Award-Winning Fantasy Football Advice

The Eagles selected Florida State WR Johnny Wilson in Round 6 of the NFL Draft. Wilson started out as an Arizona State Sun Devil, recruited by current Raiders HC Antonio Pierce. But the four-star California native would require patience before making his mark. 2020 turned up a pandemic-shortened season. Then in 2021, Wilson missed seven games with a hamstring. His fortunes changed in 2022 following a move to Florida State. The 6’6, 231-pounder broke through with 43-898-5 in 13 games. That’s 20.9 yards per catch – plus an eye-popping 3.36 yards per route run. Wilson’s production predictably dipped in 2023 (41-617-2). FSU welcomed in transfer WR Keon Coleman, while Wilson missed three games with an injury. Despite the up-and-down college career, the 23-year-old has a chance to stick as an outside WR in the pros. He’s a rare athlete at his size, and he proved it at the Combine with a 9.70 Relative Athletic Score. His 84.5-inch wingspan is simply enormous. This isn’t a great spot for Wilson’s dynasty value, though. The Eagles have WR A.J. Brown signed through 2029 and WR DeVonta Smith through 2028.

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The Dolphins selected Virginia WR Malik Washington in Round 6 of the NFL Draft. A three-star recruit out of Georgia, Washington spent his first four years with an underwhelming Northwestern offense. He finished second on the team in catches and yards in 2021, then jumped to the team lead in both categories in 2022. The primary slot still tallied just 65-701-1 as a senior – but his underlying metrics at least supplied some promise. Washington posted a tiny 1.5% drop rate on 101 targets. He also forced 24 missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Last fall, we saw Washington’s best upon transferring to Virginia. The 5’8, 191-pounder crushed previous career highs with 111 catches, 1,384 yards, and 9 TDs. In fact, the yardage ranked fifth in the country. He excelled in contested situations and again proved slippery after the catch. Perhaps most impressive: Washington’s 3.15 yards per route run, which slotted 11th in a sample of 200 WRs. While undersized, Washington has the explosive ability to attract targets out of the slot. Note his 42.5-inch vertical and 10’6” broad jump from the Combine. WRs Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle will continue to dominate targets in Miami. But Washington has a real shot to win the No. 3 WR job at some point this season. His competition: Braxton Berrios, River Cracraft, and Erik Ezukanma.

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The Chargers added Troy RB Kimani Vidal in Round 6 of the NFL Draft. Despite offers from LSU and South Carolina, the Georgia native took his talents to the Sun Belt Conference. Vidal averaged 11.2 carries per game as a true freshman and led the team in rushing – something he’d do in all four seasons. But his workloads really picked up from 2022-2023 for the run-heavy Trojans. In fact, Vidal was among the busiest college RBs with 526 carries (plus 44 catches) over that stretch. He held up well, too, missing only one game due to injury in his career. At nearly 5’8, 213 pounds, Vidal has bowling ball size and runs with matching intensity. Per The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, the 22-year-old’s 94 missed tackles forced ranked second in the FBS last season. He’s not special out of the backfield, but Vidal’s tape shows a capable receiver with more pass protection refinement than the average rookie. He lands in a nice spot under run-loving HC Jim Harbaugh in a relatively wide-open backfield alongside J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. It shouldn’t be considered a surprise if Vidal pushes for snaps in 2024.

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The Jets selected South Dakota State RB Isaiah Davis in Round 5 of the NFL Draft. If you value productive RBs, Davis is your guy. Across four seasons at South Dakota State, the 218-pounder racked up 677 carries, 4,552 yards (6.7 YPC) and 50 TDs. He hit 1,400+ rushing yards in his junior and senior seasons. Now, the heavy workloads might be some cause for concern long-term. He missed eight career games across 2021-2022 – all with a shoulder. Davis didn’t miss time last fall, though, and the tape is undeniably impressive. The Missouri native runs hard at nearly 220 pounds, yet he moves like a satellite back. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said Davis has “vision and feet/jump cut skills as good as any runner in [the] draft.” The 22-year-old earned every yard, too. Per PFF, Davis ran into heavy boxes (7+ defenders) on ~82% of his carries. That mark led the class – along with his 6.6 yards per carry in such situations. Davis isn’t a zero in the passing game, but he lacks reliable hands and a developed route tree. He joins fourth-round rookie Braelon Allen in the Jets’ backfield, behind Breece Hall. It’s a rough spot for Davis’ dynasty value.

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The Giants selected Purdue RB Tyrone Tracy in Round 5 of the NFL Draft. This prospect fired us up in the pre-draft process. One reason why: Tracy’s background as a WR. His college career began as a WR at Iowa, where he’d make an impact in 2019 following a 2018 redshirt (36 catches, 589 yards, 3 TDs). A pandemic-shortened 2020 slowed progress, and then Tracy’s role dipped in 2021. Tracy transferred to Purdue ahead of the 2022 season in search of more touches. Instead, he finished 5th on the team in catches; 6th in receiving yards. 2023 turned up a position switch – one that changed the trajectory of his pro prospects. “I was a little skeptical at first,” Tracy said of the move. “I didn’t know if he [new HC Ryan Walters] was trying to say I’m not a good receiver, or ‘Hey, man, we actually think you can do this.’ I kind of just prayed about it. I talked to my mom and dad about it. And my dad was basically saying, ‘I know you’ve been doing this your whole life.’” Tracy saw only 114 carries last fall, but he excelled in the limited opportunities. Among 157 RBs with 100+ attempts, he ranked top-20 in yards per carry, yards after contact per attempt, and PFF Elusive Rating. The 5’11, 209-pounder popped in 8 rushing scores. Tracy’s game needs refinement, but his raw athleticism reminded us of Antonio Gibson coming out of Memphis. His stock only increased at the NFL Combine with a 9.78 Relative Athletic Score. The main negative here surround’s Tracy’s advanced age – he’ll turn 25 in November. With only 148 career carries, though, he enters the league without much wear and tear. Getting Round 5 draft capital is a small win for Tracy. And the landing spot is good. The Giants’ RB depth chart is topped by Devin Singletary, who signed a modest three-year, $16.5 million deal in free agency. There’s room for Tracy to carve out a role here – particularly in the passing game – as early as this season.

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The Saints added South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Rattler was a five-star recruit and the No. 1 pro-style QB in the 2019 class. But he failed to live up to those expectations across five college seasons. Rattler redshirted behind Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma in 2019 before taking over as the Sooners’ starter in 2020. He finished that season with 3,031 passing yards and 28 TDs vs. seven INTs on a 67.5% completion rate and 9.6 yards per attempt. His production was down the following year before getting benched for Caleb Williams. Rattler then transferred to South Carolina, where he totaled 6,212 passing yards on a 67.5% completion rate and 7.8 yards per attempt over the past two seasons. He ranked 78th among 93 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus’ 2022 passing grades and 50th out of 95 last year. An aggressive passer with good anticipation and plenty of arm strength, Rattler can make every throw. His decision-making and timing need improvement, though. And Rattler has little experience working under center, with 85% of his college snaps coming from shotgun. He’ll open his career behind QB Derek Carr in New Orleans. Carr is signed through 2026 but carries huge cap hits the next two years. We’ll see if Rattler can develop into his successor. He’ll be worth considering in Round 3 or 4 of superflex rookie drafts.

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The Broncos selected Notre Dame RB Audric Estime in Round 4 of the NFL Draft. A four-star prospect, Estime chose Notre Dame over others like Maryland, Rutgers, Virginia, and Nebraska. After a quiet freshman season behind Kyren Williams, the New York native split carries in 2022. The result? Team-highs in yards (920), yards per carry (5.9), and TDs (11). His production then rose across the board last fall. He flashed top-notch power with 4.27 yards after contact per attempt and tallied a strong Elusive Rating from PFF (126.5). The raw numbers turned up several career highs (209 carries, 1,341 yards, 18 TDs). While Estime caught all 26 of his college targets, we don’t forecast much of a receiving ceiling in the NFL. He also lacks the top-end speed to rip off explosives at the next level. Estime’s 4.71 forty-time at the NFL Combine was disappointing, but his Relative Athletic Score of 6.58 shows the strength of his complete profile. At 221 pounds, he tallied an 86th-percentile vertical and an 87th-percentile broad jump. Also note: Estime’s ten-yard split placed him in the 53rd percentile. The rookie joins a crowded backfield in Denver alongside Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Samaje Perine – although Williams and Perine are both scheduled to be free agents next offseason.

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The 49ers selected Arizona WR Jacob Cowing late in Round 4 of the NFL Draft. Cowing split his five college seasons at UTEP and Arizona. He tallied 31-550-3 as a UTEP freshman before leading the program in all major categories in 2020 (41-691-3). Cowing, a primary slot, saw his production hit new highs in 2021. Fueled by 111 targets, he notched 69-1,361-7. Despite a 15.2-yard aDOT, Cowing still tallied a solid 7.0 yards after catch per reception. He also turned heads with 3.82 yards per route run. In 2022, Cowing transferred to Arizona to live near his son. The move paid off on the field, with Cowing seeing huge target counts (121 and 122) over his final two seasons. He again excelled as a run-after-catch asset. And there’s no questioning his total production. Consider this: In 2023, Cowing ranked second in the nation in yards per team pass attempt. New HC Jedd Fisch used him on shorter routes, leading to aDOTs below 9.0 yards. He gives off some Tank Dell vibes on tape, and that’s backed up by the testing (4.38 forty-time). Of course, WRs of this size (5’8, 168 lbs.) are true outliers. And in the NFL, Cowing won’t project for high volume – particularly once you factor in his 1st percentile wingspan. Cowing joins fellow rookie WR Ricky Pearsall in San Francisco. We’re still waiting to see if WR Brandon Aiyuk or WR Deebo Samuel will be traded. Regardless, Cowing isn’t a great bet for 2024 fantasy value.

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The Jets took Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen in Round 4 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Allen is the youngest player in this entire draft class, turning just 20 back in January. He exploded as a 17-year-old true freshman in 2021, running for 1,268 yards and 12 TDs on 6.8 yards per carry. But by most measures, that was his best season at Wisconsin. Allen topped 1,200 rushing yards again in 2022, but his yards per carry, yards after contact per carry, and missed tackles forced per attempt all sunk from the previous season. Then his usage and production took a hit in a pass-heavier Wisconsin offense last year. Allen carried 181 times for 984 yards (5.4 YPC) and 12 TDs. He at least rebounded in yards after contact per attempt, ranking 29th among 157 qualifiers. But Allen ranked just 97th among those 157 RBs with a career-worst 78.6 Pro Football Focus rushing grade. The burly 6’1, 235-pounder runs with good vision and has better long speed than you’d expect. But he doesn’t always play to his size and doesn’t possess much wiggle. It’s also worth noting that Allen suffered shoulder, right leg, and left ankle injuries, plus a concussion, during his three years at Wisconsin. Allen joins a Jets backfield that will be dominated by Breece Hall for the foreseeable future. The rookie will duke it out with 2023 fifth-round pick Israel Abanikanda for scraps.

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The Chiefs spent a late fourth-round pick on TE Jared Wiley from TCU. Wiley played mostly QB in high school and caught just 19 passes across three college seasons at Texas. He transferred to TCU in 2022 and won a starting job, finishing with 24 grabs for 245 yards, and 4 TDs. Wiley notched career highs across the board in 2023: a team-high 47 catches, 520 yards, and a team-high 8 TDs. The 6’6, 249-pounder impressed with a 9.30 Relative Athletic Score at the Combine, although he doesn’t look that athletic on tape. Wiley tends to win with physicality and ball skills. He had just one drop on 120 career targets. If Wiley is going to be a fantasy asset, it’ll likely come through TD production. Going to Kansas City certainly helps that chance, though he'll need to wait for Travis Kelce and Noah Gray to get out of the way.

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