This article is part of our Weekly Rankings series.
Here are my rankings (if you want a second opinion, please see our formula-based projections - these are not tied into my rankings at all) for the coming week at each position to help you decide your starting lineup. Our rankings are based on the following scoring system: four points for a passing touchdown; six points for a rushing/receiving touchdown; one point for every 20 passing yards; and one point for every 10 rushing/receiving yards. Most importantly, the default rankings are now for PPR leagues.
**** PLEASE READ: Times change, and with them, so do I, even if I go kicking and screaming into the good night. The vast majority of the fantasy football universe plays with some form of PPR -whether it's a full point or 1/2 point. ESPN's default is full-point PPR, Yahoo's is .5 PPR. The DFS games for the vast majority are either half or full point PPR. I'm sympathetic to those of you who would prefer standard rankings, so please, feel free to ask your questions in the comments regarding how a player might change in a standard scoring league. ****
***PLEASE READ, PART II - The masses (ok, the not-so-silent minority) have spoken, and you really want more representation for standard leagues too, so the Flex Rankings are now Standard scoring.***
***These are not draft rankings. They are solely for this week.***
I will update these once this week, usually twice per week to account for injury or other news during practice.
Here are my rankings (if you want a second opinion, please see our formula-based projections - these are not tied into my rankings at all) for the coming week at each position to help you decide your starting lineup. Our rankings are based on the following scoring system: four points for a passing touchdown; six points for a rushing/receiving touchdown; one point for every 20 passing yards; and one point for every 10 rushing/receiving yards. Most importantly, the default rankings are now for PPR leagues.
**** PLEASE READ: Times change, and with them, so do I, even if I go kicking and screaming into the good night. The vast majority of the fantasy football universe plays with some form of PPR -whether it's a full point or 1/2 point. ESPN's default is full-point PPR, Yahoo's is .5 PPR. The DFS games for the vast majority are either half or full point PPR. I'm sympathetic to those of you who would prefer standard rankings, so please, feel free to ask your questions in the comments regarding how a player might change in a standard scoring league. ****
***PLEASE READ, PART II - The masses (ok, the not-so-silent minority) have spoken, and you really want more representation for standard leagues too, so the Flex Rankings are now Standard scoring.***
***These are not draft rankings. They are solely for this week.***
I will update these once this week, usually twice per week to account for injury or other news during practice. I will post a "last updated" note at the top of the article, or an "update in progress" note if it's while I'm doing it. If there is no such note, that means it's my first pass at the rankings for this current week.
By all means, if you want to discuss a rank, or want me to add a player, chime in on the comments. I try to be receptive to your feedback and try to respond to most comments, though on occasion the volume can be quite thick. This first week in particular, but in other weeks as well, I will change ranks according to injuries and sometimes even a change of heart. Please refer to the rankings first when asking "should I start Player A vs. Player B?". And then refer to the rankings again before asking a generic starting decision question. If you really desire a response to a starting question that doesn't have added complexity, please use our Ask An Expert service - it comes with your subscription. Otherwise, my response will correspond with the rankings. If I rank one player before another, that's how I plan on making my starting decisions.
Quarterback
| 1. | Patrick Mahomes KC vs. NE |
| 2. | Jared Goff LA at NO |
| 3. | Drew Brees NO vs. LAR |
| 4. | Tom Brady NE at KC Note: Nearly surgical in his slicing up of the Chargers last week. |
Running Backs
| 1. | *Todd Gurley LA at NO Note: (Knee) Avoided the injury list on Wednesday. |
| 2. | Damien Williams KC vs. NE |
| 3. | Alvin Kamara NO vs. LAR |
| 4. | Sony Michel NE at KC |
| 5. | James White NE at KC Note: Caught a whopping 15 passes on 17 targets for 97 yards against the Chargers. |
| 6. | C.J. Anderson LA at NO |
| 7. | Mark Ingram NO vs. LAR |
| 8. | Darrel Williams KC vs. NE |
| 9. | Rex Burkhead NE at KC |
| 10. | Charcandrick West KC vs. NE |
| 11. | John Kelly LA at NO |
| 12. | Justin Davis LA at NO |
| 13. | *Spencer Ware KC vs. NE Note: (Hamstring) Limited Wednesday, full practice Thursday. |
Wide Receivers
| 1. | Michael Thomas NO vs. LAR |
| 2. | Brandin Cooks LA at NO Note: Decent game could have been so much better - had a TD catch overturned. |
| 3. | Tyreek Hill KC vs. NE |
| 4. | Robert Woods LA at NO |
| 5. | Julian Edelman NE at KC |
| 6. | Ted Ginn NO vs. LAR |
| 7. | Sammy Watkins KC vs. NE Note: Lost a fumble against the Colts, but got bailed out by the Chiefs' defense later. Had 62 yards on eight targets. |
| 8. | Josh Reynolds LA at NO |
| 9. | Chris Hogan NE at KC |
| 10. | Tre'Quan Smith NO vs. LAR |
| 11. | Chris Conley KC vs. NE |
| 12. | Cordarrelle Patterson NE at KC |
| 13. | *Keith Kirkwood NO vs. LAR Note: (Calf) Held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday. |
| 14. | *Kelvin Benjamin KC vs. NE Note: Healthy scratch against the Colts. |
Tight Ends
| 1. | Travis Kelce KC vs. NE |
| 2. | Rob Gronkowski NE at KC Note: Only one catch for 25 yards against the Chargers - drew praise for his blocking, which doesn't help us that much. |
| 3. | Gerald Everett LA at NO |
| 4. | *Ben Watson NO vs. LAR Note: (Illness) Held out of practice Thursday. |
| 5. | Tyler Higbee LA at NO |
Flex (RB/WR/TE)
| 1. | *Todd Gurley LA at NO Note: (Knee) Avoided the injury list on Wednesday. |
| 2. | Travis Kelce KC vs. NE |
| 3. | Michael Thomas NO vs. LAR |
| 4. | Damien Williams KC vs. NE |
| 5. | Sony Michel NE at KC |
| 6. | Alvin Kamara NO vs. LAR |
| 7. | Brandin Cooks LA at NO Note: Decent game could have been so much better - had a TD catch overturned. |
| 8. | Tyreek Hill KC vs. NE |
| 9. | Robert Woods LA at NO |
| 10. | Julian Edelman NE at KC |
| 11. | James White NE at KC Note: Caught a whopping 15 passes on 17 targets for 97 yards against the Chargers. |
| 12. | C.J. Anderson LA at NO |
| 13. | Mark Ingram NO vs. LAR |
| 14. | Rob Gronkowski NE at KC Note: Only one catch for 25 yards against the Chargers - drew praise for his blocking, which doesn't help us that much. |
| 15. | Ted Ginn NO vs. LAR |
| 16. | Sammy Watkins KC vs. NE Note: Lost a fumble against the Colts, but got bailed out by the Chiefs' defense later. Had 62 yards on eight targets. |
| 17. | Josh Reynolds LA at NO |
| 18. | Darrel Williams KC vs. NE |
| 19. | Rex Burkhead NE at KC |
| 20. | Gerald Everett LA at NO |
| 21. | Chris Hogan NE at KC |
| 22. | *Ben Watson NO vs. LAR Note: (Illness) Held out of practice Thursday. |
| 23. | Tre'Quan Smith NO vs. LAR |
| 24. | Chris Conley KC vs. NE |
Kickers
| 1. | Wil Lutz NO vs. LAR |
| 2. | Harrison Butker KC vs. NE Note: Did he break the KC kicker curse, or just delay it by a week? |
| 3. | Greg Zuerlein LA at NO |
| 4. | Stephen Gostkowski NE at KC |
Defenses
| 1. | *New Orleans Saints vs. LAR Note: Sheldon Rankins (torn Achilles' tendon) out. |
| 2. | Los Angeles Rams at NO |
| 3. | *Kansas City Chiefs vs. NE Note: Eric Berry (heel) sat out against the Colts. |
| 4. | *New England Patriots at KC Note: Likely to get Deatrich Wise (knee) back in the lineup. |
