Dynasty Player News

While the wide receiver depth chart in Detroit has clearly been overhauled, there could still be room here for a sleeper. DJ Chark, Josh Reynolds and Jameson Williams are all likely at the top of the heap, but Benson is trying to make a move to get some meaningful snaps. While he has just ten career catches, there's some intrigue here as his talent and opportunity could meet up this Summer. Keep an eye on the news in Detroit as Benson could find himself on the radar soon.

Likely is garnering a lot of publicity this off-season as this isn't the first time we've seen his name mentioned in an off-season highlight piece. There is a long road to fantasy relevance with Likely as Mark Andrews is clearly going to be the centerpiece of the Baltimore passing attack. Still, there's some real intrigue brewing here in regards to the fourth round pick and he's starting to climb up the rookie draft rankings, coming in as our overall rookie #50.

Smith has shown glimpses before, but he's mostly been relegated to the gunner position on the Jets special teams unit. On his career, he's posted only 26 catches. However, he's reportedly had another strong off-season and could be making a play to be part of the regular season offense. While not worthy of a roster pickup quite yet, Smith is another name to keep on the dynasty radar.

Nixon was a seventh round pick of New England last year and most of the past-catching attention in dynasty leagues has been on their surprise second round pick from this year, Tyquan Thornton. However, Nixon made some waves in off-season workouts and seemingly has a legitimate shot at making the Patriots roster and avoiding another trip to the practice squad. Nixon is a name to file away on watch lists.

Crowder is at a turning point in his career as the seen year veteran will be battling Isaiah McKenzie for the slot receiver left vacated by Cole Beasley. This will be a position battle to watch as the Bills boast one of the league's most explosive offenses. Crowder is currently our WR89, which puts him on the fringe of roster worthiness. However, keep a close eye on this battle all Summer as the winner will have clear in-season value.

The team gave Golladay a four-year $72M contract in 2021 and he responded with a 37/521/0 stat line. It was a brutal campaign for the 28-year-old, who was clearly a shadow of his former-self. While with the Lions, Golladay combined for 135 receptions, 2,253 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2018 and 2019 before injury limited his 2020 campaign to only five games. Bolting for the Giants and a big payday, the dynamic target was supposed to play a large role in the restoration of the struggling team's passing attack with Daniel Jones under center. That hasn't panned out and, while still clearly a starter, Golladay has one more year to find the expected production. If fully healthy and with Daniel Jones now in his own make-or-break season, Golladay, DLF's WR64, has all the potential to be a fine later-round sleeper at receiver but headwinds are blowing.

It's no surprise though there are multiple teams vying for the less-than-ideal 'honor.' Sophomore quarterback Davis Mills showed that he may have NFL upside after looking like a starter late in 2021. That said, with a strong 2023 draft class, most notably at quarterback, the team will be hard pressed to keep Mills under-center unless he has a standout 2022 campaign. Similar to 10th-overall selection Josh Rosen in 2018 by the Cardinals before their selection of Kyler Murray, another coaching change or a high draft selection would likely end Mills' time as a starter as the team looks for a marquee name as its new face of the franchise. Mills controls his own destiny and should consider 2022 a resume-building season. He's found as DLF's QB30 showing that he's acknowledged as a very tenuous starter.

The Commanders absolutely needed to secure the services of McLaurin beyond 2022 and this gets the job done. Saying he's "humbled and ecstatic" he also went on to say that he's motivated to "work even harder." In his age-27 season, McLaurin has quietly produced two back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, though has only scored nine touchdowns over the two seasons. It's hard to predict what type of season 'Scary Terry' can muster with new quarterback Carson Wentz under-center, but there's no question he'll remain the WR1 and garner plenty of targets. He's listed as DLF's WR16.

So we're doing this again are we? Dynasty leaguers have been burned for three seasons running on the hype and impressive camp performance(s) of Campbell, who turns 25 later this month. There's clearly upside for the fourth-year player who could be considered the WR2 behind Michael Pittman. The Colts are also high on 2022 rookie Alec Pierce but, as a rookie, nothing can be guaranteed until we see the starting lineup come week one. As for Campbell, there's no questioning the receiver's upside if he's able to remain healthy through training camp and open the season as a starter, but now sparsely ranked as DLF"s WR113, it's obvious that there's little expectation for either.

The Steelers have one of the best scouting departments when it comes to receivers and Pickens will have time to pick up the offense over time. That said, the team also has little experience or proven production behind starters Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool so it's not out of the question that Pickens could elevate himself, and his role, with a standout training camp. All eyes continue to be on the development of Claypool who had an underwhelming 2021 as well. It's not out of the question the team adds a veteran receiver in short order. As for Pickens, DLF's WR43, he continues to be a late first round selection in dynasty rookie drafts and seems to have a clear runway for an increasing role over the next year.

It's obviously very early still and the pads have yet to go on but, nonetheless, it's not the trend we have been looking for. Citing issues with accuracy, ball placement and decision-making, labeled as "questionable at best," interceptions have been frequent. There also have been positive plays but the warning flag is up with training camp getting underway later this month. Wilson is a tenuous QB18 on DLF's quarterback ranking.

Training camp has yet to start and it's a guess based upon the unavailability of C.J. Uzomah but it would be no surprise if Conklin factors heavily as a starter. Fresh off a 61/593/3 stat line while with the Vikings in 2021, Conklin has upside in 2022, his age 27 season if he can win the job outright. But newcomer C.J. Uzomah also had an upside 2021 campaign with a 49/493/5 line and is a "move" tight end possessing a similar skill set. Neither player carries much dynasty value with Conklin appearing as DLF's TE37 and Uzomah unranked. Both figure to possess late round sleeper value until one emerges as the starter.

Hampered by an ankle injury suffered back in 2020, Thomas has seen his dynasty value plummet over the past two years and it's a good sign that it appears he's finally healthy again based upon the video. That said, now 29, Thomas is found as DLF's WR46 and is now squarely best utilized for competing dynasty teams willing to acquire the risk-on asset. If healthy, setback free and if he and new quarterback Jameis Winston can establish chemistry, Thomas should easily find himself the WR1 once again for the Saints and possess upside potential for the next two or three seasons.

While Ridder is checking all the boxes thus far, Marcus Mariota is still fully expected to be the starter come week one. Whether he can retain the job is another thing altogether as the veteran has a very team friendly contract which won't present much of a financial hurdle when the time comes to insert Ridder. Ridder is found as DLF's QB34, ahead of Mariota's QB36 ranking, showing that the full expectation that it's "when" and not "if" the rookie is starting at some point during the 2022 season.

Recent reports have been that rookie Desmond Ridder has been impressive but not enough to be under-center come week one. It's Mariota's job to lose but the veteran remains on a relatively team-friendly two-year contract, meaning there's little reason to expect the Falcons not to turn to Ridder if, or when, the team falls out of playoff contention. Found as DLF's QB36, it's obvious expectations for Marcus Mariota remain extremely low with little belief he's the answer beyond 2022.

New head coach Brian Daboll has brought an entirely new style to the offense and will feature "moving parts all day long" said receiver Sterling Shepard. Coming from Buffalo, which finished near the top of the league in yardage and points, Daboll has overhauled the offense to provide more freedom and give receivers "a lot of leeway to win" in the words of second-year player Kadarius Toney. If there's more movement, freedom and space available in the passing game, this would seem to benefit the dynamic Toney who figures to be a prominent fixture in three-receiver sets. There aren't many more difficult projections than the Giants in 2022 but if Daboll is able to transfer his offensive success from Buffalo to New York, Kadarius Toney, DLF's WR53, could be an intriguing dynasty sleeper.

Following an impressive rookie season, Claypool struggled with consistency in 2021, seeing his touchdown total drop from nine in 2020 to only two in 2021. Fellow receiver Diontae Johnson is clearly the WR1 in the offense but Juju Smitch-Schuster has moved on and will be on the receiving end of passes from Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. For Claypool, who "needs to expand his route tree and get away from the bad habit of falling when he's tracking a deep ball," the future is now and the lights are on with the expectation that he'll begin the season as the team's WR2. Chase Claypool, DLF's WR34, is clearly a high-risk, high-reward WR3 option in dynasty may also be negatively impacted by quarterback play in the near-term.

This comes as no surprise and all expectations have been that Pickett wouldn't be rushed under-center with both Mason Rudolph and newcomer Mitchell Trubisky as more experienced options. Trubisky is fully expected to be the starter though things could get more interesting as we near mid-season if the team has fallen from playoff contention. Pickett, 2022's 20th-overall selection and first quarterback off the board, has been dogged by questions about his hand size which may have contributed to 38 collegiate fumbles. He's listed as DLF's QB23 and rookie QB1 while coming off the board sometimes as late as the third round of dynasty rookie drafts.

Metchie suffered a torn ACL in December during the team's semifinal game but is said to be potentially available for training camp when it opens in July. The timeline seems rushed and it's a better bet that the rookie opens the regular season on the PUP list, missing upwards of the first eight games. Metchie shares many of the same characteristics as 2021 rookie Jaylen Waddle and should be inserted into the starting lineup upon his return between Brandin Cooks and 2021 rookie Nico Collins. When healthy, look for the Texans to establish Metchie by getting the ball into his hands in space to highlight his game breaking speed. John Metchie is DLF's WR54 and rookie WR10 has been a popular second-round selection in dynasty rookie drafts.

Hard to believe given that Higgins is found as DLF's WR11, clearly a back-end WR1. Higgins has been on the rise all off-season since turning in a career-best 74/1,091/6 stat line in 2021, though it was only his second season in the NFL. Now heading into his third year, the arrival of receiver Ja'Marr Chase and a fully healthy Joe Burrow has catapulted the Bengals to one of the top offenses in the league and Higgins isn't out of the discussion as being the best receiver on the team, though most would agree Chase holds that honor. 2022 is shaping up to be a stellar year of offensive production and Tee Higgins is a good bet to have another career-year.