Eric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments".
The weekend before Thanksgiving tends to be a stressful one for the obvious reasons of getting together with family for the holiday, but fantasy football managers realize time is running out. The trade deadline for ESPN standard leagues is next week -- Wednesday, Nov. 21 at noon ET, to be exact -- and the end of the regular season for our purposes is closing in. We continue to provide our rest-of-season rankings, for PPR formats and through the end of the real-life regular season. These rankings cannot take into account your specific needs, of course, and often trades are about that. Regardless, here we go and best of luck!
Note: "UP" and "DOWN" indicate a move of at least five spots from the previous week's overall rankings, or at least three spots from the previous week's positional rankings.
Overall top 100
Quarterback
Chicago Bears sophomore Mitchell Trubisky continues to show his breakout season is legitimate, posting numbers much like those of Patrick Mahomes over the past six weeks, while New England Patriots veteran and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady is hurting fantasy managers. Who should rank better? Well, we do not rank based on name value here. Trubisky joins the top 10, and Brady, who serves a bye this week, leaves. Cleveland Browns rookie Baker Mayfield moves up, though at this position, it is hard to make a great case for starting him in a 10-team league. Same with Tennessee Titans veteran Marcus Mariota, who finally looks like the player who aided fantasy managers in 2016.
Baltimore Ravens veteran Joe Flacco is ailing, and that could make rookie Lamar Jackson relevant to fantasy managers as soon as this week. That would be interesting. Because Flacco has not helped fantasy managers for a long time, Jackson earns the better ranking here, as the unknown option who has yet to fail tends to appeal more to fantasy managers -- regardless of sport -- than contributors who have proved themselves do. For all we know, Matt Barkley and Kyle Lauletta could aid fantasy managers in deep leagues, just like Nick Mullens.
Running back
Good news for those hoping Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette could provide his draft-day value, as he was not so efficient in his return to the lineup, but volume is key. Fournette rises to favorable RB2 status, while those who have been patient with the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Jones and San Francisco 49ers' Matt Breida are reaping those rewards, as well. With Jones, it has been about opportunity, and Breida simply needs to stay healthy. This week each player exceeded expectations.
Keep an eye on the Seattle Seahawks in the coming weeks, as Chris Carson might have lost his grasp on the top spot, and these rankings reflect that, as veteran Mike Davis and rookie Rashaad Penny rise. Watch the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, too. LeSean McCoy ran all over the Jets this past week, and Elijah McGuire has the all-around skills to aid fantasy managers. Isaiah Crowell scored a touchdown Sunday, but he has yet to surpass 50 rushing yards in a game since rushing for 219 yards in Week 5. That is not a good trend.
Wide receiver
Fantasy managers need to move on from Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp, leaving Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks as WR2 options, and they each move up a bit, in part thanks to the struggles of others. Josh Reynolds should replace Kupp, and he warrants flex attention in deeper formats. Others moving up in the later range of Reynolds include the Cincinnati Bengals' John Ross, New Orleans Saints' Tre'Quan Smith and Washington Redskins' Maurice Harris. Ross scored a touchdown with A.J. Green out, and that could continue. We didn't get the chance to rank Dez Bryant as a Saint before his injury, but Smith should play a role, and although Brandon Marshall gets a top-60 ranking (barely), keep expectations low. Harris, meanwhile, still has two games remaining against what is left of the barren Philadelphia Eagles secondary.
Tight end
The big news here might be Patriots star Rob Gronkowski dropping another spot to No. 4, as San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle usurps his spot, but do not overlook the fact that a pair of Indianapolis Colts options grace the top 10. I am sure it has happened before, probably with the Patriots years ago, but it is rare for a team to support multiple tight ends as fantasy stars. Gronkowski cannot stay healthy, and he was not so productive the first two months anyway. Colts Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle -- or Doyle and Ebron, if you prefer -- are healthy and productive and can coexist.
