Fantasy News

The Packers have selected South Florida wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling with the 174th pick (fifth round) of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Valdes-Scantling has great size (six-foot-four) and speed (4.37 40-yard dash) as a quality developmental prospect for Green Bay. He is likely too raw to see much playing time as a rookie, but perhaps Valdes-Scantling will surprise and earn a part-time role. Still, he can be ignored in redraft leagues and is just an upside flier in dynasty formats.

4/28/18 - 03:31 PM ET

The Buccaneers picked up Jameis Winston’s fifth-year option.

This was fully expected and basically a formality, and it keeps Winston locked up in Tampa Bay through the 2019 season. Now Tampa Bay is going to look for the former number one overall pick to stay healthy and show he can be an elite franchise quarterback. The main thing Winston needs to do is cut down on the poor decisions and turnovers. Unless the team anticipates Winston taking a huge step forward with the team competing for a championship, they would probably be wise to hold off on a huge contract extension.

Via: Rick Stroud 4/17/18 - 11:02 AM ET

Bills trade up, get their quarterback in Wyoming’s Josh Allen.

After only two quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield to the Browns; Sam Darnold to the Jets) went in the top six of the draft, Buffalo make the jump from No. 12 overall to No. 7 overall, giving Tampa Bay two second-round selections to move up. GM Brandon Beane deserves credit for sticking to his guns and not giving up multiple first-round picks to move up in position for a quarterback. And Josh Allen is a big, strong quarterback that should fit perfectly in Buffalo and their cold-weather Northeast climate. Beane, who used to be in Carolina’s front office, is familiar with a similar quarterback in Cam Newton, who had similar accuracy questions coming into the NFL. Because the Bills signed A.J. McCarron in free agency, there is no rush to play Allen in year one. The fantasy outlook for Allen is extremely bright long-term, but he might not see the field early as a rookie.

4/26/18 - 08:54 PM ET

Mike Zimmer says Laquon Treadwell “needs to get out of his own way.”

The first-round pick in the 2016 draft has 21 receptions in two seasons with the Vikings, and it sounds like he might be thinking too much instead of just playing freely. Zimmer says Treadwell is “a guy that works extremely hard, probably doesn’t do things the right way all of the time. We’ll be in training camp and he’ll run the stadium steps at night, which is not helping him for practice the next day.” Clearly, lack of effort is not the cause of the lack of production for the former Ole Miss star, which gives a lot of hope that he’ll be able to turn things around. Treadwell will only turn 23 in June, so he’s younger than some of the rookies in this year’s draft (including Alabama’s Calvin Ridley). No one should be counting Treadwell out after two seasons, as plenty of receivers (like Jordy Nelson, Demaryius Thomas, and Nelson Agholor) have taken time to click and become excellent NFL players. However, fantasy-wise, Treadwell might struggle to put up big numbers in a crowded offense that includes two Pro Bowl receivers (Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs) ahead of him on the depth chart.

Via: NFL.com 3/2/18 - 10:21 AM ET

The Cowboys have selected Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White with the 171st pick (fifth round) of the 2018 NFL Draft.

White is one of our favorite quarterbacks in the draft, and he could wind up being an absolute steal as a top-end backup with starter potential behind Dak Prescott. The small-school star has a big arm and is very accurate at all levels of the field, but struggled at times in 2017 because of poor offensive line play, which shouldn’t be the case in Dallas. He obviously isn’t a fantasy option right now, but White is undoubtedly a name to keep an eye on in the future.

4/28/18 - 03:21 PM ET

Joe Mixon is slimmer than he was at this point last year.

Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com says the second-year running back looks “nowhere like the guy that showed up at rookie minicamp last season.” Hobson says that compared to all the traveling he did last year in the lead up to the NFL Draft, this year Mixon has been able to work out. Mixon was around 238 pounds last year, but he’s now at 225 pounds and hopes to drop five more. A slimmer Mixon should lead to him being quicker on his feet and more explosive. Mixon will be plenty big enough to handle the load for Cincinnati this year, and he has a lot of upside entering his second NFL season.

Via: Bengals.com 4/16/18 - 06:19 PM ET

Rob Gronkowski scores twice in Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles.

While he started the game slow, Gronk turned it on as usual in the crushing shootout loss, catching nine of 15 targets for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Gronkowski’s first touchdown was on the first drive of the second half, as he did most of the work to get New England down into the red zone, where he got open in the end zone for a touchdown; the second score was on a fantastic catch on a fade route. Next season, Gronkowski, who was healthy for most of this season aside from his concussion suffered in the AFC Championship and was First-Team All-Pro, will be the top tight end option in all fantasy drafts.

2/5/18 - 12:05 AM ET