💸 Oof, A Promising WR Suspended
The breakout's put on pause...
Is having a 'ham cannon' a good thing? Asking for a friend who is a QB prospect...
In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter:
- The Lions lose a weapon for the start of 2023
- OverReaction Monday: NFL drama
- A.J. Brown's crazy ritual
- 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Picks 21, 22, & 23
- It's 4/24. Take it away, Peter Overzet...
This week is all about the NFL Draft, but before we can dive into all of the trade rumors, updated mock drafts, and prospect evaluations, we need to talk about Lions second-year WR, Jameson Williams.
Williams, along with four other players, was suspended on Friday for violating the league’s gambling policy. Lions WR Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore have been banned indefinitely for betting on NFL games, while Williams got hit with a six-game suspension.
Unlike Calvin Ridley, who was suspended for betting on NFL games, Jameson was not busted for betting on football. The league got him on a technical rule that prohibits players from placing bets from an NFL stadium or club facility.
The NFL already investigated the violations of the gambling policy by five players, including #Lions WR Jameson Williams, and found no evidence that any inside information was used or any NFL game compromised. All violations occurred during the 2022 season.
Had he been betting on, say, Budapest handball matches from the comfort of his own home, he wouldn’t have been in violation of any rules.
It’s yet another example of how silly and misguided the NFL gambling rules are, especially when you consider that there are a handful of NFL teams with SPORTSBOOKS ON THEIR PREMISES. YES, I’M YELLING.
We’ll save more outrage for another time and place and instead lament yet another roadblock preventing Williams from a breakout season.
He played just six games in his rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship and will once again get off to a slow start in 2023.
Williams entered the league with the exact kind of profile we want to bet on for fantasy:
- Great draft capital (12th overall pick)
- Elite college production numbers (31.1% market share of receiving yards)
- Very fast (4.3 forty-yard dash)
- Young (just turned 22 years old)
Williams is still very much in play for best ball drafts where he could still easily pop off down the stretch when it matters most, but this dents his redraft value. It’ll be tough to chew up a valuable roster spot that could otherwise be churned in the opening month of the season.
The Lions are a prime candidate to draft a TE in this class, but I imagine they will replace Williams’ early-season production at WR with bodies already on the roster like Marvin Jones Jr., Kalif Raymond, and Josh Reynolds, all of whom have the ability to stretch the field.
We're humans who play fantasy football, which means we are prone to overreact. Today, Kendall breaks down NFL drama...
🎭 NFL Draft drama is near, who could get traded?
The NFL Draft is just three days away and I don’t think it’s an overreaction to say it’s a drama-filled day. Draft darlings, heartbreaks, and a whole lot of twists are probably in store this year. We are ready!
There have already been a handful of rumors about players potentially getting traded who we need to keep in mind. Let’s go through some potential trades that we could see happen during the 2023 NFL Draft.
👨🍳 Dalvin Cook
Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has a cap hit that sits at just over $14 million in 2023 and $15.6 million in 2024. Yes, Cook is coming off his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl in a season where he ran for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns while hauling in 39 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, but the Vikings have been somewhat noncommittal.
In April, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t give a direct answer when asked about Cook’s status with the team. If the Vikes do move on either during the draft or as a post-June 1 cut then it would be Alexander Mattison’s time to shine.
💣 DeAndre Hopkins
In probably one of the spicier trade rumors we’ve heard this offseason, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has been somewhat open to the questions surrounding a potential trade.
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported in March that trade suitors “ramped up talks” with the Cardinals after the Texans sent wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Cowboys for a 2023 fifth-rounder and a 2024 sixth-rounder. And for anyone thinking Hopkins may just be unhappy with his contract, he tweeted last Sunday: "Hopkins doesn't want a raise." The now-deleted tweet could mean nothing, but it’s still enough to keep an eye on.
💪 Derrick Henry
I am one to believe that where there’s smoke there’s fire. Rumors about the Titans potentially shopping running back Derrick Henry surfaced in early March during the NFL Scouting Combine and it’s obvious now that the team is rebuilding. They can save $6.3M by trading Henry, who is also entering a contract year.
We all remember Tennessee trading superstar A.J. Brown to the Eagles during the draft last year, so could something similar be on the horizon? Brown tweeted last week that No. 22 is available on the Eagles, so maybe there’s a chance…
🧘 Aaron Rodgers
LOL, just making sure you are paying attention. Yeah, the Aaron Rodgers trade to the New York Jets still hasn’t happened. A trade could happen during the second day of the NFL Draft, but at this point WHO KNOWS!
🐷 The QB with a ham cannon. Still not sure whether that is a good thing or not.
💵 A.J. Brown does a crazy thing anytime he goes for 100 yards. Lmao, that’s hilarious.
🚓 Antonio Brown is in trouble again. It never ends.
💪 The next DK Metcalf? This rookie WR is a freak.
🧠 How the rookie QBs fared in the S2 tests. Dwain breaks it down.
🗽 An NFL QB gets his own statue. Could also be used to make sure kids are tall enough for amusement park rides.
🤕 We MUST protect this QB. He almost retired...
👐 The year of the tight end? Bob McGinn explains.
Fantasy Life's Eliot Crist just released V3.0 of his first-round mock draft that considers many factors, including betting odds and teams' drafting history, while pulling the curtain up on draft rumors and smoke screens. Today we are spotlighting his Nos. 21, 22, and 23 picks…
21. Los Angeles Chargers: Jordan Addison, WR, USC
While Jordan Addison’s frail frame will concern some, the former Biletnikoff winner dominated college football like few others in this class.
Addison has a draft prop of 22.5 and rewards under-backers by becoming the second WR of the board. Daniel Jeremiah has mentioned that there are plenty of teams with Addison as their top WR and this feels like the right range for him to hear his name called.
Addison is the only receiver projected to go in Round 1 who the Chargers brought in for a visit.
With an 87th percentile score in our Rookie WR Super Model, Addison gives Justin Herbert someone he can rely on from day one, who can become the eventual replacement for Keenan Allen.
📣 Summary from The Beast:
A one-year starter at USC, Addison was an inside/outside receiver in head coach Lincoln Riley’s version of the Air Raid offense.
Leading the nation in receiving as a sophomore, he became the third Biletnikoff Award winner in Pitt history, joining Antonio Bryant (2000) and Larry Fitzgerald (2003), and continued his strong play after transferring to the Trojans.
Addison skillfully marries his play speed, controlled suddenness, and detailed focus as a route runner to create spacing and run-after-catch opportunities.
He had double-digit drops each of his first two seasons at Pitt but showed much-improved ball skills in 2022 (his drop rate decreased from 14.3 percent as a freshman to 9.9 percent as a sophomore to only 3.3 percent as a junior).
Overall, Addison’s lack of ideal size and play strength are legitimate concerns, but he is a loose athlete with crafty routes and vertical speed to work all three levels.
Projecting best in the slot, he has NFL starting talent from day one.
The Athletic's draft expert Dane Brugler has in-depth profiles and positional rankings on over 400 players in his draft guide affectionately called The Beast. Get that and everything The Athletic has to offer for only $1.99/month.
22. Baltimore Ravens: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
A freak athlete with elite top-end speed, Banks should not have to wait too long on draft day to hear his name called.
The Ravens have major holes at both receiver and corner, but with the addition of Odell Beckham and Lamar Jackson telling the team he wants DeAndre Hopkins, Baltimore might focus on the other side of the ball.
23. Kansas City Chiefs (via trade with Minnesota Vikings): Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
The Chiefs need to add more firepower for Patrick Mahomes and are reportedly extremely high on Zay Flowers.
With him falling more than some might expect, the Chiefs move up nine spots with a Vikings team that has just five total draft picks and plenty of holes to fill.
The versatility Flowers provides would be a dream pairing with Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who would take advantage of Flowers’ speed and run-after-catch ability.
Flowers would skyrocket up draft boards and become every analyst's favorite sleeper if he's selected by the Chiefs.
📣 Summary from The Beast:
A three-year starter at Boston College, Flowers was an inside/outside receiver in offensive coordinator John McNulty’s offense and was often schemed across the formation with motions (jets, orbits, etc.) and tight splits so he could attack space.
He was presented with several lucrative NIL offers to transfer as a senior but stayed loyal to the program. He had a record-breaking 2022 season, becoming Boston College’s all-time leading receiver.
Flowers, who should be the first BC receiver drafted since 1987, is fluid in and out of his breaks with playmaking potential after the catch. He is more of a glider than a sprinter and won’t dust NFL corners with pure speed, but he does a great job utilizing gear change to tie defenders in knots with his quickness.
Overall, Flowers is undersized and doesn’t have an ideal skill set for outside work.
My phone needs to learn right now that his name is Will Levis and not Will Levi’s.