We’re in the mini-camp part of the offseason, and with it comes the evaluations of one-on-one drills and doing activities without pads. We saw teams already make decisions on some players that will impact their fantasy value positively, but also some that could see a regression.
Here are eight players to pay attention to when making fantasy team decisions.
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8 Players Trending Up & Down (2023 Fantasy Football)
Trending Up
Nobody’s stock has been trending higher in recent weeks than Mattison’s. With the Vikings releasing Dalvin Cook, he becomes the new RB1 in Minnesota.
He’s seen opportunities in the past to be the feature back due to Cook’s history of injuries and has come through as a streamer. Of the last five games Cook missed with Mattison filling in as the lead back, he finished inside the top ten in four of those.
There has been a lot of talk about Steveson getting the stamp of approval from the Patriots as the lead-back with the release of James Robinson.
That started last season as he became the more favorable running back over Damien Harris. He had three finishes inside the top 10 last year and six inside the top 15, and many believe that with Bill O’Brien as the offensive coordinator, he will get an even more prominent role. Stevenson was third in the catches for running backs last year, making him top-ten-worthy in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues.
Hodgins had an impressive 2022 when he made it onto the Giants roster from Buffalo, and his familiarity with Brian Daboll’s offense helped him acclimate instantly. Last year, he finished the season with 14 or more PPR points in four of his final five games.
There are a lot of receivers trying to get snaps for the Giants in 2022, but at 6-foot-4, his large frame will give him a role.
You may not know much about the LaPorta coming into this season, but you will by the end of the season. He played on one of the worse offenses in the FBS during his time at Iowa, but he’s proven to be an incredible pass catcher and had 111 catches for 1,327 yards in his final two seasons.
There has been a lot of positive talk about him during Lions camp, and they say he’s become of Goff’s favorite targets early on. We also had a comment from one of the tight ends in the game and former Hawkeye George Kittle as he said that LaPorta was the “best tight end in his draft class.”
Sam LaPorta showing off his route running and athleticism. Underrated player for as far as what he can contribute to the passing game
— Coach K | Keith Sanchez (@TheTalentCode) June 1, 2023
Trending Down
Let’s say there isn’t a suspension for Kamara this season. Will he even see the same amount of touches as in previous years?
The Saints brought in pieces for that backfield, including Jamaal Williams, who had a 2022 league-leading 17 rushing touchdowns and drafted Kendre Miller in the third round.
We’ve also seen a decline from Kamara in the last two seasons. After posting 21 total touchdowns in 2020, he had 13 combined in 2021 and 2022. Secondly, he hasn’t been getting the yard like he used to, and he put in the two worse yards-per-carry totals in the last two seasons.
You can take reports from training camp in June with a large grain of salt, but still, this is something you don’t want to hear. Early reports came out in the 49ers camp Sam Darnold “has the edge” over Lance.
Things can always change, but even the possibility that a former first-rounder on his third team could be better than the former first-rounder on the team that had invested in him is not a good sign.
There is a lot of indication that Brock Purdy could be back from his elbow injury much sooner than anticipated, and he is likely to regain the starting role. If Lance can’t be better than Darnold, he may not even be the backup.
The career of the former No.1 overall pick could be taking another speed bump. You would believe the veteran would have the starting job locked up over long-time Tampa Bay backup Kyle Trask, but that’s not the case.
It looks as though Mayfield and Trask will get an equal opportunity at taking first-team reps in camp. For Mayfield trying to learn a new offense means less time building chemistry, which could hurt if he does get the starting job. It would be tough to confidently take him late in the fantasy drafts if you don’t know he is the starter in Week 1.
Mike Evans (WR – TB)/Chris Godwin (WR – TB)
This could impact Tampa’s offense as a whole.
The two primary receivers saw a lot of opportunities in the heavy passing offense. Mike Evans only saw less than eight targets in five of 15 games, was third in the league deep targets, had a 6.01 target quality rate, and a 74.2% catchable target rate. Godwin, out of the slot, saw a lot of easy balls, being tenth in catchable target rate and 17th in target accuracy. This is coming from the high-passing percentage in the league.
Since 2020, the best a Baker Mayfield offense finished in passing play percentage was 27th, and the best catchable pass rate was 36th. All these signs point to a regression for every pass catcher in the Bucs’ offense.
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