Ian Hartitz released his updated fantasy football rankings, highlighting players who have risen since earlier this offseason.

Shit happens in life and especially fantasy football. From injuries, to suspensions, to some coach messing up our best-laid plans: Our great American pastime causes all kinds of grief all year round.

But not today, Satan. Today we celebrate offseason glass-half-full optimism by breaking down seven of my biggest rankings risers since initially putting together 2025 ranks.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Jets QB Justin Fields

• Initial rank: QB12
• Current rank: QB9

1. Say what you will about Fields' standing as a real-life passer, but his rushing has made him a fantasy machine on his way to QB5, QB11, and QB8 finishes on a per-game basis over the past three seasons.
2. The two-year, $40 million contract with $30 million guaranteed seemingly locks in Fields as the no-doubt starter ahead of 35-year-old Tyrod Taylor, particularly after New York declined to draft anyone at the position.
3. 28 of 31 QBs (90%) to have 100-plus carries in a season from 2014-2024 finished as a top-12 fantasy QB on a per-game basis. Of those, 20 (65%) posted top-six numbers. Fantasy Life Projections have Fields tabbed for … 131.7 rush attempts.

Bears RB D'Andre Swift

• Initial rank: RB36
• Current rank: RB22

Reminder: Swift has never finished worse than the RB24 in PPR points per game since entering the league in 2020. He was the RB16 during his only season with Johnson as OC. It's curious that Swift gets cut seemingly no slack for operating behind the same offensive line and porous scheme that apparently was enough to ruin Caleb Williams' rookie campaign.

Vikings RB Jordan Mason

• Initial rank: RB56
• Current rank: RB36

Jones should still be considered the favorite to lead the backfield, but Mason deserves mid-tier RB3 treatment alongside fellow likely "FLEX with benefits" types like Rhamondre Stevenson and Najee Harris, who should be able to provide some usable performances more weeks than not—and boast legit RB1 upside should their backfield mate ever miss any game action.

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice

• Initial rank: WR45
• Current rank: WR16

All Rashee Rice did during the first three weeks of last season was score 21.6 PPR points per game—a mark that would have only trailed Ja'Marr f*cking Chase over the course of an entire season! He's in special company when looking at yards and targets per route run during the first two seasons of a career.

Of course, back in February the primary concerns revolved around his recovery from a torn LCL and a possible suspension. Wild but true: Players can't legally score fantasy points if they aren't on the football field.

That said: While we should perhaps exercise caution in expecting Rice's usual level of YAC goodness early on, it sounds increasingly likely the rising third-year talent will be ready to go for Week 1 after Andy Reid said he expects him to be a full participant at the start of training camp. Additionally, legal expert Drew Davenport is on the record guessing that Rice will play all of this year with his case continuing to progress very slowly.

There's certainly a red flag here in terms of the injury, but man, every WR after Ladd McConkey and A.J. Brown has at least one risk that should concern fantasy managers. Whether it's age (Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, Mike Evans) or overall offensive environment (Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr.): The WR2 tier is full of guys with one flaw—the difference is that it's possible Rice's issue is actually resolved by Week 1.

Browns WR Cedric Tillman

• Initial rank: WR77
• Current rank: WR57

The Browns' hilariously sad excuse for a QB room has distracted from their curious decision to largely ignore their WRs this offseason. Sure, Jerry Jeudy deserves some love following his breakout 90-1,229-4 campaign, but the only notable offseason addition was perennial knucklehead Diontae Johnson to replace Elijah Moore. No draft picks were used on the position unless you consider Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin, who's more of a big slot (which is fair).

This should cement Cedric Tillman as an every-week starter. For those unfamiliar with Tillman's game: The former third-round pick was thrust into the starting lineup in Week 7 following the decision to trade Amari Cooper to the Bills. While the newfound presence of DGAF gunslinger Jameis Winston certainly helped matters, Tillman proceeded to make the most out of his opportunities in his only four full games as a starter in 2024 before suffering a season-ending concussion in Week 12:

• Week 7 vs. Bengals: 8 receptions-81 yards-0 TD (12 targets), PPR WR15
• Week 8 vs. Ravens: 7-99-2 (9), WR3
• Week 9 vs. Chargers: 6-75-1 (11), WR11
• Week 11 at Saints: 3-47-0 (8), WR50

We're talking about the WR8 in PPR points per game during this stretch! Certainly a small sample, but not too shabby of a ceiling when we could be looking at fellow DGAF gunslinger Joe Flacco under center ahead of 2025. Of course, it could also be Kenny Pickett (ew), Dillon Gabriel (yuck), or Shedeur Sanders (gross); just realize any starting WR with even a little bit of proven WR1 upside is worthy of a WR5-level late-round dart.

Rams WR Davante Adams

• Initial rank: WR30
• Current rank: WR15

The first question you probably have: Is Adams still even that good anymore?

Answer: Yes. Does this look like a washed WR to you?

It took Adams a bit to catch his groove with Aaron Rodgers last season, but things actually went quite nicely down the stretch. Overall, only Ja'Marr Chase (151.3) and Brian Thomas (137.2) scored more fantasy points (PPR) than Adams (136.6) during the final six weeks of 2024. The 17-game pace was ultimately quite fantastic: We're talking 104 receptions, 1,320 yards, 11 TD, and 17.7 PPR points per game (would have been good for WR8 status last year).

Ultimately, it's not just a bet on Adams at this point. This is arguably the single-most fantasy-friendly offense for WRs in the NFL: Rams WRs as a whole rank second in both receptions and receiving yards since McVay and Stafford joined forces in 2021.

Obviously, Puka Nacua will still see plenty of targets, but don't discount Adams' ability to also flirt with something like 140 or so opportunities across a 17-game season. After all, Cooper Kupp (100 targets in 2024) and Demarcus Robinson (64) are leaving behind plenty of looks, and de facto No. 3 WR Tutu Atwell is more of a field-stretching specialist than someone ready to actively challenge Adams for targets.

Broncos TE Evan Engram

• Initial rank: TE32
• Current rank: TE9

The former first-round pick didn't exactly live up to the hype during his first five seasons with the Giants, but underwent a bit of a rebirth during his three years in Jacksonville.

Engram among 40 TEs with 100-plus targets from 2022-24:

• Receptions: 234 (2nd)
• Receiving yards: 2,094 (5th)
• Yards per route: 1.52 (13th)
• Targets per route: 22.2% (8th)

Overall, Engram averaged a robust 11.6 PPR points per game—the eighth-highest mark at the position. It's rare to see 6-foot-3, 234-pound athletes with this sort of ability to move in space.

Obviously, the Broncos haven't managed to field a player up to Payton's standards at TE over the past two seasons: Denver TEs rank dead last in targets by a whopping 37 pass-game opportunities since 2023. His track record at the position over the years really hasn't been too hot other than the obvious Jimmy Graham booms.

Still, Engram spent more total snaps in the slot or out wide (185) than inline (172) last year, indicating that a role as the starting TE and de facto "big slot" is firmly on the table. The reality that the only proven commodities in the Broncos WR room are Sutton and (to a lesser extent) Mims adds credence to the idea that Engram should have a featured role from Day 1—something reflected in Fantasy Life projections that only have Sutton (117) earning more targets than Engram (108).

Ultimately, Engram is one of my top-three most drafted TEs of this offseason thanks to his previous borderline TE1 price and potential to clear triple-digit targets in a reigning top-10 scoring offense. The Broncos have 23 million reasons to feature the soon-to-be 31-year-old TE as much as possible—he's my TE9 and someone I'd take ahead of guys like Jonnu Smith and the first-round rookie TEs.