Fantasy Football Rankings: Emeka Egbuka Rises, De'Von Achane Falls
Joe Metz breaks down the latest movers in Ian Hartitz's fantasy football rankings, and who he's furthest off from the consensus rankings on.
We’re approaching the middle of June, and you still think it’s too early to look at fantasy football rankings? Think again.
NFL OTAs, coachspeak and everything in between have players moving up and down the board. Let’s dive into some of the biggest takeaways from Ian Hartitz’s last rankings update and what’s driving the movement.
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Risers In The Latest Fantasy Football Rankings
Keaton Mitchell | RB | LAC
- Updated Ranking: RB41 (+14 vs Fantasy Life consensus)
The Keaton Mitchell drumbeat started in April, when Chargers GM Joe Hortiz said that new OC Mike McDaniel printed off wanted posters of Mitchell and hung them in Hortiz’s office. McDaniel got what he wanted, with Mitchell signing a two-year, $9.25M deal with the Bolts.
Could he play the potential spoiler to an Omarion Hampton breakout campaign? I wouldn’t necessarily go that far, but Mitchell is the archetype of player that McDaniel draws plays for, flashing De’Von Achane-esque explosion during his rookie season (8.4 yards per carry on 47 attempts). Unlike most backup running backs, Mitchell is a player likely to have plays called specifically for him.
He’s virtually free in drafts and has week-winning contingent upside if Hampton were to go down, especially if the Chargers entertain the idea of shipping Kimani Vidal out of town to an RB-needy team.
Xavier Worthy | WR | KC
- Updated Ranking: WR48 (+5 vs Fantasy Life consensus)
A riser by default in the rankings, Ian’s downgrade of Rashee Rice naturally pushed Worthy up the board, alongside fellow Chiefs wideout Jalen Royals (WR86). Worthy has overall been pretty disappointing through his first two seasons, but if Rice ends up missing any time due to suspension or injury, it’ll be hard not to buy back in at his price (fantasy football ADP of 101.2 on Underdog).
After battling a shoulder injury all of 2025, all indications are that Worthy is turning heads, per WR coach Chad O’Shea, who said:
"I think the first thing is what you don't see, and that's off-the-field. He is tremendous in the classroom, his preparation so far has been outstanding, he's very coachable, he's not an error-repeater, so we correct mistakes and he moves on very quickly. So, that's something that I don't think you see when somebody's watching film or watching from the stands, is how good he is in his preparation. That's number one. Number two, I've been very impressed with his ball skills. He catches the ball very well at all three levels: short, intermediate and obviously the deep passes.”
With Andy Reid also reiterating there’s no reason for concern regarding Worthy’s health, you don’t have to squint hard to see the upside case for a true breakout in Year 3 given Rice’s off-field issues and the optimism surrounding Patrick Mahomes’ availability for Week 1.
Fallers In The Latest Fantasy Football Rankings
Rashee Rice | WR | KC
- Updated Ranking: WR21 (-5 vs Fantasy Life consensus)
We can keep this one brief. Rice’s off-the-field issues continue to crater his ADP as fantasy drafters lose trust in the Chiefs’ wideout, and reports of an offseason clean-up procedure coupled with rehabbing in—checks notes—JAIL have made for one of the craziest offseason storylines I can remember.
Even so, there hasn’t been any word from the league about potential punishment for his parole violation. The closer we get to the season without something, the more likely it becomes that Rice suits up as expected and returns value on where we were drafting him in May (early Round 2), but at a discount (mid Round 3).
I’m still taking shots on Rice in best ball drafts when he slides, but we obviously have a long way to go until the clock starts in season-long drafts, so this ranking may be entirely different in six weeks.
Higher Than Consensus Rankings
Ladd McConkey | WR | LAC
- Ian’s Ranking: WR15 (+7)
- FL Consensus: WR22
If there’s one team Ian is in on this season, it’s the Chargers.
I hit on the Mike McDaniel addition when talking about Keaton Mitchell earlier, but it bears repeating how good an addition it is, especially for Ladd McConkey’s sake.
McDaniel and the Dolphins utilized shift-motion a league-leading 68% of the time last year, with Malik Washington getting more shift-motion targets (18) than McConkey (13) last season (h/t Adam Pfefier). The new scheme should directly benefit McConkey, especially in the absence of Keenan Allen and his 120+ vacated targets. We should see him involved all over the field, giving McConkey a massive amount of upside if the overall offense lives up to expectations.
Emeka Egbuka | WR | TB
- Ian’s Ranking: WR19 (+4)
- FL Consensus: WR23
If Emeka Egbuka had finished the season as the WR3 over the final five weeks, how early would we be drafting him? Much earlier than his current ADP (39.9, WR20), that’s for sure.
Instead, Egbuka started his rookie campaign as the WR3, averaging 20.1 points per game over the first five weeks and ranking as a top-10 WR through the first 10 weeks, then fell off the face of the planet after a series of injuries. Leaving a sour taste in the mouth of managers who he helped get into the playoffs, only to abandon them during, Egbuka’s price is a gift on current draft boards.
The departure of Mike Evans vacates 23% of last season’s targets and with a full offseason of health under his belt, Egbuka is primed to assume the WR1 role in his second season in the offense, and it’s really as simple as that, per Ian: “[I’m] trying not to overthink Round 1 rookie who did good things for half his rookie year and is now looking at more volume.”
Lower Than Consensus Rankings
De’Von Achane | RB | MIA
- Ian’s Ranking: RB12 (-4)
- FL Consensus: RB8
De’Von Achane is one of the biggest fades among our staff and arguably the biggest loser of the fantasy football offseason. He’s the only reliable weapon on what is shaping up to be a bottom-three offense in the NFL with the thinnest group of pass catchers.
So, Achane should get peppered with passes, right?
Maybe, but have we seen any coach other than Mike McDaniel feed a back of Achane’s size such a voluminous role? Not really, and McDaniel is now across the country. Plus, Malik Willis running the offense could lead to fewer check-down passes, given Willis’ tendency to use his legs (15% scramble rate, 6.7% check-down rate). It’s hard to find a QB more opposite of what Achane has become accustomed to in Tua Tagovailoa.
It won’t be hard for defenses to key in on Achane, and with expected negative game script for just about the entirety of the season, Achane's floor/ceiling combination feels incredibly fragile. He’s an easy fade at the Round 1-2 turn for me this summer.
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