Matchups are often a deciding factor for fantasy owners making decisions between two or more players in their lineups, but gauging the difficulty of each player's matchup can be tricky. That's where the Harris Index comes in.
My index is a smarter way to gauge the difficulty of your fantasy players' weekly matchups: It gives you a schedule-independent way to assess how strong opponents really are.
Each week, I'll update the Harris Index and offer a few nuggets about possible starts and sits based on the numbers. But please be sure to scroll down and play with the chart, sorting by various columns to discover which opponents are best and worst for your players to face.
Finally, please realize that this index is just one instrument I use in creating my weekly ranks. To get a direct sense of which players I think you should start and sit, please consult those rankings.
Here are some players I have identified as good or bad matchups using the data in the chart:
Quarterbacks
Good matchup: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons. During the past five weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers have allowed Andy Dalton, Drew Brees, Zach Mettenberger and Michael Vick to exceed their average output by a whopping 8.4 fantasy points. Ike Taylor is on the verge of being benched, and guys like William Gay and Mike Mitchell aren't playing much better. If Ryan has Julio Jones in Week 15, he's my No. 6 QB of the week. And even if Julio sits, Ryan would probably squeak inside my top 10.