Our own Pat Fitzmaurice has been among the most accurate fantasy football experts in the industry over the last several years. Fitz was THE most accurate in-season ranker in 2020. What better way to prepare for your fantasy football start/sit lineup decisions than by reviewing his rankings? You can do just that below.
You can also find our expert consensus fantasy football rankings for the week here. And you can sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings, and analysis.
- Fitz’s Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice
Fantasy Football Rankings
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Takes
Quarterback
Joe Burrow continues to pose a painful weekly dilemma to his investors. Burrow’s calf injury has obviously been hindering him, but we know that a healthy Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the game. The question is: When will Burrow be fully healthy, or even mostly healthy? Burrow is currently QB31 in fantasy scoring, trailing Zach Wilson, Kenny Pickett and Desmond Ridder, among others. Burrow is averaging 182 passing yards a game and has thrown two TD passes. There are some Burrow stakeholders who need to get a “show me” game from Burrow before they’ll consider reinserting him into their lineups, but I have Burrow ranked QB10 for Week 5. It’s a tough week for quarterbacks. There are four teams on bye, and a lot of quarterback either have major offensive line issues or are dealing with difficult matchups. Burrow has a relatively soft matchup against a Cardinals defense that ranks 30th in DVOA against the pass and has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing QBs. I can’t guarantee that we’ll finally get a good fantasy performance from Burrow this week, but I’m cautiously optimistic.
Running Back
In the three games since J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles, Gus Edwards had had double-digit carries in every game. Last week, with the Ravens leading the Browns all game long, Gus Bus had a season-high 15 carries and a 69% snap share. He also had his first two catches of the season — an unexpected bonus (although those two receptions netted only 1 yard). Edwards is playable against a Steelers run defense that has allowed the second-most rushing yards to RBs. His playability wanes in full-point PPR formats, however.
Wide Receiver
Cardinals rookie Michael Wilson has been impressive so far, but he hasn’t quite earned a spot inside the circle of trust. Wilson had 7-76-2 last week against the 49ers, and he had 2-86-0 against the Cowboys in Week 3. But last week was the first time that Wilson has drawn more than four targets in a game, and while the Arizona passing game has been unexpectedly functional, it’s not yet trustworthy. I have Wilson ranked WR44.
Tight End
The 49ers gave up the second-fewest fantasy points to TEs in both 2020 and 2021, and the seventh-fewest fantasy points to TEs in 2022. San Francisco has given up the ninth-fewest fantasy points to TEs so far this year. Still, the Cowboys’ Jake Ferguson still looks like a decent play this week against the 49ers. Ferguson’s weekly reception totals so far: 2, 3, 5, 7. Things are trending in the right direction. Ferguson has a healthy 18.5% target share this season. And while the 49ers have been fairly tough against tight ends, they have seen 35 TE targets so far this season — the third-highest total in the league.
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