Rankings, Tiers updates, news and notes, and more
Plus an overall top 75, and everything else you need to draft this weekend
We’ve broken down every player, from every team, in every division. We’ve poured over preseason usage and film. We’ve talked strategy in several different ways, and looked at how to apply that in real drafts.
As we enter the final two weeks before the season, when something like 75% of redraft leagues are drafted, the ultimate decisions will be up to you. But you’re not without help. The tiered rankings are updated, as of this morning, and I’ve been drafting off them all week. I’ve also added an overall top 75 at the bottom of this post, by request. And for those of you Signals Gold members, I’m going to run back the Friday livestream we did last week, getting together for an impromptu Q&A at 6 pm ET tonight (very sorry for the late notice). I’ll have a link in a separate email, but for anyone who might want to join that, hit me up with an email reply to this post and I’ll get you squared away (and if I’ve missed anyone, I apologize, but please don’t hesitate to hit me up again).
Several things to get to in this post, starting with thoughts on a bunch of evolving situations that have led to rankings changes in recent days.
I’ve created a new RB tier before the first “Big Tier Break” (BTB), splitting off Jonathan Taylor and the others that fall into at least the third round from the RBs that always go in the second. That’s mostly out of deference to ADP, but it also follows with how I’d likely draft things, where there’s a point where RB gets a little tougher to pick into at the tail end of the second round.
I’ve added a new QB tier after the second BTB. Watching Anthony Richardson last night, I felt confident in my concerns about his accuracy and whether the passing numbers could be good enough to give him a floor. I also saw the Eagles-like read option and RPO-heavy offense, and Richardson’s athleticism, and Richardson’s 38 rush yards in a half of action. This dude is going to average 60+ rushing yards a game probably, so the floor will be there, and anytime he throws for more than 150 yards and gets at least one touchdown either through the air or on the ground, you’re into the upper teens in terms of scoring. But how to play him matters. He’s far more viable in formats where cutting him doesn’t hurt, and the replacement level (the QB you can find on waivers to replace him) is high. I still have him behind Geno Smith and newly-minted Target Daniel Jones, whose preseason passing success has really intrigued me. But I felt it important to group these guys ahead of the next crop of QBs as the priority middle-late-round QB options. I’m still typically only picking them when they slide a bit, as if I’ve waited until this point at QB, I don’t mind waiting until Kenny Pickett or Sam Howell, who have both also been risers on strong preseasons and are at this point my biggest two priority late-round QB Targets.