The top 100 NFL players in PPR fantasy football leagues

Let SB Nation help you prepare for your fantasy drafts this season!

Aug 1, 2023, 12:30 PM UTC

James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.

The do-everything running back might be falling out of favor in the NFL, but they are still king in the world of PPR fantasy. Teams are leaning more and more towards running backs needing to be skilled catchers out of the backfield, even if their overall usage is waning in the modern, big-play NFL.

This year there are a handful of players worthy of top picks in PPR, and all of them carry significant risks. In short: This year is a minefield when it comes to drafting. The key to winning a PPR league this year is going to be balancing your running backs and wide receivers. Heavily used WRs are increasingly becoming staples at the top of PPR drafts, and often don’t carry the same injury risks as players out of the backfield.

So let’s look at the Top 100 and then go through some tips for your draft.

Fantasy Football Top 100 PPR

Overall	Name	Position	Team	Bye
1	Christian McCaffrey	RB	SF	9
2	Austin Ekeler	RB	LAC	5
3	Bijan Robinson	RB	ATL	11
4	Justin Jefferson	WR	MIN	13
5	Saquon Barkley	RB	NYG	13
6	Jonathan Taylor	RB	IND	11
7	Ja'Marr Chase	WR	CIN	7
8	Tony Pollard	RB	DAL	7
9	Travis Kelce	TE	KC	10
10	Cooper Kupp	WR	LAR	10
11	Tyreek Hill	WR	MIA	10
12	Josh Jacobs	RB	LV	13
13	Nick Chubb	RB	CLE	5
14	Stefon Diggs	WR	BUF	13
15	Rhamondre Stevenson	RB	NE	11
16	Breece Hall	RB	NYJ	7
17	Derrick Henry	RB	TEN	16
18	Davante Adams	WR	LV	13
19	CeeDee Lamb	WR	DAL	7
20	Mark Andrews	TE	BAL	13
21	A.J. Brown	WR	PHI	10
22	Garrett Wilson	WR	NYJ	7
23	Amon-Ra St. Brown	WR	DET	9
24	Jaylen Waddle	WR	MIA	10
25	Travis Etienne Jr.	RB	JAX	9
26	Najee Harris	RB	PIT	6
27	Tee Higgins	WR	CIN	7
28	Aaron Jones	RB	GB	6
29	Joe Mixon	RB	CIN	7
30	Chris Olave	WR	NO	11
31	DeVonta Smith	WR	PHI	10
32	Keenan Allen	WR	LAC	5
33	T.J. Hockenson	TE	MIN	13
34	Patrick Mahomes	QB	KC	10
35	Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	DET	9
36	Josh Allen	QB	BUF	13
37	DK Metcalf	WR	SEA	5
38	Jalen Hurts	QB	PHI	10
39	Miles Sanders	RB	CAR	7
40	Amari Cooper	WR	CLE	5
41	Deebo Samuel	WR	SF	9
42	J.K. Dobbins	RB	BAL	13
43	Kenneth Walker III	RB	SEA	5
44	Chris Godwin	WR	TB	5
45	DJ Moore	WR	CHI	13
46	Alexander Mattison	RB	MIN	13
47	Cam Akers	RB	LAR	10
48	Dameon Pierce	RB	HOU	7
49	James Conner	RB	ARI	14
50	Calvin Ridley	WR	JAX	9
51	Rachaad White	RB	TB	5
52	Drake London	WR	ATL	11
53	George Kittle	TE	SF	9
54	Lamar Jackson	QB	BAL	13
55	Dallas Goedert	TE	PHI	10
56	Terry McLaurin	WR	WAS	14
57	Joe Burrow	QB	CIN	7
58	Jerry Jeudy	WR	DEN	9
59	Michael Pittman Jr.	WR	IND	11
60	David Montgomery	RB	DET	9
61	D'Andre Swift	RB	PHI	10
62	Tyler Lockett	WR	SEA	5
63	Mike Williams	WR	LAC	5
64	Christian Kirk	WR	JAX	9
65	Kyle Pitts	TE	ATL	11
66	Diontae Johnson	WR	PIT	6
67	Christian Watson	WR	GB	6
68	Justin Fields	QB	CHI	13
69	Darren Waller	TE	NYG	13
70	Brandon Aiyuk	WR	SF	9
71	Justin Herbert	QB	LAC	5
72	Isiah Pacheco	RB	KC	10
73	Trevor Lawrence	QB	JAX	9
74	Alvin Kamara	RB	NO	11
75	Evan Engram	TE	JAX	9
76	Marquise Brown	WR	ARI	14
77	Mike Evans	WR	TB	5
78	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	TEN	7
79	James Cook	RB	BUF	13
80	Pat Friermuth	TE	PIT	6
81	Antonio Gibson	RB	WAS	14
82	Khalil Herbert	RB	CHI	13
83	Dak Prescott	QB	DAL	7
84	Brian Washington Jr.	RB	WAS	14
85	AJ Dillon	RB	GB	6
86	Deshaun Watson	QB	CLE	5
87	Jahan Dotson	WR	WAS	14
88	David Njoku	TE	CLE	5
89	Samaje Perine	RB	DEN	9
90	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	WR	SEA	5
91	Jamaal Williams	RB	NO	11
92	George Pickens	WR	PIT	6
93	Jordan Addison	WR	MIN	13
94	Tua Tagovailoa	QB	MIA	10
95	Daniel Jones	QB	NJG	13
96	Rashaad Penny	RB	PHI	10
97	Damien Harris	RB	BUF	13
98	Kadarius Toney	WR	KC	10
99	Kirk Cousins	QB	MIN	13
100	Javonte Williams	RB	DEN	9

Bijan Robinson will turn heads at No. 3, but hear me out

Drafting a rookie this early seems like a surefire way to lose a league, but Bijan Robinson isn’t a normal rookie, and the Falcons aren’t a normal team.

Offensive coordinator Dave Ragone loves to feature running backs in his offense. Last year Tyler Allgeier, Cordarelle Patterson and Caleb Huntley combined for 430 carries and 39 receptions. Part of the allure of Robinson is his ability as an all-purpose back, and being targeted more in the backfield, paired with a lion’s share of the carries will see a massive use rate out of the rookie immediately.

It’s absolutely within reason to project Robinson to finish with 1,500 all-purpose yards or more, along with nine to 12 touchdowns. Whatever risks there are associated with him being a rookie more or less balance out against Christian McCaffrey’s injury history, or Austin Ekeler’s general dislike of the Chargers at the moment.

There exists a world where players pass over Robinson in PPR drafts and let him fall to the back end of the top 10. Taking him at that point would be an absolute steal.

Don’t freak out about your quarterback

There are only two quarterbacks worthy of being taken early in a PPR draft and that’s Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. These were the only two QBs who contributed over 400 points last season, and project very much the same this year. After that we have Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow, then a big gap.

The third tier of PPR quarterbacks is deep after those four, and worth waiting for, rather than over-drafting a top player. Keep this in mind: The difference between Geno Smith at No. 5 and Marcus Mariota at No. 20 was only 100 points on the season last year.

Shore up your backs and receivers first, and worry about the QB later.

Three players I’d target in the draft

We’re talking about the Top 100 players here, so none of these guys are “sleepers,” but all have the potential to be overlooked in your draft and could be difference makers.

Breece Hall, RB — New York Jets

My No. 16 overall player this year, Hall could easily be overlooked by players going for the likes of Najee Harris or Joe Mixon. Hall was a monster his rookie season before being injured, and Aaron Rodgers loves to use his backs as receivers. Huge potential to put up big numbers.

D.J. Moore, WR — Chicago Bears

The Bears are really tough to project this season, but I’m very bullish on D.J. Moore. He’s No. 45 in my Top 100, but could easily finish as a top scorer among receivers.

Justin Fields is poised to take major strides, and it’s easy to forget that Moore has been a consistent 1,000-yard receiver with absolute dumpster fire quarterbacks in Carolina since Cam Newton’s release. He will get targets and he will thrive. You can probably take him in your flex spot and he’ll be a difference maker.

Miles Sanders, RB — Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are desperate to ensure Bryce Young has success early, and Sanders was signed as a safety net to make sure that happens. Young is accustomed to using a speedy back as a target, which he did in Alabama last year with Jahmyr Gibbs — who led the Crimson Tide in receptions.

With the Panthers receiving corps developing without a lot of top-end promise, expect a very high usage rate from Sanders this season. He’s No. 39 in my rankings, and could easily slide deep where he would be a brilliant pickup in the flex who could easily be a RB1 or RB2 if the need arises.

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