Fantasy Football Bounce-Back Candidates: Cooper Kupp, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Mark Andrews

When it comes to fantasy football, it doesn’t pay off to hold long-term grudges against players who have let us down in the past. Each season is a fresh slate in which the cost of the player and the situation needs to be assessed against previous performances. If we were building a fantasy football team of players deserving a second chance, these would be the seven players to put on it. Here are several fantasy football bounce-back candidates to consider in upcoming drafts.

Fantasy Football Bounce-Back Candidates

Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)

Last year, the warning signs were there early and often when it came to Kupp. He ended the 2022 season injured and then picked up more injuries throughout the offseason.

This year, so far… (touch wood)… Kupp appears to be fully healthy. Reports out of OTAs and Mini-Camp were that he looked fantastic. Of course, these reports have to be taken with a grain of salt. When he was on the field with Puka Nacua, Kupp’s 25.6% target share was very close to Nacua’s 28.8%. His route participation outdid Nacua 92.8% to 91.2%.

With Kupp available in the third round of drafts, and sometimes even later, it’s a lot easier to take on his injury risk than it was in 2023.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA)

The Seahawks are set for their biggest schematic overhaul in years with defensive head coach Mike MacDonald bringing in Ryan Grubb to help craft his vision for a Seattle team that needed changes. Smith-Njigba had been expected to be able to make an immediate impact in the NFL after outproducing both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave at Ohio State, but his season never really got going after a wrist injury derailed his training camp.

Rookies can be impacted by training camp injuries much more so than veterans. That seemed to be the case with Smith-Njigba, who went back to square one. When healthy, now ex-offensive coordinator Shane Waldron seemed to struggle with how to utilize the first-round pick’s talents.

Ryan Grubb is fresh off designing the Washington offense that took the college scene by storm in 2023, almost winning a National Championship. Sometimes college prospects simply don’t pan out, but there was enough excitement around Smith-Njigba a year ago that we shouldn’t completely rule him out for 2024.

#Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald on Jaxon Smith-Njigba:

“He’s definitely gonna be a massive piece of what we’re trying to do offensively.” pic.twitter.com/nyBWwBdo5n

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) June 13, 2024

Mark Andrews (TE – BAL)

There’s an air of disappointment in Andrews for being 28 years old. With a flock of young tight ends entering the league last year, the age makes him firmly part of the veteran category. He’s still six years younger than Travis Kelce, who between the age of 29 and 34 went on an absolutely dominant stretch.

The emergence of Isaiah Likely is another knock on Andrews, but Todd Monken has had success with two-TE systems. Additionally, it’s not like the Ravens replaced Odell Beckham Jr., who had the second-most team targets in 2023.

Outside of Zay Flowers, the Ravens offense has very little serious competition for targets. Andrews has averaged over 50 yards per game in every season since Lamar Jackson took over as the starter. At current prices, Andrews is a bargain capable of a TE1 finish.

NFL Cooper Kupp Puka Nacua Jaxon Smith-Njigba Garrett Wilson Chris Olave Mark Andrews Travis Kelce Isaiah Likely Odell Beckham Jr. Zay Flowers Lamar Jackson