Once the season begins, the most difficult parts of any fantasy manager’s week are start or sit decisions. These lineup choices can make or break a week, but unfortunately, not everyone has time to sit down and read lengthy fantasy advice articles. That’s where Quick Grades comes in. Each week of the football season, I’ll be providing a condensed and easily digestible chart of grades for over 250 fantasy-relevant players based on the following four criteria:
Fantasy Ability
Jonathan Taylor is a week-winner due to his big-play ability and nose for the end zone
Expected Volume
Travis Kelce is always heavily targeted as one of Kansas City’s top pass-catching options
Matchup
David Montgomery finished 2020 as an RB1 thanks to a highly-favorable end-of-season schedule
Surrounding Talent
Joe Burrow has one of the best groups of pass-catchers in the NFL
Each of those criteria will be graded on a scale of 1-25, with the cumulative total resulting in a final grade (A+ to F) and a recommendation based on that grade. The criteria are weighted differently based on position, so it’s not a direct 1-for-1 conversion. Surrounding talent refers to offensive line for RB, quarterback play for WR and TE, and skill-position talent for QB.
The players are sorted by grade in descending order with the highest grades at the top and the lowest at the bottom. The highest-graded players receive A+ (Must start), and the lowest receive F. However, there are varying degrees of the F grade, and some players with this grade are flex plays, desperation plays, Hail Mary plays, or should remain on your bench, depending on the grade and position.
I’ll also include DST grades, and just like the skill-position players, there will be four criteria used for grading on a scale from 1-25, and final grades will be from 1-100. The four criteria for a DST grade are: Matchup, Turnovers, Sacks, and Points Allowed.
The link to the original Quick Grades Google Document can still be found below. In addition to the player grades, I’ll provide:
- Start of the Week: A player outside of the elite, weekly must-starts who could have a big week
- Stream of the Week: The best player who will likely be available on your waiver wire
- Fade of the Week: A notable player who could be in for a let-down performance
Link to Full Quick Grades Document
It’s easy to see that an ‘A+’ or ‘A’ grade makes a player a must-start, but it might not make sense at first glance why some players are rated ‘C’ or worse and still have ‘Start,’ ‘Strong Start,’ or ‘Flex’ attached to their names. Because of all the different variables that go into a player’s performance in any given week, only those players with the absolute highest potential, best matchup, and strongest talent get ‘A+’ or ‘A’ grades. Therefore, even solid plays will earn grades that may appear sub-optimal on the surface, but it’s all relative from position-to-position. The hard cutoff is 50 for every position, as grades lower than this will earn a ‘Desperation’ or ‘Hail Mary’ tag in every situation.
Now that I’ve covered the basics, let’s get to the grades. Best of luck in all your matchups this week, and if you have any questions, please hit me up on Twitter @ZaktheMonster.
Note: As always, remember to check back on FantasyPros ahead of kickoff to get the latest injury news. These grades assume full health at the time the article is published on Friday morning.
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Running Backs
- Start & Stream of the Week: JaMycal Hasty
- Fade of the Week: Mike Davis
Wide Receivers
- Start of the Week: Mike Williams
- Stream of the Week: Laquon Treadwell
- Fade of the Week: Josh Reynolds
Quarterbacks
- Start of the Week: Dak Prescott
- Stream of the Week: Taysom Hill
- Fade of the Week: Tom Brady
Tight Ends
- Start & Stream of the Week: Evan Engram
- Fade of the Week: Foster Moreau
D/STs
- Start & Stream of the Week: Seattle Seahawks
- Fade of the Week: Tennessee Titans
Player Search, Find
Running Back
- Austin Ekeler A+ Must Start
- Alvin Kamara A Must Start
- Ezekiel Elliott B+ Must Start
- Joe Mixon B+ Must Start
- Leonard Fournette B Must Start
- Javonte Williams B Must Start
- Nick Chubb B Must Start
- Aaron Jones B Strong Start
- Saquon Barkley B Strong Start
- Kareem Hunt C+ Strong Start
- Antonio Gibson C+ Strong Start
- James Robinson C+ Strong Start
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire C+ Strong Start
- David Montgomery C+ Strong Start
Darrell HendersonLikely OUT- Josh Jacobs C+ Strong Start
- James Conner C+ Strong Start
- JaMycal Hasty C+ Strong Start
- Cordarrelle Patterson C Start
- Chase Edmonds C Start
- Chuba Hubbard C Start
- Melvin Gordon C Start
- AJ Dillon C Start
- Devonta Freeman C Start
Adrian PetersonOUT- Jamaal Williams D+ Flex
- Rex Burkhead D+ Flex
- Tony Pollard D+ Flex
- Dontrell Hilliard D+ Flex
- J.D. McKissic D+ Flex
- Devin Singletary D+ Flex
- D'Onta Foreman D Flex
- Sony Michel D Flex
- Darrel Williams D Flex
- Latavius Murray D Flex
- Zack Moss F Desperation
- Jermar Jefferson F Desperation
- Tevin Coleman F Desperation
- Jeremy McNichols F Desperation
- Matt Breida F Desperation
- Ameer Abdullah F Desperation
- Devontae Booker F Desperation
- Kyle Juszczyk F Desperation
- DeeJay Dallas F Hail Mary
- Travis Homer F Hail Mary
- Ty Johnson F Hail Mary
- Ronald Jones II F Hail Mary
- Carlos Hyde F Hail Mary
- Samaje Perine F Hail Mary
- Khalil Herbert F Hail Mary
- Mike Davis F Hail Mary
- Peyton Barber F Hail Mary
Wide Receiver
- Davante Adams A+ Must Start
- Cooper Kupp A Must Start
- Tyreek Hill B+ Must Start
- D.K. Metcalf B+ Must Start
- CeeDee Lamb B+ Must Start
- Stefon Diggs B+ Must Start
- Ja'Marr Chase B+ Must Start
- Mike Williams B+ Must Start
- Amari Cooper B Strong Start
- Terry McLaurin B Strong Start
- Tyler Lockett B Strong Start
- DeAndre Hopkins B Strong Start
- Mike Evans B Strong Start
- Marquise Brown C+ Strong Start
- Chris Godwin C+ Strong Start
- Tee Higgins C+ Strong Start
- D.J. Moore C+ Strong Start
- Elijah Moore C+ Strong Start
- Darnell Mooney C Start
- Julio Jones C Start
- Cordarrelle Patterson C Start
- Michael Gallup C Start
- Brandon Aiyuk C Start
- Brandin Cooks C Start
- Jerry Jeudy C Start
- Emmanuel Sanders C Start
- Marvin Jones Jr. D+ Flex
- Christian Kirk D+ Flex
- Tyler Boyd D+ Flex
- Courtland Sutton D+ Flex
- Hunter Renfrow D+ Flex
- Odell Beckham D+ Flex
- Jarvis Landry D+ Flex
- Van Jefferson D+ Flex
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling D+ Flex
- Russell Gage D+ Flex
- A.J. Green D+ Flex
- Cole Beasley D Flex
- Rashod Bateman D Flex
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine D Flex
- Laquon Treadwell D Flex
- Tim Patrick D Flex
- Kenny Golladay D Flex
- Tre'Quan Smith F Desperation
- Jamison Crowder F Desperation
- Robby Anderson F Desperation
- Donovan Peoples-Jones F Desperation
- Amon-Ra St. Brown F Desperation
- Rondale Moore F Desperation
- Marquez Callaway F Desperation
- Sammy Watkins F Desperation
- Sterling Shepard F Desperation
- Curtis Samuel F Desperation
- Laviska Shenault Jr. F Hail Mary
- Mecole Hardman F Hail Mary
- Josh Reynolds F Hail Mary
- Darius Slayton F Hail Mary
- Bryan Edwards F Hail Mary
- DeAndre Carter F Hail Mary
- DeSean Jackson F Hail Mary
- Gabriel Davis F Hail Mary
- Allen Lazard F Hail Mary
- Byron Pringle F Hail Mary
Quarterback
- Dak Prescott A+ Must Start
- Josh Allen A+ Must Start
- Patrick Mahomes A+ Must Start
- Kyler Murray A Must Start
- Lamar Jackson A Must Start
- Joe Burrow A Must Start
- Aaron Rodgers A Must Start
- Justin Herbert B+ Strong Start
- Tom Brady B+ Strong Start
- Cam Newton B+ Strong Start
- Matthew Stafford B+ Strong Start
- Taysom Hill B Strong Start
- Russell Wilson B Start
- Taylor Heinicke B Start
- Derek Carr C+ Start
- Ryan Tannehill C Start
- Teddy Bridgewater C Start
- Justin Fields D+ 2QB/Superflex
- Trevor Lawrence D+ 2QB/Superflex
- Baker Mayfield D 2QB/Superflex
- Jimmy Garoppolo D 2QB/Superflex
- Zach Wilson D 2QB/Superflex
- Matt Ryan F Hail Mary
- Jared Goff F Hail Mary
- Mike Glennon F Hail Mary
- Davis Mills F Hail Mary
Tight End
- Travis Kelce A+ Must Start
- George Kittle A Must Start
- Mark Andrews A Must Start
- Dawson Knox B+ Must Start
- Rob Gronkowski B+ Must Start
- Kyle Pitts B+ Must Start
- Zach Ertz C+ Strong Start
- Evan Engram C+ Strong Start
T.J. HockensonDOUBTFUL- Noah Fant C+ Strong Start
- Ricky Seals-Jones C Start
- Dalton Schultz C Start
- Gerald Everett D+ Start
- Foster Moreau D+ Start
- Tyler Higbee D Start
- Brevin Jordan D Start
- Jared Cook D Start
- Cole Kmet D Desperation
- C.J. Uzomah D Desperation
- Austin Hooper F Desperation
- Albert Okwuegbunam F Desperation
- David Njoku F Desperation
- Anthony Firkser F Desperation
- James O'Shaughnessy F Desperation
- Donald Parham Jr. F Desperation
- Jimmy Graham F Hail Mary
- Kyle Rudolph F Hail Mary
- Cameron Brate F Hail Mary
- Ryan Griffin F Hail Mary
- Josiah Deguara F Hail Mary
- O.J. Howard F Hail Mary
- Geoff Swaim F Hail Mary
- Nick Vannett F Hail Mary
D/ST
- Carolina Panthers A+ Must Start
- Green Bay Packers A+ Must Start
- Denver Broncos B Must Start
- Los Angeles Chargers B Must Start
- New Orleans Saints B Must Start
- Buffalo Bills B Strong Start
- Arizona Cardinals B Strong Start
- Dallas Cowboys C+ Strong Start
- Cleveland Browns C Strong Start
- Seattle Seahawks C Strong Start
- Tennessee Titans C Start
- Los Angeles Rams C Start
- Cincinnati Bengals D+ Start
- Las Vegas Raiders D Start
- Kansas City Chiefs D Start
- New York Giants D Desperation
- Houston Texans D Desperation
- San Francisco 49ers F Desperation
- Detroit Lions F Desperation
- Atlanta Falcons F Desperation
- Chicago Bears F Desperation
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers F Hail Mary
- Baltimore Ravens F Hail Mary
- Washington Football Team F Hail Mary
- Jacksonville Jaguars F Hail Mary
- New York Jets F Hail Mary
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Zachary Hanshew is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.