The news cycle for the NFL has become year-round. To get an edge on your fantasy football leaguemates, let's take a look at the biggest NFL news stories from the past week.
News about the NFL
The NFL approved moving the trade deadline back to Week 9.
Why It Matters: One more week for teams to learn about the trajectory of their season and make trades will be good for fantasy football. Hopefully, the longer window for player movement gives a better chance for deals that never happened (not for lack of trying), like Derrick Henry to Baltimore last season, to happen.
The NFL approved new kickoff rules.
Why It Matters: The new kickoff rule will result in a lot more live kickoff returns and will make returners with running back vision/decision abilities more valuable than speed merchants. Return yardage leagues will definitely see an impact from this rule change. If you're in one, you might be able to trade for kick return specialists before the rest of your league realizes the likely effects of this rule change on their statistics.
The NFL banned "hip drop" tackles.
Why It Matters: Hopefully it means fewer injuries to offensive players. The Logan Wilson tackle that took out Mark Andrews was on the reel that the league used to illustrate what is being banned. There's worry about inconsistent calls and subjective application of the criteria, but the league is likely to use the rule to increase the fines collected during the week more often than to emphasize calling it in the game in real time, at least at first. Many have bemoaned how this is yet another rule that it harder on the defense and helps the offense, which will only add to the grand sum of fantasy production in a typical NFL week.
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News about AFC Teams
Denver Broncos News
The Broncos signed WR Josh Reynolds (Detroit) to a two-year, $14 million deal.
Why It Matters: Reynolds will compete with Tim Patrick and Marvin Mims for playing time opposite Courtland Sutton. He was end of the bench depth last year in the Lions offense. With a big downgrade in offense and quarterback quality, Reynolds isn't draftable in redraft leagues this year, but will remain on the waiver wire watch list. The biggest fantasy takeaway here is that there's another obstacle in Marvin Mims' path to fantasy relevance.
Indianapolis Colts News
QB Anthony Richardson (shoulder surgery) is expected to participate in spring practices.
Why It Matters: Shane Steichen sounds excited to have Richardson back, and this news should make you more excited to have him as part of your fantasy team. He's currently going off of the board as QB5 at pick #59 in early Underdog drafts, but if Richardson stays healthy, he could crash the top 3 with a big rushing touchdown total a la Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen.
Jacksonville Jaguars News
Head Coach Doug Pederson said, "We have to get Tank (Bigsby) going… we take some burden off of (Travis) Etienne."
Why It Matters: Pederson acknowledged that Bigsby had his share of "what is that" (Pederson's words) plays last year, which saw his role evaporate as the season went on. D'Ernest Johnson became the Jaguars' #2 back, and Jacksonville chose to bring him back, so there's some hedging about Bigsby's ability to grow in year 2. Whether it's by using Bigsby, Johnson, or someone else more, Pederson has been clear about reducing Etienne's workload. His early Underdog ADP of 36.6 isn't overly optimistic with this in mind.
Kansas City Chiefs News
The Chiefs are signing rugby player Louis Rees-Zammit.
Why It Matters: Rees-Zammit has been clocked faster than Tyreek Hill, and as a rugby player, he isn't just a straight-line burner. He has already risen to the top levels of the rugby world at 22 and will be cast as a RB/WR/Returner, just in time for the new kickoff rules. This is a good time to see if your dynasty league will treat him as a rookie or an NFL free agent. Ask your commissioner for a ruling before your rookie draft because Rees-Zammit has a non-zero chance of hitting, and he should be rostered in all but the most shallow dynasty leagues.
Pittsburgh Steelers News
Head coach Mike Tomlin said QB Russell Wilson is in the "pole position" in the quarterback competition.
Why It Matters: The pole position just means you are in the lead to start, but the race is often won by a car that started farther back in the pack. The biggest news here might be that Tomlin is acknowledging that there will be a competition after Kenny Pickett asked off the team following the Wilson signing. Tomlin said, " When it's time to compete…obviously Justin will be given an opportunity that shows his capabilities." This is a tough race to project because Fields offers more as a runner, but Wilson is the more experienced and safer choice. Currently, Fields' ADP is 150.4 and Wilson's 195.9 in early Underdog drafts, but that reflects the difference in their projected value if they start more than a prediction by the fantasy community that Fields will beat out Wilson. In fact, if Fields does beat out Wilson, his ADP will surely jump into the top 100, so if you believe in him, the Fields buy-low window is open.
Pittsburgh signed RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson to a two-year, $6 million deal.
Why It Matters: The signing was announced on the same day as the new kickoff rule was announced, which should make Steelers fans smile. Patterson was with Arthur Smith in Atlanta the last three years, so this signing comes as no surprise. It could take the edge off of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren's upside, but if the Steelers offense improves under Smith with a new quarterback, both of the top Steelers running backs could still be values in drafts.
Tennessee Titans News
Head coach Brian Callahan said new WR Calvin Ridley's role will be "very similar" to Ja'Marr Chase's role with Cincinnati.
Why It Matters: This can't be a bad thing for Ridley, who was used more as an outside receiver who ran downfield routes for the Jaguars, which made his weekly fantasy impact more inconsistent. Ridley's value will hinge somewhat on Will Levis's level of play and Callahan's ability to get the team up to speed on a new offense, and DeAndre Hopkins is still there, but his current Underdog ADP right around pick 60 is still significantly lower than his cost last year and palatable with the news that Callahan will be moving him around the formation and creating opportunities for him a la Chase.
The Titans acquired CB L'Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2025 third-round pick and a swap of 2024 seventh-round picks. Sneed signed a four-year, $76 million deal with Tennessee.
Why It Matters: The Titans get a shutdown corner, which we might notice when Michael Pittman and Nico Collins face him twice a year. Sneed brought now teammate Calvin Ridley back to earth in Week 2 last season after a big Week 1 made us think Ridley was going to be a massive hit in Jacksonville. The Titans have struggled in pass defense for a while, but hopefully, Sneed can help reverse that trend. The Chiefs weren't going to pay Sneed, although his cap room was still tied up during the first wave of free agency, so this will help the team more with second- and third-tier free agents or by carrying it forward to 2025. There was a report that the deal was almost done on March 12. Kansas City gets an earlier third-round pick in 2025 than the compensatory third they would have gotten if they hadn't tagged Sneed, and they won't have to worry about a compensatory pick being canceled out by another free agent signing, but that's a small return for Sneed, who might have had his value hurt by a history of knee inflammation that kept him on the injury report for most of 2023.
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News about NFC Teams
Carolina Panthers News
The Panthers signed EDGE Jadeveon Clowney (Baltimore) to a two-year, $20 million deal.
Why It Matters: Clowney basically goes home with this deal, and he still gets another good payday that he earned with a resurgence on the Ravens roster last year. Along with A'Shawn Robinson, the Panthers have added two good run defenders, and on passing downs, Clowney should help ease the pain of trading Brian Burns.
Green Bay Packers News
Head coach Matt Lafleur said about new RB Josh Jacobs: "Just studying him, I think there's more out there for him in regards to the passing game, using him out of the backfield. He's put some really good choice routes on tape. That's something we always try to get to. We've done it a little bit more down in the red area."
Why It Matters: Jacobs' receiving production went down last year, but he has been one of the more skilled and productive receiving running backs in the league. The Packers offense had a big role in the passing game for Aaron Jones, who Jacobs is replacing, so this is another path for him to still exceed his newly minted ADP of 37.1 on Underdog, about two rounds higher than where he was going before landing in Green Bay.
New York Giants News
Head coach Brian Daboll said there is no guarantee that QB Daniel Jones will be ready for Week 1, but "when he gets back, he will be the guy."
Why It Matters: The Giants are reportedly open to moving up for a quarterback in this draft, and it's possible that a top-four quarterback (likely Michigan's J.J. McCarthy) falls to them, so this is far from set in stone. Jones could easily fall into fantasy oblivion if the Giants take a quarterback, and he'll end up there with another year of failure anyway. This is Daboll saying what he has to say, not a double-down on Jones.
Washington Commanders News
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that "People who know [Commanders GM] Adam Peters think he likes J.J. McCarthy."
Why It Matters: Most of the items on Washington and the draft quarterbacks have them taking LSU's Jayden Daniels, and the Commanders sent everyone to North Carolina for Drake Maye's pro day, so this is coming out of left field, or maybe Jim Harbaugh's mouth. The Chargers certainly have an interest in the four quarterbacks going off of the board 1-4. We should never say never, but McCarthy is still much more likely to go outside the top four (or top five) than he is to go #2 or #3.
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