2023 Training Camp Risers: Odell Beckham Jr. & Saquon Barkley (2023)

Though training camps are only a few days underway, it’s never too early to read into key storylines emerging from camps around the league. Here is a riser and faller at two skill positions, with its fantasy football fallout.

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Training Camp Early Risers

Running Back

Saquon Barkley (NYG)

Saquon might have called it an “epiphany” that suddenly and unexpectedly ended his contract stalemate with the Giants, but it’s simply a deep exhale for fantasy managers. Not only is Barkley back with the team and back in his workhorse role, his remodeled contract is based on incentives. Those incentives are lofty – 1,350 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, 65 receptions – and all tied to the Giants making the playoffs too. Translation: don’t expect Saquon to take it easy on the field when his potential payday is connected to his team’s success. I’ve long considered Saquon an overrated asset in fantasy; I still wouldn’t endorse taking him in Round 1. However, with this commitment in an offense with Year 2 continuity, he’s solidified himself as the RB5 heading into redraft season. I’d endorse him ahead of other RBs on the theoretical cusp of free agency, like Jonathan Taylor, Derrick Henry, and Tony Pollard.

Wide Receiver

Odell Beckham Jr. (BAL)

It feels odd to write about possibly the biggest celebrity in the NFL…but have we collectively forgotten how good Odell Beckham Jr. remains at football? I get that he’s a bit of a headache, injury prone, and turning 31 during this upcoming season, but he was still awesome the last time we saw him on the field with the Rams. From Weeks 12-17 of the 2021 season – the period in which Odell was starting for the Rams in meaningful games – he ranked as the WR13 in Half-PPR scoring. Now, I’m not suggesting that he belongs in that territory, but Beckham has looked sharp, and the Ravens made a real financial commitment to him. If he develops real chemistry with Lamar Jackson, then his current ADP as WR52 will be a steal.