Fantasy Football NFL Team Power Rankings, 5.0
With the NFL rolling into November, it's time to revisit the Fantasy Football Power Rankings. Which teams offer the most juice? Which rosters are we staying away from? That's today's assignment, as we compile Power Rankings, Version 5.0 (previous ranking in parentheses).
This list will be revisited and revised quarterly during the season.
32. New England Patriots (31)
Rhamondre Stevenson is still offering some fantasy value because he's realistic for double-digit touches every week, but I'm shocked to see his efficiency tanking. For his first two seasons, he averaged 4.8 yards per carry. This year, it's down to 3.2. As you might imagine, it's a combination of things — Stevenson is averaging a yard less before contact, but he's also having trouble breaking tackles. With Kendrick Bourne out for the year, the Patriots' passing game is once again a dead zone.
31. Carolina Panthers (29)
Bryce Young won the one game he had to have — the showdown against C.J. Stroud — but otherwise, he's looked a little over his head in his rookie season. Adam Thielen gets a bottomless cup of targets every week, but he's the only Carolina player who's earned fantasy trust.
30. New York Giants (27)
Bell cows are supposed to be dead in today's NFL, but don't tell that to Saquon Barkley, who's lugged the mail 114 times over the last four games. Of course, a Barkley-or-bust offense doesn't necessarily light up the scoreboard, as New York has just 33 points over the last three weeks, and somehow had negative net passing yardage in the ugly overtime loss to the Jets. There's apparently no right answer in this team's receiver room.
29. Chicago Bears (28)
DJ Moore has been reliable most weeks, and occasionally a Chicago running back charts on Sunday. We mostly watch Bears games to see what the other team is going to do — Chicago has allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs, only trailing the Broncos.
28. Houston Texans (23)
The Texans have been better than expected, and they probably got two very important decisions right — head coach and franchise quarterback. And yet, this offense only offers one no-doubt fantasy starter every week, and that starter (Nico Collins) is a support guy, not a dominant factor.
27. Green Bay Packers (19)
Those early encouraging Jordan Love games feel like years ago. His last five starts add up to five touchdowns, eight picks, a crummy 6.02 YPA and a rating just under 67. Even accounting for all the injuries in this offense, that's simply not good enough. There's no Green Bay player you can start confidently right now. Time to start fixing things, Matt LaFleur.
26. New York Jets (32)
Fantasy managers are constantly begging NFL teams to let their best players be their best players. Say whatever you want about the Jets, but at least their offense is all about the two guys we most trust for fantasy purposes: Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson.
25. Tennessee Titans (25)
It's still a team that tries to play 1977 football a lot of the time, but Derrick Henry wasn't traded and maybe Will Levis can be a good thing for DeAndre Hopkins. There is hope, anyway. And hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers (16)
It's one thing to win an ugly game occasionally, but it feels like the only way the Steelers can win, period. Check their offensive yardage per week: 239, 255, 333, 225, 289, 300, 261. It's a miracle this team is 4-3. Kenny Pickett's sack avoidance is above league average, but every other Pickett efficiency metric is below code.
23. Arizona Cardinals (30)
It's been a surprisingly useful fantasy roster, given that the Cardinals have just one win. Zach Ertz and Trey McBride have been useful tight ends, Marquise Brown has some downfield juice and James Conner looks like a difference-maker for the second half. Nobody has any idea what version of Kyler Murray is going to return, but we'd like to assume he can't be any worse than Joshua Dobbs.
22. Las Vegas Raiders (15)
Davante Adams can still get open — we saw it for three hours Monday night. And of course, we saw Jimmy Garoppolo miss him for three hours. It wasn't surprising to see the Raiders change everything after the Monday night embarrassment — new coach, new GM, even a new quarterback (Aidan O'Connell starts Week 9). Maybe this will get Adams going again. It's hard to imagine AO'C being any worse than Garoppolo.
21. Washington Commanders (26)
We've been talking about Sam Howell's sack problem for weeks, but shockingly he was dropped just once against the Eagles, of all teams. When Howell does have time to throw — and let's be clear, the sack issue is more about him than his offensive line — the receivers are more than capable. Brian Robinson Jr. is worth rostering but hard to trust, without a bankable role in the passing game.
20. Cleveland Browns (14)
Deshaun Watson hasn't regained his past form or confidence, and like most NFL clubs, the Browns are in trouble if the backup quarterbacks need to play. The Browns defense is considered the best in the league, but hamstrung by its offense, it hasn't been a fantasy delight — they rank just 10th in average fantasy points per week.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (21)
At least the Tampa Bay tree is narrow, which keeps Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and even pass-catching Rachaad White in our weekly fantasy plans.
18. Los Angeles Rams (17)
If Matthew Stafford's thumb doesn't heal quickly, this offense could hit an iceberg. And it's not like the sailing has been smooth lately — the Rams have averaged just 316 yards of offense over the last month.
17. Atlanta Falcons (18)
Taylor Heinicke probably isn't better than Desmond Ridder, but maybe the Falcons need proof of that. You get the idea Arthur Smith stays up at night working on that special Jonnu Smith and Mack Hollins package. No NFL team has assembled so much offensive talent and done as little with it as the Falcons.
16. Minnesota Vikings (7)
Kirk Cousins was one of fantasy's right answers, keeping the offense afloat even after the Justin Jefferson injury. Now the Vikings pin their passing hopes on the shoulders of Joshua Dobbs, who was unwanted by the Browns just two months ago. Cam Akers isn't a special back, but he might be better than Alexander Mattison. It's depressing to collapse Minnesota's ranking this much, but that's life when the quarterback room is unsettled.
15. Denver Broncos (24)
I wouldn't say Russell Wilson is playing great, and his league-high touchdown rate could fall at any point. But he is avoiding picks, and he is running more than the last two seasons. Outside of the biblical loss at Miami, Denver has looked like a quasi-competent football team most weeks. That's something. I held Marvin Mims Jr. for as long as I could, but the Broncos were surprisingly silent at the trade deadline, so there's no automatic promotion coming.
14. Indianapolis Colts (22)
Here's the fantasy carnival we didn't see coming. Six of the eight Indianapolis games have sailed over the total, and the last three games have featured 199 points. Gardner Minshew has a way of keeping both teams in the game.
13. New Orleans Saints (20)
I thought Chris Olave was the slam-dunk pick on this offense, but he's been a minor disappointment. And maybe it's all over for Michael Thomas. But Alvin Kamara's usage is sending him to the moon, and Rashid Shaheed and Taysom Hill have been handy finds off the waiver wire. The Saints are a lot more fun than I expected.
12. Seattle Seahawks (4)
Geno Smith was a star last year, a legitimate Pro Bowler, someone who was roughly 17% better than league-average in QB rating (a good back-of-envelope stat). This year, most of his metrics are slightly over league average, and his touchdown and interception rates are below code. This is why the Seahawks have felt like a fantasy tease for most of 2023.
11. Los Angeles Chargers (12)
Quentin Johnston started to pop some in Week 8, a player the Chargers desperately need. Of course, part of that spike was the Joshua Palmer injury, but early November is a common time for rookie receivers to start to figure things out.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (11)
Christian Kirk has been the one winner in this passing game; everyone else, an eyelash disappointing. But with Travis Etienne Jr. absorbing tons of volume and touchdown equity, the Jaguars are giving us one of those precious "league-winning" picks. I still don't trust Calvin Ridley week-to-week, though he was very good in Week 8.
9. Dallas Cowboys (5)
CeeDee Lamb finally got the target peppering he deserved in Week 8. Is a workload bump coming for Tony Pollard? He has just 46 carries in his last four games, in part because Dallas has oddly played in a bunch of blowout games this year. Everyone expects a competitive showdown against the Eagles in Week 9.
8. Cincinnati Bengals (13)
Joe Burrow looks healthy again — he's even running proactively — and that puts Cincinnati on the must-watch grid. Thankfully, the schedule lines up nicely, as three of the next five Bengals games are standalone matches on national TV. I won't be surprised if Ja'Marr Chase goes first overall in some fantasy leagues next year.
7. Buffalo Bills (6)
Josh Allen hasn't been running as much this year, but he's still holding tons of goal-line equity, with a touchdown run in four of his last five starts. Dalton Kincaid was starting to spread his wings even before the Dawson Knox injury, and the story continued to lift off in Week 8.
6. Kansas City Chiefs (8)
This is an offense with two great players (Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce), one good player (Isiah Pacheco) and one emerging fantasy player (Rashee Rice). Maybe it's not the high-flying Chiefs offenses of the Tyreek Hill days, but it's better than most. Week 10 will be challenging for fantasy, when the Chiefs, Dolphins, Eagles and Rams take their bye weeks.
5. Detroit Lions (9)
Jahmyr Gibbs had a party in the Monday night crushing of the Raiders, and there should be plenty of work left for him even when David Montgomery returns. The Lions won't use a third running back much, Jared Goff is not a scrambler and this is a plus offense. A very safe place to bank your assets.
4. Baltimore Ravens (10)
Touchdown rates in the red zone can vary greatly from year to year, but the Ravens are a success story. Baltimore was the third-worst team in this stat last year; this year, Baltimore is third-best. For a team on the opposed trajectory in this metric, see the 2023 Dallas Cowboys. Gus Edwards has never had higher fantasy value, coming off a monster game and making it through the trade deadline without new competition.
3. Miami Dolphins (2)
I'll co-sign what colleague Frank Schwab has been saying for a while: Tyreek Hill has a legitimate MVP case. Obviously, a receiver has never won the award, but with scoring down this year and a bunch of signature quarterbacks having good-not-great seasons, it could open up for Hill to win some hardware — especially if he sets a new yardage record. Tua Tagovailoa is having a very good season, too, but it's possible voters could view Hill as the driver of the bus, and Tagovailoa as merely a passenger on that bus.
2. San Francisco 49ers (3)
I'll give Brock Purdy a pass for the last two weeks — he was likely feeling the effects of a concussion in the Minnesota endgame, and he didn't play that poorly against the Bengals, even with the multiple picks. It's funny to think back to the summer when some fantasy pundits were worried ordinary support backs would cut into Christian McCaffrey's fantasy value.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (1)
It's not a slam dunk keeping the Eagles at the top spot, because Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown are the only fantasy players who feel like automatic contributors. Still, I'd love to roster Dallas Goedert, DeVonta Smith and D'Andre Swift on all of my teams, and it's possible Hurts will continue to run less, which will have a trickle-down effect for the rest of the fantasy assets.
