Fantasy Football Rest-of-Season Rankings: 4 Players Moving Up Before Week 2

The fantasy football rest-of-season (ROS) rankings provide a comprehensive overview of projected player performances for the season’s remaining games; they are here to help… but they are not the Ten Commandments.

They should serve as a North Star that guides you toward making informed decisions regarding trades, waiver wire transactions, and starting lineups.

You can find our full set of ROS rankings here. They're free for everyone, but as always, if you want a deeper look, consider grabbing a Tier 1 or Tier 2 subscription (use code COACH for a 20% discount!).

Today we’re looking at four players I’m higher on ROS than the consensus…

Four Movers (Up) in ROS Rankings 📈📈📈📈

The TE Nobody Seems to Want: Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons (John Laghezza’s ROS Rank: 115)

It may in fact be time to invest in Kyle Pitts again. Never forget that his fantasy flops were not simply self-inflicted. Circumstances beyond his control played a major role in his mediocre performances. After his breakout rookie season, injuries cut his second season short. Then over the next two seasons, he dealt with mediocre quarterback play and some inconsistency catching the football.

He may never have hands like Tony Gonzalez, but what he definitely has is improved quarterback play. Michael Penix Jr. gives him a dynamic signal caller with athleticism, a big arm, and the confidence to uncork it whenever and however he wants. That, mixed with the attention teams must pay to Bijan Robinson—one of the best backs in the league—and a perennial 1000-yard receiver in Drake London, means that he can receive favorable matchups without heavy attention paid to him.

In week one against a quality Bucs defense, he finished the week as TE12 in half-PPR formats with 9.4 points and TE7 in full-PPR formats with 12.9 points. This week he takes on a Minnesota Vikings team that surrendered three receptions for 43 yards on six targets to tight ends, but Pitts could be in for an even bigger role with both of his top receivers dealing with injuries. Darnell Mooney was unable to play in week one, and now London is dealing with an injury that could have him out in week two. Regardless, neither will be 100% this Sunday, and Pitts could see more targets as they try to keep the heat off Robinson.

Pitts could be in line for a top-five performance this week (which would set off a FOMO frenzy in your leagues), and I am obviously bullish on him. Don't tell my colleague Kendall Valenzuela—who has sworn off Pitts after three years of disappointment—but I have moved him into the top five this week. Especially with the unknown health of Brock Bowers, he has the potential to finish really high this week. For the rest of the season he should be considered, at the very least, a top 10 tight end.

A Younger Alvin Kamara: RJ Harvey, RB, Denver Broncos (ROS Rank: 82)

I believe in RJ Harvey, and everybody else should as well. He seems to be on the Alvin Kamara rookie season plan. That season, Kamara put up over 1,550 yards rushing and receiving despite having Mark Ingram in front of him getting almost double the carries. During training camp and into the preseason, a lot of people thought Harvey was in line to play head coach Sean Payton's joker role. Everyone knows that the joker is a powerful wild card, but many times, people wait too long to play it and usually wish they had played it sooner.

J.K. Dobbins is the current RB1 in Denver, and in their first game of the season he rushed 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown. Harvey finished with six carries for 70 yards. People will try to dismiss his 50-yard run—“that is the reason why Harvey ran for more yards on fewer carries”—but that would be foolhardy. If you eliminate the explosive run from Harvey's stat line (and why would you? It’s a skill), he STILL would have averaged four yards per carry. That is better than Dobbins’s 3.9 yards per carry—and if you eliminate Dobbins’ 19-yard run (we can play this game all day), he would have only averaged 2.9 yards per carry. The coaching staff has undoubtedly noticed the statistical advantage Harvey has over Dobbins and should look for an immediate adjustment in Week 2.

Additionally, Week 1 did not go very well for the passing game as Bo Nix struggled to deliver the ball to receivers. That means we did not get to see the effect Harvey can have as a pass receiver. Neither he nor Dobbins were factors in the passing game. We should not expect that to continue in Week 2 and beyond. Dolphins running back De'Von Achane was able to cobble together a quality day in fantasy without any quality production against the Colts. The Denver defense should once again be stout and provide the offense with ample opportunities to produce. And Harvey should be able to produce against the Colts as the transition from RB2 to RB1 begins in Denver. He should be considered at least RB20 moving forward. That is a massive move up the rankings.

Opportunity Calls: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ROS Rank: 40)

No, you should not expect Emeka Egbuka to catch two touchdowns in every game this year. That is not what should excite you about Egbuka—what should excite you is the opportunity he has in front of him. The Buccaneers' WR2 and WR3 are both out, and we do not know for how long. That means it is Mike Evans and Egbuka to spearhead this receiving corps. He took full advantage of the opportunity, hauling in four of his six targets for 67 yards and those two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown. He even received a carry, which he turned into a nine-yard gain. It was a great opening week for the Ohio State alum.

More than any other receiver not named Tet McMillan, Egbuka has a bona fide path to continued success. He was the most pro-ready receiver in the 2025 draft, his game most closely reflected that of NFL receivers, and we know the pedigree that comes with receivers out of Ohio State. He is also used to working on offenses with multiple viable weapons, so he will not be affected much when the others return. He knows how to take advantage of minimal opportunities. He is reliable because he will usually be where the quarterback expects him to be, he has sure hands, and he knows how to make things happen after the catch.

Week two brings a tougher challenge against an explosive Houston Texans defense. That explosive aggressiveness can be exploited, and the Rams were able to have some success through the air. Look for Evan to draw the Texans' best corner Derek Stingley, which could give Egbuka a favorable matchup. The Rams' top two receivers earned 19 total targets, and there is no reason to believe that the Bucs' top two, which includes Egbuka right now, will not garner the same type of looks. He is WR20 right now with a bullet. Another great performance may have Buccaneers fans and fantasy managers alike saying, “Chris Godwin who?”

A Top 5 ROS QB: Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets (ROS Rank: 68)

Many fantasy football experts will tell you how valuable Justin Fields is in fantasy while simultaneously discrediting him as a passer. They write off games like Week 3 and Week 4 last season, when he threw for a combined 557 yards and completed 69% of his passes, as an aberration. As a coach, I can tell you that once we have seen you do it, we know you are capable of doing it, and it becomes our mission to bring it out of you more often. The first step is belief, and the second step is consistent opportunity. After four seasons in the NFL, two teams, and three different head coaches, Fields has finally found that belief and opportunity with the Jets and head coach Aaron Glenn. He completed nearly 73% of his passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. That was before adding the extreme rushing upside, which netted another 48 yards and two touchdowns. That led him to a QB2 finish for the week, against the Steelers' defense.

Never forget this is the same Justin Fields who in his second season, threw for over 2200 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for over 1100 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games. He followed that up with over 2500 passing yards and 16 touchdowns, combined with over 600 rushing yards and four touchdowns in only 13 games of a 17-game season. Last season, Fields finished QB1 and QB7 in two of his six starts. He also finished QB12 and QB16 in two other weeks. Regardless of what you think of his skillset, Fields is an elite fantasy player. He should be able to put up tier one performances every week, and because of his rushing upside, his path to those big days is clearer than many of the brand names at the position.

This week, the Jets face the Buffalo Bills after they were surgically carved up by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in a similar fashion to how Fields will play. Like the Steelers in week one, the game script may call for Fields to continually make plays to give his squad the best chance to win. This sets up for another big fantasy performance in what should solidify him as a top-five quarterback in fantasy for the remainder of the season. Guys like Burrow and Herbert being in front of him is only a product of real football perceptions, not fantasy.