Who will command the Washington backfield? 🤔

This one isn’t even close. All white is a great look, but it’s become oversaturated with a bunch of teams using it. The new Ravens set is unique and so, so good.

What’s in store:

• It’s all Russell Wilson at Steelers camp so far. Justin Fields reportedly isn’t putting up too much of a fight in the earlygoing og the QB competition 😬

• Raheem Morris assures us that Bijan Robinson will get his in 2024 😁 A top-3 finish from the second year back would go a long way in cleansing fantasy managers of their Arthur Smith-induced PTSD.

• Which running back will command the Washington backfield? 🤔Faraz places his bet on one of Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr.

• Is Amari Cooper in for his best season yet? Zach dives into the splits by quarterback for Cooper from last season, who finished strong despite a revolving door at QB.

• Steelers QB Russell Wilson reportedly easily outperforming teammate Justin Fields so far this offseason

  • While both Wilson and Fields played poorly in their final years with each of their respective teams in 2023, it’s not surprising to hear that the much more experienced Wilson is taking control of the offense over Fields in the early going this summer. Previous reports indicated that Wilson has been establishing connections with a few of the teams top pass-catchers, including TE Pat Freiermuth, while not much of that nature has come out about the former Bears first-round QB. While there’s no question that Fields profiles as the more fantasy-friendly QB for his own sake, Wilson likely has the inside track to the starting job thanks to his ability to play steady football – a contrast from Fields’ streaky at best play through his three year career so far. There’s still plenty of offseason left between now and the kickoff to the regular season in September, but barring an injury, Wilson is trending more and more in the direction of being at the controls come Week 1. As for Justin Fields, he makes for an intriguing best ball pick should anything happen to Wilson this season; however, he’s most likely best left on the board/waiver wire in standard redraft leagues at this moment in time.

• The Athletic’s Zac Jackson says that to his understanding, WR Jerry Jeudy will occupy the slot role for the Browns this season

  • Jackson also specified that it would, of course, be Amari Cooper on the outside at X and that Cedric Tillman would line up as their flanker with Jeudy manning the slot. Cleveland traded for the embattled former Bronco this offseason and immediately awarded him with a three-year deal, suggesting that they have plans to make him a significant part of the offense in 2024. However, as the slot receiver, it’s a possibility that we only see Jeudy take the field in three-WR sets. That could limit his opportunity in a Cleveland offense that already features two proven target earners in Amari Cooper and David Njoku, but it’s worth noting as well that Jeudy was a much better receiver operating out of the slot than out wide; his 1.93 yards per route run out of the slot dwarfs his measly 1.44 yards per route run on the outside. Further complicating Jeudy’s fantasy prospects is the status of QB Deshaun Watson, who didn’t look himself in limited action last year and is looking to get his career back on track this season. Jeudy likely won’t be anything more than a potential WR4/flex play, but it’s at least encouraging to hear that the Browns do have plans to get him on the field.

• Falcons HC Raheem Morris promises to get second-year RB Bijan Robinson the ball ‘as much as possible’ in 2024

  • Music to my f***ing ears. Contrary to popular belief, Robinson was actually well-fed in the receiving game last year; his 58 catches on 86 targets actually did a pretty nice job of inflating his overall production to buoy him to an overall RB9 finish in PPR formats. However, the primary issue with Arthur Smith’s use of Bijan in 2023 was in the ground game, where he split carries nearly down the middle with Tyler Allgeier 214-186. It’s no disrespect to Allgeier, who totaled over 1000 yards on the ground in 2022 on an even worse Falcons team than 2023’s; he’s a very solid running back in his own right. But with a talent like Bijan in the same backfield (and in the thick of his prime at 22 years old), not getting him more than 250 attempts on the ground was nothing short of a crime. Smith’s failure to properly utilize Robinson was only magnified by the struggles of Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke at quarterback, especially when the Falcons’ offensive line sported the sixth-highest overall PFF run blocking grade in the league. The good news is that it sounds like the new regime is interested in not only increasing Robinson’s touches on the ground this season, but also in other areas as well. Any increase in opportunities from his 300 last season would be a welcome development for fantasy managers looking to draft the Falcons RB in 2024.

Let’s talk about the Commanders backfield. You have Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, and it’s almost certain that this is almost a timeshare - but which one should we target? You look at Ekeler’s ADP and you’re like man, RB38? Why not take the shot? He was a 1st round pick last year. Well, the market is saying he’s washed. And according the efficiency metrics, I’m afraid that is the case - at least in the run game. I’m expecting Brian Robinson Jr. to be THE guy on early downs, while Ekeler will still likely mix in for his receiving skills. I just don’t think that Ekeler will provide a whole lot of fantasy value in that type of limited role, with a rushing QB like Jayden Daniels who will be less likely to check it down than to tuck and run.

That being said, give me Brian Robinson at his RB33 price tag over Ekeler - he was very good after contact last year, he’ll have more open lanes with Jayden Daniels being a threat with his legs, and you have Kliff Kingsbury running a faster paced offense this year after them having one of the slowest offenses last year. Kingsbury’s Cardinals offenses were also consistently in the top-10 in rushing yards and TDs in his four years with the team from 2019-2022. Now, the reality is this offense is projected to be bottom-7 in overall scoring this year, so something will have to give, but I think we could see an offense that heavily relies on the legs of both Robinson and Jayden Daniels.

The Browns started five different quarterbacks last year, which is almost always a death sentence for the fantasy prospects of wide receivers within those offenses. While Amari Cooper didn’t necessarily excel with every signal caller to take a snap for Cleveland in 2023, his splits by quarterback paint an encouraging picture for the upcoming season with Deshaun Watson presumably under center in 2024.

Of course, we all remember Cooper opening a 50-point can of whoopass in the fantasy playoffs and averaging 23.1 PPR points per game in four games with Joe Flacco from Weeks 13-17, but you might be surprised to find that Cooper’s target and air yards shares (23.6% and 37.4%) with Flacco were very comparable to five games with Deshaun Watson under center (22.8% and 41.9%). The same goes for his per-game fantasy production, with Cooper averaging 17.6 PPR points per game with Watson – a number that would have ranked as the WR8 over the course of the full 2023 season. In those nine games combined with Flacco and Watson at QB, Cooper averaged 0.27 targets per route run, 107.2 receiving yards, and 20.1 PPR points per game, while also scoring all five of his touchdowns on the season.

In eight other games with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker? Those numbers plummeted to 0.22 targets per route run, 47.5 receiving yards, and 7.9 PPR points per game. The bottom line is that Cooper needs only a serviceable starter at QB to get the job done – both Flacco and Watson had PFF passing grades over 66.0, while DTR and P.J. Walker both sported sub-50.0 grades in the same category. Flacco is out the door in 2024, but a full regular season (and offseason) for Cooper and Watson to refine their connection could help to boost what are already very good numbers between the QB and WR in their second year together.