My fantasy football rest-of-season (ROS) rankings provide a comprehensive overview of projected player performances for the season’s remaining games, helping guide you toward making informed decisions regarding trades, waiver wire transactions, and starting lineups.
Don’t have the time to read this just yet? You can find my full set of ROS rankings here (and previewed below, 0.5 PPR)— they're free for everyone!
Now that we’re halfway through the NFL regular season, we have a relatively good idea of what to expect from most players and a lot of this has to do with the work that Dwain McFarland is putting into his Utilization Report.
Unfortunately, there are players that we care about from a fantasy points perspective that haven’t even played a snap yet and therefore don’t have any data points to support a Utilization Score.
Where does Christian McCaffrey Rank Rest of Season in Fantasy Football?
McCaffrey's recent injury saga began in Week 17 of the 2023 season with a calf strain against the Commanders. What initially appeared to be a minor setback evolved into a more complex situation, with the injury designation expanding to include Achilles tendinitis. The situation became more concerning when it was revealed earlier this season that he was dealing with the condition in both legs, which led to further specialist consultations in Germany.
40 weeks later, the 49ers opened McCaffrey’s 21-day practice window during their Week 9 bye. HC Kyle Shanahan confirmed that McCaffrey has experienced no setbacks in his physical therapy over the past month, and after demonstrating good mobility during a practice session on Monday morning, all signs point toward the preseason 1.01 to make his 2024 season debut in Week 10. Still, the 49ers may keep their cautious approach and limit his workload because Achilles tendinitis can become riskier without proper management, especially considering he was dealing with it in both of his legs.
While McCaffrey’s return in any capacity is noteworthy, it’s coming at a vital time for the 49ers, who currently sit at 4-4 in a very tough and tight NFC West.
His presence could provide a significant boost to an offense that greatly benefited from his league-leading performance in rushing yards (1,459) and total touchdowns (21) in 2023, and while Jordan Mason has proven himself capable of handling a full workload, a shoulder injury forced him out of the game early in Week 8, further complicating his ROS outlook.
Still, with Mason behind center, the 49ers have been relatively ineffective in the red zone this season, scoring a touchdown on 48.57% of their 55 red zone plays, the 4th lowest rate in the league and down from a league-leading 68% in 2023 when McCaffrey was healthy. Therefore, it’s likely to expect McCaffrey to assume most of the work on the opponent’s side of the field while Mason helps get him there.
From a ROS standpoint, McCaffrey should be viewed as a high-end RB1 while also recognizing the inherent risks tied to his bilateral Achilles tendinitis management. His presence will elevate the entire 49ers offense and create added scoring opportunities that boost his ceiling despite snap count restrictions.
While we look forward to the return of McCaffrey and his impact on the 49ers playoff push, there is a team trending in the opposite direction.
Upgrade or Downgrade Cowboys In Rest-Of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings?
An MRI conducted Monday revealed that the high hamstring injury that Dak Prescott sustained in Week 9 was more significant than initially anticipated, and Jerry Jones has since confirmed that Prescott will be placed on IR and unavailable for the Cowboys next four games, at a minimum. Next man up is Cooper Rush, who completed 13 of 25 passes for 115 yards and a TD over a quarter and change in Week 9 and carries an impressive record backing up Prescott in his career.
In his six career starts as a replacement, Rush has five wins including a 4-1 record in relief of Prescott in 2022. HC Mike McCarthy has expressed strong confidence in Rush's capabilities, comparing his credibility to that of Rich Gannon and praising his intelligence and professionalism. The immediate challenge for Rush will be in Week 10 against an Eagles team that is allowing the 7th-fewest FPPG (12.9) and 8th-fewest pass yards per game (184) to opposing QBs this season. After that, Rush is looking at the 5th easiest QB strength of schedule (SOS) over the following three games and if Prescott were to miss more time, the 3rd-easiest QB SOS between Weeks 11-18.
Now, a lot of the potential upside surrounding Rush includes the health of CeeDee Lamb, who suffered and later aggravated a shoulder injury in Week 9. Lamb landed hard on his shoulder in the 2nd quarter but rebounded by catching eight of his 12 targets for 47 yards despite the discomfort. Unfortunately, he took another hard fall in the 4th quarter and temporarily left the game but unlike Prescott, MRI results provided optimistic news, and he has a good chance to suit up in Week 10’s matchup against the Eagles assuming favorable participation in practice throughout the week.
It's very likely that Lamb logs limited (or no) practice this week, as he and Rush have somewhat of an established rapport already, and that additional practices for Lamb may not be worth the reinjury risk. During Rush’s six starts, Lamb averaged six catches on 11 targets for 82 receiving yards per game, and in the five-game stretch with Rush in 2022, Lamb yielded respectable results, averaging an 8.1 Utilization Score by way of a 30% TPPR rate.
Simply put, Lamb shouldn’t see too much of a decline with Rush at QB, seeing how Prescott was just QB19 and averaging 15.3 FPPG this season but other Cowboys players could see increased opportunities with Rush under center.
Jake Ferguson, for example, has emerged as a legitimate fantasy TE option, averaging 9.9 FPPG (TE14) this season with four top 8 weeks under his belt thanks to his impressive target volume. In 2023 he became one of only seven TEs to accumulate over 100 targets with his red zone involvement being particularly valuable, commanding a 20% red zone target share (18/25). Ferguson hasn’t seen the same red zone target rate in 2024, with just five targets to show so far this season, and those all came in three games, but the shakeup at QB could change this trend.
If Lamb’s shoulder injury were to progress, Rico Dowdle and Jalen Tolbert could see increased work in the passing game as well.
In Week 9, Dowdle benefited from Ezekiel Elliott being a healthy scratch and churned out 75 yards on 12 carries while catching five of six targets for 32 yards and a TD. Tolbert has demonstrated consistent production this season as well, with 30 catches for 353 yards and three TDs across eight games. He yielded just an 11% TPPR rate across that span but could flirt with 25%+ and top-12 upside if Lamb were to miss time.
Outside of the 49ers trending up and the Cowboys trending down, I have ranked nearly 250 more players from a rest-of-season outlook, with most seeing small changes every week as further game data points are entered and the integrity of DvP and SOS tables strengthen.
Matchups will matter more than ever in the second half of the fantasy season since projections become more rigid, but injuries will continue to manipulate what we expect to see moving forward.
Still, Week 10 is the perfect week to start focusing on what your fantasy team needs to both clinch a seat in the playoffs and make a legitimate push toward winning that championship.
Focusing on trends surfacing from the Utilization Report, making savvy waiver wire pickups, and understanding how to optimize your lineups for the fantasy playoffs (Weeks 15-17) will set you up for success. Luckily, FantasyLife+ is a fantasy juggernaut, offering all of that and a ridiculous number of other tools and data to help get you there and through it all.
