ESPN’s Rich Cimini believes rookie WR Garrett Wilson will hold a “significant role” in 2022. “Even if he's not a starter, per se, he will be heavily involved in a four-man rotation at receiver,” Cimini shared. Wilson’s struggled with drops at parts of training camp, but he’s also flashed the dynamic ability that made him the 10th overall pick. He’s a fringe WR4 in fantasy drafts.
Per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, Falcons WR Drake London hasn’t practiced since suffering a knee injury in the preseason opener. That was 2 weeks ago. Rothstein writes that “the goal still is for him to be ready” by the regular season opener, but we’ll check the rookie’s status up through game day. He reportedly showed well in practice — especially in contested catch situations — before the injury.
HC Lovie Smith spoke highly of rookie S Jalen Pitre after Thursday night's preseason-closing win over the 49ers: “What we notice, is when you’re making a whole lot of big flash plays. Jalen has been consistent throughout. He’s a smart player. He’s been like a sponge as far as learning. But he’s going to be around the ball. That’s what we’ve seen since OTAs. I’m excited about going forward with him and him lining up for us when Indy comes into town.” Pitre brings the versatility to fill varied roles in the Houston defense, which could include plenty of snaps in the box. He's an upside pick late in deep-ish IDP drafts.
Niners QB Trey Lance and HC Kyle Shanahan each acknowledged that the preseason finale proved disappointing. "Some ugly stuff out there, for sure," Lance said, per 49ers Webzone. Shanahan said he had hoped for a "cleaner" outing and that he extended Lance's playing time by 1 series because of how quickly the first 2 possessions passed. Each also downplayed the importance, of course, of a single, 3-drive appearance. We're certainly not altering our outlook for Lance, who's upside is primarily driven by his rushing ability. Consider the game a reminder, though, that San Francisco's new starter might mix in a few rough outings this year.
The hope for anyone drafting Cowboys RB Tony Pollard in a fantasy football league is that he opens the year with a significant increase in receiving work. It sounds like OC Kellen Moore wants that, too. “There is a ton of it on film. A lot of it is coming back to him,” Moore told ESPN's Todd Archer, referring to the receiving skills Pollard displayed in college. “I think he does have more than just that. He’s not going to run [just] the running back route tree, the quick game and just kind of the completion plays. He can stretch people vertically, and I think that will be a huge advantage for him to put people in conflict of how they want to handle him.” There is room for Pollard to factor into a passing game that lost Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson, and will at least see Michael Gallup (ACL) limited to open the year. Obviously, the ultimate ceiling for Pollard would include an Ezekiel Elliott injury. But he sits higher in our RB rankings than previous years because of the expected growth in his receiving role.
The Bears' WR depth chart is "clear," according to The Athletic's Adam Jahns. "It’s [Darnell] Mooney followed by Byron Pringle ... Equanimeous St. Brown and Velus Jones Jr.," Jahns writes. Mooney remains the only WR in Chicago likely to have 2022 fantasy value. Pringle and Jones are only worth shots late in fantasy drafts of 18+ rounds.
Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie sustained a concussion in Thursday night's preseason finale vs. Green Bay. The rookie still has 2 weeks to make it through the league protocol before the regular-season opener. He's expected to start if ready.
The 49ers plan to place S Jimmie Ward on short-term IR, and he's expected to miss at least 4 games. GM John Lynch announced the plan Thursday night, for a hamstring injury that HC Kyle Shanahan had previously deemed "significant."
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman played in Thursday night's preseason finale. He suffered a groin injury in practice a little over a week ago but is obviously over it now. Hardman looks like the favorite to open the season as Kansas City's #3 WR. We'll see how long he can hold off rookie Skyy Moore.
The Steelers are happy with the progress QB Kenny Pickett has made over the past month. The rookie struggled early in camp but has been excellent in 2 preseason games, completing 86.4% of his passes with 3 TDs and 0 INT. “The thing that stood out with Kenny from the games is that it hasn’t been too big for him,” QBs coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has gone in and performed very well and not been overwhelmed by the circumstances and the situations and the pressure. Secondly, he has shown a knack, particularly in this second game, to have poise and anticipation. He made some throws with defenders right up in his face." Pickett might not be named Pittsburgh's Week 1 starter, but we're expecting him to take over before long. He's worth a look as a QB3 in Superflex leagues and 1-QB best-ball leagues.
Per HC Pete Carroll, Seahawks WR Dee Eskridge will play in Week 3 of the preseason following a “very good” week of practice. He had been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in Seattle’s first training camp practice. Eskridge could eventually run as Seattle’s WR3, but he’s off the redraft radar right now — even in deep formats.
Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny is sidelined with COVID, HC Pete Carroll said Thursday. Penny isn't experiencing any symptoms and should be back "in a day or so," Carroll said. We'll see when Penny is cleared, but this shouldn't impact his 2022 fantasy outlook.
Eagles insider Adam Caplan said this week that according to "multiple sources" and "my own eyes," LB Kyzir White was the best player on the field in joint practices with the Browns. White signed a 1-year deal in free agency with Philly, looks poised to start and appears to be the strongest candidate to lead the group in snaps. Rookie Nakobe Dean, meanwhile, remains behind at least T.J. Edwards. There's certainly room for Dean to climb the depth chart this season, but we'd pass on him in redraft outside of deep IDP leagues.
Colts DE Kwity Paye hurt his left knee in Wednesday's practice. Despite initial fears, however, the 2nd-year player suffered only a bone bruise "and should be fine," according to ESPN's Stephen Holder. We'll see whether the issue threatens Paye's Week 1 status.
This isn't a bad thing to hear from HC Nick Sirianni, about Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, according to NBC Sports Philly's Reuben Frank: "Jalen's practice yesterday was the best practice he's had as an Eagle, or at least since I've been here. What he was going with the football and being able to go through reads and progressions that fast and getting the ball where it needed to go was unbelievable." It's possible the Philadelphia passing offense throws significantly more often than we're projecting. We're already excited about the fantasy upside for Hurts and TE Dallas Goedert. The volume boost, though, would be key for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to pay off at their ADPs.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb was back at practice on Wednesday. He missed about a week with a cut to his foot that required stitches. "Came out good," HC Mike McCarthy said after Wednesday's workout. Consider this a non-issue going forward.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN in Seattle on Wednesday that QB Geno Smith will start the preseason finale and that Drew Lock will play "a lot." Lock was reportedly on track to start the previous exhibition before coming down with COVID. Carroll added that Smith starting this contest doesn't necessarily mean he'll start the regular-season opener. But you'd think the coach would want to see Lock open at least 1 preseason contest with the 1st team before handing him the Week 1 reigns. We'll bet on Smith starting the opener. We also wouldn't bet on either guy starting every game this season. We'll see how these final 2 weeks play out.
Cowboys LT Tyron Smith tore his left hamstring in Wednesday's practice, ESPN reports. That is expected to cost Smith "multiple months," which sounds like it could even wind up a season-ender. Losing Smith will obviously hurt Dallas in both run-blocking and pass protection. The team did play without him for 6 games last year, however, and 14 games the year before. Smith actually enters this year having missed 3+ contests in 6 consecutive seasons. It's not a killer to the fantasy football draft values for Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and others. But's definitely an added hurdle.
Update: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Smith suffered an avulsion fracture of his left knee, which means "the hamstring tendon that sits at the back of the knee pulled off the bone." Smith will have surgery and won't play until at least December -- if at all this season.
There's been some positive buzz on 49ers RB Trey Sermon this month, but insider Matt Maiocco believes he's on the roster bubble. "If Sermon were not a third-round pick a year ago, there probably would not be much of a conversation about his status," Maiocco writes. He has RBs Elijah Mitchell, Ty Davis-Price and Jeff Wilson as locks to make the team, with Sermon, JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason fighting for the final spot. There's no clear-cut handcuff to Mitchell, but Davis-Price and Wilson are better last-round fliers than Sermon.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday that WR Michael Gallup will avoid the regular season PUP list. Such a move would have cost him the first 4 games. Gallup only started running routes last week and admitted that it’s unrealistic for him to play in the opener vs. Tampa Bay. But it certainly sounds like he’ll return soon thereafter.
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