• Several young quarterbacks will enjoy a favorable strength of schedule in 2024: Jordan Love, Caleb Williams and Anthony Richardson have some of the most favorable schedules in 2024.
• The Miami Dolphins lead all running backs with a 10.0 SOS rating: As if De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert weren’t already efficient enough, they have one of the best schedules in the league.
• Check out PFF's Strength of Schedule Tool: PFF’s fantasy football rankings include ranks from our experts, projections and our strength of schedule metric.
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
When planning for your 2024 fantasy football drafts, it’s imperative that you not just consider NFL depth charts and a player’s skill set, but also the quality of the opponents they’re set to face throughout the season.
Here’s a look at two players at each position graded with the easiest schedule (SOS) through the first 10 weeks of the 2024 NFL season using PFF’s strength of schedule tool. Note that SOS ratings grade each team’s schedule by position with a rating from 1-10, with one being the most difficult schedule and 10 being the easiest.
Quarterbacks
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
- Strength of schedule (SOS) rating: 10.0
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love will look to build on a promising campaign as a Year 1 starter where he ranked top-10 in the league with an 83.2 passing grade. He threw for 4,157 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 touchdowns in the regular season to finish as the QB6 in fantasy points per game in 2023, and a favorable schedule should only set him up for more success in 2024. Five of Love’s first nine matchups are set to come against 2023’s bottom-12 passing defenses, and six of those first nine games will be played at home.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
- SOS rating: 9.5
The Chicago Bears have done everything in their power to set rookie quarterback Caleb Williams up for success in 2024, including a talented gamet of receivers and a solid offensive line. As it turns out, the NFL schedule formula has also done him a solid, earning the second-best strength of schedule rating among all quarterbacks. Seven of Williams’ nine matchups through the first 10 weeks (Week 7 bye) earned an opponent ranking of 8.0 or higher.
Honorable mentions: Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts), Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers), Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)
Running backs
Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
- SOS rating: 10.0
The Miami Dolphins rostered one of the most efficient running back tandems in the league in 2023 and by the looks of their upcoming schedule, they’ll be set for another incredibly efficient campaign in the year to come. As a team, the Dolphins backfield combined for a 92.4 PFF rushing grade, tied for the league lead with a 5.0 yards per carry average while leading the NFL with 3.5 yards after contact per attempt.
The Dolphins backfield's efficiency amounted to a combined 532.2 fantasy points scored (half-PPR), which led all NFL teams by a 50-point margin. Expect running backs Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane to absolutely feast this season, as three matchups come against teams that rank top-five in fantasy points allowed to fantasy running backs through the first 10 weeks of the season.
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
- SOS rating: 9.2
After five seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, one could make the argument that Josh Jacobs will play for the best offense of his career heading into 2024 with the Green Bay Packers. Though there’s been some concern about the Packers employing a running back by committee approach that could limit Jacobs’ touches, fantasy managers can find some hope that a relatively easy strength of schedule could see some improvements in his overall efficiency from the 2023 season.
The Packers’ backfield earned a 9.2 SOS rating, which ranked second among all backfields in Weeks 1-10, including matchups against the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, who each ranked top-five in fantasy points per game allowed to running backs in 2023.
Honorable mentions: D’Andre Swift (Philadelphia Eagles), Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery (Detroit Lions)
Wide receivers
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
- SOS rating: 10.0
In 2023, Deshaun Watson and Amari Cooper saw limited action together but despite that limited opportunity, they still managed to finish the year as one of the league’s most efficient QB-WR duos. Now heading into 2024, they’ll have an opportunity to build on that efficiency even further with a number of favorable opponents to start the schedule.
Browns wide receivers received a 10.0 SOS rating, which led all NFL teams in terms of ease of schedule, including matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers and New York Giants leading up to Week 10 – all of which ranked top-five in fantasy points per game allowed to receivers in 2023.
Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers
- SOS rating: 7.4
You won’t find many Carolina Panthers on any “must-draft” list for fantasy football, but a favorable schedule in 2024 could put their new wide receiver Diontae Johnson in a good spot to produce. After being traded to the Panthers from the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this offseason, Johnson projects as a potential volume-based value in fantasy, currently being drafted as the overall WR45 with Underdog Fantasy according to the 4for4 Underdog NFL ADP tool.
Johnson averaged several career-highs in 2023, including a 79.1 receiving grade, 13.9 yards per reception and 1.90 yards per route run despite his position on one of the league’s least-efficient offenses. In addition to the plethora of weapons the Panthers brought in this offseason to boost offensive production, they’ll also enjoy a schedule that ranks second-easiest for fantasy wide receivers among NFL teams with a 7.4 SOS rating.
Honorable mentions: D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze (Chicago Bears), Malik Nabers (New York Giants)
Tight ends
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
- SOS rating: 10.0
Are you tracking the theme here just yet? The Chicago Bears offense is in for a treat as far as their schedule is concerned, and tight end Cole Kmet is no exception. Though the receiving corps is now loaded, Kmet is coming off a career year, posting 719 receiving yards and six touchdowns while averaging 1.69 yards per route run and a 109.2 passer rating when targeted. Kmet is coming off a promising breakout campaign as a veteran with familiarity in the offense while leading the league with a 10.0 SOS rating. Don’t be surprised if Kmet’s end-of-season rank is higher than expected given his draft position as TE16, even if the consistency varies from week-to-week given the number of weapons in the offense.
Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
- SOS rating: 8.9
I’ve already once made the case for new Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith as a fantasy football sleeper in 2024 using PFF stable metrics. That case is only strengthened when considering Miami's schedule, as the Dolphins are just one of four teams with an 8.5-plus SOS rating at the tight end position in 2024.
Though there are a lot of mouths to feed in Miami at this point, Smith managed a career-high 582 receiving yards as the fourth target in a much less productive Atlanta Falcons offense, clearing seven-plus fantasy points per game for the second time in his career. His position on an improved offense and a favorable schedule could put him in a prime spot for surprising production in 2024.
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