Broncos HC Sean Payton said Saturday that he expects RB Javonte Williams (knee) to be ready for the start of training camp. "His rehab is going well," Payton said. "A good chance he’s ready. Hopefully might not start on PUP." Williams is working back from October's multi-ligament knee injury. GM George Paton was optimistic about Williams' availability for Week 1 back in February but was non-commital when discussing the situation again in April. It's unclear if Williams has made significant progress over the last month or if Payton is wearing rose-colored glasses. Williams carries substantial risk until we see him back on the field, but he's reasonably priced at an 8th-round price tag in Underdog drafts.
Panthers QB Bryce Young impressed his new HC on the first day of rookie minicamp. “Honestly — I don’t want to overdo it on the first day — but he did every little thing right,” Frank Reich said. “The little throws out in the flat, the little bubble screen stuff, the ‘deep over’ (route) throw . . . just threw it with accuracy, saw it well, knew where guys were supposed to be — yeah, just showed complete command.” The Panthers not surprisingly aren't locking Young in as their Week 1 starter, but the rookie is the favorite to beat out Andy Dalton for that title.
The Browns have acquired Edge Za'Darius Smith from the Vikings for a mere swap of draft picks. Minnesota has been expected to move on from Smith this offseason to save salary cap. The 30-year-old rebounded from losing nearly all of 2021 to injury, racking up 80 total pressures in his lone Vikings season, according to Pro Football Focus. That marked the second-largest total of his career, and Smith has earned elite-level pass-rushing grades from PFF in each of his last three healthy campaigns. He should play lead snaps opposite Myles Garrett in Cleveland, though free-agent addition Ogbonnia Okoronkwo will factor into the rotation as well.
Niners HC Kyle Shanahan says the team expects to have QB Brock Purdy back from his right elbow injury by training camp, according to David Lombardi of The Athletic. Purdy has reportedly "been making throwing motions with a towel," though there's no word on his accuracy in hitting the hamper. He's expected to begin throwing footballs in June. We'll see whether Purdy's return to action pushes a Trey Lance trade.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach suggested that the team views rookie WR Rashee Rice as a potential replacement for WR JuJu Smith-Schuster. “He was a guy that the contested catch and the run-after-the-catch (skill) was something that really stood out," Veach said. “We did lose JuJu. It makes sense to find a guy that can do a lot of things that he can do on the inside game. He’s almost like a running back after the catch." Rice has reportedly spent time out wide, in the slot and even attached to the line of scrimmage at rookie minicamp. He played 82% of his snaps out wide at SMU last year but was in the slot for 94% of his snaps back in 2021. That positional versatility can only help Rice's chances of earning a significant role as a rookie.
TE Foster Moreau has agreed to a three-year, $12 million deal with the Saints, according to multiple reports. This is a huge turnaround for a player who had been expected to miss 2023 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that Moreau "has a positive diagnosis" on his recovery and plans to play the coming season. The contract reportedly includes $8 million in guaranteed money, plus another $3 million in incentives. The move reunites Moreau with QB Derek Carr, whom he played with the past four years as a Raider. Moreau will compete for targets with TE Juwan Johnson, who got his own new contract this offseason. Johnson got $12 million over two years, with $11.5 million guaranteed. We'll have to see how their roles fit together this summer. Each is likely to limit the other's ceiling, though, especially with Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara also around.
The Dolphins signed TE Tyler Kroft. He joins one of the weakest TE rooms in the NFL alongside Durham Smythe and Eric Saubert. It gives Kroft a chance to find playing time, but he's still not an exciting fantasy pick. The 30-year-old has only once reached 200 receiving yards in a season and never topped 404. And HC Mike McDaniels' Dolphins targeted TEs on only 12.8% of their passes last year -- well below the league-wide average of 20.3%.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco is recovering from offseason surgeries on his hand and labrum, HC Andy Reid said. According to Rutgers Wire, Pacheco played "much of the season" with a torn labrum and then broke a bone between his wrist and thumb in the AFC Championship Game. "He's making progress," Reid said. "We'll just see how he does with it. I can't even give you a timeline on it, but he's doing well." Pacheco emerged as Kansas City's lead back over the second half of last season, averaging 13.6 carries over the final 12 games (including playoffs). He ceded most of the passing-down work to RB Jerick McKinnon, who just re-signed with the Chiefs last week. We'll likely see a similar arrangement this season, assuming Pacheco is back to 100% by Week 1. We'll keep an eye on his recovery.
Bills GM Brandon Beane confirmed that the team views rookie Dalton Kincaid as a WR as much as a TE. "He is a tight end, but he is a receiving tight end," Beane said. "We think he'll pair well with Dawson [Knox] and give us another target in the middle of the field. So, yeah, when him and Dawson are in the game, you're in '12' [personnel], but it's quasi like '11' anyway. He's not your standard 'Y' tight end. He's going to be flexed out a lot more than necessarily you would do with Dawson.” Kincaid is no stranger to detaching from the line of scrimmage. He lined up out wide or in the slot on 44.8% of his snaps at Utah last year. That, of course, is exactly the type of usage we're looking for from our fantasy TEs. Kincaid has a chance to be a rare rookie TE to make a redraft impact. See exactly where Kincaid sits in the 2023 TE Rankings.
Bears QB Justin Fields has spent much of the offseason working on his footwork. “He’s been really working on that, really good — in terms of the quick pass, drop-back pass, movement passes," HC Matt Eberflus said. "And he’s really made some big strides in that area." Fields finished 7th among QBs in fantasy points per game last year, despite averaging just 150 passing yards per game on a 60.4% completion rate and 7.1 yards per attempt. If he takes a step forward as a passer this year, Fields has the upside to lead his position in fantasy scoring. Besides the improved footwork, the arrival of WR D.J. Moore is exciting.
The Commanders are "all in" on QB Sam Howell as their 2023 starter, ESPN's John Keim writes. The team has been talking up Howell all offseason -- and then did not add a QB in the draft. Per Keim, Washington had a 2nd-round grade on Howell coming out last year but didn't take him on Day 2 because they had already made the trade for QB Carson Wentz. The Commanders couldn't pass on Howell when he slipped to Round 5, though. He made just one start last year, but the team liked how he developed as a rookie. Howell will need to hold off veteran QB Jacoby Brissett this summer, but he sounds like the heavy favorite to open the season under center. See where Howell sits in the 2023 QB Rankings.
Are you expecting Jets WR Corey Davis to play for a different team in 2023? His HC disagrees. "He's gonna be on the team, yeah," Robert Saleh said Friday about Davis, according to NFL.com. Davis has been rumored as a trade or cut candidate all offseason. That's primarily because he sports a 2023 cap hit of more than $11 million, vs. less than $700,000 in dead cap if released. The Jets aren't in big cap trouble, though, to the point that they need to dump him. We'll see how this plays out. And the crowded WR corps will make it tough for Davis to be fantasy-relevant if he does stick around. But treat him (and other Jets) as though he's staying, at least for now. Check out where all the Jets WRs sit in our 2023 fantasy football rankings.
In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the Jets have agreed to a one-year deal with WR Randall Cobb. The Aaron Rodgers teddy bear averaged just 3.6 targets per game with Green Bay over the past two seasons, after returning from exile ... er, Houston. Cobb has reached 40 receptions just once in the past five seasons. He's not a fantasy factor heading into his age-33 campaign. We'll see, though, how much he disrupts the playing time of younger teammates. Even while missing four games last year, Cobb still ranked fourth among Packers WRs in snap share.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer hears that RB Dalvin Cook is now likely to remain with the Vikings for the 2023 season. "The Vikings have told other teams they're cap clean now, so there’s no urgency at this point to offload Cook," Breer writes. It sounds like Cook might still be available if another team was hot for him, but that seems unlikely considering Cook's age (28 in August), injury history, and cap hit ($14.1 million). We'll continue to keep an eye on this situation, but you should be drafting for now as if Cook will be a Viking this season.
The Packers passed on picking up QB Jordan Love's fifth-year option and instead signed him to a 2-year deal. Love is getting $13.5 million guaranteed, and the contract can be worth up to $22.5 million total, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. It's a deal that says the Packers still aren't sure that Love is their long-term answer. That's fair, of course, considering Love has thrown just 83 regular-season passes. Green Bay bolstered Love's weaponry last week by drafting WRs Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks and TEs Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. But he still shouldn't be drafted as more than a lower-end QB2 in fantasy football.
The Chiefs are expected to re-sign RB Jerick McKinnon, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. McKinnon played a big role in Kansas City's offense over the 2nd half of last season, particularly in the passing game. He averaged 4.7 targets, 3.7 catches, 33 receiving yards, and .6 receiving scores over his final 13 games (including postseason). The Chiefs didn't add a RB in the draft, so their backfield figures to look similar this year to last: McKinnon as the passing-down back and Isiah Pacheco as the lead ball carrier.
Update: The Chiefs have officially re-signed McKinnon, according to ESPN's Field Yates. See where McKinnon lands in the updated RB rankings.
The Athletic's Paul Dehner believes rookie WR Charlie Jones has a chance to take over as the Bengals' slot receiver when Tyler Boyd's contract runs out at the end of the 2023 season. “No matter where you throw the ball, he’s going to make the play,” WRs coach Troy Walters said of Jones. “He’s a technical route runner. If it’s a 15-yard route, he’s going to run 15. If it’s 12 yards, he’s going to get 12. He knows how to manipulate coverages to beat the defenders at the top of his routes. He just knows how to get open. He’s a football player, and that’s what we need. Very similar to when I was in Indianapolis with Peyton Manning. With Joe (Burrow), he wants you to be in the right spot at the right time, and that’s what Charlie does. He’s going to be in the right spot. He’s someone that Joe can count on.” Jones would need an injury to Boyd, Ja'Marr Chase, or Tee Higgins to have any chance at 2023 fantasy value. But he's an intriguing bench stash in deeper dynasty leagues as a potential asset in 2024 and beyond.
Bears GM Ryan Poles highlighted RB Roschon Johnson's pass-protection ability when discussing what he likes about the 4th-round rookie. Johnson allowed just eight pressures and two sacks on 160 pass-blocking snaps across four college seasons. Pass-blocking doesn't score us fantasy points, of course. But it gets a RB on the field for the all-important passing downs. Considering Khalil Herbert and D'Onta Foreman's scant pass-catching resumes, Johnson has a good chance to win a passing-down role in Chicago this season.
The Bills announced Monday morning that they have signed RB Latavius Murray to a one-year deal. It's noteworthy that he comes off the market ahead of bigger-named free agents Ezekiel Elliot, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt. But that might just indicate what Buffalo is looking for vs. what those players would seek. Murray likely won't challenge the role of Damien Harris, who signed back in March. And he shouldn't challenge James Cook's role either. Murray looks like veteran depth. We'll see whether the contract terms even make him a lock for the regular-season roster. Don't bother with Murray in your best ball drafts at this point. See where the other Bills RBs sit in our 2023 fantasy football rankings.
A day after finishing the NFL Draft with only fifth-round pick Chase Brown added to the backfield, Bengals HC Zac Taylor gave RB Joe Mixon a vote of confidence. "His future is here with the team," Taylor said, according to WKRC in Cincinnati. "I like Joe Mixon as our starting running back." Mixon remains just RB26 in Underdog ADP, making him a strong best ball value. He sits much higher in our fantasy football RB rankings. Brown, meanwhile, figures to compete with Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans for the No. 2 job.
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