Fantasy Football

The Pittsburgh Steelers are discussing dialing back Najee Harris' role a bit after he shouldered a heavy burden as a rookie.

"We are doing that a lot this year [that] I will not be on the field, I guess, [as much]," Harris told reporters Tuesday. "I will be on the field a lot, but on certain downs I will not be on the field. Just [pick my spots], I guess. Extra rest."

The 2021 Pro Bowler led the NFL in touches in his first year, logging 307 carries and catching 74 passes.

The Steelers don't have much choice but to trim back Harris' workload a bit to better preserve his long-term health.

Per Stathead, he was one of eight players over the last 10 years to eclipse 380 touches. While he's part of a star-studded group, it's not exactly a great distinction to have.

Arian Foster, Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey missed time through injury the following season after hitting that threshold. Le'Veon Bell missed the entire 2018 season because of his contract dispute with the Steelers and was never the same after leaving Pittsburgh. Likewise, DeMarco Murray never replicated his All-Pro campaign of 2014.

Steelers running backs coach Eddie Faulkner told The Athletic's Mark Kaboly that Harris is a bit of an outlier.

"To be honest, and people think I am crazy when I say this, but he's just built for it," he said of the 6'1", 232-pound running back. "I am not saying just physically how he is built, but how he trains. He trains to play a lot of plays in a game."

Still, history isn't on Harris' side in matching his usage from 2021.

The 24-year-old is bound to get plenty of looks in 2022.

The Steelers didn't sign or draft another running back to challenge Harris. Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr. are poised to be the top backups. Considering either Mitchell Trubisky or Kenny Pickett will be the starting quarterback, the passing game won't suddenly be the sole focus of the offense, either.

From a fantasy perspective, there's little reason to think Harris will take a big step backward in his second season.

After a disappointing 2021 season for Saquon Barkley, new head coach Brian Daboll is looking to get the running back involved in other ways.

According to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, the New York Giants star has been "getting a ton of work as a receiver" during organized team activities, adding, "his involvement in the passing game appears on the rise."

Barkley caught 91 passes on 121 targets on his way to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018. Last year, the running back had 41 catches on 57 targets while setting a career-low 20.2 receiving yards per game.

It was part of a lost year for the 25-year-old, who only had 593 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 13 games.

The entire offense struggled last year under head coach Joe Judge, finishing 31st in both points scored and total yards on the way to a 4-13 finish. The Giants are looking for more under Brian Daboll, who spent the past four years as the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator.

Buffalo finished third in points scored last season after ranking second in the category in 2020.

Devin Singletary and Zach Moss, who split time in the Bills backfield, combined for 63 catches on 82 targets last season.

"It feels like a fresh start," Barkley said of playing for Daboll, per CBS Sports' Josina Anderson. "I feel good again. I know it's all there. I know how talented I am. Just taking it one day at a time. You feel the energy out here doing different things."

He also told Anderson that he expects a bigger receiving role.

This could make Barkley a lot more valuable in points-per-reception leagues, especially if he can regain his speed and athleticism from before he tore his ACL in 2020.

On the other hand, the Giants still have Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard and 2021 first-round pick Kadarius Toney, while they used a second-round pick on Wan'Dale Robinson. It could be a lot of mouths to feed with unproven quarterback Daniel Jones leading the passing attack.

Leonard Fournette will continue to serve as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starting running back in 2022, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Friday. 

Rookie Rachaad White will compete with Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard to "carve out a role," Bowles added.

Concerns about Fournette's status as the team's starting running back arose after the Bucs selected White in the third round of the 2022 draft. After being drafted, the 23-year-old said on The Jim Rome Show that he wanted to be the team's starting RB and would work hard to make that happen.

White had a tremendous 2021 season with the Arizona State Sun Devils, rushing for 1,006 yards and 15 touchdowns, in addition to catching 43 passes for 456 yards and one score. Considering Bowles said that he is a "talented player," it's reasonable to believe in the future he could be atop the team's depth chart. 

That said, adding Fournette as a top running back in fantasy football is a no-brainer. The 27-year-old has been a go-to player for Tom Brady over the last two seasons and that's not going to change in 2022. 

During the 2021 season, Fournette rushed for 812 yards and eight touchdowns. He also caught 69 passes for 454 yards and two scores. 

The 2017 fourth overall pick certainly won't be one of the top running backs taken by fantasy managers this year, but he would be a tremendous addition in a later round.

Vaughn and Bernard should also be options for fantasy managers this year. However, managers would be better off using either player as an injury replacement. Vaughn rushed for just 180 yards and two touchdowns last season, while Bernard had eight carries for 58 yards and 23 catches for 123 yards and three scores. 

One of the greatest potential underdog stories in sports history did not come to fruition Monday.

John Eckert, who entered a local U.S. Open qualifier in Kansas City as punishment for finishing last in his fantasy football league, shot a 40-over 112 and ended dead last again.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach caught up with Eckert, who said he typically shoots in the low 90s and that he "had some momentum going into the qualifier, so the spirits were high."

That momentum immediately crashed and burned after he started with a triple bogey on the 10th hole. Eckert proceeded to shoot a 22-over 58 on the back nine.

The front nine started out poorly, with Eckert shooting 13-over on the first four holes. But he caught fire down the stretch with pars on the fifth, seventh and ninth holes.

"I'm pretty happy with the four pars, for sure," Eckert told Schlabach. "The walking got to me. I'm more of a cart guy myself."

Eckert had to be a bit surreptitious on his registration form to even get into the tournament. Schlabach had more information on that front:

Todd Stice, director of rules and competitions for Central Links Golf in Kansas City, which staged the U.S. Open qualifier, said Eckert was able to enter the tournament because he had designated himself as a professional player on his registration form. Only amateurs are subject to USGA rules that require a 1.4 handicap or lower to play in the U.S. Open qualifiers.

The day might not have gone as well as Eckert may have hoped, and it's unfortunate that his best form didn't come until the end of his round. But the 26-year-old deserves credit for honoring the bet and finishing all 18 holes.

He might not have won on the golf leaderboard or in fantasy football, but his resolve to complete the task at hand was noble.

It was a busy night for the wideout position during the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. In total, six players came off the board:

• No. 8: Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
• No. 10: Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
• No. 11: Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
• No. 12: Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
• No. 16: Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders
• No. 18: Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans

And outside of Williams, who likely will miss a good chunk of the 2022 season as he recovers from an ACL tear, all offer an interesting case for fantasy football players next season. 

We start with London, who will immediately be Atlanta's best wideout and should be the focal point of the offense alongside of last year's first-round pick, tight end Kyle Pitts. So targets shouldn't be an issue. 

The question, as it will be for a number of these players, is the quarterback throwing him the ball. Unless the Falcons pursue a quarterback via a trade or the draft, Marcus Mariota is going to be the starter in 2022. Mariota is a tested veteran, but he's also spent the majority of the past three seasons as a backup.  

A good comp for London, then, might be DeVonta Smith, who was immediately Philly's top wideout last season but had a quarterback in Jalen Hurts who had his struggles in the passing game. Smith still put up solid numbers (64 receptions for 916 yards and five touchdowns). 

Those might be a tad optimistic for London, but the Falcons made him a top-10 pick for a reason. He has flex upside. 

Wilson, meanwhile, is going to serve as a litmus test for just how much potential second-year quarterback Zach Wilson has. Rookie Elijah Moore had 43 catches for 538 yards and five touchdowns, and Wilson is the better wideout. But Zach Wilson struggled mightily as a rookie, so unless he takes a giant leap, Garrett Wilson is going to be a risky option for fantasy owners. 

Slot him into the WR4 range, though he could tap into the WR3 conversation. His ceiling is probably as follows:

Olave should be the No. 3 option in New Orleans' passing game almost immediately behind Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara. That's a concern, considering starting quarterback Jameis Winston averaged just 167.1 passing yards per game last season. 

The Saints clearly want to improve upon that mark, trading up twice to get in place for Olave. He'll give Winston a more vertical option and a deep playmaker. Perhaps the Saints will open up the playbook a bit and let Winston take more shots. But he's been mercurial throughout his career. Olave has flex upside, but the safer bet is keeping him in the WR4 range. 

We'll skip Jameson Williams for now, seeing as he might not play at all next season. 

Dotson is an interesting case. He'll be the No. 2 wideout behind Terry McLaurin, giving Carson Wentz the best pair of wideouts he's arguably ever had. But Wentz has been a roller coaster of a player in the past few years, mixing in moments of general brilliance with long lapses of questionable decision-making. 

If the Commanders commit to getting Dotson the ball in space and are unique in how they do so, he has the playmaking ability to put up solid numbers. It's hard to imagine him putting up Jaylen Waddle production, given McLaurin's spot atop the depth chart, but he is the sleeper of this group. 

Consider him a WR4-5 with the ceiling to surprise.

Finally, we get to Treylon Burks, who lands in a perfect situation for him from a fantasy situation. He has the most reliable quarterback of the bunch (Ryan Tannehill) and will be the No. 2 option behind Robert Woods after A.J. Brown was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

On Tannehill's watch, players like Brown and Corey Davis proved to be viable fantasy starters. Don't be shocked if Burks is the most productive rookie wideout of the bunch. He has real flex upside. 

Just don't expect any of these players to touch the sort of production Ja'Marr Chase offered last year. None have his talent, and none have a quarterback as good as Joe Burrow. 

The Philadelphia Eagles acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans in a draft-day trade on Thursday.

With the deal, Brown received a four-year extension worth $100 million ($57 million guaranteed), per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Eagles now have one of the most dynamic passing trios in all of football, with Brown and wideout Devonta Smith working with quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The Brown trade is a huge fantasy win for everyone involved from a fantasy perspective.

Smith excelled last year as a rookie, recording 64 catches for 916 yards and five touchdowns as the Eagles' No. 1 target.

With Brown now in the mix to take some attention away from Smith, the ex-Alabama star could be in line to make some serious damage. He's a clear WR2 in fantasy football next year, with the ability to creep into WR1 territory.

Brown has a 17-game average of 73 catches, 1,184 yards and nine touchdowns over his three-year career. Needless to say, he's an absolute star who should clearly be in WR1 territory next year. There's already built-in chemistry with Hurts, too, as the two are close.

Plus, Hurts and Brown's strengths match, as Nathan Jahnke of PFF noted.

Hurts ran for 784 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, so he's a dynamic force at quarterback even without considering the passing aspect. But with Brown now in the mix, he's got another massive target to throw to and should easily be in the QB1 discussion.

The bottom line is that the Eagles might have a top-five offense with the addition of Brown, and that's great news for the team's top trio fantasy-wise.