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
- Best Ball Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Dynasty Trade Value Chart
- Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
Biggest Fantasy Football Question Marks
Here are some of the biggest fantasy football questions around the NFL.
BUF – Will James Cook turn into a fantasy star?
Many expected Cook to take over the Buffalo backfield last year. However, he ended up splitting the workload with Devin Singletary. While the veteran signed with the Texans this offseason, the Bills added Damien Harris. Yet, Cook could become a fantasy star with more work this season.
Last year the rookie had 12.4% of his rushing attempts go for 15 or more yards. Furthermore, Cook averaged 5.7 yards per rushing attempt and over three yards per attempt after contact.
More importantly, he ran a route on 86.3% of his passing snaps last season. Meanwhile, Singletary had the second-most slot snaps among running backs in 2022.
If the second-year player can keep Harris limited to the goal line work, Cook has top-20 upside this season.
MIA – Can Tua Tagovailoa become more consistent?
The first thing that comes to mind with Tagovailoa is the concussions. Last year the young quarterback suffered multiple concussions that forced him to miss four games. The last one cost him the final two games of the regular season and Miami’s playoff matchup.
However, the concussions weren’t the only thing impacting Tua’s fantasy value last year.
Tagovailoa started the year on fire, throwing for 469 yards and six touchdowns in Week 2. He also had three consecutive contests with at least 285 passing yards and three touchdowns from Week 8 through Week 10. Unfortunately, the quarterback had 60% of his passing touchdowns and over half of his fantasy points in those four contests against subpar defenses.
Meanwhile, Tua averaged only 1.7 passing touchdowns and 12.8 fantasy points per game in the other nine contests last season. Hopefully, Tagovailoa can be more consistent in his second year with Mike McDaniel. However, I am skeptical.
NE – Who becomes Mac Jones’ go-to receiver?
Last year the Patriots’ offense was a disaster with Matt Patricia running the show. Thankfully, Bill O’Brien will take over as the offensive coordinator this season. While he has his critics, O’Brien is a significant upgrade over Patricia. Meanwhile, Jakobi Meyers (96) and Nelson Agholor (53) were the only wide receivers with more than 48 targets last season. Yet, both left this offseason in free agency.
Thankfully, New England made some additions. After losing Meyers, the Patriots signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year contract. The team also added Mike Gesicki to pair with Hunter Henry.
Unfortunately, the team lacks a go-to alpha receiver. Last year Rhamondre Stevenson led the team in receptions (69) and finished second in targets (88). However, that should change this year with a legit offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, the wild card of the group is Tyquan Thornton.
He missed time as a rookie with injuries and struggled because of the lack of offensive creativity. Yet, Thornton averaged over 6.9 yards per route run on routes 10 or more yards downfield. If Jones can get the ball downfield consistently, the second-year receiver could become an early season waiver wire target.
NYJ – How much upside does Garrett Wilson have?
Despite a merry-go-round at quarterback, Wilson was the WR19 last year, averaging 10.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. However, the rookie receiver was a hot and cold player. He had only three games with over 14.5 fantasy points last season. By comparison, Wilson had seven games with under 5.2 fantasy points, including two fantasy playoff matchups.
Thankfully, the addition of Aaron Rodgers will help the former Ohio State star in 2023. However, should fantasy players draft Wilson this season?
The answer depends on the draft cost. According to Underdog Fantasy, Wilson has an ADP of 14.2 and is the ninth wide receiver off the board. That cost isn’t ridiculous, though I would draft Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jaylen Waddle over the New York receiver. Yet, both have a lower ADP.
The Jets added Mecole Hardman and Allen Lazard this off-season. Reportedly, Rodgers asked the Jets to sign Lazard, though both players dispute the report. Nonetheless, Wilson will have competition for targets, which could limit his upside.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.