Rankings Changelog (2023)

Note: Significant projections changes will appear here, but minor changes will not be included. I will try to keep this changelog updated but at times my schedule does not allow it.

(11/19) Alexander Mattison progressed through concussion protocol very quickly and is expected to play, which is quite the feat for a player who was concussed in the previous week. Since Mattison and Chandler split touches in Week 10, I expect this will be a committee approach in a fantastic matchup against the Broncos. Chandler is still startable, but isn't a sure bet for 12+ touches.

(10/22) Updated rankings for overnight news and early game inactives.

- CMC expected to play, but I'd expect him to be somewhat limited, though he's still an obvious RB1 play. He moved down in the latest iteration of the projections, though today's news is good.

- Moved Royce Freeman/Darrell Henderson ahead of Zach Evans, who Schefter says will back up Freeman/Henderson. I'd try to avoid this backfield this week.

- Nothing too alarming in the weather forecast today. Some wind in BAL, NE, and NYG, with a chance of rain in BAL, NE, and SEA, but nothing worrisome.

- Removed Charbonnet and bumped up DeeJay Dallas, though it probably just means more work for Walker.

- Downgraded Hunt a bit since he was pretty iffy coming into the game. He's active though and a viable RB3/flex play.

For the late games, we are mainly concerned about:

- DK Metcalf appears to be a true GTD. He has a great matchup but could be limited or used more as a decoy. WRs playing through hip injuries on average see a 26% drop in production, so that's reflected in his new projection. Most of his usage went to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but Jake Bobo might see a few extra routes as well.

- It looks like Aaron Jones is finally back.

(10/5) Since Cooper Kupp was a "full participant" today, I added him to the projections since he's trending towards playing. We should know more tomorrow, but a full Thursday practice is a great sign. This also boosts Matthew Stafford, but the other Rams receivers take a hit. Puka Nacua is still very startable as a high-end WR2. I have Kupp projected for about 70% of his usual production and that makes him the WR7 in half-PPR projections. He's a must-start whenever he's active.

(10/1) Moved Rhamondre Stevenson down and Ezekiel Elliott up on the report that Elliott is going to see "starter reps" against his old team. Also moved Roschon Johnson up and Khalil Herbert down on the report that Johnson will "gradually see an enhanced role," per Jeremy Fowler.

(10/1) Removed Deshaun Watson from the projections and added Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He was fairly accurate in his final college season and my rookie QB model projects roughly 27 yards rushing per game given his collegiate rushing numbers. In the preseason, he completed 37-of-58 passes for 440 yards, 7.6 yards per attempt, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He added 14 carries for 69 yards as a runner. That's roughly two full games worth of work.

(9/24) Removed Aaron Jones and Christian Watson from the projections since they were ruled out. Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and the other Packer receivers get a bump, but Jordan Love's numbers take a hit. A.J. Dillon is viable again as a volume-based RB2/RB3.

(9/24) Bumped up Jaylen Warren a bit on the overnight report that he's likely to see a larger role in Week 3. It's a nice matchup so he's a viable Sneaky Start as an RB2/flex.

(9/16) Amari Cooper has been removed from the projections due to the report that he is unlikely to play on Monday night. Elijah Moore gets a bump into low-end WR2 territory and DPJ is a viable WR4/flex play. David Njoku is also more appealing low-end TE1-type.

(9/16) Aaron Jones was removed from the projections. A.J. Dillon gets a bump into RB2 territory. In the 22 career games where he's seen at least 10 carries, he has averaged 16.0 touches for 76.4 yards and 0.60 touchdowns.

(9/15) Austin Ekeler (doubtful) was removed from the rankings. Joshua Kelley got a significant bump into low-end RB2 territory though he's not a must-start due to a very bad matchup against a stingy Tennessee rush defense. His upside will depend on his role in the passing game, and he did run 20 routes (without a catch) in Week 1. He posted 14-101 on 25 targets last season, and had 23 catches as a rookie back in 2020.

(9/10) Removed Jerry Jeudy and De'Von Achane since they are not expected to play Week 1. Bumped up Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Greg Dulcich, Raheem Mostert, and Salvon Ahmed as a result. Bumped up Dalvin Cook on Ian Rapoport's report that he would receive the bulk of the carries early in the season. Breece Hill is only a flex option for now.

(8/26) Bumped up Josh Jacobs since he signed a one-year deal with a small pay increase. He has two weeks to ramp up for Week 1. I also completed a full rankings sweep making minor changes at the four major positions.

(8/14) With Ezekiel Elliott signing with the Patriots, Rhamondre Stevenson takes a small hit, but he should still see his normal workload minus a few goal-line/short-yardage carries. Those are valuable, but Stevenson is still a low-end RB1. The Dalvin Cook signing with the Jets has a bigger impact on Breece Hall since Cook is signing for considerably more money and it allows the Jets to bring Hall along slowly as he recovers from his ACL injury. The Dolphins backfield was also updated with the knowledge that Cook wouldn't be signing in Miami. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson both get a bump.

(8/13) It appears that Kenneth Gainwell is in position to be the Eagles' RB1 since he had the night off in Week 1 of the preseason and has seen the "vast majority of first-team carries" in camp, per Shamus Clancy of the PhillyVoice and beat writer Eliot Shorr-Parks said that Gainwell "has the most touches among the RBs in camp by far." Two other beat writers--Jeff Kerr and Andrew DiCecco--said that Gainwell has been the best RB in camp and will lead the team in carries. This will very likely be a committee, but Gainwell is going off the board as the third Eagles' RB, so he's worth a look.

(8/3) Moved James Cook up and Damien Harris down due to positive camp reports for Cook.