Trending Observations: Taysom Hill Evolves, Big Plans For Jaxon Smith-Njigba - Dynasty League Football (2024)

School is out and training camps are open. We’re in for a ton of ‘best shape of his life’ reports but there will be other developments too. Below are a few of those that could affect your off-season dynasty plans.

Over the Hill

Taysom Hill lining up as fullback at Saints OTAs: "I'm being asked to do things I've never done before"https://t.co/hkDD5Z1ndL pic.twitter.com/bZJqhNHlSC

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 29, 2024

A new season and a new position for the Saints’ Taysom Hill. It doesn’t even matter who the coaches are as Hill’s Swiss army knife ways started with former head coach Sean Payton and former offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and have continued with current coach Dennis Allen and OC Klint Kubiak.

And while it may seem odd to see Hill line up in the backfield, that’s actually where he’s done the most damage in fantasy matchups. He totaled 334 carries and 1,807 yards the last four years out of the backfield, including 24 touchdowns, over the last four seasons. Meanwhile, he’s seen just 71 targets in that same span. He did set career-highs in 2023 with 33 receptions for 291 yards but hadn’t topped 100 receiving yards in a season since 2019.

It resulted in Hill being a top-50 fantasy player in each of those four seasons and a top-25 player in two of them. But a lot of his value is still determined by how your league classifies Hill whether he’s lining up in the backfield or not.

Dynasty Impact: As is the case for most of Hill’s career, the position he’s classified as, not his actual production, will determine his value. For example, several services classify Hill as a tight end. If that’s the case, he’s been a top-seven fantasy tight end in each of the last four seasons. However, fantasy websites such as MyFantasyLeague.com will put him as a quarterback where he was just the 24th highest-scoring fantasy quarterback last season. This is what Hill’s dynasty value has looked like recently:

Overall, he’s valued as a player in the mid-200s which would mean he would be taken in the 20th round and beyond of a dynasty startup. Whatever your position designation, that is far too low for a weapon like Hill. No, he won’t win you a dynasty championship but he’s far more reliable than other players that would be taken that late in a dynasty startup. Whether it’s passing, rushing, or receiving, it’s clear that Hill will get more opportunities than most. It may be trickier if he’s designated as a quarterback in your league but you’re not going to take him to be a starter on your dynasty team but rather as a super sub that can win you a few games.

That Kittle Rascal

Glass half full: a healthier Kittle could get back into top 3 and destroy ADP

Glass half empty: this is more evidence we will never get a healthier Kittle https://t.co/Wn9HC21GZ7

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Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark vs. Chicago Sky FREE LIVE STREAM (6/1/24): Watch WNBA online | Time, TV, Channel

— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) May 30, 2024

George Kittle may go down as one of the best late-round draft picks of all time. Taken in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft – 146th overall – Kittle has gone on to have an incredible career with multiple Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections. He’s accomplished all that by being a main component of a 49ers team that has been to the Conference Championship in four of the last five seasons.

But it’s not a secret that Kittle has been banged up over the last few years. Yes, he’s played in at least 14 games in five of his last six seasons but certainly not at full strength. This last 1,000-yard season – still an impressive feat for a tight end – was his first since 2019. The fact he did it while injured most of 2023 is even more impressive. But the raises the question: ‘Is Kittle done?’

Dynasty Impact: Injuries aside, Kittle is just getting old. He’s entering just his eighth season but started his NFL career at 24. Each injury will make it less likely that he will come back to full strength.

The injuries have already affected his dynasty value. Since peaking in 2020, following two straight 1,000-yard seasons, it’s only gone down.

Kittle is now the ninth tight end off the board in dynasty startups partially due to being the second oldest tight end of the top 25 in our dynasty rankings. But he’s also among the most accomplished, finishing in the top four in fantasy scoring each of the last three seasons. When it comes to valuing Kittle, despite the injury and age, he’s closer to the top half of the top ten dynasty tight ends rather than the lower half.

Smith and Tell

#Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald on Jaxon Smith-Njigba:

“JSN’s a great player, and expecting big things out of him. He’s had a great offseason. Works his tail off, his practice habits are awesome, moving ability is pretty elite. So, I think we’ve got a really cool plan for him.” pic.twitter.com/6lQQGbaUUM

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 31, 2024

Heading into the 2023 season, there was no rookie receiver more heralded than Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The 20th overall pick – and first receiver taken – JSN was viewed as the best Ohio State receiver prospect in recent memory. The thought was he was better than former Buckeyes Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave in college so should be better than those two in the pros. In their respective rookie seasons the year before, both Wilson and Olave topped 1,000 yards. But it was not meant to be for Smith-Njigba. His 93 targets were good for just third on the team behind veterans Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf and his season ended as just the 51st highest-scoring receiver.

Of course, Smith-Njigba now has an off-season to make improvements and, from the tweet above, seems like he already is. Is it enough to improve his dynasty value?

Dynasty Impact: At first glance, it may seem like Smith-Njigba may be walking into the same situation as last year, no matter how good of an off-season he’s had. And that is not a good place to be in.

But the decline in value may be a blessing in disguise. He’s now not nearly as expensive to acquire as he would have been last season when you consider the draft capital. He’s just 22 with one season under his belt. The Seahawks can also save a ton of money by cutting either Lockett or Metcalf or both shortly.

Bottom line: he is a stronghold. If you are a current Smith-Njigba dynasty manager, hold on to him.