WR Davante Adams' usage changed considerably in his first year with the Raiders. He was mostly a short-range target in his final three seasons in Green Bay, registering average target depths of 10.0, 8.9, and 9.6 yards. He caught 71.2% of those targets and averaged 12.2 yards per catch. In Vegas last year, Adams posted an 11.8-yard average target depth. As a result, his catch rate sunk to 55.6%, but he set a career high with 15.2 yards per catch. Adams’ 8.4 yards per target last year was down a bit from his 8.8 yards over those final three seasons with the Packers. But it still ranked 30th among 85 WRs with 50+ targets. The concern heading into 2023 is that new starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo has never ranked better than 16th in Pro Football Focus' deep passing grade. So Adams' efficiency could suffer if he continues working downfield as much as he did last season. We'll keep a close eye on the situation throughout the summer.
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.
The Patriots are signing TE Anthony Firkser, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. Firkser had seasons of 34 and 39 catches with the Titans but spent 2022 hauling in just nine passes for the Falcons. He's a depth-only player for New England and likely not a lock to make the regular-season roster. He doesn't impact the fantasy football TE rankings.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers strained a calf in Tuesday's OTA session, CBS' Josina Anderson reports. "It’s considered minor as of now. The anticipation is he should be back fairly quick," Anderson adds. It doesn't sound like this will have any impact on Rodgers' 2023 season, but we'll keep an eye on the 39-year-old.
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.
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 selected Pittsburgh RB Isreal Abanikanda in Round 5 of the 2023 NFL Draft. At 20 years old, Abanikanda is one of the youngest prospects in this draft class, with much room to grow. It took a while for him to get going, but he led the ACC in carries (239) and rushing yards (1,431) as a junior in 2022, in addition to an NCAA-leading 21 total TDs. While his vision near the line of scrimmage is lacking at times, Abanikanda is a true home-run hitter at his best, as evidenced by his 61 runs of 10+ yards over his last 2 college seasons at Pitt. With the suitable scheme fit and patience, we may look back on Abanikanda as one of the draft's biggest steals. This, of course, is not a great landing spot for his immediate fantasy value. Abanikanda will compete with RBs Michael Carter and Zonovan Knight for the right to back up feature back Breece Hall.
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.
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