Rankings are cool. When you’re on the clock and need to decide which player to pick at a specific position, what better way to decide than by simply looking to see which player the Fantasy Life staff has ranked the highest?
Of course, things get quite a bit trickier when attempting to discern the difference between players across different positions. Maybe you have WR X ranked higher than RB Y straight up, but it’s easy to see why fantasy managers might still prioritize the former if they are the last remaining option in a tier, and the latter is at the beginning of theirs.
This brings us to today’s topic: Fantasy football rankings *and* positional tiers. We’ll focus specifically on half-PPR scoring; be sure to check out the Fantasy Life Rankings for more formats and ranks from the rest of our fantastic crew.
Quarterback
Tier 1: Dual-threat aliens
- Jalen Hurts (Overall Rank: 28)
- Josh Allen (29)
- Patrick Mahomes (30)
- Lamar Jackson (31)
Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson are the only four QBs to register a QB1 finish in fantasy points per game since 2018. While Hurts, Allen, and Jackson supply a higher rushing ceiling, Mahomes also qualifies thanks to, you know, maybe being the best QB the game has ever seen.
Tier 2: QB1 overall upside
- Justin Fields (Overall Rank: 46)
- Joe Burrow (53)
- Justin Herbert (54)
- Trevor Lawrence (70)
- Deshaun Watson (71)
There’s at least one red-ish flag for every QB here:
- Justin Fields: Career average of 152.3 passing yards per game is Tebow-esque in a very bad way.
- Joe Burrow: Enhanced rushing floor in 2022 is at risk of evaporating if current calf injury saps early-season escapability.
- Justin Herbert: Rib injury cratered rushing yards per game to just 8.6 in 2023; not a complete given this gets back to 15-plus territory under new OC Kellen Moore.
- Trevor Lawrence: Truly flashed big-time upside at different points of 2022…and finished as the QB11 in fantasy points per game.
- Deshaun Watson: Remains one of just five QBs averaging 20-plus fantasy points per game in their career in the Super Bowl era, but was objectively one of the league’s worst signal-callers in a small 2022 sample size.
Of course: You could imagine what it’d be like if these talented QBs get these “problems” resolved.
Tier 3: Ideal later-round targets
- Anthony Richardson (Overall Rank: 86)
- Dak Prescott (107)
- Daniel Jones (108)
- Geno Smith (109)
Failure to land one of the top nine QBs leads to me regularly honing in on Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, and Geno Smith as the next-best things with best-case scenario upside as legit upside QB1s.
Oct 30, 2022; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) during the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Dak Prescott also deserves credit for posting some gaudy fantasy numbers throughout his career; he could certainly be a regular inside the position’s top-10 conversation if new play-caller Mike McCarthy isn’t quite as serious about running the damn ball as he was made out to be back in March.
Tier 4: Pocket passers far better in real life than in fantasy
- Tua Tagovailoa (Overall Rank: 110)
- Aaron Rodgers (114)
- Kirk Cousins (115)
- Jared Goff (116)
- Russell Wilson (117)
- Matthew Stafford (149)
- Derek Carr (150)
One of these signal-callers could certainly pop—I lean to Tua Tagovailoa thanks to the presence of *two* elite WRs in his offense—but the lack of high-end rushing upside makes it tough to truly get behind any of them as a legit top-12 option.
At cost, Russell Wilson and Matthew Stafford remain my preferred picks from this group. Both were regularly being treated as near top dogs in this tier last year; improved personal health and skill-position health should allow both to get back to familiar weekly borderline QB1 consideration.
Tier 5: Kyler Murray
- Kyler Murray (Overall Rank: 170)
Murray has never been anything other than a rock solid fantasy QB1 when he’s healthy. Of course, it remains to be seen when exactly he’ll be on the field in 2022—and one of the league’s worst supporting casts doesn’t figure to do him many favors.
Tier 6: Streamers
- Brock Purdy (Overall Rank: 171)
- Kenny Pickett (181)
- Jordan Love (182)
- Bryce Young (183)
- C.J. Stroud (184)
- Sam Howell (194)
- Ryan Tannehill (195)
- Desmond Ridder (196)
- Mac Jones (197)
- Jimmy Garoppolo (198)
You’ll never feel good about firing up one these guys as your starter in one-QB formats, but there’s a mix of:
- Limited QB surrounded by dope weapons (Brock Purdy, Kenny Pickett)
- Young QB who *could* be pretty damn good at football, but doesn’t figure to run much (Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Mac Jones)
- Theoretical fantasy-friendly QB with dual-threat upside…if they don’t suck at football (Jordan Love, Sam Howell, Desmond Ridder)
- Aging veterans who have supplied good, albeit not great, fantasy production in the past (Ryan Tannehill, Jimmy Garoppolo)
Tier 7: Hyped at one point in time, but not today
- Baker Mayfield (Overall Rank: 241)
- Trey Lance (242)
- Sam Darnold (243)
- Will Levis (244)
- Jacoby Brissett (260)
There are dozens of us who still believe! Dozens!
Running Back
Tier 1: Triple-digit receptions are on the table
- Christian McCaffrey (Overall Rank: 5)
- Austin Ekeler (8)
High-volume receiving RBs and rushing QBs are the two prime examples of positional archetypes far more valuable in fantasy football land than in real life.
Tier 2: Overall RB1 is in their range of outcomes
- Bijan Robinson (Overall Rank: 9)
- Nick Chubb (10)
- Saquon Barkley (15)
- Tony Pollard (16)
- Josh Jacobs (18)
Every back in this tier should be their offense’s fairly undisputed three-down workhorse, although their receiving ceiling isn’t quite to the same ridiculous level as Christian McCaffrey or Austin Ekeler.
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Tier 3: Red flag away from being up a tier
- Derrick Henry (Overall Rank: 19)
- Jonathan Taylor (20)
- Joe Mixon (35)
Derrick Henry (age), Jonathan Taylor (ankle/contract), and Joe Mixon (legal) each have one very relevant issue keeping them from being up a tier, although comparative mediocre offensive environments (Henry, Taylor) or porous efficiency (Mixon) would still leave them near the bottom anyway.
Tier 4: Most fantasy-friendly back in a likely condensed committee
- Jahmyr Gibbs (Overall Rank: 36)
- Rhamondre Stevenson (43)
- Travis Etienne (44)
- Kenneth Walker (45)
- Breece Hall (47)
- Najee Harris (48)
- Aaron Jones (56)
Pass-down-plus backs (Jahmyr Gibbs, Rhamondre Stevenson, Breece Hall, Aaron Jones) earn the high-end nod in their respective two-back committees, while guys like Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker, and Najee Harris also deserve to be heavy favorites to lead the way in their backfields despite the expected involvement of another party.
Tier 5: One major issue, but you could imagine
- Alexander Mattison (Overall Rank: 61)
- Cam Akers (62)
- Dameon Pierce (63)
- James Cook (73)
- D'Andre Swift (74)
- Miles Sanders (75)
- Alvin Kamara (76)
- J.K. Dobbins (77)
- James Conner (78)
Each of these RBs *could* be their offense’s featured RB, although additional factors could prevent them from truly booming in fantasy land despite close-to-ideal usage.
Jan 23, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers (23) runs the ball against Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting (23) during the first half in a NFC Divisional playoff football game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
The two main issues:
- Dual-threat QBs make it very difficult for RBs in fantasy land (James Cook, D’Andre Swift, J.K. Dobbins)
- RBs are more capable than other positions at overcoming horrible scoring offenses, but it’s still not ideal (Cam Akers, Dameon Pierce, Miles Sanders, James Conner)
Additionally, it’s a bit unclear if Alexander Mattison will have a true every-down role in an offense that ranked just 27th in targets to the position last year, and Alvin Kamara has to deal with both a three-game suspension and potentially less usage than usual if the Saints’ offseason additions at the position are a sign of things to come.
Tier 6: Difficult path to true boom upside
- David Montgomery (Overall Rank: 83)
- Javonte Williams (84)
- Dalvin Cook (85)
- Rachaad White (87)
Each of David Montgomery, Javonte Williams, and Dalvin Cook are fully expected to be in fairly evenly-split two-back committees, while the true size of Rachaad White’s expected workhorse role is a bit of a mystery and perhaps more importantly will take place inside arguably the NFL’s single-worst offense.
Tier 7: FLEX with benefits
- Isiah Pacheco (Overall Rank: 93)
- Antonio Gibson (94)
- Zach Charbonnet (95)
- Brian Robinson (97)
- AJ Dillon (97)
- Samaje Perine (103)
- Khalil Herbert (104)
One of my favorite tiers to attack in all of fantasy football, these RBs should all be reasonable FLEX plays in more weeks than not, while each is one injury away from potentially BOOMING up the ranks in a major way with the theoretical three-down ability to take over their respective backfields.
Tier 8: Getting tougher and tougher to make a true upside case
- Rashaad Penny (Overall Rank: 105)
- De'Von Achane (123)
- Jamaal Williams (124)
The floors here are scary, although each of Rashaad Penny, De’Von Achane, and Jamaal Williams could feasibly emerge as their respective backfield’s most fantasy-friendly back thanks more so to the clouded nature of their current depth charts than anything.
Tier 9: High-end handcuffs and TD-dependent RB4s
- Jaylen Warren (Overall Rank: 125)
- Tank Bigsby (126)
- Kenneth Gainwell (127)
- Elijah Mitchell (128)
- Damien Harris (129)
- Ezekiel Elliott (141)
- Kendre Miller (151)
- Tyjae Spears (152)
- Jerome Ford (153)
Some of my favorite fantasy picks in the mid-to-late rounds populate this tier; I LOVE loading up on RBs like this considering the QB, WR, and TE options at this stage of the draft don’t have the same level of best-case upside.
Tier 10: True late-round darts
- Jerick McKinnon (Overall Rank: 154)
- Raheem Mostert (155)
- Jeff Wilson (156)
- Devin Singletary (157)
- Tyler Allgeier (158)
- Gus Edwards (159)
- Chuba Hubbard (166)
- Roschon Johnson (177)
- D'Onta Foreman (178)
- Zamir White (192)
- Ty Chandler (193)
- Kareem Hunt (216)
- Leonard Fournette (217)
- Cordarrelle Patterson (218)
The Dolphins RBs make for solid zero-RB targets, while there are still some quality handcuff types available here. These are the sorts of RBs that I would gladly draft over DSTs and kickers in the draft’s final two rounds if your league doesn’t force you to fill those positions.
Wide Receiver
Tier 1: The griddy
- Justin Jefferson (Overall Rank: 1)
- Ja'Marr Chase (2)
Two youthful, absolutely baller target-hogs inside of proven high-scoring offenses with QB continuity: Is that something you might be interested in?
Tier 2: Studly undisputed No. 1 WRs getting up there in age just a bit
- Cooper Kupp (Overall Rank: 3)
- Tyreek Hill (4)
- Stefon Diggs (7)
- Davante Adams (11)
The age cliff for WRs comes at 30 years old, but none of these talents looked on the verge of falling off last season and are once again fully expected to lead the way inside their passing attacks. Tough to be overly concerned, although it’s enough of an issue to not make a longer first tier.
Tier 3: Ballers with one small red-ish flag
- A.J. Brown (Overall Rank: 12)
- CeeDee Lamb (13)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown (14)
- Garrett Wilson (17)
There’s a non-zero chance that A.J. Brown sees nearly identical usage to teammate DeVonta Smith, while CeeDee Lamb suddenly has more target competition than last year due to the presence of Brandin Cooks.
It’s less likely that either Amon-Ra St. Brown or Garrett Wilson find themselves in a 1.A/1.B situation, although the former hasn’t flashed the same sort of gaudy real-life highs as others in this group, and the latter could feasibly not have the sort of ridiculous target share edge on his teammates that the ADP gap suggests.
Tier 4: Ultra-talented WR1-caliber receivers who might not have the same level of workload
- DeVonta Smith (Overall Rank: 21)
- Jaylen Waddle (22)
- Tee Higgins (23)
- Chris Olave (24)
- DK Metcalf (25)
- Calvin Ridley (26)
Each noted receiver shares the offense with at least one fellow baller and accordingly could see less volume than one might expect if going just off talent alone.
Still very good fantasy options? Absolutely; projected volume is the only thing holding them back from top-10 consideration.
Tier 5: No. 1-caliber WR inside a passing game with at least a reasonable chance to be good
- Deebo Samuel (Overall Rank: 32)
- Amari Cooper (33)
- Keenan Allen (34)
- Jerry Jeudy (37)
- Christian Watson (38)
- DeAndre Hopkins (39)
- Mike Williams (40)
The latter point is a bigger stretch for Christian Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, and Jerry Jeudy, while Deebo Samuel, Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, and Mike Williams have just enough target competition to hold them back a tier.
Dec 26, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (13) runs with the ball in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Ultimately, there’s an argument that tiers five and six are one extra-long group; these are the WRs I consistently have targeted among the crop throughout the offseason.
Tier 6: Volume or offensive environment is the only reason they aren’t ranked higher
- DJ Moore (Overall Rank: 41)
- Terry McLaurin (42)
- Christian Kirk (49)
- Drake London (50)
- Diontae Johnson (51)
- Brandon Aiyuk (52)
- Chris Godwin (57)
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba (58)
- Mike Evans (64)
- Tyler Lockett (65)
- Jordan Addison (66)
- Marquise Brown (67)
- Michael Pittman (68)
Each of these WRs are objectively good at football, but bad QBs and/or loaded offenses with only one football to go around have a way of making life more difficult than it should be for fantasy managers.
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Tier 7: Probable No. 2 pass-game options with upside
- Gabe Davis (Overall Rank: 69)
- Jahan Dotson (79)
- Elijah Moore (80)
- George Pickens (81)
- Quentin Johnston (82)
- Zay Flowers (89)
- Treylon Burks (90)
- Michael Thomas (91)
- Skyy Moore (92)
- Rashod Bateman (100)
- Courtland Sutton (101)
This is basically the last range where I feel comfortable attacking the position. After this, things get far less reliable and it becomes awfully difficult to draft anyone who you should reasonably expect to hold weekly FLEX value.
If going off the “5 in 9” WR strategy, I typically get my last WR from this group.
Tier 8: Maybe our target projections are off
- Jameson Williams (Overall Rank: 106)
- Brandin Cooks (111)
- Nico Collins (112)
- Kadarius Toney (113)
- Allen Lazard (118)
- Michael Gallup (119)
- JuJu Smith-Schuster (120)
- Odell Beckham (121)
- Zay Jones (130)
- Jonathan Mingo (131)
These WRs aren’t exactly expected to dominate target share in their respective offenses. And yet, there’s enough proven talent and/or lack of competition to lift them up relative to the rest of the options at the position.
Tier 9: Likely starter who doesn’t suck
- Tyler Boyd (Overall Rank: 132)
- Rashee Rice (133)
- Rondale Moore (134)
- Darnell Mooney (135)
- Jakobi Meyers (142)
- Romeo Doubs (143)
- Adam Thielen (144)
- DJ Chark (145)
- Van Jefferson (146)
- Donovan Peoples-Jones (147)
- Rashid Shaheed (148)
- DeVante Paker (160)
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling (161)
- Isaiah Hodgins (162)
- Jayden Reed (163)
- Alec Pierce (164)
- Marvin Mims (165)
Can’t ask for much more this late in the draft!
Tight End
Tier 1: Travis Kelce
- Travis Kelce (Overall Rank: 6)
Pretty self-explanatory.
Tier 2: Overall TE1 potential if Travis Kelce stops doing Travis Kelce things
- Mark Andrews (Overall Rank: 27)
- Darren Waller (55)
- T.J. Hockenson (59)
- George Kittle (60)
- Kyle Pitts (72)
Both Mark Andrews and Darren Waller are projected to lead their teams in targets, T.J. Hockenson rode a No. 2 role to a 150-plus target projection during his second half of 2023, and George Kittle might be the very best player at the position on the planet—if only his offense didn’t have *three* additional high-end pass-game options who warrant featured roles in their own right.
And then there’s Kyle Pitts, who has flashed the sort of tantalizing target-earning potential that should lead to annual top-five fantasy finishes before too long…if Desmond Ridder can not be one of the most inaccurate QBs in the league (not a guarantee).
Tier 3: Talented pass-catching TE who probably won’t be a top-two pass-game option in their offense
- Dallas Goedert (Overall Rank: 88)
- David Njoku (98)
- Pat Freiermuth (99)
- Evan Engram (102)
Each of these options plays in an offense with at least two bonafide studs at WR; Pat Freiermuth probably has the best chance of finishing as his offense’s No. 2 target if last year’s Kenny Pickett target experience means anything.
I do everything in my power to land a TE from the first three tiers in redraft land.
Tier 4: Demonstrated good football player inside an offense with a good QB
- Dalton Kincaid (Overall Rank: 122)
- Chigoziem Okonkwo (136)
- Gerald Everett (137)
- Tyler Higbee (138)
- Sam LaPorta (139)
Clearly, there are other top options on the Bills, Titans, Chargers, Rams, and Lions who will demand looks ahead of this group, but the hope is that the respective QBs from those groups will be efficient enough to help these (talented) TEs make the most out of their less-than-stellar opportunities.
Tier 5: Very real volume and/or efficiency concerns
- Greg Dulcich (Overall Rank: 140)
- Cole Kmet (167)
- Dalton Schultz (168)
- Irv Smith (169)
- Dawson Knox (174)
- Juwan Johnson (185)
- Hunter Henry (186)
None of these TEs are complete givens to work as their offense’s undisputed No. 1 player at the position (yes, that includes Dalton Schultz).
Failure to land a true every-down role will be problematic considering the lack of stud QBs for most in this tier other than Irv Smith and Dawson Knox, who aren’t exactly expected to vie for a top-three pass-game role in their crowded passing attacks.
Tier 6: Rookies and hopeful streamers
- Isaiah Likely (Overall Rank: 187)
- Tyler Conklin (188)
- Jake Ferguson (189)
- Luke Musgrave (190)
- Taysom Hill (191)
- Trey McBride (214)
- Mike Gesicki (215)
- Cade Otton (225)
- Hayden Hurst (226)
- Logan Thomas (227)
- Michael Mayer (228)
- Noah Fant (234)
- Jelani Woods (235)
- Zach Ertz (236)
I prefer Isaiah Likely at the top of the tier thanks to the reality that he is *one* injury away from being a must-start option at the position.
Yes, preseason usage points to guys like Luke Musgrave and Hayden Hurst among others potentially seeing fairly large roles.
Also yes, do we really expect the Packers and Panthers to put forward high-flying aerial attacks in the year 2023?
Perhaps one of these late-round darts works out—there have been a handful of low-ADP booms over the years—but in redraft land I generally think the answer to “which late-round TE should you target?” is simply: No.
