The summer is here, the UDK is out, and everyone’s in the best shape of their lives or ahead of schedule while recovering from a major surgery. What a time to be alive in the fantasy football space. With OTAs officially underway, the NFL news cycle is starting to heat up. At this time of the calendar, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds with every “news” blurb that’s being reported. What’s real? What’s fake? What matters? What doesn’t?
In this collaborative article, Julia Papworth and I will be reacting to the biggest news items of the week and giving our thoughts on how to adjust in the fantasy football market. We’ll have several of these articles throughout the summer, depending on how voluminous the news is, but in July and August, when training camp opens up and the news is coming in fat and furious, we’ll have one of these articles every week. Without further ado, here are the biggest storylines we’re monitoring from OTAs.
Editor’s Note: For continuously updated Rankings and Projections from Andy, Mike, and Jason, with context around those rankings, be sure to check out the 2025 Ultimate Draft Kit.
1. Kyle Pitts is not participating in OTAs due to a foot injury.
Betz: News – Since Pitts’ 1,000-yard season in his rookie year, we’ve been chasing our tails in fantasy football. Any injury-related news on this guy needs to be taken seriously, at least until we get confirmation that he’s healthy during training camp. Pitts hasn’t played more than 66% of the team’s snaps in any season over the last three years, and in 2024 under the new regime, he ran just 26.6 routes per game. Pretty clearly a part-time player who’s sort of in no man’s land when it comes to his fit in the offense, Pitts can’t afford to miss time this off-season if he wants to get his career back on track.
Julia: News -Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice…you know the spiel. Since that fantastic rookie season, Pitts has been batting from behind, along with any manager who grabbed him in a dynasty league. It seems that the Falcons may want to pull a Homer Simpson and back away from Pitts into the bushes, as Jordan Schultz reported on Twitter last week that multiple teams have reached out to Atlanta concerning Pitts’ availability. If Pitts stands any chance of becoming half the generational TE we dreamed he could be, he needs to be out on the practice field, cultivating a relationship with Michael Penix Jr.
2. C.J. Stroud is not throwing at OTAs due to general shoulder soreness.
Betz: News…kinda. It’s June, so I don’t want to overreact, but any time a QB is not throwing at the start of summer, you should at least keep this on your radar. To my knowledge, Stroud did not pick up any late-season shoulder injuries, so I do find it a bit odd that he’s not throwing at OTAs despite the fact that he hasn’t played a football game since January. For now, this is a situation to monitor, but it is worth pointing out that Stroud is working with a brand new OC, a completely revamped O-Line, and a brand new set of weapons. I’m not expecting this to linger into training camp, but in the event that it does, he could miss valuable reps to build chemistry with his new teammates.
Julia: Noise. I’m not overly concerned with this report. Sure, I don’t like any starting QB not throwing, but Stroud doesn’t have any real history of shoulder issues, with only one injury report mentioning his shoulder early during the 2023 season. Head coach DeMeco Ryans seemed straightforward and clear in his press conference, stating that he had no concerns on his end. I buy it, but I would monitor the situation. Soreness should come and go fairly quickly, so if this sticks around even with Stroud not practicing, I would start to believe there is a deeper issue to be concerned about. Stroud is one of the most cerebral young QBs, so I assume he is doing what he can to “get in the reps” with his team while not physically able to throw.
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
3. Sean Payton says Audric Estimè “didn’t have enough touches last year… “He’s a back that requires enough touches. He’s going to get those opportunities.”
Betz: Noise – The Broncos told us exactly what they thought of the former 5th rounder when they made him a healthy scratch in their Wild Card game against the Bills last year, then followed that up by selecting R.J. Harvey in Round 2 of this year’s NFL Draft. Estimè only tallied 76 carries a year ago, and 12 of those came against the Chiefs’ backups in Week 18. Given his archetype as an early down grinder and Payton’s willingness to use multiple backs, I do think there’s a chance he could be second on the team in carries, but the high value touches are certainly going to Harvey, and let’s not forget, Jaleel McLaughlin is also there to steal a handful of looks on third downs, too. Oh, and the Broncos love Estime so much that they brought in JK Dobbins for a visit!
Julia: News – I don’t think this is news with a capital N, but I think it might be more important than we think. Sure, Estimè was a healthy scratch in Denver’s Wild Card matchup with Buffalo, and they added Round 2 draft pick R.J. Harvey to the roster. Those moves definitely have me thinking that Estimè might be on the outs, but Payton is a man who likes to play around with multiple backs, and I think he has a soft spot for Estimè, as evidenced by his comments after Week 16 of 2024 and again during a press conference in late April. It will be a battle for the RB2 in Denver, but Estimè could snag that spot over Jaleel McLaughlin. Keep an eye on the carry distribution during training camp to see if Payton is true to his word.
4. Stefon Diggs could “reasonably” be ready for Week 4 in his recovery from a torn ACL.
Betz: Noise – This was more of a passing comment from The Athletic’s Chad Graff than actual reporting. If you’re looking more of a detailed outlook on Diggs’ recovery, you can check out my Injury Tracker in the UDK. While I think it’s possible Diggs misses regular-season games, I’m not ready to make a definitive statement on when exactly he’ll be ready to go. He’s already doing some light cutting at OTAs, and while he does appear to be favoring his surgically repaired knee in the video I saw, that’s completely normal in the initial return to the field. Diggs’ strength will only get better over the next 2-3 months. Let’s see how he looks in the first few weeks of camp before making any conclusions on when he’ll play. Regardless, I do expect Diggs to be more productive in the second half of the year than in the first.
Julia: Noise – The chatter circulating Stefon Diggs has been all over the place, including this comment about his ACL recovery. Diggs went down in Week 8, so he has been recovering for the last 8.5 months. We have started to see those classic OTA hype videos, and Diggs looks to be moving well, running and cutting, and staying on the field for a large number of plays. I’m #notadoctor, so I will always look to Betz for injury timelines, and he sees Diggs’ strength visibly improving over the next three months. That being said, we know ACL recovery can be tricky, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see when Diggs actually makes his return.
5. Anthony Richardson will miss mini-camp after experiencing pain in his right shoulder.
Betz: News (obviously) – Welp! This is not ideal…The Colts opened the off-season by declaring this a full-blown QB competition after they signed Daniel Jones to a deal with over $13M guaranteed. Richardson, who entered the NFL with minimal experience as a starter, has only started 15 games in two years. He needs every rep he can get. With Jones now set to handle all of the Colts’ first-team reps in mini camp and the early part of training camp, the job is his to lose at this point, in my opinion. Shane Steichen is likely coaching for his job at this point, so they can’t wait around for Richardson to get healthy. I expect Daniel Jones to be the Week 1 starter.
Julia: News – The one thing we learned from a college QB who only started 13 games in school is that getting the reps in is not only important, it is vital. In the 15 NFL games he played in, Richardson averaged a 51% completion rate and 13 total interceptions. That screams the need to get familiar with the offense. Sure, the guy has talent, we all know that, but the 499 rushing yards in 2024 mean nothing if he cannot find his second read when his go route is covered downfield. Richardson needs practice, and now, with head coach Shane Steichen stating that he will not participate in OTAs this week or mandatory minicamp next week due to a shoulder injury, he won’t be getting it. Steichen went on to say that Richardson does not “need a procedure right now,” and those final two words are worrisome for a player who missed 13 games during his rookie season due to said shoulder. With Richardson out, the job is Daniel Jones’ to win, and that should not be too tough.
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