Fantasy Football Player Notes

Marvin Harrison Jr. quickly ascended at Ohio State, transitioning from a freshman backup behind stars like Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson to a dominant force by his sophomore year. His breakout game came in his first start during the Rose Bowl, where he tallied 6 catches, 71 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Harrison's junior year was stellar, amassing 67 receptions for 1,211 yards and 14 TDs, which led to him being a Heisman Trophy finalist and winning the 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award. Now as the Arizona Cardinals' WR1 with Kyler Murray throwing to him, Harrison is positioned to be a high-impact player, offering a strong, consistent target share. His collegiate performance, highlighted by a 44% dominator rating, underscores his capability as a top-tier fantasy wide receiver.

Trey McBride had an impressive second-year breakout in 2023, finishing with 81 catches for 825 yards and three touchdowns, good for a TE7 fantasy finish in PPR scoring. McBride's 2023 season got off to a slow start. He had two or fewer catches in each of his first five games, and after seven weeks he was TE30 in PPR fantasy scoring. Then, Cardinals TE Zach Ertz went on IR with a quad injury, and McBride caught fire in an expanded role. From Week 8 on, McBride was TE3 in PPR scoring, averaging 6.6 catches and 65.5 receiving yards per game. McBride became the go-to receiver for An Arizona offense thin on talent at the WR position. The Cardinals took WR Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick of the NFL Draft, but the talented McBride figures to be the No. 2 target in the Arizona offense and a high-end fantasy tight end for years to come,

A dangerous dual-threat quarterback, Kyler Murray will enter the 2024 season more than a year removed from the torn ACL that prematurely ended his 2022 season and delayed his first start of 2023 until Week 10. Since entering the NFL in 2019, Murray has averaged 20.9 fantasy points per game. We saw his ceiling in 2020, when Murray averaged 24.4 fantasy points per game and finished QB2 in fantasy scoring behind only Josh Allen. Murray is a decent passer, with a career completion percentage of 66.6% and a career average of 7.0 yards per pass attempt. But he is an exceptional runner who's averaged 37.7 rushing yards per game over his career and has 26 touchdown runs in 65 games. The Cardinals bolstered a below-average WR corps by spending the No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft on Marvin Harrison Jr., and the 2023 emergence of TE Trey McBride as a pass catcher should help give Murray sufficient pass-catching firepower.

James Conner is like a finely aged bourbon. He keeps getting better as the years are piling up. Since he arrived in Arizona, he has finished as the RB7, RB9, and RB13 in fantasy points per game. On a per-touch basis, last season might have been his best year to date. Despite ranking 21st in rushing attempts, he was sixth in rushing yards in the NFL. Conner showed no signs that Father Time was starting to creep in as he ranked seventh in explosive run rate, eighth in missed tackles forced per attempt, and fifth in yards after contact per attempt. He should reprise his role as Arizona's workhorse back in 2024 in what should be an improved offense with a full season of Kyler Murray under center. Conner is an easy top 15 back for this year who could be a monster value high-end RB1 if everything breaks right.

The highlight of Week 18? Rookie Michael Wilson.
6 targets (21% target share), 6 receptions for 95 yards, averaging 15.8 yards per catch, with a long of 28 yards. 68 air yards and 40% air yards share. The rookie posted a very under-the-radar campaign as a highly involved Cardinals WR. He ran a route on 80% of the dropbacks (35th among all WRs) which locks him into a full-time role in this offense next season, regardless of any additional moves they make. He also finished his season on an extremely high note, averaging 15.5 points per game after his last two contests with Marquise Brown out of the lineup.