Babe wake up: Gronk spiked a baseball instead of throwing a traditional first pitch…
In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Webex:
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith inked a three-year, $75M extension
Everybody panic: Justin Jefferson isn’t attending OTAs
What Now? The Future is NOW (old man)
It’s 4/16. Take it away, Ian Hartitz…
Another day, another front office W for the Eagles: Stud WR DeVonta Smith has inked a 3-year, $75M contract extension that includes $51M guaranteed (per Ian Rapoport).
While Philly is understandably happy to simply secure the services of Smith through the 2028 season, the money involved also has the potential to be VERY team friendly considering the likelihood Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Ja’Marr Chase reset the WR market on their respective imminent extensions.
Nobody is necessarily comparing Smith to those No. 1 WRs, but he’s also not exactly too far outside of that conversation. The "Slim Reaper" — awesome nickname by the way — has ripped off three consecutive solid seasons since being selected with the 10th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft:
2021: 64 receptions-916 yards-5 TD (WR40 in PPR points per game)
2022: 95-1196-7 (WR14)
2023: 81-1066-7 (WR20)
Of course, things changed dramatically inside of this Eagles offense in 2022 when they acquired A.J. Brown from the Titans. While AJB (17.3 PPR points per game, WR11) has out-produced Smith (14.6, WR17) in fantasy land, both have been quite awesome and are certainly on the short list of the NFL’s best duos at the position.
In fact, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle (5,879) join Smith and Brown (5,214) as the NFL’s only WR duos with over 5,000 combined receiving yards over the past two seasons. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
And guess what: Smith (WR23 ADP) is easily the cheapest option of those four over at Underdog Fantasy. Two of the three Fantasy Life rankers certainly seem to believe Smith is worth buying at this price point:
Dwain: WR21
Ian: WR21
Freedman: WR29
Don’t expect AJB WR1 szn to go anywhere, but the potential for this offense to throw the ball a bit more often under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore should help Smith see the sort of target total that his talents deserve. Good luck to the poor defensive coordinators in charge of slowing down this passing attack in 2024 and beyond.
Of course, good technology tends to help with solving complex problems like that…
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🏈 The Rookie RB Super Model is LIVE. Tier 3 RBs you need to know.
🤔 Puka Nacua’s rookie season was a helluva drug. But should he be going THIS far ahead of Cooper Kupp in early drafts?
💸 Two of the NFL’s very best WRs are not attending their voluntary off-season programs. Tom Cruise: “SHOW THEM THE MONEY!”
👀 Daniel Jones gives an update on his health … while apparently paying homage to Adam Gase.
⚾ Rob Gronkowski’s first pitch was on brand. Lol.
⏰ TIME’s most influential people of the year. We all wish we were Patrick Mahomes.
✈️ The Jets revealed their new uniforms. Are we positive they changed anything?
🐅 Tee Higgins speaks about his future in Cincinnati. Good news, Bengals fans.
💨 Geno Smith turns 34 in October. And yet, the man can still FLY.
🤘 Adam Schefter thinks this WR could go earlier than expected. Adjust the ranks.
The fantasy football season might be over, but we are NOT ready to unplug. Cooterdoodle is here to keep our minds in check by asking the age-old, evergreen question: “What Now?”
😥 What Now? Daydream
We’re overworked and overtired, but there’s no sleep til Brooklyn Detroit. With the NFL draft less than 10 days away, it’s time to let our minds wander a bit.
Every team has the potential to win a Super Bowl if you believe hard enough. And anything is possible … until it isn’t.
While there may be sad times ahead, take some time to indulge in your biggest daydreams right now, while you still can.
😴 Draft Pick Dreamers
We know all too well the excitement that comes with a first-round draft pick. Each year, we get a taste of the magic in our fantasy leagues as we decide who will be the first to join our squad.
But in the NFL, the magic is DOUBLED. Well, for three teams, at least. Chicago (1.01, 1.09), Arizona (1.04, 1.27), and Minnesota (1.11, 1.23) each have two shots at securing solid first-round picks in 2024. And is it really so bad to think that these picks could turn everything around?
Think of what the 7-10 Bears and Vikings can get done with a new QB on their hands. And SURELY the 4-13 Cardinals can bounce back in 2024 (there’s almost nowhere else to go but up).
If you’re not sold, just look at what the Texans have accomplished in such a short amount of time. After two first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, they’ve turned a 3-13-1 season (2022) into a Super Bowl-contending franchise entering 2024.
Anything can happen!
😴 Mock Draft Dreamin’
A quick “NFL mock draft” search will send you to a variety of outcomes that analysts and fans have curated to meet the needs of your favorite teams. Past mistakes could be addressed. Defensive holes can be filled. The possibilities are there!
And while many of these won’t come true… some will!
But the best part is that the decisions are ultimately out of our hands and out of our control. So why not give in to the dreams of these best-case scenarios while we will have the time to believe that they might come true?
Related: Fantasy Life’s Matthew Freedman recently released his fifth mock draft of the offseason. BELIEVE!
😴 Trade Rumors & Endless Possibilities
Trades are a touchy subject. On one hand, a player unfollowing their team or posting cryptic tweets may mean absolutely nothing at all.
Brandon Aiyuk's agent ⬇️
On the other hand, we’ve been told to disregard disgruntled player rumors before, and they inevitably came to fruition (Hi, Stefon Diggs 👋). So anything is on the table, if you ask me.
The Ravens have been rumored as a potential “trade down” team. The Bills have been rumored to want to trade down, but also “trade up for WR” post-Diggs. And after months of speculation around the Bears’ 1.01, many have settled on them staying put to address their needs at QB.
Ultimately, we won’t know anything until the clock starts ticking on draft night. But remember: There’s no harm in hoping.
There will assuredly be trades during the draft that shake things up this year. Unless there aren’t … But for now, we can dream.
Wife:
"I know you were drafting at 4 in the morning. I saw all the different colors on your screen."
💀💀💀
