We play fake football according to some. Why not give out some fake hardware to go with our fake football?

If fantasy football bloggers are good at anything, it is making predictions. Be they logical or not, I have yet to meet a ffblogger not capable of making bold, extraordinary predictions. Myself include.

I admit there are many instances in which my predictions did not live up to expectation. Maybe more often than not. But sometimes, I have been dead on and it has either helped me or someone I know win their fantasy league.

However, these predictions are just for fun. The real stuff comes tomorrow and Friday with our Start & Sit columns, but for now enjoy who I think will be the best players at their respective positions this year. There are a few surprises, so hit the jump for the First teamers.

For the First team, I am assuming this is a standard league with a standard starting lineup: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs and 1 TE. Not dealing with kickers and defenses. I have given each starting position the same number of backups as starters.

QBs
Drew Brees [Saints]: Not exactly who you expected to see here, is it? I may be going out on a limb, or maybe just a homer, but Brees has all the potential to be this year’s top quarterback. He is in the prime of his career and has a multitude of weapons on offense — Marques Colston, Reggie Bush, Jeremy Shockey and Robert Meachem. 40 touchdowns are not out of the question for Brees in this pass-happy offense.

Tom Brady [Patriots]: I am expecting a slight drop-off in production from Brady this year, but not too much. He should top 35 touchdown passes this season with Randy Moss and Wes Welker still in the scheme. That seems like a disappointment after last year’s superhuman effort, but Brady still should lift his fantasy owners to the playoffs.

RBs
Adrian Peterson [Vikings]: Surprise! No? Yeah, I can see that. Well, for what it is worth, I have Peterson as the No. 1 running on this team, which means he surpasses the efforts of LaDainian Tomlinson this year. If AP is going to do that, he needs to catch some more passes and keep Chester Taylor on the bench.

LaDainian Tomlinson [Chargers]: Tomlinson’s age starts to catch up with him. Not that being the second-best runningback is a terrible consolation prize for LT2, but he went into the season as the No. 1 back on the majority of fantasy draft boards. Darren Sproles and Jacob Hester will eat into Tomlinson’s time this year, particularly in blowouts.

Marion Barber [Cowboys]: Barber is the next non top-6 fantasy draft pick to ascend to the upper echelon. After this season, he will be in the conversation with Steven Jackson, Brian Westbrook and Joseph Addai as the best runningbacks behind LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson.

Steven Jackson [Rams]: To some, Jackson’s lenghty hold out may be a reason to doubt his ability to produce top fantasy numbers this season. That includes me: If he had not held out for so long, I would have put him up there above Tomlinson. As it is, he likely will start slow but catch fire after the first few weeks and easily end up as one of the best fantasy backs in 2008.

WRs
Reggie Wayne [Colts]: It now is Wayne’s turn to earn the title of best fantasy wide receiver, and he should be able to accomplish that feat this season. He finally surpassed Marvin Harrison in production last season, and now he appears to be Peyton Manning’s favorite target. With Harrison back, Dallas Clark and the young Anthony Gonzalez on the field, Wayne should see less double teams and more opportunities to punch it in the endzone.

Randy Moss [Patriots]: If Brady’s production falls off a little bit, so, too does Moss’. I do not expect the same numbers out of Moss in 2008 as in last season, but he still should produce at a very high level again this year.

Calvin Johnson [Lions]: The newcomer to the group, Johnson will surpass teammate Roy Williams in production this year and go on to be one of the best wide receivers in fantasy football. Next year, good luck getting him after the second round in any fantasy draft. That is how hot his stock will be after this year’s campaign.

Andre Johnson [Texans]: If Johnson would have stayed healthy last year, he would have challenged all fantasy receivers other than Moss in terms of production. This year he does stay healthy, and Matt Schaub feeds him the ball often.

TEs
Jason Witten [Cowboys]: Witten comes into the 2008 season in the argument for top tight end. He had his breakout season in 2007 and with Antonio Gates coming off injury, Witten should be able to wrangle the top spot from Gates and others. He is the second option in a pass-happy offense and a fan favorite. He will see a lot of action again this year.

Jeremy Shockey [Saints]: Brees top the list at quarterback, and it is only natural that at least one of his targets makes the first team as well. Although Brees does a great job of spreading the ball around the field, he will enjoy throwing across the middle to Shockey, who will see a great deal of targets in the redzone. Finally, Brees has a legitimate pass-catching tight end in New Orleans.