The Bills on Sunday announced that Joe Brady will remain OC. He drew praise amid the Bills' 6-1 finish to the regular season. But it's tough to pinpoint evidence he actually improved the offense. Buffalo fared worse in offensive DVOA and EPA per play after the OC switch. Brady's version of the offense leaned run more, which might have helped decrease the turnovers. But that turnover dip also just might have been the positive side of normal variance. WR Stefon Diggs fell off over the season's second half, with no single pass-catcher seeing a huge fantasy benefit. Buffalo has other questions to address on offense this season, including whether Diggs stays, whether WR Gabe Davis returns (he's headed for free agency), and what changes occur in the backfield. We'll have initial projections out right after the Super Bowl, but plenty could change with the Bills beyond that point.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco (ankle, toe) is active for today's game against the Ravens. He missed the week's first two practices before a limited Friday and "questionable" listing on the final injury report. Pacheco's gotta be somewhere south of full strength. But we're also seen no indication his role will be limited today. It's tough to downgrade him as a fantasy option on a two-game slate. Perhaps the combo of toe and ankle issues at least gives Clyde Edwards-Helaire some upside, especially if Pacheco gets knocked out of the game at any point.
The Eagles are set to hire Kellen Moore as their new OC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Moore is coming off a disappointing season in Los Angeles, where his Chargers finished an underwhelming 18th in total yards and 21st in points. He had a much more productive stint in Dallas the four years prior, with three of those Cowboys teams ranking top-6 in points, including first- and fourth-place finishes in his final two seasons. Moore deployed a slightly run-leaning offense (in terms of Pass Rate Over Expected) in Dallas and went slightly pass-leaning in Los Angeles last year. But his offenses have consistently played fast. In fact, all five of them ranked top-4 in both pace and situation-neutral pace. That should mean a significant shift in Philadelphia after the Eagles finished 18th in pace and neutral pace last year. We'll see exactly how much say Moore has in the offense under HC Shane Steichen.
Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney (hip, personal) has been downgraded to out for Sunday's AFC Championship vs. the Ravens. It'll be his sixth straight missed game. Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Mecole Hardman figure to serve as Kansas City's top four WRs in Baltimore.
The Falcons are hiring Zac Robinson as their new OC under HC Raheem Morris, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The 37-year-old Robinson played QB at Oklahoma State from 2006 to 2009. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Patriots but never attempted a regular-season pass across four seasons. Robinson then spent some time working as an analyst for Pro Football Focus before joining Sean McVay's Rams in 2019 as assistant QB coach. Robinson worked his way up to QB coach and passing-game coordinator over the last two seasons, but this will be his first time calling plays. Robinson's new offense has plenty of skill-position talent in RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London, and TE Kyle Pitts, but QB remains a major question mark. Atlanta currently holds the eighth overall pick in this spring's draft.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) was a full participant in Friday's practice and is not listed on the final injury report for the NFC Championship. Samuel will play against the Lions on Sunday -- and it looks like he'll be ready for his usual role. We'll look for further updates on his status, but we're boosting Samuel in this week's rankings.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco (ankle, toe) is listed as questionable for Sunday's AFC Championship game vs. the Ravens. He only got in a limited practice on Friday. While Pacheco clearly isn't at 100%, we haven't heard anything to suggest that he's in danger of missing this one. We'll keep you updated on his status and get Kansas City's inactives around 1:30 pm ET on Sunday.
Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney (hip) is listed as questionable for Sunday's AFC Championship vs. the Ravens. He went from a full practice on Wednesday to limited practices on Thursday and Friday. WR Skyy Moore (knee) has been ruled out. Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Mecole Hardman have been Kansas City's top four WRs in terms of pass routes in each of the Chiefs' two playoff games so far.
The Ravens have activated TE Mark Andrews (ankle) from IR. That solidifies his readiness to play Sunday against the Chiefs. Will he immediately reclaim his pre-injury role? TE Isaiah Likely has played well with Andrews out, and OC Todd Monken told the team website that will factor into how they determine usage. Ultimately, Andrews makes for a risk-reward fantasy play this weekend. Likely gains risk with the return of Andrews but remains in play for small-slate DFS contests. And QB Lamar Jackson can only gain upside with the return of -- historically -- his top target.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco has missed the first two practices of the week with ankle and toe injuries. He told the media earlier this week that he'd be ready for Sunday's AFC Championship game vs. the Ravens, but Pacheco's status will be worth checking back in on when we get Kansas City's final injury report on Friday afternoon.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) got in a limited practice on Thursday. Samuel is dealing with a "bad and painful" bruise, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, but "has a chance" to play in Sunday's NFC Championship game vs. the Lions. We'll see how he's listed on the final injury report on Friday afternoon.
The Falcons are hiring Raheem Morris to succeed Arthur Smith as HC, according to multiple reports. This will actually be Morris' second stint as Atlanta head man. He took over the interim role in 2020 after the Falcons fired Dan Quinn. Morris' Falcons went just 4-7 the rest of that season. Morris opened that year as Falcons DC after spending the previous five as assistant HC under Quinn. He also served as HC of the Buccaneers 2009-11 and DC for the Rams the past three seasons, among other coaching stops. Although Morris has spent most of his coaching seasons on defense, he did spend four of those previous Atlanta years as WRs coach -- and three of those as passing-game coordinator as well. Those 2016-19 Falcons leaned pass, especially over the final two years of that span. Ultimately, Morris' offensive staff seems likely to influence the fantasy outlooks of Falcons offensive players more than Morris will. And the biggest fantasy question in Atlanta remains: Who will be the 2024 QB? Arthur Smith's departure should be good for the work shares of players such as Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson. We'll see about the moves yet to come, though.
Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte was arrested for allegedly placing more than 8,900 bets while underaged with a fake account, according to NOLA.com's Wilson Alexander. At least six of those bets were placed on the LSU team Boutte played on. We'll see how the Patriots and the NFL respond to these allegations, but Boutte had very little dynasty value to begin with. He fell to the sixth round of the 2023 draft and caught just two balls as a rookie.
The Panthers are making a surprise choice in hiring former Buccaneers OC Dave Canales as HC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Canales arrives after spending just one year with the Bucs. But that season seems to have revived QB Baker Mayfield's career. Overall, the Bucs ranked just 20th in points, 23rd in total yards, tied for 19th in yards per play, and 20th in offensive DVOA. Before that, Canales spent 13 years coaching offense in Seattle, including three years as WRs coach, five as QBs coach, and two as passing-game coordinator. Canales drew praise for his role in QB Geno Smith's 2022 breakout. His work with Smith and Mayfield almost certainly excited the Panthers, who likely envision Canales as the guy to help QB Bryce Young rebound from a troubling rookie season. Of course, Canales goes from QBs coach for Smith and OC for Mayfield to HC in Carolina. So be careful about assuming too much from his influence. We'll see who Canales brings in to fill out his coaching staff and what the Panthers can add to an offense that sported unimpressive talent in 2023 (and doesn't have a 2024 first-round pick). This seems like a positive move for Young's dynasty outlook, but temper your excitement.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Los Angeles Chargers have reached an agreement with Jim Harbaugh to become their new head coach. Harbaugh, who has coached the University of Michigan's football team since 2015, was last employed in the professional ranks with the San Francisco 49ers between 2011-14. He guided the 49ers to three straight NFC Championship appearances and one Super Bowl loss across those four years. This is undoubtedly a massive addition for a Chargers' offense that ranked 18th in total offense in 2023. Harbaugh's background (15 years as an NFL QB) and track record of success should bode well for the prospects of QB Justin Herbert and company. We'll be sure to follow any other significant changes coming in Los Angeles, including who becomes their next general manager, but their circumstances are starting to look up now with Harbaugh in the fold following a disappointing 5-12 season.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) won't practice on Wednesday, HC Kyle Shanahan said. Shanahan added that Samuel still has pain in that shoulder but "feels better." Shanahan wouldn't say whether he expects Samuel to be available to Sunday's NFC Championship game vs. the Lions. We'll update his status again tomorrow.
The Ravens expect TE Mark Andrews to play in Sunday's AFC Championship vs. the Chiefs, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It'd be Andrews' first game since suffering a cracked fibula and ankle ligament damage on November 16. Andrews practiced all last week, including full workouts on Wednesday and Thursday, but was held out of the Texans game. We'll look for more info on how big a role Andrews is expected to play on Sunday and update his projections accordingly.
The Titans are set to hire Brian Callahan as their new HC, according to multiple sources. It'll be the 39-year-old's first HC gig. Callahan spent the past five seasons as Cincinnati's OC, leading the Bengals to top-13 finishes in total yards and points in 2021 and 2022. Cincinnati sunk to 22nd in yards and 16th in points this past year, due in large part to QB Joe Burrow missing 7.5 games. Callahan was a pass-leaning play caller, with four of his five Bengals offenses ranking top-12 in pass rate, including a trio of top-6 finishes. That means a big shift is coming in Tennessee, where the Titans never finished higher than 25th in pass attempts in six seasons under HC Mike Vrabel. Callahan's arrival is certainly good news for the fantasy upside on QB Will Levis, WRs DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks, and TE Chig Okonkwo.
The Lions are signing TE Zach Ertz, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Ertz arrives as a fairly big name, but don't consider him a serious challenge to TE Sam LaPorta's outlook. Detroit suddenly finds weak depth at the position after losing Brock Wright to a forearm fracture in Sunday's win over the Buccaneers. The team previously placed TE James Mitchell on IR after he suffered a hand injury in practice ahead of the win over the Rams. Wright drew just 1 target before leaving Sunday's game, in which he played 30 snaps. No Lions TE besides LaPorta drew a target in the previous game, despite LaPorta being just a week removed from a knee injury.
The 49ers consider WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) "50/50" for Sunday's NFC Championship vs. the Lions, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that x-rays on Samuel's shoulder showed no fracture and that he's already started rehab. We'll keep a close eye on his status throughout this week.
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