Packers HC Matt LaFleur praised WR Christian Watson for his growth in Year 2. "He just seems like a much more confident player and I think we saw that kind of take shape last year, about halfway through the season," LaFleur said. "You gotta remember… I think any time you're a young player and you miss all of training camp essentially, that's tough. That's difficult, so just him being healthy, he had a really good offseason and just his knowledge with our offense, he is one of the most intelligent players that I've ever been around.” (Note: Watson missed most of the ’22 camp following offseason knee surgery.) Now healthy, the 24-year-old brings enticing fantasy upside at a current ADP of WR25.
Insider Josina Anderson reports that the Raiders are "open to restarting talks with RB Josh Jacobs, with the hopes of getting him to rejoin the team, which still remains the goal for the organization." RB Saquon Barkley's one-year deal with the Giants should help lay some groundwork for an agreement between Jacobs and the Raiders. We're still not projecting him to sit out any regular-season games.
According to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman, Packers QB Jordan Love "had his best day of camp" on Saturday. The newly-minted starter reportedly "looked in rhythm, crisp and tight with his throws and capable of throwing on the move," completing 16 of his 22 pass attempts in all 11-on-11 drills. Taking over for long-time starter and former NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers undoubtedly puts much pressure on Love. He's only appeared in parts of 10 games, with just one start in his career thus far. We truthfully don't know much about how Love will be as an NFL starter. Because of this unknown, we don't have the former first-round pick placed very high in our current QB rankings, but he'll be an intriguing option in superflex leagues should we continue to see positive reports like this one out of camp. The potential for Love being a later-round value pick is immense. We'll be sure to keep tabs on Love throughout the preseason.
The Athletic's Matt Schneidman calls Packers rookie WR Jayden Reed the “likely” punt returner. That’s in addition to his role in the slot, one he’s looking forward to. "I actually like it, working with space, being able to attack guys, step on their toes and make a move,” Reed said. “It's really helping me out a lot to be able to work in space. I haven't been able to do that in a long time and I'm enjoying it right now.” Reed is one of several fantasy-relevant players on track for a boost in leagues with return yards.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero confirms that Raiders RB Josh Jacobs will not report for the start of training camp Tuesday. Jacobs was spotted boarding a flight to leave Las Vegas on Monday morning and "has told people close to him that he doesn’t plan to return anytime soon," per Pelissero. Jacobs hasn't yet signed his franchise-tag tender, so he doesn't lose any money for skipping camp. But he'd forfeit close to $600,000 for each regular-season game he sits out. We're ultimately expecting Jacobs to report before Week 1 but will continue to keep a close eye on the situation.
Matt Schneidman of The Athletic says he thinks Packers rookie Luke Musgrave "will be the TE1 by Week 1." Schneidman adds: "The Packers think he can be the true No. 1 pass-catching tight end that Robert Tonyan was at times but not consistently enough, someone like Jermichael Finley in his prime perhaps." The Packers reportedly hope Musgrave can develop into a player they can move around the formation as "almost a wide receiver." We like the long-term upside on the athletic rookie. For 2023, though, Musgrave sits low in TE3 territory in our rankings.
"The Raiders are not expected to see [RB Josh] Jacobs until later this summer, if then," ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted on Monday. Jacobs and the Raiders failed to agree to a long-term contract ahead of Monday's 4 pm ET deadline for franchise-tagged players. Since he hasn't signed the franchise tag yet, Jacobs can't be fined for skipping training camp. "Jacobs will have decisions to make as to when he is willing to report," Schefter adds. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero suggested back in June that Jacobs' holdout could extend into the regular season. We'll continue to keep you updated on the situation, but Jacobs clearly carries elevated risk in upcoming fantasy football drafts.
Raiders beat writer Vincent Bonsignore doesn’t expect the team to extend RB Josh Jacobs prior to Monday’s deadline. Jacobs hasn’t signed his franchise tag, so he’s not subject to fines if he skips training camp. Bonsignore expects Jacobs to show up for the regular season and calls a trade “unlikely.” The 25-year-old finished at RB3 last year, boosted by a massive 393 touches. He'll remain an RB1 when active, but second-year man Zamir White brings plenty of intrigue as a late-round handcuff. Get White starred on your cheat sheet.
Packers beat writer Bill Huber believes the team’s O-line enters training camp in “fine form.” Green Bay’s projected starters — save for LT David Bakhtairi — played together over the final nine games of last season. We’ll keep an eye on the health of Bakhtiari, nearly 32, but this unit looks like a positive for Jordan Love and the run game. Green Bay ranked top-8 last year in pass and run-block win rate, an ESPN metric. See where Love slots in our QB rankings.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero suggested in a recent interview on The Rich Eisen Show that Raiders RB Josh Jacobs could hold out into the regular season. "If there’s not a long-term deal I don’t anticipate Jacobs being there at the start of training camp and I don’t know that he shows up Week 1," Pelissero said. Jacobs was slapped with the franchise tag earlier this offseason, which would pay him $10.1 million this year. Skipping training camp wouldn't cost him any money, but he'd forfeit one-seventeenth of that salary for each game he misses. Jacobs and the Raiders have until July 17 to agree to a long-term deal. Until we have a resolution to this situation, Jacobs carries elevated risk in fantasy drafts. RB Zamir White would be the favorite to take over early-down work if Jacobs holds out into the regular season. RB Ameer Abdullah is still around to handle passing downs.
ESPN's Rob Demovsky named Packers WR Romeo Doubs the team's surprise offseason standout. "Doubs has seemingly become Jordan Love's go-to guy," Demovsky writes. "Whether it's in scripted team periods or move-the-ball drills like the two-minute simulation, Doubs has been targeted time and again." It's worth remembering that Doubs was awesome last preseason, with most of his production coming from Love. And while his rookie season wasn't as impressive as teammate Christian Watson's, Doubs got off to a solid start before a midseason high-ankle sprain got in the way. With rookie Jayden Reed joining Doubs and Watson, this young Packers WR corps will be worth monitoring closely in training camp and preseason.
Per a report from Fox Sports, Packers WR Romeo Doubs recently spoke glowingly about his new QB, Jordan Love. "When you go from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan, Aaron was a really great quarterback, but I believe Jordan can do the same exact thing," said Doubs, adding that he doesn't see "the big difference" between the two. That's certainly high praise to cast upon Love, especially when comparing him to a former MVP in now-Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. He'll have big shoes to fill in Green Bay. The question is, can he be a significant contributor in 2023? It's tough to say as of now. He's only appeared in parts of 10 games with one career start in Week 9 of 2021 when Love went 19 of 34 passing (55.8%) for 190 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT in a loss to Kansas City. But we know that the Packers' front office greatly believes in him. The team signed Love to a one-year/$13.5 million extension (worth up to $22.5 million) instead of picking up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. Check out our QB rankings to see if we're as keen on Love as his teammate is.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave has been a standout in offseason work. He's already getting first-team reps and has drawn praise from both beat writers and teammates. “He’s going to be a great player," QB Jordan Love said. "He’s a lot faster than I think anybody thought. He picked up the offense really fast. He’s getting a lot of reps right now, which is great for him. He’s making the most of it.” Betting on rookie TEs usually isn't a good idea. But Musgrave has the talent and opportunity to make an immediate impact. He's an intriguing TE3 target in best-ball drafts.
The Jaguars are signing former Broncos K Brandon McManus to a one-year deal. Jacksonville is also waiving K Riley Patterson. McManus finished 2022 well behind Patterson in FG conversion rate, hitting just 77.8% of his kicks (29th in the league) vs. Patterson's 85.7% (tied for 17th). But has been better than that overall (81.9% career) and averaged 5 FGs of 50+ yards across seven full year's as Denver's kicker. Landing in the ascending Jaguars offense makes McManus a top-10 option in our updated kicker rankings.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Broncos are releasing K Brandon McManus. He spent the past nine years in Denver, converting 81.4% of his career FG attempts. McManus has been especially valuable from deep. He hit 23 FGs from 50+ yards away over just the past three seasons. McManus has also missed just 9 extra-point attempts for his career. He is coming off his third-worst FG rate (77.8%), which ranked 29th in the league. We'd still bet on the 32-year-old landing another opportunity. We'll see who Denver turns to at the position.
Packers RB coach Ben Sirmans gave his assessment of A.J. Dillon’s 2022 season. Dillion wasn’t anything special efficiency-wise (4.1 yards per carry; 7.4 per catch) but tallied a career-high seven rushing TDs. "This wasn't the type of year and expectations that, not only he had for himself but from what I had for him and what others in this building had for him," Sirmans said. "I think that he's the type of person, at least from what he's shown me, that he's going to respond to that challenge and come out and have a much more productive year. And you saw a lot of great things in spurts, but that was just the problem, it was just in spurts. It wasn't consistent. And that's what our goal is.” Dillion’s 10.9 rushes per game could increase slightly, depending on the performance of Jordan Love. If Aaron Jones remains healthy, though, it’ll be tough to count on the fourth-year back as anything more than a low-end RB2/FLEX.
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 Packers selected South Dakota State TE Tucker Kraft in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Kraft missed most of this past season following ankle surgery. In 2021, he tallied 65-773-6 in 15 games, showing the skill set of a future NFL starter. His fantasy outlook isn’t clear in Green Bay, though, as the Packers selected Luke Musgrave earlier in the night. Kraft is off the redraft radar.
Michigan State WR Jayden Reed went to the Packers in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Reed broke out immediately at Western Michigan, outproducing then-junior D’Wayne Eskridge as a true freshman. Reed also quickly carved out a role after transferring to Michigan State, earning 22% of targets or more in each of his three seasons with the Spartans. Reed played inside and outside at MSU and was terrific as a college punt returner (15.3 yards per return, 3 TDs). Senior Bowl week found him working almost exclusively in the slot, which will be Reed’s most likely path to NFL receiving success. (Read more about his development and fantasy outlook in his Dynasty Fantasy Football Value report.) In Green Bay, Reed figures to compete with Romeo Doubs for the No. 2 role behind Christian Watson. The rookie won’t be a priority target in redraft, but if Jordan Love hits, Reed could quickly climb the Dynasty WR Rankings.
The Packers selected Oregon State TE Luke Musgrave in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Musgrave stands 6’6, 253 pounds with Mike Gesicki-like athleticism. The 22-year-old was likely on his way to a breakout 2022 before an early-season MCL tear. That wiped out his final college season, although he returned for the Senior Bowl. Musgrave is largely a bet on athletic traits, as he needs to improve both his hands and his YAC ability. He exits Oregon State with a 16.1% career drop rate and only two forced missed tackles on 47 catches. Prior to tonight, Green Bay featured a pair of uninspiring TEs in Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis. So Musgrave should step into a day-one role alongside Jordan Love. Consider this a strong landing spot for Musgrave's dynasty value.
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