The Most Valuable Player award is a highly sought after award. Most players dream of holding that trophy at the award ceremony. With that being said let’s take a look at who could be the next MVP.

Patrick Mahomes

Of course every year Pat’s got a chance to be the MVP, so you have to put him here. He’s the most dominant and best player in the league and I don’t expect that to change.

C.J. Stroud

C.J. Stroud is the favorite to win MVP and for good reason. He had an incredible rookie year taking what was a struggling Texans’ franchise all the way to the divisional round. He’s got a good chance to win and an even better chance to make a Super Bowl appearance.

Ja’Marr Chase

I had to throw one non-QB player in the ring and my choice is Ja’Marr Chase. With Tyler Boyd leaving this should free up some targets for Chase; providing him with more production. Also Joe Burrow should be healthy this year which will definitely help. This will be tough for Chase to win but if the league has a weak year in terms of MVP candidates (for example 2020) Chase could get this. 

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The best game of the week will be Monday night in San Francisco where the 49ers welcome the Baltimore Ravens. This could be a Super Bowl preview matchup so get your popcorn ready. Before you check out our fantasy football rankings, let’s highlight injuries to monitor this week.

C.J. Stroud – It looks as though Stroud will miss a second straight game due to a concussion. Case Keenum filled in admirably last week in his absence but this offense is obviously not the same without Stroud. It remains to be seen if Stroud can return for week 17 as the Texans continue to fight for a playoff spot.

Ja’Marr Chase – Chase injured his shoulder last week vs. the Vikings and was officially diagnosed with an AC joint sprain. Unfortunately for Chase owners, it looks like Chase will be out this week and possibly more. Fellow receivers Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins will get a bump in our rankings due to this.

Keenan Allen – Allen missed last week’s game with a heel injury and may also miss his week 16 matchup. He did not practice on Tuesday and it’s likely the Chargers will be cautions on his return. With Justin Herbert now out for the season LA will not risk further injury to one of its superstars.

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Quarterbacks

Joe Flacco – (18.2% Owned)

Joe Flacco has officially become a viable fantasy option at the quarterback position. Yes, we are still in 2023 which makes that statement even more baffling but the stats speak for themselves. Flacco has finished no worse than QB13 in his three games with the Cleveland Browns. He is still very much a gunslinger which means there will be mistakes but the production will be there. If you have Trevor Lawrence and are worried about his concussion you should pick up Flacco as a safety option.

Running Backs

Clyde Edwards-Helaire – (36.5% Owned)

Fellow running back Jerick McKinnon may be getting the buzz this week but Edwards-Helaire is the better option going forward. Edwards-Helaire out-touched McKinnon 17 to 7 and had 101 total yards in Sunday’s win over the Patriots. If you’re stuck deciding between the two just remember that Edwards-Helaire can also be a threat in the passing game.

Wide Receivers

Curtis Samuel – (39.7% Owned)

Playing any wide receiver in the Commanders offense is risky at this point but Samuel has been the most consistent this season. He grabbed another 2 receiving touchdowns on Sunday on 9 targets for Washington. As of now, it looks like quarterback Sam Howell will finish the season as the starter (which is the right move). If that’s the case Howell has developed a nice chemistry with Samuel and I see that continuing.

Tight Ends

Hunter Henry – (20.8% Owned)

There aren’t many options at the tight end position on the waiver wire but Henry is the best option if available. Henry has now finished back-to-back weeks inside the top 5 for tight ends including 3 receiving touchdowns in that span. He also has an excellent matchup this week with the Broncos who are giving up an average of 10.6 fantasy points per game to tight ends. If you’re thin at tight end go and grab Henry.

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Last Weeks Record 11-4

Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns

Cleveland had the worse possible thing happen last week in losing their star RB in Nick Chubb. To replace him, they picked up Kareem Hunt who has familiarity with this offense. Look for the Titans defense to shut down Deshaun Watson and Hunt at home.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 24 Cleveland 17

Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions

Detroit will have no David Montgomery in this game, and are coming off a tough loss to the Seahawks. Look for them to bounce back in this game although Atlanta is playing well at 2-0. I think Detroit’s D will be too much for Atlanta in this game, as they will force a few turnovers.

PREDICTION: Detroit 27 Atlanta 23

New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers

These teams are pretty even with the Saints undefeated so far. Green Bay is a tough place to play and if they can get Aaron Jones going they’ll win this game. Jordan Love needs to minimize any mistakes and the defense needs to step up.

PREDICTION: Green Bay 24 Saints 20

Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins

Denver is coming off a tough loss to the Commanders after being in control the first half. Russell Wilson has played well at times but is also still struggling. These two teams are trending in opposite directions and Miami looks awfully tough to beat. They have too many weapons and Tua Tagovailoa is playing exceptional. Denver falls to 0-3 after a dominant win by the Dolphins

PREDICTION: Dolphins 31 Broncos 17

Los Angeles Chargers at Minnesota Vikings

I don’t think the Vikings are going to the Super Bowl, but I also think there better than their record. This is why I see them bouncing back in this game. They can’t just rely on Justin Jefferson, they need to get the run game going which will help set up the pass.

PREDICTION: Vikings 30 Rams 23

New England Patriots at New York Jets

New England will bounce back in this game and get their first win on the road. Zach Wilson is clearly not the answer at QB and unless the Jets defense scores 21 points, they will not win this game.

PREDICTION: Patriots 23 Jets 13

Buffalo Bills at Washington Commanders

Washington is coming off an impressive come from behind road win against the Russell Wilson led Broncos. Their defense has struggled at time especially with giving up the big play. Washington will try and take away that big play threat against Buffalo and most likely force them to run and keep things in front of them. Eric Bieniemy has experience against the Bills which should help them with play calling. I’m gonna take Washington at home by a field goal.

PREDICTION: Washington 23 Bills 20

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville bounces back this week against a young Texans team. Houston is rebuilding and trying to figure out how good CJ Stroud is.

PREDICTION: Jaguars 28 Texans 10

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore is on a roll and Lamar Jackson appears to be playing at a high level two games in. Gus Edwards has stepped up in JK Dobbins’ absence and hasn’t skipped a beat. Baltimore’s D will be too much for the Colts and so the Ravens will remain undefeated.

PREDICTION: Ravens 23 Colts 10

Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks

Similar to the Texans/Jaguars game, Seattle is playing a young inexperienced QB who they will try to make life difficult for. Seattle is a tough place to play for an offense. Look for the Seahawks to create turnovers and hold the Panthers to around 10 points.

PREDICTION: Seattle 24 Panthers 10

Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs haven’t looked like themselves the last few weeks and stand at 1-1. Folks are wondering if there offense is so different after their OC left this year. I think they’ll start running on all cylinders in a few games, especially when you have Patrick Mahomes at QB.

PREDICTION: Chiefs 31 Bears 13

Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals

This game could be really, really bad for the Cards who will go up against the #1 ranked defense. Even with Trevon Diggs out for the season, the pass rush is way too good. Cards need to run the ball to have any success, but even that will be tough. The Cowboys win big in this one.

PREDICTION: Cowboys 38 Cards 7

Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders

When will Najee Harris break out? Will their offense take a step foward this week? These are the questions I’m asking coming into week 3 with the Raiders playing against the Steelers. The Steelers D will keep them in this game the question will be can their offense score at least two TD’s. I like the Steelers in a close one.

PREDICTION: Steelers 24 Raiders 21

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Bucanneers

The Eagles are 2-0 but if you dig deeper they haven’t played their best football. Tampa is playing well with Baker Mayfield but he could struggle in this game. The Eagles D-line is too good and will make Baker’s life miserable. I’ll take Eagles in a close one.

PREDICTION: Eagles 30 Tampa 27

LA Rams at Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are struggling but as a team where too good to go to 0-3. Especially at home they should win this game. Pay attention to Joe Burrow‘s ankle as he’s battling through that. The Bengals need to get Ja’Marr Chase involved more and mix in more Joe Mixon.

PREDICTION: Bengals 28 Rams 24

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Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals will struggle this year: OVERREACTION. We know the Bengals will be there in the AFC championship game. With Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase they will be hard to beat, and this team has big game experience.

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are legit after a definitive victory against the Giants: LEGIT. Did anybody see that Cowboys D? Dak Prescott didn’t play the greatest, but that was ok. He’ll get better along with that feisty Cowboys D.

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs will struggle after losing Eric Bieniemy: OVERREACTION. Yes Bieniemy was a very good offensive coordinator. But they Chiefs still have Mahomes, Kelce, Chris Jones and other key players. They will battle to play in the AFC championship game.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers won’t skip a beat with Aaron Rodgers gone. OVERREACTION. Jordan Love played a great game and they won, but don’t expect that the rest of the season. They will struggle and probably finish around .500.

Detroit Lions: The Lions are a serious contender in the NFC. LEGIT. When you have Dan Campbell at the helm and a stingy D with Aidan Hutchinson, your in good shape. Jared Goff looked poised leading the offense, and expect to see the same throughout the whole season.

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The Good

In Joe Burrow’s rookie season, he had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. He was constantly under pressure and ultimately went down with an ACL injury. Finally coming into next season Burrow will have a respectable offensive line with newly acquired LT Orlando Brown Jr. leading the way. The Bengals were able to pry Brown Jr. away from the Chiefs giving them an advantage over their rival. If Jonah Williams can successfully make the switch to RT and bounce back from a rough year this o-line could be a top-10 group.

Despite only playing in 12 games last season due to injury, Ja’Marr Chase was still able to surpass the 1,000 yards mark. Chase has solidified himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in just 2 seasons. He is now fully healthy and you can expect big numbers for Chase in 2023. The chemistry between Chase and Burrow will only improve going forward. Also, expect more deep shots to Chase as this improved o-line should give Burrow more time in the pocket. Chase could end up chasing Justin Jefferson for the league lead in reception yards.

The Bad

While it’s hard to find a true weakness on the Bengals roster, there are two areas of concern. Cincinnati took a hit to their secondary when they lost safeties Von Bell and Jessie Bates III. They will now rely on their former 1st round pick Daxton Hill to step up into the starting safety role. To me losing these two will have a pretty significant impact on the Bengals secondary. Bates III was an anchor at the free safety position and was underrated during his time in Cincinnati. Bell had an impressive 2022 campaign and had 4 interceptions at the strong safety spot. I will be watching closely how this impacts the Bengals defense going forward.

The other area of concern is running back depth. Cincinnati lost running back Samaje Perine to the Broncos this offseason. Perine was a tank for the Bengals and offered a nice 1-2 punch with Joe Mixon. With Perine no longer there, the Bengals will look to 5th-round rookie Chase Brown to fill the backup role. Brown was impressive during his time at Illinois but I am not expecting the same amount of production that they had with Perine. If Joe Mixon goes down Cincinnati could be in serious trouble.

The Prediction

Cincinnati has all the ingredients of a Super Bowl team. They do have some minor concerns as I previously pointed out but overall they are in the conversation as one of the league’s best. Joe Burrow gave us all a recent scare when he went down during a training camp practice. It looks as if that was just a minor calf injury and he will return by the start of the season. Obviously, Burrow’s health is the key for the Bengals to make a deep run and if he stays healthy Cincinnati will be a threat in the AFC.

2023 Record: 13-4 (1st in the Division)

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PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS

Fresh off a historic rookie season where he had 81 catches for 1455 yards and 13 TDs, Ja’Marr was eager to show that his rookie season was no fluke. He had gotten a lot of praise from teammates and opponents alike that he was an elite WR even after just one year.

DRAFT EXPECTATIONS

The jump for Ja’Marr was evident as his ADP was 13.3 or almost a sure-fire first-round pick. Being the WR 1 for Joe Burrow has a lot of benefits so people were okay with using their first pick on him.

OVERALL SEASON PRODUCTION

Ja’Marr Chase had a down year production-wise, but he was still recognized as an elite wide receiver. He was the 12th-best WR and 36th overall. He only played 13 games, but he managed to have 87 catches for 1046 yards and nine TDs. You can still put your faith in Chase next year as he’ll be one of the best WRs and players in fantasy football.

CRITICAL MOMENTS DURING THE SEASON

Week 1 vs Pittsburgh Steelers

It was a great start to the season for Ja’Marr Chase when the Bengals faced the Steelers in Week 1. He caught 10 passes for 129 yards and a TD. His TD was a six-yard catch with four seconds left, putting them an extra point away from overtime.

Week 6 vs New Orleans Saints

We move to New Orleans where Ja’Marr showcased his WR 1 week against the Saints. In 10 attempts, he caught seven passes for 132 yards and a couple of TDs. He caught a 15-yard TD pass late in the third to make it a two-point game. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Ja’Marr was open for a 60-yard TD that gave the Bengals the win.

Week 7 vs Atlanta Falcons

His best performance came against the Falcons where he had 33 FP. Ja’Marr was unstoppable that day when he caught eight passes for 130 yards and two TDs. In this blowout game, Chase caught a couple of TDs in the second quarter. One was for 32 yards and the other was for 41 yards. At his best, he is in the conversation for WR 1 for years to come.

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