The Athletic’s Nate Taylor believes Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is “skilled enough to be the Chiefs’ top passing option” for two more seasons. “An argument can be made that Mahomes is so brilliant, from the pocket and improvising out of the pocket, that perhaps he and Kelce can continue to connect for at least 1,000 yards the next three years,” Taylor concludes. Kelce, 34 in October, has hit 1,000 yards in seven straight seasons. He showed no signs of decline last year, but that’ll be a topic worth revisiting each offseason. For now, Kelce remains king of the TE rankings.
Bengals WR Tyler Boyd addressed his contract situation on Tuesday. The 28-year-old is entering the final year of a 4-year, $43 million deal. “I know I’m going to be a free agent next year, and at the end of the day, it will come down to money,” he said. “I have a great, strong feeling that they will come with an offer to where it’s still going to be tough for me to leave ’cause this is my family. I spent my whole career here.” Boyd also admitted he’s behind Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins when it comes to the Bengals’ contract priorities. For 2023, at least, Boyd remains a bench stash who's best utilized when either Higgins or Ja’Marr Chase are inactive.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer spoke to NFL executives on free-agent WR DeAndre Hopkins and found mixed opinions on what the 31-year-old has left in the tank. “Not much," one executive said. "He can’t run anymore.” Another was more optimistic: “He’s still a good player. Good route runner, big, physical target that can play a ball in the air. He’s still a threat.” The Cardinals spent the offseason trying to trade Hopkins but found no suitors willing to pay his $19.45 million salary. Per Breer, the Chiefs and Bills were the only two teams that engaged Arizona in trade talks. Those two teams sound like two of the favorites to sign Hopkins now that he's a free agent. Either landing spot would be good for his fantasy football value. Stay tuned.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is not at this week's OTAs. "I hope to see him as soon as possible," HC Kevin O'Connell said Tuesday. "But I think as we work towards minicamp we'll have a real clean cut plan of what that looks like, and hopefully get some work ... It's one of those things that we've had great dialogue throughout the offseason. A lot of that will stay between Justin and I. But I just know that he's getting work, wherever he's spending this offseason. Look forward to having him here when he decides to come up." Jefferson's absence is likely related to ongoing contract negotiations. There's been no talk of a holdout at this point, but we'll continue to keep a close eye on the situation. Minnesota's mandatory minicamp is June 13-14.
Vikings WR Jordan Addison is missing this week's OTAs with an undisclosed injury. “We’re being overly cautious with him right now,” HC Kevin O’Connell said. “Something that popped up toward the end of rookie minicamp. Nothing serious at all. Kind of a day-to-day thing that we’re working through.” Addison is at least with the team this week, soaking up the new offense. The missed reps aren't ideal for a rookie, but this doesn't sound like something that'll impact Addison's 2023 campaign. We'll let you know when he gets back on the field.
Bills beat writer Matt Parrino came away impressed with RB James Cook at OTAs. “Cook looks bigger and quicker in his second OTAs after the Bills took him in the second round back in 2022,” Parrino wrote. “He’s the odds-on favorite to be the team’s starting running back and he looked the part on Tuesday." That last part is particularly interesting (and debatable). Cook brings more big-play ability than Damien Harris, who signed a low-cost one-year deal in March. But Harris projects as a bigger factor near the goal line. And we know about Josh Allen’s rushing in close. (He carried 15 times inside the 10 last year, scoring five times.) Cook’s receiving performance will be key, and there’s at least an opportunity there. New Texans RB Devin Singletary leaves behind 52 targets -- 20 more than Cook saw as a rookie.
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson complimented his team’s RB depth. “I feel really good about that room,” Pederson said. “There's a lot of depth there. There's some great competition that's going to show up with training camp. This is one of our stronger rooms on the team, and we're excited about that.” Travis Etienne returns, but Jacksonville spent a Round 3 pick on Auburn’s Tank Bigsby. ESPN reporter Michael DiRocco points out that Etienne handled a hefty 74% carry share following the James Robinson trade — a mark the Jags don’t want repeated. See our projections for this new-look backfield.
The Cardinals announced that they have released WR DeAndre Hopkins. Trade rumors have swirled around the veteran all offseason. This move clearly indicates that the team couldn't find a suitable partner. That almost certainly comes down to the money involved, as Hopkins carried a $30.75 million cap hit for 2023. By waiting for the release, other teams can now negotiate their own deal with Hopkins rather than pay his huge existing contract. Arizona moves on with Marquise Brown as the lead WR. He was scoring in WR1 range last season before fracturing a foot and getting Hopkins back from suspension. Rondale Moore figures to operate as the No. 2 WR. The big question will be how much time he spends in the slot vs. outside. Candidates for the 3rd WR spot include veteran Greg Dortch and third-round rookie Michael Wilson. Dortch is clearly a slot guy, having spent 82.5% of his career pass snaps there. Wilson stands 6'2, 213 pounds and ran 76% of his college routes outside. Of course, Arizona also might play more 2-TE sets under new coaches, if Zach Ertz makes it back from his ACL tear in time to join second-year TE Trey McBride. For now, move Brown and Moore up your draft board, and consider taking late best ball shots on Dortch and Wilson. We'll continue watching the recovery of QB Kyler Murray (ACL tear). See where everyone sits in our updated fantasy football WR rankings.
The Jaguars traded K Riley Patterson to the Lions in exchange for a 2026 conditional 7th-round pick. It was originally reported that Patterson would be released, but the Lions evidently didn't want to let him hit the open market. Patterson will presumably compete with K Michael Badgley for the starting job this summer. The winner will be squarely on the fantasy radar in an ascending Detroit offense.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott gave his take on the health of WR Michael Gallup. “[He’s] starting to come back into who Michael Gallup is and feel himself. That’s a guy that I’ve got a lot of trust in," Prescott said. "He’s getting his feet under him, and he’s going to be better.” Gallup tore his ACL in early January, 2022, and labored through last season. Dallas added Brandin Cooks over the offseason, but Gallup profiles as a low-risk flier at WR79 in ADP.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams (knee) practiced in a limited capacity during Thursday's OTA session, HC Sean Payton said. These are half-speed, pad-less practices -- and it's unclear exactly what "limited" entails. But the fact that Williams was on the field at all after October's multi-ligament knee injury is encouraging. Payton said earlier this month that he expects Williams to be ready for training camp. We'll continue to keep a close eye on his rehab.
Falcons TE Kyle Pitts is sidelined for OTAs this week as he continues to recover from November surgery to repair a torn MCL in his right knee. There's been no reported timetable for Pitts' return, but TEs coach Justin Peele said back in February that Pitts was "on schedule" and expected to be ready for training camp. As long as that's the case, there will be no reason to worry about the knee. A healthy Pitts certainly has bounce-back potential after a frustrating 2022. See where he sits in the 2023 fantasy football TE Rankings.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (leg) is on the field for OTAs this week. HC Mike McCarthy called these "reduced-tempo" workouts, but the fact that Pollard is doing anything after his January fibula fracture is encouraging. We'll continue to track his progress, but he should be ready to rock come Week 1.
Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo underwent surgery in March to address a left foot injury he suffered against the Dolphins in December, according to The Athletic. The 49ers reportedly believed that Garoppolo didn't need surgery, but the Raiders disagreed after giving Garoppolo a physical before he signed. There's no known timetable for Garoppolo's return to the field, but HC Josh McDaniels admitted that he “could be” out until at least training camp. “We don’t play a game for 100 days,” McDaniels added. “Everything that’s happened since we signed Jimmy, we knew ahead of time. … Certainly had an awareness of all of it. Our preference is not to push it and rush anybody back at this point in time.” We'll keep tabs on Garoppolo's recovery. But he wasn't appealing even as a QB2 before this news and certainly isn't now.
Speaking at OTAs, Panthers HC Frank Reich gave his thoughts on 3rd-year WR Terrace Marshall. “We saw that last year with the reps that he got, the catches that he had, the big plays that he had. He shows that capacity to be a big-play guy,” Reich said. “The next step with every player is just more reps, more plays, more confidence where it’s like, ‘Hey, give me the ball.’” Marshall spent part of the offseason working with Mo Wells, a former LSU sprinter who also trains Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. The goal was to build muscle with the hopes of avoiding injuries that’ve slowed his development. Still only 23, Marshall isn’t a name to forget in dynasty leagues. But it’s clear the Panthers’ new staff isn’t expecting much after adding Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark, and Round 2 WR Jonathan Mingo.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson expects to throw more and run less under new OC Todd Monken. While that's good news for Baltimore's pass-catchers, it might be bad news for Jackson's fantasy value. For his career, Jackson is averaging 0.59 fantasy points per pass attempt vs. 0.81 fantasy points per rush attempt. Of course, Baltimore's improved WR corps should help Jackson's passing production. And we're ultimately not expecting him to run significantly less than he has over his first five NFL seasons. We'll be keeping a close eye on this new Monken-led Ravens offense this summer, but Jackson looks like a clear top-6 fantasy QB with upside into the top 3.
Steelers WR Allen Robinson is “not yet involved in all team activities,” per beat writer Brian Batko. Robinson underwent foot surgery for a stress fracture around the start of December. The 30-year-old (in August) isn’t someone to circle as a late-round flier.
The Patriots are signing TE Anthony Firkser, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. Firkser had seasons of 34 and 39 catches with the Titans but spent 2022 hauling in just nine passes for the Falcons. He's a depth-only player for New England and likely not a lock to make the regular-season roster. He doesn't impact the fantasy football TE rankings.
The Jaguars are signing former Broncos K Brandon McManus to a one-year deal. Jacksonville is also waiving K Riley Patterson. McManus finished 2022 well behind Patterson in FG conversion rate, hitting just 77.8% of his kicks (29th in the league) vs. Patterson's 85.7% (tied for 17th). But has been better than that overall (81.9% career) and averaged 5 FGs of 50+ yards across seven full year's as Denver's kicker. Landing in the ascending Jaguars offense makes McManus a top-10 option in our updated kicker rankings.
Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin believes he’s nearly back at pre-injury form. Recall that he suffered a torn ACL in December, 2021. "I think I'm very close to it [100%],” Godwin told the Bucs’ official site. "I feel like a lot of my explosion is coming back. I feel very comfortable with the things that I'm working on. It feels really good to be able to have the opportunity to work on my skill development this offseason, as opposed to just working to rehab an injury.” Godwin made it back for Week 1 of last season but later missed time with a hamstring strain. Still, the veteran set a team record with 104 catches. QB concerns add risk, but Godwin’s coming at a fair, WR3 price in early drafts.
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