Fantasy Football Player Notes
Week 1 Half PPR Rankings
35.
Rachaad White
RB - (at MIN)
After sharing a backfield with Leonard Fournette as a rookie, White appears to be Tampa's lead RB entering his second season. Not that we should expect Derrick Henry-type usage for White, but his investors should be encouraged that the Buccaneers have thus far elected not to sign a free-agent RB such as Kareem Hunt or ... well, Fournette. White figures to get at least 12-15 touches against the Vikings this week, and White's pass-catching skill could be put to good use against a Minnesota defense that gave up the ninth-most receiving yards to RBs in 2022. Regard White as a midrange RB2 this week.
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46.
Chris Godwin
WR - (at MIN)
There's little question that Godwin is a high-quality receiver, but will the Buccaneers have enough passing volume to make Godwin a valuable fantasy asset? Tom Brady led the NFL in pass attempts in 2021 and 2022 with more than 700 throws in each of those seasons. That works out to an average of more than 40 pass attempts per game. In 2019, Jameis Winson led the NFL in pass attempts when he was the Buccaneers' quarterback. In 2020, Brady was second in pass attempts. So for the last four years, Godwin's quarterback has either ranked first or second in pass attempts. It's hard to envision Baker Mayfield finishing top 10 in pass attempts, let alone leading the league. So, what happens if Godwin is playing with a quarterback who throws 550 passes instead of 700? Let's not worry about that this week, since Godwin has an appealing matchup against a Minnesota defense that ranked 27th in DVOA against the pass last year and gave up the third-most fantasy points to WRs.
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55.
Mike Evans
WR - (at MIN)
Please refer to the Chris Godwin blurb above for an ominous message about a potential drop-off in target volume for Godwin and Evans this year. Evans has topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark in all nine of his NFL seasons, but he endured a career-long 11-game touchdown drought last season and was borderline unplayable for fantasy over the second half of the season. Evans just turned 30, so it's not as if we should be worried about him tumbling over the age cliff, but he's not the slam-dunk fantasy investment that he used to be. Still, he's a worthwhile fantasy play this week against a Vikings pass defense that was bad last year and hasn't made enough personnel upgrades in the offseason to significantly improve.
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154.
Cade Otton
TE - (at MIN)
He showed signs of competence as a rookie, but Otton topped 40 receiving yards in only three of his 16 games. Pass.
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180.
Sean Tucker
RB - (at MIN)
It's too early to consider using Tucker, an undrafted free agent from Syracuse. But Tucker has apparently won the No. 2 RB job behind starter Rachaad White, and it will be interesting to see how the Buccaneers use the rookie. Tucker almost certainly would have been drafted if not for a heart condition that was detected during a predraft workout. But the condition is said to be manageable, and Tucker has a chance to establish himself as a useful fantasy asset.
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187.
Chase Edmonds
RB - (at MIN)
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226.
Trey Palmer
WR - (at MIN)
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268.
Deven Thompkins
WR - (at MIN)
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288.
Ko Kieft
TE - (at MIN)
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301.
Rakim Jarrett
WR - (at MIN)
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362.
David Wells
TE - (at MIN)
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444.
Tanner Taula
TE - (at MIN)
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510.
Patrick Laird
RB - (at MIN)
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517.
Raleigh Webb
WR - (at MIN)
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