Overlooked Gems: NFC North Edition

In this new fantasy offseason series, we will break down one player from each NFL team who is currently being overlooked. At the same time, that player could provide great depth/potential to a deep dynasty league roster. These players are worth picking up if they are in your free agency. They are also players you may want to reconsider keeping if they are fringe roster cut options. I will be trying to convince you as to why they are worth a roster spot for now. Of course, the NFL Draft and free agency period could diminish each player’s value, but we need to be making sure we bolster our roster(s) as much as we can. Each week, one division will be broken down, and today is all about the NFC North.

Chicago Bears

Velus Jones JR. – WR

I get it. It’s hard to trust a player coming off an age-25 rookie season after producing next to nothing on an awful offense while muffing a few punts, dropping a couple of passes, fumbling jet sweeps, and fighting through some injuries. But hear me out. If the Bears go out and sure up the offensive line a tad bit and add a few playmakers on the outside, Velus Jones Jr.’s Jr.’s job will be much more prominent. Will he ever become a WR2 in the league? Probably not. But he can serve as that gadget type of player who, in good matchups, can produce serviceable fantasy numbers in deep dynasty leagues. 

Chicago selected Jones Jr. in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, which ended up being Ryan Poles’ first offensive player selected as the new General Manager of the Chicago Bears. He saw potential in a player who hauled in 62 receptions for 807 yards and seven touchdowns during his final college season. He saw the 4.31 speed and paired that with Justin Fields’ strong arm. No, it didn’t turn into many deep shots down the field in 2022, but who’s to say it won’t in 2023? Another offseason learning the offensive system could benefit Jones Jr. and Fields mightily. 

Even if the Bears go out and trade for/sign a big name and pair that with drafting another talent in the first few rounds of the 2023 draft, Jones Jr. should still find his way on your dynasty roster(s) heading into the 2023 season. Darnell Mooney is coming off a torn ACL, and Chase Claypool hasn’t proven anything to the Bears yet. Why not hold onto one of the four receivers the Bears have under contract next season for now? We’ve seen many Year 2 wide receivers break out after putting together a quiet rookie season (Antonio Brown, Tyreek Hill, Chris Godwin, etc.). 

Detroit Lions

James Mitchell – TE

The assumption is that Detroit is interested in moving forward with Jared Goff as their starting quarterback. During his time in Detroit, he has created special connections with T.J. Hockenson (who is now a member of the Vikings) and Brock Wright (who is an unrestricted free agent) at the tight end position. Now entering the 2023 season, James Mitchell is the only tight on a guaranteed contract for Detroit. He was drafted in the fifth round during last year’s NFL Draft. Although he wasn’t used much during his rookie season, he’s expected to see a larger role in his sophomore campaign. 

During his time in college, he was overlooked after only playing in two games in his final season at Virginia Tech. He’s still raw, but he finds himself on the field a lot because of his blocking presence. And we’ve seen flashes of his receiving abilities. He hauled in all 11 of his targets this past season as a rookie, producing 113 yards and a touchdown. But he didn’t start lining up on offense much until Hockenson was traded back on the first of November. 10 of his 11 receptions came after that trade was completed. 

Although he may never turn into a TE1 in fantasy, Mitchell is worth holding onto right now. He has a shot at entering the 2023 season as Detroit’s TE1, and he has shown flashes during his little time on the field. He’s not necessarily someone you should go out and trade for, but if he’s on your roster right now, there is no point in moving off of him. We’ve seen stranger paths to fantasy relevance before. For now, Mitchell is a bit overlooked and could turn into a very nice depth piece in deeper dynasty leagues. 

Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love – QB

This may be obvious, but you NEED to hold onto Jordan Love if you have any of his shares. Once again, Aaron Rodgers has been circulated by a ton of trade rumors early this offseason. There are talks of the Jets and Raiders being interested in trading for the future Hall of Famer right now. Wouldn’t it be something if the Packers could hit on three straight quarterbacks during the last 20-plus years? There have been way too many positive reports surrounding Love during his time as Rodgers’ backup. And Green Bay owes it Love to give him a shot after drafting him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. 

Quarterback is easily the most important position in the game. If you’ve held onto Love this long, what difference does it make if you keep him on your roster(s) for a little bit longer? We haven’t seen a ton of him on the field during his three seasons, but the little that we have seen him has looked good “enough.” If Green Bay moves off from Rodgers early this offseason, Love could get acclimated into the offense with the first-string players with plenty of time before the 2023 season begins. This is something Rodgers neglected to do once the offense turned to rely on young pass-catchers. 

We can all agree that the world needs a little more Love. His draft capital alone makes him a viable quarterback on your dynasty roster(s). The last thing you want to do as a fantasy manager is to move on from a player who has a ton of upside and a clear path to fantasy relevance for cheap. His value is as high as it’s ever been, and many managers don’t realize it. He’s overlooked right now, and that could very well change in a few months. 

Minnesota Vikings

Ty Chandler

Here’s a name that many don’t really recognize. Ty Chandler was drafted in the fifth round during last year’s draft out of North Carolina. No, he’s not going to take many snaps away from Dalvin Cook, but he’s certainly an early candidate to serve as his backup. Long-time backup, Alexander Mattison, is now a free agent, and it wouldn’t come as a shock if Minnesota decided to move on from the four-year pro. Kene Nwangwu is another backup running back candidate, but he hasn’t managed to carve out a role in the offense during his first two seasons in the league. 

Although Nwangwu has a higher draft capital (fourth-round pick), Chandler has the ideal receiving production background that Nwangwu lacks. During his five college seasons played at Tennessee and North Carolina, Chandler hauled in 73 receptions for 681 yards and four touchdowns. Whereas Nwangwu ended his four-year college career at Iowa State with just seven receptions for 57 yards and no touchdowns. He’s probably a lock to stay on the roster because of his kick return skills, but Chandler should have the edge because of his ability to pose as a receiving threat out of the backfield. 

There’s no telling that Minnesota won’t go out and sign a free agent to serve as Cook’s backup for next season. Maybe that even means bringing back Mattison on a team-friendly deal. But for now, Chandler needs to stay on deep dynasty league rosters. His situation is too enticing right now. It’s never a great idea to move on from players like this until we see what free agency and the draft shapes out to be. You never know, he could turn into that Mattison-type of player. And for those who’ve rostered Cook at any point of his career, you know he misses a game or two every season, and his backup is very streamable for those weeks. 

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