Fantasy Football Players with Favorable/Tough Matchups Ahead: Baker Mayfield, Rico Dowdle, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jonnu Smith and More

A fantasy football team’s fortunes can change every week based simply on the matchups their players have.

That’s the point of this article: identifying players with favorable and tough schedules down the stretch. 

We’ll take a look at quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. You can do the same on the FantasySP Strength of Schedule page.

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Quarterbacks

Will Levis, Tommy DeVito, Bryce Young, Desmond Ridder, Baker Mayfield, Cooper Rush and Kyler Murray all have A+ grades, meaning their schedules are most favorable down the stretch.

Of course, fantasy owners know there’s not many weekly starters (outside Mayfield and Murray) in that group. Their favorable schedules ahead mean they might be worth starting over some other borderline weekly starting options, while being good options in deeper leagues.

Aaron Rodgers, Bo Nix and Justin Herbert all have A grades. Rodgers is more of a streaming option, so things look good for him down the stretch to make some fantasy starts. Nix and Herbert are better weekly options, and probably should be starting most of the time given those favorable matchups.

Jared Goff and Geno Smith are two weekly starting options who have tougher schedules ahead. As I said before, these are the QBs who might get benched in favor of a Levis, DeVito, Young, Ridder, Rush or Rodgers down the stretch, with the matchup being the main reason why.

Running Backs

The Jets, Lions, Titans and Cardinals all have A+ grades for running backs.

Breece Hall is dealing with an injury, and if he can’t go, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis could be really good starting options down the stretch.

Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are weekly starters, and these favorable matchups should really excite fantasy owners.

Tony Pollard and James Conner are in a similar boat being good weekly options, but just short of locked-in fantasy starters. The matchups say you can pretty much put them in your starting lineup and leave them there the remainder of the season.

The Buccaneers, Panthers, Raiders, Cowboys, Patriots and Vikings all have A grades ahead.

The Bucs’ backfield is a little murky as Bucky Irving deals with an injury. Rachaad White could star in favorable matchups if Irving misses time.

Chuba Hubbard is the clear leader in the Carolina backfield after the season-ending injury to Jonathon Brooks. In the favorable matchups, Hubbard might just help fantasy teams to titles over the next few weeks.

The Raiders’ backfield was a mess, but Sincere McCormick appears to have taken it over. He was a popular waiver pickup this week, and the favorable schedule ahead says he really should be added in just about every league.

Rico Dowdle is the clear leader in Dallas. He’s been trending up of late, and has the chance to keep rolling as the season winds down.

Rhamondre Stevenson guides the Patriots’ backfield. He’s not quite as locked into fantasy starting lineups, but the matchups at least say he should be a good option from here on out.

Aaron Jones has led the Vikings’ backfield most of the season, while Cam Akers has eaten into the workload here and there. It’s a favorable schedule ahead, so whoever gets work could be good fantasy options.

The Steelers have the toughest schedule ahead, so Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren go from good/pretty good weekly options to a couple players you might need to worry about a bit. I think each will get enough work each week to deliver fantasy results, but a tough showing might put them squarely on the start/sit line.

Wide Receivers

The Raiders, Giants, Bears and Packers all have A+ grades for their receivers.

Jakobi Meyers is really the only Raiders’ wideout worthy of standard league starts, but others could be decent deep-league options with their schedule. Meyers should be good for a start most weeks from here on out.

Malik Nabers powers the Giants, while Wan'Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton are deep-league options. Nabers is close to being a locked-in fantasy starter, and the favorable matchups probably means he’s in just about everyone’s starting lineup. Robinson will be good for some deep-league starts, while Slayton might also be a sneaky good option in those leagues.

D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze all have had some fantasy success this season in Chicago. The favorable matchups make them all decent options in standard leagues, but with all three there, they are safer plays in deeper leagues.

Green Bay has Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, which complicates matters further. Reed has been the top fantasy option, but has struggled of late - maybe the favorable matchups can help him get going. In reality, with four viable pass-catching wideouts, not to mention the team’s tight ends, the Packers’ wideouts will all be standard league options with decent upside, but a lot of uncertainty if fantasy owners decide to play them.

The Colts, Lions and Jaguars all are tied for the toughest schedules left for receivers.

Michael Pittman, Josh Downs and Alec Pierce are all fantasy options for the Colts. When healthy, Downs has been the best fantasy option, while Pittman and Pierce have also enjoyed some solid fantasy outings. The tougher matchups ahead probably means only Downs and Pittman are standard league options, and not the safest ones anymore. Pierce might not even be worth deep-league starts in the tough matchups.

Amon-Ra St. Brown is an every-week fantasy starter, but has had some so-so showings of late. He’s still a good weekly option despite the tougher matchups. Jameson Williams is another pretty good weekly option, but might be on the wrong side of the start/sit line seeing some tougher matchups. The tougher matchups also mean it’s unlikely that Tim Patrick becomes anything more than a deep-league option.

Brian Thomas Jr. is the top fantasy option for the Jaguars, while Parker Washington has come on of late. Thomas might still remain a good weekly option given the Jaguars are lacking elite options. The tough matchups will probably hold Washington back from being more than a deep-league option.

Tight Ends

The Titans and Browns have A+ grades for their tight ends, while the Texans, Broncos and Saints have A grades.

Chig Okonkwo is a weekly streaming option, and the matchups say he’ll be an option from here on out. Njoku is close to a weekly fantasy starter, and the matchups say he should be started confidently going forward.

Dalton Schultz is another weekly option, but a better one than Okonkwo. Schultz is a player I’d add and at least stash.

The Broncos haven’t had a good fantasy TE all season. I doubt one would emerge this late in the season, but with the matchups, one could.

With Taysom Hill out for the season Juwan Johnson already had a better fantasy outlook. With favorable matchups ahead too, Johnson is looking like a pretty good weekly option moving forward.

The Dolphins and Rams have the toughest tight end schedules ahead.

That’s tough news for Jonnu Smith, who has been on a tear over the past several weeks. I’d keep starting him until his production falls off.

Colby Parkinson has been the top Rams’ TE this season, but Tyler Higbee is nearing a return and should immediately be the team’s top fantasy TE when he’s activated. Unfortunately, the matchups suggest that Higbee will struggle to get things going.