With training camps in full swing and teams starting to take the field for their preseason openers, it can only mean that we’re drawing ever closer to Week 1, and the start of another NFL season. Along with that, of course, comes the beginning of another year of fantasy football. While some leagues have already held their drafts, many more will do so between now and Sept. 7 when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions in the Kickoff Game.
With that in mind, here’s a look at five players to keep an eye on as they climb up draft boards.
5
QB Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
For now, Love’s 2023 outlook is something of a Rorschach test. Doubters point to his struggles in his lone NFL start, a loss to Kansas City. Optimists reference his strong play in relief against the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles this past season. Teammates continue to rally behind Love, insisting the first-year starter has the talent to win at the highest level. Ultimately, nobody knows how good or bad Love will be until he gets on the field on a weekly basis.
What Love does have, however, is potential. He has plus-athleticism, a strong arm, good size, and he had three years learning the game behind current New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. While there are bound to be some growing pains with a young triggerman flanked by numerous first- and second-year players at receiver and tight end, that’s also a recipe for growth. If you have a reliable QB1 in place, Love is an ideal QB2 as his ceiling is higher than a lot of other options who will be available later in drafts.
4
RB Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings
Mattison spent his first four seasons in the NFL backing up RB Dalvin Cook. While he had some nice moments when pressed into action, the Vikings never saw fit to use him in a complementary role, instead being content to give him only a handful of touches most weeks. His effectiveness as a runner actually dipped the past two years, averaging 3.7 and 3.8 yards per carry, respectively, but Minnesota still felt comfortable enough with the Boise State product that they released Cook.
Despite some downward trending with his production, Mattison’s arrow is pointed up heading into the season. Obviously, he’s penciled in as the primary back, which is the biggest factor, but the Vikings have made no secret about their desire to improve their running game in 2023. While Minnesota will still lean on their passing attack, the emphasis with the ground game has changed to prioritizing aggressiveness and physicality, which they hope will mean more production from that unit this year.
3
RB Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders
Washington’s lead back in 2021, Gibson took a backseat to RB Brian Robinson last season. Although he still figures to work as a complementary back this year, the hiring of new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could be a boon for his overall usage. Remember that Gibson was a receiver at Memphis and converted to running back after being drafted by the Commanders. Since then, the team has done little to utilize his receiving skill set, instead turning to RB J.D. McKissic fill that role.
McKissic is gone now, and Bieniemy has first-hand experience featuring a pass-catching back with the Chiefs in the form of Jerick McKinnon, who had 56 receptions alongside his 72 carries a season ago — he turned those 128 touches into 803 yards and 10 touchdowns. Given his background, Gibson could be near the top of the food chain in terms of receiving backs if given the opportunity.
2
WR Skyy Moore, Kansas City Chiefs
While Kadarius Toney (knee) received a lot of the buzz as an ascendant player during the offseason, he had knee surgery in late July and is questionable for Week 1. It’s the latest in a string of injuries that have dogged the Florida product since he was drafted by the New York Giants in 2021. The same could be said of Justyn Ross, who missed his entire rookie year following foot surgery. He has turned some heads in camp thus far but entered the NFL with questions about his durability.
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As such, Moore looks to be the more plausible option to take the place of WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, who signed with the New England Patriots during the offseason. KC used a second-round pick on Moore last year and had him return punts in an effort to get the ball in his hands, though that experiment didn’t pan out as he had issues with fumbles. While Moore didn’t do much as a rookie, he learned the ropes and is in a place where he could emerge as a favorite of QB Patrick Mahomes.
1
WR Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
Fantasy owners certainly remember the Sutton of 2019 when he caught 72 passes for 1,112 yards and a half-dozen touchdowns. He tore his ACL in Week 1 the following season, however, and hasn’t been the same player since. Head coach Sean Payton believes Sutton can thrive in his offensive system and get back to pre-injury levels in his age-28 season — to that end Sutton has reportedly been the No. 1 target for QB Russell Wilson in training camp, rather than WR Jerry Jeudy.
Sutton’s importance as a big target increased when WR Tim Patrick, who was penciled in as the No. 3 receiver, tore his Achilles early on in camp. The depth chart was further thinned when former second-round pick WR KJ Hamler had to step away from football to deal with a heart condition, leading to Denver waiving him. Payton’s offenses have created some high-volume fantasy monsters over the years, and things might be aligning for Sutton to have a bounce-back year.
