Based on last season’s fantasy points allowed, we have ranked the strength of schedule by position for the 2017 season. They are ordered from easiest to most difficult, so #1 for each position has the easiest schedule and #32 has the hardest. Do what you wish with this information, but remember, things have changed since last season, so while this might be helpful, you probably shouldn’t put too much stock into it. [Note: players in parenthesis are listed by a combination of consensus fantasy rankings and projected playing time, not necessarily our rankings, which will be released next month]
Quarterback
1. New Orleans Saints (Drew Brees)
2. Minnesota Vikings (Sam Bradford)
3. Carolina Panthers (Cam Newton)
4. Chicago Bears (Mike Glennon/Mitchell Trubisky)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Jameis Winston)
6. Baltimore Ravens (Joe Flacco)
7. Atlanta Falcons (Matt Ryan)
8. Buffalo Bills (Tyrod Taylor)
9. Seattle Seahawks (Russell Wilson)
10. New York Jets (Josh McCown/Christian Hackenberg)
11. Green Bay Packers (Aaron Rodgers)
12. Miami Dolphins (Ryan Tannehill)
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (Blake Bortles)
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger)
15. Houston Texans (Deshaun Watson/Tom Savage)
16. Tennessee Titans (Marcus Mariota)
17. Detroit Lions (Matthew Stafford)
18. Arizona Cardinals (Carson Palmer)
19. New England Patriots (Tom Brady)
20. Cleveland Browns (Cody Kessler/DeShone Kizer)
21. Denver Broncos (Trevor Siemian/Paxton Lynch)
22. Cincinnati Bengals (Andy Dalton)
23. New York Giants (Eli Manning)
24. Indianapolis Colts (Andrew Luck)
25. San Francisco 49ers (Brian Hoyer/C.J. Beathard)
26. Los Angeles Rams (Jared Goff)
27. Dallas Cowboys (Dak Prescott)
28. Los Angeles Chargers (Philip Rivers)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (Alex Smith)
30. Philadelphia Eagles (Carson Wentz)
31. Washington Redskins (Kirk Cousins)
32. Oakland Raiders (Derek Carr)
Excluding defense, quarterback is the position where you should most look at the early schedule of a player more than the overall ranking. For example, the Cardinals are in the bottom half here, but Carson Palmer looks to have a nice schedule to start the season.
Running back
1. New England Patriots (Mike Gillislee/James White/Dion Lewis/Rex Burkhead)
2. New York Jets (Matt Forte/Bilal Powell)
3. Carolina Panthers (Christian McCaffrey/Jonathan Stewart)
4. Tennessee Titans (DeMarco Murray/Derrick Henry)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (Leonard Fournette/T.J. Yeldon)
6. Seattle Seahawks (Eddie Lacy/C.J. Prosise/Thomas Rawls)
7. Arizona Cardinals (David Johnson)
8. Chicago Bears (Jordan Howard)
9. Dallas Cowboys (Ezekiel Elliott/Darren McFadden)
10. Buffalo Bills (LeSean McCoy)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (Joe Mixon/Jeremy Hill/Giovani Bernard)
12. Baltimore Ravens (Danny Woodhead/Kenneth Dixon/Terrance West)
13. Denver Broncos (C.J. Anderson/Jamaal Charles)
14. Kansas City Chiefs (Spencer Ware/Kareem Hunt)
15. Los Angeles Chargers (Melvin Gordon)
16. Indianapolis Colts (Frank Gore/Marlon Mack)
17. Minnesota Vikings (Dalvin Cook/Latavius Murray)
18. Miami Dolphins (Jay Ajayi)
19. Philadelphia Eagles (LeGarrette Blount/Darren Sproles)
20. New York Giants (Paul Perkins/Shane Vereen/Wayne Gallman)
21. Houston Texans (Lamar Miller/D’Onta Foreman)
22. Washington Redskins (Rob Kelley/Samaje Perine)
23. New Orleans Saints (Mark Ingram/Adrian Peterson)
24. Oakland Raiders (Marshawn Lynch/DeAndre Washington/Jalen Richard)
25. Atlanta Falcons (Devonta Freeman/Tevin Coleman)
26. Detroit Lions (Ameer Abdullah/Theo Riddick)
27. Green Bay Packers (Ty Montgomery/Jamaal Williams/Aaron Jones)
28. Los Angeles Rams (Todd Gurley)
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Doug Martin/Jacquizz Rodgers)
30. Cleveland Browns (Isaiah Crowell/Duke Johnson)
31. Pittsburgh Steelers (Le’Veon Bell/James Connor)
32. San Francisco 49ers (Carlos Hyde/Tim Hightower/Joe Williams)
If you have an elite player, schedule shouldn’t really matter unless it is a tiebreaker with another elite player. For example, those planning to take Le’Veon Bell shouldn’t worry about his difficult schedule, but this does give them another reason to draft David Johnson.
Wide receiver
1. Seattle Seahawks (Doug Baldwin/Tyler Lockett/Paul Richardson)
2. Minnesota Vikings (Stefon Diggs/Adam Thielen/Laquon Treadwell)
3. San Francisco 49ers (Pierre Garcon/Marquise Goodwin/Jeremy Kerley)
4. Carolina Panthers (Kelvin Benjamin/Devin Funchess/Curtis Samuel)
5. Chicago Bears (Cameron Meredith/Kevin White/Kendall Wright)
6. Arizona (Larry Fitzgerald/John Brown/J.J. Nelson)
7. New Orleans Saints (Michael Thomas/Willie Snead/Ted Ginn)
8. New York Giants (Odell Beckham Jr./Brandon Marshall/Sterling Shepard)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Mike Evans/DeSean Jackson/Chris Godwin)
10. Atlanta Falcons (Julio Jones/Mohamed Sanu/Taylor Gabriel)
11. Los Angeles Rams (Robert Woods/Tavon Austin/Cooper Kupp)
12. Dallas Cowboys (Dez Bryant/Terrance Williams/Cole Beasley)
13. Washington Redskins (Terrelle Pryor/Jamison Crowder/Josh Doctson)
14. Houston Texans (DeAndre Hopkins/Will Fuller/Braxton Miller)
15. Detroit Lions (Golden Tate/Marvin Jones/Kenny Golladay)
16. Philadelphia Eagles (Alshon Jeffery/Jordan Matthews/Nelson Agholor)
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (Allen Robinson/Marqise Lee/Allen Hurns)
18. Green Bay Packers (Jordy Nelson/Davante Adams/Randall Cobb)
19. Tennessee Titans (Eric Decker/Corey Davis/Rishard Matthews)
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (Antonio Brown/Martavis Bryant/Eli Rogers)
21. Denver Broncos (Demaryius Thomas/Emmanuel Sanders/Carlos Henderson)
22. Baltimore Ravens (Jeremy Maclin/Mike Wallace/Breshad Perriman)
23. Miami Dolphins (Jarvis Landry/DeVante Parker/Kenny Stills)
24. New York Jets (Quincy Enunwa/ArDarius Stewart/Robby Anderson)
25. Indianapolis Colts (T.Y. Hilton/Donte Moncrief/Kamar Aiken)
26. Cleveland Browns (Corey Coleman/Kenny Britt/Ricardo Louis)
27. New England Patriots (Brandin Cooks/Julian Edelman/Chris Hogan)
28. Oakland Raiders (Amari Cooper/Michael Crabtree/Seth Roberts)
29. Cincinnati Bengals (A.J. Green/John Ross/Brandon LaFell)
30. Buffalo Bills (Sammy Watkins/Andre Holmes/Zay Jones)
31. Los Angeles Chargers (Keenan Allen/Mike Williams/Tyrell Williams)
32. Kansas City Chiefs (Tyreek Hill/Chris Conley/Albert Wilson)
At wide receiver, talent is a lot more important than schedule. Remember, Antonio Brown torched the Broncos in 2015. Still, guys like Sammy Watkins will have to contend with New England twice a year, so keep that in mind.
Tight end
1. Minnesota Vikings (Kyle Rudolph)
2. Chicago Bears (Zach Miller/Dion Sims/Adam Shaheen)
3. Baltimore Ravens (Benjamin Watson/Crockett Gillmore)
4. New Orleans Saints (Coby Fleener/Josh Hill)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Cameron Brate/O.J. Howard)
6. Buffalo Bills (Charles Clay)
7. Green Bay Packers (Martellus Bennett/Lance Kendricks)
8. New York Jets (Austin Seferian-Jenkins/Jordan Leggett)
9. Cincinnati Bengals (Tyler Eifert)
10. Detroit Lions (Eric Ebron)
11. Atlanta Falcons (Ausitn Hooper)
12. Denver Broncos (Jeff Heuerman/Virgil Green/A.J. Derby)
13. New England Patriots (Rob Gronkowski/Dwayne Allen)
14. Cleveland Browns (David Njoku/Seth DeValve)
15. Miami Dolphins (Julius Thomas)
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (Jesse James/Xavier Grimble)
17. Kansas City Chiefs (Travis Kelce)
18. Los Angeles Chargers (Hunter Henry/Antonio Gates)
19. Carolina Panthers (Greg Olsen)
20. Philadelphia Eagles (Zach Ertz/Trey Burton)
21. Tennessee Titans (Delanie Walker/Jonnu Smith)
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (Marcedes Lewis/Mychal Rivera)
23. Oakland Raiders (Jared Cook/Clive Walford)
24. Houston Texans (C.J. Fiedorowicz/Ryan Griffin)
25. Dallas Cowboys (Jason Witten)
26. Arizona Cardinals (Jermaine Gresham/Troy Niklas)
27. Indianapolis Colts (Jack Doyle/Erik Swoope)
28. Seattle Seahawks (Jimmy Graham/Luke Willson)
29. New York Giants (Evan Engram/Will Tye)
30. Washington Redskins (Jordan Reed/Vernon Davis)
31. San Francisco 49ers (Vance McDonald/George Kittle)
32. Los Angeles Rams (Gerald Everett/Tyler Higbee)
Elite tight ends will get their numbers. Don’t worry about Jordan Reed’s Redskins being 30th or Travis Kelce being in the bottom half.
Defense
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Arizona Cardinals
5. Tennessee Titans
6. Houston Texans
7. Seattle Seahawks
8. Los Angeles Rams
9. Philadelphia Eagles
10. Cleveland Browns
11. Cincinnati Bengals
12. Oakland Raiders
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Detroit Lions
15. Washington Redskins
16. Buffalo Bills
17. Baltimore Ravens
18. Pittsburgh Steelers
19. Miami Dolphins
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. New Orleans Saints
22. New York Giants
23. New England Patriots
24. New York Jets
25. Atlanta Falcons
26. Green Bay Packers
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28. Carolina Panthers
29. Minnesota Vikings
30. Kansas City Chiefs
31. Chicago Bears
32. Denver Broncos
The Broncos defense is probably going to be selected first in most drafts, but this should give owners pause. Denver is going to be great defensively, but facing the Chargers, Cowboys, and Raiders in three of the first four weeks is not ideal. They are all at home, though.
Kicker
1. Carolina Panthers (Graham Gano)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Roberto Aguayo/Nick Folk)
3. New York Jets (Chandler Catanzaro)
4. Detroit Lions (Matt Prater)
5. Los Angeles Rams (Greg Zuerlein)
6. Atlanta Falcons (Matt Bryant)
7. New England Patriots (Stephen Gostkowski)
8. Baltimore Ravens (Justin Tucker)
9. Buffalo Bills (Steven Hauschka)
10. Cleveland Browns (Cody Parkey/Zane Gonzalez)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (Randy Bullock)
12. Seattle Seahawks (Blair Walsh)
13. San Francisco 49ers (Robbie Gould)
14. Indianapolis Colts (Adam Vinatieri)
15. New Orleans Saints (Will Lutz)
16. Denver Broncos (Brandon McManus)
17. Chicago Bears (Connor Barth)
18. Philadelphia Eagles (Caleb Sturgis)
19. Los Angeles Chargers (Josh Lambo)
20. Miami Dolphins (Andrew Franks)
21. Kansas City Chiefs (Cairo Santos)
22. Houston Texans (Nick Novak)
23. Arizona Cardinals (Phil Dawson)
24. Green Bay Packers (Mason Crosby)
25. Dallas Cowboys (Dan Bailey)
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (Jason Myers)
27. Pittsburgh Steelers (Chris Boswell)
28. Minnesota Vikings (Kai Forbath)
29. Washington Redskins (Dustin Hopkins)
30. Oakland Raiders (Sebastian Janikowski)
31. Tennessee Titans (Ryan Succop)
32. New York Giants (Aldrick Rosas)
Just draft a kicker in the last round…
Nice. Thanks.