The Big Board takes into consideration past returns, current performance and expected future gains in determining who should be included among the top 50 fantasy football players. Essentially, the Big Board is a cheat sheet designed for an owner who is planning to participate in a draft today. Standard industry default scoring settings are used as the baseline for Big Board valuations.
| Rank | Player | Team | Position | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kareem Hunt | KC | RB | No. 1 fantasy RB through W6 has tied NFL-record w/ 100+ YFS in each of 1st 6 games of career - KC backfield masterpiece can do it all |
| 2 | Le’Veon Bell | PIT | RB | Slow start following summer holdout, but has been vintage in past month w/ 2nd-most FAN PTS @ RB from Weeks 3-6 - 10th-easiest ROS sched @ RB |
| 3 | Antonio Brown | PIT | WR | Same as it ever was: Thru 6 weeks, has 196 more yards (700), 6 more catches (48) than any other WR - on pace for career-high 1,867 rec. yards |
| 4 | Leonard Fournette | JAC | RB | Powerful workhorse also has speed (2 fastest clocked times for a ball carrier this season) - TD in each of 1st 6 NFL games has tied NFL record |
| 5 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | RB | Tops at RB in YFS & FAN PTS from ’15 to present - counting postseason, has 16 TDs in his past 14 games |
| 6 | Todd Gurley | LAR | RB | No. 2 fantasy RB has 12+ FAN PTS in 5 of 6 games, but big #'s in pass game have dried up past 2 (3 rec/11 yds) - ROS sched toughest @ RB |
| 7 | Melvin Gordon | LAC | RB | After 0 TDs rookie season, has 19 TDs in past 18 games (Wk 14 of ’16 excluded due to early exit for ankle/hip injury) |
| 8 | Mike Evans | TB | WR | Has 4th-most FAN PTS @ WR from ’14 to present - getting healthy 9.6 targets per game & his 3 TDs give him 15 in his past 21 games |
| 9 | A.J. Green | CIN | WR | Joins A. Brown as only 2 WRs to avg. 100 YPG this season, a clip he has averaged since beginning of ’16 campaign (excluding W10 injury exit) |
| 10 | Julio Jones | ATL | WR | Scoreless this season & has just 2 TDs in past 13 reg-season games - Easiest ROS sched @ WR & HC Quinn calling for more JJ targets offers hope |
| 11 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | RB | Suspension saga a rollercoaster - for now, cleared to play Wks 7-8 - after that, owners will cross fingers in hopes that he can stiff arm suspension again |
| 12 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | WR | No. 2 fantasy WR has 6 TDs in 6 games & only WR to find end zone vs. vaunted JAX secondary - also leads in Def. PI penalties drawn (7 for 97 yards) |
| 13 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | RB | Avg. of nearly 23 touches per game is top 5 in NFL, and makes his 3rd-easiest ranked ROS sched @ RB position look especially good |
| 14 | Jordan Howard | CHI | RB | CHI move to rookie QB M. Trubisky already paying dividends for Howard’s workload (36 totes in W6 was most by an RB in ’17) |
| 15 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | TE | Despite a total of 25 DNPs (inc. 1 in W5 - expected back in W6), has 73 TDs since rookie ’10 campaign, which is most in NFL in that span |
| 16 | Michael Thomas | NO | WR | NFL-best streak of 19 games w/ 4+ catches came to end in W6 - as go-to guy in this pass-heavy offense, has about as good a catbird seat as any WR |
| 17 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | RB | Still hasn’t found end zone in ’17, but is 7th in rush YPG (78.2) - 12th-easiest ROS sched @ RB & avg. of 22 touches per game will work out in long run |
| 18 | Dez Bryant | DAL | WR | Comes out of bye w/ 3 TDs in past 4 games, giving him 72 total TDs this decade (since ’10), 2nd-best in the NFL (1 behind Gronk) |
| 19 | Doug Martin | TB | RB | No. 6 RB in FAN PTS over the 2 weeks since coming off suspension - Sched for next 2 weeks (BUF, CAR) is tough, but gets much easier after that |
| 20 | Carlos Hyde | SF | RB | No. 8 RB in FAN PTS despite HC Shanahan-igans - Rumored to be on trade block, perhaps not a bad thing given 6th-toughest ROS sched @ RB |
| 21 | Mark Ingram | NO | RB | Picked up 30 touches in 1st game sans A. Peterson - NOLA showing commitment to him at goal line (2 GL TDs in W6), & 5th-easiest ROS sched @ RB |
| 22 | Brandin Cooks | NE | WR | Leads WRs w/ 19.7 YPC & NFL leader w/ 18 catches of 15+ yards - has 85+ yards in 4 of 6 contests |
| 23 | Lamar Miller | HOU | RB | Rookie Foreman has infringed on workload, but maybe not to Miller’s detriment - Miller is 1 of 5 RBs w/ 80+ YFS in at least 5 games this season |
| 24 | Jordy Nelson | GB | WR | No doubt, losing QB A-Rod is going to leave a mark on Jordy (& the rest of the Pack passing game) - at least ROS sched favorable for WRs |
| 25 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | RB | Gutted out 87 YFS/TD in W6 despite sore hammy, which may cause him to lose platoon lead (to Henry) for few weeks, but still plenty of long-run upside |
| 26 | Tyreek Hill | KC | WR | Top 10 WR in FAN PTS thru W6, but focus in the offense has waned in past few weeks (No. 60 WR in FAN PTS in that span) |
| 27 | Tom Brady | NE | QB | Seeing more pressure than usual (6th most dropbacks under pressure), but hasn’t skipped a beat in fantasy (#1 in pass yards, #2 in TD passes) |
| 28 | Zach Ertz | PHI | TE | 53 targets is 9 more than any other TE - past 14 reg-season games (139 targets, 97 rec, 1071 yds, 8 TDs) highlights chemistry w/ QB Wentz |
| 29 | Michael Crabtree | OAK | WR | After TD hat trick in W3, encore fizzles (1/7/0) - sched next 2 games no reprieve (DEN, BAL), but 3rd straight top 20 WR finish still likely |
| 30 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | RB | Solid 4.2 YPC, 82.8 YFS per game, & ranks 3rd in YAC/Att. (2.99) which has me taking talk of DEN going full-blown platoon w/ grain of salt |
| 31 | Keenan Allen | LAC | WR | One of most injury-plagued players in NFL has been all good in ’17 - has 106 catches, 1,234 rec. yards, 5 TDs in past 15 regular-season games |
| 32 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | WR | Role as go-to guy for most pass-heavy team in NFL has started paying big dividends (No. 3 WR in FAN PTS from Weeks 3-6) |
| 33 | Davante Adams | GB | WR | 20 TDs in past 26 games (postseason inc.) - like teammate Nelson, loss of A-Rod likely means a value hit, but had TD in W6 w/ backup QB Hundley |
| 34 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | WR | Great start to ’17 derailed because of a groin injury that cost him W6 (and maybe W7) - health & 2nd-toughest ROS sched @ WR are concerns |
| 35 | Travis Kelce | KC | TE | Coming off W5 concussion, #'s dipped in W6 (4/37), but has 98+ yards in 9 of past 16 games & has 10th-easiest ROS sched @ TE position |
| 36 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | WR | QB R. Wilson has been a 2nd-half dynamo & Baldwin has been biggest benefactor of that in recent seasons - have to hope ’17 follows suit |
| 37 | Alshon Jeffery | PHI | WR | NFL-low avg. of 1.3 yards of separation from defender on intended targets speaks to elite CBc he’s faced, that he’s still top 25 WR speaks to his talent |
| 38 | Joe Mixon | CIN | RB | No. 23 RB in Weeks 3-5 leading into W6 bye as OC change in CIN has led to lead RB role for Mixon, but O-line issues continue to cap his ceiling |
| 39 | Chris Hogan | NE | WR | Been a peak-n-valley WR since joining NE, but at least in ’17 peaks (4 games of 12+ FAN PTS) far out in front of valleys (2 games 2.5 FAN PTS or less) |
| 40 | Alvin Kamara | NO | RB | Teammate Ingram saw biggest boost in 1st game w/o RB Peterson, but Kamara still good for 87 YFS in W6, & is 17th in FAN PPG @ RB since W3 |
| 41 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | RB | Has averaged 21 touches in the 2 games since RB D. Cook was lost for season, & McKinnon a top 5 RB in FAN PTS in the past 2 weeks |
| 42 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | RB | Leader in pass-derived FAN PPG (PPR, 1 pt per 10 rec. yards, 6 pts per TD catch) @ the RB position (13.05 FAN PPG) - TD catch in each of past 2 games |
| 43 | Drew Brees | NO | QB | Old 5K-yard/mid-30 TD faithful has 9 TD passes in past 4 games - More of RB Kamara in pass game & return of WR Snead should only help cause |
| 44 | Kelvin Benjamin | CAR | WR | No. 11 WR in FAN PTS past 3 weeks, but knee injury threatens to slow his roll - hopefully injury is short-lived issue as ROS sched is 3rd-easiest @ WR |
| 45 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | WR | Hasn’t scored in past 11 reg-season games, but has a soft ROS sched to help fix that trend, & should see plenty of looks while WR Sanders out (ankle) |
| 46 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | RB | Finished 13th @ RB in FAN PPG in ’16, & ranks No. 14 at position this season among RBs w/ at least 5 games played - getting healthy 74 YFS per game |
| 47 | Amari Cooper | OAK | WR | Hard to wash away taste of 5 straight duds (combined 13/84/0 line from Weeks 2-6), but 11/210/2 line vs. KC in W7 helps restore some faith |
| 48 | Ty Montgomery | GB | RB | Stock is in free fall (Big Board spot in jeopardy) as he’s dealing w/ broken ribs, loss of QB A-Rod, competition from rookie RB A. Jones |
| 49 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | WR | Like Ty (above) spot on the Big Board getting more, more precarious w/ each passing week w/o QB Luck (who could end up missing all of ’17) |
| 50 | Adam Thielen | MIN | WR | Only player in NFL w/ 5 catches in each of the 1st 6 games of ’17 - will see especially heavy target load while teammate WR Diggs deals w/ groin injury |
