75 Player Notes for the 2023 Fantasy Football Season

The NFL off-season feels like an eternity for Fantasy Football degenerates like me. The NFL Draft starts to ignite the flame for the coming season, and the 4th of July feels like the switch being flipped for the coming season. We are getting closer and closer to football here in mid-July, which means it is time to get up to speed with some pointers applicable to this coming season.

I have been a fan of some analysts’ stat previews heading into each season. Scott Barrett, who I previously podcasted with over at Fantasy Points, drops his 96 Stats article each year. Matthew Berry has historically written his 100 Facts articles as well, which Scott has noted to be inspired by. These are fun reads that give anywhere between the complete casual Fantasy Football player all the way through the Fantasy Football die-hard tons of information all in one spot. So with inspiration from those articles, I want to give you my personal 75 Player Notes heading into the 2023 Fantasy Football season with the intent to entertain and prepare you for the coming season.

75 Player Notes:

1. When Jahan Dotson (WR, Commanders) played 70%+ of the games last season as a rookie, he averaged 14.03 Fantasy points per game (PPG). Across a full season, 14.03 Fantasy PPG would have nearly been a Top 20 Wide Receiver.
2. There are 217 vacated targets in Green Bay from 2022, and Jayden Reed (WR, Packers) was selected in the 2nd round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Reed had 1,036 receiving yards and 10-TD-season in 2021 at Michigan State.
3. Elijah Moore (WR, Browns) was the WR3 in total Fantasy scoring in Weeks 7-13 of his rookie season (2020) as a Jet and now finds himself tied to Deshaun Watson in Cleveland as the team’s projected WR2.
4. Mike Gesicki (TE, Patriots) has had two seasons of 700+ receiving yards, and three seasons of 85+ targets back in Miami prior to the Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combination of 2022. Bill Belichick has previously praised Gesicki’s pass-catching abilities.
5. Back in 2019, DJ Chark (WR, Panthers) finished with 1,008 receiving yards, eight touchdowns and was #19 in Fantasy PPG. Chark had games of 98-94-108 receiving yards last year in Detroit, and lands in a Carolina offense with no clear pecking order for targets in that Wide Receiver room.
6. In both 2021 and 2020, Antonio Gibson (RB, Commanders) finished Top 20 for Running Backs in Fantasy PPG and scored double-digit touchdowns. In 2022 Gibson finished with career highs in receptions (46) and receiving yards (353) and now has Eric Bieniemy as the new offensive coordinator.
7. Jerick McKinnon (RB, Chiefs) was brought back to Kansas City on a one-year deal after posting career highs in receptions (52) and total touchdowns (10) in 2022 for the Super Bowl winning Chiefs.
8. The Buffalo Bills scored the second most PPG as an offense in 2022. Damien Harris (RB, Bills) enters the backfield where Devin Singletary vacates 40 red zone touches. Harris scored 15 touchdowns in 2021, seeing 46 red zone touches for the Patriots.
9. Across rookie Sam LaPorta’s (TE, Lions) final two seasons at Iowa he caught 53/58 passes for 670/657 receiving yards. Jameson Williams (WR, Lions) is suspended for six games in 2023.
10. Geno Smith (QB, Seahawks) finished 2022 Top 10 in passing attempts (572), deep ball attempts (66), red zone attempts (77), passing yards (4,282), yards per attempt (7.5), passing touchdowns (30), Quarterback Rating (QBR – 61.1), and Fantasy PPG (18.5). What follows? He was paid, and Seattle added rookies Jaxon Smith Njigba (WR) and Zach Charbonnet (RB).
11. In his final season at Colorado State, Trey McBride (TE, Cardinals) finished 13th in receptions (90) and 23rd in receiving yards (1,121) for all positions in College Football. McBride enters his sophomore season with Zach Ertz injured and a possible cut candidate, and no clear second target behind Marquise Brown (WR).
12. In 2021 at Pittsburg, rookie Jordan Addison (WR, Vikings) caught 100 passes for 1,593 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns which resulted in him winning the Biletnikoff Award. Adam Thielen (WR, Carolina) is gone and averaged 6.3 targets per game in 2022.
13. Rookie season in 2021, Kadarius Toney (WR, Chiefs) had a game he caught 10/13 targets for 189 receiving yards. In Week 10 as a Chief last season, he showed dynamic playmaking catching four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown while adding 33 yards on the ground.
14. Despite Leonard Fournette (RB, Free Agent) catching 73 passes in 2022, Rachaad White (RB, Buccaneers) still caught 50 passes as a rookie. White is lined up to be Tampa Bay’s RB1 as of today.
15. In 2021, Jonathan Taylor (RB, Colts) finished #1 for running backs in rushing attempts (332), rushing yards (1,811), total touchdowns (20), and other categories such as evaded tackles, yards created, and breakaway runs. Taylor played in just 11 games in 2022 due to injury but does not have any lingering issues heading into 2023.
16. Deshaun Watson (QB, Browns) has finished as a top-five quarterback in Fantasy PPG in all three of the full seasons he has played. He enters 2023 with one of the best offensive lines in the league, plus offensive weapons Nick Chubb (RB), Amari Cooper (WR), Elijah Moore (WR), Donovan Peoples-Jones, rookie Cedric Tillman (WR), and David Njoku (TE).
17. Russell Wilson (QB, Broncos) has averaged 20+ Fantasy PPG in 5/11 seasons played, threw 40+ touchdowns back in 2020, and has had four seasons of 4,000+ passing yards. After a poor season in Denver, former New Orleans Super Bowl winning Head Coach Sean Payton was hired.
18. The last time Calvin Ridley (WR, Jaguars) played football was October 24th, 2021. Ridley lands in Jacksonville following a major Trevor Lawrence (QB) improvement. Ridley earned 143 targets, caught 90 of them, finished with 1,374 receiving yards, scored nine touchdowns, and scored 18.8 fantasy PPG in 2020.
19. Lamar Jackson (QB, Ravens) played in just 12 games last season. In two of his first three games, Jackson scored 40+ fantasy points. Jackson has had four straight seasons of 20+ fantasy PPG and will enter 2023 with the best receiving core he’s ever had in Mark Andrews (TE), rookie Zay Flowers (WR), Rashod Bateman (WR), Odell Beckham Jr. (WR) and JK Dobbins (RB).
20. Down season as a whole for Najee Harris (RB, Steelers) in his sophomore season last year. Following the BYE in 2022 though, Najee ranked third in rushing yards, tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns, and ranked seventh in total fantasy points in that Week 10-18 span. Najee dealt with a foot injury last year but looked healthy following the BYE.
21. 2022 meant only nine games for Cooper Kupp (WR, Rams) but he still averaged the most Fantasy PPG of any wide receiver with 22.4 per game. Kupp saw 10+ targets and finished with 100+ receiving yards last season in 55.56% of his games played.
22. Injury has been tied to Darren Waller’s (TE, Giants) name, playing in just 20 games combined the last two seasons. Waller has had two seasons of 1,100+ receiving yards under his belt though, looks healthy and could be lined up to be Daniel Jones’ (QB) #1 target for this coming season.
23. Justin Herbert (QB, Chargers) has ranked #2 in passing attempts in back-to-back seasons with 670+ attempts in both. The Chargers dealt with injuries last year, but head into 2023 with a core of Austin Ekeler (RB), Keenan Allen (WR), Mike Williams (WR), rookie Quentin Johnston (WR), Joshua Palmer (WR), and Gerald Everett (TE).
24. Brandin Cooks (WR, Cowboys) has finished six seasons with 114+ targets, six seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards, and six seasons Top 20 for the position in Fantasy PPG. Cooks lands in Dallas with Dak Prescott (QB) who averaged 37.3 passing attempts per game in 2021.
25. 0 touchdowns for Diontae Johnson (WR, Steelers) was disappointing as he ranked Top 10 in red zone targets but lined up with the Steelers only finishing with 12 receiving touchdowns in 2022. Johnson has earned 147-169-144-92 targets through his career in Pittsburgh.
26. As a rookie last year, Garrett Wilson finished with 147 targets (#6 for WRs) and 1,103 receiving yards (#14 for WRs) despite playing with four different Jets quarterbacks. Wilson’s four touchdowns surely will change with Aaron Rodgers (QB) now the starter, who has had three seasons of 40+ passing touchdowns.
27. In the last seven games playing 50%+ of the snaps, Jerry Jeudy (WR, Broncos) averaged 19.37 Fantasy PPG. Jeudy was Top 20 in deep targets, yards after catch and yards per target in 2022, showing playmaking and efficiency. Head Coach Sean Payton has had a history of productive wide receivers in his systems such as Michael Thomas (WR, Saints), Marques Colston, and Brandin Cooks.
28. In 2022, Bijan Robinson (RB, Falcons) averaged an outstanding 157.83 scrimmage yards (rushing + receiving yards) per game at Texas. Bijan lands in Atlanta via the eighth overall 2023 NFL Draft pick. The Falcons had the most rushing attempts in 2022.
29. D’Andre Swift (RB, Eagles) has averaged 13.7 PPG in 2022 (#15), 16.1 in 2021 (#8), and 14.6 in 2020 (#15). When playing 50%+ of the snaps, Swift has averaged 16.54 PPG through his NFL career. Swift lands in Philadelphia, his hometown, a team that scored the second most total points in 2022.
30. In Chris Olave’s (WR, Saints) rookie season, he finished #8 in air yards (1,670), #9 in average depth of target (aDot – 14), and #4 in deep targets (29). Derek Carr (QB) is now the Saints quarterback, who finished last year #5 in both deep ball attempts (72) and air yards (4,701).
31. In 2022, 30.77% of Tua Tagovailoa’s (QB, Dolphins) games played he finished with 300+ passing yards. Of QBs who played 10+ games, only Patrick Mahomes (QB, Chiefs) and Josh Allen (QB, Bills) had a higher percentage. Tua also threw 3+ passing TDs in 30.77% of his games played. Only Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow (QB, Bengals), and Dak Prescott had a higher percentage. 
32. Rookie season back in 2020, JK Dobbins (RB, Ravens) scored in every single game in Weeks 11-17. Last season in his first post-ACL tear, Dobbins had two games of 120+ rushing yards. In 2022 and 2020, Dobbins ranked top five in juke rate and finished his rookie year fourth best in breakaway runs.
33. In 2021 for Ohio State, rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, Seahawks) caught 95 passes for 1,606 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. That was an average of 123.54 yards per game on an Ohio State roster that featured both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
34. The Colts selected Anthony Richardson (QB) with the fourth overall pick this season, who ran a 4.42 – 40 yard dash and had one of the most athletic QB combines ever. Richardson combined 2,549 passing yards with 654 rushing yards in his 2022 final season at Florida.
35. In 2022, Dalton Kincaid (TE, Bills) finished with 70 receptions for 890 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his final season at Utah. Kincaid was the only tight end selected in the 1st round of this year’s draft.
36. Justin Fields (QB, Bears) averaged 20.5 Fantasy PPG in 2022 but averaged 24.8 Fantasy PPG Weeks 6-18 when the playbook looked Fields-focused. Chicago made improvements to their offensive line this off-season and traded for DJ Moore (WR).
37. In 2022, Pat Freiermuth ranked #5 in targets (98), #6 in receptions (63), #4 in air yards, #8 in aDot, #3 in deep targets, #6 in receiving yards (732), #9 in yards after the catch and #7 in yards per route run.
38. In five seasons played, Nick Chubb (RB, Browns) has never averaged under five yards per carry, had four seasons of over 1,000 yards rushing, finished top three in total yards in three seasons, and finished Top 10 for Fantasy in four straight years.
39. The #1 wide receiver in 2o22 in both yards per target (11.7) and yards per reception (18.1) was Jaylen Waddle (WR, Dolphins).
40. There are 483 rushing attempts vacated in Carolina who consequently signed Miles Sanders (RB). Sanders had career highs in rushing attempts (259), rushing yards (1,269), and touchdowns (11) in 2022 with the Eagles.
41. In Trevor Lawrence’s (QB, Jaguars) sophomore year, he was +28 in completions, +472 in passing yards, +16 in total touchdowns, -9 in interceptions, and +5.2 in Fantasy PPG compared to his rookie season. Lawrence ranked #1 in protection rate.
42. In 2022, Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR, Lions) was Top 10 for wide receivers in targets (146), receptions (106), receiving yards (1,161), yards after catch, and Fantasy PPG (16.7). Teammate Jameson Williams (WR) is suspended for six games.
43. Saquon Barkley (RB, Giants) bounced back in 2022 with career highs in rushing attempts (295) and rushing yards (1,312) while ranking seventh in receptions for the position with 57. Rookie year, Barkley averaged 24 Fantasy PPG.
44. Despite Dake Prescott (QB, Cowboys) playing in just 12 games last season, CeeDee Lamb (WR) finished top five for wide receivers in targets (156), receptions (107) and total touchdowns (9). Lamb has 178 receptions for 2,402 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in 32 career games with Dak.
45. The league leader in rushing yards last season, Josh Jacobs (RB, Raiders), finished with a career-high 1,653 yards on the ground. Jacobs finished 2022 #2 in evaded tackles (123), #1 in yards created (1,233), and had the highest opportunity share (83.7%).
46. In the four games Desmond Ridder (QB, Falcons) started in 2022, Drake London saw 11-9-8-8 targets. London ranked fifth in target share (29.4%) as a rookie last year.
47. In back-to-back seasons, Joe Burrow (QB, Bengals) has thrown for over 4,500 passing yards and 34/36 passing touchdowns. Burrow climbed from 20.5 Fantasy PPG to 21.7 Fantasy PPG last year.
48. In 2020, Alvin Kamara (RB, Saints) scored 21 total touchdowns but combined for just 13 across the last two seasons. Kamara will likely face some sort of suspension in 2023.
49. For the Chiefs in 2022 all of Travis Kelce (TE), JuJu Smith Schuster (WR, Patriots), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR), Jerick McKinnon (RB), Mecole Hardman (WR, Jets), Justin Watson (WR) and Noah Gray (TE) out-targeted SKyy Moore (WR) in his rookie year.
50. In 2/4 of Patrick Mahomes’ (QB, Chiefs) last seasons played, he has finished outside of the top four in Fantasy PPG for the position.
51. Keenan Allen (WR, Chargers) across his final seven healthy games in 2022 averaged 10.71 targets, 7.86 receptions, 83 receiving yards, .57 touchdowns and 19.7 Fantasy PPG.
52. Jared Goff (QB, Lions) had the fifth (tied) highest percentage of games played with three or more passing touchdowns (29.41%) in 2022.
53. Brandon Aiyuk (WR, 49ers) finished 2022 with career highs in targets (113), receptions (78), receiving yards (1,015), and receiving touchdowns (8).
54. Aaron Jones (RB, Packers) has been a Top 12 running back in Fantasy PPG for four straight seasons and is coming off of career highs in rushing yards (1,121) and receptions (59) in 2022.
55. In Weeks 1-6 last season, Marquise Brown (WR, Cardinals) was the WR5 overall and averaged 18.3 Fantasy PPG. In Weeks 3-5 Hollywood scored over 20 Fantasy points in every game.
56. Michael Pittman Jr.’s (WR, Colts) target quality rating has ranked #80 in 2020 (Philip Rivers), #58 in 2021 (Carson Wentz), and #46 in 2022 (Matt Ryan). He now has fourth overall pick Anthony Richardson as his fourth starting quarterback for 2023.
57. Through his career, AJ Brown (WR, Eagles) has had 150+ receiving yards six times and five multi-touchdown games. AJB ranked #2 in both yards after the catch and yards per route run last season.
58. When playing 50%+ of the snaps in Arizona, James Conner (RB) has averaged 19.47 Fantasy PPG.
59. Travis Kelce (TE, Chiefs) finished with +425 receiving yards, +23 targets, +24 receptions, and +100.9 total fantasy points over all other tight ends in 2022. 
60. DeAndre Hopkins (WR, Free Agent) saw 10+ targets in 78% of his 2022 games (7/9). He averaged 21.63 fantasy PPG in the four games with Kyler Murray (QB, Cardinals). 
61. DK Metcalf (WR, Seahawks) ranked #2 in red zone targets (27) despite having a career-low six touchdowns in 2022. He scored double-digit touchdowns the two seasons prior. 
62. DeVonta Smith (WR, Eagles) finished 2022 Top 10 in receptions (95), receiving yards (1,196), and yards after the catch (485). 
63. For both rushing yards (1,040) and receptions (69), Rhamondre Stevenson (RB, Patriots) finished 2022 Top 12 for the position in both.
64. DJ Moore (WR, Bears) has earned 118 targets in 4/5 seasons played and has had 3/5 seasons of 1,150+ receiving yards. He now will play with the best quarterback of his career. 
65. Ja’Marr Chase (WR, Bengals) saw 10+ targets in 75% of his 2022 games played in 2022. Chase has had nine games of 100+ receiving yards and two of 200+ receiving yards through two seasons. 31.42% of Joe Burrow’s (QB) touchdowns have gone to Ja’Marr Chase in the last two years.
66. Christian McCaffrey (RB) averaged 67.82 rushing yards, .55 rushing touchdowns, 4.73 receptions, 42.18 receiving yards, .36 receiving touchdowns, and 21.67 Fantasy points in the 11 games he was a 49er last year. 
67. Prior to his ACL tear, Breece Hall (RB, Jets) had: two games of six receptions, two games over 90 rushing yards, five total touchdowns, and four weeks of 15+ fantasy points across his seven appearances. 
68. In 2022 and 2021 Chris Godwin (WR, Buccaneers) had an aDot of 5.6 (#99) and 7 (#84) while ranking #6 and #3 in yards after the catch. Back-to-back seasons over 1,000 receiving yards. 
69. Amari Cooper (WR, Browns) had career highs in targets (132) and air yards (1,765) in 2022. It was his fourth season over 1,100 receiving yards.
70. Cam Akers (RB, Rams) rushed for 118-123-104 the last three weeks of the 2022 season, and had a three TD game Week 16. No significant running backs have been added to the roster. 
71. Dalton Schultz (TE, Texans) earned 89-104-89 targets and produced 577-808-615 receiving yards the last three seasons in Dallas before landing in Houston.
72. Daniel Jones (QB, Giants) year one with Head Coach Brian Daboll had a career year in passing attempts (472), passing yards (3,205), completion percentage (67.2%), rushing yards (708), rushing TDs (7) and fantasy PPG (18.4) as a Top 10 fantasy quarterback in 2022. Darren Waller, Parris Campbell and Jalin Hyatt (rookie) were added.
73. Matthew Stafford (QB, Rams) only played in nine games for 2022, but ranked #3 in passing yards (4,886) and #2 in passing touchdowns (41) back in 2021.
74. Treylon Burks (WR, Titans) scored 18.1 and then 17 Fantasy points Weeks 11 and 12 before getting banged up the following week. 111 and 70 receiving yards in those two games. 
75. As a rookie last season, George Pickens (WR, Steelers) ranked #3 in aDot (15.6), #7 in deep targets (28) and #19 in air yards (1,323) for wide receivers.

I am hoping these stats can give you some sort of an edge in your league and prepare you for the coming season. Or at least provided you with some sort of entertainment as fans of Fantasy Football.

Data that was not calculated myself was sourced from playerprofiler.com.

For more great rankings and analysis, make sure to check out our 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit!

GIVEAWAY ALERT! 🚨🏈⁠

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— Fantrax (@Fantrax) July 4, 2023