MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
It is that time of the year again. Lineups need to be set, and with that comes some tough decisions. Week 1 is always one of the hardest lineups to set.
One of the most popular tools here at FTN is our Fantasy Football rankings. Each week, we bring you non-PPR, PPR and half-PPR rankings to help you win your league.
Throughout the season, I will break down what players our FTN rankers prefer more (or less) than the Expert Consensus Rankings found at FantasyPros. For this article, I will be looking at the half-PPR format.
Quarterback
QBs the FTN rankers like more than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Joe Burrow | CIN | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| Aaron Rodgers | GB | 12 | 11 | 1 |
QBs the FTN rankers like less than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Trey Lance | SF | 10 | 12 | -2 |
| Matt Ryan | IND | 17 | 18 | -1 |
| Tom Brady | TB | 8 | 9 | -1 |
- When it comes to the quarterback position, both FTN and the ECR are mostly aligned. However, the largest disparity is with Trey Lance. We have Lance squeaking into the top 12 this week, as opposed to the consensus that has him as a top-10 option at the Bears.
- FTN also has Joe Burrow over Tom Brady this week as opposed to the ECR, but both are well within the top 12 this week.
Running Back
RBs the FTN rankers like more than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Rashaad Penny | SEA | 25 | 20 | 5 |
| Kenyan Drake | BAL | 52 | 48 | 4 |
| James Conner | ARI | 14 | 11 | 3 |
| J.D. McKissic | WAS | 40 | 38 | 2 |
| Mark Ingram | NO | 47 | 45 | 2 |
| Aaron Jones | GB | 10 | 9 | 1 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| Travis Etienne | JAX | 19 | 18 | 1 |
| Josh Jacobs | LV | 20 | 19 | 1 |
| Damien Harris | NE | 27 | 26 | 1 |
| Dameon Pierce | HOU | 28 | 27 | 1 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | NE | 31 | 30 | 1 |
| Kareem Hunt | CLE | 33 | 32 | 1 |
RBs the FTN rankers like less than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Elijah Mitchell | SF | 18 | 21 | -3 |
| Nick Chubb | CLE | 12 | 14 | -2 |
| David Montgomery | CHI | 21 | 23 | -2 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC | 26 | 28 | -2 |
| D’Andre Swift | DET | 9 | 10 | -1 |
| Saquon Barkley | NYG | 11 | 12 | -1 |
| Antonio Gibson | WAS | 16 | 17 | -1 |
| Chase Edmonds | MIA | 23 | 24 | -1 |
| Breece Hall | NYJ | 30 | 31 | -1 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson | ATL | 32 | 33 | -1 |
- Rashaad Penny is not a favorite among the ECR. However, FTN has him ranked as a top-20 running back this week compared to a flex play.
- The ECR has James Conner as a middling RB2 this week, but our FTN crew has him finishing inside the top 12 in a high-octane matchup with the Chiefs.
- Elijah Mitchell earned the right to be a solid RB2 moving forward, but this week the FTN crew has him ranked just outside the top 20.
- This week, we see that FTN has Breece Hall and Rhamondre Stevenson flipped compared to the ECR, which favors Stevenson.
Wide Receiver
WRs the FTN rankers like more than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Diontae Johnson | PIT | 20 | 16 | 4 |
| Allen Lazard | GB | 38 | 34 | 4 |
| Rashod Bateman | BAL | 25 | 22 | 3 |
| Michael Thomas | NO | 28 | 25 | 3 |
| Michael Pittman | IND | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| DJ Moore | CAR | 16 | 14 | 2 |
| Darnell Mooney | CHI | 26 | 24 | 2 |
| DK Metcalf | SEA | 24 | 23 | 1 |
WRs the FTN rankers like less than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Christian Kirk | JAX | 33 | 36 | -3 |
| Hunter Renfrow | LV | 35 | 38 | -3 |
| Mike Williams | LAC | 15 | 17 | -2 |
| Terry McLaurin | WAS | 18 | 20 | -2 |
| Mike Evans | TB | 7 | 8 | -1 |
| Deebo Samuel | SF | 8 | 9 | -1 |
| Courtland Sutton | DEN | 14 | 15 | -1 |
| Marquise Brown | ARI | 17 | 18 | -1 |
| Adam Thielen | MIN | 32 | 33 | -1 |
- Both Allen Lazard and Diontae Johnson are heavily favored by the FTN crew. They have both the pair finishing as top 36 options this week, though both have injury concerns that fantasy managers need to monitor heading into the weekend.
- Darnell Mooney is a player who the FTN group believes is a low-end WR2 this week, as opposed to the ECR which has him as a high-end flex play.
- Hunter Renfrow is a player who the FTN crew has outside the top 36 this week, while the ECR has him just inside the WR3 ranks.
- Although in a favorable matchup, Mike Williams is a player FTN has finishing outside the top 15, as opposed to the ECR, which has him just squeaking in at 15.
Tight End
TEs the FTN rankers like more than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Dalton Schultz | DAL | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| George Kittle | SF | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| T.J. Hockenson | DET | 8 | 7 | 1 |
TEs the FTN rankers like less than ECR
| Player | Team | ECR Rk. | FTN Rk. | Difference |
| Darren Waller | LV | 4 | 6 | -2 |
| Dallas Goedert | PHI | 6 | 8 | -2 |
- When it comes to tight ends, both FTN and ECR are mainly aligned (like most), but the FTN crew is a bit higher on both Dalton Schultz and T.J. Hockenson.
- George Kittle, although surrounded with some injury concern, is ranked inside the top 5 by the FTN crew, as opposed to the ECR. But this is at risk of changing if the injury worsens.
- Darren Waller and Dallas Goedert both saw a new alpha wide receiver join the roster this offseason and find themselves two spots lower in FTN’s rankings than the ECR this week.
