📣 A Surprise Rookie WR1 Debate

I need a RedZone for Love Is Blind while we are at it…

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by CTRL:

Is there something fishy going on with Marvin Harrison Jr.?

It wasn’t that weird when he skipped the Combine. When you are one of the greatest WR prospects of all time, you don’t need to run around in your underwear to further prove why you should be a Top 5 overall pick.

But yesterday, he made the decision to also skip out on Ohio State’s Pro Day, which means a team like the Arizona Cardinals (who is clearly very interested in selecting him) must now play a round of Love Is Blind before putting a ring on it.

it started harmlessly w/ the combine drills, but now very clear that mhj is slowly retreating from society altogether

he's the greatest recluse prospect since harper lee

— pete overzet (@peteroverzet)
Mar 1, 2024

Harrison Jr. is still a lock to go very high in the draft (this clip should assuage any concerns about his 40-yard dash time), but his continued disappearing act is shifting public sentiment on how firm his grasp is on the pole position.

As a result, Malik Nabers has started to weasel his way into some 1A/1B conversations, and many now believe they are in the same tier.

I think it’s fine if people are getting more and more confident about Nabers’ profile (it’s ridiculously good), but it is absurd if docking Harrison Jr. is what is leveling the playing field.

I see Marvin Harrison Jr is careening toward the Ja’Marr Chase Overreaction Timeline at breakneck speed.

— Jake Trowbridge (@JakeTrowbridge)
Mar 20, 2024

If you do think there is actual smoke to Nabers flipping Harrison Jr., there is a potential way to profit from it (odds via BetMGM below):

My preferred way to play it, though, would be betting Harrison Jr. to go 5th overall at +300.

Not only did MHJ like a tweet yesterday referencing the Chargers’ weak WR depth chart (more on that from Ian below), but there are some intriguing rumors that the Cardinals could trade out from No. 4 to a team that wants to select a QB.

In that scenario, it’s hard not to imagine the Chargers sprinting to the podium to select him at No. 5.

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📊 ICYMI: Dwain’s updated top 150 rankings are here. Post-free agency changes.

🏀 Good luck being productive at work today. Projections for a full day of March Madness are live.

🐶 The Browns add to their backfield. Nice fit (and Nick Chubb insurance).

🏈 Caleb Williams chucks a deep ball at USC’s pro day. What a rocket.

🆕 A change coming to NFL kickoffs. This would be smart.

📺️ RedZone for Olympics?! Sign me up.

🧀 Is A.J. Dillon for sure the No. 2 in Green Bay? Not so fast.

📈 How high could J.J. McCarthy go? It seems like it could be pretty high.

🛩️ Will Mike Williams be ready for Week 1? He weighs in.

There are still some teams with some massive holes after free agency. So, before we get all carried away with winners and losers, let’s look at a few squads that still have some moves to make over the next few weeks. Take it away, Ian…

Free agency has largely come and gone. There are still a handful of big names out there – and team Fantasy Life will continue to track and analyze them – but remaining NFL teams will mostly have to fill their remaining glaring needs through the draft.

This raises today’s key question: What fantasy-relevant holes remain across NFL rosters?

⚡️ Chargers WR

• Available targets: 230 (61%)

• Available air yards: 2,448 (61%)

This is the saddest WR room in the league at the moment:

• Quentin Johnston: The 2023 first-round pick posted a rather brutal 38-431-2 receiving line in 2023, notably averaging just 0.88 yards per route run -- the sixth-worst mark among 80 qualified WRs.

• Josh Palmer: Enjoyed a career-best 2023 season by virtually any efficiency metric and is a solid complementary WR.

• Derius Davis: More of a gadget option due to his size (5'8", 165-pounds) and accordingly had nearly as many rush attempts (14) as he did receptions (15).

• Simi Fehoko: Has just four career receptions since entering the league in 2021.

So yeah: Not great!

Especially when considering, you know, the presence of 296 million dollar man Justin Herbert under center. Getting rid of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams suddenly has the Chargers sitting relatively pretty with the fifth-most effective cap space in the league at the moment.

The Chargers boast the No. 5, No. 37 and No. 69 overall picks: Using AT LEAST one on a WR seems inevitable, while it’d also behoove this organization to dip their toes into the free agency waters sooner rather than later.

Speaking of…

🎯 Potential fit: Odell Beckham Jr.

Hear me out.

While OBJ’s 35-565-3 receiving line wasn’t exactly what the Ravens were hoping for when they signed up to pay him $15 million, he proved to not be completely washed, racking up the position’s 11th-most yards from defensive pass interference penalties and working as one of just 10 WRs to average at least 16 yards per catch last season.

Obviously, expecting Beckham to regain the same sort of alpha form that he demonstrated with the Giants is wishful thinking, but this is still a veteran capable of winning one-on-one situations.

Jim Harbaugh added aging vets like Anquan Boldin, Brandon Lloyd and Stevie Johnson to his past 49ers passing games; OBJ returning to Los Angeles and linking up with Herbert on a one-year deal makes a lot of sense for all parties involved.

i like that draft folks are running their puka nacua tests on this year's wideouts. you can't measure dawg though. please remember that at all times.

— Denny Carter (@CDCarter13)
Mar 20, 2024