👀 3 Sleepers Turning Heads At Camp

I'll never stop blurbing about Laviska Shenault, sorry...

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Pristine Auction:

With training camps underway, the NFL beat writers are finally starting to toss us insatiable Fantasy Lifers some scraps to chew on.

Over at ESPN, they recently compiled a list of surprise offseason standouts for all 32 teams with commentary from various team reporters.

Here are a few that caught my eye:

Cardinals RB Eno Benjamin - The team brought in Darrell Williams in free agency, but the drumbeat for Benjamin is getting louder. Josh Weinfuss on the 2020 seventh-round pick: "He has married his quickness, pass protection and receiving ability into a player who can end up being James Conner's backup. He caught the eye of coach Kliff Kingsbury, who has raved about Benjamin."

Jags WR Laviska Shenault Jr. - You better believe I'm including this one. Michael DiRocco explains: "Shenault had a rough 2021 -- he ranked second in the NFL with eight drops and had trouble with routes -- but seems to have bounced back this spring. He has been sure-handed in the OTAs open to the media. His confidence is high..."

Eagles WR Quez Watkins - If the Eagles pass more in 2022, the offense can support one more WR alongside A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Tim McManus has the scoop: "The bulk of the buzz on Watkins, though, is coming from the coaching staff and management. They talk him up every chance they get, believing he has the tools to be a highly productive receiver."

Check out the full list here.

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WRs have been getting paid left and right this offseason, but what about D.K. Metcalf and Terry McLaurin? Our Senior Analyst & Director of Social, Kendall Valenzuela, digs in...

This offseason has been nothing short of a blockbuster film for wide receivers. We can all blame it on Jaguars wideout Christian Kirk who signed a four-year, $72 million deal ($37 million guaranteed) back in early March. Once that deal hit the news cycle, let’s just say it broke the wide receiver market open. Since then eight receivers landed deals averaging at least $20 million annually.

So who is next (or even left) to strike a new deal? Enter Seahawks leading man D.K. Metcalf and Commanders stud Terry McLaurin. Both players made statements when they skipped their respective mandatory minicamps. While many argued that Metcalf’s absence was because of his recovery from foot surgery, Tom Pelissero reported his absence was "unexcused", which resulted in more than $93,000 in fines for missing all three days.

McLaurin is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and wants a new deal. His career numbers also show it’s deserved. After having 913 receiving yards as a rookie, McLaurin had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and has the third-most contested catches (34) since 2020, per Pro Football Focus. Oh yeah, and he has played with eight different (and not great) QBs during his career.

Trade rumors swirled around Metcalf after the Seahawks traded quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. Metcalf has the same agent as A.J. Brown, who signed a four-year, $100 million extension ($57 million guaranteed) after getting traded to the Eagles during the 2022 NFL Draft. So his market could probably be in Brown territory, but below the likes of Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill.

The question is if the Seahawks are open to that type of contract.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has been “hopeful” a McLaurin deal will get done. He is scheduled to make $2.79 million in base salary this season. According to Over the Cap, Washington has around $17.9 million available in cap space this year, seventh-most in the league, and $11.7 million projected for 2023 (14th). Rivera was also adamant at mandatory minicamp that McLaurin was not on the trade block. The coming weeks will be telling for McLaurin, who is a potential “hold-in” candidate for training camp.

🏆 Top 30 RBs. Lord Reebs shares his list, including a very spicy selection at RB3 that I love.

💸 Are the Broncos too expensive in drafts? All of their ADPs are on the rise.

🤏 Uh oh, is Kenny Pickett not ready? These reports are certainly not bullish for the rookie QB.

🐎 Don't sleep on this WR. He's been injury-plagued before, but this Colts WR is ready to rock this year.

👋 13 Overrated QBs. The Footballguys pulled together a list of QBs to fade.

In fantasy drafts we are forced to make choices and none are tougher than when two teammates who play the same position go in the same range of drafts. In this new series, our contributors will help you make ties on these ADP Twins. Today, Sam Wallace looks at a pair of Chiefs WRs going in the mid-rounds.

If you’ve drafted several best ball teams, which you absolutely should over at Underdog Fantasy where promo code LIFE gets you a deposit match up to $100, you likely have encountered certain instances where you are torn between two players. Those two players might even be teammates. What if they’re teammates on a high-powered offense with a ton of opportunity in front of them?

Let’s take a look (ADP courtesy of Underdog Fantasy):

• Skyy Moore - WR44

• Marquez Valdes-Scantling - WR47

💭 The Rationale

Moore (5’10” / 195 lbs) clocked a 4.41 40-yard dash at the combine and dominated his last year at Western Michigan. He tallied a stat line of 95 receptions, 1,288 yards & 10 TDs and posted a 43% dominator rating. He’s the earliest WR the Chiefs have selected since 2011. Moore enters a wide-open receiver room following the departure of Tyreek Hill (in addition to Byron Pringle & Demarcus Robinson).

Unfortunately for Moore, he’s been nursing a hamstring injury which forced him to miss most of OTAs. He’s been getting in some reps which is a positive sign and there’s hope that he’ll be ready to go by training camp.

The talented rookie has the opportunity to establish himself and carve out a meaningful role, but it’s difficult to project where he’ll fall in the pecking order.

For MVS, it’s admittedly tough to be optimistic because we have a four-year sample size of marginal production while playing with a future Hall of Fame quarterback, in Aaron Rodgers. He’s a tall (6’4” / 206 lbs) burner with 4.37 speed and has averaged north of 15 yards/reception each season.

For his career, he’s only averaging 7.1 points/game while earning a paltry 12% target share. WR56 is his best season finish and he’s finished as a WR3 or worse in 80% of his games.

However, it’s hard for anyone to earn a sizable target share while playing alongside Davante Adams. In three of the last four seasons, Adams has averaged 162 targets, 116 receptions, 1,437 yards & 14 TDs. Travis Kelce will be the de facto No. 1 option for Patrick Mahomes, but the No. 2 role is wide open.

The true WR1 for the Chiefs might very well be newly signed JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR27) but the athletic profile and three-year/$30 million contract given to MVS gives him the edge. Getting a cheap piece of an explosive offense this late in drafts makes this an exciting choice in this Twin ADP Battle.

Winner - Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The season is fast approaching, which means it is time for us to get to know all of these NFL teams and who we should be drafting and fading after a busy offseason. In today's team preview, our ranker extraordinaire, Waz, previews the Houston Texans. Seriously: thank you for your service.

After a four-win 2021 season under David Culley’s first and last season as HC, the Texans enter 2022 tied for the lowest odds in the league to win their division (AFC South, +2500) and the Super Bowl (+25000). Still, there may be some reasons to believe the Texans have an opportunity to improve on last season and exceed their implied 4.5-win total.

⚙️ Offseason changes

• In January, Culley was fired as HC. GM Nick Caserio announced that he and Culley had “philosophical differences over the long-term direction and vision for [the Texans’] program moving forward.” Less than a month later, Texans DC Lovie Smith was promoted to head coach.

• Traded the 68th, 108th, and 124th pick in the NFL Draft to select WR John Metchie III (Alabama) in the second round as the 44th overall pick. Metchie tore his ACL in the SEC Championship Game and may not be ready for the start of the season. When healthy, he projects to be an immediate upgrade out of the slot over WR Chris Moore.

• Drafted CB Derek Stingley Jr. (1.03), OG Kenyon Green (1.15), S Jalen Pitre (2.05), LB Christian Harris (3.11), RB Dameon Pierce (4.02), DT Thomas Booker (5.07), TE Teagan Quitoriano (5.27), and OT Austin Deculus (6.27).

• Released QB Tyrod Taylor, RB David Johnson, and TE Jordan Akins.

• Signed RB Dare Ogunbowale at two years for $3.3M and RB Marlon Mack at one year for $1.25M. Mack projects to handle early-season early-down backfield work with fourth-round Pierce and RB Rex Burkhead sprinkled in. Pierce is expected to assume early-down duties in the near future, but Caserio stated that “he has to earn his opportunity on the team [and] create a role for himself.” This endorsement with Smith’s old-school coaching could frustrate fantasy managers needing production out of late-round RB targets.

✨Team Vibes

Heading into 2022 as the de facto Texans QB with a new HC who’s been vocal about how “excellent” his starting QB is, Mills should continue to improve his timing and connection with returning WRs Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins, while having the support of backfield veterans Mack and Burkhead.

Seeking targets alongside Cooks and Collins will be second-year TE Brevin Jordan who caught each of his three TDs from Mills. When Metchie is healthy and assumes slot receiver duties, Mills should blossom with this young Texans receiving corps, especially if their running game can move the chains and their offensive line not only improves but stays healthy as well. Looking at you, Laremy Tunsil.

QB Davis Mills will look to make a second-year leap as he heads into the 2022 season as their starting QB. As a rookie, Mills was thrown into a string of challenging situations because of Tyrod Taylor’s injuries and Deshaun Watson’s looming legal situation. He finished last season with two wins, 16 TDs to 10 INTs, and a 66.8% completion rate. While this is nothing to write home about, he closed out his rookie campaign throwing nine TDs to two INTs in his last five starts. Additionally, he showed promise in the red zone on limited opportunities, logging a 119.54 passer rating on 29 attempts thanks to eight TDs, zero INTs, and a 65.5% completion percentage.

While all considered long shots, it’s promising to see four Texans rookies being offered odds for some awards. Pierce (+2000) and Metchie (+6600) have future odds for OROY while Pitre (+5000) and Harris (+8000) have future odds for DROY.

🎯Draft targets

• WR Brandin Cooks (ADP 54.4, WR26)

• WR Nico Collins (ADP 196.8, WR86)

• QB Davis Mills (ADP 204.6, QB28)

👋Draft fades

• RB Marlon Mack (ADP 187.4, RB57)