Pondering some tough flex choices for your fantasy lineup? Adam Rank sorts through the running backs, receivers and tight ends to present his top 150 flex options each week for the 2023 fantasy football season, with some useful nuggets of analysis sprinkled in. The ranking is based on a 0.5 PPR scoring format.
NOTE: In a typical week, this ranking will be posted on Tuesday. Injury designations will be added, adjusted or removed as teams' official injury reports are made available. The following three designations will be reflected:
- (Q) -- Player is listed as questionable on their team's official injury report.
- (D) -- Player is listed as doubtful on their team's official injury report.
- (OUT) -- Player has been ruled out on their team's official injury report.
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FLEX RANKINGS: 1-50
- What should we expect from Garrett Wilson going forward? That's one of the biggest questions for fantasy managers in the wake of Aaron Rodgers' season-ending injury. Wilson seems less likely to have the huge season we all wanted. That's for sure. And he has a tough matchup this week against Dallas. But I saw Zach Wilson throw enough YOLO balls to Garrett Wilson to keep him as part of my rotation. He's at least a solid WR2 now, so don't freak out too much.
- Tyreek Hill had 215 receiving yards against the Chargers in Week 1 and is on pace to reach 2,000 receiving yards ... by Week 11. It's incredible. He was targeted 15 times on Sunday, which might not be a sustainable pace, but he's truly amazing.
- Aaron Jones suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1. His status for Week 2 is not clear as of this writing, but Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters it was encouraging to see him jog off the field on Sunday. If he's healthy, it's obvious the Packers are going to rely on him to take as much pressure off Jordan Love as possible.
- Derrick Henry catching passes was kind of a sight. He's rushed for a touchdown in each of his three career games against the Chargers, the Titans' Week 2 opponent. Los Angeles has allowed 20+ fantasy points to seven different running backs since the start of last season.
- Saquon Barkley should bounce back this week against the Cardinals, who have allowed the second-most points in the league since the start of last season. Also, they allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to running backs in 2022. Commanders RB Brian Robinson looked pretty good against the Cardinals in Week 1. Speaking of Robinson, it appears he is the lead back for Washington. Antonio Gibson is going to need to hold onto the football.
- Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has had at least nine targets in 13 games since the start of last season, and he has a good chance to continue his hot start to the 2023 campaign. The Seahawks, who will visit Detroit in Week 2, allowed two Rams receivers to gain 100 yards in Week 1. It was the first time the Rams had two 100-yard receivers in the same game since 2020.
- 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk set a career high with 129 receiving yards against the Steelers in Week 1. San Francisco had three red-zone passes in the game, and Aiyuk was targeted on two of them. I really believe he is going to be the go-to receiver for the team this season.
- Austin Ekeler is dealing with an ankle injury, so we'll be monitoring his status. His backup, Joshua Kelley, is No. 100 in my rankings this week. (EDITOR'S UPDATE: Austin Ekeler has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Titans, the team announced Saturday.)
- I was shocked by Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley's performance against the Colts in Week 1 (8 catches for 101 yards, TD). Apparently playing football -- after not playing in a regular-season game for 686 days -- isn't that hard. At least not for him. He looked great, leading the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards. I'm sure it's not always going to be like this. Doug Pederson loves to spread the ball around.
- Falcons RB Bijan Robinson was as good as advertised in the opener. And as I mentioned on NFL Fantasy Live and Good Morning Football, it was RB Tyler Allgeier who got a couple of goal-line looks for Atlanta. I promised you one touchdown, and he scored twice. My bad for getting that wrong. Allgeier has 24 red-zone carries since Week 15 of last season, second most in the league during that span.
- Keep an eye on the status of Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy. He was inactive in Week 1 with the hamstring injury he sustained late last month, but Denver waited until game day to rule him out. Sean Payton had expressed optimism about his progress last week. (EDITOR'S UPDATE: Jerry Jeudy is expected to make his season debut Sunday against the Commanders, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday.)
FLEX RANKINGS: 51-100
The Ravens running back situation will be interesting after J.K. Dobbins' season-ending Achilles tear. Gus Edwards (RB25) makes a significant leap from last week's rankings (RB43), and the previously unranked Justice Hill jumps in as the RB32. Edwards looks like the between-the-20s guy. After Dobbins went down, Hill scored twice on goal-line carries, but I'm curious to see if he'll continue to be the main goal-line option. Edwards has averaged more than 5 yards per carry during his career. His career high in rushing touchdowns is six, set in 2020.
- Cam Akers had a rough go of it against Seattle. Though he led the Rams in carries with 22, he managed just 29 yards and one TD, getting outrushed by Kyren Williams (52 yards and 2 TDs on 15 attempts). I'm not ready to give up on Akers just yet. But it's a lot to expect a significant turnaround this week, given his tough matchup against the 49ers.
- Breece Hall was amazing, logging 127 yards against the Bills. It's hard to believe he suffered a torn ACL less than one calendar year ago -- he's made an incredible comeback. The Jets could be on to something if they utilize some play-action with Hall to open things up for Garrett Wilson and the pass attack, because that offensive line needs a lot of help.
- Lions coach Dan Campbell did Jahmyr Gibbs was going to be worked in slowly. I know it might have been frustrating to see Gibbs log single-digit touches (seven carries and two catches) in Week 1, especially for those of you who spent a third-round pick to draft him. But I'm telling you, he's going to end up being a league-winner -- he is going to feast once he really gets cooking. I like him in the flex this week against the Seahawks.
- I had a feeling Kenneth Gainwell was going to get a lot of work based on his familiarity with the Eagles' offense, and he did in Week 1, leading the team with 18 touches. We might see something similar in Week 2 with Philadelphia playing the Vikings on a short week. (EDITOR'S UPDATE: Kenneth Gainwell has been ruled out for Thursday's matchup with the Vikings, the team announced Wednesday.)
FLEX RANKINGS: 101-150
- Rams WR Puka Nacua was left on the cutting room floor when I put together last week's rankings. Colleague Peter Schrager and I both talked about him on Good Morning Football last week, and he was part of my bold predictions on NFL Fantasy Live. He was awesome in his NFL debut, making 10 catches for 119 yards, but it's hard to expect another performance like that against the 49ers in Week 2. I will temper my expectations. (EDITOR'S UPDATE: Nacua was listed on the Rams' injury report on Friday as questionable with an oblique injury.)
