Check out the latest episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast: Must-Draft Players for 2024!

What’s in store:

• Ceedee Lamb’s holdout comes to a rich end 💸 The Cowboys star pass catcher is now the second-highest paid non-QB ever.

• Nick Chubb officially slated to miss four games to open 2024. He’ll begin the season on the reserve/PUP list.

• Drake Maye has reportedly ‘outplayed’ Jacoby Brissett… But Jerod Mayo says the No. 1 job isn’t his just yet.

• Five sleepers for your fantasy drafts this season 😴 You won’t want to miss Faraz’s short list of candidates pulled from the Upper Hand Fantasy Redraft rookie kit!

• Cowboys WR Ceedee Lamb signs massive four-year, $136M deal with $38M signing bonus

  • And so ends one of the league’s two highest-profile wide receiver holdouts, with Lamb agreeing to a contract that falls just short of Justin Jefferson’s in total value but one that still makes him the league’s second-highest paid non-quarterback. Lamb had seen his ADP start to slip over the past few weeks as kickoff to the regular season approached without a contract being agreed upon, but that drop is likely to be corrected in the coming days as the All-Pro wideout is locked into elite volume in the Cowboys pass-heavy offense. With the threat of Lamb missing time this season due to a holdout officially evaporated, the fantasy prospects of QB Dak Prescott are officially back on track, as well. While it remains to be seen whether or not the time away from the team will affect Lamb’s ability to hit the ground running in terms of his connection with Prescott, Lamb can safely be started as a high-end WR1 option week in and week out, including on kickoff weekend in Dallas’ opener against the Browns in Cleveland. With Lamb’s situation resolved, all eyes are now on the 49ers and WR Brandon Aiyuk as they work towards their own resolution in what’s been an even more dramatic and long-standing drama between the two parties.

• Browns RB Nick Chubb expected to open the 2024 season on the reserve/PUP list, will miss at least four weeks

  • It’s been the expectation to this point that the talented veteran would miss time to open the 2024 season, but Chubb landing on the PUP list ensures that he will be out at least for the first quarter of the season as he works his way back from a gruesome knee injury he suffered in September of last year. That opens the door for third-year running back Jerome Ford to step into the RB1 role for the Browns to begin the 2024 season with D’Onta Foreman serving as his primary backup. Ford proved his mettle in the receiving game in 2023 by catching 44 of his 63 targets for 319 yards and five touchdowns, and he’ll look to add more touches in the ground game in the early going to supplement what was already solid fantasy production through the air last year. As Chubb recovers and gets closer to 100%, though, Ford’s workload is likely to be gradually cut from underneath him as the season wears on. However, fantasy managers can now draft him at his RB36 ADP on Underdog with the assurance that he’ll have at least four games to begin the year free of competition from Chubb. He’ll be an RB3/flex play against the Cowboys in Week 1.

• Patriots HC Jerod Mayo notes that rookie QB Drake Maye has ‘outplayed’ veteran Jacoby Brissett to this point

  • Take what you will from that statement, but it seems to suggest that the Patriots’ coaching staff is seriously considering a potential Week 1 start for the No. 3 overall selection in last April’s draft. Maye saved his best game of the 2024 preseason for last, passing for 126 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Brissett (who was ultimately pulled from the game with a shoulder injury) and fellow rookie Joe Milton. Brissett reportedly would have been able to return to the game had it been necessary, which means that the starting job for Week 1 is far from locked up for either player. However, Mayo clarified his comments regarding Maye’s play and tapped the breaks on the hype surrounding the former UNC quarterback, stating that the Patriots would evaluate the ‘full body of work’ for both Maye and Brissett this offseason. On an offense suffering from a serious lack of firepower on paper, it’s unlikely that either Brissett or Maye are in consideration for starting lineups in 1-QB leagues. However, in superflex and 2-QB leagues, Maye could have intriguing upside given his low draft price and underrated rushing chops.

Kyler Murray (QB, Cardinals): You're drafting a potential Top-5 QB at a discount, especially on ESPN and Sleeper. I'm happy drafting Murray in the 7th round today, even though I was consistently getting him in the 8th and 9th a month ago. A year removed from the ACL injury, he's one of the few QBs capable of throwing for 4000 yards and rushing for 600.

Rashee Rice (WR, Chiefs): In Week 12 of last year, Rashee's route participation jumped to 68%. Since then, he was the fantasy WR7 the rest of the way (Weeks 12-17). He had 79% route participation from Week 12 to 17, where he led the Chiefs with 27% target share and targets/route run. That's elite and should remind you of what Amon-Ra St. Brown did in his rookie year, except Travis Kelce was on the field this time. A suspension in 2024 is becoming less and less likely as we get closer to the season, and even if it happens, it's worth paying this price.

Jonathon Brooks (RB, Panthers): He’s eventually going to become the Panthers’ workhorse, and his ADP was already too low to begin with. Draft Chuba Hubbard late in drafts to get a startable RB in the meantime. Todd Gurley didn’t play in the first few games of his rookie season after a clear ACL tear, and he went on to finish as the RB8. Breece Hall didn’t get a full load in the first 4 games of the 2023 season after a clean ACL tear, and he went on to finish as the RB8. Patience will be a virtue with Brooks this season, but you’ll likely be able to grab him in the 9th round at this point.

Diontae Johnson (WR, Panthers): I'm expecting Johnson to easily clear 25% target share, and possibly even wind up close to 30%. QB whisperer Dave Canales coming in to revive Bryce Young, and this offense should be a lot better than it was last year with an improved offensive line. 8th round is way too cheap.

Javonte Williams (RB, Broncos): Last year left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, but last year's performance was totally expected after Javonte tore multiple ligaments in his knee... but he still got the volume. This year, Sean Payton said he looks like a completely different player, he's breaking tackles in preseason, and he's shaping up to be the RB1 once again. And even if the offense isn't great, Payton's backfields consistently deliver high-end results for fantasy.

This is one of 100+ player blurbs included in the Upper Hand Fantasy Redraft Kit! Get access to the full library of analysis when you subscribe to the Homies or Die-Hards tier today!

Lamb finished the 2023 season as the league leader among WRs in total PPR fantasy points scored, but you wouldn’t have guessed that he would have finished there based on his performance over the first six weeks of the season. A soft six-game schedule to open the season led to Dallas running the third-fewest pass plays while simultaneously running the 2nd-most second half run plays in the league from Weeks 1-6.

That changed after the bye, though, with the Cowboys upping their overall pass rate from the third-lowest in the league (55.4%) to the ninth highest (63.6%) after the offense had to be carried, at times, by the defense. The results were eye-popping for Lamb, who’s pre and post-bye splits were some of the most polarizing we’ve seen in some time; his target share jumped from 21.5% from Weeks 1-6 (26th among WRs with 100+ routes) to 32.7% from Weeks 8-18 (1st). Additionally, his targets per route run increased from 0.22 to 0.33 and his PPR points per game nearly doubled from 14.9 (17th) to 28.7 (1st). Lamb’s excellent 2.9 yards per route run ranked 6th in the league despite him being one of just five receivers to eclipse 600 routes run in 2023, suggesting that he wouldn’t be hurt too dramatically should the Cowboys decide to dial back his workload in 2024.

However, that doesn’t appear to be the plan with Dallas relying on a shell of their former star running back, Zeke, to lead the rushing attack this season. Translation: Dallas does not plan to run it very often, and it makes sense given HC Mike McCarthy’s history. Prior to calling plays in Dallas, his offenses were top-10 in passing yards in 11 of his 12 seasons as a play caller.

Lamb has finally inked an extension with the Cowboys, and with no significant additions this offseason to the receiving corps, it’s wheels up for Lamb once again as one of the best target earning receivers in the league in a situation that will funnel targets his way early and very, very often.