HE will be the overall QB1 this season šŸ¤”

Plus, two players to target in your dynasty leagues!

These uniforms are great, but the all white and all black looks are pretty standard rate anymore and arenā€™t as exciting as they used to be. Just me?

Whatā€™s in store:

  • Brandon Aiyuk officially holding out of mandatory OTAs āŒ. Will he find a new home before the 2024 season kicks off?

  • Treylon Burks set to fight for his roster spot in the coming months. Itā€™s been quite the fall from grace for the former 18th overall pick, but it hasnā€™t been entirely his fault.

  • 2 players to buy right now in dynasty šŸ’³. One AFC wide receiver and one NFC quarterback are high on Farazā€™s list.

  • The next overall QB1 isā€¦ Find out who Faraz is eyeing as a potential first-time position leader in scoring.

  • 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk officially begins holdout from organized team activities as he seeks new contract

    • Things have been trending in this direction the entire offseason amid speculation that Aiyuk is seeking a deal along the lines of Amon-Ra St. Brownā€™s $30M/year extension. Now, Aiyuk is officially holding out after being absent from mandatory OTAs this week, and will likely continue his holdout as deep into the offseason as necessary to get a deal done. The possibility of a trade out of San Francisco also remains squarely on the table for the former 2020 1st-round pick, especially considering the 49ers are grappling with the contract situation of fellow WR Deebo Samuel. Aiyuk has fanned the flames on trade rumors throughout the offseason since the 49ers Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs, and after making it through the draft without being shipped to a new team, Aiyuk would have to play out his $14M fifth-year option if he were to take the field without signing an extension. In Aiyukā€™s absence, former Florida wide receiver and first-round pick Ricky Pearsall has been making noise in minicamp with his sure hands and rapport with Brock Purdy. Regardless of whether Aiyuk plays the 2024 season in Santa Clara or elsewhere, heā€™ll rank among fantasy footballā€™s most coveted assets. For now, fantasy managers can keep a thumb on the pulse of the situation without worrying just yet about missed games in 2024.

  • Titans HC Brian Callahan says that Treylon Burks will have to earn his spot on the starting roster by contributing on special teams

    • Since being drafted with the sky-high expectations of replacing WR A.J. Brown, Burks has watched injuries and bottom-of-the-barrel quarterback play torpedo his Titans career while Brown has thrived in his two years away from Tennessee. With just one touchdown scored in his 22 starts since 2022, itā€™s no wonder that Burks is being mentioned with special teams players heading into year three. The additions of veteran WRs Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd put to rest any idea of Burks potentially carving out a role for himself in the Titansā€™ passing attack, delivering what very well may be a fatal blow to his fantasy prospects ā€“ even in dynasty formats. At this point, itā€™s going to take a much-needed change of scenery for Burks to ever have a chance to live up to the expectations of the 18th overall pick that was used to take him just two years ago. With his fantasy stock on life support, fantasy managers can steer very well clear of Burks in all redraft formats. For dynasty managers, thereā€™s likely not much to lose in cutting Burks from your squad to make room for another high-upside dart throw, but the potential for a trade is at least a bit intriguing.

  • Chargers WRs coach Sanjay Lal says the second-year WR Quentin Johnson ā€˜has a lot of juiceā€™

    • Not long after Chargers GM Joe Hortiz went on record last month to say that he expects the Johnston to ā€˜launchā€™, the former 2023-first round pick is back in the media spotlight ā€“ again earning praise from the new Chargers regime. In his first year with the Chargers as part of Jim Harbaughā€™s new-look offense, Lal made note of Johnstonā€™s improvements in his balance and head action in his route running, echoing the sentiment of Hortiz that 2024 could be a bounce-back year. With the wide receiver competition wide open in LA (besides Ladd McConkey) and a clean slate with the new coaching staff, Johnston is staring down a golden opportunity to have a mulligan after an incredibly forgettable rookie season. Whether or not Johnston is ultimately able to take advantage of it remains to be seen, but itā€™s at the very least reassuring to hear that Johnston hasnā€™t fallen completely off the map. The Chargers are expected to deploy a run-first approach reminiscent of Harbaughā€™s 49ers days in 2024, but with Justin Herbert under center, whichever receiver ultimately leads the WR corps will have ample opportunity to be a quality fantasy contributor in 2024. As the WR66 off the board, he still carries significant risk ahead of guys like Jaā€™Lynn Polk (WR69), Jermaine Burton (WR70), and Rashod Bateman (WR73).

This weekā€™s episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy podcast is all about players to sell, but donā€™t lose sight of these players to target in dynasty!

Letā€™s not sleep on Kyler Murray ā€“ he finished as the QB3 in fantasy points per game in 2020, the QB4 in 2021 while dealing with a high ankle sprain, and the QB8 in 2022 playing through some injuries and then finally tearing his ACL that year. And remember, he didnā€™t have DeAndre Hopkins for most of his season in 2022 because of a suspension. His leading receivers were Hollywood Brown and Zach Ertz.

Fast forward to 2023, and now he has one of the top receiving prospects ever to come out of college football in Marvin Harrison Jr, plus an ascending top-5 tight end in Trey McBride. Then you factor in that heā€™s a year removed from the ACL injury - which means what? More rushing. He had a 800 yard rushing season under his belt. He has an 11 rushing TD season under his belt.

He is the consensus QB11 on Keep Trade Cut, and thatā€™s a very affordable price tag, given he has Top-6 upside. Go get him now.

Enter the FREE Upper Hand Fantasy Discord community today to get your trade questions answered, fantasy teams rated, and just talk football with other members of the community! CLICK HERE to get started!

When youā€™re playing second fiddle to one of the best WRs in the game in Tyreek Hill, itā€™s tough to sustain elite production alongside him. But thereā€™s going to be a point where Tyreek isnā€™t Tyreek anymore - heā€™s coming off an insane season, Iā€™d imagine he has another insane year this year, but he just turned 30 years old, and there can be a drop-off coming up soon.

Enter Jaylen Waddle, whoā€™s 25 years old coming off a relatively down year - but letā€™s not forget about his insane 2022 season. His 2nd year in the league in 2022, he racked up almost 1400 receiving yards with 8 TDs. Heā€™s still paired with Mike McDaniel and will be for the foreseeable future after the Dolphins locked him up with a 3-year deal last week.

The overall numbers were down last year, but his efficiency still supports Waddle being one of the leagueā€™s best WRs - 6th among some big names in first downs/route run and 5th in yards/route run.

He could easily bounce back this season after his WR20 season last year, so this is as great time to buy if youā€™re in need of a potentially elite young WR on a great offense with a great play designer.

With a complete supporting cast, an excellent offensive scheme, and top-notch coaching, this second year QB is set up with a shot to lead the position in scoring in 2024ā€¦

If I had to choose a QB who has the best shot at becoming the overall fantasy QB1 in 2024, but has never finished as the fantasy QB1 before - Iā€™m going with Anthony Richardson. Super small sample size with Richardson. He appeared in four games, but only finished two of them. So many people will just declare INJURY PRONE! HE HAS TO PROVE HE CAN STAY ON THE FIELD BEFORE I DRAFT HIM. Ok, sure. You do that. But he has overall QB1 upside.

Through the first four weeks of the season - thatā€™s less than 2.5 games played, he averaged 23.1 fantasy points - he was the QB3 during that span in fantasy points/game. 40 yards rushing, 35 yards rushing, and 56 yards rushing. 1 rushing TD, 2 rushing TDs, 1 rushing TD. Anthony Richardson is going to be a menace on the goal line alongside Jonathan Taylor. 10+ rushing TDs is easy money for Richardson if he stays healthy. You can probably add 700 yards rushing on top of that. Just that alone, even if he stinks in the passing game - will net you a weak winning type of QB.

Because among all QBs last year, he averaged the most fantasy points/dropback. Josh Allen was 2nd and Lamar Jackson was 3rd. You know who else used to lead this category? Lamar Jackson in his rookie year before he was the overall QB1 the next season in 2019. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts were Top 4 in fantasy points/dropback the year before they finished as the overall QB1. And Anthony Richardson was #1 in this category last year. And guess what? Besides fantasy points/game, fantasy points/dropback is actually the best indicator of a QBā€™s fantasy points the following season (credit to Fantasy Pointsā€™ Ryan Heath on his awesome work there).

I didnā€™t mention his receiving core. The word is AD Mitchell is looking pretty good in OTAs, he has a bonafide #1 WR in Michael Pittman, he has an underrated slot WR in Josh Downs - he has a very good offensive mind running the show in Shane Steichen - whoā€™s helped develop Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts - he knows how to build an environment around young QBsā€¦ teams will have to account for Jonathan Taylor out of the backfield, who by the way, only played two snaps together last year - so the combination of that rushing ability, the scheme thatā€™s being adapted to Richardson admittedly by his head coach, and the weapons around him - that perfect storm could lead Richardson to a league winning finish.