Wow, can you believe we’re back for another season of fantasy football? Against their better judgement and for reasons yet unknown, the brass at FantasyPros have tasked me with writing the Quick Grades article for another season. I picked up this piece for Week 1 of the 2020 season, so this is my first pre-season iteration of this article. I gotta say, I’m pretty psyched to provide grades for over 275 players as we gear up for fantasy drafts!

I’ll say this up front, because there are bound to be questions once this article is published: these are not rankings. These grades take into account four criteria per position, weighted based on how important I deem them to be for that particular position. They can be a great roadmap for setting rankings because the goal is to highlight how risky a player is as a fantasy draft prospect. Injuries, big performances, trips to the dog house, misleading coach speak, off-base reports, and a myriad of other factors over the course of a season determine a player’s final fantasy finish, but based on the information available right now, I’ve done my best to grade these players and compiled them into a condensed and easily digestible chart.

Just because Player X is graded as a “Slam Dunk” doesn’t mean he’ll outperform a player graded as a “Solid Pick.” In many instances, the break in grades is minute.

If you were around last year, this should be pretty familiar, but if you’re new to Quick Grades (thanks so much for reading!), I’ll break down the methodology below. Grades for skill-position players are based on the following four criteria:

Fantasy Ability
Dalvin Cook is a league-winner due to his big-play ability and proficiency as a receiver out of the backfield