Jets HC Robert Saleh said Thursday that RB Breece Hall "looks really good" in his recovery from October's torn ACL. “He looks strong, he’s in really good shape," Saleh added. "Obviously, we’re going to do good by him and make sure that we slow play it, but he’s in really good shape.” Saleh declined to say when Hall will be fully cleared, but his rehab has gone smoothly by all indications, giving him a shot to play Week 1. We'll continue to keep you updated on Hall's progress. With a 3rd-round ADP, he's currently one of the bigger risk/reward picks in fantasy drafts.
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers had high praise for WR Garrett Wilson as training camp opened on Thursday. "Davante [Adams] is in a category by himself still, but Garrett Wilson reminds me of him, as far as his ability to get in and out of breaks, and his quick twitch at the line of scrimmage," Rodgers said. It's especially noteworthy since Rodgers has never been one to artificially compliment his teammates. (Just ask Marquez Valdes-Scantling.) Wilson is coming off a 1,103-yard rookie season catching passes from QBs Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, and Mike White. He could really explode with Rodgers at the helm.
Jets RB Breece Hall will begin training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Following an October ACL tear, the team will surely take it slow with Hall. Michael Carter figures to open camp with the starters.
The Jets have agreed to a four-year, $96 million extension with DT Quinnen Williams, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. The deal includes $66 million in guarantees. The fifth-year veteran is coming off his best season to date and still won't turn 26 until December. You can find Williams among the top DTs in our IDP rankings.
Jets WR Allen Lazard’s contract calls for $22 million guaranteed, the most handed out to a free-agent pass catcher this offseason. The guys behind him: Jakobi Meyers ($21 million), JuJu Smith-Schuster ($16 million), and Odell Beckham ($15 million). Lazard set career highs last year in targets (100), catches (60), and yards (788), despite two missed games. He just wasn’t particularly efficient. In a sample of 41 WRs, he sat 19th in yards per catch, 30th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade, 32nd in yards per route run, and 35th in catch rate. Lazard’s contract says he’ll be the clear No. 2 WR behind Garrett Wilson. A history with Aaron Rodgers and OC Nathaniel Hackett also supplies an edge. Said Lazard (via the Jets’ official site): “For me, playing in the same offense really my entire career, having Coach Hackett every single year except for last year, and then be able to reunite again with him here, has been a rejuvenating feeling to be able to have him and his energy around.” Projected for 97 targets (in 16 games), Lazard hits the WR rankings as a spot-start WR3.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler passed along an update on the development of Bears QB Justin Fields. "The people I've spoken to out of Chicago say that Fields is 'slingin' it' this offseason,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “And that he's had a nice command of the Bears offense, [OC] Luke Getsy's second year in that system. He's changing plays at the line of scrimmage in OTAs and minicamp, felt good about taking ownership of things, how the offense should be run as a whole.” The coaching staff also wants Fields to be “more decisive” in 2023, with the goal of turning more scrambles into easy completions. While that sounds bad fantasy-wise, Fields was always a long shot to post another 1,100+ rushing yards. He still profiles as a weekly QB1.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports that Vikings RB Kene Nwangwu is competing for the No. 2 spot behind Alexander Mattison, in the wake of the team releasing Dalvin Cook. "He frequently was used alongside [Kirk] Cousins in 11-on-11 snaps and could earn the spot depending on the development of Chandler and rookie DeWayne McBride," Lewis wrote after Wednesday's OTA practice. Nwangwu has just 28 offensive touches through two NFL seasons, operating almost solely as a kick returner. But he has been stellar in that role, averaging 28.3 yards per return and scoring three times. And his primary competition -- Chandler and McBride -- has six total NFL touches between them. So it's a trio we don't know much about. It's too early to get enthusiastic about Nwangwu, but the speedy RB is fine to mix in at the end of your best ball tournament drafts. In that format, he balances a low floor with the fact that he'll show up on relatively few rosters. So if Nwangwu does anything worthwhile, you'd get a boost not available to many other teams. See how we sort the Vikings RBs in our 2023 fantasy football rankings.
The Jets are signing former Packers S Adrian Amos to a one-year deal worth "up to" $4 million, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. That's likely enough money to give Amos a shot at winning a starting job. But it's less than the 2023 cap hit for S Chuck Clark, whom the Jets acquired from the Ravens in March for a 2024 seventh-round pick. S Jordan Whitehead got a one-year $5.25 million contract from the Jets in free agency. We'll see how the Jets sort their safeties through the summer, but we're not currently projecting Amos to start in our 2023 IDP rankings.
Jets HC Robert Saleh spoke confidently about RB Breece Hall’s chances of playing in the Monday night opener vs. Buffalo. "He looks good. He looks strong. He looks powerful,” Saleh said at OTAs. “He's learning. I'm excited for him to get back on the field. I'm very optimistic he'll be ready for week 1. He's already hitting over 22 [MPH] on the GPS. He looks freaking good." Hall's been setback-free following his late-October ACL/meniscus injury. Now, the second-year pro has about 13 weeks to round into form. He currently projects as a top-12 fantasy RB.
Jets RB Breece Hall (ACL) is running off to the side of OTAs. It's another step forward as he works back from last October's torn ACL. GM Joe Douglas recently called Hall a "possibility" for Week 1. We'll continue to keep a close eye on the 2nd-year RB's progress. A healthy Hall is a good bet for RB1 production, especially with Aaron Rodgers now under center for New York.
Jets RB Breece Hall (ACL) is a "possibility" for Week 1, GM Joe Douglas said. "There's still a lot of meat on the bone in terms of his return-to-play protocols and his rehab," Douglas added. "He's in a great place right now. I would say he's ahead of schedule from where he's supposed to be and he's hitting unbelievable top-end speeds already on our GPS and his rehab. So I know he's going to be chomping at the bit to get on the field early. So we're gonna have to do a good job of protecting him against himself a little bit because he's so motivated, so hungry, and attacking rehab the way he is." It's positive news overall, but a reminder that Hall is not a lock to be ready for the start of the 2023 season after tearing his ACL on October 23. We'll continue to keep a close eye on his progress -- and adjust his 2023 projections accordingly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"That's the plan right now," Bears GM Ryan Poles said from the Combine on Tuesday when asked if QB Justin Fields will be the team's 2023 starter. Chicago holds the 1st overall pick of this spring's draft -- and Poles said he's doing his homework on the QB class. But the most likely scenario has the Bears trading that 1st pick to a QB-hungry team. If you're drafting early best-ball teams, assume that Fields will be under center for the Bears this season.
After speaking with Bears HC Matt Eberflus, insider Albert Breer expects the team to do its due diligence on the 2023 QB class but ultimately trade the 1st overall pick and stick with QB Justin Fields for this coming season. "They love [Fields] as a leader. They love him as a person. ... The question is is he the right QB," Breer said on the Rich Eisen Show. "The great thing about the position they're in right now is that they can probably get something significant for the 1st pick and use whatever they get to put something great around Fields. ... We'll give Justin a better situation. We'll get a cleaner evaluation of Justin in 2023. And then in 2024 we'll either have our QB of the future in Justin Fields, or we'll have a high pick in a draft with [USC QB] Caleb Williams and [North Carolina QB] Drake Maye are gonna be coming out." We'll see how this situation plays out over the next few months leading up to April's draft, but it sounds like 2023 will be a make-or-break year for Fields in Chicago. He was obviously dominant as a runner this past season but averaged just 150 passing yards per game on a 60.4% completion rate and 7.1 yards per attempt. A better offensive line and better weaponry would certainly help his chances of improving as a passer in 2023. Regardless, Fields is a safe pick in early fantasy drafts because he'll be starting somewhere this coming season, whether it's Chicago or elsewhere.
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.
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