches to Wallace and Keller this season... Keller is an upgrade over Anthony Fasano, and has breakout potential as a security blanket for his second year QB... The D/ST quietly ranked 13th last season, added Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler in free agency, and remain a serviceable replacement squad... Gillislee is an intriguing stash as a rookie in case Miller and Thomas falter...

New England Patriots

Studs: QB Tom Brady, RB Stevan Ridley, TE Rob Gronkowski, K Stephen Gostkowski

2s & Flexes: , RB Shane Vereen, WR Danny Amendola, D/ST

Situational Pick-ups: RB Brandon Bolden, WR Julien Edelman

Watch List Residents: WR Aaron Dobson

Analysis and Outlook: Brady will be Brady; he always finds a way to put up points... Ridley is better than people give him credit for, and New England should run the ball even more than they did last year (which was a lot) this season... When healthy, "Gronk" is the best TE in the game, but it's unclear when he'll be ready to go... Gostkowski is a Top 5 kicker, and could be the first player off the board at that position... Vereen is a popular sleeper pick that should see plenty of touches despite being behind Ridley on the depth chart... If Danny Woodhead can be a Top 24 RB last year on limited touches, Vereen could be this year... Amendola slips into Wes Welker's old role and has tons of upside, but he's had problems staying healthy so far... Bolden had a 126-yard, 1 TD game as the starter last year, but fell out of favor after a four-game suspension; there is upside if he makes the team... Edelman has plenty of experience in the system, and could emerge as the top receiver if Amendola can't stay healthy... Dobson has tons of upside, but the Patriots have a complicated playbooks, and rookies have struggled to come in and contribute right away in the past...

New York Jets

Studs: none

2s & Flexes: RB Chris Ivory

Situational Pick-ups: WR Santonio Holmes

Watch List Residents: QB Geno Smith, RB Bilal Powell, D/ST

Analysis and Outlook: Offensively, the Jets are a mess, and did little to help their situation this off-season... Ivory looks like a solid addition, but he's battled injuries and a lack of playing time the last two years, and shouldn't be counted on as a lead back for your fantasy squad... If Holmes has mended fences with QB Mark Sanchez, he's far and away the best receiver on the Jets, and has been a productive player in the past... Smith fell to the Jets in the second round, and is an interesting player to watch long term, though his upside is limited this season if he starts because of the supporting cast... Powell should be the "next man up" if Ivory falters, but failed to distinguish himself last year in spot duty... Someone will draft the Jets D/ST on reputation, but they're not anywhere near as good as they used to be...

Next up: AFC Central on Tuesday

Fantasy Wired has you covered at every position. Check out the rankings section for more analysis and keep your eyes peeled for our inaugural Top 200 later this month.