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 fantasy football 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.
Fantasy Football Rankings
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Takes
Justin Fields has a wide range of possible outcomes in Week 2 as he continues to play ahead of Russell Wilson, whose backup status may or may not be injury-related. I’m not especially bullish on Fields’s passing outlook against the Broncos this week — or any week for that matter. But Fields has immense rushing upside. He had 14 rushing attempts last week for 57 yards. Since 2022, Fields has averaged 10.3 carries, 64.0 rushing yards and 0.4 TD runs in his starts. I have him ranked just outside QB1 range at QB13.
The Panthers might have had the NFL’s worst run defense even before they lost their best run defender, DT Derrick Brown, to a season-ending knee injury. Carolina’s offense isn’t potent enough to build big leads, so opponents will be in run-friendly game scripts all year. This week, the Panthers will host the Chargers, who’ll always be eager to run the ball as long as Greg Roman is calling the plays. The Chargers’ offensive line was outstanding against the Raiders last week, helping J.K. Dobbins pile up 135 rushing yards and a touchdown on only 10 carries. Dobbins played 57.8% of the Chargers’ snaps and even ran 17 pass routes, finishing with three catches for four yards. I’m ranking Dobbins as a mid-range RB2 in this A-plus matchup, and I think you can also start Dobbins’ tag-team partner, Gus Edwards, who rates as a midrange RB3 this week.
Ladd McConkey had a solid NFL debut with 3-39-1 on a team-high seven targets, but I’m only ranking the rookie as a midrange WR4 this week. My hangup is that we know the Chargers want to run the ball, and they’ll likely get to indulge that desire this week as six-point road favorites against the Panthers and their feeble run defense. As the Chargers’ top possession receiver, McConkey’s floor appears sturdy, but his ceiling may be limited.
You’re not really thinking about benching Mark Andrews, are you? Andrews played more Week 1 snaps and ran more routes than fellow Ravens TE Isaiah Likely, the opening-night star. Andrews also lined up either in the slot or out wide on more than three-quarters of his offensive snaps — extremely desirable usage for a tight end. Things simply didn’t work out for Andrews, who drew heavy defensive attention from the Chiefs. He’s still a top-five fantasy tight end, and I’m ranking him as such.
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