Fantasy Football Players with Favorable or Tough Upcoming Schedules: Emeka Egbuka, Patrick Mahomes, Jahmyr Gibbs and More

A lot of fantasy football comes down to matchups. So in this story, we are going to highlight players with favorable or tough schedules the rest of the season.

We will go over quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Let's dive right in.

More strength of schedule fantasy football data can be found on FantasySP.

Quarterbacks

Among the quarterbacks with favorable matchups down the stretch are Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy, Washington's Marcus Mariota (or Jayden Daniels) and Miami's Tua Tagovailoa.

Obviously, those are all waiver wire-level guys right now in standard leagues, so that tells you to consider them as potential streamers on several occasions the rest of the season. 

If you have a roster spot to play with and have been churning through quarterbacks all season, maybe stashing one of these guys makes some sense too.

In deeper leagues, it means that they all could be worth rostering, in case they catch fire and start delivering in these favorable matchups.

If they are already rostered by another leaguemate, the price to acquire them in a trade shouldn't be anything crazy, so consider that transaction as well if you need some help at quarterback.

But because these are all better deep-league fantasy QBs right now, those are the leagues where the favorable strength of schedule means a bit more.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are Houston's C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills and Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes. They have equally tough schedules the rest of the way, and nobody is all that close to them right now.

Stroud and Mills are more standard league streamers, so they are likely to rank as below-average fantasy options in some tougher matchups ahead.

If you have them in deeper leagues, look into trading them if you would instead rather play matchups. The return won't be anything great, but the player could be startable more often than the quarterbacks, and that'd be a win for you.

Mahomes has had a bounceback fantasy season, and is one of the top fantasy QBs so far. His tough schedule ahead suggests that he should be a sell-high trade candidate in all leagues.

I get not wanting to bail on a high-end fantasy talent, but the matchups say that Mahomes could struggle down the stretch. I'd at least consider trading him away.

I doubt many standard league owners roster a second quarterback if they already had Mahomes, but if you have access to a serviceable starter, then it makes it easier to consider moving on from Mahomes.

Mahomes is super valuable in deeper leagues, but those are leagues where more fantasy QBs are in action anyways. You could flip him for an average fantasy QB and a serviceable flex-level option, which could pay off for your fantasy team in the long run.

It's crazy to want to part with Mahomes, especially when he's played so well, but the matchups say tougher days are ahead, and if you want to play matchups, selling him high now makes a lot of sense.

Running Backs

There's a lot of fantasy backs who have favorable schedules ahead, so instead of going into deep detail with them, I'm just going to highlight them.

Arizona's Trey Benson, Emari Demercado and Bam Knight have the best matchups remaining, with Miami's De'Von Achane and Washington's Jacory Croskey-Merritt or Chris Rodriguez right there too.

The more backs a team has, the less valuable of fantasy options they all are. But a workhorse like Achane is already a must-start back, and favorable matchups will only make him a better option going forward. It'll cost a ton to acquire him, but it could still pay off massively for your fantasy squad.

New England's TreVeyon Henderson or Rhamondre Stevenson, Tampa Bay's Bucky Irving or Rachaad White, Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley and Cincinnati's Chase Brown are more backs with great matchups ahead.

Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery have the toughest fantasy matchups remaining among backs. Both are standard league starting options, with Gibbs obviously being a high-end option.

Gibbs is coming off a monster game too, and if you want to follow the matchups, selling him now could land you a massive return. I get wanting to hold him, but the matchups say things will get tougher for him.

Montgomery is more a flex-level option, so it's time to sell him in all leagues as well. Look for a back with better matchups ahead (which is literally anyone), or a different position of need.

Wide Receivers

Again, wide receiver has stellar matchups all over the place, so we're just going to tell you all the teams/wideouts with great matchups.

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison power the Vikings, and have the best fantasy schedule ahead for wideouts. Cleveland's Jerry Jeudy could also have a strong finish to the season, and might have started that with a nice outing in week 10.

San Francisco's Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and maybe Brandon Aiyuk someday have great matchups going forward too. Washington's Deebo Samuel Sr. and Terry McLaurin are in the same boat.

Miami's Jaylen Waddle and Malik Washington are a couple more wideouts with great matchups going forward. So are Philadelphia's A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, so maybe don't give up on Brown, or the Eagles' offense, just yet.

New York Giants' Wan'Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton, Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and Green Bay's host of receivers (Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Christian Watson and eventually Jayden Reed) also have favorable fantasy schedules ahead.

The toughest matchup belongs to Tampa Bay wideouts, which includes Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson now, and maybe Chris Godwin and Mike Evans eventually.

This situation is difficult with Godwin and Evans still out, which makes Egbuka and Johnson good options now. I'd at least see what kind of offers floated in if you put both Bucs' wideouts on the trade block, because the matchups will be tough.

Tight Ends

At tight end, Baltimore's Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely have the best matchups left. Indianapolis's Tyler Warren also has a great schedule ahead, so he's maybe worth buying, even though it'll cost a lot.

Miami's tight ends have great schedules ahead too, but until Darren Waller returns, there's not really a fantasy threat on the team to utilize. Waller could be worth adding if he's ever cleared and back in the mix.

New York Jets' Mason Taylor is another tight end with a great schedule ahead. He's an intriguing option, especially with Garrett Wilson out now too. 

Taylor is a better deep-league fantasy asset right now, but he's worth keeping tabs on in case he pops and takes off down the stretch.

Several team's tight ends have brutal schedules ahead, including the Raiders, Eagles, Patriots, Texans, Chiefs and Chargers.

That puts guys like Brock Bowers, Dallas Goedert, Hunter Henry, Dalton Schultz, Travis Kelce and Oronde Gadsden in bad spots moving forward. It also makes each one a sell-high trade candidate.

However, because we are talking about the weak and inconsistent tight end spot here, I'm more inclined just to ride with these tight ends and hope they can overcome the tougher matchups down the stretch.

You could look at flipping them for tight ends with better matchups who are on the same fantasy level, but that can be tricky with so few options out there.

I just wanted to point these guys out in case you are really relying on any of them down the stretch. Maybe flipping them for a different position of need makes sense, then just streaming at tight end is the way to go. Just food for thought.