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Fantasy Football Player Notes

Week 1 Rankings

Puka Nacua Note
Puka Nacua photo 77. Puka Nacua (at SEA)
Nacua has been a fun toy for Sean McVay during the offseason, with reports of the team giving him an immediate role in the wake of Kupp's injury. Makes sense, considering FantasyPros' own Thor Nystrom coined Nacua as "Discount Deebo" in his final draft player comps. I also liked Nacua's profile coming out of college and felt like his 5th-round draft capital did not match his production. The 6-foot-2 and 201-pound wideout ended the 2021 season as a junior sixth in yards per route run behind future NFL WRs like Treylon Burks, Wan'Dale Robinson, and Drake London. And like London, Nacua operated primarily on the outside with a 78 percent perimeter alignment. Nacua finished his BYU tenure strong as PFF's second highest-graded WR in the nation (90.1) due to his impressive efficiency on a per route run basis. He was targeted on 38 percent of his routes in 2022 and posted the second-highest targets above expectation in his class per Sports Info Solutions. On a depth chart with zero certified studs after Cooper Kupp - Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek, Tutu Atwell, Demarcus Robinson - I'm not shocked he has impressed enough to earn a Day 1 role with his versatility. However, becoming an immediate "contributor' does not mean he is destined for immediate fantasy football success from the get-go. Again, he's still probably the third option on offense that might struggle to move the ball without Kupp. Keep him stashed on your bench to see how Week 1 shakes out first, before thrusting him into any lineups. The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue expects Nacua/Atwell to essentially split WR3 duties when Kupp is healthy, as they will both be used more situationally than anything else.
29 weeks ago
Tutu Atwell Note
Tutu Atwell photo 88. Tutu Atwell (at SEA)
Atwell was thrust into a larger role in 2022 and was halfway decent in a horrible situation. He finished the season 28th in expected yards per route run (1.85). However, from Week 12 onward when he started playing a full allotment of snaps, he still ranked outside the top 60 overall among WRs. He should be the favorite to take over snaps in the slot, which gives him a decent matchup inside. Desperation dart-throw that should see a solid target share (18% from Weeks 13-18, superior to Jefferson), but he's not accompanied by a ton of upside.
29 weeks ago
Ben Skowronek Note
Ben Skowronek photo 96. Ben Skowronek (at SEA)
Demarcus Robinson Note
Demarcus Robinson photo 118. Demarcus Robinson (at SEA)
Tyler Johnson Note
Tyler Johnson photo 188. Tyler Johnson (at SEA)
Xavier Smith Note
Xavier Smith photo 195. Xavier Smith (at SEA)
Austin Trammell Note
Austin Trammell photo 235. Austin Trammell (at SEA)