We’re just weeks away from the most wonderful time of year, and we’re here to give you the Upper Hand in your fantasy leagues with the 2024 Upper Hand Fantasy Redraft Kit!

What’s in store:

• The 2024 Upper Hand Fantasy Redraft Kit is here! CLICK HERE to learn more and get the Upper Hand in your leagues!

• Jaylen Warren, Curtis Samuel pick up injury designations in Preseason Week 2 🤕 How should we be treating them with three weeks to go until kickoff?

• DeAndre Hopkins should be good to go in Week 1 ⚔️ At least that’s what Titans HC Brian Callahan has said.

• Everything you need to know from Preseason Week 2. The most important nuggets from Faraz’s fantasy football notebook are here.

• Steelers RB Jaylen Warren suffers hamstring injury, reportedly set to miss ‘multiple’ weeks

  • The team didn’t get specific about an exact timeframe for Warren’s return, but with the regular season less than three weeks away, multiple weeks means that a potential Week 1 absence is very much in the cards for the smaller of the two heads in the Pittsburgh backfield. Whether Warren is forced to miss time in the regular season remains to be seen, but any time he spends sidelined will benefit RB Najee Harris as the heir apparent for the touches vacated while he’s out. Of course, Najee’s efficiency metrics pale in comparison to those of Warren, who has profiled as one of the league’s most efficient backs over the past two seasons on a per touch basis. The Steelers have struggled to get anything going on offense so far through two preseason games with QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at the helm, which could threaten to lower the overall fantasy ceiling of both backs in 2024. Should Warren miss time, fantasy managers should be confident in starting Harris as a strong weekly RB2 option with RB1 upside, while veteran RB and Arthur Smith favorite Cordarrelle Patterson could be in line for more looks in Warren’s absence. If Warren’s ADP would happen to dip, fantasy managers should take advantage of the price decrease with the injury unlikely to carry through the entire season – let alone the first few weeks of the year.

• Titans HC Brian Callahan confirms that WR DeAndre Hopkins is expected to be available for their Week 1 clash with the Bears

  • After a scare earlier this offseason, it sounds like the veteran WR will be ready to suit up alongside free agent acquisitions Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to give QB Will Levis the most experience receiving corps in the league. At 32 years old, Hopkins is approaching the production falloff for wide receivers and faces the stiffest target competition he’s had in recent years in 2024. Nonetheless, Hopkins was one of the league’s foremost target earners last year – he ranked top-10 in target share, targets per route run, and air yards per route run in 2023. The wild card for Hopkins this season is the right arm of second-year QB Will Levis, who tossed a trio of touchdowns to Nuk in his first career start but proved to be an inconsistent production supporter the rest of the way. With a new HC and a vastly improved supporting cast, Levis and the Titans offense should be set up to take a substantial step forward in 2024 – though the addition of former Cowboys RB Tony Pollard and the presence of solid pass-catching back Tyjae Spears could impact Hopkins’ overall workload. Hopkins played a full season in 2023 for the first time since 2020, and remaining healthy will be key to him finishing as a fantasy relevant WR once again with added competition for opportunity. At his current WR49 (8th round) ADP on Underdog, the ratio for risk vs. reward can be appealing for teams looking to draft their WR3/4 in that range.

• Bills HC Sean McDermott reports that WR Curtis Samuel is considered ‘week-to-week’ with turf toe injury

  • A potentially big shakeup to the Bills WR room if he would miss time, Curtis Samuel’s injury will place emphasis on the remaining pass catchers in Buffalo as the team gets set to begin its first year of life after Stefon Diggs. The general consensus here at Upper Hand and among beat reporters is that Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel were the most likely names along with Dalton Kincaid to dominate the target distribution, while WR Khalil Shakir seemed to be on the outside looking in. Should Samuel miss time, however, the respective workloads for Coleman and Kincaid would likely become much more secure, while the door would be opened for Shakir to make some noise during the weeks where Samuel is sidelined. Samuel’s familiarity with current Bills OC Joe Brady likely afforded him the upper hand when it came to picking up the system, and it was no surprise to hear that he was standing out in camp prior to the injury. Of course, there’s no definitive word yet on Samuel’s status for Week 1 in the Bills’ matchup against the Cardinals, and he very well may end up being ready to go by the time kickoff weekend rolls around. However, with no Bills wide receivers being drafted higher than rookie Keon Coleman (WR45), there’s value to cash in on in an offense quarterbacked by Josh Allen.

1. It looks as though Antonio Gibson will be involved alongside Rhamondre Stevenson. Stevenson is obviously still the primary back, but we need him to be closer to an every-down back if we’re going to trust him to be a RB2 on a bad offense.

2. Despite Daniel Jones having a terrible start to his first game back, it’s worth noting that Malik Nabers had a 89% route participation and an elite 33% target share from Jones (6 targets on 18 throws). WR2 numbers still likely.

3. Devin Singletary played on 88% of the 33 offensive snaps with Daniel Jones, had 11 touches, and ran a route on 79% of dropbacks. It’s very hard to not have a RB2 floor if you’re playing as a workhorse in all situations, even on a bad offense. He’s going in the 9th round or later in 12-team drafts.

4. Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett continue to share a role. While Kmet will probably end up with more high-value targets this year, we’ve seen a rotation two weeks in a row with the starters now. Combine with heavy target competition, Kmet probably isn’t someone to target in redraft.

5. On 14 Patrick Mahomes dropbacks, Rashee Rice saw a 38% target share, while Xavier Worthy had 33% himself. Don’t hesitate to draft either, but prioritize Rashee Rice as it seems like he’s continuing exactly where he left off last season.

6. Despite the talk about Washington still figuring out their WR2 spot, Jahan Dotson continues to be the primary slot receiver for the Commanders, and had a 92% route participation alongside Terry McLaurin. Continue to target and draft him late.

7. Brian Robinson might have gained a lead on Austin Ekeler in Washington’s backfield. Week 1 was more of a rotation, while Week 2 had Robinson starting and playing almost every snap before he was taken out of the game. Robinson looked very good with his touches.

8. Caleb Williams showed how much of a fantasy factor he can be in Year 1. From making off-script throws to tucking and running into the end zone, there is a lot to like, especially considering the weapons he has. A CJ Stroud-like rookie year is very possible for Williams.

Get the full report on Caleb Williams and the Bears offense on the latest episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast!

9. If you’re going to bet on a Bills WR, it should be either Curtis Samuel or Keon Coleman. If Buffalo is willing to replace Mack Hollins with Shakir in 2-WR sets like they did this weekend (Samuel rested), his opportunities will be limited, especially given how much they like Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox.

10. Jaylen Warren suffered a hamstring injury, and could miss Week 1. I wouldn’t overdraft Najee Harris because of this, and I would take advantage of any dip in Warren’s price in drafts, as there isn’t much long-term concern once he’s back. You might just have to be a big patient before throwing him in your starting lineup.

11. Bills RB Ray Davis is making a case to be the clear RB2 behind James Cook with his play against 2s and 3s. Continue to draft him late as a handcuff who could have spike weeks due to goal line use.

12. Add Brenden Rice to your list of last round sleepers. The GOAT’s son made his way to starting alongside Josh Palmer and Ladd McConkey. Loved him at the Senior Bowl. Also, McConkey looks to be the Chargers primary slot WR as of now.

13. Keep an eye on WR Jordan Whittington. He has 126 receiving yards through two games and leads all NFL WRs in receptions, mostly against backups, but it’s worth noting Sean McVay has talked him up a bit as well. Add him to your dynasty bench or taxi squad.

14. Miami tipped their hand on De’Von Achane’s usage in the receiving game. There was talk about versatility going into his 2nd year, and they ended up running him as a WR on 31% of his snaps this past weekend. Tyreek, Waddle, and Achane running routes as a WR is… dangerous.

15. Jaleel McLaughlin entered the rotation alongside starter Javonte Williams, without a third back involved with the first team. This is how I think the RB rotation will end up being, which is the ideal situation given the plethora of RBs they have. Continue to draft Williams at his low price, as he continues to look good.

16. If you’re punting TE, add Taysom Hill to your list of last round tight ends. He lined up all over the place (TE, WR, RB), including getting 5 carries out of the backfield with the first team.

Dell might be the smallest wide receiver in stature of the new big three in Houston, but his production on relatively limited work – due in part to a low route participation before the bye and his season-ending leg injury in Week 12 – speaks for itself. Once Dell was up to a full-time role (>75% snap share) in Week 8, he averaged a WR1-worthy 26.3% target share and 20.1 fantasy points per game through Week 12 when fantasy managers lost him for the year. That five-game stretch featured four games of at least eight targets and at least five receptions, including three games with 10 or more targets and five total touchdowns in that span.

Dell easily cleared the 2.00 yards per route run threshold we like to see for rookie wide receivers, checking in at 2.40 (16th among qualifying wide receivers). That bodes well for his future prospects assuming he’s able to stay healthy, although we can hardly blame Dell for his injury when the Texans deployed him (a 165-pound wide receiver) as a lead blocker at the goal line on the play that ended his rookie season. With Nico Collins and now Stefon Diggs around to compete with for targets in 2024, Dell will have to keep up his efficiency from last season to break into the top-20 conversation.

The Texans passed the ball at the 12th-highest rate of any team in the league last year, and between the addition of Diggs and C.J. Stroud being ready to take the next step in Year 2, Dell is in more than a good enough situation to be a highly productive fantasy WR2 with weekly WR1 upside. Of course, those top-15 weeks may be fewer and further between in 2024 compared to 2023 with Diggs in the lineup, but Dell’s profile is that of a wide receiver who isn’t going to be bullied out of a fantasy relevant target distribution on what figures to be a high scoring offense (the Texans rank 10th in total implied points this season - 424.5). His 0.25 targets per route run was right on par with new teammate Diggs’ 0.25, while falling just short of Nico Collins’ 0.28.

He’s officially the cheapest WR by Underdog’s ADP as of today, making him a potential bargain if Diggs doesn’t pan out while the Texans rent him for a season.