As many of you may know, I am hopelessly obsessed with fantasy football and therefore August, otherwise known as "Draft Season" is one of my favorite months of the year. But, fantasy can be stressful, whether you are a new player just learning the ropes, or you are 500 dollars deep in your 8th league.
So I am here to help. Maybe you are too busy to do your own research and you are just looking for a list that you can look at from someone who might possibly know what they are talking about. If that is what you are searching for, then you have come to the right place! I will give a list of my personal rankings for the top 24 Wide Receivers and running backs as well as the top 12 quarterbacks and tight ends.
These rankings are for .5 PPR (point per reception) scoring.
RBS
Christian McCaffrey SF: I know this may seem shocking to those of you who have played fantasy before. Just kidding, we all know who the king of fantasy is. Its Christian McCaffrey. He went for almost 2000 scrimmage yards last year and the dude scored 21 TDS. He is an elite pass catching option and he is an uber talented runner. This is the perfect blend of immense talent and a great offense.
Bijan Robinson ATL: Now, if you know me, you knew this was coming, I am extremely bullish on Bijan. I think he is a game breaking talent. His blend of speed, size, and elusiveness is legitimately Barry Sanders-esque. He was a slight let down a season ago after Head Coach Arthur Smith decided Bijan would be best used as a decoy while they give the ball to Tyler Allgeier 204 times. Yet Robinson still escaped with a top 10 Running back season to the tune of more than 1400 scrimmage yards and 8 total TDS. But the difference this season is that not only is Arthur Smith gone, but The Falcons brought in Kirk Cousins. This should mean both more total opportunities for Bijan as well as more TD chances with a better offense.
Breece Hall NYJ: Breece is a super stud. he may not be as elusive as Bijan or as powerful as CMC, but where he lacks in those areas, he makes up for in speed. Breece is likely the second best big play running back that you will find in drafts this year, but the other one had 103 carries, while Breece had 223. Hall is a workhorse and a stud who, just like Bijan, is getting a presumed massive upgrade at quarterback in the form of Aaron Rodgers. If this offense levels up, Hall for certain has overall RB1 upside.
Kyren Williams LAR: Kyren Williams was a waiver wire addition a season ago. Headed into the year, this was Cam Akers' backfield, and after week 1, Akers never saw another carry in a Rams uniform. Kyren was a revelation. He led all backs in rushing yards per game as well as TDs/opportunity. Kyren finished as a top 5 RB on the week 6 times out of 12 games. Williams missed 5 games and was the overall RB 6 and Sean McVay has always pumped out fantasy points to the running back position. I do not think that he will maintain the pace that he was on last year with the addition of touchdown machine Blake Corum out of Michigan. But if he plays a full 17 games, you will certainly not be disappointed with your selection of the most effective runner in football a year ago.
Jahmyr Gibbs DET: This was a really hard one for me, I think this is the start of an extremely difficult tier to predict. Ultimately though, based on upside, almost no one rivals Gibbs. Jahmyr was the RB3 in fantasy from week 7 on and that was as the teams RUNNING BACK TWO! As soon as David Montgomery went down, the Lions really learned what kind of one/two punch they really had. When Montgomery came back though, he disappointingly had more carries than Gibbs. And he alone is why Gibbs is not up there in the first tier. Gibbs is an insanely explosive player who plays in one of the NFL's top offenses. He is a slam dunk as long as he is healthy****
De'von Achane MIA
Saquon Barkley PHI
Travis Etienne Jr JAX
Jonathon Taylor IND
Derrick Henry BAL
Isaiah Pacheco KC
James Cook BUF
Joe Mixon HOU
Alvin Kamara NO
Kenneth Walker SEA
Rachaad White TB
Josh Jacobs GB
James Conner AZ
Raheem Mostert MIA
David Montgomery DET
Aaron Jones MIN
Rhamondre Stevenson NE
D'Andre Swift CHI
Jaylen Warren PIT
WRs
Tyreek Hill MIA: This number one spot is actually more contentious than I originally thought headed into draft season. Many enjoy taking Ceedee at 2 overall (behind McCaffrey), but I am a believer in the fact that in order for that to happen, we must see the kings dethroned first. And Tyreek has not had that happen yet. He was still first in fantasy PPG among WR last year, and he was first among all players(!!!), including QBs though the first 12 weeks of the season. After he got injured, he didn't manage any weeks inside the top 10 for his final 4 performances. But he is back to full health and ready to defend his crown.
Ceedee Lamb DAL: If this ends up wrong, at least I know it wasn't the wrong pick. Lamb posted a historic 135/1749/12 line receiving, while adding and additional 113 and 2 on the ground. the dude had 5 games over 140 receiving yards. That is just preposterous. He was a complete and total dawg last year. He should be able to do the same this year, so long as Jerry Jones can swallow his pride and pay the dude what he just earned in the greatest cowboys receiving season ever.
Ja'Marr Chase CIN: Chase + Burrow= pure domination. Chase has shown himself to be an incredibly versatile receiver. He is an elite down field option. His size allows him to be incredible in the redzone. His route running makes him the perfect reliable third down possession guy, and his quarterback allows him to score lots and lots of fantasy points. Joe Burrow absolutely loves Ja'marr Chase. Last year the two were not on the same page to start the season because Burrow was injured. And even with an unhealthy Burrow for the first 10 weeks, and then a Jake Browning for the last 7, he still amassed 100 catches for over 1200 yards and 7 scores. He was still a fringe WR1. But now Burrow is healthy again and ready to dial in on his guy. Chase is a big time fantasy option.
Amon-Ra St. Brown DET: This one was also quite difficult. Its so hard to get this deep in the WR rankings without seeing that one guy. The one you are probably saying "Where is he?" Well to be honest, I just trust the Lions offense more. Amon-Ra was the WR3 a year ago, only behind the top two on this list. He was just an absolute machine. Every single week. He had two finishes outside the top 24 (which is considered WR 1&2 range). 2/17 is a pretty low percentage. He averaged over 10 targets a game in one of the leagues most prolific offenses. He may not have a ceiling like the overall WR1, but we do know for certain, barring injury, that he is a locked and loaded WR1 every week.
Justin Jefferson MIN: Fine, here he is. I absolutely cannot justify having him outside the top 5... even though the eagles offense does look to have more motion and increased opportunity for AJ Brown.... BUT NO. JJettas is him. That's all there is to this ranking. His QB right now is Sam Darnold and that hurts. Darnold has never once supported any receiver that had a semblance of WR1 upside, but he has also never had Jefferson. This is betting on talent at its finest. The Vikings look to be a pretty bad team this year with an aging defense and a depleted offense, but hey, Jefferson may still be the best receiver in football. Its hard to bet against that.
AJ Brown PHI
Davante Adams LV
Puka Nacua LAR (watch his injury progression)
Marvin Harrison Jr. AZ
Jaylen Waddle MIA
Nico Collins HOU
Deebo Samuel SF
Garrett Wilson NYJ
Chris Olave NO
Mike Evans TB
Cooper Kupp LAR
Drake London ATL
DK Metcalf SEA
Brandon Aiyuk SF
Malik Nabers NYG
Devonta Smith PHI
Tank Dell HOU
Amari Cooper CLE
DJ Moore CHI
QBs
Josh Allen BUF: This is not who I want to pick, it does not make any sense to me how he would finish as QB1, he is throwing to Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel and Keon Coleman. I don't know what Josh is gonna do with that. But what we do know is that he is going to pass for 4000 yards. He is going to rush for 10 TDs. And an elite fantasy finish is inevitable even when it feels like he is losing the Bills games. I don't want to pick him, but as I've mentioned repeatedly, someone must dethrone him.
Jalen Hurts PHI: The next 4 Qbs for me are difficult to rank, but I think they are all in the "Absolutely elite, but not Josh Allen tier" The first of these is Jalen Hurts. He has shown the ability to be an elite passer and to support two top 24 receivers and a top 12 TE in the same season. Oh and he had 15 rushing TDs last year. That's despicable. Now, the Eagles have replaced their offensive coordinator to bring in Kellen Moore who had Dak throw for 4500 yards and 37 TDs. Moore will incorporate more motion and scheme up more ways to get the insane talent that the eagles offense has open. Jalen Hurts is an easy choice.
Patrick Mahomes KC: I didn't want to do this one either. Cause just like Allen, it doesn't make sense. Kelce is like 230 years old, Rashee Rice will probably be suspended, Hollywood just destroyed his shoulder and Mahomes will throw for 4000 yards and 35 TDs, and he'll probably run a couple in too. Nobody will know how it happens, but this man is the best player in the national football league, and I'm pretty sure I could have 700 yards and 5 scores as a WR for the Cheifs. Its impossible to bet against Mahomes.
Lamar Jackson BAL: Lamar is coming off his second MVP season at 27 years old. That is extremely impressive, but because of that you would expect him to be going as the first or maybe 2nd QB off the board like he was after his first MVP season. Well except that last year the dude only threw for 24 TDs and only ran for 5. Oh well, he must have had 1200 yards, on the ground. Nope. 821. Well then did he throw for 4500 yards? Nah, 3600. So then why is he so high? Cause he still finished as the QB4! The dude won an MVP and it was like his FLOOR season. That is how good Lamar Jackson is. His ability to completely change a game with an 80 yard touchdown run while he has 300 passing yards is something we have never seen before. Lamar has the best floor in fantasy. Oh, and he could still rush for 1200 yards and 7 TDs, cause he has done that before too.
Kyler Murray AZ: Heeeeeessss baaaaaaack. I think Kyler is a good NFL QB, not top tier, probably not top 10, but he is a fantasy machine. And now he is getting to add the highest touted receiver prospect of all time. Marvin Harrison Jr. Kyler will run around and chuck the ball down the field. And sometimes that is intercepted, which sucks in real life, but in fantasy is a two point deduction, while if he completes it, its a 10 point addition. And if he decides not to chuck it, he will just scramble for 8 yards. And that is the formula for this Cardinals offense. Kyler Murray doing Kyler Murray things. That ends very very well for fantasy managers.
CJ Stroud HOU
Anthony Richardson IND
Joe Burrow CIN
Dak Prescott DAL
Matthew Stafford LAR
Jordan Love GB
Jayden Daniels WAS
Honorable Mention: if you have tyreek or waddle, i would punt the Qb position and draft tua as late as you can. He will be a great week winner with the stack and wont cost near as much.
TEs
Travis Kelce KC: I hate myself for doing this, in fact, Im not even going to explain it. Its Travis Kelce.
Trey McBride AZ: The number of Cardinals in high places may be a surprise to some, but McBride was an absolute animal with Kyler at the helm. McBride had 8 catches in the first 5 weeks. 8. That is absolutely horrendous. But he finished the year with 81 catches!!! That's crazy work, he only found the endzone 3 times, but still finished as a top 10 TE. Some other TEs that finsihed with 3 TDs include, Gerald Everett, Jonnu Smith, Mo-Alie Cox, Adam Trautman, Harrison Bryant, Tommy Tremble. Most of those guys are backups, let alone top talents at the position in the league. McBride is a young, athletic guy and with a healthy Kyler and the aforementioned acquisition of MHJ, this Cardinals offense should provide plenty of opportunity for McBride to spike those TD numbers closer to 7 or 8.
Sam Laporta DET: 3 and 4 were really difficult, they are truly interchangeable for me. Laporta is obviously amazing and he had possibly the greatest rookie season by a TE ever. So he should for sure be the number one? Right? Well, its not that simple. He statistically scored way too many TDs for his body of work. He hit paydirt 10 times last year, and second among tight ends was only 6. Realsitically speaking, Laporta should find the endzone fewer times this season, but even with that, he has undoubtedly carved out a role in this enticing and explosive Lions offense. I still expect a top 3 finish at the position, with number without a doubt being in the picture once again if he can maintain that outlandish TD pace.
Mark Andrews BAL: Just like Kelce and Laporta, we have seen this man atop the fantasy TE world, and he is most definitely not too old to do it again. He remains the number one target for the reigning MVP. He got injured and missed the final 5 games of last season, but before that he was on a tear, posting a 17 game pace of 81/985/ 11. That would have been without a doubt, TE 1 overall. Andrews is a stud, and still at 28 years old he is in his prime. The Jackson/Andrew stack has been incredible for fantasy for almost 5 years now, and I would more than encourage it once again this year.
Dalton Kincaid BUF: This dude is practically a wide receiver. He lines up in the slot a ton, and he is extremely quick. This is a team that has vacated 160 targets from Diggs a season ago, and I have a difficult time believing that Curtis Samuel is going to gobble all those up. Kincaid has a real path to being the number one target for the number 1 fantasy QB. If you don't want to spend the premium pick on any of the big names, then Kincaid is a great option to fil you TE needs.
George Kittle SF
Kyle Pitts ATL
David Njoku CLE
Evan Engram JAX
Jake Ferguson DAL
Pat Freiermuth PIT
Dalton Schultz HOU
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