Burning Questions: Austin Ekeler, Kadarius Toney, Javonte Williams (2023 Fantasy Football)

The 2023 season is still a few months away. While much will change between now and opening night in September, let’s look at some of the biggest fantasy question.

Burning Questions for All NFL Teams
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Biggest Fantasy Football Question Marks

Here are some of the biggest fantasy football questions around the NFL.

DEN – When will Javonte Williams be 100%?

Last year Williams was a popular breakout candidate. He started the year well, scoring 14.3 half-point PPR fantasy points in Week 1. Yet, the young running back had 12 targets in the games, catching all but one.

Unfortunately, the former North Carolina star suffered a severe knee injury in Week 4. Williams suffered a torn ACL and LCL and missed the rest of the year. However, there have been recent positive reports about the star running back.

Head coach Sean Payton recently said he is “hopeful” that Williams will be ready for training camp. However, does that mean the former North Carolina star will be ready for Week 1? Furthermore, when will Williams be 100% for fantasy players? J.K. Dobbins suffered a similar injury in the 2021 preseason.

After missing the season, he returned last year after missing the first few games. Yet, he needed another surgery and didn’t look healthy until the final month of last year. Therefore, fantasy players shouldn’t expect Williams to be 100% until the second half of the 2023 season.

KC – Can Kadarius Toney stay healthy and become the WR1?

Toney has been a fan favorite of the fantasy community for the past few years. Unfortunately, the former Gator has struggled to stay healthy. He has missed 44.1% of the games in his career, including eight last season.

Some believed Toney was milking the injuries because he was unhappy with the Giants. Yet, the receiver missed 30% of the regular season games once he joined the Chiefs. More importantly, he rarely made an impact when on the field.

The second-year receiver had 17 half-point PPR fantasy points in his second game with Kansas City. However, he scored only 29 fantasy points in the other six regular season games with the Chiefs. Furthermore, he had more than two targets in only two games with the team in 2022.

While Kansas City lost JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency, they spent a second-round pick on Rashee Rice. Toney is a talented player, but the injuries and inconsistent play make me skeptical that he can be the team’s WR1.

LV – Will Hunter Renfrow get traded?

Two years ago, Renfrow was a league-winning waiver wire addition. The slot receiver was the WR11 in 2021, averaging 12.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He had 103 receptions on 128 targets for 1,038 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. More importantly, Renfrow finished top 10 in the NFL in receptions and receiving touchdowns that year.

Unfortunately, the Raiders underwent several changes last season, starting with the head coach. More importantly, the team traded for Davante Adams, who finished second in the NFL with 180 targets in 2022.

Meanwhile, Renfrow missed seven games because of injuries and saw his targets per game decline by 33.6% from the previous year. Unfortunately, the Raiders made several additions this offseason, signing Jakobi Meyers and several other veteran wide receivers. The team also spent a second-round pick on Michael Mayer.

Reportedly Renfrow could get traded over the next few months. Hopefully, he finds a new home because the receiver lacks fantasy upside in Las Vegas.

LAC – Is Austin Ekeler worthy of the 1.01 pick?

Ekeler has been the top fantasy running back over the past few years. He was the RB1 last season, averaging 18.8 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. The superstar was the RB2 in 2021, averaging 19.3 fantasy points per game, a career-high.

While he missed six games in 2020 because of injury, Ekeler was the RB6 in 2019, averaging 16.4 fantasy points per game, despite sharing the backfield with Melvin Gordon. Yet, the veteran running back has never had more than 915 rushing yards in any season of his career.

However, Ekeler has been a pass-catching machine, with 394 targets over the past four years, averaging 9.8 fantasy points per contest in the passing game during those four years. He had at least 94 targets in three of those seasons. While many believe he is the 1.01 pick in redraft leagues, there are some concerns with Ekeler.

The Chargers added Quentin Johnston in the NFL Draft and changed offensive coordinators. Both moves likely mean the superstar sees his target share decline this season. Yet, Ekeler is worthy of the top pick, but fantasy players shouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t end the year as the RB1.