Kimani Vidal – RB – Los Angeles Chargers
Lock the name into the back of your mind as the draft season comes upon us. The Chargers brought in Jim Harbaugh this offseason as you may have heard and they are going to want to run the ball to take the pressure of Justin Herbert needing to play hero ball. The Chargers’ current RB depth chart reads: Gus Edwards (first season with the team and 29 years old), JK Dobbins (who in back to back seasons has torn his ACL and Achilles and might not even make this roster), and Kimani Vidal. Vidal is a sixth round rookie out of Troy with similar stature to Harbaugh’s RB at Michigan in Blake Corum (who was drafted by the Rams).
There is a VERY strong chance that this season starts with Vidal in the lead role. The Gus Bus is both too old and too slow to be given the keys. His signing and contract screams insurance policy and that following the departure of Ekeler they just wanted someone on the roster before the draft. Obviously they were hoping to land Corum, but that didn’t happen. Dobbins is a lottery pick that they are kicking the tires on, but even if he does start the season “healthy” I can’t imagine he hasn’t lost a step or two or three from injuries.
Vidal is uber cheap right now as the RB47 in ADP. He will rocket up from there as the season approaches and probably land in the territory of Antonio Gibson and Chubba Hubbard around about RB40. That late in drafts I am looking for high value handcuffs and lottery tickets. Guys like Gibson and Hubbard are neither of those and Vidal is both.
Austin Ekeler – RB – Washington Commanders
Speaking of Chargers’ running backs; Austin Ekeler. Ekeler was a dreadful disappointment last season after massive expectations as a first round pick in fantasy drafts and often times a top three pick. Ekeler is now a Commander and in a backfield duo with Brian Robinson Jr. coached by his former Chargers HC Anthony Lynn. I suspect that they use Ekeler in a more sparring role than the every down back he was. Robinson is a capable between the tackles back who should allow Ekeler less snaps, but hopefully valuable ones.
Ekeler is RB40 in ADP as of this writing which is very low for a guy who last season was RB2 on most every board. As home leagues start to draft he will ascend from name value alone ahead of more boring second fiddles in their on RBBC who are currently above him like Tyjae Spears, Javonte Williams, Tony Pollard, and Jaylen Warren. Ekeler’s days as a dominant fantasy asset are behind him, but he could still be useful if Jayden Daniels can get this offense moving.
Xavier Worthy – WR – Kansas City Chiefs
This one is very simple. The industry and very serious leagues who draft early are obviously a little wary of Xavier Worthy being able to fill a role that the Chiefs have just left empty since the departure of Tyreek Hill. I don’t think they can afford to continue to count on an aging Travis Kelce whose mind is obviously going to be wandering with his brother’s retirement and his high profile relationship with Taylor Swift. I also think they try to go easy on him as he chases some all-time records so he will be fresh for the playoffs. The Chiefs need someone to step up in a big role for this offense and Worthy wasn’t taken in the first round to not be that. His ceiling is massive and he will rise way above the ADP of WR41 where he is now behind names like Ladd McConkey, Christian Watson, Tyler Lockett, Courtland Sutton who are all significantly more boring with much lower ceilings and far inferior offensive schemes and quarterback play.
Aaron Rodgers – QB – New York Jets
I think there is a decent amount of upward mobility for Aaron Rodgers in the QB ADP. Right now he is at QB20 behind guys like Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Tua Tagovailoa, and Brock Purdy. I think it is fairly easy to say his range of outcomes is better than anyone in that list. Sure, his ceiling isn’t as high as it was when he was top 2 at the position for 7 of 9 years with the two he wasn’t being his injury shortened 2013 and 2015 where he finished 7th.
However, the man mustered back to back MVP seasons just to prove a point after the Packers (turns out rightly) drafted Jordan Love. He fell off in 2022 with the departure of Davante Adams and he was throwing to a very rough WR group. I think Rodgers has enough left in the tank and the hunger to prove he is still him and with weapons like Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, Breece Hall and that defense he is gonna have the chance if they aren’t worried about playing conservative.
Keon Coleman – WR – Buffalo Bills
Name another WR on the Bills’ roster. Got any?
I’ll help you out. There’s Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Chase Claypool, Marquez Valdes-Scatling, KJ Hamler, and Andy Isabella. If you were to create a list of “just a guy” wide receivers in the NFL for the dictionary this would be a perfect definition. No one in that list is going to sniff 750 yards receiving. If Josh Allen is going to pay off his current QB1 price and continue his average of throwing for more than 4,000 yards a season then someone has to catch balls for him. Dalton Kincaid is going to be a beast, but he won’t and can’t do it alone. Keon Coleman is going to be the hype train of hype trains this off-season and should sky rocket from his current ADP of WR47.