Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte was “outplayed” in OTAs by fellow rookie WR Demario Douglas, per The Athletic’s Chad Graff. No surprise, then, that Graff doesn't expect the LSU product to make New England's 53-man roster. Douglas arrived 23 picks after Boutte, whose struggles we detailed around the NFL draft. We’ll see how the WR competition heats up when players put on pads. Both WRs remain miles from redraft relevance. And per our Dynasty Trade Value Chart, Boutte doesn’t move the needle at all in a perspective deal.
Jaguars WR Zay Jones set a career high in target share in his first Jacksonville season, ranking 33rd among WRs in that category. But his average target depth decreased by nearly 5 yards vs. his final season with the Raiders. That came despite Jones remaining primarily an outside WR. He has spent more than 65% of his pass snaps outside each of the past four years, according to Pro Football Focus. Calvin Ridley leads Jones by 1.0 in career aDOT and seems the more likely downfield threat for 2023. Jones, of course, is coming off the best fantasy season of his career. So this aspect might not matter too much. But the shorter aDOT could hurt further if Ridley's arrival cuts way into Jones' target share. All that said, we have Jones a little ahead of ADP in our 2023 WR rankings.
Bills WR Gabe Davis is looking to rebound from an injury-marred 2022. He suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 2, returning after just one absence. According to GM Brandon Beane, Davis struggled to shake the pain. “Not to make excuses, but it definitely bothered him,” Beane said at the NFL Combine. "You can just watch the film when he was coming out of his cuts, he was taking an extra step which allowed that defender to stay attached to him as well." Davis’ boom-or-bust label likely sticks following the addition of rookie TE Dalton Kincaid. We at least saw flashes of the good last year with a pair of top-12 fantasy finishes. Most impressive: Davis’ 3-171-2 line vs. Pittsburgh in Week 5. See where he slots in our PPR WR rankings.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic published a report on Monday that should excite fantasy managers about the Ravens' offense in 2023. Zrebiec wrote that new Ravens OC Todd Monken has "prioritized" the team playing with "a faster pace" and integrating RBs into the passing game more often in OTAs and minicamps. This is particularly good news for RB J.K. Dobbins, a player who has only seen 32 targets in 23 games (1.39 per game) in his career. His fantasy value would take a sizable leap forward in PPR formats if he can add pass-catching to his repertoire. Fortunately, throwing the ball to Dobbins more often than the Ravens did under former OC Greg Roman is a low bar to clear. That said, fantasy managers should pump the brakes a little before getting too happy. It's tough to say how much of an increase Dobbins will see with Monken at the helm. In four NFL seasons as an OC (Buccaneers 2016-18, Browns 2019), only three RBs have received 40 or more targets in a Monken-led offense: Nick Chubb (49 - 2019), Kareem Hunt (44 - 2019), and Jacquizz Rodgers (45 - 2018). We currently have Dobbins projected for 43.4 targets in 2023. Check out where currently he sits in our RB rankings.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler passed along an update on the development of Bears QB Justin Fields. "The people I've spoken to out of Chicago say that Fields is 'slingin' it' this offseason,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “And that he's had a nice command of the Bears offense, [OC] Luke Getsy's second year in that system. He's changing plays at the line of scrimmage in OTAs and minicamp, felt good about taking ownership of things, how the offense should be run as a whole.” The coaching staff also wants Fields to be “more decisive” in 2023, with the goal of turning more scrambles into easy completions. While that sounds bad fantasy-wise, Fields was always a long shot to post another 1,100+ rushing yards. He still profiles as a weekly QB1.
Cardinals RB James Conner missed four games and most of two others last season. But he was busy and productive when healthy. In 11 games with a snap rate of 55+%, he averaged 15.2 carries, 63.8 rushing yards, 4.8 targets, 3.9 catches, 24.2 receiving yards, and .73 total TDs. Conner's scoring average in those games would have ranked seventh in PPR and eighth in non-PPR. Arizona made no significant additions to the backfield this offseason and only returns RBs Keaontay Ingram and Corey Clement. So Conner appears poised for more big volume and looks like a prime value in 2023 fantasy football drafts with an ADP of RB25. See exactly where Conner sits in our RB Rankings.
The Texans have been “impressed” with RB Devin Singletary this offseason, per insider Aaron Wilson. The former Buffalo Bill signed a 1-year deal (with $2.5 million guaranteed) in March. “Devin has done a good job,” HC DeMeco Ryans said. “Devin has put himself in a really good spot – love the attention to detail, how he prepares each and every day, so I’m excited where Devin is.” Singletary ultimately projects as a complementary piece behind Dameon Pierce. Given Houston’s new coaching staff, though, we’ll keep a close eye on first-team reps at training camp. See where both guys landed in our updated RB rankings.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is dealing with an undisclosed injury, per beat writer Brian Batko. “He’s frustrated because he has something that’s kind of slowed him down from having a good camp,” TE coach Alfredo Roberts said. “He was having a really good camp. He’s missed in the red zone, for sure.” Freiermuth says he’ll be ready for training camp. But before that, he'll take part in a different camp — “Tight End University” — led by Greg Olsen, George Kittle, and Travis Kelce. Freiermuth remains a top-8 option in our TE rankings.
The Steelers morphed into a run-heavy offense over the second half of last season, ranking sixth in rush rate. It sounds like the plan is to continue in that direction this year. “I think our identity was pretty clear the last nine games (of 2022),” OC Matt Canada said. “We ran the ball well, we were physical. You see who we drafted, who we acquired (this offseason). I don’t think there is any question about what our identity is going to be. We want to run the ball, we want to be physical, and we want to be a good team that can throw the football down the field. I think our identity is well known, and we’ll stay where we’re at.” The Steelers spent the 14th overall pick of this spring's draft on OT Broderick Jones and signed free-agent G Isaac Seumalo to bolster the offensive line. They return RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, who will presumably be busy this year. Both guys are fine picks at ADP. The run-heavy plan is worrisome for QB Kenny Pickett, WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, and TE Pat Freiermuth.
Rams RB Cam Akers closed the 2022 season strongly, scoring as a top-4 fantasy RB over the final six games. He's rolled that momentum over into 2023, HC Sean McVay said from minicamp. “He’s really capitalized on a lot of the momentum he built up toward the latter part of the year," McVay said. "And he’s going to be a huge part of what we’re doing moving forward. He’s had a great offseason. I love the rapport that he’s established with Ron Gould, our new running backs coach. Cam is going to be a central figure in this offense. I think he’s priming himself to have a great year." Akers has had a rollercoaster first three NFL seasons. But he's flashed workhorse ability in stretches, is still only 24, and has a chance to dominate backfield work this season. He has plenty of profit potential at a RB24 ADP.
Commanders HC Ron Rivera said QB Sam Howell has “shown us [the coaching staff] what we want to see.” Howell will enter training camp as the team’s starter. “He's young, we know he is young,” Rivera said. “There was a lot of room for growth, and we know that, but he's got a good skillset. He's mobile, he’s got good foot movement, he's got quick twitch to him, good decision maker. He is still learning to make those decisions, but he's also got the arm talent and that's the thing that that excites us.” Howell’s learning a new system under OC Eric Bieniemy, one that utilizes a word-based play-calling system -- not the numbers-based one Howell learned in 2022. So far so good on that front, though. We’ll learn a lot more about Howell’s progress when training camp arrives. He remains a QB3 in best ball drafts.
Bills WR Khalil Shakir has had a strong offseason so far and "is going to push hard for prime snaps in the Bills’ three-receiver set," The Buffalo News' Mark Gaughan writes. Shakir played limited snaps as a rookie last year but flashed with 16.1 yards per catch on his 10 grabs. With Isaiah McKenzie gone, we consider Shakir the favorite for the No. 3 WR job heading into training camp, with Deonte Harty providing the primary competition.
"It looks like Washington's tight ends are going to be heavily involved in the passing game this season," Zach Selby of the Commanders' official site wrote after attending minicamp. The Commanders are installing a new offense under OC Eric Bieniemy, who just spent the past five seasons helping Chiefs TE Travis Kelce to huge numbers. No one will come close to that level of production in Washington, of course. But Selby notes that TE Logan Thomas has been busy in the passing game. "Thomas, who looks fully healthy for the first time in years, has been the top target for the position and looks like the threat he was back in 2020," Selby writes. "He made contested catches over defenders, looked fluid in his route running and found soft spots in coverage to be a reliable target for Howell." Thomas has struggled with injuries the past couple of seasons but finished fourth among TEs in PPR points back in 2020. We'll continue to keep a close eye on this new-look Commanders offense, but Thomas looks like a value late in best-ball drafts.
Saints WR Chris Olave missed practice on Thursday. “He wasn’t feeling good today," HC Dennis Allen said of the rising star. "He’s dealing with an inflamed Achilles (tendon). Nothing that we’re worried about.” For now, we’re not lowering his spot in the WR rankings.
Rams HC Sean McVay said he should have utilized WR Tutu Atwell more last season. Atwell — who McVay called “a real bright spot” this offseason -- finished 2022 with 35 targets. “You can see just the comfort in playing a lot of snaps last year, gaining some confidence and then being able to move around,” McVay said. “That’ll be really valuable.” The former Round 2 pick brings big-play ability, but he’s ultimately a fringe best ball flier. Atwell doesn’t crack the top 90 of our PPR WR rankings.
The Athletic’s Paul Dehner believes the NFL could still suspend RB Joe Mixon. The veteran back is facing a charge of aggravated menacing. On the positive side, Dehner writes that Mixon was “involved, saying the right things, doing the right things and looked every bit a core part of the offense for 2023 during the offseason program.” Mixon cracks the top-10 of our updated RB rankings.
Per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, Browns RB Jerome Ford “is going to be given every chance to be the guy” behind Nick Chubb. Citing Cleveland’s current depth, Jackson writes: “I believe the Browns know they can find a veteran runner if necessary but won’t be in a hurry to sign one.” Some candidates include Zeke Elliott, Leonard Fournette, and perhaps a reunion with Kareem Hunt. Ford remains an excellent shot to take near the end of best ball drafts.
Jon Machota of The Athletic believes RB Malik Davis is “the most likely candidate” to earn Dallas’ RB2 job. His competition includes Ronald Jones and rookie scat back Deuce Vaughn. As Machota admits, the team could bring in a veteran to share the load with Tony Pollard. We’ll see how this situation develops in training camp. For now, outside of ultra-deep formats, Davis isn’t someone we’re looking to buy. The former Florida Gator brings some pass-catching chops with 54 receptions over his final two college seasons. But Davis also went undrafted last April following his redshirt senior campaign. He'll turn 25 in November.
Cam DaSilva of USA Today writes that QB Matthew Stafford is “fully healthy and taking part in everything” this offseason. That wasn’t the case last year, as the veteran needed an injection in his right elbow after the ’21 season. “Oh, it’s night and day. And he’ll be the first to tell you,” HC Sean McVay said on Stafford’s improved health. At QB20, he's going in a reasonable range in drafts. It’s just hard to see Stafford crushing that spot given the Rams’ lack of weapons behind Cooper Kupp.
The Bucs are signing K Rodrigo Blankenship, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Blankenship nailed 86.5% of his FG attempts as a rookie for the Colts back in 2020. But he missed most of 2021 with a hip injury and was dumped by the Colts last September. Blankenship had surgery in January to repair a torn muscle in his leg, per Rapoport, and is "finally healthy for the first time in over a year." He'll compete with K Chase McLaughlin for Tampa's starting job.
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