Not too many surprises in the 2012 keepers. It’s a quarterback heavy keeper class, as five signal-callers are being kept, four of which are being kept just for season two. Overall, 30 players are being kept (our lowest total since 2004). Of the 30, eight are entering their third and final season). Of the 21 non-kickers that were first, second and third-team All-Robio award winners last year, 13 are being kept, including five first-team All-Robio players. Two of the top three rookies from last year (Newton, Murray) are also being kept.

Now there are two rankings below, one is for individual players and one is for team. When trying to figure out the rankings, I don’t just add up the fantasy numbers one will produce throughout the season. In reality, the round a player is being kept is just as important. Fact is, if you have the top two running backs in the league, but one is costing you a first-round pick and the other is costing you a tenth round pick, the ladder is so much more valuable.

INDIVIDUAL KEEPER RANKINGS

1. Cam Newton, QB-CAR (Bob, Rd 12) Arguable the greatest pick in league history, even greater than my 1999 Kurt Warner in the 16th round. Let me tell you why…Warner was the star of a stacked team, in an 8-team league. Newton not only put up the stats to be an elite QB, he allowed Bob to ship Brady off for two WR1’s and a starting tight end. Even better, Bob gets a taste of Cam for two more years.

2. Arian Foster, RB-HOU (Griff, Rd 10) Hard not to believe he’s the best back in football. He earned first-team All-Robio in 2010 and second-team in 2011 despite missing two games to injury. The only question is, how good can he remain now that he’s a vegetarian?

3. DeMarco Murray, RB-DAL (Rich C, Rd 13) Don’t buy into the injury-prone argument. It’s too early in his career to start sticking him with the “Fred Taylor” stamp. He’s the featured back in a high-power offense. The Cowboys have too many receiving weapons to allow opponents to stuff the box. He would easily be a late-first round pick if there were no keepers in this league.

4. Darren McFadden, RB-OAK (Robio, Rd 11) When he’s healthy, he’s the most dangerous back in football. Of course he’s also the only back in football that can miss 10 games due to a high ankle sprain.

5. Rob Gronkowski, TE_NE (Rich B, Rd 8) It’s one thing to be the top tight end in fantasy football, but his stats are so above the rest (except for Graham), he needs his own category.

6. Matthew Stafford, QB-DET (Matt, Rd 8) Based solely on stats, I’d put Stafford below every other quarterback on this list. However, better arms like Brees, Rodgers and Brady will cost teams top-14 picks, Matt gets to keep his top pick and still have a top-five arm. How about them apples?

7. Fed Jackson, RB-BUF (Don, Rd 6) He was the top back in football in 2011 until he got hurt. Heading into 2012, he’s got a new contract, so he has to be healthy, right? But here’s the catch…C.J. Spiller actually looked good subbing in for an injured Jackson last year. How many carries will he steal from Jackson in ’12?

8. Victor Cruz, WR-NYG (Molly, Rd 7) Molly’s got a top-five wide receiver way back in the seventh round. Cruz would have never gotten past the middle of the second-round if he wasn’t kept. In fact, I would have taken him with the 14th pick.

9. Jordy Nelson, WR-GB (Bob, Rd 8) With Donald Driver getting older, could Nelson continue to get more looks? I’m saying yes. In fact, I’m predicting Nelson to compete for a third-team All-Robio award this year.

10. Hakeem Nicks, WR_NYG (Colby, Rd 14) He’s still a WR1 in this league, even though he was only the second best wide receiver on his own team in 2011. I wouldn’t be surprised if the trend reversed itself in 2012, whereas Nicks produces more than Cruz…but as you can see from these rankings, I’m not predicting that.

11. Steve Smith, WR-CAR (Eric, Rd 8) Some don’t have faith that Smith can redo his 2011. He does have a history of flip-flopping, one good season is followed by a so-so season. Of course he didn’t have Cam Newton as his quarterback in those years.

12. Matt Forte, RB-CHI (Eric, Rd 5) Here’s the deal…when it comes to pure production, Forte has never been a great back. He relies on lots and lots of touches. Of course there is nothing wrong with that unless the Bears signed another back in the offseason. Oops.

13. Tom Brady, QB-NE (Colby, Rd 2) It’s always tricky where to stuff the early round stud quarterbacks. Obviously Brady, Rodgers and Brees are going to produce the most points, but it’s not like their respective teams are getting them free. If any of these arms were kept in a later round, let’s say round four, they’d all be number one. For now, Brady jumps ahead of Rodgers/Brees because he’s only costing Colby a second-rounder.

14. Calvin Johnson, WR-DET (Rich C, Rd 2) He’s going to be the best wide receiver in football. He would easily be a top-five pick in this draft if he was available.

15. Aaron Rodgers, QB-GB (Molly, Rd 1) No, he won’t average what he did last year (478 PPG), but he should easily still score over 400ppg). Now Molly just needs to find a backfield to go with him.

16. Drew Brees, QB-NO (Rich B, Rd 1) One of two first-team All-Robio players Burrier gets to keep. Only Griff can also make that claim this year.

17. Marshawn Lynch, RB-SEA (Robio, Rd 7) For the final nine weeks of last season, Lynch was the most productive back in football. Do I have faith in him? Sure, I’m keeping him, but that second DUI and possible suspension has me worried.

18. Wes Welker, WR-NE (Griff, Rd 3) It’s hard to believe that 2011 was the first-time Welker has ever earned a first-team All-Robio, but it was. I still think he’ll be a top-10 back, but I don’t expect him to crack first-team again.

19. Ryan Mathews, RB-SD (Bob, Rd 3) Prior to his injury, I would have had Mathews in the top-12 of this list. Now I’m not worried that he’s not going to come back and I’m certainly not worried that he’s going to lose his starting job, but what this does is allow another RB to step up and prove that he’s worth some carries. This is bad for Mathews because he was considered a 20+ carry back this season.

20. Darren Sproles, RB-NO (Jeff, Rd 13) He probably should go higher, but I just don’t trust running backs that live and die with receptions.

21. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB-CIN (Colby, Rd 6) He’s all alone in Cincinnati and because he scores a lot, he should be able to be a RB1 in this league. Then why do I have so little faith in him? Maybe I’m the idiot. I would buy that, but BGE needs to prove it to me first.

22. Julio Jones, WR-ATL (Rob M, Rd 6) At best he’s the next Reggie Wayne when Marvin Harrison was still good. Best-case scenario, 80 catches, 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns. Worst-case scenario, 65 catches, 850 yards and seven touchdowns. My prediction: somewhere right in the middle, 72 catches, 1,025 yards and nine touchdowns.

23. Jeremy Maclin, WR-PHI (Rich B, Rd 12) Everyone says that Maclin is the better option over DeSean Jackson and maybe they are right…but four years in he’s never caught more than 70 balls and he’s never had a 1,000-yard season. Just saying.

24. Aaron Hernandez, TE-NE (Jeff, Rd 7) In the end, smart move for Jeff keeping Hernandez over Reggie Bush. I have one theory in fantasy football…if you ain’t going to start ‘em, don’t keep ‘em. If you are, then, you should.

25. Greg Jennings, WR-GB (Matt, Rd 2) Over the last four years Jennings has been one the better wide receivers in football. He’s brought home one second-team All-Robio and two third-team All-Robios. Based solely on All-Robio awards, he’s 13th all time in league history.

26. Chris Johnson, RB-TEN (Rob M, Rd 1) I like Chris Johnson. I think he’s due for a bounce back year. I think Rob had no choice but to keep him, because if he didn’t, Johnson probably would have gone third overall (behind Rice/McCoy). However, he’s the only running back being kept in the first two rounds. I wonder what that says about fantasy football running backs?

27. Bears, DST-CHI (Eric, Rd 12) Maybe top-five. Sure they get the the Packers and Lions twice, but after that the only scary team on their schedule are the Cowboys and Texans.

28. Dustin Keller, TE-NYJ (Rob M, Rd 12) Would anyone in this league call Keller a top-10 TE? I probably wouldn’t. I like him, but I just don’t trust the Jets QB situation.

29. Tony Gonzalez, TE-ATL (Matt, Rd 14) The real question is, how much faith does Matt have? Does he really not draft another tight end, expecting to start a 36-year-old tight end all season long?

30. Michael Bush, RB-CHI (Rick C, Rd 9) Not that Rich had better options in category two, but he’s the only person keeping a backup player.

RANKINGS BY TEAM:

1. BOB – WILDCARD BITCHES Rd 3 – Ryan Mathews, RB-SD Rd 8 – Jordy Nelson, WR-GB Rd 12 – Cam Newton, QB-CAR

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: Last year I thought Bob had to worst keepers going into the season, yet he walked away with another title. Now he has three starters, all three will fight for All-Robio awards (although Mathews injury might hamper that), plus he gets the 13th and 14th pick in the draft. Just 14 picks into the draft and the two-time champion will have five starters. Scary.

2. GRIFF – THE GRIFFTERS Rd 3 – Wes Welker, WR-NE Rd 10 – Arian Foster, RB-HOU

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: Griff only keeps two, but he brings back two 2011 first-team All-Robio players, including the league’s best running back. Add in picks six and 19 and we’re talking about a third-straight nine win season for Mr. Coomer.

3. COLBY – QUARTER POUNDERS Rd 2 – Tom Brady, QB-NE Rd 6 – BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB-CIN Rd 14 – Hakeem Nicks, WR_NYG

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: Like Bob, he’s got three starters. Like Bob he’s got an elite QB, a WR1 and a RB ready to burst unto the scene. If BGE can live up to the hype and really be a top-10 RB, Colby will be dangerous, especially if he makes the right call in round one.

4. ROBIO – ROMOLICIOUS Rd 7 – Marshawn Lynch, RB-SEA Rd 11 – Darren McFadden, RB-OAK

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: I’ve either hit a grand slam with two top-eight backs or both will flame out due to suspension and injury. I’m putting all my eggs into their basket, because I’ve traded out of the first round and won’t even look at another RB until later in the draft.

5. RICH C – THE DICK-TATERS Rd 2 – Calvin Johnson, WR-DET Rd 9 – Michael Bush, RB-CHI Rd 13 – DeMarco Murray, RB-DAL

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: He’s got the best WR in all of football and a top-10 running back (Murray). When he adds in either Rice/McCoy, Rich is going to be sperming himself. For him, he’s going to have to find a star later in the draft, since he has to wait until rounds 3-4-5 to draft the remainder of his starters.

6. RICH B – TEAM 6 Rd 1 – Drew Brees, QB-NO Rd 8 – Rob Gronkowski, TE_NE Rd 12 – Jeremy Maclin, WR-PHI

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: He traded up into the first-round, without knowing what he wanted. That’s probably not the smartest thing to do. Still, with Brees and Gronkowski, Rich doesn’t even need to draft great to be a winner, just draft good.

7. MOLLY – MOLLIPOP Rd 1 – Aaron Rodgers, QB-GB Rd 7 – Victor Cruz, WR-NYG

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: Rodgers was clearly a no-brainer, but I think she should have kept Graham in category two. In the end, it’s tough to argue with a pick like Cruz. I’m also surprised she didn’t keep the Cowboys defense. They spent a lot of money via free agency and used their top picks in the draft to improve their defense, so one has to believe the Cowboys D in round 11 would have been a solid keeper.

8. ERIC – NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE Rd 5 – Matt Forte, RB-CHI Rd 8 – Steve Smith, WR-CAR Rd 12 – Bears, DST-CHI

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: I don’t think either Forte or Smith are locks to repeat their 2011 numbers, but I do think they both will be pretty good. Add in the top pick in the draft (Rice/McCoy), plus picks 24 and 25 and we have to assume Eric can improve upon his three-win total over the last two years.

9. MATT – VICK IN WHITE Rd 3 – Greg Jennings, WR-GB Rd 8 – Matthew Stafford, QB-DET Rd 14 – Tony Gonzalez, TE-ATL

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: Matt passes up on Maurice Jones-Drew in round one to keep Jennings for one more season. I like the call. I’m a big believer in keeping your first-round pick if you can. I love Stafford. He was a clear second-round pick if Matt didn’t keep him. As I’ve mentioned above, I’m not a big believer in Gonzalez anymore. I think 2011 was a fiuke.

10. ROB M – GLORY HOLE DAYS Rd 1 – Chris Johnson, RB-TEN Rd 6 – Julio Jones, WR-ATL Rd 12 – Dustin Keller, TE-NYJ

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: While I believe C-John is a RB1, in fact, I suspect he’ll earn an All-Robio this year, he’s still going to cost Rob a first-round pick. Jones is at best a WR2 still and he will remain one as long as White remains the #1 option in Atlanta. The problem with Keller is, he’s good enough that you can’t waste any early pick on a TE, but not quite consistent enough for you not to draft at least one other TE at some point.

11. DON – GATOR NATION Rd 6 – Fed Jackson, RB-BUF

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: It’s never a good thing when you are only keeping one player, but at least he’s a good player.

12. JEFF – SPIDER TWO WIDE BANANA Rd 7 – Aaron Hernandez, TE-NE Rd 13 – Darren Sproles, RB-NO

NOT-TOO-DEEP THOUGHTS: I think Jeff is making the right picks here. If he’s going to draft Jones-Drew with the third pick in the draft, then there is zero reason to keep a third RB (Bush) over Hernandez. The big question moving forward is…does Jeff start Sproles along side MJD? If so, then he can avoid drafting another RB early in the draft.