When opportunity Knox, here's Johnny

Sep 22, 2009

The Bears knew they needed an upgrade at receiver, and had they not traded for Cutler, Angelo admitted he was going to draft a wideout in the first round.

When the Cutler trade took them out of the running for a top prospect, the Bears went with quantity, choosing Juaquin Iglesias in the third round, Knox in the fifth and Derek Kinder in the seventh. Knox might have been the least likely to contribute immediately by virtue of his background at the Division II school where he played for two years after spending two seasons at Tyler (Texas) Junior College.

With Kinder cut and Iglesias destined to be inactive on game days for the foreseeable future, Knox has come on as fast for the Bears as he ran the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine (less than 4.3 seconds). Knox caught a seven-yard touchdown pass in the Bears' 17-14 victory Sunday over the Pittsburgh Steelers and led the team with six receptions for 70 yards.

His emergence hasn't been by design. Knox was forced into action the previous week because a quad strain sidelined Devin Aromashodu.

Fantasy Impact:

yesterday

Chargers to sign RB J.K. Dobbins on one-year deal

Tom Pelissero

yesterday · 7:45 PM EDT

Former Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins is planning to sign with the #Chargers on a one-year deal. Electric when healthy, Dobbins — who averages 5.8 yards per carry in his career — reunites with OC Greg Roman and can hit the market again in March.

Related Players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has had poor injury luck in his career, but has only managed 234 total rushes since being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. This is a low-risk, high-reward move by the Chargers and might give them a runway to wait a little longer in the '24 Draft before they address the position.

Apr 16

Cowboys sign RB Royce Freeman

Todd Archer

Apr 16 · 8:15 PM EDT

The Cowboys have signed running back Royce Freeman to a one-year deal. Freeman had 319 yards on 77 carries with 2 touchdowns last year for the Los Angeles Rams. He was 3rd round pick of Denver in '18.

Related Players: Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn

Fantasy Impact:

Freeman hasn't rushed for 500 yards since 2018, his rookie season. This shouldn't have any impact on the team drafting at the position and/or bringing back Ezekiel Elliott.

Apr 15

Eagles sign WR DeVonta Smith to three-year extension

Ian Rapoport

Apr 15 · 10:45 AM EDT

The Eagles have paid another big-time, rising player. This time, WR DeVonta Smith gets a 3-year, $75M contract extension that includes $51M guaranteed.

Related Players: A.J. Brown, DeVante Parker, Parris Campbell

Fantasy Impact:

Great news for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense as a whole. Smith will continue his 1b role in which he finished the 2023 season as fantasy's WR22.