The 2016 regular season is on the horizon, which means it could only be time for one thing: 2017 fantasy football rankings!Am I getting ahead of myself here? Yes, definitely. But hear me out. For those of you in keeper and dynasty leagues, its usually a good exercise to consider each players value one year from now.The below rankings are based on assumptions about 2016 season happenings and marinated in speculation about what will go down next offseason. However, barring disaster, many of the highly-ranked young players are nearly assured an increase in opportunity come 2017 offseason programs.Lets have some fun!Quarterback The likes of Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger will still be in their mid-to-late 30s and should be positioned for another year or so of top-end production. Could 2017 be the year we start to worry about 40-year-old Tom Brady and 38-year-old Drew Brees? Yes, Im buying on another big year from Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo -- I can hear it already! Dak Prescott?hasnt even played a down, you fool! I know. I get it. But even if hes an average passer, hes going to generate enough fantasy production with his legs to land in the QB1 discussion this time next year. Oh, and the hype will be crazy. Of course, the assumption here is that Dallas moves on from 37-year-old and second-coming-of-Chad-Pennington, Tony Romo, but he could land on his feet elsewhere. Carson Wentzs promotion to starter will push him into the QB2 mix. Hes definitely going to run a lot. After an ugly offseason, Im not convinced 22-year-old Jared Goff will be ready to take a pedestrian Rams team to fantasy relevance. If hes even halfway decent during Bradys suspension, Jimmy Garoppolo will be a hot name in trade talks next offseason. Running Back The top-four guys are no-brainers, but it gets fun from there. Im a big Carlos Hyde fan. Hes the same age as both?LeVeon Bell?and David Johnson,?and on the verge of a major breakout season. Will 32-year-old Adrian Peterson be back in Minnesota? If not, Jerick McKinnon will be a popular RB2 breakout candidate. Regardless of where he is, Peterson will still be in the RB1 conversation.?Derrick Henry?showed me enough during the preseason that I expect him to take control of the Tennessee backfield at some point?this season.?Danny Woodhead?will be 32 years old and is an pending free agent. His decline or departure would open up more targets for Melvin Gordon, who (get ready for this hot take) will score at least one touchdown this season! I recently named T.J. Yeldon a candidate to be this years Devonta Freeman, and although that might be a stretch, I expect him to be well ahead of Chris Ivory by this point next year. At least for now, Kenneth Dixon is the heavy favorite to be Baltimores 2017 Week 1 starter. Fellow 2016 rookies Paul Perkins, Jordan Howard, Kenyan Drake and DeAndre Washington could all be in position to start as well. Rashad Jennings will be 32 years old, Jeremy Langford isnt good, Arian Foster is on a one-year deal and will be 31 years old and Latavius Murray will be a free agent. Could highly intriguing Darius Jackson be?Ezekiel Elliotts primary backup?. I included?Jeremy Langford?and Matt Jones just in case they defy expectations and actually produce this year. I know, Im stubborn. Wide ReceiverA change at the top? Antonio Brown will be 29 years old this time next year. Thats not old, but Odell Beckham Jr. is currently 23 and a good bet for another step forward in his third year.?Sammy Watkins?is one of the leagues most-talented wide receivers and he will make the jump into the elite category this year.?Josh Gordons off-field concerns will always?be there, but hell only be 26 years old and, assuming all goes well, will have 12 games under his belt from the 2016 season.?DeSean Jackson?and Pierre Garcon will both be free agents next offseason, which sets up Josh Doctson as one of the top 2017 breakout candidates.?Alshon Jeffery?and Steve Smith Sr. will be free agents, which helps set up Kevin White and Breshad Perriman for a promotion.Will Jordy Nelson continue to haul in the long balls at the age of 32??2016 rookies Sterling Shepard, Laquon Treadwell, Will Fuller, Corey Coleman and Michael Thomas will each be positioned for expanded roles during their sophomore campaigns. Im buying on Devin Funchess as Carolinas future No. 1 wide receiver. ?A concerning age for a wideout is 33. So I imagine well be viewing Brandon Marshall similarly to how we are eyeballing?Larry Fitzgerald this year.?Chris Conley?is a super-overlooked 2016 breakout candidate.Tight End Rob Gronkowski and Jordan Reed are in their prime and figure to hold down the top of the position for another year or so. A fully-healthy Tyler Eifert will enter 2017 at the age of 26 and slotted in as Cincinnatis No. 2 target behind?A.J. Green. Zach Ertz?needs a few more touchdowns and hell be a solid mid-pack TE1 option.?Eric Ebron, Clive Walford and Maxx Williams are candidates to take a big step forward into the TE1 discussion this season.?Hunter Henry?(behind Antonio Gates this year), Tyler Higbee (Lance Kendricks) and Austin Hooper (Jacob Tamme) are talented pass-catchers and positioned well for promotions next year.?Martellus Bennett?and Jared Cook are in great situations here in in 2016, but both are on one-year deals. Vans Shoes Outlet . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Vans Sk8-Hi Shoes For Sale . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-sk8-hi-clearance/sk8-hi-reissue.html . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Vans Old Skool White Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Vans Shoes Clearance . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. ARCADIA, Calif. -- A champion mare produced a storybook ending to an amazing five-year career Friday at Santa Anita.Beholder, the 6-year-old making her 26th and final start in the $2 million Breeders Cup Distaff, wore down the previously undefeated Songbird in a stretch-long street fight to win by a nose in a race for the ages.There were tears everywhere in the Santa Anita winners circle, where trainer Richard Mandella, jockey Gary Stevens, and owner B. Wayne Hughes celebrated the win by Beholder ($8.60). It was her third Breeders Cup win, 11th Grade 1 victory, and also her swan song.Its probably the most emotional [win] of my career, knowing this was her last race, Stevens said immediately afterward. I just asked Mr. Hughes if he has a paddock for me next to her. I probably should be getting on the plane with her and walking out right now.Beholder will retire to become a broodmare at Hughess Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky, and there was no second-guessing by Hughes after the race. I think its time for her to go the normal route to go back to Kentucky and not having to have Richard and Gary to deal with, Hughes said.It was good-natured kidding delivered by a man with utmost appreciation for his trainer and rider.I dont think Ill ever have another horse like this, and so Im very grateful to have been a part of it, Hughes said. I mean, I really compliment Richard. I dont know of any trainer that could have taken a horse for six years and done what hes done. But Gary has been a big part of it.Beholder won at least one Grade 1 race in each of the past five years and was most effective utilizing the stalking style she employed Friday.The race unfolded as expected, with Songbird and jockey Mike Smith shooting to the front. Stevens said Beholder broke sharper than she ever has in her career, but when Im a Chatterbox went up inside to press Songbird, Stevens was happy to allow Beholder to sit third on the outside.The fractions were modest. Songbird went the opening half-mile in 47.16 seconds and six furlongs in 1:11.14. Nearing the quarter pole, Beholder rranged outside Songbird.dddddddddddd From the quarter pole to the wire, Stevens said, it was a street fight.Songbird, a 3-year-old facing older fillies and mares for the first time after winning her first 11 starts, refused to surrender. I didnt know how much fight Songbird had in her, Stevens said. I found out. I put her away three times down the stretch.Beholder raced outside, Songbird battled along the rail, and the two dueled to the wire. Stevens thought he had it won late. I saw the purple with all the banners [on the rail] down the stretch, and said ? Were close! The margin was a nose; even-money favorite Songbird finished 1-1/4 lengths in front of Forever Unbridled. Stellar Wind, the 5-2 second choice, finished fourth. The order of finish was completed by Im a Chatterbox, Curalina, and Land over Sea.Corona Del Inca, a Breeders Cup Challenge winner making her first start since May in Argentina, was injured and euthanized. She sustained a condylar fracture of her right foreleg, a sesamoid fracture, and fractured the first pastern bone.Distaff winner Beholder goes out like the three-time champion she already is. Beholder retires having won 18 races and $6,156,600.As for Songbird, her future is bright. She will continue to race next year at age 4 for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and owner Rick Porter.Hollendorfer said he could never be disappointed with Songbird. She ran great, just the other horse ran a little better.Beholder did it throughout her career. She won the BC Juvenile Fillies in 2012, the BC Distaff in 2013, and won at least one Grade 1 for five years running.Ive never seen a racehorse stay in peak form [that long], Stevens said. I know Ill never sit on another one like her. In a way, I wonder, should I be walking out too? But I have [Saturday] to ride. Who knows what lies beyond that?Attendance on Friday was 45,763; the pick-six carryover into Saturday is $511,261.-- additional reporting by David Grening ' ' '