Rest-of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings 2023: Projected top players, sleepers ahead of fantasy playoffs

We are past the halfway point of the 2023 fantasy football regular season, and playoffs will begin before you know it. As we head into November, it’s time for a rest-of-season rankings check-in. 

RotoBaller’s very own Nick Mariano (top-10 in industry rankings accuracy) updates his weekly fantasy football rankings to help fantasy owners with tough lineup decisions. As you will see in this article, he also updates his rest-of-season rankings on a weekly basis. Those ROS rankings are below, looking at projected fantasy values as we head into Week 9. 

In addition to Nick’s top-200 rankings list, I will analyze notable risers or fallers in the rankings and for the rest of the fantasy season. If you need help with weekly rankings, make sure to head over to RotoBaller and find even more free rankings including PPR rankings, half-PPR rankings, superflex rankings, and more. 

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Rest-of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings 2023

Courtesy of RotoBaller

Biggest Risers 

Trey McBride, Dalton Kincaid, Jahmyr Gibbs, Javonte Williams, James Conner, and Sam Howell are some of the most notable players who are rising from last week’s ranking. They should all see more opportunities in their team’s offenses going forward and are trending up in fantasy. Let’s take a look and see how these players have fared and what to expect from them for the rest of the year. 

Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals 
Week 8 Rank: 178 
Updated ROS Rank: 126 

No one had a bigger rise in Nick’s ranking than McBride. Following the injury to veteran Zach Ertz (quadriceps), McBride cashed in on the opportunity in Week 8. The 23-year-old tight end caught 10-of-14 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown. McBride was the Cardinals’ second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and the consensus No. 1 tight end in that draft class. Now, the second-year playmaker is finally getting an opportunity to shine. With Arizona currently sitting at 1-7 on the season and Ertz on the injured reserve list, McBride should see more opportunities in the coming weeks, especially with quarterback Kyler Murray (knee) returning soon.

Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills 
Week 8 Rank: 93 
Updated ROS Rank: 69 

Another young tight end makes the list. Buffalo traded up in the first round for the young playmaker, and we are finally seeing why.

Kincaid caught five passes for 65 yards and a touchdown in Week 8, marking the second consecutive game where the tight end saw at least seven targets. With Dawson Knox (wrist) on injured reserve, Kincaid will continue to see more chances on offense. He has finished as the TE7 in back-to-back weeks, and that’s where Nick has him among tight ends for the rest of the year.

Sam Howell, QB, Washington Commanders 
Week 8 Rank: 144 
Updated ROS Rank: 104 

Howell had the most significant rise among all quarterbacks after Week 8. He is coming off his best game as a pro, throwing for 397 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception against the Eagles, which helped him finish as the QB1 for the week. On the year, the 23-year-old signal-caller ranks as the QB8 while having three top-eight quarterback finishes in three of the past four weeks. All told, he's thrown for 2,146 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in 2023. He's a quarterback to target in fantasy, as he continues to produce in his first full season under center.

Other Notable Risers:

• Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Lions -- Week 8 Rank: 63 | Updated ROS Ranking: 48 
• Javonte Williams, RB, Broncos -- Week 8 Rank: 73 | Updated ROS Ranking: 57
• James Conner, RB, Cardinals -- Week 8 Rank: 86 | Updated ROS Ranking: 63
• David Njoku, TE, Browns -- Week 8 Rank: 173 | Updated ROS Ranking: 132
• Taysom Hill, TE, Saints -- Week 8 Rank: N/A | Updated ROS Ranking: 157 

MORE: Click here to upgrade to RotoBaller's NFL Premium Pass. Gain VIP access to expert tools and advice from proven winners including the NFL DFS Lineup Optimizer, the Team Sync Platform with customized tools, Premium fantasy football rankings, and DFS cheat sheets! Get hooked up and use discount code SPORTING!

Biggest Fallers 

Darren Waller, Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson, Cole Kmet, and Jameson Williams are just a few names who are big fallers on Nick’s rest-of-season rankings list. They are trending down for several different reasons, be it injury, performance, or usage. Let’s take a look and see how these players have done over the past few weeks and what to expect moving forward. 

Darren Waller, TE, New York Giants 
Week 8 Rank: 65 
Updated ROS Rank: 113 

Waller is the biggest faller from Week 8 to Week 9. After his impressive seven-catch, 98-yard, one-touchdown performance in Week 7, Waller unfortunately injured his hamstring in New York's overtime loss in Week 8. The veteran tight end has dealt with hamstring issues his whole career, and this injury will likely keep him out for several games, starting in Week 9 against the Raiders. Waller also told reporters that he will miss “weeks.” With New York having a bye in Week 13, we might not see Waller again until Week 14. He is currently the TE9 in fantasy, but his extended absence has dropped him in the rankings for the rest of the year.

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars 
Week 8 Rank: 76 
Updated ROS Rank: 108 

We were all expecting Lawrence to take a huge step forward in his third NFL season. Unfortunately, that just hasn’t happened, and Lawrence has been a mediocre fantasy quarterback all year. He has zero games above 19 fantasy points and has yet to finish as a top-seven fantasy quarterback in any week. In a great matchup against the Steelers in Week 8, Lawrence threw for 292 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The Jaguars quarterback is no longer a must-start in one-quarterback leagues moving forward, as he has thrown for just nine touchdowns across eight games this season. 

Jameson Williams, WR, Detroit Lions 
Week 8 Rank: 135 
Updated ROS Rank: 168 

If you were hoping for a second-year breakout from Williams, things aren’t looking great for him. Following his four-game suspension for gambling to begin the year, Williams has just six catches for 71 yards and one touchdown in four games in 2023. The second-year wideout has dealt with some drops this season, and he could lose out on more playing time after the Lions traded for Donovan Peoples-Jones at the trade deadline. The 22-year-old was the biggest wide receiver faller in Nick’s rankings heading into Week 9.

Other Notable Fallers:

• Deshaun Watson, QB, Browns -- Week 8 Rank: 171 | Updated ROS Ranking: 200
• Jordan Love, QB, Packers -- Week 8 Rank: 146 | Updated ROS Ranking: 161 
• Jerome Ford, RB, Browns -- Week 8 Rank: 69 | Updated ROS Ranking: 83 
• Cole Kmet, TE, Bears -- Week 8 Rank: 133 | Updated ROS Ranking: 154 
• Michael Mayer, TE, Raiders -- Week 8 Rank: 136 | Updated ROS Ranking: 163
• Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams -- Week 8 Rank: 6 | Updated ROS Ranking: 17