Anyone else watching “Draft Day” every night of April until the draft? No? Oh…
In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by NativePath:
Three of the draft’s top QBs held their Pro Day on Thursday
Jim Harbaugh is looking at another former Ravens RB
Ian’s Top-150: In Kyler Murray, we trust
It’s 3/29. Take it away, Ian Hartitz…
LSU QB Jayden Daniels, North Carolina QB Drake Maye and Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. all held their Pro Day workouts on Thursday.
Law and Order music:
These are their stories.
👀 Did Brian Kelly just confirm Daniels to Washington?
It’s unclear exactly what question was originally asked, but that didn’t stop social media from going bonkers after LSU head coach Brian Kelly finished a raving review of his QB with … “for Washington.”
This wouldn’t exactly be a surprise — Fantasy Life’s Matthew Freedman currently has Daniels mocked there — but the idea that Kelly may have accidentally leaked the Commanders’ plans a month before the draft is objectively hilarious.
But will Daniels still be on the board at pick No. 2? ESPN’s Louis Riddick noted, “I thought that this guy should be QB No. 1. ... After looking at him in person, there is no doubt in my mind.” Dan Orlovsky agrees.
Check out Fantasy Life’s recent scouting report on Daniels for a full breakdown of the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
👏 Drake Maye impresses
Here’s a cool throw from the 21-year-old talent who is widely considered to be one of the top three QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
We already knew Maye was quite good at football before working out in front of scouts, but maybe the performance was enough to convince the Vikings to trade up and have a reunion of sorts.
💰 Michael Penix Jr. made himself some money on Thursday
The Washington QB posted a BLAZING 40-yard dash that was clocked as fast as 4.46 seconds by some scouts in attendance. Others had Penix Jr. in the 4.5-range; either way, this time was far better than most thought was possible when he ran for … eight yards in 15 games last season!
Of course, a big reason why Penix never made a habit of leaning on his legs with the Huskies was because he suffered two torn ACLs during his college career at Indiana.
But still!
Even after excluding sacks (which count against a QB's rushing yards in college), Penix accounted for just 209 rushing yards on 71 carries (2.9 yards per carry) in 21 career games with the Hoosiers.
Penix is a relatively older prospect (24 in May), so expecting him to suddenly emerge as a fantasy-friendly rushing threat at the next level seems rather unlikely, considering his largely pocket-oriented play style over the last few seasons. That said: Having this sort of long speed in the back pocket is one helluva “get out of jail free” card, both literally (I kid) and especially when big, scary pass-rushers are soon breathing down his neck in the pros.
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⭐️ The year of the rookie QB is upon us. Can we trust them in fantasy football?
⚾ Andy Reid threw out the first pitch on Thursday. No Hawaiian shirt sadly.
📺 Are these incoming QBs bound to be stars? Ian and Chris have your answers.
🙃 Davante Adams had some nice things to say about Jakobi Meyers. Patriots fans might want to sit this one out.
👀 This Notre Dame talent should be on your fantasy radar. “There’s no doubt he can be an effective runner in the NFL.”
🏉 Kansas City got Patrick Mahomes another weapon. Bet you one million dollhairs, you can’t guess who.
⚡ Jim Harbaugh might not be done taking his brother’s old RBs. This could be fun if he’s healthy.
😮 Lance Zierlein has some free dynasty advice. Reminds him of David Johnson!
🐻 Kyle Brandt had some GREAT thoughts on Caleb Williams. Bravo.
The masses are largely still months away from even thinking about drafting a fantasy football team.
But today isn’t a day for the masses – it’s a day for YOU, a fellow sicko who lives and breathes fantasy football 365 days a year, because what the hell else are we supposed to do with our time?
Check out Ian’s debut 2024 top 150 rankings over at the Fantasy Life Rankings page, and below are some of the questions he asked and attempted to answer while coming up with said ranks.
🐦 Was Kyler back to QB1 ways in 2023?
One of four QBs in NFL history to average 20-plus fantasy points per game for their career, Kyler managed to lead a top-10 offense in EPA per play, yards per play, and TD drive percentage during the final nine weeks of 2023. And he looked good doing it!
Murray has worked as the QB11, QB4, QB4, QB7 and most recently QB9 in fantasy points per game during his five-year career. There’s no post-injury concern – Murray’s 20.17 MPH scramble was his fastest speed since the end of 2021.
The former No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft is one of my favorite picks at cost, thanks to the potential for him to leap back into the top-five conversation in a hurry should the Cardinals add a certain generational WR to the squad with the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft … COUGH “MARVIN HARRISON JR.” COUGH.
🤔 Is James Cook a trap?
I’m a little worried. His four-game stretch of dominance during the second half of the season was a lot of fun, but Josh Allen’s goal-line prowess isn’t going anywhere, and Cook finished the season with zero TDs or games with even 85 total yards during his last five contests.
Reminder: Cook really didn't have much competition throughout 2023 … and he finished as “just” the RB19 in PPR points per game. The bigger issue with expecting an improvement in 2024: Volume. Bills RBs ranked 24th in targets (84) and Cook received just four carries inside the five-yard line all season.
Kudos to Cook for posting the position’s 10th-best mark in rushing yards over expected per carry (+0.45) last season, but his RB13 (pick 46) price tag is hefty inside of an offense that hasn’t enabled fantasy-friendly RBs for more years than not with Allen under center – I’m a much bigger fan of fellow lead backs James Conner (RB22, pick 82) and D'Andre Swift (RB25, pick 89) at their reduced cost.
🚀 How good were Nico Collins and Tank Dell together?
Both cost a pretty penny in early drafts, and it makes sense: C.J. Stroud looks like the next big thing at QB, and (so far) the team hasn’t added any additional competition at WR.
In seven games together where each played at least 50% of the offense's snaps:
Collins: 52 targets, 37 receptions-601 yards-5 TD
Dell: 52 targets, 35-562-6
Dell’s season-ending leg injury might be the driving force behind their disparity in cost (WR9 vs. WR20 ADP) at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it’s warranted. Dr. Jesse Morse believes Dell will be 100% with no issues for 2024. Dr. Deepak Chona also notes that data projects no lingering impact. Dr. Jeff Mueller adds Dell’s best return-to-play comp is Jaylen Waddle and not Tony Pollard.
Add it all together, and Nico is probably going a bit too far ahead of Dell at the moment. I have the duo ranked within just three spots of each other to reflect this reality.
Ian’s full ranks and reasoning
“Nails are clean, the lips are pink, your girl will love them.”
- Caleb Williams responding to the haters 🤣
