2023 Fantasy Football Round Up September 4: Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook Splitting Work in Week 1

We have REAL live NFL football in only a couple days when the Detroit Lions visit the Super Bowl defending Kansas City Chiefs to kick off the season on Thursday Night Football! Our fantasy football draft rankings are set in stone, ADP has settled in, and, tomorrow, we’ll drop our first Week One rankings! Let’s get fired up! Before we do that though, we need to keep our ear to the streets so we know exactly what NFL news and rumors could affect either our final drafts or our Week One lineups. So let’s dig into the important stuff.
Cooper Kupp Meeting WIth Hamstring Specialist
- Kupp has been listed as “day to day” but so was Keenan Allen last year before he missed half the season. Flying halfway across the country to see a doctor does not feel like typical hamstring rehab to me but who knows - maybe this visit fixed him up and he’ll be back soon.
Both Jets Backs Will Play Opener And Split Workload
- Our worst nightmares for fantasy football seem to be coming true. Both Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook are set to play Week One. They will reportedly “be smart” with Hall’s return. But the committee has essentially been confirmed.
Kyler Murray Named Team Captain
- The news has gone back and forth on Kyler Murray. First his camp said he could play Week One. Then there were reports he might not play at all. Now he has been named team captain. Does that mean he will play? Or is this just a show of support from his teammates?
Juju Smith-Schuster’s Knee “Could Explode At Any Moment”
- I wish I were exaggerating but those were the words reportedly used by Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Breer. I’m not even fully sure what that means or how they would know that but you would think if he has a sprain (essentially a partial tear) that he would be resting. I’m not sure what other issue would have them predicting some sort of explosive injury.
Falcons Beat Writers Down On Kyle Pitts
- Arthur Smith continues his reign of terror against fantasy gamers as reports have come out that Kyle Pitts will continue to be used in a classic, inline tight end role. Not what we want for fantasy football as guys like Mark Andrews run ~80% of their snaps from a WR spot.
Texans Will Use A “Platoon” At Running Back
- Last year Dameon Pierce ran hard but was graded out as one of the worst pass blocking backs in the league, per Pro Football Focus. The new regime, including offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik who worked for PFF for three years, brought in Devin Singletary to help with that. There is now some credible info that they plan to split the workload there which could hurt Pierce the way it did Philip Lindsay early in his career when he struggled with pass blocking.
Daniel Jones Restructures Contract
- Players usually don’t just restructure their contract for no reason. This move free up over $6 million in cap space for this year. Some rumors have swirled that maybe they could be in the market for a guy like Mike Evans, who reportedly is not happy with his contract.
Cardinals Head Coach Jonathan Gannon Eludes To Clayton Tune As Starter
- He didn’t outright make a declaration, but he did say he thinks the rookie could start Week 1 saying “I think he’s ready to go”. Good thing we have been saying to stash Tune in your superflex leagues since June.
NFL Links:
- 2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT GUIDE
- 2023 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
- 2023 NFL Pre-Season Player Projections
- 2023 Fantasy Football Position Rankings
Player News
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk reports that the NFLPA is appealing the ruling in regards to a potential collusion case regarding fully-guaranteed contracts.
Per Florio, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to pause everything in the post-ruling process indefinitely, but by choosing to file the appeal of the January 14 hearing, that’s no longer the case. It will now go forward, with a three-member appeals panel considering the ruling.
Rams RB coach Ron Gould told reporters that Kyren Williams has looked “more explosive” during the offseason.
Williams put together a solid season, but his 27 explosive rushes — runs for more than 10 yards — were tied for just 11th in the NFL last year. The 24-year-old has competition in the backfield with Jarquez Hunter and Blake Corum in the fold, but if Williams can show the ability to break off more big carries on top of being one of the best short-yardage backs in the NFL, he should remain the bellcow for the Rams again in 2025.
Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post mentions Marvin Mims as a potential number two wide receiver option behind Courtland Sutton.
Mims has yet to break out in the NFL, but the 23-year-old took a big step forward last season, registering 39 catches on 52 targets for 503 receiving yards with six touchdowns. He has made the Pro Bowl twice as a return man and only played on 27 percent of the Broncos’ offensive snaps last season, so he will need to be given a larger role if he’s truly going to emerge in this offense. He led the team in catches of 40 yards or longer, so he can break a big play when given the chance, but he’ll need to beat out second-year receivers Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele if he’s going to see an uptick in snap share.
Bijan Robinson said the Falcons have “outlandish goals” for the team’s rushing production in 2025.
Robinson and the Falcons believe they can improve on the ground after finishing 2024 with the league’s tenth most rushing yards and ninth most rushing scores. They were seventh in rush EPA and first in rushing success rate. “If he touched the ball every play and the defense knew, we’d still make big-time plays. He’s that guy,” QB Michael Penix said of Robinson. “He’s the guy that when you go to a Little League game, and there’s that one kid that never gets tackled, that scores every time, that’s him but in the NFL. As many times as we can get the ball in his hands, we’re going to do it.” It’s the latest sign the Falcons will be a run-first team in 2025, as they were in the final month of 2024. That could mean more consistent usage for Tyler Allgeier, though Robinson will remain the workhorse back in Atlanta.
The Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reports Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) is likely to miss “at least the first couple games of the regular season.”
The All-Pro tackle underwent knee surgery this week and will miss training camp and the preseason. He could be back sometime in September, though that seems optimistic right now. Bucs coaches said in June that Wirfs sitting out minicamp was strictly precautionary and that he would be ready for training camp. Instead, he will start the season on the PUP list, which will cost him at least four games. It’s an outsized loss for the Bucs offense. Pro Football Focus graded Wirfs as 2024’s top pass blocking offensive lineman. He allowed just one quarterback hit over 16 games. Wirfs’ absence will likely impact Baker Mayfield and the team’s pass catchers.
Philly Voice’s Geoff Mosher believes Eagles RB Will Shipley is the offensive player most “under the microscope.”
Shipley was a fourth-round pick out of Clemson last year and played sparingly out of the RB3 role. Mosher is watching how the 22-year-old will step up to fill the back-up running back role that Kenneth Gainwell - who departed for the Steelers - occupied last season. Gainwell was important in pass protection and a good presence when Saquon Barkley was out on possessions for blitz pickup and pass-catching. Mosher says, “if Shipley can show growth in those areas, he could undertake Gainwell’s role and give the offense even more optionality.” The Eagles added AJ Dillon in the offseason, though Dillon is more of a downhill-runner than a third-down back for the RB2 role. Shipley won’t have much value in redraft leagues, but could find his way to production through filling in an open role in the Eagles backfield.