The Big Four!

Written By: Jake Bornstein, of Swish Tribune 

Most drafts will come down to CMC vs. Jefferson for the big first pick of the 2023 Fantasy Football Draft. There's not a wrong decision to be made here. It more comes down to your personal preference. However, let's hit a Griddy. Jefferson will be entering his 4th year in the league at age 24. He's never missed a game! Not only that, but he had 1,400 receiving yards as a rookie, 1,600 receiving yards in year 2, and 1,800 receiving yards last season! Could it continue? 2000 on the way? He nearly broke the single-season receiving yards record...but the Vikings had their playoff spot on lock in week 18, so he barely played. Jefferson had at least 11 targets in 11 of 17 games; he also scored over 30 fantasy points. Twice! He's the focal point of the Viking's offense and is an absolute lock to be a top 5 WR if he stays healthy. Again, he almost broke Calvin Johnson's receiving yards record at age 23 last year. What more do you really need to say?

CMC, on the other hand, will be 27 when the season starts, so age is of no concern. He did miss time in 2020 and 2021 with injuries, but he is NOT injury prone. He played every game in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and actually played 20 games this last season when you count the playoffs. He has the highest floor and ceiling of any RB, and he is a lock to finish as a top 3 RB if he stays healthy. There's really nothing else to say about McCaffrey. He's the best fantasy RB in the NFL and has been for years.

Jamar Chase is the focal point of one of the best offenses in football. He has Joe BURRRRR. Also, like Jefferson, he is only 23 years old. Chase is a superstar and is well worth an early first-round pick. He's behind Jefferson, but only by a little. Either could be the leading receiver. However, there is one more candidate for lead receiver. You probably could guess. 

C-KUPP (yes, that's a bra joke). Cooper Kupp has been outstanding, and the best part about him is when he has a bad game, it's like 17 points. My friend was upset when Cooper Kupp only had 8 catches for 65 yards and a TD. Thats wild. Kupp is just 30, but Stafford just turned 35. These two aren't "too old", but age will start to become a concern soon. Kupp, I'm not at all worried about it. He was on pace for 165 receptions for 1,727 yards and 12.75 TDs before getting hurt in week 10. That would have been nearly 30 half-PPR points better than Jefferson last season and would have been his second consecutive league-winning year. And it's not like he tore his ACL. He suffered an ankle injury, and the Rams were trash, so they shut him down. The only concern he has is with Stafford. But honestly, that's not a massive concern either! They're locked into him as their starting QB these next two seasons, and that should signal to us that they trust he'll be able to play at a high level. If people start to get scared about drafting Kupp, take the discount, and say thank you! He deserves the four spot.