According to league insider Aaron Wilson, Texans WR John Metchie “wasn’t encumbered by a knee brace” in rookie OTAs. The rookie, ~5.5 months removed from an ACL tear, was considered a “limited” participant. “I talked about us initially just taking everybody through a certain amount of tests to see exactly where they are,” HC Lovie Smith said. “We’re in the process of seeing exactly when John would be ready to go. Eventually, he will be ready to go. There’s a lot that he can do before that. He’s not 100% yet, but in time he will be.” Metchie’s a redraft long-shot, although he’s worth monitoring as he gets further removed from the injury.
Dolphins WR coach Wes Welker complimented WR Cedrick Wilson in OTAs. Welker listed the following as positives: “His smoothness, his understanding of defenses and how to run routes, how to get open, understanding the techniques of defenders and how to attack them,” the former WR said. “Just a very savvy player who has kind of played with a chip on his shoulder. We’re looking forward for him to play with that same chip here.” Wilson signed a 3-year deal worth ~$12.8 million guaranteed in March. Miami proceeded to crush his fantasy value with the trade for Tyreek Hill. Still, the former Cowboy could jump into the WR3 mix with an injury to either Hill or Jaylen Waddle.
The Saints are signing WR Jarvis Landry, according to insider Jordan Schultz. No word yet on the terms of the deal. Landry, who's from Louisiana and played college ball at LSU, returns home to join WRs Michael Thomas and 1st-round rookie Chris Olave. All 3 guys are position-versatile and figure to move around the formation. But, in what projects as a run-leaning offense with questionable QB play, it's not an exciting spot for Landry's 2022 fantasy value. The 29-year-old is coming off an injury-riddled 2021 season that saw him post a 52-570-2 line across 12 games.
The Raiders traded WR Bryan Edwards along with a 7th-round pick to the Falcons in exchange for a 5th-round pick. Edwards disappointed across the past 2 seasons in Vegas, totaling just 45 catches for 764 yards and 4 TDs. But he was a good-looking prospect coming out of South Carolina and immediately becomes the favorite for the #2 WR job in Atlanta alongside 1st-round rookie Drake London. Edwards' 2022 fantasy value gets a big boost with the move -- and his dynasty value will look better if the Falcons find a QB. The Raiders, meanwhile, are left with WRs Demarcus Robinson, Keelan Cole, Tyron Johnson and Mack Hollins behind Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow.
Giants WR Wan'Dale Robinson lined up "almost exclusively" in the slot at rookie minicamp on Friday, according to NJ Advance Media's Zack Rosenblatt. That "will be his long-term role in this offense," Rosenblatt adds. Robinson played inside and out at Kentucky last year. But, at 5'8 and 178 pounds, he was always destined for the slot in the NFL. New HC Brian Daboll's Bills led the league in percentage of offensive snaps with 3+ WRs on the field last year (84.5%). So, if Robinson wins the starting slot job, he'll be on the field plenty. It also means that WR Kadarius Toney will be playing primarily on the outside after spending 59% of his snaps in the slot as a rookie last season.
Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said the team hasn’t closed the door on re-signing QB Cam Newton. “I think we’re still having thoughts,” he said. “We have to see how this works out here throughout the spring. I just happened to be up at the [Kentucky] Derby last weekend and Cam was up there. We’re texting a little bit. The lines of communication are open. I know Coach Rhule has spoken with him. We are going to have a discussion at some point but we’re just not quite there yet, but we’ll see how it goes. The more competition we have at that position the better.” The GM went on to call Cam a “team-first guy” who he has “no problem” bringing in. Recall that Newton made 5 starts last year and popped in 5 rushing scores across 8 appearences. Maybe he returns to Carolina, but for now, he’s miles away from fantasy relevance.
Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy has been released from jail on bond. He appeared in court beforehand, where a judge said that there was no threat of physical violence during the incident. The female victim in the case (reportedly the mother of Jeudy's son) said she never felt threatened by Jeudy and doesn't feel threatened now. We'll continue to keep an eye on the situation but do not expect Jeudy to be suspended.
Colts beat writer Jake Arthur calls interior O-line depth one of the team’s biggest holes. Looking across the O-line, Indy’s lost 2,242 snaps with the offseason departures of LT Eric Fisher and OGs Mark Glowinski and Chris Reed. We’re not concerned for Matt Ryan or Jonathan Taylor, as the Colts return an excellent trio of OG Quenton Nelson, C Ryan Kelly and RT Braden Smith. This O-line is simply a unit to monitor going forward.
According to beat writer Zac Stevens, Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy was arrested Thursday morning in Colorado. We don’t have any further details at this time, but we’ll share them as the story develops.
Update: Jeudy faces charges of second-degree criminal tampering with a domestic violence enhancer, a misdemeanor. This doesn't look like an incident that will draw a suspension, so we're not adjusting Jeudy's projections right now.
Titans beat writer Ben Arthur writes that rookie RB Hassan Haskins “could eat into some of [Derrick Henry’s] snaps on early downs.” Haskins, a 4th round pick, brings a power back skill set to the pros. Tennessee’s rarely had a dependable #2 alongside Derrick Henry, although D’Onta Foreman turned out to be a pleasant surprise in 2021. He’s now in Carolina, leaving Dontrell Hilliard as Haskins’ main competition. Recall that Henry, 28, underwent foot surgery in early November. He returned for the Divisional Round but wasn't close to 100%. While Henry still projects as a top-8 fantasy RB, the risk here is clear.
Broncos WR K.J. Hamler revealed Wednesday that he dislocated his hip on the same play on which he tore his left ACL last September. He needed surgery on the hip, in addition to the knee. Hamler has resumed running and said he's ahead of schedule in his rehab. “The fact that I’m out there, when I’m not supposed to be out there… it tells you how hard I work. I’m working my butt off," he said. We'll see how Hamler looks when Denver opens training camp in July. He'll likely slide in as the Broncos' #4 WR behind Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick.
The Bears added WR Dante Pettis on a 1-year deal. The former 2nd-round pick of the 49ers has been a total bust, mustering only 52 catches across his first 4 NFL seasons. Pettis is still just 26 and lands on a Bears team desperate for WR help. But we'll need to see something positive from him this summer before considering him in fantasy drafts.
The Bears signed WR Tajae Sharpe to a 1-year deal. Sharpe has yet to top 41 catches or 522 yards across 5 NFL seasons. Even in a barren Chicago WR corps, he's not worth a look in early best-ball drafts.
The Raiders signed WR Keelan Cole to a 1-year deal. The 29-year-old tallied 748 yards as an undrafted rookie back in 2017 but hasn't topped that number since. He's coming off a 28-449-1 line for the Jets last season. In Vegas, Cole will battle WRs Bryan Edwards and Demarcus Robinson for scraps behind Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller. Cole remains off the fantasy radar.
WR Nelson Agholor said he’s feeling more comfortable entering year 2 as a Patriot. “Whereas a year ago, I was learning, so you do things at a certain learning tempo,” Agholor said. “You never get to go full speed, because you want to make sure you're doing it right, so you kind of move with caution. Now I know what it looks like and I get to just put my flavor on it.” The veteran signed a 2 year deal worth $22 million last March but posted only 37-473-3 on a 12.2% target share. With the Pats adding DeVante Parker and 2nd-round rookie Tyquan Thornton, odds are Agholor will remain off the fantasy radar.
Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star believes the presence of QB Matt Ryan will have a “profound effect” on RB Jonathan Taylor’s receiving output. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration; Taylor caught 40 balls last year — 2.35 per game — and we don’t forecast a significant jump this fall. But the thesis here is that Ryan will take the checkdown much more often than Carson Wentz did. Taylor’s also grown as a pass-catcher. “Understanding the different coverages,” Taylor said. “You have certain routes, and maybe, if they’re in a zone, know how to spray it a little bit and then sit down. Things like that, rather than knowing I just need to get to this depth and turn in.” JT was a receiving weapon last year with a massive 10.1 YAC per reception. Even if his pass catching numbers don’t spike, he projects as a clear top-2 fantasy RB.
Beat writer Eric Branch believes the 49ers could "hand off even more this season while easing in Trey Lance.” Last year, San Francisco ranked 6th in rush attempts (29.3 per game). Under HC Kyle Shanahan, the team’s ranked top-14 in rushes in 4 straight seasons. The 49ers were reportedly sold on Tyrion Davis-Price’s “size, physicality and aggressiveness,” per Branch. The rookie will need to earn a role this summer. But Elijah Mitchell’s durability concerns and a lost 2021 from Trey Sermon shows there’s a path to year 1 snaps for TDP.
Ravens beat writer Jamison Hensley writes that J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards “likely won’t be available” for upcoming OTAs. Baltimore opens up OTA workouts on May 24, when both guys will be about 9 months removed from ACL tears. So we're not talking about a setback here; both guys are expected to return for training camp. Adding rookie RB Tyler Badie and veteran Mike Davis in recent days, Baltimore has the bodies to get through the spring. While the backfield looks messy now, we know this team wants to go run heavy — especially without Marquise Brown. In 3 seasons as Ravens OC, Greg Roman’s units have ranked 1st, 1st and 3rd in rush attempts.
The Jaguars have waived K Matthew Wright. He made 21 of 24 FGs last year and drilled 13 of 15 extra points. For now, Ryan Santoso is the only veteran kicker remaining on Jacksonville’s roster. Iowa State's Andrew Mevis joined the club as a UDFA last month.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson had a legal hearing on Monday to discuss remaining depositions and the scheduling of a trial. With lots of pre-trial work still to be done -- and both sides agreeing that a trial won't take place between August 1 and March 1, 2023 -- it's now looking unlikely that a trial will happen this year, according to Cleveland.com's Adam Ferrise. The NFL is conducting its own investigation into the sexual assault allegations levied against Watson but tends to wait until the legal process has played out before deciding on discipline. That could change in this case. But it now looks more likely than before that Watson will not be suspended in 2022. We just moved him up the QB Rankings.
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