Weekly Rankings: Conference Championships Value Meter

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Updated on January 26, 2023 3:11PM EST

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 for the playoffs (please check out Jim Coventry's Playoff Rankings for that).

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 "Player X vs. Player Y?" without any other mitigating factors. Of course, I welcome debate - if you think I'm wrong, let me know. But please check out the rankings first before asking your start/sit question. This truly reflects my opinion in my leagues.

Quarterbacks

1.	Jalen Hurts PHI vs. SF
2.	Joe Burrow CIN at KC
3.	*Patrick Mahomes KC vs. CIN Note: Mahomes (high-ankle sprain) was listed as a full practice participant Wednesday.
4.	*Brock Purdy SF at PHI Note: The Niners are locked into Purdy starting, not that it should be surprising, but Jimmy Garoppolo isn't expected to practice this week.
5.	Chad Henne KC vs. CIN

Running Backs

1.	*Christian McCaffrey SF at PHI Note: McCaffrey (calf) sat out practice Wednesday. He's been sitting out the first practice of the week for a while now.
2.

Here are my operating assumptions for the rankings:

Quarterbacks

1.	Jalen Hurts PHI vs. SF
2.	Joe Burrow CIN at KC
3.	*Patrick Mahomes KC vs. CIN Note: Mahomes (high-ankle sprain) was listed as a full practice participant Wednesday.
4.	*Brock Purdy SF at PHI Note: The Niners are locked into Purdy starting, not that it should be surprising, but Jimmy Garoppolo isn't expected to practice this week.
5.	Chad Henne KC vs. CIN

Running Backs

1.	*Christian McCaffrey SF at PHI Note: McCaffrey (calf) sat out practice Wednesday. He's been sitting out the first practice of the week for a while now.
2.	Joe Mixon CIN at KC
3.	Isiah Pacheco KC vs. CIN
4.	Miles Sanders PHI vs. SF
5.	Jerick McKinnon KC vs. CIN
6.	*Elijah Mitchell SF at PHI Note: Mitchell (groin) sat out practice Wednesday, as did Christian McCaffrey. The expectation is that both will continue to play through their respective nagging injuries.
7.	Kenneth Gainwell PHI vs. SF
8.	Samaje Perine CIN at KC
9.	Boston Scott PHI vs. SF
10.	Jordan Mason SF at PHI
11.	*Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC vs. CIN Note: Edwards-Helaire (ankle) has a chance to come off of the IR this week, though my guess is that he would be extremely limited if he were active.

Wide Receivers

1.	*A.J. Brown PHI vs. SF Note: Brown had a sore left hip in last week's win over the Giants, but he was cleared from the injury list on Wednesday this week.
2.	Ja'Marr Chase CIN at KC
3.	*Deebo Samuel SF at PHI Note: Samuel (ankle) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday. That's actually more activity than Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell.
4.	DeVonta Smith PHI vs. SF
5.	Brandon Aiyuk SF at PHI
6.	Tee Higgins CIN at KC
7.	Kadarius Toney KC vs. CIN
8.	JuJu Smith-Schuster KC vs. CIN
9.	Jauan Jennings SF at PHI
10.	Tyler Boyd CIN at KC
11.	Marquez Valdes-Scantling KC vs. CIN
12.	Quez Watkins PHI vs. SF
13.	Justin Watson KC vs. CIN
14.	Trenton Irwin CIN at KC
15.	Skyy Moore KC vs. CIN
16.	*Mecole Hardman KC vs. CIN Note: Hardman (pelvis) was limited in practice Wednesday. He was unable to return to action last week.

Tight Ends

1.	Travis Kelce KC vs. CIN
2.	George Kittle SF at PHI
3.	Dallas Goedert PHI vs. SF
4.	Hayden Hurst CIN at KC
5.	*Noah Gray KC vs. CIN Note: The Chiefs might activate teammate Jody Fortson (elbow), which would hurt Gray's chances of being their No. 2 TE.
6.	Tyler Kroft SF at PHI
7.	Mitchell Wilcox CIN at KC

Flex (RB/WR/TE)

1.	*Christian McCaffrey SF at PHI Note: McCaffrey (calf) sat out practice Wednesday. He's been sitting out the first practice of the week for a while now.
2.	Travis Kelce KC vs. CIN
3.	*A.J. Brown PHI vs. SF Note: Brown had a sore left hip in last week's win over the Giants, but he was cleared from the injury list on Wednesday this week.
4.	Ja'Marr Chase CIN at KC
5.	*Deebo Samuel SF at PHI Note: Samuel (ankle) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday. That's actually more activity than Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell.
6.	Joe Mixon CIN at KC
7.	DeVonta Smith PHI vs. SF
8.	Brandon Aiyuk SF at PHI
9.	Tee Higgins CIN at KC
10.	Isiah Pacheco KC vs. CIN
11.	Miles Sanders PHI vs. SF
12.	George Kittle SF at PHI
13.	Dallas Goedert PHI vs. SF
14.	Jerick McKinnon KC vs. CIN
15.	*Elijah Mitchell SF at PHI Note: Mitchell (groin) sat out practice Wednesday, as did Christian McCaffrey. The expectation is that both will continue to play through their respective nagging injuries.
16.	Hayden Hurst CIN at KC
17.	Kenneth Gainwell PHI vs. SF
18.	Kadarius Toney KC vs. CIN
19.	JuJu Smith-Schuster KC vs. CIN
20.	Jauan Jennings SF at PHI
21.	Tyler Boyd CIN at KC
22.	Samaje Perine CIN at KC
23.	Boston Scott PHI vs. SF
24.	Marquez Valdes-Scantling KC vs. CIN
25.	Justin Watson KC vs. CIN
26.	Quez Watkins PHI vs. SF
27.	Trenton Irwin CIN at KC

Kickers

1.	*Robbie Gould SF at PHI Note: The Niners were perfectly content to turn to Gould in marginal fourth down situations last week.
2.	Jake Elliott PHI vs. SF
3.	Evan McPherson CIN at KC
4.	Harrison Butker KC vs. CIN

Defenses

1.	*Philadelphia Eagles vs. SF Note: Avonte Maddox (toe) returned to a limited practice Wednesday, his first practice since suffering the injury on Dec. 24.
2.	San Francisco 49ers at PHI
3.	Cincinnati Bengals at KC
4.	Kansas City Chiefs vs. CIN