New York Jets Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Jets spent the 15th overall pick on Edge Will McDonald IV. McDonald posted a pair of double-digit sack seasons across five years at Iowa State. (He redshirted in 2018.) McDonald delivered a lackluster 40 time (4.75 seconds) for his size (239 pounds), though, producing a 31st-percentile speed score among edge players. He joins a Jets defense that could use some juice on the edge, with last year's first-round pick Jermaine Johnson and Carl Lawson as the top incumbents. See where McDonald landed in our pre-draft IDP rookie rankings.

The long-awaited trade is finally across the finish line. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jets acquired QB Aaron Rodgers, the 13th overall pick, and a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Packers in exchange for the 15th overall pick, the 42nd overall pick, a sixth-round pick, and a conditional second-round pick in 2024. To simplify the terms, the Jets brought in Rodgers by swapping first-round picks with the Packers, giving up a second-rounder in this year's draft and a second-rounder next year that could become a first if Rodgers plays more than 65% of the Jets' offensive snaps this coming season. This is a fairly big haul for the Packers as they look to move forward with QB Jordan Love at the helm. As for the Jets, Rodgers brings the franchise up immediately into contender status in the AFC with such talented weapons as WR Garrett Wilson and RB Breece Hall. We've recently released our complete 2023 fantasy point projections with Rodgers fixed as the Jets' starting QB. Check out how we see him performing this coming season in this revamped offense.

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.

QB Aaron Rodgers announced on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday that he's agreed to a trade to the Jets. The enigmatic former NFL MVP immediately presents an upgrade over QB Zach Wilson and should make fantasy managers excited for what’s to come. Though Rodgers slipped in production last season, he finished 2020 and 2021 with a fantasy PPG average over 20. Much of his lack of success can be attributed to the departure of weapons like WR Davante Adams, but now Rodgers won’t have to worry about a lack of weapons in his supporting cast. WR Garrett Wilson is already considered a high-end dynasty asset, and his value is only further solidified by the presence of a stellar QB. The player this affects the most is WR Elijah Moore, who saw a great deal of controversy last season deriving from his frustrations with his role and poor play from Zach Wilson under center. We may see him look more like the WR3 overall in PPR scoring from Week 7 through Week 12 of his rookie season in 2021 if he can stave off new teammate WR Allen Lazard.

The Jets have agreed to a four-year, $44 million deal with WR Allen Lazard. The contract includes $22 million in guaranteed money. Lazard logged career-highs in receptions (60) and receiving yards (788) as the Packers' de facto WR1 in the absence of Davante Adams. This move carries a couple of pieces of impact. First, this signing is likely to effectively end WR Corey Davis' tenure with the Jets. Moving on from Davis would free up $10.5 million in cap space for the Jets. Second, Lazard being brought in signals that the franchise is continuing to appeal to the interests of QB Aaron Rodgers. Whether or not Rodgers ultimately becomes the Jets' next signal-caller, Lazard will have to battle with WR Garrett Wilson for targets and likely doesn't carry much appeal beyond being a WR3/WR4 for fantasy managers. Either way, this deal likely means more for real-life football than fantasy football.

The Jets and LB Quincy Williams have agreed to a three-year, $18 million deal, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Incentives could push the total value to $21 million. Either way, it signals continued starter duty for Williams. And it's particularly noteworthy because Williams' playing time fluctuated each of the past two years. He closed out 2022 playing more than 80% of snaps in five of the final six games, including more than 90% in each of the final two. This contract makes it look like we can expect more of the same, which boosts the IDP outlook for the 26-year-old (until Aug. 28). Check out where Williams sits in our dynasty LB rankings after this boost.

Pitt RB Israel Abanikanda chose not to test at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. We’ll have a chance to see the 5’11, 216-pound RB put his skills to the test at Pitt’s pro day scheduled for March 29th. His size is about on par with where he was listed as a collegiate athlete, so that’s 1 less piece of the puzzle to worry about as far as Abanikanda’s profile goes. Tune back in at the conclusion of March for more information.

The Jets are hiring Nathaniel Hackett as their new OC, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Hackett was a disaster as Denver's HC this past season but had a successful stint as Green Bay's OC the previous 3 years. The Packers finished middle of the pack in total yards and points in Hackett's 1st season but climbed into the top 10 in both categories in 2020 and 2021. Those teams, of course, were quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers, who's a big fan of Hackett. This move was presumably made by the Jets at least in part to help their chances of luring Rodgers to New York.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that further imagining revealed a fracture in Chargers WR Mike Williams' back. Williams is expected to be out "a couple of weeks," Pelissero adds. He's already been ruled out for Saturday night's game vs. the Jaguars -- and it sounds like Williams would also likely miss a potential Divisional Round game.

The Chargers have downgraded WR Mike Williams from questionable to out for Saturday night's game against the Jaguars, because of the back injury he suffered in Week 18 against the Broncos. That boosts the outlook for Chargers WRs Josh Palmer and DeAndre Carter, who have each moved up our WR rankings for the week. HC Brandon Staley has taken a lot of flak this week for the way he handled starters in a game his team didn't need. But he at least did coaches everywhere a service by clearly reminding everyone why you rest key players in those situations. We'll see about Williams' status for Round 2, if the Chargers advance.

Chargers WR Mike Williams missed practice for a 3rd straight day Thursday, with the back injury he suffered in the Week 18 loss to the Broncos. He is officially questionable for Saturday's game against the Jaguars and sure doesn't look like a great bet based on his practice schedule. We've seen Williams go later in recent full-playoffs drafting. WR Josh Palmer, however, has not risen at the same time. He looks like an attractive option across playoff fantasy football formats this week.

According to multiple reports, the Jets and OC Mike LaFleur are mutually parting ways. LaFleur jumped from the 49ers staff to the Jets when Robert Saleh took over as HC 2 seasons ago. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that other teams have inquired about LaFleur, so it sounds like this is more "parting" than firing. We'll see where LaFleur lands next and what he has to work with. It's tough to judge much from his 1st try at OC, with poor QB play limiting everything. We'll also see who the Jets pull in next ... and who starts at QB in 2023.

Chargers WR Mike Williams (back) was listed as a DNP on Wednesday for the 2nd day in a row. HC Brandon Staley shared on Tuesday that the veteran is considered day-to-day and that Williams will practice at some point this week. We'll continue to monitor his name on the injury report in advance of Saturday's Wild Card game vs. the Jaguars.

Chargers WR Mike Williams (back) was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday's practice report. It'll be important to see if he's able to practice tomorrow ahead of Saturday's Wild Card game vs. the Jaguars. We'll keep an eye on this storyline as more information becomes available.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley said Monday that the MRI on WR Mike Williams' injured back showed no fracture or muscle injury, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic. Staley added that the "indication" given to him is that Williams will be ready for Saturday night's game against the Jaguars. We'll certainly be tracking his status through the week.

Chargers WR Mike Williams was knocked out of Sunday's game vs. the Broncos due to back spasms, according to ESPN's Lindsey Thiry. X-rays and an MRI on his back came back clean, a source tells Thiry, and Williams is expected to be available for next weekend's Wild Card game vs. the Jaguars. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hears, though, that Williams is scheduled for additional testing on Monday. We'll keep you updated on his status.

Chargers WR Mike Williams injured his back in the 2nd quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Broncos and is questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more.

Jets TE Tyler Conklin caught all 6 of his targets for 80 yards in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Seahawks. He tallied 35 more yards than any other Jet and doubled his nearest teammate in catches. TE C.J. Uzomah beat Conklin by 1 target but caught just 3 for 24 yards. WR Garrett Wilson led the team with 11 targets but managed only 3 receptions for 18 yards. The Jets -- now eliminated from the playoffs -- visit Miami for the regular-season finale. That has been a positive scoring matchup for TEs; neutral for WRs.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (right thumb, knee) practiced fully on Friday and doesn't carry an injury designation ahead of Week 17 vs. the Vikings. The former MVP hasn't tallied more than 14 fantasy points since Week 11. Rodgers is a high-end QB2 streaming option based on reputation and the fact that the Vikings' defense presents the 6th-best matchup for opposing QBs in adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (right thumb, knee) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday. The veteran has fought through injury all season, so he'll probably be fine for Week 17 vs. the Vikings. We'll let you know if something changes on tomorrow's practice report.