This article is part of our Weekly Rankings series.
Sunday Update complete
Welcome to the Weekly Value Meter Rankings. This is a guide to help you decide who to start and sit in a given week. It's is not a season-long ranking nor a draft guide, and it's also not really intended as a free agent guide. While I appreciate that you want my opinion on pickups, every league is different, and your decision on whether to add/drop a particular player might also be dictated by other factors than who is rated higher in a given week.
For rankings to cover the duration of the playoffs, please see Jim Coventry's playoff rankings.
Here are my operating assumptions for the rankings:
- The RB/WR/TE position rankings are for PPR leagues.
- The Flex rankings are for Standard leagues.
- 1 point per 10 rushing/receiving yards.
- 1 point per 20 passing yards.
- 4 points per passing touchdowns.
These are the rankings I use when I make my start/sit decisions. Please consult the rankings first before asking "Should I start Patrick Mahomes or Bryce Young?"
These are my particular rankings. If you want a second opinion elsewhere on the site, you can see our Weekly Projections.
I will do a set of updates before kickoff on Thursday, and again before kickoff on Sunday morning.
When setting your lineups, make sure to refer to the NFL inactives to ensure all of your players are set to receive snaps.
I welcome debate on the rankings in the comments. Please keep
Sunday Update complete
Welcome to the Weekly Value Meter Rankings. This is a guide to help you decide who to start and sit in a given week. It's is not a season-long ranking nor a draft guide, and it's also not really intended as a free agent guide. While I appreciate that you want my opinion on pickups, every league is different, and your decision on whether to add/drop a particular player might also be dictated by other factors than who is rated higher in a given week.
For rankings to cover the duration of the playoffs, please see Jim Coventry's playoff rankings.
Here are my operating assumptions for the rankings:
- The RB/WR/TE position rankings are for PPR leagues.
- The Flex rankings are for Standard leagues.
- 1 point per 10 rushing/receiving yards.
- 1 point per 20 passing yards.
- 4 points per passing touchdowns.
These are the rankings I use when I make my start/sit decisions. Please consult the rankings first before asking "Should I start Patrick Mahomes or Bryce Young?"
These are my particular rankings. If you want a second opinion elsewhere on the site, you can see our Weekly Projections.
I will do a set of updates before kickoff on Thursday, and again before kickoff on Sunday morning.
When setting your lineups, make sure to refer to the NFL inactives to ensure all of your players are set to receive snaps.
I welcome debate on the rankings in the comments. Please keep it friendly.
Quarterbacks
| 1. | Lamar Jackson BAL vs. KC |
| 2. | *Brock Purdy SF vs. DET Note: Purdy really struggled with the rain, but the forecast for Sunday evening is far better this week. |
| 3. | Patrick Mahomes KC at BAL |
| 4. | Jared Goff DET at SF |
Running Backs
| 1. | *Christian McCaffrey SF vs. DET Note: Appeared to get some treatment on his calf or quad last week, but still produced massive numbers. |
| 2. | *Jahmyr Gibbs DET at SF Note: Monster game last week, despite only getting nine carries. |
| 3. | *Isiah Pacheco KC at BAL Note: Pacheco (toe) missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, but took part in a limited practice Friday and is active. |
| 4. | *David Montgomery DET at SF Note: Over the course of the season, the Niners have the third lowest fantasy points per game against RBs, but they were gashed badly by Aaron Jones last week. |
| 5. | Justice Hill BAL vs. KC |
| 6. | *Gus Edwards BAL vs. KC Note: Seemed to be dealing with an issue in the fourth quarter - we'll have more info on him hopefully on Wednesday. |
| 7. | Elijah Mitchell SF vs. DET |
| 8. | Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC at BAL |
| 9. | *Dalvin Cook BAL vs. KC Note: Cook had eight carries on nine snaps, almost all of them in the fourth quarter to finish off the game. |
| 10. | Craig Reynolds DET at SF |
| 11. | Jordan Mason SF vs. DET |
| 12. | La'Mical Perine KC at BAL |
Wide Receivers
| 1. | Brandon Aiyuk SF vs. DET |
| 2. | Amon-Ra St. Brown DET at SF |
| 3. | Zay Flowers BAL vs. KC |
| 4. | *Deebo Samuel SF vs. DET Note: Samuel first was checked out for a concussion and cleared, but then injured his left shoulder and did not return. There's no fracture in his shoulder, but he's still in a lot of pain and is considered to be a 50-50 call for Sunday. Samuel missed practice Wednesday, but returned to a limited practice Thursday and a full practice Friday, and has been cleared from the injury list. |
| 5. | *Rashee Rice KC at BAL Note: Rice appeared to be banged up at one point in the win over the Bills, but later returned. |
| 6. | *Josh Reynolds DET at SF Note: Reynolds briefly left in the second half against the Bucs but later returned. Reynolds was limited at the start of the week with a rib injury, but has been cleared from the injury list. |
| 7. | Odell Beckham BAL vs. KC |
| 8. | Rashod Bateman BAL vs. KC |
| 9. | Marquez Valdes-Scantling KC at BAL |
| 10. | *Jauan Jennings SF vs. DET Note: Jennings picked up six targets in the wake of Deebo Samuel's injury last week. |
| 11. | Jameson Williams DET at SF |
| 12. | Nelson Agholor BAL vs. KC |
| 13. | Mecole Hardman KC at BAL |
| 14. | Justin Watson KC at BAL |
| 15. | Chris Conley SF vs. DET |
| 16. | Richie James KC at BAL |
| 17. | *Kalif Raymond DET at SF Note: Raymond sat out last week with a knee injury. Ruled out again this week. |
| 18. | *Kadarius Toney KC at BAL Note: Missed last week with hip/ankle injuries. Ruled out again this week. |
Tight Ends
| 1. | George Kittle SF vs. DET |
| 2. | *Sam LaPorta DET at SF Note: (Knee) Full practice Friday and was cleared from the injury list. |
| 3. | *Travis Kelce KC at BAL Note: Kelce's two touchdowns against the Bills were his first since Week 11. |
| 4. | Isaiah Likely BAL vs. KC |
| 5. | *Mark Andrews BAL vs. KC Note: Andrews (ankle) had full practices last week but ultimately was deemed not ready to return. He could return this week. Activated from IR and fully cleared from the injury list. |
| 6. | *Zach Ertz at Note: Ertz signed to the Lions' practice squad, with Brock Wright out with a broken forearm. |
Flex (RB/WR/TE)
| 1. | *Christian McCaffrey SF vs. DET Note: Appeared to get some treatment on his calf or quad last week, but still produced massive numbers. |
| 2. | Brandon Aiyuk SF vs. DET |
| 3. | Amon-Ra St. Brown DET at SF |
| 4. | Zay Flowers BAL vs. KC |
| 5. | George Kittle SF vs. DET |
| 6. | *Jahmyr Gibbs DET at SF Note: Monster game last week, despite only getting nine carries. |
| 7. | *Isiah Pacheco KC at BAL Note: Pacheco (toe) missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, but took part in a limited practice Friday and is active. |
| 8. | *David Montgomery DET at SF Note: Over the course of the season, the Niners have the third lowest fantasy points per game against RBs, but they were gashed badly by Aaron Jones last week. |
| 9. | *Gus Edwards BAL vs. KC Note: Seemed to be dealing with an issue in the fourth quarter - we'll have more info on him hopefully on Wednesday. |
| 10. | *Sam LaPorta DET at SF Note: (Knee) Full practice Friday and was cleared from the injury list. |
| 11. | *Travis Kelce KC at BAL Note: Kelce's two touchdowns against the Bills were his first since Week 11. |
| 12. | Isaiah Likely BAL vs. KC |
| 13. | *Rashee Rice KC at BAL Note: Rice appeared to be banged up at one point in the win over the Bills, but later returned. |
| 14. | Justice Hill BAL vs. KC |
| 15. | *Josh Reynolds DET at SF Note: Reynolds briefly left in the second half against the Bucs but later returned. Reynolds was limited at the start of the week with a rib injury, but has been cleared from the injury list. |
| 16. | Odell Beckham BAL vs. KC |
| 17. | *Jauan Jennings SF vs. DET Note: Jennings picked up six targets in the wake of Deebo Samuel's injury last week. |
| 18. | Rashod Bateman BAL vs. KC |
| 19. | Marquez Valdes-Scantling KC at BAL |
| 20. | Jameson Williams DET at SF |
| 21. | Nelson Agholor BAL vs. KC |
| 22. | Elijah Mitchell SF vs. DET |
| 23. | Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC at BAL |
| 24. | *Dalvin Cook BAL vs. KC Note: Cook had eight carries on nine snaps, almost all of them in the fourth quarter to finish off the game. |
Kickers
| 1. | Justin Tucker BAL vs. KC |
| 2. | Harrison Butker KC at BAL |
| 3. | Jake Moody SF vs. DET |
| 4. | *Michael Badgley DET at SF Note: With the Packers eliminated, Badgley is probably the worst kicker of the four remaining. It's noteworthy that missed field goals by Anders Carlson and Tyler Bass played big roles in their respective teams' losses. |
Defenses
| 1. | *Baltimore Ravens vs. KC Note: The Chiefs' offensive line against this defense might be down Joe Thuney (pectoral) against this pass rush. |
| 2. | *San Francisco 49ers vs. DET Note: The Lions will be missing one OL (Jonah Jackson) and another (Frank Ragnow) will be playing hurt. |
| 3. | *Kansas City Chiefs at BAL Note: The Chiefs lost Mike Edwards (concussion) and Willie Gay (neck) in the win over Buffalo. |
| 4. | *Detroit Lions at SF Note: Alex Anzalone is playing through a sprained AC joint and then fractured three ribs against the Bucs. |
