Overlooked Gems: NFC West Edition

In this continued offseason series, we will break down one player from each NFL team 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 try to convince you 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 West.

ARIZONA CARDINALS – TREY MCBRIDE, TE

Trey McBride should easily be rostered in most dynasty leagues, but he was very unimpressive during his rookie campaign. And many dynasty managers have already lost faith in him. We need to remember that tight ends usually take two or three seasons to fully blossom. And although McBride didn’t dominate in 2022, he did show flashes towards the end of the season. 20 of his 29 receptions came during the final five weeks. During that same span, he produced 219 receiving yards and one touchdown while serving as the TE10 in PPR leagues. Zach Ertz was out during that time, recovering from a torn MCL, but Kyler Murray was also out during most of McBride’s great stretch, as he was hauling in passes from Colt McCoy and Trace McSorley. 

So why should we be optimistic about McBride’s future? Well, Arizona has already flirted with the idea of moving on from Ertz, which would cement McBride as the team’s TE1. DeAndre Hopkins is also being shopped around and could find himself suiting up for a different team in 2023. That means that the Cardinals will focus on the trio of Marquise Brown, Rondale Moore, and McBride. Surely, more talent could be acquired during free agency and the draft, but the team doesn’t have a ton of cap space to work with. They are sort of forced into rebuilding mode with Murray set to miss more than half of 2023 and a new coaching staff/front office coming in this offseason. There’s a reason why McBride was the first tight end selected in last year’s draft (55th overall). He’s only 23 years old, and he has the talent and frame to serve as a viable tight end for years to come. 

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers – JORDAN MASON, RB

The best ability is availability. Kyle Shanahan knows that best. When you take a look at San Francisco’s running back room, it’s filled with players who have struggled to stay healthy. Christian McCaffrey is the RB1 for this team, but throughout the season, Shanahan made sure to cut his carries back so he would be fresh for the playoffs. In relief, we saw Elijah Mitchell earn touches, but even he couldn’t stay on the field (only played in five games this season). That meant that then-rookie Jordan Mason was the next guy up. Although he never drew a single target, he turned 43 carries into 258 yards, averaging an impressive six yards per carry. His best outing is when he dominated the fourth quarter against the Seahawks to seal his team’s win by turning four fourth-quarter carries into 64 yards. What he’s doing on the field with limited opportunities and what he’s doing behind the scenes has paved a way for a very bright future. 

Before the 2022 season began, Mason impressed the organization so much that the team moved off from last year’s third-round draft pick, Trey Sermon. He also earned more reps than San Francisco’s 2022 third-round draft selection, Tyrion Davis-Price this season. With the injury concern surrounding McCaffrey and Mitchell, it’s hard to deny the fact that Mason is a very important piece to the 49ers. He’s also going into his second season fresh and only 23 years old. If you play in a deep dynasty league, he’s worth rostering, and he’s worth monitoring. Don’t be surprised if he earns the RB2 job for his team ahead of the 2023 season. With Mitchell missing 17 games in two seasons, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the team has lost faith in him. 

LOS ANGELES RAMS – KYREN WILLIAMS, RB

Nobody knows what’s going on in the Rams’ running back room. Cam Akers was supposedly out in the middle of last season. Then Sean McVay gave him a second chance, and he looked great. But it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the team decided to move off from him. The only other two backs on guaranteed contracts are Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers, and the only one on a guaranteed contract after the 2023 season is Williams. His rookie season was cut short due to injury, but he was involved right when he came back to the field. In his first three regular-season games in Weeks 10-12, he earned 27 opportunities (carries plus targets). With the 27 opportunities, he turned 19 carries into 80 rushing yards while also hauling in seven receptions for 63 receiving yards. That’s around the time Akers came back into the fold and over impressed with his play. That led to only  20 more opportunities for Williams for the rest of the season. 

We shouldn’t go into the 2023 season lower on Williams because of the end of the 2022 season. The Rams were dysfunctional as a team, and they are getting some key pieces back and healthy this year (Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, etc.). Los Angeles could opt to sign or draft a running back, but as of right now, Williams is in a good position to serve a promising role. McVay is going to want to run the ball, and he has expressed trust in Williams to the public media (something he hasn’t done a ton for Akers). At 22 years old, with a season under his belt, and now healthy, expect Williams to have a bigger impact on Los Angeles’ offense next season. 

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS – NOAH FANT, TE

Noah Fant has been in the league for four seasons now, and his dynasty value is probably the lowest it has ever been during his career. Although his 2022 numbers aren’t exciting on paper, he did haul in at least 50 receptions for the third straight season. We shouldn’t give up on him just yet. Although he finished as the TE17 last season, he did tie his career high in receiving touchdowns (4) and finish third on the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. You also have to keep in mind that this was his first season catching passes from Geno Smith and his first season in Seattle. With another offseason with the team and Smith, you should expect his numbers to improve in 2023. 

Fant is a former first-round pick in 2019 (20th overall), and he still shows flashes as to why he was drafted that high. Since entering the league in 2019, he has hauled in the ninth-most receptions amongst all tight ends (220). He’s also 10th amongst tight ends in total receiving yards during that stretch as well (2,391). It’s still a little too early to give up on him. Even trading him doesn’t make sense right now because of his low value. If you hold onto him for one more season, you could thank yourself for being patient. It’s a win-win situation. If he improves his numbers, you have a viable tight end on your roster. If his numbers decrease or stay relatively the same, his value won’t drastically change, considering how low his value already is right now. At the same time, he’s only 25 years old. The golden era for a tight end’s prime is between 25 and 28 years old.

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