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Achane has prioritized improving his route running this offseason and could earn more opportunities to line up out wide in Year 2, David Furones of the Sun Sentinel reports.

Advice: Achane said during June mandatory minicamp he's been "lining up at different positions, as far as like receiver, running routes and stuff," calling those drills "something that we're doing different this year." The second-year pro, who logged record-breaking efficiency during his rookie season, said that in addition to becoming a more versatile pass catcher, his priority this offseason has been adding muscle in order to better avoid injury. Achane will have to compete with position mates Raheem Mostert and rookie Jaylen Wright for touches during the 2024 campaign, so it would be encouraging to see him develop into a capable enough receiver to catch passes out wide, rather than only out of the backfield. Despite the Dolphins looking primed to deploy a backfield committee, Achane's explosiveness and big-play ability make it easy to project a high fantasy ceiling in 2024. If he's indeed able to improve his versatility and durability this offseason, that could also give him a more consistent floor. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 3:07 pm

The Athletic’s Chad Graff has WR Tyquan Thornton being left off the Patriots’ 53-man roster in his early roster projections.

Advice: This one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Thornton, a former second-round pick of the Patriots in 2022, has been slowed by injuries and offered little offense upside when healthy. Through 22 career games, he’s caught just 35 passes for 338 yards and two scores, with most of that production coming in his rookie season. In addition to playing under a new coaching staff, Thornton is also set to compete against rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. Polk is already locked into a roster spot as a second-round pick, and the Patriots used a fourth-round pick on Baker, which should all but secure his spot. Outside of one or two depth options, the Patriots’ wide receiver room feels fairly in place. It may take a camp injury or two for Thornton to stick on the roster come cut day. Rotoworld Yesterday, 6:47 am

The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly said, “If there is one receiver besides George Pickens who has a chance to have a big role in [the Steelers’] offense, it’s Calvin Austin.”

Advice: After redshirting in his 2022 rookie campaign, Austin caught 17 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown for the Steelers last season. The speedy fourth-round pick “continued to get better from the first day to the last” throughout the offseason, per Kaboly, and will have a chance to compete for a starting job on a wide receiver depth chart that is wide open after Pickens. Austin earned five-plus targets in three of his first four games to start last season, but was targeted just nine times in his final 13 games — a brutal footnote on his sophomore season. Even if he earns a “big role” in 2024, expectations should be tempered in an Arthur Smith/Russell Wilson led attack. Rotoworld Yesterday, 5:17 am

Higgins signed his franchise tag with the Bengals on Saturday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Advice: Higgins now figures to report for the start of training camp and will make $21.8 million on a one-year tag. Schefter's report indicates it's unlikely Higgins and the Bengals will come to terms on a long-term deal, potentially making this his last campaign with the team as they push for another Super Bowl appearance. He missed five full games and parts of two others last season, finishing with career lows in every major counting stat even as he averaged a career-high 15.6 yards per catch. Higgins missed three games total over his first three seasons and had at least 908 receiving yards and six touchdowns each year. Rotowire.com Saturday, 9:01 am