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 AFC Teams
Baltimore Ravens News
Head coach John Harbaugh said, "there's no doubt" that the Ravens' offense will look different in 2024 and will not be reliant on run-pass option plays.
Why It Matters: The Raven's offense became more pass-heavy as the season went on, culminating in the playoff loss to the Chiefs when Ravens running backs combined for only six carries even though the final score was 17-10. The addition of Derrick Henry should rebalance the offense in favor of the run, although not back to the extreme run-heavy tendencies under previous offensive coordinator Greg Roman. This shouldn't be something that makes us lower Lamar Jackson's projections because a more effective running game can create a more efficient passing game and still keep Jackson among the league's elite fantasy quarterbacks. The Ravens will be breaking in a few new starters on the offensive line, but Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Isaiah Likely are all players on the rise, and Henry is the best running back the team has had in the Lamar Jackson era.
Buffalo Bills News
The Bills traded WR Stefon Diggs, a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick to Houston for the Minnesota Vikings' 2025 second-round pick.
Why It Matters: For the moment, the top targets in the Bills' pass offense are tight end Dalton Kincaid, free agent addition Curtis Samuel, and 2022 fifth-round pick Khalil Shakir. Lead running back James Cook is also very capable in the passing game. All of their ADPs should go up on this news. The Bills will certainly address the wide receiver position in the draft, and with one of the best wide receiver classes we've seen, they should be able to get a strong prospect if they stay at their natural pick of #28. It's also possible that they try to trade up for one of the three elite wide receiver prospects, maybe even into the top 10 a la the Atlanta trade-up for Julio Jones in 2011. Josh Allen's ADP may drop, perhaps even knocking him out of the QB1 spot, but that might not be appropriate. Diggs' production nosedived when offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired during the season, but Allen remained the fantasy QB1 overall after no longer interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady took over. Some metrics (in a small sample) show that the Bills pass offense has actually been more effective when Diggs is on the sideline. There are also all of the signs that have accumulated, pointing in the direction of the relationship between Diggs and the team breaking down, just as it did in Minnesota. The Bills remain in a Super Bowl window without Diggs.
Houston Texans News
Houston traded the Minnesota Vikings' 2025 second-round pick to Buffalo for WR Stefon Diggs, a 2025 fifth-round pick, and a 2024 sixth-round pick.
Why It Matters: From a fantasy standpoint, C.J. Stroud is a winner, although he was already being drafted at his ceiling as QB6 because he doesn't have much rushing upside. Joe Mixon is probably the biggest winner, as he'll face more light boxes and get a chance to finish more scoring drives. Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell were all going in the top 30 of fantasy drafts before this trade. That will surely change, perhaps even dropping all out of the top 30 when the dust settles. The Texans are smartly going all in while Stroud is on a rookie contract and have no guaranteed money on Diggs' contract after this year. Diggs is due $18 million next year and will need to prove that he is still worth that after having his production fall off in the second half of 2023.
Kansas City Chiefs News
The Chiefs re-signed RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire to a one-year deal.
Why It Matters: The Chiefs had former Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins in for a visit earlier in the week and the next day pivoted to bringing Edwards-Helaire back. That's not a great sign for Dobbins this year after the Chargers, who have an even bigger need for backfield help, had him in for a visit during free agency and passed on signing him - at least for now. Edwards-Helaire will only have fantasy relevance if Isiah Pacheco goes down, but Pacheco missed two games last year and has a hard-charging style, so we'll keep Edwards-Helaire on our waiver wire injury upside list.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice was involved in a six-car accident involving a race between a Corvette and Lamborghini in Dallas and is cooperating with authorities investigating the incident.
Why It Matters: Rice has publicly taken "full responsibility" for his role in the crash, which is in line with what the league wants from players and other representatives when they are in the news for the wrong reasons. As of now, no charges have been pressed, and the facts available about the incident are still unconfirmed. It's possible that new facts could come to light that make a suspension more likely, but at least from a league discipline standpoint, this is no reason to move Rice down in redraft or dynasty rankings.
Miami Dolphins News
The Dolphins signed RB Raheem Mostert to a one-year extension.
Why It Matters: If you had any doubt that Mostert is still central in the Dolphins' plans for 2024, you shouldn't now. His ADP in Underdog best ball drafts is only 88.8, even though he was the most valuable running back in fantasy football for a stretch in 2023. De'Von Achane's ADP of 19.5 indicates that the fantasy football community believes the second-year back will take over the Dolphins' backfield this year, but this deal shows that we should expect the workload split to remain similar to last year.
News About NFC Teams
Dallas Cowboys News
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, RB Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys are mutually interested in a reunion for the 2024 season.
Why It Matters: The Cowboys should be one of the, if not the, first team to take a running back in the draft later this month. That running back (Texas's Jonathon Brooks, coming back from an ACL tear, is one of the most likely candidates) will rocket up dynasty and redraft ranks because the team lost Tony Pollard in free agency and did not replace him with a veteran back. Elliott actually looked better in 2023 than he did in 2022 and can still be a fantasy-relevant back if he is pressed into duty. If the Cowboys and Elliott do not find common ground on a contract agreement, Rico Dowdle, who they re-signed earlier in the offseason, will be the late-round speculative value veteran to target in best ball drafts and pair with the rookie in redraft leagues.
Green Bay Packers News
Head coach Matt LaFleur said WR Christian Watson has been to a "special lab" to address his hamstring injuries.
Why It Matters: Watson has been a hit as a deep threat… when he has been able to stay on the field. Hamstring injuries cost him the first three and last five games of 2023 and three games of his 2022 rookie season. He was just starting to riff with Jordan Love and produce big fantasy games when the second injury struck last year. The glass-half-empty take here is that this news confirms that Watson is an "injury-prone" player and not just unlucky, while the glass-half-full take is that this lab could get his straightened out, which would certainly result in Watson outproducing his early best ball draft ADP of 82.6 at Underdog. Since the best ball format automatically builds in injury replacements, he's more worth the risk in that format than in traditional lineup-setting redraft leagues. He is at a buy-low moment in dynasty leagues if this treatment helps him avoid hamstring injuries in the future.
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