News
Dylan Crews hit his third homer of the year Tuesday off the Orioles’ Dean Kremer.
Crews’ 109-mph, 428-foot homer was barely the hardest-hit ball of the game ahead of three 107-109 mph hits from James Wood. While the rookie’s .198/.221/.334 line remains bad, Statcast thinks Crews isn’t hitting too much differently from Wood. It gave him a .287 xBA and a .495 xSLG coming into the night.
Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said it’s “going to be a breakout year” for Jameson Williams.
Morton said he’d never “been around someone that fast,” then quickly corrected himself to note that Jhamyr Gibbs is also that fast. Williams came on strong last year with a 58/1001/7 receiving line, but offensive coordinator praise could mean even more targets are coming. It would likely come at the expense of Amon-Ra St. Brown’s production if Williams were to truly break out, though there’s plenty for St. Brown to give and still be a top-flight fantasy wideout. It’s risky to read too much into statements like this in the offseason, but the new offensive coordinator telling you he thinks it’ll be a breakout year for Williams is certainly noteworthy.
Free agent CB Rasul Douglas is visiting the Seahawks on Tuesday.
It’s been a slow offseason for the veteran corner after a rough year with the Bills where he finished with just a 51.6 PFF coverage grade. The Dolphins have reportedly been in contact with Douglas, but this is the first known visit for him. He’d likely fit as a depth piece in Seattle, perhaps one that pushes Josh Jobe for a starting job outside in a best-case scenario.
Jets signed fourth-round WR Arian Smith to a four-year contract.
The good news for Smith is that he has a lot of depth chart runway. Garrett Wilson is the obvious No. 1, but neither Josh Reynolds nor Allen Lazard qualifies as a locked-in WR2 at this stage of their careers. Smith’s blazing speed has intrigued Aaron Glenn, who noted how fast he was in rookie minicamp over the weekend by simply noting “Arian has some juice.” The tough news is that as long as Justin Fields is the starter, it’s hard to believe he’ll be seeing many deep shots that aren’t schemed wide open. Still, Smith has some appeal in deeper leagues and could make an interesting dynasty stash.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen said seventh-round RB LeQuint Allen can “play a little bit of slot.”
“Obviously, he had 1,000 yards over the last two years, and then he can catch the ball out of the back field. Good in the screen game. Competitor, man,” Coen continued. As last year taught us, anyone involved in a Liam Coen screen game can be a fantasy factor. It’s probably a little too early to get excited about Allen — and Allen is behind Bhayshul Tuten in the Jacksonville running back pecking order — but Coen’s vision of how he wants to use Allen is noteworthy for fantasy leagues.
Panthers signed fourth-round RB Trevor Etienne to a four-year contract.
Etienne doesn’t figure to factor in much as a runner early behind Chuba Hubbard. But since neither Hubbard nor Rico Dowdle have a rich history of catching the football, it’s possible that Etienne winds up playing a third-down role for the Panthers early. That’ll depend mostly on if the coaches trust him in pass protection. It will likely take injuries ahead of him for the undersized Etienne to be a fantasy factor in his rookie season.
Seahawks signed fifth-round WR Tory Horton to a four-year contract.
They also officially agreed to terms with seventh-round RB Damien Martinez and seventh-round WR Ricky White III. Horton and White will probably battle for a spot at the end of the roster behind Cooper Kupp, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar has predicted that Horton will wind up as the main return specialist for Seattle this year in a recent mailbag. White and Jake Bobo will probably be in a true dogfight for the final spot in the wideout room.