Fantasy Football Redraft

NFL Bye Weeks 2023

By Jared Smola 10:36am EDT 5/16/23

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Whether you’re playing redraft fantasy football, best-ball tournaments, or dynasty, properly planning for NFL bye weeks is key to winning a championship.

You don’t want to alter your draft strategy too much to account for bye weeks. But you also don’t want to end up with a bunch of players with the same bye week, especially at the same position. 

Finding the right balance is crucial.

Let’s take a look at 2023 NFL bye weeks – and how they’ll impact your fantasy season.

NFL Bye Week 5

• Cleveland Browns
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Seattle Seahawks
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2023 NFL bye weeks kick off in Week 5, with a four-pack of teams on the sidelines. Some serious WR firepower will not be available to fantasy teams: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin.

Fantasy managers will also need to make do without first-round pick Austin Ekeler and top-end QBs Justin Herbert and Deshaun Watson.

NFL Bye Week 6

• Green Bay Packers
• Pittsburgh Steelers

Just two teams on bye in Week 6 – and not a lot to worry about from a fantasy perspective.

The biggest fantasy impact here will be at RB, where Najee Harris, Aaron Jones, and A.J. Dillon will need to be on fantasy benches.

NFL Bye Week 7

• Carolina Panthers
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Dallas Cowboys
• Houston Texans
• New York Jets
• Tennessee Titans

The first of two six-team bye weeks hits in Week 7. And the group includes a couple of fantasy goldmines in the Bengals and Cowboys – plus a potential top-end offense in the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets.

This will be an especially tough week at WR, with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, CeeDee Lamb, and Garrett Wilson all on bye.

NFL Bye Week 9

• Denver Broncos
• Detroit Lions
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• San Francisco 49ers

After a bye-less Week 8, Week 9 finds four more teams off.

The list of fantasy starters not available this week includes Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Christian McCaffrey, and Deebo Samuel, among others.

NFL Bye Week 10

• Kansas City Chiefs
• Los Angeles Rams
• Miami Dolphins
• Philadelphia Eagles

This looks like the most impactful four-team bye week of 2023.

Three of these four teams – the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Eagles – finished top 6 in total offense last season. And the Rams have bounce-back potential with better injury luck this year.

At least seven players who will go in the first three rounds of fantasy drafts have a Week 10 bye: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith.

NFL Bye Week 11

• Atlanta Falcons
• Indianapolis Colts
• New England Patriots
• New Orleans Saints

Week 11 brings a bit of a reprieve. Four teams are on bye, but none are particularly exciting from a fantasy perspective.

That said, there are three potential top-10 RBs not available this week: Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor, and Rhamondre Stevenson.

NFL Bye Week 13

• Baltimore Ravens
• Buffalo Bills
• Chicago Bears
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Minnesota Vikings
• New York Giants

A 6-team bye week late in the season could play a big part in determining whether your fantasy team makes the playoffs. This is also the first week of league playoffs in the FFPC Main Event.

And there are some big-time fantasy studs that will be unavailable: 

• Josh Allen
• Lamar Jackson
• Justin Fields
• Josh Jacobs
• Saquon Barkley
• Stefon Diggs
• Davante Adams
• Justin Jefferson
• Mark Andrews
• T.J. Hockenson

NFL Bye Week 14

• Arizona Cardinals
• Washington Commanders

Bye weeks shouldn’t play too big a factor in the final week of the regular season in many fantasy leagues. 

There are just two teams off. But fantasy teams will be without notables Kyler Murray, James Conner, DeAndre Hopkins, and Terry McLaurin.

Don’t Mess Up 2023 NFL Bye Weeks

The Draft War Room displays each player’s bye week for easy reference during your draft.

But it’s still easy to slip up and draft too many players with the same bye week. We’ve all been there.

That’s why we built a Bye Week Warning System into the Draft War Room.

During your draft, you’ll see an icon next to every player that has the same bye week as a player already on your team at the same position.