Leaders of the Pack After Week Six 

by Dennis Michelsen

Fantasy Football experts sometimes get too attached to what happened last week. In the early part of the season, it’s essential to factor in more than just a few weeks in determining who the leader is at each position. My unique ratings system uses four statistical tools to produce a consensus rating for each player. It uses data from the current season and the last two seasons, but each week is weighted more heavily toward the current season. Let’s see who the leaders of the pack are after week six. 

MVP Index Explained

Every week in Fantasy Football, there are three possible outcomes for a player’s statistics. They can help your team win by having a huge points week. They can cause your team to lose by having a very low points week. They can keep your team in contention by having a performance above the historic median of output expected. Combining these three outcomes into a single, easy-to-understand number was the goal of the MVP Index. While the historical median for Fantasy Football points differs by position, using the same level of expected performance for RB, WR, and TE gives us a standard metric to compare when making Flex starting decisions all season.  

MVP25 Index

Now that we are four weeks into the season, we can start looking at the MVP Index for this season. The only difference in how we use the MVP25 Index versus the regular MVP Index is simple. In MVP25, we count every game played, whereas in the regular MVP Index, we only count full games. This is because in Fantasy Football, we must decide whether a player is a good start each week without knowing whether that player will play a complete game. This is an accurate gauge of the value of each player in Fantasy Football for the current season. 

Upside Index 

While the MVP Index considers consistency, the Upside Index just looks at a player’s best ten games over the past two seasons plus the current season. There is a special formula to treat outlier data in a way that minimizes its impact on the overall score. There is also a special technique to allow rookies to be graded on the same percentage of games as a cagey veteran who has played more full games. Each week, the current season is weighted more to keep the data up to date for this season’s performances. 

Spike Weeks in Last 10 Games

A spike week is defined as a game in which a player scored around 25% more than the weekly median in Fantasy Football. This equates to 15 points for RB, WR, and TE positions and 20 points for QB. While the median is lower for TE than for RB and WR, the same value is used to judge a player for Flex starter decisions. While the 20 points for QBs is slightly lower than the median for that position, judging each QB against the others with the same point value is what matters most. The last ten games played are used for this measurement and provide a current form in Fantasy Football. 

Top 15 at QB

1. Lamar Jackson-  

2. Josh Allen-   

3. Baker Mayfield-    

4. Jayden Daniels-   

5. Patrick Mahomes (+1) 

6. Jalen Hurts (-1) 

7. Brock Purdy (+1)

8. Dak Prescott (+4)

9. Jared Goff- 

10. Sam Darnold (+3)  

11. Drake Maye (+4)   

12. Caleb Williams (+2) 

13. Jordan Love (-3)

14. Bo Nix (-3)

15. Justin Herbert (NEW)

Top 30 at RB

1. Christian McCaffrey-  

2. Bijan Robinson-  

3. De’Von Achane (+1)

4. Jonathon Taylor (-1)

5. Jahmyr Gibbs- 

6. Kyren Williams- 

7. Josh Jacobs (+1)     

8. Bucky Irving (+1)  

9. Saquon Barkley (-2) 

10. James Cook- 

11. Cam Skattebo (+10)

12. David Montgomery (-1) 

13. Derrick Henry (+3)

14. Alvin Kamara (-2)

15. Breece Hall (-1)

16. Ashton Jeanty (+10)

17. Chuba Hubbard (+3)  

18. Javonte Williams (-3) 

19. Travis Etienne (-1)

20. JK Dobbins (-3)

21. Rachad White (+4) Up seven spots since filling in for Bucky shows how valuable lead RB is with TB

22. Chase Brown- 

23. D’Andre Swift (+6)

24. Quinshon Judkins (-11)

25. Rico Dowdle (+5)

26. Ken Walker (-2)  

27. Jordan Mason (+1)

28. Jacory Crosky Merrit (-9)

29. Jaylen Warren (-2)

Top 35 at WR

1. Puka Nacua-  

2. Amon Ra St Brown- 

3. Justin Jefferson-   

4. Cee Dee Lamb-    

5. Ja’Marr Chase (+3)  

6. Davante Adams (-1)  

7. Emeka Egbuka (+5)  

8. Nico Collins (+1)   

9. Keenan Allen (-2)  

10. Deebo Samuel (+6)  

11. Garret Wilson-  

12. Jaxon Smith Njigba (+6)  

13. Stefon Diggs (+6)  

14. Jordan Addison (+3)  

15. Courtland Sutton (-2)  

16. Drake London (+4)  

17. George Pickens (-3)  

18. Brian Thomas Jr (-3)  

19. DJ Moore (+3)  

20. DeVonta Smith (+12)  

21. AJ Brown-   

22. Quentin Johnson (+3)  

23. Michael Pittman (+1)  

24. DK Metcalf (+3)   

25. Jaylen Waddle (NEW)  

26. Zay Flowers-  

27. Rome Odunze (+2) 

28. Terry McLaurin (+3)   

29. Jakobi Meyers (-4)   

30. Ladd McConkey (+4)   

31. Chris Godwin (+2)  

32. Chris Olave (-4)  

33. Cooper Kupp (+2)   

34. Rashid Sheheed (NEW)   

35. Tee Higgins (NEW)  

Top 15 at TE

1. Trey McBride-   

2. Brock Bowers-    

3. Travis Kelce (+1)  

4. Sam LaPorta (+4)  

5. Jake Ferguson (+6)  

6. Darren Waller (+1)     

7. Johnu Smith (-1)   

8. Mark Andrews (-5)  

9. David Njoku (+1)   

10. Tyler Warren (-5)  

11. Dallas Goedert (-2)   

12. Evan Engram (NEW)  

13. Dalton Kincaid (NEW)  

14.  TJ Hockenson (-1)   

15. Tucker Kraft (-1)