Fantasy Football

The Minnesota Vikings are reportedly "enthusiastic" about the potential of third-year wide receiver K.J. Osborn, which makes him an intriguing fantasy football target despite the presence of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.

Arif Hasan of The Athletic reported Tuesday the Vikes are "clearly committed" to using three receivers as part of their base offensive set, which he expects will translate to "a lot" of targets for Osborn.

The 25-year-old Michigan native enjoyed a solid 2021 season, recording 50 catches for 655 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 games. That came after he was limited to a special teams role as a rookie.

Those numbers put him on the fringe of the fantasy starter conversation, so even a modest uptick from his 82 targets last year would probably make him a safe flex play most weeks in 2022.

Whether there's actually a path to a larger role is up for debate, though. Jefferson and Thielen will combine to eat up a majority of the targets, and tight end Irv Smith Jr. is slated to return after missing all of last season with a knee injury.

On the flip side, Osborn is currently being drafted outside the top 60 wideouts in Yahoo Sports fantasy leagues, so there's minimal investment to take a flier on his continued improvement.

His ability to stay on the field in any situation is also a boost to his stock.

"I think I'm pretty powerful, so I can play inside and block the big guys," Osborn told reporters in early August. "But I can go deep and go get it. I've showed that a couple of times, so I want to continue to show it."

Ultimately, Osborn will have some lackluster statistical games when Jefferson, Thielen and Smith are all also on the field. There just aren't enough targets to produce three or four fantasy standouts from the same pass-catching corps every week.

He'll post strong enough numbers to warrant a roster spot, however, and he's one injury away from a prominent role in a dangerous passing attack.

That's enough to grab him as WR depth in one of the final rounds of fantasy drafts.

Dontrell Hilliard has firmly locked down the backup running back role behind Derrick Henry in the Tennessee Titans backfield, according to The Athletic's Joe Rexrode.

"He is clearly the second-best running back on the roster, a guy I believe would get the bulk of the work if Derrick Henry were to miss any time," Rexrode reported Tuesday. "Hilliard, over rookie Hassan Haskins, should be the handcuff choice for fantasy owners at this point."

Hilliard performed well while filling in for an injured Henry last year. The 27-year-old ran for 350 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 6.3 yards per carry. The undrafted Tulane product also caught 19 passes for 87 yards.

That didn't stop the Titans from selecting Haskins in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft. The Michigan product has drawn strong reviews this summer. Henry described him as a "beast," while running backs coach Tony Dews said he was "a pleasure to work with."

Before last season, durability wasn't much of a concern with Henry as he firmly cemented himself as the NFL's premier ball-carrier. Between 2018 and 2020, he appeared in 47 games and logged 896 carries.

However, his foot injury in 2021 that caused him to miss nine games inevitably raises questions about whether that's a sign of things to come. For fantasy managers who want some insurance for the 2020 All-Pro, Hilliard appears to be the safest bet.

Isaiah McKenzie has the inside track to beat out Jamison Crowder for the Buffalo Bills' slot receiver role, which could make him a useful target in fantasy football drafts.

Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic reported Tuesday that McKenzie has been a "nightmare" to cover in man-to-man scenarios and his quickness fits perfectly with the Bills' desire to get more yards after the catch, which will "likely be a focus of the offense all season" in 2022.

McKenzie, a 2017 fifth-round pick, put his untapped potential on display in a Week 16 win over the New England Patriots last season. He finished the contest with 11 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Buffalo's offense features too many other playmakers around quarterback Josh Allen, led by fellow wideouts Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis, to post those numbers on a weekly basis, but it does provide a glimpse at his upside.

The 27-year-old Miami native has an average draft position of 131.3 in Yahoo Sports leagues, placing him around the late 10th round in 12-team formats.

It's hard to call him a bona fide steal at that ADP since there will be a fair share of weeks where Diggs, Davis and tight end Dawson Knox handle a lion's share of the targets. But there's value in drafting him late to play in certain matchups.

If he starts as the slot receiver, though, that could take his fantasy value to a new level.

McKenzie talked about his development in that role in early August.

"That means I got to get open, you know, man-to-man coverage, zone, I got to be in the right position, in the right space," he told reporters. "And I feel like that's evolved. I'm getting open for him when he needs me open. I'm sitting in zone when he needs me to be there, and it's been awesome so far."

If McKenzie emerges as an every-week starter with a handful of consistent targets, he'll enter the flex conversation on a more consistent basis rather than being a pure matchup play.

Since the Bills should have one of the league's highest-scoring offenses in 2022, taking a late-round flier on a possible breakout year from "Lil Dirty" is a solid fantasy investment.

Although the Cleveland Browns will be without Deshaun Watson for the first 11 games of the 2022 NFL season, Amari Cooper is expected to get plenty of looks in the passing game.

The Athletic's Zac Jackson reported Tuesday that Cleveland is "going to keep Cooper busy, and fantasy players should take note."

Jacoby Brissett is in line to start at quarterback until Watson is eligible to return. While that could impact the threat Cooper poses downfield, Jackson added Brissett is likely to target the four-time Pro Bowler "frequently at short and intermediate range."

Cooper is coming off a somewhat disappointing 2021 season. He caught 68 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns. His reception and yardage totals were his lowest since 2017.

Part of that was because of increased competition from CeeDee Lamb, who caught 79 balls for 1,102 receiving yards en route to his first Pro Bowl.

That kind of dynamic probably won't emerge in Cleveland. Neither Donovan Peoples-Jones nor David Bell should overshadow Cooper to a similar degree.

If you were banking on the 28-year-old to benefit from change of scenery, then you might be in luck.

Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Jalen Tolbert could emerge as a popular sleeper in fantasy football drafts over the final few weeks before the start of the 2022 season.

The pecking order among the Cowboys wide receivers has been up in the air throughout training camp as the team worked through the absences of Michael Gallup (knee) and James Washington (foot). Tolbert has done enough to earn a bigger role.

Jon Machota of The Athletic reported Tuesday the third-round pick out of South Alabama has "likely solidified" a spot in Dallas' starting lineup "even after Gallup returns."

CeeDee Lamb is the clear No. 1 target for quarterback Dak Prescott, but there should still be plenty of looks available for the Cowboys' other pass-catchers.

Tolbert proved capable of handling a high-volume role over his final two college seasons with the Jaguars, tallying 146 catches for 2,559 yards and 16 touchdowns in 23 games.

The key for Tolbert will be staying prepared to handle any role within the aerial attack as the Cowboys begin to get healthier at the position. It's something he's working on, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

"I'm learning more and more about each position as I go," Tolbert said. "And so, me just being able to move around and understand more—in the game Saturday [against the Denver Broncos on Aug. 13], it was kind of flying around on me. Overall, I'm picking it up. I'm good. Now, I'm just working on being consistent."

Gallup ruled himself out for Week 1 and hasn't provided a timetable for his return to competitive action. Washington is expected to miss 6-10 weeks after suffering a fractured foot in early August.

It's possible the Cowboys' wideout room is a lot more crowded following the regular season's first month, but if Tolbert has built a rapport with Prescott by that point, there's a strong chance he'll continue to handle a key role.

That opportunity in one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses makes him well worth a late-round investment in fantasy drafts. He currently holds a 129.3 average draft position (via Yahoo Sports), placing him late in the 10th round of 12-team leagues.

If fantasy managers aren't confident in his season-long production, there's a strong chance he'll have a breakout game early in the campaign while Gallup and Washington are out, which would make for a perfect time to see what he could fetch in a trade.

Either way, you could do a lot worse with a 10th-round selection.