Sam Howell Named Commanders' Week 1 Starter 😎

All of the most important fantasy news over the last 24 hours – all in one place.

• HC Ron Rivera names QB Sam Howell as the Commanders Week 1 starting quarterback

  • This is simply a formality at this point, as the expectation even from all the way back in January has been that Howell would start under center for the Commanders in 2023. Howell has done enough in camp to beat out Jacoby Brissett, who is a very solid backup that helped to keep the Browns offense fantasy relevant even without winning many games. A tough schedule awaits the Commanders (9th-hardest), so there’s a chance that Howell might play a similar role for the Commanders in 2023 as Brissett did for the Browns in 2022. However, Howell’s ceiling remains high in an offense with plenty of weapons, including Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and a two-headed monster at RB in Gibson and Robinson. There’s hope that Eric Bienemy can do for Howell what he did for Patrick Mahomes, and if that comes to fruition, Howell could end up blasting his ADP.

• The Athletic’s Tashan Reed says that Zamir White projects to be the starting running back in Las Vegas while Jacobs is absent

  • No surprises here, but as we draw nearer and nearer to the start of the 2023 season with no sign of movement from Josh Jacobs, the chances become increasingly higher that we could see Zamir White handling carries for the Raiders in Week 1. While there' isn’t much to assess with Zamir White given his very limited volume in the NFL, any running back stepping into RB1 duties is certain to have value. Fantasy managers should expect Jacobs to return at some point this season, but any time he missed will be an opportunity for White to capitalize as the lead back in Las Vegas – and for you to capitalize on in drafts.

• Cordarrelle Patterson dealing with a soft-tissue injury, slated to miss a “couple of weeks”

  • Patterson is suddenly on the outside looking in on a Falcons RB room that’s suddenly crowded with youth and talent. A soft-tissue injury for Patterson adds another degree of difficulty to the uphill battle for touches he figures to see this season, but the primary takeaway here is that he may not be ready for Week 1. His absence could allow Atlanta to operate a simple two-man backfield at the very worst to open the 2023 season – a preferable alternative to Patterson mixing in and taking valuable touches from 1st round NFL and fantasy draft pick Bijan Robinson. Patterson doesn’t figure to be fantasy relevant unless one of the two other lead backs in Atlanta would get hurt, but his absence will help to funnel touches to the right players for fantasy purposes.

• The Athletic’s Jon Machota says that Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks projects to be second on the team in all major stat categories

  • Dallas added Brandin Cooks this offseason fully anticipating him to step in and be the WR2 they lacked last year. According to reports throughout camp, Cooks has done just that, building a fast connection with QB Dak Prescott – and drawing high praise from Cowboys beat reporters. Machota projected recently that Cooks would finish 2023 second among Cowboys WRs in targets, receiving yards, and touchdowns, which implies that he has fully leapfrogged Michael Gallup on the Cowboys depth chart. At his price, Cooks is an absolute steal in fantasy drafts as usual, and he should be in for a considerable bounce back season in Dallas after a tumultuous 2022 in Houston last year.