Roundtable Week4: Emerging Player Candidates

Photo: USA Today Sports

Welcome to Week 4 of the 2023 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.

This week's roundtable features these four topics:

• Notable Fantasy Starters at QB
• Emerging Player Candidates (see below)
• Week 3 vs. Weeks 1-2
• The Footballguys' Subscriber Contest

Let's roll.

Emerging Player Candidates

Matt Waldman: No rookies allowed. Name a player who has never been a top-15 QB, top-24 RB, top-36 WR, or top-15 TE who has a shot at becoming one this year.

Daniel Harms: Jerome Ford could finish inside the top 24 and the top 12. The young back has multiple reception touchdowns on the year and will likely handle the bulk of the rush workload. He could score many touchdowns in this offense as the season continues and has the speed to take any run to the end zone. He’s a player to watch in that offense.

Will Grant: Jordan Love is a legitimate fantasy quarterback who will finish in the top 15 for the first time this season. Through the first 3 games of the season, he's put up solid fantasy numbers and kept the Packers in the game this week despite struggling early. Love led the Packers back to win the game with 18 fourth-quarter points. He personally had a passing and rushing TD as well, making an average fantasy day out of the disaster it was looking to be.

The Packers are still down Christian Watson and Aaron Jones. Their offense has yet to be 100%. Yet Love ranks #5 among fantasy quarterbacks this season. He's going to struggle at points this year, and his 6 TD passes through the first two weeks will level off a bit. But at his current pace/progression, Love should finish this year in the top 15 for the first time.

Gary Davenport: Well, I already talked up Raheem Mostert in the narratives segment. It just so happens he's fantasy football’s highest-scoring running back three weeks in. Yes. De’Von Achane is fast. But so is Mostert. Mostert is also bigger, more experienced, and a player who has averaged well over five yards a carry for his career. Durability issues have always derailed Mostert in the past. But in what is shaping up to potentially be a magical season for the Miami offense, in 2023, he stays healthy—and cracks the top 10.