Fantasy Football News

On Wednesday, on the practice field inside the TCO Performance Center, J.J. McCarthy resembled his former self in almost every way. No, the 22-year-old was not doing any chest-bumping. This was more about his arm, his comfort and his command.

“He’s done an unbelievable job,” said coach Kevin O’Connell. “You forget the fact (that) this is his first runway since the injury. It’s a credit to the work he put in.”

The author said McCarthy’s throws spiraled the same way they did last year. He absorbed the play verbiage, stepped into the huddle, spit out the calls, walked to the line of scrimmage, hollered out the cadence and urgently progressed through reads. He did all of the things you have to do, with few hiccups, to be a successful quarterback in this league. But the story also warned the team isn't naming McCarthy the starter just yet. However, one thing to keep in mind is it's only Sam Howell and Brett Rypien behind him at this point, so McCarthy looks poised to be the starter this season.

As C.J. Stroud evolves in his NFL journey, one of his main focuses this offseason has been body transformation.

The Houston Texans' quarterback understood his training would have "risk and reward," but heading into Year 3, he felt he needed a change.

"I've been working really hard on getting my body right -- losing body fat, trying to be faster, stronger," Stroud said. "And it went really well. ... [Working] pocket mobility, running out the pocket, throwing the rock. Everything kind of works hand in hand."

The story said the extra work left him with general soreness in his throwing shoulder that caused him to miss practices this spring, but he felt it was necessary after he saw dips in passing yards (3,727) and touchdowns (20) in Year 2 after being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler in a season where he had 4,108 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. As the story added, he also threw 12 interceptions last season, seven more than his rookie year.

Coming out of Clemson in 2021, quarterback Trevor Lawrence was hailed as the Prince that was Promised to save and fundamentally transform the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise. Five years into his time in the NFL, whether or not that fundamental transformation has occurred is up to the interpreter.

Now, Lawrence enters Year 5 of his NFL career under a new coach in Liam Coen, and yet again is under the microscope that comes with his billing coming out of college and a contract worth $55 million annually. 2025 marks an ample time for Lawrence to live up to what's expected of him, and he made it clear he's aware of that during an appearance on Pardon My Take.

"I feel like this is like getting into my prime," Lawrence said. "I got a lot of good years left ahead of me, and I need to really turn it on. And I think what we've built around me and what they've done this offseason has been a great start."

While Lawrence has had his share of success, including in a Pro Bowl season in 2022 that culminated in a comeback playoff win against the Los Angeles Chargers, he has also not been able to transcend the Jaguars franchise's issues around him. After collapsing in the second half of the 2023 season, the Jags plummeted further to 4-13 in 2024 as Lawrence dealt with turnover issues, injuries, and all that had been built up around him by coach Doug Pederson fell apart, the story all said. The union with Coen this season is giving a lot of hope around the team, especially the offensive side of the ball.

On Tuesday, Terry McLaurin said that he’s unhappy with the lack of progress that’s been made toward a new deal.

“I’ve been pretty frustrated, I’m not gonna lie,” McLaurin said, via JP Finlay of NBC Washington. “Everything that has transpired up to this point has been disappointing and frustrating. I’ve wanted to continue my career here, created my life here. My wife and I bought our first home here so this is somewhere where I’ve always wanted to be. Just to see how things have played out is disappointing.”

The story went on to say McLaurin did not attend the Commanders’ offseason workouts as he looks for a contract that will keep him in Washington beyond the 2025 season. McLaurin has a base salary of $15.5 million for the coming season, which lags far behind the numbers in Garrett Wilson’s new deal and those signed by a number of other receivers since McLaurin signed his pact with the NFC East team, the story said.

The Jets ran the ball less than any team last season. The biggest reason for that (Aaron Rodgers) is gone. It would not shock me if the Jets went from last to first in terms of rushing attempts — the product of a run-first scheme led by offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, and the dynamic, dual-threat quarterbacking of Justin Fields in the fray. The Jets are modeling their offense after the one Engstrand and Aaron Glenn came from in Detroit, where, in theory at least, Breece Hall would play the Jahmyr Gibbs role while Braelon Allen would step in as the David Montgomery, power-running type. — Zack Rosenblatt

Those are pretty big expectations, but the thought of it is exciting. Rosenblatt went on to say Allen was a training camp breakout last year who never got a chance to get going in a bad offense, but he’ll have plenty of opportunities in 2025 to make his mark and prove he can be the long-term starter with Hall in the last year of his contract.

He saw just four games his sophomore season before tearing up his knee chasing down a defender after a Patrick Mahomes interception. But the good news amid the bad news: Rashee Rice did not tear his ACL but his LCL, which meant a shorter recovery time. Thus, the wideout was back on the field this spring for the Chiefs, and coach Andy Reid said he expects him to be full-go for the start of training camp. Rice’s return will be crucial for an offense looking to rediscover its explosiveness. — Zak Keefer

Keefer went on to say Rice had 938 receiving yards as a rookie in 2023 and was building off that early in Year 2. Kansas City has been waiting for a WR1 to step into the role vacated by Tyreek Hill in 2022. He’s not Hill, but Rice might be this team’s best bet. He has future Pro Bowler written all over him, according to Keefer. Rice was good his first four games and seemed on his way to a bust-out year last season. Rice seems to be a late third round target in 12-team leagues so far this summer.

The 2024 first-round pick, Brian Thomas Jr., had an electric rookie season with 87 catches for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns, so it’s fair to argue he’s already broken out. But considering that production on a bad team with turbulent quarterback play, Thomas could explode if the Trevor Lawrence-Liam Coen pairing works out the way it’s been envisioned. — Jeff Howe

Related players: Travis Hunter

Howe went on to point out with Hunter on the other side, defenses will have to decide where to load their coverage. If Hunter comes as advertised as a full-time wideout, Thomas could soon be knocking on the door as one of the league’s premier receivers, Howe went on to say. Thomas is already poised to go early in the second round of drafts.

It’s cliché to choose the second-year, top-10 pick. But Rome Odunze’s rookie season seemed more disappointing than it actually was. He was fifth among rookies in receiving yards (734) and caught only 53.5 percent of passes thrown his way. However, Odunze served as an example of the inconsistency that plagued the 2024 Bears offense. — Kevin Fishbain

The story went on to say Odunze didn’t meet outside expectations, but it’s not because he was dropping passes or running poor routes. With a better scheme and improved quarterback play, he should take off in Year 2, according to Fishbain. Odunze will likely be a more popular pick this draft season.

The arrival of No. 8 pick Tetairoa McMillan should take some pressure off Xavier Legette, whom the Panthers traded up to take at No. 32 in 2024. It’s not like Legette was a total bust: The 6-foot-3, 227-pounder caught 49 passes for 497 yards and four touchdowns. But as Bryce Young develops and McMillan draws coverage his way, Legette’s production should increase this season. — Joseph Person

Legette shouldn't be a highly-sought pick in upcoming drafts this summer, so maybe he's worth taking a shot on toward the end of your draft. The story added Legette wasn’t a full-time starter until his fifth season at South Carolina. So there were naturally growing pains for Legette, whose eight drops — including one on Young’s potential game-winning touchdown pass at Philadelphia — put him among the leaders in that category, the story pointed out.

John Morton replaced Ben Johnson as the team’s offensive coordinator this offseason and Jahmyr Gibbs revealed one of the new wrinkles he’s installed into an offense that scored the most points in the league last season. It involves Gibbs lining up outside of the backfield more frequently than he did in his first two seasons.

“Nothing too much changed, so a lot of the stuff is the same,” Gibbs said, via WXYZ. “I gotta learn the formations for this, but I’m being split out, I guess, like way more than I was the past two years. That’s good, that’s going to be fun. I’ve been waiting on that. He wants me to be more involved in it, so that’s what he plans on doing.

The story pointed out Gibbs caught 104 passes over his first two NFL seasons, but it looks like the team has plans to make him an even bigger part of the passing game. Owners are hoping to not see a TD regression this season after the back scored 20 TDs total last year, and this may be a chance for Gibbs to keep up that pace.