12 Fantasy Football Players with Easy Early-Season Schedules

Aug 18, 2022

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At 4for4, we take using strength of schedule to a different level with our signature metric, schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed, or aFPA. By removing schedule bias, we can level the playing field and compare matchups in an apples-to-apples manner.

Making decisions on who to draft at ADP can come down to several factors, but for this article, I’ll point out some players who have an easier start to the season than others so that you can maximize points right out of the gate.

By ensuring a solid start to the year, beginning 3-1 or 4-0, we can vastly increase our odds of making it to the fantasy promise land in the cold months of winter; the playoffs. In a fantasy league where 6 teams out of twelve make the playoffs, there's a 92% chance of making the playoffs if you start 4-0; conversely, if you start 0-4, your odds are 9%.

I omitted elite players who you’d be drafting anyway and focused on more of the middle-to-late-round guys that we sometimes have difficulty distinguishing from one another.

Quarterbacks

Matt Ryan, Colts (Underdog ADP: 157.7)

There are many reasons to like Matt Ryan for fantasy purposes in 2022, so his easy schedule at the start just sweetens the pot. Indy kicks off the season with the Texans, Jaguars, Chiefs, and Titans, who all sat 19th or worse in QB aFPA in 2021.

Ryan gets a fresh start with the Colts and has some solid young talent in Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor to share the field with, along with a much better offensive line than he’s had in recent years in Atlanta. Ryan is currently being drafted as QB20 but has the potential to crack the top 15, for a very inexpensive 15th-round price tag.