Attention all fantasy football trade addicts: this article is for you. Here, I’ll be re-ranking the top 50 most valuable players each week, with PPR scoring in mind. You can use these rankings and writeups to make informed roster and trade decisions heading into Week 8.
These are my personal rankings, which will often differ (sometimes significantly) from consensus. If I have a player ranked higher than you believe most in your league would, I’d recommend buying that player at market price – not starting negotiations where I have the player ranked.
This is the first time all season I have perceived such a massive tier break, essentially splitting my rankings in half. I could easily envision anyone within my top 11 WRs and my top 12 RBs being a massive x-factor in the second half of the season. After that, everything gets a little shakier, and I’m mostly deferring to late-season upside. Keep this top-heavy value distribution in mind when crafting deals.
As always, you’ll find the player’s positive or negative movement from the week before in parentheses.
1. Christian McCaffrey
RB1, SF (+2)
McCaffrey has now scored a TD in 16 straight games and managed to escape Monday night without further injury, which means he's locked back into the top spot. This man played 100% of the snaps — only the third time that feat has been accomplished by any RB this season — after being on the injury report all week.
2. Tyreek Hill
WR1, MIA (-1)
Hill has the most receiving yards (902) through seven weeks of any WR since 1970. RB scarcity is the only thing keeping McCaffrey ahead.
3. Travis Kelce
TE1, KC (+3)
We finally got our massive game from Kelce, who would currently rank as the WR8 in FPG on the season (20.8). There are few greater advantages to be found in fantasy football than rostering him, and he seems to be healthy now, having just hit his highest route share since Week 4 (71.1%).
4. Ja'Marr Chase
WR2, CIN (0)
Chase is seeing a 30.9% target share (WR2) that has amounted to a workload worth 21.3 XFP/G (WR2). The Bengals have logged the 2nd-highest pass rate over expectation (+9.6%) despite Burrow not being fully healthy so far this year.
5. A.J. Brown
WR3, PHI (+2)
Brown is now at five consecutive games with over 125 receiving yards, and he's averaging an insanely impressive 3.38 YPRR (WR3). Since Brown was caught yelling at Jalen Hurts on the sideline, he leads all WRs in air yards (804), targets (58), and receiving yards (701).
6. Stefon Diggs
WR4, BUF (+3)
Diggs is still seeing the usage of a top-5 WR (20.5 XFP/G), so I can see no reason to rank him any differently. The Bills could be in the market for an additional pass-catcher at the trade deadline, but landing a prolific enough target earner to threaten Diggs seems unlikely.
7. Austin Ekeler
RB2, LAC (-5)
Ekeler's usage in 2022 (when he led the position in FPG and XFP) amounted to approximately half of the team's rushing attempts and running a route on half of the team's dropbacks, while essentially monopolizing goal-line work. He's seen identical usage this season but now ranks only 8th in XFP/G (17.9) due to the Chargers' offense turning in a pair of uninspiring performances since Ekeler's return from injury. His next two opponents have allowed the 2nd-most and 3rd-most schedule-adjusted receiving FPG to RBs this season, so he seems likely to get back on track in short order. I'd call him a buy-low.
8. Keenan Allen
WR5, LAC (-3)
Oddly, Allen's target share has decreased from 32.0% (WR3) to 26.4% (WR14) since the Mike Williams injury. However, his first-read target share has ticked slightly upward from 36.8% to 37.3% over that period. This is likely just some odd variance for Allen to be getting targeted less on second reads and scramble drills, so I'd expect his production to pick back up sooner rather than later.
9. Tony Pollard
RB3, DAL (+1)
Entering his bye, Pollard was averaging only 15.8 XFP/G (RB12) and a 45.3% team rush share (RB24) over the last three weeks, compared to 22.8 XFP/G (RB2) and a 57.9% team rush share (RB13) over the first three weeks of the season. That's been partially the result of odd game scripts (only 2 of the Cowboys' 6 games have been decided by fewer than 20 points), and his Week 6 role was good (23.3% target share, RB1). But there are tough matchups ahead — each of Pollard's next three opponents ranks bottom-6 in schedule-adjusted FPG allowed to RBs.
10. Cooper Kupp
WR6, LAR (-2)
A single disappointing game from Kupp shouldn't leave fantasy managers too down on him, as he still ranks as a top-12 WR in metrics like YPRR (3.31, WR5) and air yards share (41.5%, WR12). However, Nacua's 33.3% target share has narrowly beaten Kupp (30.0%) since his return, so I'm moving them closer together.
11. Amon-Ra St. Brown
WR7, DET (+5)
In Week 7, we finally got to see what a negative game script would look like for the Lions. To nobody's surprise, it's good for Amon-Ra St. Brown. He became one of only five players to earn more than 15 targets in a single game this season, joining Keenan Allen, Davante Adams, Ja'Marr Chase, and Puka Nacua.
12. Saquon Barkley
RB4, NYG (+2)
Barkley continued his bell-cow ways in Week 7 with an 83.1% snap share (RB3) and 16.4 XFP (RB6). Tyrod Taylor may be better than Daniel Jones for the Giants' skill position players if Week 7 was anything to go by.
13. Puka Nacua
WR8, LAR (+7)
Nacua has averaged 17.7 XFP/G (WR12) since Cooper Kupp returned to the lineup. He's a fringe WR1 with even more league-winning upside if Kupp (who is now 30 years old with an extensive history of lower body injuries) were to miss time again.
14. Kenneth Walker III
RB5, SEA (+5)
Walker received two more goal-line carries in Week 7 but failed to convert on either of them, resulting in his worst fantasy output since Week 1 despite seeing the most XFP of any week this year (23.1). Sometimes variance is funny like that. There's little for Walker managers to worry about after he received every backfield opportunity save for a lone target to Deejay Dallas.
15. Davante Adams
WR9, LV (-3)
The squeaky wheel narrative failed in Week 7 as Adams continues to see slightly less usage (18.7 XFP/G, WR10) and production (16.7 FPG, WR16) than teammate Jakobi Meyers. That remains true even if only counting the games in which Jimmy Garopollo played. That suggests a QB change won't fix this problem for Adams, who seems unlikely to ascend beyond low-end WR1 status as long as Meyers and this dreadful offense are holding him back.
16. Justin Jefferson
WR10, MIN (+7)
We got a positive update on Jefferson's health from Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell before the weekend, suggesting he's ahead of schedule. Everything currently points to Jefferson being activated soon after he clears IR, which means he may only miss two more games.
17. Alvin Kamara
RB6, NO (+5)
As if he were specifically responding to my foolish fears of Jamaal Williams, Kamara put on a show in Week 7. He commanded 14 targets and 36.3 XFP, both the most by any RB in any game this season. Derek Carr has checked down on 19.6% of his dropbacks since Kamara returned, which would be by far the most of any QB (min. 100 dropbacks) over either of the past two seasons. Kamara handled every backfield carry inside the five-yard line last week (with Taysom Hill stealing one). His usage so far (25.9 XFP/G) would be by far the best of any RB since at least 2021, and 33% better than Austin Ekeler's 2022. I’m restraining myself to not rank him higher, as his age and poor efficiency could lead to the team’s other RBs becoming more involved.
18. Chris Olave
WR11, NO (-5)
Olave's target share has decreased from 30.8% (WR7) without Alvin Kamara to 20.5% (WR31) with Kamara. However, Olave has been unlucky for having underperformed his XFP/G (16.6, WR16) by -6.6 points since Week 4, especially when considering Derek Carr was visibly limited in Week 4, and then Olave was limited with a toe injury in Week 5. Excluding those two outings, Olave has averaged 19.4 XFP/G (WR9) and 16.3 FPG (WR17).
19. Travis Etienne Jr.
RB7, JAC (+2)
Etienne has seen RB1-level usage over the past three weeks (17.1 XFP/G, RB8) while leading the position in FPG over that span (27.5). No other Jaguar has logged a goal-line carry since Week 4.
20. D'Andre Swift
RB8, PHI (-2)
Since Week 2 (after hardly playing in Week 1), Swift is averaging 17.3 XFP/G (RB7). He's seen a 15.8% target share over the past three weeks and just saw his highest snap share (69.1%) since Week 2 (when Kenneth Gainwell was out). I'm still treating Swift as an RB1.
21. Bijan Robinson
RB9, ATL (-10)
Anything I could think to say about Arthur Smith has already been said. Robinson was reportedly not feeling well Sunday, a fact the Falcons declined to mention on their injury report before giving him just one carry. I'm willing to take the reports at face value here, but even if we throw out last week, Robinson has seen only 15.2 XFP/G (RB17) due to a lack of goal-line usage. His talent and pedigree speak for themselves, but it's tough to continue ranking him as a top-12 player without any hint of the volume to match.
22. Josh Jacobs
RB10, LV (-7)
The good news: in Week 7, Jacobs handled 78.6% of the Raiders' rush attempts (RB2). The bad news: he totaled only 11 rush attempts because the Raiders got blown out by the Bears. This should have been a dream matchup, but Jacobs is now through the softest part of his schedule with little to show for it. His opportunity shares and 18.8 XFP/G (RB4) are elite, but I wouldn't blame anyone for questioning whether the positive regression is coming.
23. Jonathan Taylor
RB11, IND (-6)
The Colts' backfield split continued in Week 7, though this time Taylor thankfully received the lone goal-line carry. Due to this backfield's high volume overall, Taylor has averaged 16.3 XFP/G (would rank RB12) over the past two weeks. Zack Moss is playing well enough that the Colts likely have little desire to run the newly extended Taylor into the ground this year, but we could certainly see this arrangement shake up at any moment.
24. Josh Allen
QB1, BUF (0)
Allen had a mistake-filled day against a depleted Patriots defense, but Dalton Kincaid's emergence to lead the team in receiving a season-high 19.5% target share could prove beneficial for this offense in the long run. Allen has been excellent for most of the season, ranking 5th among qualifying QBs in accurate-throw rate. He now leads all QBs in FPG (23.6) thanks to Sunday's rushing TD.
25. Jalen Hurts
QB2, PHI (+1)
Hurts is handling 46.7% of his team's carries inside the five-yard line and leads all QBs in designed runs per game (7.6). Hurts appears to have the best playoff schedule of the elite fantasy QBs, drawing the Seahawks (5th-most schedule-adjusted FPG allowed to QBs) and Cardinals (2nd-most) in Weeks 15 and 17.
26. Breece Hall
RB12, NYJ (+1)
Hall handled 57.1% of the Jets' rush attempts (RB14) and ran a route on half of their dropbacks (RB13) in Week 6 before the Jets' bye. Hall's usage is trending toward that of an RB1, and his production has already been there since his snap count reportedly ended over his last two games (24.4 FPG, RB4). The Jets are reportedly even attempting to trade Dalvin Cook, potentially paving the way for a Hall explosion in the second half.
27. Justin Herbert
QB3, LAC (-2)
Herbert didn't deliver in a difficult matchup against the Chiefs (3rd-fewest schedule-adjusted passing FPG allowed to QBs), but he gets a reprieve this week when he faces the Bears (5th-most). On the topic of schedule, it's worth noting that Herbert faces the Broncos (2nd-most) during fantasy football championship week.
28. Patrick Mahomes II
QB4, KC (+4)
The top five QBs are all currently clustered within 2.0 FPG of each other. Mahomes is averaging the fewest fantasy points per dropback of the group (0.53), but the Chiefs lead the league by far in pass rate over expectation (+11.9%), so it's reasonable to expect sheer volume to make up for the slightly lower efficiency. Also, Mahomes just hit a season-high in fantasy points per dropback in Week 7 (0.77), at the same time Travis Kelce hit season-highs in routes (32) and target share (31.0%). If that's any indication that Kelce is finally back up to full health, Mahomes' second half of 2023 will likely be better than his first.
29. Lamar Jackson
QB5, BAL (+4)
Jackson now leads all qualifying QBs in fantasy points per dropback (0.62) and CPOE (+5.9%) after dismantling the Lions. He's averaging a career-high 8.3 YPA so far this season. He ranks 2nd in XFP/G on the ground (6.7) behind only Jalen Hurts. Even more critically, his 4.0% passing TD rate is the lowest of his career since his rookie season. Given how well Jackson is playing, positive TD regression is likely in his future.
30. Brandon Aiyuk
WR12, SF (-1)
Vikings CB Byron Murphy shadowed Aiyuk all over the field on Monday night, matching up with him on 71.4% of Aiyuk's routes. This resulted in a slightly disappointing outing as Jauan Jennings and George Kittle each out-targeted him. Samuel is expected to miss at least one more game, however, giving Aiyuk another chance to capitalize on his 46.9% air yards share (WR2) as the unquestioned alpha against the Bengals in Week 8.
31. Jakobi Meyers
WR13, LV (0)
Meyers does have the lowest target share (25.8%) among the top 10 WRs in XFP/G (20.2, WR6), so he may be swinging somewhat above his weight class thanks to fortuitous red zone usage. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are the only two WRs averaging more XFP per route run (0.60), and Meyers is tied with teammate Davante Adams for the most targets inside the 10-yard line (9). But volume is volume, and Meyers is seeing plenty of it.
32. Jaylen Waddle
WR14, MIA (+3)
Waddle's usage has improved significantly in recent weeks, going from 10.7 XFP/G (WR51) over his first three games to 17.9 XFP/G (WR10) over his last three games. His first-read target share increased from 16.3% (WR66) to 31.0% (WR20) in that split. However, I still have no idea why he's running a route on just 64.4% of team dropbacks this season, down from 78.5% last year and falling even lower in recent weeks.
33. CeeDee Lamb
WR15, DAL (-5)
Lamb has just a 21.5% target share this year (WR27), and this Dallas offense is rather conservative (-0.9% PROE, 10th-lowest). Maybe Lamb struggling to separate from Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup shouldn't be surprising; after all, his breakout third year (27.3% target share) came while Gallup was recovering from a torn ACL and after Amari Cooper was shipped to Cleveland.
34. Joe Mixon
RB13, CIN (-4)
Mixon has dominated the Bengals' backfield all season but has only received a workload worth above 15.0 XFP in two of his six games. I've maintained that Mixon is a positive regression candidate for when the Bengals' offense gets back on track, which should happen after the bye.
35. De'Von Achane
RB14, MIA (+7)
The Dolphins run game looked mortal against the Eagles for the first time all season, but Achane is expected to miss only two more weeks. Before his injury, he was averaging 25.7 FPG (RB3) and ranked first in missed tackles forced per touch (0.57), yards after contact per touch (5.11), yards from scrimmage per touch (11.21), and explosive play rate (14.9%) among all RBs with 30 or more touches.
36. Adam Thielen
WR16, CAR (-2)
As the Panthers emerge from their bye, don't forget that Thielen is averaging 21.1 FPG (WR6) on a 34.8% first-read target share (WR14).
37. Tee Higgins
WR17, CIN (-1)
Higgins was still limited in Week 6, running a route on only 59.0% of team dropbacks. His production will likely improve along with the Bengals' offense after getting healthier over the bye week.
38. Jahmyr Gibbs
RB15, DET (+Previously Outside Top-50)
Gibbs set career-highs in snap share (86.1%, RB2), team rush attempt share (78.6%, RB2), route share (75.9%, RB1), and fantasy points (27.6, RB3) with David Montgomery on the shelf and Craig Reynolds still banged up in Week 7. His success will only make the calls for him to retain a larger role once Montgomery returns even louder, but for now, we should enjoy what's likely to be top-12 RB usage for the next few games. Gibbs' workload will be in doubt for the fantasy playoffs, but I'll always give a highly drafted rookie a chance to run away with the backfield, a possible scenario that his ranking here reflects.
39. Marquise Brown
WR18, ARI (-1)
Brown has the 3rd-most uncatchable air yards among WRs this season (344) behind only Amari Cooper and Chris Olave. Kyler Murray's imminent return should fix that problem and allow Brown to realize his 16.1 XFP/G (WR14) down the stretch. Murray practiced in full on Wednesday.
40. Isiah Pacheco
RB16, KC (-1)
Pacheco has averaged 14.7 XFP/G (RB15) and 17.5 FPG (RB11) over the past month. His 62.5% team rush attempt share (RB7) and 33.7% route share (RB34) over that span are essentially identical to Derrick Henry. I would happily trade away Derrick Henry in exchange for Derrick Henry's usage on a good team.
41. Michael Pittman Jr.
WR19, IND (+2)
Pittman's 16.2 XFP/G in games with Gardner Minshew would rank 14th among WRs this season. It was Josh Downs who stole the show this week, and he definitely bears monitoring going forward, but Pittman has done enough to stay inside the top 50 for now. The Colts currently rank 3rd in pace of play (24.5 seconds per snap), which is why all of their games seem to become shootouts.
42. DJ Moore
WR20, CHI (+3)
As expected, Moore commanded a 42.1% first-read target share (WR5) from Tyson Bagent this week and could have been on his way to another big game had the Raiders made the contest competitive. Moore did see just a 4.1 aDOT in Week 7 compared to 14.3 over the first six weeks, as the Bears' game plan did not involve asking Bagent to throw downfield. However, this plays into Moore's after-catch ability (7.1 YAC/R, WR4), so his ceiling isn't necessarily gone.
43. DeVonta Smith
WR21, PHI (-6)
As I predicted last week, Smith again lagged far behind teammate AJ Brown in first-read targets (13 to 5) against Miami. With just a 19.7% target share this season (WR35), it's hard to see why Smith should be ranked highly anymore.
44. David Montgomery
RB17, DET (-3)
With Jahmyr Gibbs looking excellent in Montgomery's absence and with him expected to miss a few more games, I'm less convinced that Montgomery will return to RB1-level usage this season. Part of me fears the two backs will cannibalize each other's workloads down the stretch and make me look foolish for keeping both inside the top 50, but each has ultra-high-end potential outcomes, even if they are negatively correlated with each other.
45. Joe Burrow
QB6, CIN (+4)
The Bengals posted a +23% PROE in Week 6 (the highest single-week mark for any team this season). They rank 2nd in PROE this season overall. It's fairly telling that they did not go run-heavy at any point (aside from a bad-weather game in Week 1) despite Burrow's ailment — this team knows they can have the deadliest passing attack in the league, and they should be closer to it with Burrow and Tee Higgins healthier coming out of the bye.
46. Mark Andrews
TE2, BAL (+Previously Outside Top-50)
Though Andrews is running +2.5 FPG above his volume-based expectation thanks to multiple TDs in Week 7, I now prefer the clear positional advantage Andrews provides to the large mass of WRs and RBs seeing similar usage to each other.
47. T.J. Hockenson
TE3, MIN (+Previously Outside Top-50)
Much like Andrews, Hockenson is back in the top 50 mostly because 19 WRs are averaging between 12.0 and 14.0 XFP/G. In contrast, only 5 TEs are averaging more than 12.0 XFP/G, one of whom is Kyle Pitts, who has little chance of actually scoring up to expectation with Desmond Ridder throwing him the ball.
48. Kyren Williams
RB18, LAR (-8)
With an expected Week 12 return date after being placed on IR, it's tough to keep Williams in the top 50. The fantasy playoffs are by far the most valuable weeks for a player to produce, but there's no guarantee Williams will return to leading the position in snaps after a high-ankle sprain. That said, I'd still take Williams over any unranked player remaining in the rather weak field at RB to average 17+ FPG in the fantasy playoffs, so here he stays.
49. Garrett Wilson
WR22, NYJ (+1)
Exiting the bye, Wilson still leads the NFL in first-read target share (45.3%) and ranks top-6 in air yards share (45.9%). It will be difficult for him to outperform his 15.8 XFP/G (WR15) with Zach Wilson at QB, but the Jets are at least throwing more with him under center this year (0.0% PROE, 18th) than last year (-2.5% PROE in games with Wilson, would rank 29th this year). Also noteworthy: in the fantasy playoffs, Wilson faces a pitiful Commanders secondary currently allowing the most schedule-adjusted fantasy points to outside WRs.
50. Jordan Addison
WR23, MIN (+Previously Outside Top-50)
In two games without Justin Jefferson, Addison has averaged 17.7 XFP/G (WR10) and 2.60 YPRR (WR13, min. 25 routes) despite missing a quarter with cramping issues. Though Jefferson is expected back in a few weeks, Addison's performance should keep him on the field over K.J. Osborn once that happens. The Vikings are the NFL's 3rd-most pass-heavy team by PROE (+9.0%) and are averaging 40.0 pass attempts per game (2nd-most) — there's plenty of room for Addison to produce alongside Jefferson in this offense. Rookie WRs tend to perform much better at the end of the season than in the beginning, so I'm inclined to rank one who has already flashed weekly upside here above players producing similarly but lacking that blowup potential.
Just outside the top-50
Mike Evans, Nico Collins, Drake London, Amari Cooper, Zay Flowers, Derrick Henry, Sam LaPorta, Tua Tagovailoa, George Pickens, Christian Watson, Chris Godwin, James Cook, Darren Waller
