Making those tough lineup decisions, week over week, can be the most challenging part of the fantasy football process. When you're torn between two similar players and simply don't know which of them to start, my advice is to start the player with the superior matchup.
Ah, but exactly how does one determine the best (and worst) weekly matchups?
The "Matchups Map" each week provides a schedule-independent method to evaluate positional matchups, ranking all 32 opposing defenses in order of most to least favorable for opposing players at all four skill positions (quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end). Instead of relying upon seasonal totals, in this space we calibrate points allowed data to show how each defense fared relative to the difficulty of the schedule that it has faced. This provides a fairer approach to judging the quality of individual matchups.
"Adj. FPA," or Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed, reflects how far above or below players' weekly PPR fantasy point averages that defense has held opponents at that position. A positive number means that the matchup is favorable; a negative number means it is unfavorable. Additionally, remember that teams often use multiple running backs and wide receivers in a game, and these plus/minus averages cover all of a team's personnel at that position.
All data is from the past five weeks of NFL action.
Finally, a caveat: Matchups are only one ingredient in my rankings formula. Not every favorable matchup should be exploited, nor unfavorable matchup avoided. If you want my -- and ESPN fantasy staff's -- most complete source for whom to start and sit each week, consult our weekly rankings.
Quarterbacks
Matchups highlight
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (against Ravens)
Even if you choose to instead attribute it to Brian Daboll's playcalling or the presence of a healthy Saquon Barkley, Jones' play thus far has been plenty competent, especially with multiple injuries to his receiver corps. Jones also had 37 yards on 10 rushing attempts in Week 5 while dealing with an ankle injury. That is a great sign heading into this week's matchup against a Ravens defense that has struggled mightily to contain mobile quarterbacks. Tua Tagovailoa scored 23.52 fantasy points against this defense in Week 2, while Josh Allen scored 38.86 points in Week 4. Both Mac Jones (Week 3) and Joe Burrow (Week 5) each scored a rushing touchdown against the Ravens, making Jones one of the week's stronger streaming choices.
Others to like
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at Steelers): Brady delivered a combined 45.14 fantasy points in back-to-back favorable matchups in Weeks 4 and 5. He gets another one against a Steelers defense that was exposed by Allen last week.
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (at Falcons): Garoppolo faces a defense that gave up 19.74 points to Brady last week, not to mention 18.9-plus to Jameis Winston in Week 1, Matthew Stafford in Week 2 and Geno Smith in Week 3.
Matchup to avoid
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (against Bills): Tuck this one away for daily fantasy, as there's little chance managers in traditional leagues have the kind of quarterback depth to justify swapping Mahomes out. His matchup, unfortunately, caps his upside, as not a single quarterback who has faced the Bills has exceeded Lamar Jackson's 13.06 fantasy points in Week 4. Mahomes should raise that bar, but if that's somewhere in line with the 18.98 fantasy points he scored against the Bills in their Week 5 meeting last season, is that enough to warrant, spending the $8,000 that he costs on DraftKings? I'd say no.
Running backs
Matchups highlight
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots (at Browns)
Stevenson broke out in a big way in Week 5, scoring 19.5 PPR fantasy points while setting career highs by playing 89% of the offensive snaps and totaling 27 touches. With Damien Harris now sidelined for multiple weeks, expect Stevenson to handle the lion's share of the Patriots' rushing chores, an unusual thing in the Bill Belichick era. Even if Ty Montgomery steps in for some passing downs, there should be more than enough for Stevenson to be a top-15 positional option for so long as Harris is sidelined, especially facing a matchup like this. The Browns have struggled mightily against opposing running backs of late, with five different individuals scoring at least 11.4 PPR fantasy points in the past three weeks alone
Others to like
Melvin Gordon III, Denver Broncos (at Chargers)
Gordon handled 18 touches as the Broncos' starter last week, and now he faces his former team, which has allowed back-to-back 25-PPR-point fantasy games to running backs (Dameon Pierce, Nick Chubb).
Eno Benjamin, Arizona Cardinals (at Seahawks)
Should James Conner prove unable to play due to his rib injury, Benjamin would stand to benefit most from the matchup against a Seahawks defense that has seen a running back exceed 22 PPR fantasy points in each of the past three weeks.
Matchup to avoid
Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers (against Buccaneers)
The switch to Kenny Pickett at quarterback was a move the Steelers needed to make to inject life into their offense, but it has had an adverse impact upon Harris' numbers. He scored just 8.4 PPR fantasy points in Pickett's relief appearance in Week 4 and 5.1 in Pickett's first career start in Week 5, totaling only three catches on five targets combined in those games. Now Harris faces a Buccaneers defense that, outside of a Week 4 stinker against the Chiefs, has been dominant against opposing running backs. Ezekiel Elliott scored only 5.9 PPR fantasy points against the Buccaneers in their Week 1 meeting, while AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones combined for just 11.5 points against them in Week 3.
Wide receivers
Matchups highlight
Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears (against Commanders)
This one might be a tough sell considering the Bears' passing game hasn't been more productive than the Titans, who got a combined 18.6 PPR fantasy points from their wide receivers while facing this favorable matchup last week. Still, Mooney totaled 10 targets and 18.6 points of his own in the past two weeks combined and has a team-leading 28% target share over the past three weeks. That is enough volume in order to propel him into WR3/flex territory. Mooney also runs the majority of his routes from the slot, which has been an advantageous matchup for Commanders opponents so far this season. Christian Kirk (12.5 points in Week 1), Amon-Ra St. Brown (39.4 in Week 2) and CeeDee Lamb (21.7 in Week 4), who all play a majority of their snaps from the slot, have three of the five best wide receiver games against this defense.
Others to like
Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at Steelers)
Godwin matches up nicely against a Steelers defense that has allowed fellow slot receivers Tyler Boyd (13.3 PPR fantasy points, Week 1), Jakobi Meyers (18.5, Week 2) and Khalil Shakir (16.5, Week 5) to amass big scores.
DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers (at Rams)
This could be the week that Moore breaks through, as the Rams have struggled mightily against wide receivers all year. They have allowed the third-most PPR fantasy points per target to the position (1.98).
Matchup to avoid
Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints (against Bengals)
Olave's Week 6 status is in question after he left last week's game early due to a concussion. If he sits, Michael Thomas would see an uptick in targets. Thanks in large part to the play of cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie (minus-14.4 Targeted EPA, third-best per Next Gen Stats among those with at least 125 coverage snaps) and Eli Apple (minus-5.2 Targeted EPA), the Bengals have limited opposing wide receivers to just 1.33 PPR fantasy points per target, second-fewest in the league. Tyreek Hill (25.9 PPR fantasy points in Week 4), Noah Brown (20.1 in Week 2) and Lamb (15.1 in Week 2) are the only individual wide receivers to have exceeded 13 PPR fantasy points against the Bengals thus far.
Tight ends
Matchups highlight
Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals (at Seahawks): The two best individual PPR fantasy point totals by a tight end this season have come in games against the Seahawks. T.J. Hockenson had 39.9 points in Week 4 and Taysom Hill had 34.08 in Week 5. Sure, Hill doesn't generate his production in the fashion that a typical tight end would, but even removing his rushing numbers, the Seahawks have still seen opposing tight ends average 2.55 PPR fantasy points per target, easily the most in the league. This is an extremely favorable matchup for a tight end who is heavily involved in his team's passing game. Ertz's 40 targets rank fourth-most at his position, and his 11 red-zone targets rank second-most. He's a top-three positional choice this week.
Others to like
Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings (at Dolphins): Smith Jr. should benefit from a matchup against a Dolphins team that is typically tougher on wide receivers than tight ends, making him a worthwhile bye week plug-in.
Matchup to avoid
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons (against 49ers)
Pitts is in the midst of the ultimate hard-luck season, as his target share has been subject to the whims of his coaches. He missed what would've been an otherwise favorable matchup in Week 5 against the Buccaneers due to a hamstring injury. Should he return for Week 6, he will face yet another tough matchup against the 49ers. While Tyler Higbee dropped 17.3 PPR fantasy points against this defense, but it took him 14 targets to do it, and outside of him, no individual tight end has scored more than 3.1 points against the 49ers.