Fantasy Sports

“I look at Najee and Omarion — both starters,” Harbaugh said. “He brings that same type of mentality Najee brings. Like I said last week, we’re looking for someone who complements but also offers the same,” Bolts GM Joe Hortiz added. These comments seem to paint this as more of a committee situation, at least for September. That probably makes Hampton more of a speculative mid-round pick than a sure-fire volume back, though we expect Hampton will eventually wind up seeing the majority of the volume. He is the better third-down back on paper, so long as his pass-protection credentials hold up in the translation to the NFL.

Both Paton and Sean Payton predictably gushed over their second-round back, with Payton telling reporters he had to tell himself to be quiet after watching Harvey. If Harvey is able to play in the passing game as Paton suggests, it’s possible he becomes a “joker” for Payton on Sundays. Harvey certainly would appear to be the favorite to lead Broncos backs in touches heading into OTAs and minicamps, ahead of Audric Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin.

The Broncos weren’t expected to be players for a wideout in this draft, but comparisons to Michael Thomas will surely help the third-rounder find a crease on a tough depth chart behind Devaughn Vele, Marvin Mims, and Troy Franklin. Bryant wasn’t widely projected as a high pick due to a 4.61 40-second dash that was the second-slowest at the NFL Combine. Thomas ran a 4.57s 40-yard dash coming out of Ohio State. Considering the kind of PPR monster that Thomas was — and how quickly it happened — we probably should not undersell the chances of Bryant becoming a fantasy factor sooner rather than later.

While this isn’t exactly a surprising statement given they selected him 36th overall, it’s still worth pointing out that Judkins has landed in a backfield where he’ll only have to beat out Jerome Ford for playing time. Cleveland’s projected offensive ineptitude could lead Judkins to be available at a bargain price in fantasy drafts, and he may be a potential lightning rod selection for Zero or Hero RB formats this summer. Kevin Stefanski added that they want to use Judkins in “a bunch of different ways” and downplayed the idea that he wasn’t ready to be part of the passing game. Ford could be a third-down back for the team this season if Judkins isn’t ready for that role.

It’s not exactly a vote of confidence in the contract-year tight end. Goedert has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason and the team has seemingly been hearing out offers for a while. Still, nothing has come of them yet and the Eagles did not add a tight end at any point during the draft. If Roseman thought Goedert would be gone come Week 1, he would likely have come up with a contingency plan at some point. For now, fantasy managers can pencil in Goedert as the team’s starter and a low-end TE1, but the situation could change at any moment.

Egads. Draft Saturday is a bizarre time to learn a regular season ACL tear three months prior, but the league moves in mysterious ways. A 2024 fourth-rounder, Mustapha had a strong rookie campaign as a near every-down player. He did battle through an ankle issue. He was solid in run coverage, and notched a pick. The 49ers were expecting even more in 2025 after losing Talanoa Hufanga in free agency. San Francisco’s entire defense could be for an uptick in 2025 play under returning DC Robert Saleh, but Mustapha appears ticketed to begin the year on the reserve/PUP list.

Loomis initially said there will be a quarterback situation between Carr and second-round selection Tyler Shough, only to declare Carr as the starter if he’s still healthy. At least they know what they’re doing. Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury that was made public a few weeks ago, and there’s been speculation that the injury could carry over into the start of the 2025 season. It’s also been suggested that Carr is using the injury as a way to force himself out of New Orleans. Carr signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints during the 2023 offseason and has thrown for 6,023-40-13 in 27 games with the team. Loomis’ comments were made shortly after the conclusion of the NFL Draft. It goes without saying that there’s a lot to figure out here, but it wouldn’t be surprising if we later learn Carr isn’t being handed the keys to the starting job if healthy.

Ewers (6’2/214) was the No. 1 ranked quarterback prospect when he enrolled at Ohio State as a member of the 2021 recruiting class. He spent his freshman year playing behind C.J. Stroud and left for Texas for the 2022 season to avoid playing behind Stroud for a second consecutive season. He was immediately handed the starting job with the Longhorns and threw for 2,174-14-6 in his first year at the helm while being limited to 10 games due to injury. Ewers tapped into his potential a bit more during the 2023 season, throwing for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions while completing 69 percent of his passes and leading the Longhorns to a 12-2 record. He built on that success with a 3,469-yard, 31-touchdown, 12-interception line last season. When he’s at his best, the talent that made him the No. 1 recruit in his class is evident, but Ewers has struggled with consistency throughout his career while being prone to turnovers and sacks. He owns a 21.8 pressure-to-sack rate for his career – a concerning total, and threw 24 picks in his career to go along with 20 fumbles. He fumbled 10 times in 2024 alone, per PFF. Ewers’ past pedigree and positive game tape will draw plenty of hype as a potential sleeper of the class once he finds a new home. People won’t be quick to forget the impressive road wins he picked up against Alabama in 2023 and Michigan in 2024 when making the case for his ceiling. However, he’ll have plenty of adjusting to make at the pro level, particularly when it comes to reading defenses, getting around pressure, and learning how to avoid sacks. The landing spot in Miami will make Ewers’ transition to the pros much smoother. He gets a quarterback-friendly scheme with Mike McDaniel’s offense and will eventually back up quarterback with similar physical limitations in Tua Tagovailoa. He will compete with Zach Wilson for the QB2 gig during training camp.

Brooks (5’9/214) spent five years at Texas Tech. He was a backup for two seasons before working his way into a 1A role as a junior. Brooks took over the entirety of the Red Raiders’ backfield in 2023 and broke out with 290 carries for 1,538 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 286/1,505/17 statline in 2024 was more of the same but featured an extra seven touchdowns in two fewer games. He also caught 28 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. Brooks used his 31.4 BMI as a battering ram, totaling 13 games with 25-plus carries and 18 contests with 20-plus attempts over the past two seasons, both of which led all FBS backs. A 4.52 Forty at the Combine isn’t something to write home about but gives him adequate NFL speed and matches his modest breakaway ability on tape. Brooks is a body-blows runner who can be used on passing downs if needed. He could mix in for rookie-year short-yardage or change-of-pace handles in the Bengals’ thin backfield. He’s not a bad Dynasty stash.

Leonard (6’4/216) spent the first three years of his career at Duke and was inserted as the Blue Devils’ starter for the 2022 season. In his first year as a starter, Leonard threw for 2,951-20-6 while adding another 776 rushing yards (not including yards lost on sacks) and 13 touchdowns on the ground. He had a down 2023 campaign, throwing for just 1,102-3-3 in seven games before missing the rest of the year due to an ankle injury, but Leonard was back in the saddle in 2024 for Notre Dame in what was his first and only season with the Irish. Leonard’s athleticism is easy to see on tape, and he has plenty of size to work with in the pocket and while on the move. He’s a conservative passer, which is concerning when considering his 63.4 career completion percentage, but did complete a career-best 46.5 percent of his deep attempts in 2024, per PFF, which ranked ninth best amongst Power Five QBs last season (min. 30 attempts). Leonard has plenty of work to do as a passer, but his athleticism will make him an interesting prospect. Those traits also make him a fitting backup to Anthony Richardson. He will start his career as the QB3 for Indy behind both Richardson and Daniel Jones.