Giants TE Daniel Bellinger exited Sunday's preseason game to get checked for a concussion. We'll see if he's diagnosed with the head injury. Bellinger is currently atop New York's depth chart, but we wouldn't be surprise to see the team make an addition at the position this coming week.
49ers RB Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) returned to practice on Sunday. He'd been out for over 2 weeks and missed all 3 of San Francisco's preseason games. Barring a setback, though, he should be ready to operate as the 49ers' lead back come Week 1.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel is sidelined for Sunday's practice with a "contusion behind his knee," according to insider Matt Maiocco. "He probably won’t practice this week, but should be good to go for preparations to face the Bears in Week 1," Maiocco adds. We'll keep an eye on Samuel but aren't adjusting his spot in the WR Rankings.
ESPN's Michael DiRocco calls TE Evan Engram "one of the focal points" of the Jaguars' offense. We heard the same from insider Hays Carlyon on the Draft Sharks podcast in early August. Engram remains 1 of the best TE values in fantasy drafts.
ESPN's Michael DiRocco writes that RB James Robinson (Achilles) is expected to be "fully cleared" for Week 1. "But don't expect him to have a normal workload right away," DiRocco adds. Robinson has made an impressive recovery from his torn Achilles, but it remains to be seen how effective he'll be. We're still generally fading him in fantasy drafts. DiRocco also says that, "even after Robinson returns [Travis] Etienne will be heavily featured in the offense."
ESPN's John Keim writes that the "expectation" is that TE Logan Thomas (knee) will return by Week 2 "at the latest." Thomas was activated from the PUP list a week ago after tearing the ACL, MCL and meniscus in his left knee last December. He won't be a reliable fantasy play out of the gate, but Thomas could be a starting option by October.
ESPN's John Keim believes RB Brian Robinson has emerged as the team's "main runner." That's sure what it looked like in Washington's 2nd preseason game, when Robinson drew the start and out-snapped RB Antonio Gibson with the starters. Keim adds that Gibson and RB J.D. McKissic "will have key roles." This looks like a 3-man committee on what figures to be an average offense, so don't get too aggressive with Robinson. But he should be the 1st Commanders RB off the board in fantasy drafts.
Giants QB Tyrod Taylor left Sunday's preseason finale with an injury. He was initially able to jog off the field for examination in the medical tent. But Taylor went from there to the locker room on a cart. We'll watch for updates.
Lions WR Jameson Williams (knee) posted video of himself running and changing direction at about three-quarters speed on Sunday. The rookie has already been placed on the Reserve Non-Football Injury list, which knocks him out for at least the first 4 games of the season. He doesn't seem particularly close to being full-go, so we're not expecting to see him even when first eligible in Week 5. But at least he's making tangible progress. Williams is just a bench stash in dynasty leagues and deep redraft leagues.
Rams HC Sean McVay said Sunday that RB Darrell Henderson put in a full-speed workout but that RB Cam Akers "wasn't able to do that quite yet," according to ESPN's Sarah Barshop. We're now less than 2 weeks from the regular-season opener for the Rams, so it's time to get at least a little concerned about Akers. Henderson would be a potentially nice Week 1 option if Akers isn't ready.
Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki rotated with 2 teammates during 1st-team work in the preseason finale vs. Philadelphia. Durham Smythe led the position in snaps across the 1st 3 drives, while Gesicki led TEs in pass routes, according to Pro Football Focus. Cethan Carter also worked in for 2-TE sets, playing 7 such snaps to Gesicki's 5. For the preseason, PFF counted 24 "inline" snaps for Gesicki vs. 14 in the slot, 4 split wide and 1 at FB. That's 55.8% of his snaps inline, compared with the 85% he spent in the slot or out wide last season. The 1 thing that does seem clear with Gesicki is that we should expect his 2022 role to look a lot different than it has to this point -- which doesn't bode well for his receiving production. Gesicki has been a faller in our TE rankings.
Rams RB Kyren Williams (foot) was cleared to play in Saturday's preseason finale, but HC Sean McVay opted to hold him out. Asked about that decision afterward, McVay said it's because Williams is an "integral part of the plan this season," according to The Los Angeles Times' Gary Klein. The 5th-round rookie's most likely contributions figure to come in the passing game. He'd still likely need Cam Akers or Darrell Henderson to miss time to be a fantasy factor -- but both of those guys have had trouble staying healthy and are currently sidelined with injuries. Williams is only worth considering in deep fantasy drafts, but keep him on your waiver-wire watchlist.
Bears RB David Montgomery worked well ahead of RB Khalil Herbert in Saturday's preseason finale. Montgomery was on the field for 20 of QB Justin Fields' 22 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Herbert played the other 2. Despite buzz that this could be more of a committee backfield under a new coaching staff, it looks like Montgomery will open the season as Chicago's clear lead back. Consider him a low-upside RB2. Herbert is a bench stash.
Bucs QB Tom Brady said WR Julio Jones is "really easy to have chemistry with" after Saturday night's preseason game. "Elite wide receiver," Brady said of Jones. The duo connected for a 20-yard gain on their only series of the final exhibition. With WR Russell Gage still sidelined with his hamstring injury -- and WR Chris Godwin coming off his torn ACL -- Jones could open the season with a big role.
Dolphins WR Trent Sherfield started ahead of WR Cedrick Wilson in Saturday night's preseason finale against the Eagles. Sherfield opened the game opposite Tyreek Hill, with Jaylen Waddle inactive. Wilson didn't enter the game until after Hill left. That points to Sherfield -- who played under HC Mike McDaniel in San Francisco -- leading the race to be #3 WR, despite Wilson getting significant money in free agency. The role gains some importance as Waddle deals with an unspecified injury. We'll see about Waddle's status as Week 1 approaches. Neither Sherfield nor Wilson should factor into most fantasy football drafts. But Sherfield could be a sneaky late addition to best-ball tournament lineups.
Saints Wire projects undrafted rookie RB Abram Smith to land on New Orleans' practice squad, leaving Dwayne Washington and Tony Jones Jr. behind Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II on the regular-season roster. Ingram looked pretty good after returning to New Orleans from Houston last season, but he's also 32 (33 in December). The 12th-year vet does look like the #2 RB for the Saints, as expected, ahead of a pair of reserves who have done little through multiple NFL seasons and a UDFA who clearly has more to prove.
The Eagles rested RB Boston Scott -- along with many starters -- in Saturday's preseason finale. RB Kenneth Gainwell played, however -- though he did leave after the team's 1st offensive possession. Brandon Lee Gowton of the Bleeding Green Nation Eagles blog writes that "points to him being RB3, which is a little weird because Gainwell seemed like RB2 for most of camp." Gainwell opened his rookie season as RB2 behind Miles Sanders before falling behind Scott and Jordan Howard in usage after Sanders went down. We'll see exactly how things sort out here. For now, both Gainwell and Scott make sense in the double-digit rounds of fantasy football drafts. Sanders is also going late enough to mitigate some of the risk on his role uncertainty and high injury probability. This could be a frustrating situation for fantasy players to deal with week to week, though.
The Falcons rested WR Olamide Zaccheaus along with other starters in Saturday night's preseason finale. According to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, Zaccheaus "consistently" served as the 1st-team slot WR through the previous 2 exhibitions. Bryan Edwards, meanwhile, has split time with KhaDarel Hodge outside. Zaccheaus could very well be the #2 WR and 4th receiving option in Atlanta. That's not a high-upside spot but worth noting for the end of deep fantasy football drafts.
The Falcons rested RBs Cordarrelle Patterson and Damien Williams for Saturday night's preseason finale against the Titans. Rookie Tyler Allgeier opened in the backfield, with Qadree Allison and Caleb Huntley working in early. That usage makes it appear that Williams will enter the season ahead of Allgeier in line for carries. We'll see whether the rookie can work his way up. If he is 3rd at the moment, that would at least mark progress from how the preseason started. This looks like a backfield to avoid beyond Patterson for now.
Patriots QB Mac Jones and the 1st-team offense had another rough outing in Friday night's preseason finale. Jones completed 9 of 13 passes for 71 yards (5.5 YPA), 0 TDs and 1 INT across 4 series. The possessions went: 3-and-out, INT, 3-and-out, FG. The offense reportedly struggled throughout training camp, too, looking uncomfortable in the Josh McDaniels-less system. Pass protection has also been a problem. It'll be tough to trust any piece of this Patriots passing game in early-season fantasy lineups.
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