Commanders TE Logan Thomas has missed two straight practices with a calf injury. The veteran missed three games with a calf strain in October. We’ll let you know when he’s back at practice.
Jaguars beat writer John Shipley believes TE Evan Engram has performed better in training camp this year than he did in 2022. Engram, of course, broke out with 73-766-4 in his Jags debut. Calvin Ridley’s arrival takes some shine off Engram’s fantasy appeal. Still, the 29-year-old profiles as a top-12 option.
Jaguars CB Tyson Campbell sustained a concussion in Saturday's practice, SI.com's John Shipley reports. Campbell did, at least, return to the sideline with a trainer for the end of practice. He has plenty of time to recover before the regular season and isn't moving down our IDP rankings.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirms that the Rams view Kyren Williams as their No. 2 RB. Fowler adds that the Rams "like Williams a little bit more as a pass protector than they do [Cam] Akers." That suggests that Williams will steal passing-down work from Akers, which we've been projecting all along. Williams is unlikely to have fantasy value behind a healthy Akers, but an Akers injury would turn him into a volume-based fantasy play.
Darin Gantt of Panthers.com says it's "increasingly clear during camp that the passing game is going to be diverse." He says WR D.J. Chark has "made daily highlights" but adds that Adam Thielen caught a deep TD Saturday and that "several other wideouts were making plays." The fantasy takeaway here is that you shouldn't expect any Panthers WR to dominate target share. "Diverse" here means that QB Bryce Young is spreading the ball around, which makes sense given the WR corps. Fortunately, the ADP for everyone in the corps is low enough that we don't need a target dominator. Thielen remains the leader of the group in our WR rankings. We're not ignoring the recent Chark buzz, though.
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne has gotten some work with the WRs in training camp, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "His route tree isn't extensive yet, but he's a very natural pass-catcher," Fowler adds. Etienne underwhelmed in the receiving department last year and faces additional competition for that work this season from rookie Tank Bigsby. But don't forget that Etienne racked up 85 catches over his final two college seasons. There's still room for the 24-year-old to improve his passing-game chops. We'll be keeping a close eye on Etienne and Bigsby's usage this preseason.
Panthers HC Frank Reich told reporters Saturday that he held RB Miles Sanders out of team drills after Sanders "tweaked something" early in practice, according to multiple reports. Darin Gantt of the team websites added that it was "mostly a precaution." We'll watch for any signal that this is something more significant.
Chargers HC Brandon Staley says QB Justin Herbert is having the best training camp he's had in Staley's three seasons with the team. Staley is giving a lot of the credit to new OC Kellen Moore. "He makes the game easy for the quarterback," Staley said of Moore. "He really allows the quarterback to play fast, and what we're really trying to do is get Justin to play fast and be aggressive -- not just, like, in the deep part of the field, which is what everyone wants to focus on. It's that, of course, but it's the way that you command the play before the ball's even [thrown]. And now that you've developed this trust and chemistry with your group on the outside, you can really be on the attack." A big talent with a strong pass-catching corps and upgraded play-caller, Herbert is one of our favorite QB targets in fantasy drafts.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon has a lingering legal case that might still produce NFL discipline. He has an Aug. 14 court date on aggravated menacing charges stemming from the March 6 shooting incident at his home. Mixon was cleared of any further charges there but has been sued by the minor who was shot at by the boyfriend of Mixon's sister. We'd assume that lawsuit wouldn't motivate NFL discipline against Mixon. But the NFL's personal-conduct policy doesn't require any certain level of legal action to trigger suspensions. We'll certainly keep watching the whole situation but aren't currently factoring it into Mixon's spot in the fantasy football rankings.
Colts TE Jelani Woods is sidelined with a hamstring injury. No word yet on how long he’ll sit out, but Indy signed two free-agent TEs (Nick Eubanks and Michael Jacobson) on Saturday. We’ll let you know when Woods returns.
Tim Twentyman of the team website lists Lions rookie DB Brian Branch as a player who has "stood out" early in training camp. Branch, a second-round pick, has been working in with the first team. He saw time in CB and safety roles at Alabama before dropping to Round 2 after running slow at the Scouting Combine. Detroit presents opportunity for Branch to earn a regular-season role in either position group. We'll keep watching for more specifics on what role he might fill. We've gone ahead and added him to the IDP rankings, though.
Cowboys TE Luke Schoonmaker (foot) recently suffered a setback, per HC Mike McCarthy. It’s “nothing major,” according to beat writer Jon Machota, but the team isn’t sure on a return time. Jake Ferguson should lead Cowboys TEs in snaps come Week 1.
Saints WRs Rashid Shaheed and Tre'Quan Smith left Saturday's practice early with groin injuries, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football. We'll see about the severity of each issue, but it seems particularly noteworthy for Shaheed. He's not only expected to run ahead of Smith on the depth chart, but Shaheed also missed June minicamp with what was deemed a minor groin injury. Even if this instance also proves minor, we haven't been excited about Shaheed's 2023 fantasy football outlook. He'll need an injury to Chris Olave or Michael Thomas to pull him up our WR rankings.
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton has "consistently been quarterback Russell Wilson’s top target in training camp," The Athletic's Nick Kosmider writes. "He is fully healthy and has demonstrated more explosiveness than in any training camp since 2020, when he was dominant in practices leading up to his ACL injury." Kosmider adds that HC Sean Payton believes that Sutton can "thrive as an outside receiver in his system." Jerry Jeudy was Denver's best WR by basically any metric last season. But it's worth noting that the target split between Jeudy and Sutton was relatively close -- 69 to 61 in favor of Jeudy in their nine healthy games together. Jeudy sits well ahead of Sutton in our 2023 fantasy football rankings. But Sutton could certainly prove to be a value at his WR40 ADP.
Texans TE Dalton Schultz was back on the practice field on Friday, participating in full-team drills, per insider Aaron Wilson. Schultz missed a few days with an undisclosed injury, but consider his fantasy value unchanged.
Kenneth Gainwell has been the Eagles' "featured RB during the two-minute drill" in training camp, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Josh Tolentino. Gainwell has played plenty in that role over the past two seasons, but it's surprising to hear he's still in it after the Eagles acquired RB D'Andre Swift. Losing that work would be a blow to Swift's fantasy value. We'll see if preseason action reveals anything else about the Eagles' backfield plans.
The Cardinals signed RB Marlon Mack. Since tearing his Achilles in September of 2020, Mack has totaled just 185 yards on 44 carries. Arizona has only RBs Keaontay Ingram, Corey Clement, and Ty'Son Williams behind James Conner, but Mack still isn't guaranteed a roster spot. He's not worth a roster spot in fantasy football.
Seahawks WR D'Wayne Eskridge has been suspended six games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. Eskridge's agency revealed in a statement that he was involved in a domestic violence incident in February. Eskridge was not convicted but has enrolled in domestic violence counseling. The 2021 second-round pick has mustered just 17 catches through two NFL seasons. He's completely off the redraft radar and has very little dynasty value left.
The Colts signed RB Kenyan Drake to a one-year deal. In theory, he adds backfield depth with Jonathan Taylor (PUP) and Zack Moss (broken arm) sidelined. The 29-year-old performed decently as a rusher last year in Baltimore (109-482-4). Even if the Colts trade Taylor, Drake is an unlikely fantasy factor.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh said WR Rashod Bateman “has a chance to be out there pretty soon.” It’s not much of an update…but we’ll take it. The former Round 1 pick hasn’t practiced at training camp due to a foot injury. See how low he sits in our WR rankings.
Search
