Biggest Fantasy Football-Related Buzz from NFL OTAs and Minicamps

Fantasy football enthusiasts take their game incredibly seriously—it recently led to a physical altercation in Major League Baseball. Serious fantasy managers treat draft research as a year-long exercise too.

While there isn't a lot going on at this point in the NFL offseason, organized team activities (OTAs) are underway. These are usually comprised of non-padded, non-contact practices and drills, which don't provide a ton of insight into how potential fantasy targets will perform in the regular season.

However, this doesn't mean that there isn't valuable fantasy intel to be gleaned. With new teammates getting on the field together and new systems being installed for several franchises, we can get an idea of what roles certain players could have in 2022.

Does a team have a new No. 1 receiver? Is there a young tight end staring down an expanded workload? These are questions whose answers can help managers make early draft decisions and find late-round sleepers.

With this in mind, let's take a spin around the league, dive into some of the latest OTA buzz and examine what it could mean for the upcoming fantasy season.

Finding the right tight end in fantasy can be tricky. There's a small group of elite tight ends worth targeting early in drafts—it includes Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Mark Andrews, Darren Waller and Kyle Pitts.

Then, there's a large swath of second-tier tight ends who are somewhat interchangeable.

The trick to finding ideal tight-end value is identifying a middle-tier player who is about to jump into the ranks of the elite. Detroit Lions pass-catcher T.J. Hockenson—who is trending as the sixth-ranked tight end in points-per-reception (PPR) leagues—appears to be that player.

The 24-year-old is coming off of a 583-yard, four-touchdown campaign but appears in line for a much bigger offensive role.

Quarterback Jared Goff recently discussed how former tight ends coach and new offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is looking to use Hockenson.

"T.J. is a unique player and somebody that we need to take advantage of his full skill set," Goff said, per Tim Twentyman of the team's official website. "No one knows him better than Ben, so having him in that (OC) spot to make those decisions and draw things up is helpful. But he's doing a great job creatively with T.J."

"Ben has seen me do routes that most guys or coordinators wouldn't think that a tight end could do," Hockenson said, per Twentyman. "Splitting me out, running a comeback, splitting me out and running things that really only wide receivers do."

Managers should expect Hockenson to be a focal point of the Lions offense this season, which could push him into the top-tier of tight ends. While he's ranked too highly to be considered a value pick, Hockenson is a great early target for keeper leagues and managers willing to bank on 2022 upside.

Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders is already in the upper echelon of fantasy tight ends. However, managers may be concerned with his role heading into 2022.

The Raiders changed coaching staffs this offseason and added premier wide receiver Davante Adams. Waller has long been Derek Carr's go-to target when healthy, but that could potentially change under Josh McDaniels and with Adams in the fold.

Waller, though, is pumped about what he's seen from the Raiders offense thus far.

“It’s asking me to do a lot of things,” Waller told reporters. "We've watched a lot of tape of Rob Gronkowski running wild from just old New England clips and stuff like that. So it's exciting to see different ways that I'll be used. And, yeah, I'm very excited about it."

Gronkowski was a five-time Pro Bowler with the New England Patriots and frequently among the league's top fantasy tight ends. Four of his five Pro Bowl campaigns came under McDaniels, who frequently moved Gronkowski around the field to create mismatches.

If Waller is indeed utilized in the same manner, his fantasy value will remain high, even with Adams serving as the top perimeter target.

Waller is currently the fifth-ranked tight end for PPR formats, so there's no sleeper potential here. However, managers looking to target Waller early can do so with a fair amount of confidence. Even with some big changes in Las Vegas, Waller's status as a productive playmaker will remain intact.

Fantasy managers, of course, will be eying Adam's situation in Las Vegas. The 29-year-old wideout is one of the top overall players in fantasy and is frequently an early-first-round draft target.

Now that he's moved from the Green Bay Packers to the Raiders, that won't change. Adams is currently trending as WR3 in PPR formats. Only Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson are ranked higher.

Moving away from quarterback Aaron Rodgers would hurt the fantasy value of most receivers, but Adams is in a unique situation. In Las Vegas, he's reunited with his former college signal-caller.

In just two seasons with Carr at Fresno State, Adams racked up 3,031 receiving yards and 38 touchdowns.

Both are still adapting to McDaniels' offense, but Adams and Carr appear ready to pick up where they left off nine years ago.

"The two don't look rusty and find themselves in the same boat of learning Josh McDaniels' offense," Levi Edwards of the team's official website wrote. "We'll start to see how dangerous they can truly be back together once Training Camp starts, but the duo back together on the same field is always a good sight, no matter what capacity."

A change of scenery is unlikely to cause a major fantasy drop-off for Adams, which is great news for dynasty managers who already have him on the roster and season-long managers hoping to land him.

As Edwards noted, we'll know much more once McDaniels finishes installing his system. The fact that both are rust-free and working together is a tremendous early sign for Adams and Carr managers alike.

Carr, by the way, is trending as the 14th-ranked quarterback. He feels extremely undervalued, given that he'll be throwing to players like Adams, Waller and Hunter Renfrow this season.

The Chicago Bears struggled offensively under Matt Nagy last season, finishing 24th in yards and 27th in points scored.

Despite an underwhelming offense, though, wideout Darnell Mooney was fantasy-relevant. He led the team with 81 receptions, 1,055 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He could be in line for another leap under new coordinator Luke Getsy, and a clear path to being the No. 1 target will help.

The Bears parted with Allen Robinson II this offseason, leaving Mooney as the best-established pass-catcher on the roster. He'll be quarterback Justin Fields' go-to guy, and he's ready for the job.

"I'm ready for any task, any type of defense that we're seeing, whatever it is, anyway, I can help the team," Mooney told Ehsan Kassim of the Gadsden Times. "You know, if I get double-teamed, I'll be a decoy for the team so everybody else can be open. I mean, I'm good with that. Anyway I can help win."

For Mooney to truly explode this season, Getsy will have to get more out of Fields, who was up and down as a rookie last season. However, top targets—even in underwhelming offenses—are worth drafting because of their workload-related floors. In Chicago, Mooney will have multiple opportunities to make plays weekly.

There's a lot of upside here, and Mooney could be a great value pick in the middle rounds. He's currently trending as the 27th-ranked receiver in PPR formats.

Big-name additions are exciting for fans and fantasy managers alike, and new Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown is no exception.

With two 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, Brown should help the Eagles offense improve this season while elevating the value of quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is already trending as QB7.

DeVonta Smith managers, however, may be concerned about the value of the second-year wideout. Smith was tremendous as a rookie, finishing with 916 yards and five touchdowns while emerging as the team's top wideout. (It's worth noting that Philadelphia ranked dead-last in pass attempts last season.)

Will Brown's arrival tank Smith's fantasy value? Not necessarily. According to Brown, Smith will remain the team's No. 1 receiver this season.

"In my opinion, Smitty is a wide receiver one," Brown said, per The Athletic's Zach Berman.

"Our goal is to make him one of the best in the game," cornerback Darius Slay said, per Berman. "That's what he can be."

Fans should still expect a notable second-year jump from Smith in 2022. Brown will likely take his fair share of targets from Smith, of course, but he'll also prevent the Alabama product from seeing double coverage regularly.

Smith, who is trending as WR36 in PPR formats, is a potential mid-round steal. At the same time, Brown, who is trending as WR 11, may be a tad overvalued.

Brown was the go-to receiver with the Tennessee Titans. In Philadelphia, he'll again be in a run-heavy offense but will share the receiving load with Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert.

Managers frequently find value in rookie receivers who are unproven and therefore drafted low. The trick is finding a rookie pass-catcher in the right situation for early success.

At first blush, New Orleans Saints receiver Chris Olave doesn't appear to be that sort of rookie. He's joining an offense that has established pass-catchers in Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry and Alvin Kamara.

However, the early buzz indicates that Olave is learning quickly and will be a big piece of the puzzle in 2022.

"He's been outstanding," Landry told reporters. "He's in great shape. He's running great routes. He's on top of the playbook. He's going to be a contributor, a big-time contributor, for sure."

Quarterback Jameis Winston has also been impressed with Olave early.

"Just real smooth. He can get in and out of breaks very well. Electric, and smart, man. He's a guy that's always asking questions. He's a guy that wants to know how you want it, and I really respect that," Winston said, per The Athletic's Katherine Terrell.

Olave isn't diving into a No. 1 receiver role, so his floor is questionable. However, he's still a tremendous value target—he's trending as the 51st-ranked receiver—and a player for managers to follow throughout training camp.

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson had a disappointing rookie campaign in 2021. The BYU product missed time with a knee injury and finished with only nine touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

However, New York put in work to improve Wilson's supporting cast this season. The Jets added veteran tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin, drafted Ohio State wideout Garrett Wilson and Iowa State running back Breece Hall and signed Pro Bowl guard Laken Tomlinson.

With better pieces around him, Wilson could take a big Year 2 leap—and the quarterback himself will be physically bigger too.

Wilson has reportedly gained 13 pounds this offseason.

"I feel better for sure," Wilson said, per ESPN's Rich Cimini. "The energy, the ability to have that stamina throughout the whole practice, is better. In the long run, once we get into a game when we actually get hit and tackled, having more size on me will help."

Added mass will, in theory, help Wilson stay on the field in 2022. It could have an added bonus too. It may help him be more effective as a short-yardage runner. Last season, he rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns. We're not talking about Wilson suddenly becoming a dual-threat in the mold of Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray, but he could provide managers with a bonus rushing touchdown every couple of games.

Currently trending as QB23, a bigger, stronger Wilson is worth a flier as a late-round sleeper target.

From a younger Wilson to a seasoned vet, we move to new Denver Broncos quarterback and nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson.

Wilson has long been a quality fantasy starter because of his combination of precision passing and scrambling abilities. He's bringing those traits with him to Denver and appears to be adding a deep-ball element to the Broncos offense as well.

"Broncos starting quarterback Russell Wilson may have one of the best deep balls in the NFL," Cecil Lammey of 104.3 The Fan wrote. "I'm not going to give away too much of what I’ve seen, but Broncos Country should know that the deep game is going to be emphasized by this offense."

New Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett last served as the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator. In that role, he helped Aaron Rodgers post back-to-back MVP campaigns. There's a legitimate chance we see Wilson produce MVP-caliber numbers this year as well.

This doesn't mean that Denver won't have a balanced offensive attack. The backfield tandem of Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon III will likely ensure a fair bit of balance. Still, pass-catchers like Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy could see a significant fantasy boost this season.

Managers in leagues that award bonus points for long plays should pay particular attention.

Wilson, meanwhile, may be undervalued, as he's currently trending as QB10 in season-long rankings. With a loaded supporting cast and a quick-strike system—and the added upside of rushing yards—Wilson could be among fantasy's best signal-callers in 2022.

Two years ago, former Bears wideout Allen Robinson II was a fantasy star. Despite playing with underwhelming quarterbacks in Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky, Robinson rattled off 1,250 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

Last year, though, Robinson floundered. He had a stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list and battled an inefficient offense run by former coach Matt Nagy, recording just 38 catches, 410 yards and one touchdown in 12 games.

Now with offensive guru Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams, though, Robinson should be in store for a bounce-back season. McVay, for one, is excited to have him.

"He's a stud," McVay said during OTAs, per Kevin Modesti of the Southern California News Group. "I think the first thing that stands out is the body control for a bigger receiver."

Robinson's desire to thrive in L.A.'s offense has impressed both star receiver Cooper Kupp and quarterback Matthew Stafford.

"His football aptitude is incredible. But his willingness to spend the time here and learning this thing, because he doesn't just want to know the offense, he wants to understand the offense," Kupp told reporters last month.

"His inner fire is really evident when you get to work with him," Stafford added.

Robinson, who is currently trending as the 28th-ranked receiver in PPR leagues, is a potential steal worth keeping an eye on.

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. remains without a team while recovering from torn ACL suffered in Super Bowl LVI.

However, Beckham will almost certainly land with a team before Week 1, and it's worth noting that the Rams continue to want him back.

"He was a baller. Want to try to be able to get him back. Would love to work with him every single day," McVay told SiriusXM Radio (h/t Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk).

A return to L.A. would be ideal for Beckham, who proved in the postseason that he's a tremendous fit for the system. In less than four full playoff games, Beckham caught 21 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. In 12 total games with the Rams, he had 48 receptions for 593 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prorated over a full season, that's 68 receptions, 840 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Now, Beckham's recovery means that he's unlikely to be available until midseason at best. However, he is trending as the 79th-ranked receiver for PPR and could be a valuable draft-and-stash target to unleash during the fantasy playoffs.

There's no guarantee that Beckham returns to the Rams, of course, but managers drafting early should keep in mind that a Los Angeles reunion is squarely on the proverbial table.

Fantasy rankings from FantasyPros.