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Fantasy Football Player Notes

Week 1 Rankings

Najee Harris Note
Najee Harris photo 24. Najee Harris RB - (vs . SF)
There's been speculation that the Steelers will give more work to Jaylen Warren this week, although Najee probably isn't in any danger of falling into a 50/50 timeshare. The bigger problem for Najee's investors this week is a bad matchup with the 49ers. San Francisco allowed the fewest fantasy points and rushing yards to RBs last season. Running backs scored only seven touchdowns against the 49ers in 2022. You're probably starting Najee this week, but the outlook isn't as bright as it would be in a better matchup. He's a midrange to low-end RB2 this week.
27 weeks ago
George Pickens Note
George Pickens photo 66. George Pickens WR - (vs . SF)
A big-play specialist, Pickens has a remarkable flare for making acrobatic catches. What Pickens stakeholders need more of is target volume. Pickens had a 15.3% target share last year. He didn't see more than eight targets in any game all season, and he didn't see more than six targets in any game from Week 6 on. Pickens is the sort of receiver who could make his weekly fantasy quota with one big TD catch, but the lower target volume makes for an unstable floor. He's a boom-or-bust WR3 this week.
27 weeks ago
Van Jefferson Note
Van Jefferson photo 82. Van Jefferson WR - (vs . SF)
Without Kupp, Van Jefferson projects to slide in as the de-facto No. 1 WR versus the Seattle Seahawks. From Weeks 10-18 without Kupp last season, Jefferson was the WR39 coming off a major injury. But his 14% target rate was abysmal, as Higbee led the team in total targets. Still, Jefferson commanded basically everything downfield, with a 40% air yards share...which ranked 10th among all WRs over that span. How much of Jefferson's actual production that was either injury/QB-related remains to be seen. At least you can bet that Jefferson will be out there running a ton of routes like the locked-and-loaded No. 1 WR with a golden opportunity. He earned 7 targets the last time he faced Seattle, catching three for 61 yards. View him as a top-40 WR for Week 1, with volume likely coming his way. Considering some of the roster holes you might be faced with due to some high-priced fantasy studs being zeroes for Week 1, you could do worse than flexing Jefferson in a full-time role. Just note that Jefferson's probably more of a floor play versus a Seahawks defense that was extremely stingy versus perimeter WRs last season, allowing the fewest fantasy points to WRs aligned outside.
27 weeks ago
Jaylen Warren Note
Jaylen Warren photo 104. Jaylen Warren RB - (vs . SF)
Although he was far more efficient than Najee Harris last season in terms of yards per carry and yards per target, to conclude that Warren is the better back would be submitting to the fallacy of small sample sizes. Warren is talented, but it would be a leap of faith to conclude that he's better than Najee. Still, Warren may have earned himself a bigger role this season. That role won't be big enough to justify starting Warren this week against a lights-out 49ers run defense, but Warren is a player to watch closely early in the season.
27 weeks ago
Pat Freiermuth Note
Pat Freiermuth photo 109. Pat Freiermuth TE - (vs . SF)
After catching 60 passes for 497 yards as a rookie, Freiermuth had 63 receptions for 732 yards last year. His average depth of target went from 5.3 yards in 2021 to 8.3 yards in 2022, and his yards per target jumped from 6.3 to 7.5. Although the trends are positive, Freiermuth is no better than a low-end TE this week vs. a 49ers defense that gave up the sixth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends last season.
28 weeks ago
Calvin Austin III Note
Calvin Austin III photo 248. Calvin Austin III WR - (vs . SF)
Darnell Washington Note
Darnell Washington photo 257. Darnell Washington TE - (vs . SF)
Connor Heyward Note
Connor Heyward photo 320. Connor Heyward TE - (vs . SF)
Godwin Igwebuike Note
Godwin Igwebuike photo 368. Godwin Igwebuike RB - (vs . SF)
Marquez Callaway Note
Marquez Callaway photo 374. Marquez Callaway WR - (vs . SF)
Miles Boykin Note
Miles Boykin photo 392. Miles Boykin WR - (vs . SF)
Dez Fitzpatrick Note
Dez Fitzpatrick photo 506. Dez Fitzpatrick WR - (vs . SF)