Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is excited by WR Justyn Ross' progress this offseason. “The talent is through the roof,” Mahomes said. “I think anyone can see that. He’s getting better and better. Even though he wasn’t active all year he was in the building and he was able to see the guys and how we do things. Listening and being in the meetings and some of the stuff like that. I’m excited for him, man. To be able to get out there and get the reps in practice, get the little fine details that we like to do in this offense.” Ross went undrafted last year due to medical concerns and then missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury. But he was awesome early in his Clemson career, racking up 1,865 yards and 17 TDs over his first 2 seasons. Ross is still a long shot for tangible fantasy value this season, but he's worth keeping an eye on if for no other reason than the offense he plays in. Ross is also worth stashing in deeper dynasty leagues.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes conceded that the right ankle he injured in the Divisional Round of the playoffs still isn't back to 100%. “Now, it’s been more about just kind of managing it, but getting the mobility back as best I possibly can,” Mahomes explained. “I wouldn’t say I’m 100%, but I’ve had no, necessarily, limitations. When you go through the grind of the week of training, you’re trying to push it and go through the rehab process, but at the same time, you want to make sure you’re still building. You might be a little sore on the weekends, but I think we’ve done a great job of pushing it to the right limit to where now I’m throwing and stuff like that and having no limitations there. Running and cutting, there will still be a few limitations going for the next few weeks.” Mahomes added that he expects to be at 100% come training camp. We'll continue to keep an eye on the situation, but the ankle is not impacting our 2023 projections for Mahomes.
49ers QB Brock Purdy ultimately avoided Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, instead undergoing a UCL report with an internal brace, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. The procedure is expected to have Purdy back on the field quicker than initially suspected, although there's still no concrete timetable for his return. "I think like a lot of those things, timelines are just guidelines," GM John Lynch said. "Every person is different. There probably is some amount of time in talking to the docs that you want to make sure you get to that point before he's out there, but our hope is he's ready to go in training camp." The 49ers have called Purdy the "leader in the clubhouse" to be the team's 2023 starter -- and being ready for training camp would give him a good chance to hold on to that title. We'll continue to track Purdy's rehab.
The Eagles and QB Jalen Hurts have agreed to a five-year contract extension, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. The deal reportedly includes $255 million in total money, with $179.304 million in guarantees -- plus an extra $15 million in incentives. The pact also comes with a no-trade clause, the first the team has ever given out, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This obviously locks Hurts in as Philly's starter for the foreseeable future, which is good news for his spot in the dynasty rankings. This could also be a key move in the Lamar Jackson saga. Hurts' deal -- along with other recent second QB contracts -- seems to set the market.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson won't be attending the team's voluntary offseason program, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. No surprise here. Jackson has not signed his non-exclusive franchise tag and remains in a contract standoff with the team. We're ultimately expecting Jackson back in Baltimore for at least 2023 and won't be moving him down the QB Rankings unless this situation bleeds into August.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs won't report for the start of the team's voluntary offseason program on Monday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Jacobs has yet to sign his franchise tender, ultimately hoping for a longer-term deal. He's unlikely to get it, but at this point we don't expect a holdout into the summer. We'll keep an eye on the situation. Giants RB Saquon Barkley and Jaguars TE Evan Engram are also skipping voluntary workouts after getting franchise-tagged earlier this offseason.
The Dolphins signed WR Chosen "the-artist-formerly-known-as-Robbie" Anderson. A valuable deep threat early in his career, Anderson has been one of the least efficient WRs in the NFL over the past 2 seasons. He ranked 97th among 101 qualifiers in yards per route run with the Panthers in 2021, and then finished 94th out of 96 last year in Carolina and then Arizona. In Miami, Anderson will duke it out with WRs Braxton Berrios and Cedrick Wilson for action behind target hogs Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. You can continue to ignore Anderson in early best-ball drafts.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler hears that the Vikings might cut RB Dalvin Cook before the NFL Draft at the end of this month. Cook compiled 1,468 total yards and 10 TDs last year, finishing 10th among RBs in PPR points. But he ranked just 41st among 48 qualifying RBs in rush yards over expected per attempt, turns 28 in August, and is recovering from shoulder surgery. Cook carries a $14.1 million cap hit in 2023, although releasing him would save Minnesota just $5.9 million. The Vikings have also talked to at least one team about a Cook trade, Fowler adds. (The Dolphins have previously been rumored to be interested.) We'll see where this goes over the next couple of weeks, but Cook is a risky pick in current best-ball drafts. His departure would leave RB Alexander Mattison atop Minnesota's depth chart -- barring a significant addition in the draft.
Broncos HC Sean Payton gave a pretty chilly response when asked about TE Greg Dulcich at the league meetings in late March. "We'll see," Payton said. "Some of it was hard -- the evaluation [on Dulcich.] Some of it was hard." Dulcich flashed between injuries as a rookie last year, tallying a 33-411-2 line across ten games. He ranked 17th among TEs in PPR points per game and 19th among 32 qualifiers in yards per route run. But the fact that he's now playing for a brand new coaching staff adds risk to his 2023 fantasy football outlook. Denver still has TE Albert Okwuegbunam, a popular breakout candidate this time last year. And The Denver Post's Kyle Newman believes the Broncos could add a TE in the draft later this month. The good news with Dulcich: He's just TE15 in recent FFPC ADP — a fine shot to take at that price.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley has no immediate plans to sign his franchise tag, making him ineligible to participate in the team's offseason program beginning next week, Newsday's Kim Jones reports. The Giants, meanwhile, are not interested in signing Barkley to a long-term deal, according to Fox Sports' Ralph Vacchiano. "There’s no real crisis until training camp begins and from what I hear no camp holdout is expected — at least not yet," Vacchiano adds. This will certainly be a situation to monitor into the summer. But, for now, we're not adjusting our 2023 fantasy outlook for Barkley. He's most likely to play out the 1-year deal with the Giants before hitting free agency next offseason.
The Chiefs signed WR Richie James. Turning 28 in September, James set career highs across the board with the Giants last year, snagging 57 balls for 569 yards and four TDs. He ranked a respectable 36th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade and 37th in yards per route run among 80 qualifying WRs. This is about as strong a fantasy landing spot James could have hoped for -- alongside Patrick Mahomes and with only Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to battle with for snaps as of now. We'll see if the draft brings more competition to the WR room.
Jets RB Breece Hall (knee) is expected to be ready for the start of the 2023 season, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini. Hall went down with a torn left ACL on October 23 but "looks fantastic," HC Robert Saleh said recently. Hall surely still has plenty of work to do with his rehab, so we're not considering him a lock for the season opener just yet. But this is certainly an encouraging report. Early drafters are optimistic about Hall's 2023 fantasy value. He's sitting at RB8 in Underdog ADP and RB7 at the FFPC.
Free agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. has reportedly agreed to terms with the Ravens on a one-year deal worth up to $18 million, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. A separate report from ESPN's Adam Schefter indicated that this deal includes $15 million in guaranteed money. That total is a bit jarring for a former Pro Bowl wideout who spent the 2022 NFL season rehabbing a torn ACL sustained in Super Bowl LVI as a member of the title-winning Rams. Regardless, the WR corps in Baltimore was due for an upgrade, and perhaps OBJ can bring some life to that offense. The biggest issue with projecting this move's fantasy impact is that we don't know who the Ravens' starting QB will be come Week 1. Lamar Jackson remains unsigned and could potentially be traded per the terms of the non-exclusive franchise tag that Ravens GM Eric DeCosta placed on him earlier this offseason. Should Jackson find a deal elsewhere, the Ravens could feasibly position themselves high enough in the 2023 NFL Draft to select a rookie QB, but that's merely hypothetical. The signal-caller on the roster we can most safely assume will be around is Tyler Huntley, a player who failed to surpass 200 passing yards in his five regular season starts in 2022. As of now, it's best to hold off on any "OBJ to the moon!"-type of reaction.
The Athletic’s Dan Duggan believes RB Saquan Barkley will sign a long-term deal by the July 17 deadline. (The 26-year-old was franchise tagged in March.) New York offered him a long-term deal in-season, but it was reportedly low on guarantees. We’ll track contract negotiations right up to the deadline. Right now, Barkley remains a clear-cut top-8 dynasty RB.
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill said in a recent radio appearance that he plans on retiring after the 2025 season. Hill will be 31 at that point. "I'm going for 10 [seasons], man," Hill said. "I'm gonna finish out this contract with the Dolphins and then I'm gonna call it quits. I want to go into the business side." Plans can change, of course -- especially if Hill is still healthy and playing at a high level a few years down the road. But this is certainly worth filing away for dynasty players.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook is making "excellent progress" in his recovery from mid-February shoulder surgery, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That procedure addressed a broken shoulder that Cook suffered back in 2019 and has been playing through since. The shoulder is "now 100% stable and stronger," per Pelissero. It doesn't sound like this will impact Cook's availability for the 2023 season. He's been mentioned as a potential trade or even cut candidate -- but this shoulder issue might be holding up any potential move. Perhaps something transpires the week of the NFL Draft. Stay tuned.
ESPN's Mike Reiss reports that Patriots HC Bill Belichick "made it sound like the team views [Mike] Gesicki more as a receiver than a traditional tight end, putting him in the category with receivers DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton and Kendrick Bourne instead of with tight end Hunter Henry." That came from Reiss talking with Belichick at the recent league meetings. It's not clear whether the coach actually put Gesicki "in the category" with the wideouts, or if that's just Reiss' language. But this is the second Patriots writer we've seen point to Belichick treating Gesicki as more WR than TE. It certainly makes sense. As we pointed out when he signed, Gesicki has had his most productive years when playing primarily in the slot and/or out wide. He fares poorly from a traditional inline TE position. The biggest takeaway for fantasy football players is that it seems we should expect Gesicki to compete more with New England WRs for targets than with Henry. We'll keep watching for further signals on the usage for Gesicki, Henry, and the rest of an offense that will operate under a new OC (Bill O'Brien).
Patriots HC Bill Belichick refused to commit to QB Mac Jones as his 2023 starter when asked at the league meetings this week. “Everybody will get a chance to play," Belichick said. "Everybody that’s on our roster, if they earn the opportunity to play, then based on what they do in practice and all that, then they’ll get an opportunity to play.” It's a classic Belichickian response that we're not reading much into. QB Bailey Zappe was better than expected when pressed into duty last season. But Jones is the guy New England spent a 1st-round pick on just two years ago. He'll have a much better chance this season now that the Patriots have an actual OC in Bill O'Brien running the offense. That said, Jones is an unexciting QB2 option in early best-ball drafts.
The Lions signed WR Marvin Jones to a 1-year, $3 million deal. It's a reunion after Jones spent 2016-2020 in Detroit. He averaged 859 yards and 7.2 TDs across those 5 seasons but is coming off a disappointing 46-529-3 line in Jacksonville this past year. Jones ranked 79th in yards per route run and 87th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade among 96 qualifying WRs. The 33-year-old will duke it out with Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond for snaps behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams in Detroit. Jones might provide a few spike weeks for best-ball squads if he wins the #3 WR job. But he's unlikely to be a reliable option in lineup-setting fantasy leagues.
When asked who the team's starting QB will be in 2023 on Tuesday, Titans HC Mike Vrabel gave an answer that raises some eyebrows. Vrabel said, "of course," he wants Ryan Tannehill to be atop the depth chart. But he says he doesn't want to make predictions, adding that he'd "been through this last year," alluding to the trade that sent WR A.J. Brown to the Eagles from last year. "I am not going to commit to anybody being on our roster in September. I've seen it change too quickly." The 35-year-old Tannehill only has one year remaining on his contract, and the Titans' offense that ranked 21st in Football Outsiders' total offensive DVOA in 2022 is clearly in transition. QB Malik Willis' rookie season didn't look particularly great in limited action last season either, so the need at the position is glaring for the Titans. Maybe there's nothing to see here, but keeping tabs on whispers coming out of Nashville may prove wise.
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