Take a look at quarterback questions here.
The 2023 season will provide answers to some of the biggest questions in fantasy football. Eight teams are defined by their wide receiver questions.
Can Cincinnati keep their Big 3 together?
NFL teams have recently had a difficult time keeping high-priced wide receivers with high-priced quarterbacks. The Kansas City Chiefs (Tyreek Hill), Tennessee Titans (A.J. Brown), Minnesota Vikings (Stefon Diggs), and Baltimore (Marquise Brown) all chose to trade their wide receivers instead of paying the wide receiver along with a veteran-level quarterback contract extension. Joe Burrow will be extended this offseason, while Ja'Marr Chase will be eligible for a contract extension in 2024. Meanwhile, Tee Higgins is in the final season of his rookie contract and scheduled to be a free agent in 2024. Of the eight teams with the highest average annual contract spending on wide receivers, four have a quarterback on a rookie contract (Miami, LA Chargers, Washington, and Pittsburgh), and three have veteran quarterbacks on the cheaper side of the contract scale (Seattle, Las Vegas, and Tampa Bay). Only Dallas, who ranks seventh in wide receiver annual value, has a quarterback on a contract worth more than 40 million dollars a year. If Cincinnati tries to keep its Big 3 together, how Cincinnati protects Burrow and structures its defense will be major questions.
What does the passing game outside of Amon-Ra St. Brown look like?
Amon-Ra St. Brown has become the clear WR1 in the Detroit offense. What does the rest of the offense look like? Jameson Williams had his rookie season shortened to only 41 routes and now will serve a six-game suspension for gambling. The team brought Marvin Jones back in free agency and has situational deep threat Khalif Raymond, but Williams should be able to return to a clear opportunity. The team drafted Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs, who are options that could limit the size of the opportunity for Williams when he returns.
How does Carolina support Bryce Young?
The Panthers traded up for the first pick of the NFL Draft to select Bryce Young, but in doing so, the team sacrificed their supporting cast. The team included both D.J. Moore and their 2024 first-round pick, which limits their ability to surround Young with receiving talent. To fill the hole left by Moore's departure, the team signed Adam Thielen and D.J. Chark in free agency and drafted Jonathan Mingo in the second round of the draft. Thielen has been on the downslope of his career for multiple years, Chark has struggled to say healthy, and Mingo was not the type of elite producer in college that would predict early NFL success. The team also has Terrace Marshall and Laviska Shenault, along with Hayden Hurst at tight end, but there is not a clear go-to option in the offense. Without a quality receiving corps, Young's development could be held back, so the storyline warrants monitoring.
What is the effect of Aaron Rodgers?
The Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Packers in April. What effect will Rodgers have on the offense? Unquestionably, Rodgers is historically much more efficient than the team's Zach Wilson/Joe Flacco/Chris Strevler/Mike White experience from 2022. However, Rodgers is coming off arguably the worst season of his career, transitioning to a significantly weaker offensive line, and runs the offense at a much slower pace than the Jets did in 2023. Rodgers can be difficult to predict, so making bold assumptions about high-level target shares for Garrett Wilson are risky.
What is the Chargers' future at wide receiver?
Mike Williams and Keenan Allen both have very high cap hits in 2024. Williams will be 30 years old with a 32.5-million-dollar cap hit, and the team could save 20 million dollars in cap space by cutting him. Allen will be 32 with a 34.7-million-dollar cap hit, and the team could save 23.1 million dollars on the cap by cutting him. The team drafted Quentin Johnston in the first round of the NFL Draft as they look to the future of the position. The team will need to make decisions on both Allen and Williams and seems unlikely to return both players in 2024. Johnston's rookie development will go a long way to determining how this plays out.
Is Calvin Ridley Back?
Calvin Ridley had a breakout season in 2020 with 90 receptions, 1374 yards, and nine touchdowns before injuries and a personal leave of absence cut his 2021 season to only five games. He was then suspended for the 2022 season for gambling on NFL games before being traded to Jacksonville. Ridley is now healthy and eligible to play in the final season of his rookie contract. Ridley will turn 29 in December and has only played five games in the past two seasons. While there is optimism about his return, how he fares will have a big impact on Trevor Lawrence and the other pass catchers in the offense.
What is the future of the Houston passing game?
Houston selected C.J. Stroud with the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft as the team looks to move forward in the post-Deshaun Watson era. The team has a variety of wide receivers, including young receivers Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and John Metchie III to go along with veteran Robert Woods. There is an opportunity for Collins, Dell, and Metchie to all develop before the team addresses the position in the 2024 offseason.
How is the Dallas offense?
There were big movements in the Dallas offense this offseason. The team moved on from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, and head coach Mike McCarthy will now call plays. Dallas Cowboys released Ezekiel Elliott and franchise-tagged Tony Pollard but did little else to fix the running back position. Instead, the team spent resources trading for wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The common narrative is Dallas wants to be more run-heavy, but their offseason decisions point to a more pass-centric offense. Michael Gallup struggled in 2022, his first season back from a torn ACL, while Cooks is moving to a significantly better situation than the Davis Mills-led Texans. Between CeeDee Lamb, Cooks, and Gallup, the team has three wide receivers who could be valuable if the team is more pass centric in 2023.