Fantasy Football Player Notes

It always seemed more probable than not that JuJu Smith-Schuster would find his way to Kansas City in free agency. The Chiefs were interested in him last season, and the landing spot is perfect to revive Smith-Schuster's fantasy football value. He's just one year removed from a WR17 finish in PPR between two injury-plagued seasons.

Let's not forget JuJu had an elite sophomore campaign - 1,400-plus receiving yards - and he is still just 25 years old. With the most vacated targets available in Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes his new quarterback, 2022 will be a return to form for Smith-Schuster.

He can operate from his natural position in the slot and benefit from the playmakers around him. After all, Smith-Schuster was at his best as a Pittsburgh Steeler during his first two seasons playing opposite of Antonio Brown.

Western Michigan WR Skyy Moore is being undervalued versus other Round 1 rookie WRs because he was a second-round pick as the 13th wide receiver selected in the draft. But Moore has a chance to hit the ground running in the post-Tyreek Hill era, competing for targets with fellow newcomers Juju Smith Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. His impressive YAC ability - tied for first with 26 forced missed tackles in 2021 - and ability to play both inside/outside helps him stand out from the other Chiefs WRs. With Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback, Moore could smash his current ECR into the stratosphere. It's not that outlandish to think a second-rounder can make an immediate impact considering six of the 12 highest-scoring Round 1 & 2 rookie WRs selected since 2017 were second-rounders.

Just less than a day after trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs have signed his replacement Marquez Valdes-Scantling. It's a three-year deal worth up to $36 million. Essentially the same money that Russell Gage got from the Buccaneers and what Zay Jones got from Jacksonville.

The ex-Packers field stretcher has ranked inside the top-5 in yards per reception over the last two seasons, so he will feel right at home catching bombs from Patrick Mahomes.

He is sure to experience spiked weeks of production attached to the Chiefs' big-armed quarterback, but valuing him more than a weekly boom-or-bust fantasy WR3/4 would be malpractice.

MVS does get a bump up in the WR rankings with a slight upgrade at QB and the opportunity to see a larger target share, but I wouldn't view him too dissimilarly to how he was perceived in Green Bay for the past four seasons. He has never commanded 75 targets in a season.

His 2022 wide receiver ranking is comfortably behind JuJu Smith-Schuster and Skyy Moore.

Mecole Hardman will see an expanded role after the Tyreek Hill trade, but too often he has failed to fire when asked to take a step forward in the No. 1 WR's absence.

The Chiefs adding a plethora of WRs in free agency along with second-rounder Skyy Moore in the NFL Draft hints they aren't expecting a massive leap for Hardman.

My advice is to not get overly aggressive drafting a player that has yet to rid the role of a gadget player since entering the league. Because although the thought of a speedy wide receiver attached to Patrick Mahomes is enticing the on-field production really has not been there for Hardman even from a spiked-weeked perspective.

Case in point, he has finished a a top-18 weekly WR in PPR once in three years to go along with a handful of 18-20th overall finishes.

Justyn Ross looked the part of college football's next superstar after a breakout freshman season. At 18 years old, Ross led the Clemson Tigers in receiving yards despite playing alongside older teammates Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers and Hunter Renfrow who were future pros. He was PFF's second-highest-graded WR in his first season (91.2).
The 6-foot-4 and 205-pound wideout followed up with an impressive sophomore campaign, leading the team in receptions (66) as Trevor Lawrence's most heavily targeted receiver.
Ross was well on his way to being a locked-and-loaded Round 1 selection for the 2021 NFL Draft, but a rare condition affecting his neck and spine forced him to miss the entire 2020 season.
He came back in 2021 to show that he was fully healthy, but an anemic Clemson offense that ranked 87th in PFF's grading torpedoed his numbers. Only 64% of his targets were deemed catchable, which ranked in the 28th percentile.
He's an underrated route runner at his size, but not a contested-catch fiend. Reminds me a lot of Corey Davis because Ross is not particularly explosive.
The injury concerns made Ross go undrafted, but he landed in the best situation with Kansas City.
The floor is rock bottom, but Ross' experience playing special teams does give me some hope that he can stick to the bottom of the depth chart in KC. The talent is so apparent that I wouldn't be totally shocked if he makes some noise - health withstanding.

But good health did no bestow Ross, as he was placed on IR by the Chiefs, thus ending his 2022 campaign.