12 Fantasy Football Players with Easy Early-Season Schedules in 2023

Aug 23, 2023

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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 six 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

Justin Herbert, Chargers (Yahoo ADP: 5.06)

I know I said I wouldn’t include elite players but Justin Herbert has fallen to the fifth round this summer—incredible value regardless of schedule. Matt Jones just summed up Herbert’s league-winning ability for his 4for4 Multiverse Series and his juicy schedule just sweetens the pot.

The Los Angeles Chargers kick off the season against a Miami unit that sat 30th in QB aFPA last season and then six of their next eight opponents were ranked 24th or worse in the metric at the end of 2022. Herbert has never finished below QB12 in his NFL career despite last season’s “down year” and a new OC in Kellen Moore plus a plethora of talented weapons could propel him into the top five. Herbert is being drafted as the QB7 so far in Yahoo! leagues and is 4for4’s seventh-ranked signal-caller.