Alabama WR Jermaine Burton turned in a strong Combine showing on Saturday, highlighted by a 4.45-second 40-yard dash. He also registered a 38.5-inch vertical and 133-inch broad jump at 6'0 and 196 pounds. Burton's 9.55 Relative Athletic Score ranks 32nd out of 3,063 WRs from 1987 to 2024. We'd already been eyeing Burton as a potential sleeper in this WR class. After transferring from Georgia, Burton led the Crimson Tide in receiving yards in both of the past two years while averaging 18.7 yards per catch. We'll see when and where Burton goes in next month's NFL Draft.
UCF WR Javon Baker clocked a 4.54-second 40-yard dash at the Combine on Saturday. It's not a bad time for the 6'1, 202-pounder, but it was slower than we expected to see from a guy who averaged 17.5 yards per catch for his college career and 21.9 yards per catch last year. There are, of course, other ways to win downfield besides pure speed. Baker's downfield ability should still be respected -- and we still have him highlighted as a potential sleeper. We'll see if the 40 time impacts his draft stock.
While Ohio State's Marvin Harrison and LSU's Malik Nabers -- widely considered the top-two WRs in this year's class -- opted not to work out at the Combine, Washington WR Rome Odunze went through the full gauntlet. Smart choice considering how well he performed. The 6'3, 212-pounder ran a plenty-fast 4.45-second 40-yard dash. He posted a 39-inch vertical and 124-inch broad jump. And he rocked a strong 6.88-second 3-cone. It all earned Odunze a 9.91 Relative Athletic Score that ranks 96th among 3,063 WRs from 1987 to 2024. He's a virtual lock to be a top-10 pick in April's NFL Draft and looks like a top-5 pick in 1-QB dynasty rookie drafts.
ESPN's Matt Miller said from the Combine on Saturday that South Carolina WR Xavier Legette reminds him of Eagles WR A.J. Brown "from a body type standpoint." Legette checked into Indianapolis at 6'1 and 221 pounds -- an inch taller and five pounds lighter than Brown. Legette's 4.39-second 40-yard dash actually beats Brown's time by a tenth of a second. Legette had a strong overall Combine showing, also registering a 40-inch vertical and 126-inch broad jump to earn a 9.92 Relative Athletic Score. He's a polarizing prospect who totaled just 42 catches across his first four college seasons before breaking out with a 71-1,255-7 line last year. Be careful not to overrate Legette's Combine performance -- but it certainly helps his upside case.
LSU WR Brian Thomas blazed a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the Combine on Saturday -- second-fastest among the 30 WRs that ran. It certainly matches his pre-draft profile as a deep-ball weapon. Thomas averaged 17.3 yards per catch last year, with 15 of his 68 receptions coming 20+ yards downfield. He earned a 99.9 Pro Football Focus receiving grade on targets of 20+ yards. Thomas also registered a 36.5-inch vertical and 126-inch broad jump in Indianapolis. His 9.97 Relative Athletic Score is. the 10th-highest out of 3,063 WRs from 1987 to 2024. Thomas has been widely considered the No. 4 WR in this year's class and a potential top-20 pick. His Combine showing will only boost his draft stock.
Texas WR Xavier Worthy stole the headlines with his 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the Combine on Saturday. But teammate Adonai Mitchell had the more impressive overall workout. The junior wideout earned a 9.98 Relative Athletic Score, a composite measurement of athleticism that factors in all the Combine tests and player size. It's the eighth-highest RAS score among 3,063 WRs from 1987 to 2024. Mitchell checked into Indianapolis at 6'2, 205 pounds and then registered a 4.34-second 40-yard dash, a 39.5-inch vertical, and a 136-inch broad jump. Considered a potential first-round pick prior to that showing, Mitchell now seems like a good bet to hear his name called on the first night of April's draft. His dynasty stock is ascending.
Texas WR Xavier Worthy ran an official 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the Combine on Saturday, breaking WR John Ross' old record by one one-hundredth of a second. That followed a three-year college career that saw Worthy average a big 14.0 yards per catch, including 7.3 yards after the catch. He also impressed in Indianapolis with a 41-inch vertical and 131-inch broad jump. But the most important measurable might have been when Worthy weighed in at just 165 pounds. That was seven pounds lighter than his college listing and lands him in a bucket of players that rarely make significant fantasy impacts. In fact, Tank Dell and DeVonta Smith are the only sub-170-pound WRs since 2000 to reach 11 PPR points per game in a season. Of course, none of those light WRs were as fast as Worthy. And most didn't get first-round draft capital, as Worthy likely will after running the 4.21-second 40. His fantasy stock certainly gets a bump post-Combine. Just don't forget to factor his size into the evaluation.
The Commanders released TE Logan Thomas, saving $6.5 million against the 2024 salary cap. Thomas caught 55 balls last year -- 14th among TEs -- but averaged just 9.0 yards per reception on a 6.1-yard average depth of target. We'll see where he lands and how much playing time he claims, but Thomas is a low-upside fantasy asset at this point of his career. The Commanders, meanwhile, are left with TEs Cole Turner, John Bates, and Armani Rogers, who have combined for just 71 NFL catches. The team figures to add to that group in free agency and/or the draft.
Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins is running short sprints and jogging on a treadmill in a recent video posted to social media. He's 5.5 months removed from surgery to repair his torn Achilles. It was the latest setback for a guy who's been snakebitten by injuries, most notably the Achilles and a multi-ligament knee injury in 2021. Dobbins has averaged a big 5.8 yards per carry across 234 NFL attempts, but there's no guarantee that he makes it back to pre-injury form. We'll continue to track his rehab from this latest injury but consider him just a late-round flier in early fantasy drafts.
The Vikings are releasing RB Alexander Mattison, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The move saves the team $3.35 million in 2024 cap space. Mattison opened last season as Minnesota's lead back but eventually lost that job to Ty Chandler. Mattison has failed to reach 4.0 yards per carry in three straight seasons now and is unlikely to find more than a No. 2 RB job on the open market. The Vikings, meanwhile, are a virtual lock to add to the backfield this offseason. The level of addition will tell us how strongly they feel about Chandler, who played well down the stretch last year. He's currently RB38 in Underdog ADP but figures to get pricier now. Chandler sits 31st among RBs in our best-ball rankings.
Rams HC Sean McVay said from the Combine that TE Tyler Higbee's return timeline from knee surgery is "unclear," according to The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. Higbee tore both his right ACL and MCL in the Wild Card loss to the Lions, which likely delayed the surgery. He's not a great bet to be ready for the start of the 2024 campaign and is an avoid in early best-ball drafts. Davis Allen is the best fantasy bet among Rams TEs right now, but the team could certainly add to the position this offseason.
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce said from the Combine that the team's starting QB job is Aidan O'Connell's to lose, per Levi Edwards of the team's official website. With QB Jimmy Garoppolo expected to be released within the next couple of weeks and Brian Hoyer the only other QB on the roster, we wouldn't expect Pierce to say anything different. O'Connell was just ok as a fourth-round rookie last year, completing 62.1% of his passes at 6.5 yards per attempt with 12 TDs vs. seven INTs. He ranked 23rd among 30 qualifying QBs in Pro Football Focus' passing grades. We fully expect the Raiders to make a relatively significant addition at QB this offseason -- potentially a trade for QB Justin Fields or a drafting a first-round rookie. We're betting against O'Connell leading Vegas in 2024 passing attempts and wouldn't target him in early best-ball drafts.
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson said this week that he'd like to limit the 2024 workload for RB Travis Etienne vs. what the starting back got in 2023. Pederson pointed to a D'Ernest Johnson injury and rookie Tank Bigsby's learning curve as two key factors in Etienne's touch total, which ranked third-highest behind Christian McCaffrey and Rachaad White. "It's not the recipe, necessarily, to put Travis in that situation," Pederson said. "So I would consider knocking a few of those reps down to keep him healthy throughout the course of the year." That makes sense. Etienne struggled with efficiency at times in 2023. You'll still find him inside the top 10 in our 2024 RB rankings, though. Johnson is headed for free agency in March. Bigsby obviously remains under contract heading into his second season, and it doesn't sound like the Jags have given up on him yet. "We really like Tank, and he'll have a bigger impact for us this year," Pederson said. We're certainly not betting on strong production from the former third-round pick after he managed just 51 touches and 2.7 yards per touch as a rookie. But consider Pederson's words enough to make Bigsby worth keeping on dynasty benches and considering in the mix of last-round best ball picks.
Jets GM Joe Douglas confirms that the team has granted QB Zach Wilson's request to seek a trade, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Duh. It would pretty obviously be best for both sides if Wilson moves on for the final year of his rookie contract. (His fifth-year option remains available ... but who's picking that up?) We're certainly not betting on any team giving up much to land Wilson -- or him suddenly turning fantasy-relevant. But we'll be curious to see where he lands. We'll also be watching to see who backs up Aaron Rodgers for the Jets. That player figures to be worth keeping in mind for late in superflex drafts.
The Chiefs released WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. It was a no-brainer move, saving the team $12 million against the 2024 salary cap. MVS was a major bust in Kansas City, totaling just 1,002 receiving yards and three TDs across 33 regular-season games over the past two seasons. We'll see where the 29-year-old lands next, but he's a long shot for reliable fantasy value. Valdes-Scantling can be ignored in early best-ball drafts.
Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles told reporters at the Scouting Combine that he'd "definitely like to have another back in here to take some of the weight off" RB Rachaad White. That statement shouldn't surprise anyone. White ranked sixth in the league in opportunity share last season and second in carries. He remained inefficient as a runner, though. He averaged just 3.6 yards per carry and ranked 38th among 44 qualifying RBs in rushing success rate. We're not betting Tampa Bay will replace White as the backfield leader. But the team would clearly like to upgrade on the rest of its 2023 backfield. And that's likely to cut into White's work share some. You might be surprised to see where White sits in our 2024 RB rankings, because we're already factoring in that expectation.
The Falcons released TE Jonnu Smith. The 28-year-old set career highs last year with 50 catches and 582 receiving yards. Both marks ranked top-4 on the run-heavy Falcons. Smith's 1.55 yards per route ranked 11th among 45 qualifying TEs. He's still capable of making a fantasy football impact in 2024, depending on the landing spot. Smith's departure from Atlanta obviously doesn't hurt TE Kyle Pitts' outlook.
QB Kirk Cousins posted video on Monday of him dropping back and throwing passes. He's about four months removed from his torn Achilles and has had a setback-free recovery by all accounts. "Encouraged by the progress," Cousins wrote. He and the Vikings are reportedly in talks on a contract extension ahead of March 12, when Cousins' current contract will void. Turning 36 in August and coming off a significant injury, Cousins is a bit of a wildcard heading into 2024. But he remained very effective before last year's injury, completing 69.5% of his passes and ranking fourth in Pro Football Focus passing grade.
Texas RB Jonathon Brooks (knee) is expected to receive medical clearance by training camp. The news comes from Dr. Dan Cooper, Dallas' head team physician who repaired Brooks’ torn ACL late last year. The Texas product is likely to be a day 2 draft pick, but early-season fantasy contributions are unlikely.
The Bengals have told WR Tee Higgins they'll be applying the franchise tag ahead of free agency, according to multiple reports. This confirms the general expectation and means Higgins will be in Cincinnati for at least one more season. We're betting the Bengals hope to work out a longer-term deal ahead of the July deadline to do so, but we'll see how that plays out. Higgins has been a strong value in early best ball drafts, including his WR28 Underdog Fantasy ADP. QB Joe Burrow's modest QB7 ADP (early Round 7) enhances the value on that stack. We'll see whether Higgins' ADP moves earlier now that his situation is clearer.
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