We asked our top analysts to weigh in on every NFL team’s biggest fantasy football question. Andrew Erickson, Pat Fitzmaurice, Derek Brown, Ryan Wormeli and Joe Pisapia offer their insights on many of the questions that you have been asking heading into draft season.

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Biggest Questions for 2023 Fantasy Football

Green Bay Packers

Will Jordan Love be a fantasy-viable quarterback?

It seems like a long time ago that the Packers traded up in the first round of the NFL Draft to select Jordan Love even though they had future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Indeed it was a long time ago — 3 years and 2 months — and we still have no idea whether Love is good. Although the drafting of Love seemed to herald the end of Rodgers’ time in Green Bay, Rodgers wound up playing three more seasons for the Packers before finally being traded to the Jets earlier this year. Love has made only one start in his first three seasons with the Packers and has played 157 snaps. He played poorly in a 2021 start against the Chiefs that was necessitated when Rodgers landed on the COVID-19 list, but he played well in a 2022 mop-up appearance against the Eagles. There’s simply not a lot to go on. Love has ample arm talent and mobility, but it’s hard to tell whether the raw tools will translate into fantasy points. There’s a lot riding on Love’s transition to full-time starter. If he thrives, a lot of the Packers’ skill-position players may prove to be fantasy values, including RB Aaron Jones and WR Christian Watson. If Love busts, he’s going to torpedo the fantasy viability of his teammates.
-Pat Fitzmaurice

Indianapolis Colts

How long will it take for Anthony Richardson to acclimate to the NFL?

Anthony Richardson started 13 games in college across the 24 games he played during his three-year stint at Florida. He attempted fewer than 400 passes. The lack of total games started (same as Mitchell Trubisky) and attempts suggest that Richardson’s arm is going to need some time to get adjusted at the NFL level. Trubisky and Mark Sanchez (another 1st-round quarterback with limited starts in college) both underwhelmed as passers as rookies. Fewer than 2,500 total passing yards and under 7.0 yards per attempt. They hardly orchestrated fantasy-friendly offenses. And that’s a reason to be pessimistic about the Colts receiving weapons in 2023.

Richardson still has not gotten in the requisite repetitions to sustain consistent fantasy production. Because if he did, we probably would have seen more Florida WRs come out in this year’s draft as opposed to just getting Justin Shorter drafted 152nd overall by the Bills. And we can’t overlook the Trey Lance comparison as another QB that entered the NFL without a lot of reps underneath him. Now Lance had more starts (17) but threw the ball fewer times than Richardson (318). And two years into his NFL career, Lance has tallied on just 102 more passing attempts. Lance has rushed for more yards (235) than passes thrown at the NFL level. And that’s the main takeaway when it comes to Richardson. I’d imagine that the passing is going to be rough/inconsistent until the team’s Week 11 bye week, as Richardson gets more reps under his belt. But the rushing and mobility are going to keep him fantasy relevant from the get-go. At Florida, Richardson averaged 60 rushing yards per game. And Richardson’s extremely low pressure-to-sack rate (sub-10%, first in the 2023 QB Class) further highlights his off-script playmaking.
-Andrew Erickson/Joe Pisapia

Philadelphia Eagles

Can Jalen Hurts improve even further in 2023?

Yes, I know that Jalen Hurts was the QB1 in fantasy points per game last year, so in that sense, no, he can’t improve his standing. That doesn’t mean he can’t post even gaudier numbers this year and repeat as the QB1 in fantasy with even more fantasy points per game. As good as Hurts was, he finished tied for 14th in passing touchdown rate and only tenth in passing yards. With another year in the system, Hurts can improve in both areas. If his rushing production stays consistent and his passing numbers get another bump, he will be the runaway QB1 again in 2023 in an even more dominant fashion.
-Derek Brown

Pittsburgh Steelers

Will Kenny Pickett make enough progress to elevate the Steelers’ passing game?

Projecting a second-year leap for a quarterback is not hyperbole. Gone are the days of the sophomore slump as we routinely see QBs take a step forward in Year 2. And Kenny Pickett did enough as a rookie for those to be optimistic that he can deliver. From Weeks 12-18, Pickett was PFF’s highest-graded quarterback. He also added 235 rushing yards on the ground, putting him close to that desired 250 rushing yards threshold we should be aiming for our fantasy QBs to hit. Pittsburgh did an excellent job revamping their offensive line this offseason, and the offense is not short on playmakers between Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

The one glaring weakness I see with the Steelers comes down to offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Since he took over as the OC in 2021, Pittsburgh ranks 26th in yards per game and 31st in net yards per attempt. But as alluded to earlier, the offensive improved with Pickett in the second half, going 5th in EPA per dropback, 7th in first downs per game and 12th in red-zone efficiency. Part of the boost in passing efficiency came in the form of a complimentary stable run game. No team rushed the ball more than the Steelers over this stretch. They ran the ball on 1st down at a 62% clip (5th). Their overall pass-to-run percentage was 51% run, and 49% pass. Considering this was the most success Canada had as the Steelers OC, I doubt he goes too far away from the ground attack in 2023.

That doesn’t mean Pickett is a bad fantasy option – efficient QB play matters – but don’t expect this team to be near the top of the league in total passing yards, attempts, etc. But like other low-volume efficient passing offenses (49ers are the first to come to mind), oftentimes supporting 3-plus pass-catchers doesn’t work. One of Diontae Johnson, Pat Freiermuth or George Pickens likely won’t provide consistent fantasy production in a run-heavy offense.
-Andrew Erickson/Joe Pisapia

San Francisco 49ers

Who will be the primary QB this year, and does it even matter?

“Avengers…assemble.” This is what 49ers GM John Lynch is saying about San Francisco’s unbelievable group of skill position players, with mad scientist Kyle Shanahan designing the offense and calling plays. But who will the quarterback be? Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy, who shocked the league last year but has a limited ceiling and is coming off an injury? Trey Lance, coming off an even worse injury, but with the pedigree of being the No. 3 overall pick just a couple of years ago? Or maybe it will end up being another former top pick, Sam Darnold, who is now in by far the best offensive setup in his career. Any one of these QBs would likely have success playing in Shanahan’s system surrounded by players like Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. But which one will end up making the most starts this year?

Buffalo Bills

Who can you trust on this offense besides the combination of Josh Allen/Stefon Diggs?

Gabriel Davis, for all intents and purposes, failed to live up to expectations last year. I don’t think he is all to blame, as he dealt with an ankle injury early in the season and saw his ADP inflate to an absurd price that was going to be extremely difficult to reach. Davis commanded just a 19% target share and finished as the WR32 in points per game. He finished WR36 in expected points per game. He had his fair share of spiked weeks – four PPR WR1 finishes – but never offered any type of consistency drafters hoped for. And I am not sure anything else has changed within his projected outlook this season, except for the fact that he is now appropriately priced and heavily discounted outside the top 40 WRs.

With the rest of Buffalo’s supporting WR cast filled out with Trent Sherfield, Khalil Shakir, Deonte Harty and Justin Shorter, Davis is going to have the opportunity to be a big factor in this passing game. Unless we really expect rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid to command an extremely high target share, Davis can easily be trusted as a fantasy WR3/4 with plenty of upside as a post-hype sleeper. All the reasons to be “in” on him last season are there in 2023. Keep in mind, Davis finished 9th in routes run per game last season (39.3) ahead of Diggs (36.6, 16th). He also ranked 22nd in red-zone targets and 13th in deep targets.
-Andrew Erickson

New York Jets

What sort of fantasy value will the Jets’ passing game yield with Aaron Rodgers at QB?

The Jets’ QB situation in 2022 was bleak. Zach Wilson made a team-high nine starts at the position and flopped badly. Mike White and Joe Flacco each made four starts. Now, future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers is taking the helm of the Jets’ offense. If Garrett Wilson was able to rack up 83 receptions and 1,104 receiving yards as a rookie while playing with an assortment of mediocre quarterbacks, what might he be able to do when paired with one of the best passers in NFL history?

Wilson is the headliner of the Jets’ pass catchers, but there might be fantasy value to be mined elsewhere on the roster. Ex-Packer Allen Lazard has been a fixture in the Green Bay offense for the last four years, and his familiarity with Rodgers could make him a significant contributor in 2023. Rodgers milked an 11-TD season out of modestly-skilled TE Robert Tonyan in 2020, so Tyler Conklin is an interesting late-round TE option for 2023. It’s possible Rodgers could rekindle the fantasy value of Mecole Hardman, Corey Davis and/or Randall Cobb, all of whom have had the fantasy value of wet wood lately.

But here’s a word of warning about the Jets’ passing game in 2023: The Jets have one of the better defenses in the league, so they probably won’t be involved in a lot of shootouts, and Rodgers might be more of a game manager than a gunslinger. It’s also worth noting that the last time Rodgers was paired with Nathaniel Hackett, who’s now the Jets’ offensive coordinator and was the Packers’ OC from 2019 to 2021, Green Bay had one of the slowest-paced offenses in the leagues. A slow offensive pace means fewer plays and fewer chances to amass fantasy points.
-Pat Fitzmaurice

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