2023 Fantasy Football Week 5 Hot Takes: Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua Can Live In Harmony
The small sample size of NFL games is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it’s fleeting - especially when the injuries and bye weeks hit. On the other, that means there’s crazy news and rumors every single week. Were it London games, the returns of guys like Cooper Kupp, Jonathan Taylor, and Jameson Williams, or Travis Kelce dating Taylor Swift, there is always something to keep us occupied. And, as we clearly know now, any team can win in any given week. Here are some key takeaways from Week Five of NFL football that should make an impact on the landscape moving forward.
Breece Hall is BACK
There was an ambiguous quote this week from Jet’s head coach Robert Saleh that had the whole fantasy commuting speculating:
"From an opportunity standpoint, there is no pitch count with him anymore. We would love to get him going. But at the same time, we've got a lot of guys that we want to get involved."
That can be read either way. Is dropping the pitch count a new development? Or has there never been a pitch count but they want it to be a split backfield? Well, on Sunday Hall ripped off 177 yards and a TD on the ground with another three catches for 17 in the passing game which puts that debate to rest. There should not be a pitch count for Breece Hall because he is back. And he is awesome.
Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua Can Live In Harmony
Puka Nacua has been the surprise fantasy darling of the early season but we all waited with bated breath as Cooper Kupp returned. Folks that utilized Greg Dortch last year while Rondale Moore was out saw a guy making plays go right back to the bench so obviously some concern was there. As it turns out, both players are really good and both should get a bunch of looks each week from a revitalized Matthew Stafford. It may be bad news for the likes of Van Jefferson, Tyler Higbee, and Tutu Atwell in fantasy footbal but it’s certainly good for the Rams fans out there.
Real Deal Jaleel McLaughlin?
Here’s my policy on backup running backs. If the starter is out and we are simply scouring the depth chart for the next man up, I’m not typically excited. But, if there has been some smoke for the player even before then - I’m in. With Jaleel McLaughlin, there were rumors floating around in the off-season that he was looking great and getting first team reps so we were intrigued already. After having 100+ yards from scrimmage last week and a TD then dropping 99 yards and a TD this week, we have to be interested. Especially when Javonte Williams is out.
Bengals Redemption Song?
Last week one of our headlines in this article read “Joe Burrow Is Not Okay”. And, according to Dianni Russini, he still isn’t 100% and might not be for a couple weeks. But the Bengals this week looked like a totally new team, led by almost 200 yards receiving and three touchdowns from Ja'Marr Chase. And that was all without Tee Higgins and with a supposedly banged up Joe Burrow. Are the now 2-3 Bengals righting the ship to be the competitor we believed they could be? Or just they just beat up on a lower tier Arizona Cardinals teams? Their next three games are against the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Buffalo Bills so we are fixing to find out.
“Name Brand” Tight Ends Aren’t Dead After All
I have to admit this one is a bit personal to me after I was accused on social media of ranking a few tight ends too high this week based on “name value”. And those accusations are levied despite me providing my full list of criteria for elite tight end production to anyone who is willing to read, every year, FOR FREE. Well, the “name brand” tight ends like Dallas Goedert, Travis Kelce. Darren Waller, Kyler Pitts, Mark Andrews, and T.J. Hockenson are all sitting in the TE1 range going into Monday night so maybe there was a reason we ranked them there outside of their reputation. Because no one cares about that, we care about the numbers.
Player News
Jacksonville’s Demetrius Harvey reports, Jaguars RB Travis Etienne “is expected to remain the team’s top back,” but he could take “a bit of a backseat as a rusher as the team’s running game and his receiving ability evolve.”
Harvey believes “there will be competition for playing time” that includes Bhayshul Tuten, Tank Bigsby and LeQuint Allen, notably detailing the latter three players in that order. If the Jaguars feature three or more running backs, these players will be difficult to trust on a weekly basis, though Etienne’s potential pass-catching involvement provides at least mild stability.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has “been spending more meeting time” with Jayden Daniels, to help learn “defensive tendencies” and develop “beyond the no-huddle” offense.
The Commanders huddled up on just 459 offensive snaps last season, the fewest in the NFL, though they promisingly averaged the fifth-most EPA per play (0.104) and EPA per dropback (0.204). NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe adds that Daniels has been bulking up this offseason, “to handle the workload this year.” Daniels remains a high-end QB1 entering year two.
ESPN reports that “the Chiefs” have requested an extension to an end-of-June deadline for a stadium financing package from the state of Kansas.”
Per the report, the request indicates that the Chiefs’ “potential move across the state line from Missouri is a legitimate possibility.” Some initially thought that the Chiefs and Royals, who both play at the Truman Sports Complex on the east side of Kansas City, Missouri, would use the Kansas offer as leverage for a better deal from Missouri, but the two organizations appear to be seriously considering a move to Kansas. Both teams’ leases expire in January 2031. The Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council will consider the Chiefs’ request at a meeting on July 7th.
NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk reports that “the NFL has shared on an annual basis salary data for every non-player position” up until this season.
Per multiple sources, NFL teams were sharing salary data “for every job in every NFL team,” from head coaching and general manager positions, on down to area scouts and assistant athletic trainers. PFT’s Mike Florio adds, “the official position is that the information is no longer being provided for legal reasons,” ostensibly because sharing such data could theoretically provide the employer with an advantage in negotiations. Florio does not believe the practice has ended, however, saying, “the unavailability of the spreadsheet doesn’t mean the practice of coordination/collusion has ended.”
PFT’s Mike Florio reports, System Arbitrator Christopher Droney concluded, “the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting.”
Florio and Pablo Torre worked together to unearth Droney’s January 14, 2025 ruling, which “both the NFL and the NFL Players Association” refused to release. Florio reminds us that the owners’ meeting in question “happened only days after the Browns gave a five-year, fully-guaranteed, $230 million contract to quarterback Deshaun Watson” and only two years after the NFLPA tried, again, “to make all player contracts fully guaranteed” via the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Following Watson’s deal, “the league didn’t want to concede full guarantees on a piecemeal basis, with one team at a time giving players fully-guaranteed deals until they became the norm.” Ultimately, and perhaps surprisingly, Droney ruled that he did not find a “‘clear preponderance’ of the evidence” that NFL teams accepted and acted on said encouragement.
The NFL suspended free agent K Justin Tucker without pay for the first 10 weeks of the 2025 regular season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Tucker was released by the Ravens in early May, roughly three months after 16 massage therapists accused Tucker of sexual misconduct. The suspension is the culmination of a multi-month investigation conducted by the NFL. Per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, Tucker may still sign with a team and “attend training camp and play in preseason games before the suspension starts Aug. 26.” He will be eligible for reinstatement on Tuesday, November 11th.