Buffalo Bills – Keon Coleman
The Bills are going to be one of the best offenses in the NFL and yet, they have just one pass-catcher who goes inside the top 100 fantasy draft picks in Khalil Shakir. On paper, there’s room for someone to ascend in this aerial attack. The most likely candidates would be Dalton Kincaid or Keon Coleman. Kincaid may end up being a post-hype sleeper who breaks out deeper into his NFL career. I think Coleman can be a Year 2 leap candidate at wide receiver but he needs to move around the formation more than he did as a rookie, when he was tethered to the X-receiver spot. We should be tracking camp reports to see if free-agent addition Josh Palmer is chipping in at X and helps afford Coleman some chances to play flanker and move into the slot.
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Miami Dolphins – Jaylen Wright
Wright has been underdiscussed going into his second season despite veteran Raheem Mostert moving on this offseason. While De’Von Achane is destined for a big workload, especially as a receiver, there’s room for another early down back. Wright would also be a priority stash or waiver-wire candidate if Achane misses time. He’ll need to stave off a challenge from incoming rookie Ollie Gordon, who brings size and physicality to the table.
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New England Patriots – Stefon Diggs
The health news for Diggs has been nothing but positive at every step of the way this offseason. It feels like the fantasy community is still not accounting for that. It seems there is consensus agreement that Drake Maye is taking a leap forward at this point. If that happens, Diggs will be a big contributor as the top receiver on this team. As long as the camp reports continue to be positive for Diggs, he’s someone who could outkick his ADP, which is consistently outside the top 40 receivers.
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New York Jets – Breece Hall
Breece Hall was a consensus first-round, if not top-five, pick in fantasy last year. He’s fallen well out of that range after a disappointing season and coaching turnover in New York. With a likely run-first philosophy heading into this year and a rebuilt offensive line, we could see a bounce-back season from Hall. We need to keep track of the Jets’ running back rotation throughout the rest of this summer to ensure Hall is the clear lead back and isn’t mired in a committee with Braelon Allen and/or Isaiah Davis.
Cincinnati Bengals – Jermaine Burton
The Bengals are pretty much set at all the skill-position spots, outside of maybe light interest in the running back rotation behind Chase Brown. So we have to dig a little on this one and that brings us back to Jermaine Burton.
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This is probably a dynasty-only interest, if it even rises to one. Still, after some positive reviews of how Burton was handling this offseason following a disastrous approach to his rookie season, I’m open to him contributing to this team again. Burton is extremely talented but is an all-time mess off the field. It’s all up to him how he handles this second — and maybe last — chance with the Bengals.
Cleveland Browns – Dylan Sampson
With Quinshon Judkins arrested for domestic violence before even signing his rookie contract, we need to pay attention to the running backs behind him. The two main names are veteran Jerome Ford and fellow rookie Dylan Sampson. The fact that this team took Sampson at all after grabbing Judkins earlier speaks to their belief in him as a player. The starting back for the Cleveland Browns isn’t likely to yield a ton of fantasy points, but Sampson would be in consideration as a flex or bye-week fill-in if he wins the job.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Kaleb Johnson
Any clues about the workload split between Johnson and Jaylen Warren will be essential to track in training camp. Warren is a good back, not just a passing-down, satellite option. He’s explosive and can handle early down work. Johnson’s 65th overall ADP isn’t too steep at this stage, but rookies can always rise with a buzzy preseason. I’d get a little nervous about him if he goes too much higher than that because I don’t have much hope this Steelers offense is going to score many touchdowns. If this is a bottom-10 scoring unit in 2025, Johnson will need to completely push Warren into a change-of-pace role to make good in fantasy.
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I consider myself highly skeptical that it takes place.
Baltimore Ravens – Isaiah Likely
The Ravens are a tricky team because they are well-set across the board at all skill-position spots and even have continuity on the offensive line. In general, we know what we’re going to get from this team. The one place where I’m open to a shake-up is at tight end, and even that is vibes-based.
Despite his drop at the end of their playoff loss, Mark Andrews remains an effective starting tight end and, to this point, Isaiah Likely has only flashed in sports. Yet, I can’t shake the feeling that at some point, the Ravens will want more from Likely, who is clearly a dynamic receiver. I’ll at least be tracking for any signs that a changing of the guard happens atop the tight end depth chart in Baltimore, even if I think the odds are long that it occurs this season.
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Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward
Ward should be named the starter with haste at some point during training camp; we aren’t tracking any reps or battle with this one, especially after Will Levis has been shut down for the season due to shoulder surgery. However, it’s worth monitoring how he performs in camp and in any preseason action. We need only to look back at Washington’s 2024 offense to see how a rookie passer can elevate veteran talent. No Titans player goes inside the top 60 picks in drafts right now but Ward could elevate Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley to start-worthy status if he’s ready to rock from Week 1 on.
Indianapolis Colts – Anthony Richardson Sr.
One of the easier ones to name, it’s of course worth monitoring who wins the Colts’ seemingly wide-open quarterback competition. Most of the tone around the situation after Richardson injured his shoulder in OTAs and sought multiple opinions was that Daniel Jones became the favorite to start Week 1 and most of the season. Richardson has every chance to change that course now that he is reportedly healthy enough to start camp. If he starts, Richardson holds more individual fantasy appeal at quarterback than Jones. However, Jones starting might be a marginal win for the pass catchers.
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Jacksonville Jaguars – Travis Etienne Jr.
After Liam Coen designed one of the best run games in the NFL last year with the Bucs, the entire fantasy community is desperate to know who he’ll tap as his starting back in Jacksonville. Let’s be clear, Coen won’t be bringing Tampa Bay’s offensive line with him, so this won’t be a copy-and-paste job to the Jaguars’ run game. That said, the Jags backs go late because of the ambiguity, and one should end up as a value. I’d consider Travis Etienne Jr. the favorite as we head into the training camp, but that could change over the next month.
Houston Texans – Jayden Higgins
There are two big wins on the table if Round 2 rookie Jayden Higgins emerges and lands in a big role for the Houston Texans. For starters, with Nico Collins in place, Higgins won’t have to run out as an exclusive X-receiver, which is needed for a player of his skill set to hit a statistical ceiling. I’d love to see him be the team’s primary flanker and take some power slot reps. He could make an impact in Year 1 in those duties.
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However, I expect Higgins to be able to handle some snaps at the X-receiver position (maybe 20%-30% of his routes), which would allow Collins to move around more often. Collins was almost exclusively an X in the old offense and is second in yards per game from the outside (69.3) over the last two seasons. More routes from the slot would help him access yet another level as a statistical producer.
Denver Broncos – Pat Bryant
The Broncos needed more out of their wide receiver room than they got last year beyond Courtland Sutton. The veteran wideout was the only player at the position to run a route on more than half of the team’s dropbacks. Marvin Mims Jr. was used effectively in a gadget role last season and he should remain in that style of deployment. There’s an opening for a flanker/big-slot hybrid player to emerge and based on Bryant’s prospect profile, he projects well in that role. He needs to beat out Devaughn Vele, who had his moments as a big slot for Sean Payton as a rookie last season.
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Kansas City Chiefs – Isiah Pacheco
Pacheco’s return to the field after a leg injury last season was, without question, disappointing. However, it’s more than fair to give him some slack, considering he was working his way back into shape. He lost workload to Kareem Hunt in big games during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl push, but that might not be sticky now that he’s, presumably, fully healthy. Hunt is still on this roster and 2025 seventh-round rookie Brashard Smith has been getting some pop in padless practices. If Pacheco keeps a tight grip on the starting job and approaches a 60% split of the backfield workload, he could end up beating his fringe RB2 ADP in Yahoo drafts.
Las Vegas Raiders – Michael Mayer
New Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly employed a run-heavy, multiple-tight-end offense at Ohio State last season. Mayer is a forgotten former second-round pick who has shined in spurts but missed a lot of time through two NFL seasons. He could figure more prominently into this offense if Kelly brings some of the same formations to the league. While Mayer won’t ever get the targets needed with Brock Bowers entrenched atop the depth chart, if he plays a lot of snaps, he could be a roadblock for some of the possible value receivers on this roster like Jakobi Meyers or rookie Jack Bech.
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Los Angeles Chargers – Tre Harris
Now that Harris has signed his rookie contract and is in training camp, he can start capitalizing on a clear runway to win the starting X-receiver job after Mike Williams retired. Quentin Johnston can still be a useful player for this team, but his skill as a tackle-breaker in space and issues at the catch point would be better suited in a flanker role. Harris’ emergence can essentially help two positions in one. While neither will get the weekly volume to be consistent every week starters in fantasy, they can provide spike weeks.
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