The Cardinals ran WR Rondale Moore almost exclusively out of three-WR sets in Friday night's preseason opener against the Broncos. According to Pro Football Focus, just one of Moore's 10 snaps came in a two-WR formation. Arizona started Moore, rookie Michael Wilson, and veteran Zach Pascal at WR, with Marquise Brown getting the night off. It's too early to say this is a problem, but it wouldn't be good for Moore's target volume if this setup holds. We'll be watching through the rest of the preseason. Moore sits in low-risk territory of both ADP and our fantasy football PPR rankings.
NFL Network's Stacey Dales reports that the Titans will start QB Malik Willis in the preseason opener against the Bears on Saturday night. But she adds that Willis and Will Levis will alternate "every few series" throughout the game. That setup indicates that Willis is slightly ahead of Levis but that they're clearly competing for the No. 2 role behind Ryan Tannehill. It's a particularly interesting spot because Tannehill is 35 and in the final year of his contract. If Tennessee struggles this year -- which certainly seems possible -- the team could turn to a younger option on a trial basis. Levis has been going well ahead of Willis in superflex drafts this offseason. Tannehill is the only Tennessee QB we're considering outside of superflex best ball tournaments and dynasty leagues. Even he sits low in our 2023 QB rankings, though.
Broncos QB Russell Wilson completed seven of 13 pass attempts before leaving Friday night's preseason opener. He hit WR Courtland Sutton three times, WR Jerry Jeudy twice, and TE Adam Trautman twice. Afterward, DNVR's Zac Stevens tweeted, "Those three are THE starters on the depth chart." No surprised for Sutton and Jeudy. But the work for Trautman does line up with his appearance ahead of Greg Dulcich on the "unofficial" depth chart. Dulcich looks like a guy with breakout potential based on his college production, some intriguing efficiency and usage from last year, and HC Sean Payton's words ahead of training camp about using Dulcich in a "Joker" role. But if Trautman continues as the No. 1 TE, Dulcich would see his playing time and opportunities limited. We'll certainly keep watching this situation through August but might have to consider knocking Dulcich down the fantasy football rankings a bit.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams confirmed last night that he’ll play in Week 2 of the preseason. Denver faces San Francisco next Saturday. Ultimately, we’d be surprised if Williams plays more than a couple of series in his first game since October 2.
Browns WR Elijah Moore exited Friday night's preseason game with a rib injury. X-rays came back clean, according to ESPN's Jake Trotter. We'll look for more details on his status. Moore was featured before the injury, catching a six-yard pass on Cleveland's first offensive snap and taking a carry for 18 yards.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic expects little change to RB Jaylen Warren’s role. “Honestly, I don’t see much more of a role than he had last year if [Najee] Harris stays healthy,” Kaboly wrote. Harris played through a foot injury in 2022 but still appeared in all 17 games. Warren averaged 6.5 touches per game overall; nearly 11 over the final month. The second-year back is an ideal RB5.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll came away from the preseason opener pleased with the play of RB Zach Charbonnet. The rookie carried 4 times for 14 yards, adding 2 grabs for 14 additional yards. “Looked good, didn’t he?” Carroll said. “He looked really physical. Guys on the sidelines were going crazy for him. He has had a great start with us.” Current projections have Charbonnet for about 9 touches per game. He sits as a top-40 RB in our RB rankings.
Texans WR Tank Dell was the most impressive player in Thursday night's preseason opener vs. the Patriots. The rookie caught five of eight targets for 65 yards and a score, flashing explosive burst after the catch and impressive concentration on his TD. “It was good to see Tank make some plays,” HC Demeco Ryans said afterward. “We’ve seen him make a lot of plays throughout training camp, some of these same plays, so it was good to see him do the same thing here in a game. He’s going to be an explosive playmaker for us, and we look forward to him continuing to make some of those plays.” There's plenty of room in Houston's WR corps for Dell to carve out a significant role this season. He's moving up our WR rankings.
Raiders WR Davante Adams left Friday's joint practice with the 49ers with a lower right leg injury. A source tells The Athletic's Tashan Reed that Adams' injury is "minor." We'll keep you updated on his status, but we aren't moving Adams in the WR rankings now.
Joe Person of The Athletic says that fantasy football players should "keep an eye" on Panthers WR Laviska Shenault, "who has been getting significant reps in the backfield." We're taking note, because Carolina looks weak at RB behind Miles Sanders. Although Shenault's a WR, he's sturdily built at 6'1, 220 pounds. He has already logged 38 carries through three pro seasons and rushed 40 times over his final two college campaigns. Shenault's varied utility and a Panthers depth chart with questions at both RB and WR at least makes Shenault an interesting pick at the end of best ball drafts. He sits just fifth among Carolina wideouts in our fantasy football WR rankings.
Saints sideline reporter Jeff Nowak says "the Derek Carr-Chris Olave connection has been one of the highlights of camp." He adds that the QB has credited Olave with performing in ways you wouldn't normally see from a second-year wideout. Olave looks like the Saints' lead wideout after an impressive rookie season. The biggest question might be whether he can get enough target volume to support an ADP that has hovered around the Round 2-3 turn. Olave's downfield ability does give him upside beyond where he sits in our WR rankings.
Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard “continued to be plagued by drops” at training camp, per The Athletic’s Joe Person. We’ll see how the preseason usage shakes out. But Person believes the Panthers could use a bigger back to “complement” Miles Sanders, who’s currently dealing with a minor groin injury. We’ll keep an eye on Carolina as a destination for a free-agent RB.
The Athletic's Joe Person named WR Jonathan Mingo a training camp “riser.” According to Person, the rookie showed he’s “going to be a big part of the rotation with a solid camp.” Mingo should also benefit from the strong showing by QB Bryce Young. See where Mingo stacks up in our fantasy WR rankings.
The Athletic's Jon Machota lists WR Brandin Cooks as one of the Cowboys who has stood out most in training camp. "Coaches and players have talked plenty about the added emphasis this year on the deep ball and Cooks is going to be arguably the most significant factor for that," Machota writes. "His speed is unmistakable and gives [QB Dak] Prescott added confidence in getting the ball downfield and opens things up for other receivers underneath." Cooks won't challenge WR CeeDee Lamb for the target lead. But it sounds like he's the favorite to finish second in targets, ahead of WR Michael Gallup. See where Cooks sits in our updated fantasy football WR rankings.
According to multiple reports, the Raiders are signing RB Damien Williams. Las Vegas has obvious backfield questions, with Josh Jacobs not yet signing his franchise tender or returning to practice. It's not surprising that the team added a RB. It's interesting that the Raiders chose Williams, who is 31 and logged just 58 total touches over the past two seasons. Dalvin Cook, Kareem Hunt, Ezekiel Elliott, and Leonard Fournette remain on the open market (along with others, of course). So signing Williams might indicate the Raiders aren't too concerned about their backfield (or Jacobs?) and just need a cheap camp body. We'll certainly keep watching the whole situation. Just don't expect Williams' arrival to shake up our RB rankings.
According to multiple reports, the Bills' MLB job has come down to Tyrel Dodson vs. Terrel Bernard. And HC Sean McDermott has indicated it's even heading into the preseason games. The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia reports that Bernard left Thursday's practice with a hamstring injury. That's likely to keep Bernard out of Saturday night's exhibition opener, which could give Dodson an early advantage. It's also noteworthy that third-round rookie Dorian Williams is not in on this competition. We've had Bernard projected as the favorite in our IDP rankings, but Matt Milano might be the only Bills LB fit for most fantasy football leagues.
Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic says that Bills RB James Cook has "separated himself" from Damien Harris and Latavius Murray in training camp, furthering the notion that Cook is headed for the clear lead role. Buscaglia adds that Murray is pushing Harris for the No. 2 job with a good camp, while Harris has also dealt with injury. Buscaglia also throws in that RB Nyheim Hines was a "borderline favorite" to be the Bills' No. 2 before suffering his ACL tear. That's especially interesting because Hines garnered only six total carries and nine targets across nine games with the Bills last year after arriving from the Colts via trade. The Hines bit plus the Murray praise could signal an iffy outlook for Harris, who signed for less than $2 million on a one-year deal in free agency. Harris has already moved down our RB rankings since the start of training camp.
The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt says Jets RB Zonovan Knight has "had a really good camp -- he's quite clearly been their best RB." That's, of course, with Breece Hall not yet practicing. But it's noteworthy that Knight earns such praise over Michael Carter and rookie Israel Abanikanda. We're not betting on another Jets RB being starter-worthy in fantasy whenever Hall is active. But Hall's still-progressing recovery from the 2022 ACL tear enhances the available opportunity for the rest of the backfield. Knight has been going basically undrafted by best ball ADP this offseason and sits well down our RB rankings. We'll see whether a big adjustment needs to happen.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell highlighted RB Ty Chandler as a standout in Thursday night's preseason opener vs. the Seahawks. "I thought Ty Chandler jumped out, because any time he had the ball in his hand, very rarely was he tackled by the first defender," O'Connell said. Chandler finished with 11 carries for 41 yards and caught all four of his targets for 29 yards. He got three-down usage with the starters -- which did not include QB Kirk Cousins, RB Alexander Mattison, WR Justin Jefferson, or TE T.J. Hockenson. RB Kene Nwangu was also held out with an injury, while RB DeWayne McBride only spelled Chandler on occasion in the first half. It was a strong showing from Chandler and has him looking like the favorite to open the season as Minnesota's No. 2 RB behind Mattison.
Colts RB Deon Jackson missed Thursday's practice with a quad injury and is expected to sit out Saturday's preseason opener against the Bills, according to the team website. Indy, of course, was already without RB Zack Moss (wrist) and RB Jonathan Taylor (feelings, ankle?). That leaves recent signee Kenyan Drake and fifth-round rookie Evan Hull as the top healthy competitors for playing time. We'll see how long Jackson remains out. Taylor has been the only Colts back in draftable range in our RB rankings, but he has fallen during his training-camp absence. It's a tough situation to buy into at all in current fantasy football drafts. Indy also signed RB Jason Huntley this week.
Search
