Fantasy Football Player Notes

Drake London excelled in his rookie season, although fantasy gamers were not elated with his WR43 finish. If we look deeper than the raw counting stats, London's future is incredibly bright. If earning targets is a skill (it is), then London proved to be among the league's elite. He ranked 22nd in raw target volume last year (117) with the fifth-highest target share (29.4%) and second-highest target per route run rate (32.4%) among wide receivers. London also blazed in efficiency stats ranking 16th in open rate (per ESPN analytics), tenth in PFF receiving grade, and 14th in yards per route run (minimum 50 targets). London gave a glimpse into his 2023 upside down the stretch last season. In Weeks 13-18, he was the WR20 in fantasy, even though he failed to score a touchdown in this span. London is a target vacuuming WR2 with WR1 upside in 2023.

After becoming the first tight end in 50 seasons to have 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, Kyle Pitts had a bitterly disappointing sophomore season, finishing with 28 catches for 356 yards and two touchdowns and missing the last six games of the season with a torn MCL. The 22-year-old Pitts is immensely talented and figures to be a top fantasy TE for many years to come. But can Pitts be a prolific fantasy scorer in 2023 with run-loving head coach Arthur Smith in charge of the Falcons' offense and the Atlanta QB situation unsettled? Pitts will be a high-risk, high-reward fantasy option for 2023, but at least he'll be cheaper in this year's drafts than he was in 2022.

Tyler Allgeier enjoyed an extremely successful rookie season, finishing the year as PFF's No.1-graded rookie running back (86.7) ahead of stars like Kenneth Walker and Breece Hall. That accomplishment puts Allgeier into an elite company with RBs such as Jonathan Taylor, Josh Jacobs, Nick Chubb, Alvin Kamara and Rhamondre Stevenson - all who were top-8 fantasy RBs in their second seasons after taking home the crown as PFF's highest-graded rookie RB in their first years. Allgeier's strong finish was the driving force behind his final standing - 6th among all RBs in rushing EPA - as the team unleashed him from Week 13 onward. He was the RB11 in half-point scoring points per game averaging 17.8 carries and 96 rushing yards per game. Allgeier out-touched 32-year-old Cordarrelle Patterson 95 to 57 over the last 5 games. Entering Year 2, Allgeier should be the favorite to lead the Falcons' backfield.