Fantasy Football 2023: Early Preseason Rankings Before Hall of Fame Game
The official start to the 2023 NFL preseason is upon us. On Thursday night, the Cleveland Browns will battle the New York Jets in the annual Hall of Fame Game.
While early exhibition games generally don't generate excitement for the casual fan, they are noteworthy for fantasy aficionados. With the arrival of the preseason, fantasy draft season has also arrived.
It's best to hold season-long drafts closer to the start of the regular season because preseason injuries, unexpected cuts and late trades do occur. However, it's never too early to start preparing.
Seasoned fantasy managers know the basics: Know your format, know your league's scoring parameters, and have a good idea of which players you're looking to target. We can't help with the first two factors, but below, we'll examine some early point-per-reception (PPR) rankings for each key position.
For those newer to the fantasy game, here are a few more things to keep in mind. Every-down running backs still carry the highest floor, even if NFL teams are shying away from them. Backs like Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley and Nick Chubb typically aren't going to see fewer than a dozen touches per game, which means that managers will almost never draw a blank.
High-volume receivers like Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase are next in the pecking order. Barring injury, they're usually going to rack up a few points each week and often have the highest PPR upside.
Aside from a few elite options—like Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews and George Kittle—tight end is typically a position that can be targeted in the middle rounds. The same is true for quarterbacks, though watch out for an early run on signal-callers like Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen.
Perhaps most importantly, it's wise to have a pivot plan for when your top target is suddenly off the board. Breaking down players into positional tiers can help with this, and that's exactly what we're going to do here.
Running Back Rankings
1 of 4
Tier 1
1. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
2. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
3. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Tier 2
4. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
5. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
6. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
7. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
8. Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys
Tier 3
9. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
10. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers
11. Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
12. Breece Hall, New York Jets
13. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
15. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
16. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
17. Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
Tier 4
18. Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers
19. Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans
20. Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings
21. D'Andre Swift, Philadelphia Eagles
22. James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
23. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
24. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
25. James Cook, Buffalo Bills
*There are a few running-back situations worth monitoring before draft day. Josh Jacobs still hasn't reported to the Las Vegas Raiders or signed his franchise-tag tender. New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara may still face league discipline after pleading not contest to a misdemeanor charge of breach of peace stemming from a 2022 incident in Las Vegas. He is set to meet with commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday.
Jonathan Taylor has requested a trade from the Indianapolis Colts, and teams are interested.
""There is expected to be interest in Jonathan Taylor. I know a couple [teams] at least who are planning to call the Colts just to gauge where they are," NFL Media's Ian Rapoport said on NFL Network.
Wide Receiver Rankings
2 of 4
Tier 1
1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
2. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Tier 2
3. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
4. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
5. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
6. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
7. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
Tier 3
8. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
9. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
10. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
11. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
12. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
13. Calvin Ridley, Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
Tier 4
16. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
17. Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
18. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
19. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
20. Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
21. Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
22. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
23. Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars
24. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
25. Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
*It's worth noting that the NFL is investigating Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill following a physical altercation at a South Florida marina. If the league finds that Hill has violated its personal conduct policy, a suspension is possible.
Quarterback Rankings
3 of 4
Tier 1
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
3. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Tier 2
4. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
6. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
7. Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
8. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Tier 3
9. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
10. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
11. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
12. Daniel Jones, New York Giants
13. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
14. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
15. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
16. Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
17. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
18. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
19. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Tier 4
20. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
21. Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons
22. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
23. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
24. Mac Jones, New England Patriots
25. Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders
*While there are true open quarterback competitions in camp this year, it's worth watching the situations in Indianapolis and with the Carolina Panthers. If rookie QB Anthony Richardson wins the Colts job, he has enough dual-threat ability to become a fantasy sleeper. Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the draft, has a strong supporting cast and could become start-worthy if he wins the job.
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Tight End Rankings
4 of 4
Tier 1
1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Tier 2
2. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
3. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
4. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
5. Darren Waller, New York Giants
Tier 3
6. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
7. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
9. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
10. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Tier 4
11. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
12. Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
13. Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
14. Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
15. Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
16. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
17. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
18. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
19. Hayden Hurst, New England Patriots
20. Mike Gesicki, New England Patriots
21. Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
22. Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
23. Hayden Hurst, Carolina Panthers
24. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
25. Irv Smith Jr., Cincinnati Bengals
*Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is in a tier of his own at tight end. He serves as Mahomes' top target and Kansas City's de facto No. 1 receiver. He has a high-volume workload, a high weekly floor and, therefore, is worth targeting in Round 1 in PPR drafts.
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