Sean Koerner — FantasyPros’ most-accurate draft ranker from 2019-21 — has updated his fantasy football rankings and draft strategy for 2023.
After releasing my initial 2023 fantasy football tiers around the start of training camp, I updated them after the preseason. Now that we have a better idea of 53-man rosters, and with a huge draft weekend around the corner, my final fantasy football rankings are done.
For my updated fantasy football rankings and tiers, I’m using half-PPR scoring with passing touchdowns scoring four points. These should be of use to you with whatever format your leagues uses.
Subscribe to get pre-draft and regular-season rankings from me and Chris Raybon, and check out all of our fantasy coverage ahead of your 2023 draft.
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| Fantasy Football Positional Tiers |
|---|
| Quarterbacks |
| Running Backs |
| Wide Receivers |
| Tight Ends |
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Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings
Tier 1
Patrick Mahomes
Josh Allen
Jalen Hurts
Tier 2
Lamar Jackson
Joe Burrow
Justin Herbert
Justin Fields
Tier 3
Trevor Lawrence
Tier 4
Anthony Richardson
Deshaun Watson
Tua Tagovailoa
Tier 5
Kirk Cousins
Geno Smith
Dak Prescott
Tier 6
Daniel Jones
Aaron Rodgers
Russell Wilson
Jared Goff
Tier 7
Matthew Stafford
Brock Purdy
Jordan Love
Kenny Pickett
Bryce Young
Tier 8
Mac Jones
C.J. Stroud
Tier 9
Ryan Tannehill
Jimmy Garoppolo
Sam Howell
Tier 10
Kyler Murray
Tier 11
Desmond Ridder
Baker Mayfield
Tier 12
Kyle Trask
Jacoby Brissett
Joshua Dobbs
Taylor Heinicke
Aidan O’Connell
Clayton Tune
Will Levis
Gardner Minshew
Sam Darnold
Mike White
Tyler Huntley
Your QB draft strategy largely depends on the league you are in. Some potential differences in league settings would be six points instead of four points for passing TDs. In those formats, players like Mahomes, Cousins or Rodgers would get a boost, while rushing QBs like Fields, Richardson or Daniel Jones would take a hit (you can get my exact projections/rankings based on league scoring settings in our cheat sheet builder).
The difference between draft strategy for a league where you start 1 QB vs. 2QB/Superflex is massive. In a 1-QB league, there are going to be over a dozen starting QBs on the waiver wire at all times, which offers you a nice safety net. However, in 2QB/Superflex leagues, the waiver wire will have very few, if any, starting QBs at any given time since there are only, at most, 32 starting QBs. Therefore, QBs go much earlier, as they should.
Most seasons, I’m perfectly fine with passing up on QB if I don’t end up having one fall into my lap in the first 10 rounds of the draft. It’s easy to just rely on streaming the position until/unless you end up picking one up that can become an every week QB1 for you.
This season, I’m much more willing to come away with a top-10 QB. The key is to let your league start the run on a given tier and if you have 1-2 players left in a tier when it comes to you, and it makes sense to grab a QB, take one!
The first QB is usually taken early to mid Round 2. I’d rather let someone in my league be the first one to take a QB, but once one of Mahomes, Allen or Hurts is drafted, the other two go shortly after. I would have no problem being one of the teams that selects from the remaining two QBs from that tier one near the middle/end of Round 2.
So, I don’t think it’s as simple as telling people “grab a top-three QB!”. If you have picks 1-3 or 10-12 you might not even have a chance to grab a Tier 1 QB where it makes sense to. That means it’s potentially picks 4-9 overall who are really in the “sweet spot” to land a tier 1 QB.
Apply this logic to the rest of the position (and other positions). If an entire tier is available and you think someone from that tier will make it back to your next pick and at another position there is only a couple players left from a tier and they won’t make it back to you- go for the player/tier that is about to be unavailable. You can also reference my Top 200 rankings (here). Just note that there isn’t one size fits all approach to how you should handle the first few rounds.
Once you get through the first few rounds, your strategy should shift a bit more towards positional need.
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Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
Tier 1
Christian McCaffrey
Austin Ekeler
Tier 2
Saquon Barkley
Bijan Robinson
Nick Chubb
Tony Pollard
Derrick Henry
Josh Jacobs
Tier 3
Joe Mixon
Najee Harris
Tier 4
Rhamondre Stevenson
Aaron Jones
Travis Etienne
Jahmyr Gibbs
Kenneth Walker III
Dameon Pierce
Tier 5 (Risky)
Javonte Williams
Breece Hall
Rachaad White
Tier 6
Cam Akers
Miles Sanders
David Montgomery
James Cook
Alexander Mattison
Jonathan Taylor
James Conner
J.K. Dobbins
Tier 7
Alvin Kamara*
D’Andre Swift
*Kamara is suspended for the first three games. If you are drafting him as bench depth, great pick. If you punted at RB early and he’s one of your first RBs taken, bad pick.
Tier 8
Antonio Gibson
Isiah Pacheco
A.J. Dillon
Khalil Herbert
Samaje Perine
Dalvin Cook
Tier 9
Raheem Mostert
Zach Charbonnet
Brian Robinson Jr.
Jaylen Warren
Jerick McKinnon
Devon Achane
Jamaal Williams
Tyler Allgeier
Tier 10
Devin Singletary
Damien Harris
Rashaad Penny
Tank Bigsby
Ezekiel Elliott
Elijah Mitchell
Tyjae Spears
Chuba Hubbard
Kenneth Gainwell
Tier 11
Roschon Johnson
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Deon Jackson
Joshua Kelley
Cordarrelle Patterson
D’Onta Foreman
Jerome Ford
Kyren Williams
Keaontay Ingram
Evan Hull
Kareem Hunt
Ty Chandler
Zamir White
Gus Edwards
Deuce Vaughn
Kendre Miller
Leonard Fournette
Zack Moss
RB draft strategy is usually the key to your draft because it’s the most important, fragile and volatile position. I tend to lean into the Hero RB strategy where I want to get a back from Tier 1 or 2, then load up on high upside RBs (typically “backups) later on. When I say load up I mean filling out my bench with mostly RBs and if your league allows it, drafting two extra RBs instead of a K/DEF (we can stream those once the time comes Week 1).
Tiers 3-5 tend to be the riskiest time to draft RBs because it’s when I rather target WR (or if the end of a QB/TE tier falls to me). Plus, a handful of those backs have a talented backup RB who could eat into their workload this season.
Check out my RB Upside chart for a more in-depth look at which timeshare/backup RBs I like this year. As of now, here are the backs that I think are worth targeting at ADP and when they will offer the most value:
Early in the season
Khalil Herbert
Samaje Perine
Dalvin Cook
Raheem Mostert
Jamaal Williams
Rashaad Penny
Kenneth Gainwell
Deon Jackson
Zack Moss
These are all RBs who may offer most of their value early in the season. Whether it’s Jamaal Williams starting for Alvin Kamara for the first three games, or Zach Moss starting for Jonathan Taylor for the first four games, or Dalvin Cook or Samaje Perine seeing a bit more work while Breece Hall or Javonte Williams are potentially eased back into action, or Khalil Herbert, Penny or Gainwell could have bigger workloads early in the season, with potentially other RBs taking more of their work as the season progresses.
I would target these backs if you punt on the RB position early on and need players you know you can start early in the season. There is still a chance that these backs continue to offer value later in the season, if they play well or other RBs on their roster gets injured. Just know that you might be overpaying for these backs if they are starting the season on your bench.
Later in the season
David Montgomery
A.J. Dillon
Zach Charbonnet
Jaylen Warren
Tyler Allgeier
Tank Bigsby
Elijah Mitchell
Tyjae Spears
Chuba Hubbard
These are the specific backs I love targeting in all of my drafts.
Note that the first four backs I listed could offer RB2/Flex value early in the season, but they all offer potential RB1 value if their starting RB was ever to miss time. These are the types of backs that are the most valuable to have, which is why Tony Pollard ended up being one of my most rostered RBs last season.
The remaining five backs in this list also have RB2/Flex upside if the starting RB for their team ever misses time. They might even be able to offer RB3/Flex value in an ideal matchup or if there are a handful of team’s on a bye that week. These are the perfect types of backs to pair with a Tier 1-2 RB early on in a Hero RB approach.
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Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings
Tier 1
Justin Jefferson
Ja’Marr Chase
Tyreek Hill
Tier 2
Stefon Diggs
Cooper Kupp*
Amon-Ra St. Brown
CeeDee Lamb
Davante Adams
Garrett Wilson
A.J. Brown
*Kupp is dealing with an injury that could prevent him from playing Week 1.
Tier 3
Jaylen Waddle
Tee Higgins
Devonta Smith
Tier 4
Keenan Allen
DK Metcalf
Chris Olave
Deebo Samuel
Amari Cooper
Calvin Ridley
Tier 5
Chris Godwin
DeAndre Hopkins
Michael Pittman Jr.
D.J. Moore
Christian Watson
Tyler Lockett
Drake London
Mike Evans
Terry McLaurin
Mike Williams
Christian Kirk
Brandon Aiyuk
Tier 6
Courtland Sutton
Marquise Brown
Diontae Johnson
Jahan Dotson
George Pickens
Tier 7
Brandin Cooks
Jordan Addison
Juju Smith-Schuster
Gabriel Davis
Allen Lazard
Michael Thomas
Jerry Jeudy*
Jakobi Meyers
Jaxon Smith-Njigba*
Zay Flowers
Zay Jones
Skyy Moore
Elijah Moore
Romeo Doubs
Treylon Burks
*These players are dealing with an injury that could prevent them from playing Week 1.
Tier 8
Rashod Bateman
Quentin Johnston
Tyler Boyd
Kadarius Toney
Odell Beckham Jr.
Van Jefferson
Adam Thielen
Michael Gallup
Rondale Moore
K.J. Osborn
Darnell Mooney
Nico Collins
Tier 9
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Rashid Shaheed
Jonathan Mingo
Curtis Samuel
D.J. Chark
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Jayden Reed
The WR position the one you should be trying to attack over the first 5-6 rounds, while allowing yourself to draft QB/RB/TEs that are too good to pass up. How aggressive you should be with WR depends on if you start 2-3 and if you have a Flex spot for RB/WR/TE. If you are in a league that only starts two WRs and doesn’t have a flex, the WR position, as a whole, has less value. If you are in a league that starts 3 WR and a Flex (RB/WR/TE) you should aggressively pursue the position over the first 5-6 rounds, landing about three WRs.
It’s easy to get complacent at WR because there are so many of them and it is a very deep position, but the position starts to get dicey once you get to around Tier 6-7. You don’t want to be drafting guys beyond those tiers to be in your Week 1 starting lineup, or to start filling out your bench even.
The WR position is one that is very difficult to rely on the in-season waiver wire for because unlike the RB position, you don’t see WRs value shoot up as much simply because another WR on their team is expected to miss time. Those leftover targets tend to get spread out across the team as opposed to all going to one player. The RB positon typically sees one player pick up most of the touches.
So, you need to have the mindset that the WRs you will be using all season are the ones you take in the draft (maybe you will get lucky and pick up a potential league winner in-season, but don’t bank on it).
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Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings
Tier 1
Travis Kelce
Tier 2
Mark Andrews
Tier 3
T.J. Hockenson
Tier 4
George Kittle
Darren Waller
Evan Engram
Kyle Pitts
Tier 5
Dallas Goedert
Pat Freiermuth
Tier 6
Tyler Higbee
David Njoku
Tier 7
Chigoziem Okonkwo
Dalton Kincaid
Dalton Schultz
Cole Kmet
Irv Smith Jr.
Gerald Everett
Juwan Johnson
Greg Dulcich
Sam LaPorta
Tier 8
Hayden Hurst
Dawson Knox
Hunter Henry
Jake Ferguson
Tyler Conklin
Cade Otton
Trey McBride
Taysom Hill
Luke Musgrave
Mike Gesicki
The TE position is very similar to QBs (in leagues that only start 1). I try to get one from Tiers 1-5 if they fall to me, especially if they are the last one remaining in a tier. But if you are stuck using one from Tier 6-7 to begin the season, you should be fine.
Most of Tier 7 will be on the waiver wire to begin the season, but any of these TEs could get off to a hot start and become an every week TE1. Make sure you are keeping close tabs on potential waiver-wire gems early in the season if you weren’t able to get a TE from Tiers 1-5.
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