So the nice part about the SEC having a few …. let’s call them “lackluster” offenses, means the defenses here all take a step up.  That’d be true normally, but the SEC stakes its reputation on defense for a reason, as nearly all these units range from stellar to quality (Vanderbilt excepted).  Unfortunately, that’s about the only specialty area to pay attention to here; the kickers are all right but generally aren’t going to be much better than what you could find somewhere else and the TEs only go three-four deep.

TE Rankings

1.  DJ Williams, Arkansas

It’s always good to be the leading receiver on your team, and DJ Williams not only has that to his credit, he also has a nice 700+ yard season on the books as well.  The TDs weren’t stellar – only 3 – but that figures to improve as the passing game does.  Pretty much anyone that catches a pass for Arkansas should turn in better numbers than they did last year since the Brothers Dick are both gone, meaning Williams should be in great shape to top the 750 yard mark, and hopefully get 5-7 TDs or more.

2: Aaron Hernandez, Florida

Hernandez clearly falls in the “ridiculously talented” category, as he was the #1 overall TE recruit when he came out of high school.  He’s also the leading returning receiver(!) for Florida, although the 381 yards and 5 TDs are good, not great, numbers.  I’d be surprised if Hernandez doesn’t take a step up and hit the 500 / 7 TD range or higher, seeing as he basically had four duds last season.  Quite frankly, the 500/7 is a bit conservative.

3: Richard Dickson, LSU

Dickson had similar numbers to Hernandez last year (324 / 5 TDs to Hernandez’s 381 / 5), but the main difference between the two is the QB situation.  Hernandez is in a better spot than Dickson, but Dickson’s nothing to sneeze at.  I’d expect similar numbers compared to what Dickson’s performance was last year.

4: Weslye Saunders, South Carolina

No, that name’s not a typo.  Saunders is one of two other TEs returning who had more than 200 yards receiving and a few TDs on top of that this season; he’s solidly whatever but may help in a pinch.

5: Brandon Barden, Vanderbilt

This is the other guy who had 200ish and 4 TDs.  Draft whoever you’d like of these two, but I’m going to put the guy who has a capable QB above the guy who plays for Vandy.  No offense, Brandon.

6: Aron White, Georgia

More of a “pay attention to him” guy than someone I’d draft, White may get some attention if the Georgia offens goes conservative, but really isn’t anything to call home about.

K Rankings

1: Joshua Shene, Ole Miss

It’s really either Shene or Jonathan Phillips for the #1 spot in the SEC (nobody else has a competent enough offense to compete), and since Ole Miss might not make it into the end zone quite as often as Florida, Shene gets the nod here.  He’ll get enough XP work to be useful on a weekly basis, too.

2: Jonathan Phillips, Florida

He’ll be a XP machine; the only knock on him is that Florida may not give him enough opportunities to kick FGs.

3: Alex Tejada, Arkansas

If you trust the Arkansas offense to be mildly competent, Tedaja will be golden for you.  They’re actually the most likely offense out of the top three to continually fail to hit the end zone, and Tejada’s consistent enough to rack up FGs.

4: Leigh Tiffin, Alabama

He’d get the nod over Tejada if he was more consistent from 40+; if he can work that out he’ll be golden.  Otherwise, he’s solidly whatever.

5: Daniel Lincoln, Tennessee

No, I don’t trust Tennessee’s offense to find the end zone, but I do trust them to end up dying at the 25 often enough for Lincoln to have a field day.  He’ll have to improve / fix his kicking yips, though – 5/9 from 30-39 yards won’t cut it.

6: Josh Jasper, LSU

Jasper isn’t any great shakes, but he’s quality enough and playing for LSU, meaning he’ll get opportunities.  Isn’t that what it’s all about, anyway?

D/ST Rankings

1: Florida

Hey, who’s surprised to see this one?  With all their starters returning (along with everyone who had 15 or more tackles), Florida’s defense should improve on their 16 sacks and their interception totals should be at least in the range of what they were last year, if not better.  Oh, and they have Brandon James as a return man – yikes.

2: Tennessee

Eric Berry FTW – and the 7 INTs, 265 return yards, and 2 TDs.  It begins and ends with Berry, and that’s kind of okay.  You think he’s going to get worse than those numbers?  I doubt it.  This defense may be feast or famine, but it’ll be one heck of a feast when they’re on.  Dennis Rogan is a quality return guy who has yet to see the end zone; maybe this is the year.

3: Ole Miss

Returning Greg Hardy helps a lot; so does getting Kendrick Lewis and Cassius Vaughn in the secondary, too.  They’ll get enough to be useful, and their return game generated a couple of TDs last year.

4: Alabama

Alabama’s powerful if your league has a points allowed bonus; they weren’t really too aggressive last year and they lose their leading sack / pick guys.  As awesome as Terrance Cody is in real life, he’s kind of useless here.  On the plus side, Javier Arenas is the most dangerous returner in the SEC.

5: LSU

John Chavis’s defenses won’t really rack up the sacks (he’s not a blitzer on 3rd down), but LSU will have enough playmakers on that side of the ball to make decent showings, especially in the secondary.  They lose a lot of their returning sack power in the front seven though, and that’ll leave a mark.  However, they have human electron Trindon Holliday returning kicks and punts, so good luck stopping him.

6: Georgia

Another SEC-quality defense, they return most of their talent.  However, they didn’t do a great job ballhawking and got burnt badly toward the end of last year.  The return game is dangerous but not especially so.

Related posts:

1. Big 12′s Other Rankings for Fantasy College Football
2. Pac 10 “Other” Rankings for Fantasy College Football
3. A Look at Your SEC Fantasy College Football Quarterbacks
4. 2011 SEC Fantasy “Others”
5. SEC Breakdowns & Projections

Tags: SEC