Welcome to the weekly Fantasy Notebook, the must-stop spot for keeping your finger on the pulse of Fantasy Nation. NFL news and developments drive fantasy values. The Notebook is here to keep you in the loop on all of it throughout the season.
Unexpected Developments
Remember two weeks ago when I suggested in this space that any developments before the start of training camps wouldn't be in anybody's best interests?
Well . . .
Chiefs star wide receiver Rashee Rice was sentenced to 30 days of jail time and five years' probation Thursday for his role in a multicar crash last year. The NFL can now expedite its disciplinary process for Rice, who is likely to receive a multi-game suspension at some point during the 2025 season.
Also on Thursday, Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison pleaded no contest to a lesser charge to resolve a 2024 DUI citation. The plea agreement, however, still leaves him subject to NFL discipline.
"We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter, which remains under review," the NFL said in statements on both players Thursday.
You can learn more about both situations in our Fantasy Fallout: Suspensions Loom for Rice and Addison article.
Meanwhile, Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, a second-round pick in April, was arrested and charged with battery and domestic violence in Florida last Saturday. Judkins allegedly struck a woman in the mouth with a "closed fist" during a physical altercation earlier this month.
Read more about Judkins in The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly section below.
Commanders wideout Terry McLaurin voiced displeasure and frustration with his contract negotiations -- or more accurately, the lack thereof -- while 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings asked for a new deal or a trade.
It's not yet clear if McLaurin will report to training camp with teammates this coming Tuesday. Jennings was slated to report to camp with the Niners, a good thing with fellow receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall opening camp on the PUP list . . .
The News Wasn't All Bad
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The Jets signed receiver Garrett Wilson to a four-year, $130 million extension and gave cornerback Sauce Gardner a four-year, $120.4 million deal this week. Gardner and Wilson became the first two former first-round picks under the NFL's current financial system, which went into effect in 2011, to receive extensions in their first year of eligibility (after three years).
Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt landed a record-setting three-year, $123 million deal, while the Chiefs signed guard Trey Smith to a record $94 million contract.
Oh, and in Los Angeles, Chargers running back Najee Harris, who injured an eye in a Fourth of July fireworks incident, opened camp on the non-football injury list (he can come off that list at any time). Veteran wideout Mike Williams, who returned to the team as a free agent this offseason, announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday.
And yes. The Chargers have already opened training camp. Their opponent in this year's Hall of Fame Game (which is just 11 days away), the Lions, open camp today.
That's right. Football draws nigh. Life is good . . .
With all that out of the way, it's time to resume our weekly reviews of this year's changing offensive coordinators and play callers. In case you're just tuning in, the Fantasy Notebook has covered the changes in Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, New England, New Orleans, and the New York Jets over the last three months.
So, let's dive into the next one . . .
Getting Coordinated: The Unsung Hero In Philadelphia
According to Dave Spadaro of the team's official website, "He has been a star in his role for four seasons with the Eagles' coaching staff, helping the offense continually stay ahead of the NFL curve."
Kevin Patullo now takes on a new role as Philadelphia's offensive coordinator, allowing for continuity on the coaching staff and providing the offense and quarterback Jalen Hurts with a familiar voice and like-minded approach for the 2025 season.
The team announced the elevation of Patullo, the team's passing game coordinator since 2021, who was also appointed associate head coach in 2023. This elevation came after 2024 offensive coordinator Kellen Moore moved on to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Patullo served as receivers coach and then pass game specialist during Nick Sirianni's stint as the Colts offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2020. Sirianni brought Patullo with him to Philadelphia when he landed the head coaching gig in 2021 to be his right-hand man.
"There's not one decision that I've ever made in the building without Kevin Patullo," Sirianni said in March.
During Super Bowl week in February, quarterback Kenny Pickett described Patullo as the team's "unsung hero", noting he spearheaded the two-minute offense and was key in shaping the game plan behind the scenes each week.
However, this is a new role for Patullo, who will be calling plays full-time for the first time in his career . . .
Keeping It In House
As ESPN.com's Tim McManus reminded readers, the last time the Eagles promoted from within, tabbing Brian Johnson to replace Shane Steichen in 2023, it did not go well. Sirianni became more hands-on, and a disconnect emerged among Johnson, Sirianni, and Hurts regarding the visions for the offense.
Things smoothed out last year when Moore took over the offense and Sirianni took a step back, assuming a CEO-type role.
Whether that approach will continue with Patullo now at offensive coordinator remains to be seen.
"I think there's a lot of fundamental things that we see the same way, but I do think our brains work differently," Patullo said.
"It's a good back-and-forth conversational piece that we have constantly. There's a lot of things he believes in that I believe in as well and we're going to do those things. But I do think we challenge each other to grow, and he's awesome about just finding new ideas and testing the waters and saying, 'What if we did this? What if we tried that?'"
For Hurts, this marks the fifth different playcaller he's had in six NFL seasons.
The good news for him is that there won't be any drastic changes on offense. Patullo will add some personal flair but plans on keeping much of the verbiage in place. There's no need for a completely blank whiteboard this time around, though the goal of "building on what our players do best" continues to be a driving principle for Patullo . . .
All The Pieces Are In Place
Since 2021, the Eagles have had the following league rankings in areas that Patullo directly touched:
- 4th in offensive EPA (expected points added) per play
- 2nd in passing yards per attempt
- 2nd in fewest interceptions
- 3rd in points scored
- 3rd in drive score percentage
- 3rd in touchdown percentage
- 5th in successful play percentage
- 6th in passer rating
So, even though the last internal promotion (Johnson) didn't work out, plenty is working in Patullo's favor.
The personnel is high-end, but as Footballguy Jason Wood notes, the uncertainty lies in Patullo's lack of play-calling experience. "Whether his tweaks lead to incremental progress or unexpected regression is unknown," Wood wrote. "A slight step back in efficiency is reasonable to expect, but not enough to derail the value of Philadelphia's top fantasy contributors."
And that's what matters . . .
Elite Effort, Less Than Elite Finish
Hurts wound up finishing as QB3 in 2022 and QB2 in 2023, but he fell outside the elite tier in 2024, ending the regular season as QB8 in total points. He was QB6 in points per game.
The slightly diminished finish came even though Hurts' 2024 was elite across the board:
- 1st in rushing TDs
- 1st in broken tackles
- 1st in completion percentage over expectation
- Top-5 in YPA and passer rating (min. 50 attempts)
He was also named Super Bowl LIX MVP after leading the Eagles.
That's a lot of success. But from a fantasy perspective, there was a glaring issue . . .
Low Volume
Hurts completed 104 fewer passes in 2024 than in 2023 -- and 99 fewer than in 2022, despite playing the same number of games (15) that he did that season.
He had 177 fewer attempts last year than he did the year before.
Hurts attempted 30-plus passes in just five games in 2024 (compared to eight in 2022).
However, the Eagles went 10-1 in the 11 games where he attempted fewer than 30 passes.
For The Obvious Reason
Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards -- just 101 short of Eric Dickerson's all-time NFL record. With that ground game rolling, Philly didn't need Hurts to air it out.
So yes, Hurts was efficient -- but in games where the Eagles were rolling, the volume vanished. Our own Jeff Blaylock put a fine point on it when he wrote Hurts' "ceiling as a passer has been lowered by the Eagles' rushing success and frequent late-game leads."
But what he lacked in passing volume, Hurts continued to make up for it by . . .
Dominating As A Runner
"His fantasy appeal stems largely from his rushing production," Blaylock wrote.
To that point, since 2021, Hurts averaged nearly 150 fantasy points per season from rushing alone, the most of any quarterback in the league in that timeframe.
It's the main reason Hurts has finished as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in each of his four seasons as a starter.
But it's not just that he runs the football. It's more about where he runs it . . .
A Prolific Scorer
Hurts has double-digit rushing touchdowns in each of the last four years. He's rushed for 13-plus TDs in three straight seasons.
His 52 rushing touchdowns over that span are 12 more than Josh Allen's 40 for Buffalo. No other quarterback has 20 rushing touchdowns over the last four years.
He's been such a dangerous goal-line runner that the NFL tried to ban his most effective scoring play . . .
The Brotherly Shove Lives
A proposed ban on the tush push, a goal-line play the Eagles have used with great success, did not receive enough votes to pass at the NFL Spring Meeting in May.
That Hurts will continue getting the additional, high-leverage, opportunities is very good news.
Hurts leads all QBs in rushing attempts inside the five-yard line over the last three years, averaging 47 percent of the Eagles' carries.
Thirty-three of his 42 rushing TDs in his four seasons at the helm have come from inside the five-yard line.
It hasn't all been tush-push dependent.
But the Eagles' mastery of the play makes a difference, and that rushing equity is an integral part of Hurts' fantasy success and a big reason he sits at QB4 in the current Footballguys Projections.
Some of that optimism stems from the expectation that regression is coming for the rushing attack . . .
Barkley's Star Turn
In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley had one of the best seasons ever by a running back. He rushed for 2,504 yards over the regular and postseasons, breaking the previous single-season record Terrell Davis held while leading his new team on its Super Bowl run.
Though Barkley had a chance to take down Dickerson's regular-season rushing title, the Eagles decided to rest their starters in their finale against Barkley's former team, the Giants. Still, his 2,005 rushing yards were the eighth most in a regular season in NFL history.
Running behind an offensive line that sits at No. 1 on Footballguy Matt Bitonti's Rankings, didn't hurt.
But positive game scripts also worked in Barkley's favor.
He ran for 1,245 yards and eight touchdowns during the second half of games during the 2024 season. He posted 760 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in the first half of games.
He was the driving force behind Philadelphia's offensive success . . .
The Best Season Ever?
Named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week four times during the regular season, Barkley set the franchise's single-game rushing record in the regular season with 255 against the Los Angeles Rams and topped 200 yards (205) in the Divisional Round win, also against the Rams, to set the team's single-game playoff record.
His league-leading, franchise-record 2,283 yards from scrimmage during the regular season represented an NFL-high 34.8 percent of his team's output, while adding 15 total touchdowns.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman, the man who signed Barkley to a three-year contract worth a base value of $37.75 million with $26 million guaranteed last offseason, was pleased.
"In my opinion," Roseman said, "The best season for any skill position player in NFL history."
In March, Roseman put more money where his mouth is when the team and Barkley agreed to add two more years to his existing contract, for a total of $41.2 million in new money.
While the Eagles expect Barkley to keep rolling . . .
Fantasy Investors Have Questions
Two of them come immediately to mind: Can Barkley repeat his 2024 output? And is he worth the first or second pick overall to find out?
Barkley scored the second-most total points among all fantasy running backs last year. His 22 points per game, however, were the most in the league.
But he had 482 touches.
As ESPN.com's Mike Clay noted, that's the most a running back has handled since DeMarco Murray had 497 in 2014. All told, 15 running backs have hit 400 touches (including the playoffs), and only five of those repeated as top-5 fantasy producers the following year.
Our colleague Gary Davenport, in predicting a serious decline for Barkley, recently noted that since 1980, 30 running backs have surpassed 370 carries in a season. Of that bunch, one back, Dickerson in 1984 (when he set the NFL all-time rushing record), gained more rushing yards the following year. Most missed time. Forty percent saw their production drop by over half. The average decrease in production topped 40 percent.
Nonetheless, Barkley is currently being drafted as RB1 with the second pick overall . . .
A Cheap Insurance Policy
While they're probably not as worried about the Curse of 370 or The Madden Cover Curse (which Joe Bryant effectively debunked) as fantasy investors are, the Eagles have ample reason to keep Barkley fresh this fall.
That means 2024 fourth-round pick Will Shipley, who had a great spring, should play the Kenneth Gainwell role at a minimum after Gainwell signed with Pittsburgh in free agency.
A.J. Dillon is coming back from a neck injury and could be the early down backup, but Shipley is talented enough to claim that role, too.
When you are putting together a list of backup running backs to target late in your draft, Shipley should be on it. He's currently going as RB60 in Round 20.
That's a free-square play with a lot of contingent upside . . .
The Underutilized Super Hero
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Despite missing three games due to injury, A.J. Brown led the Eagles with 1,079 receiving yards on 67 catches. He also ranked first in receiving average with 16.1 yards per catch (on a minimum of 60 catches) and third in receiving yards per game (83.0), behind Ja'Marr Chase (100.5) and Justin Jefferson (90.2).
In an article published Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler continued his ranking of the NFL's top players by position with wideouts.
Brown ranked No. 5 on the list at his position through the eyes of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts.
Fowler acknowledged it's odd to see a top-five receiver tied for 43rd in league-wide targets last season (97). But those numbers for Brown were more a product of the run-heavy Eagles offense and didn't affect his high-end ability.
Philly was 16-1 while averaging 31.5 points per game with Brown in the lineup last season. Without Brown, the team went 2-2 while averaging 18.0 points per game. Those numbers include Philadelphia's playoff run.
"He's still awesome," a veteran AFC scout told Fowler. "He comes up big when you need him, he's still incredibly strong and fast enough. A nightmare to tackle. Maybe a tad slower than he was, but that's slight."
Still, as Wood reminded readers, Brown was WR12 last year on a per-game basis, but he had notable moments of frustration with the limited volume.
While the situation was manageable with the Eagles winning last year, Wood wonders if a new play-caller and some regression could lead to greater discontent this fall . . .
The High-End Sidekick
While Brown is considered to be one of the best overall receivers in the NFL, DeVonta Smith is widely considered one of the best No. 2s, a player who could be a No. 1 on a ton of NFL teams.
Of course, if volume was an issue for the team's top downfield weapon, it wasn't great for Smith, either.
Nonetheless, Smith's eight receiving touchdowns last season were more than Nico Collins, Garrett Wilson, Malik Nabers, Tyreek Hill, and CeeDee Lamb.
As he gets set to enter Year 5 of his NFL career, the former first-round pick is dependable and clutch.
In 2024, Smith missed a few games due to injury but still managed to catch 68 passes for 833 yards, with those eight scores, in 13 games.
Those 833 yards were a career-low, but Smith had another good postseason with 16 catches for 190 yards and a touchdown to seal the Eagles' victory in Super Bowl LIX . . .
Who's The Better Value?
As CBSSports.com noted, the Eagles' offensive line, run game, and defense are all expected to resume dominance and possibly take a step forward, which could make volume an issue for the passing game.
Brown is currently being drafted as WR9 with the 17th pick overall. Smith is WR25, available in Round 5.
The Footballguys Projections call for a WR11 finish for Brown, with 83 catches for 1,270 yards and eight touchdowns. He's projected to score 16.25 points per game. Smith, meanwhile, is projected to finish as WR21 with 82 catches, 1,025 yards, and eight touchdowns.
The combined totals (165 catches, 2,156 yards, 16 touchdowns) surpass last year's final numbers (135 catches, 1,912 yards, 14 touchdowns) Brown and Smith racked up last season . . .
Does That Leave Anything For Anybody Else?
Dallas Goedert thinks so. The veteran tight end believes he'll be featured more in Patullo's scheme.
"I've really loved what he's doing with the offense," Goedert said. "Little changes here and there, and I'm really excited for the opportunity just to -- with the connection I grew with him the last four years. What he sees in me in different ways that he's going to get me the ball, I'm really excited for."
Goedert's 2021 and 2022 seasons caused some excitement, but he's come up short of his per-game numbers in both years since.
Now heading into his age-30 season, he projects to be third on the pecking order, so the volume issue remains.
Still, Footballguy Cecil Lammey reminded readers that Goedert's involvement spikes when Brown and/or Smith miss time. Lammey added that possibility gives Goedert some sneaky contingent value.
Being drafted as the TE14 in Round 11, there's almost no risk . . .
This And That: Around The League Edition
Time to get a feel for some players and situations of interest as teams start getting to work in advance of the 2025 NFL season . . .
Making Waves In Detroit
After finishing No. 1 in scoring and No. 2 in yards with Ben Johnson as their play-caller last season, the Lions have a new offensive coordinator in John Morton.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs caught 104 passes over his first two NFL seasons, and the team has plans to make him an even bigger part of the passing game in 2025.
The third-year man revealed that one of the new wrinkles Morton has installed this year involves Gibbs lining up outside of the backfield more frequently than he did in his first two seasons.
"Nothing too much changed, so a lot of the stuff is the same," Gibbs said. "I gotta learn the formations for this, but I'm being split out, I guess, like way more than I was the past two years. That's good, that's going to be fun. I've been waiting on that. He wants me to be more involved in it, so that's what he plans on doing.
Gibbs scored 20 touchdowns for the Lions last season, so there's not much need to elaborate on why the team would want to find more ways to put the ball in his hands.
As Profootballtalk.com'sJosh Alper suggests, if it works as planned, there won't be much crying over the change in coordinators in Detroit.
In fact, early reports -- beyond getting Gibbs more opportunities -- have been very positive . . .
Even A Bit Hyperbolic
In an interview with Jim Rome this past week, tight end Sam LaPorta noted that while the offense might be a little different with Morton, the continuity within the rest of the offensive staff will aid in the transition.
"Fortunately, we kept a couple of our position coaches -- specifically our offensive line coach," LaPorta said. "We promoted Hank Fraley to our run game coordinator, so fortunately for me, we have the same run-game system this year, the same verbiage, which you can imagine is a lot. But [Morton has been a] pass-game coordinator his entire life.
"Brilliant mind. I think he's going to call the offense great."
I'm not going to take anything at face value here.
I wouldn't have expected LaPorta to be critical of the new coordinator in a public forum, but it's fair to wonder if that praise isn't a bit over the top.
Nonetheless, I'm encouraged by LaPorta's choice of words and by Gibbs' talk of his evolving role.
We'll see how the club adapts and adjusts with a new offensive play-caller starting with Detroit's Week 1 matchup against Green Bay, but for now, I don't see any red flags for an offense fantasy investors will be leaning into heavily.
By the way, I covered the full range of possibilities for the Lions under Morton in a previous Fantasy Notebook; Wood did the same here as part of his series looking at the league's new play callers . . .
Detroit Style In New York
Following up on an item from last week's Fantasy Notebook . . . Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic shares in my belief that the Jets will be a run-heavier offense this year.
As Rosenblatt explained, the Jets ran the ball less than any team last season. The biggest reason for that (Aaron Rodgers) is gone. Rosenblatt would not be shocked if the Jets went from last to first in terms of rushing attempts -- the product of a run-first scheme led by offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, and adding the dynamic, dual-threat quarterbacking of Justin Fields to the mix.
More to the point, however, the Jets are modeling their offense after the one Engstrand and new head coach Aaron Glenn came from in Detroit, where, in theory at least, Breece Hall would play the Gibbs role. At the same time, Braelon Allen would step in as the David Montgomery, power-running type.
Allen was a training camp breakout last year who never got a chance to get going in a bad offense, but he'll have plenty of opportunities in 2025 to make his mark and prove he can be the long-term starter with Hall in the last year of his contract.
As Lammey pointed out this week, "Allen is not the runner that Montgomery is in a 1-for-1 comparison (Allen still dances a bit too much despite his size), but we love this idea."
I love it even more when I think back to what Gibbs and Montgomery did in Detroit last year over the first 14 weeks when both were in the lineup: Gibbs was RB5 while playing alongside Montgomery, averaging an impressive 18 points per game over that span.
But Montgomery was RB9 over that same 14-game stretch before a sprained MCL sidelined him.
Allen has a current ADP of RB54. Hall is RB14, going with the 31st pick overall.
If you're buying into Rosenblatt's theory here, Allen will be in a position to deliver a significant return on investment . . .
Rookie Of Steel
In his first year as the Steelers' offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith aimed to revive Pittsburgh's roots as a ground-and-pound football team. While only three teams ran the football more, the problem was that only six teams were less efficient than the Steelers' 4.1 yards per carry.
According to The Athletic's Mike DeFabo, that's why rookie running back Kaleb Johnson enters the conversation.
DeFabo went on to point out that the former Iowa ball carrier excelled on wide-zone runs in college, which makes him an ideal scheme fit for Smith's offense.
The third-round draft pick will have to earn his carries in a well-rounded backfield that also features Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell. But with a patient running style and a bruising body type, DeFabo Johnson has an excellent chance as the season plays out to take his first step toward becoming the Steelers' feature back of the future.
But is the price right?
Johnson is currently being drafted as RB26 in Round 6. Warren is RB32 going two full rounds later (with the 94th pick overall).
Warren sits at RB25 on the Footballguys Projections. His 12.95 points per game are noticeably higher than Johnson's 10.48-point-per-game projection. Johnson will finish as RB36 based on that projection.
Even if you have higher hopes for Johnson than our projections team, getting Warren in the ninth round of your draft opens the door to drafting Kansas City's Isiah Pacheco, whose RB27 ADP puts him one spot after Johnson, Tennessee's Tony Pollard (RB29), or Washington's Brian Robinson Jr., who's going as RB30.
I'm not saying Johnson can't outperform any of those backs. Still, I'm more comfortable with the anticipated workload for all three veterans -- and I could still add Warren, the Pittsburgh back we project to finish higher than Johnson, to my roster if I wanted a piece of that backfield . . .
Diggs Ahead Of Schedule?
Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who suffered a torn ACL in his right knee last October while with the Houston Texans, is reportedly "trending to being able to play" his new team's 2025 season opener on Sept. 7 at the Los Angeles Rams.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported the news on Wednesday.
Breer said he thinks Diggs will start training camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. However, Breer further clarified that he thinks the veteran will be cleared to play "full-speed, 11-on-11" football before the end of August.
Diggs suffered the non-contact injury while he was running a route in the Texans' 23-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 27. He missed the remainder of the season. Diggs had 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns (with a fourth rushing score).
At that rate, he would have had at least 100 catches and 1,000 yards over a full season.
This is where I remind you that Diggs has finished as a fantasy WR2 or better (including five WR1 finishes) every season from 2017 through 2023.
Assuming Breer's reporting is on point, Diggs' current WR41 ADP and eighth-round price are fantastic values. Checking the Footballguys Projections, he is WR24 on a points-per-game basis.
If Diggs has a chance of playing 15 to 17 games this year, my own (fairly aggressive) WR27 Ranking is going to end up being low . . .
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Every week, the NFL delivers a remarkable range of stories. I like to use this spot to encapsulate that broad expanse here.
The Good: The Best Seven Hours Still Intact
The NFL Network's RedZone Channel has become a staple for fantasy players in recent years. The channel delivers live, whip-around coverage of every Sunday afternoon NFL game during the regular season, focusing on key scoring plays and pivotal moments.
For fantasy managers, the fact that it features up to eight games simultaneously on screen and showcases every touchdown from each game makes it a vital part of our Sunday rituals.
Scott Hanson has been the host of NFL RedZone since its inception, providing commentary and guiding viewers through the action. Because of that role -- and how he handles it, Hanson has become part and parcel of the NFL experience for most of us.
Until recently, Hanson's return wasn't a foregone conclusion.
"There was quite a knockdown drag-out negotiation, but I'm thrilled to be back," Hanson told SI.com. "I've been the host of the show for 16 years now. I've been with the NFL for 18 seasons. They've been good for me. I'd like to think I've been good for them. A reasonable mind should come to an agreement here.
"However, the NFL, as they are wont to do, are very tough negotiators."
Fortunately, the deal was finalized, and Hanson will return to the job he loves, quarterbacking the RedZone product for all of us who are very comfortable with Hanson in the chair.
As PFT summed up, "It's good for NFL fans, and thus good for the NFL, that Hanson will be back . . ."
The Bad: Foul (Body) Language?
The Bears hired Ben Johnson as their head coach because they believe he can help quarterback Caleb Williams play better than he did during his rookie season, but reading defenses and delivering passes isn't all that Johnson is working on with Williams.
Albert Breer of SI.com recently reported that Johnson has been working with Williams on his body language when things don't go as well as hoped, and Johnson addressed that during a recent press conference.
The coach said he wants the team to avoid exhibiting anything that sends a "woe is me" message and that "our body language needs to reflect" that the team is looking ahead rather than dwelling on the previous play.
"Early in the process we sat down and watched some tape from a year ago and we talked it through," Johnson said. "It's like, 'Do we really want to? Is this what we want to look like or not?' We agree, 'No, it's not, OK, we learn from it, we move on to the next thing.' Body language is a huge thing. Demeanor. We don't want to be a palms-up team where we're questioning everything. No, no, no -- to me, that's a little bit of a sign of weakness. We don't want to exhibit that from anybody on the team."
But as Alper wrote, "If all goes according to plan for the Bears, the body language should be easy to improve because there will be fewer bad things to respond to on the field in 2025 . . ."
The Ugly: More Trouble For Cleveland
Browns rookies reported to training camp on Friday. Second-round running back Quinshon Judkins wasn't among them.
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Judkins, who has not yet signed, will not be included as the team hits the field for training camp.
As noted at the top of the page, Judkins is facing battery and domestic violence charges in Florida following last weekend's arrest.
While the youngster would love to be negotiating a fully-guaranteed contract as the fourth pick in Round 2, he's got bigger issues.
"He's focusing more on his legal matter right now, and so are the Browns," Cabot said.
Implicit in Cabot's reporting could be an acknowledgement that the Browns and Judkins are bracing for the NFL to place the player on paid leave as soon as he signs his contract.
Of course, as PFT's Mike Florio suggested, there's a chance the NFL will decide based on its preliminary investigation that paid leave isn't justified. Based on the police report, however, the allegation that he punched a female with a closed fist in the face (leaving visible bruising) could be enough to get the NFL to move.
Traditionally, domestic violence allegations are far more likely to spark paid leave.
It happened last year to another Browns second-round pick from Ohio State. Defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was placed on paid leave within two weeks of being arrested for domestic violence.
Per Florio, here's the possible timeline: One, Judkins signs his rookie contract. Two, Judkins prepares to show up for training camp. Three -- in theory -- the NFL tells him not to bother.
No matter how it plays out, it's an ugly outcome for the Browns and the NFL, and even worse for the alleged victim . . .
The Final Word
That's it for this week's Fantasy Notebook. First-time readers will be pleased to learn you're only scratching the surface of what's available at Footballguys. We're hard at work year-round to help our subscribers gain an edge on the competition.
Our 2025 Player Projections and Preseason Draft Rankings are live, along with the usual array of interesting strategy and news articles. Also, the free Daily Email Update has resumed. Get the biggest stories in football. Summarized, explained, and delivered straight to your inbox -- every day.
The Footballguys 2025 Draft Guide is still on sale. Get your copy of this high-quality print publication chocked full of in-depth analysis by your favorite staffers.
Remember: The regular season will be here before you know it, so head back next week for another edition of the Fantasy Notebook.
Bob Harris was the first-ever Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year and is a member of the FSWA Hall of Fame. You can catch Harris' "On The Hotseat" every Tuesday on the Footballguys Audible channel and listen to him on weeknights at 8 p.m. ET on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio's The Football Diehards show on Sirius channel 87.
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