The Athletic's believes 49ers RB Trey Sermon might play a role similar to the one Tevin Coleman played back in 2019. "The 49ers liked to begin games with Tevin Coleman at tailback, which both tenderized the defense and kept the 49ers’ home-run hitter, Raheem Mostert, fresh." That season, Coleman out-carried Mostert 137 to 112 in their 14 games together. Such a split would be a win for Sermon in his rookie season. The takeaway here, though, is that it'll be a committee attack in San Francisco's backfield this year.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has a muscle strain in his right shoulder, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. Prescott had an MRI after experiencing some soreness in his throwing arm. He’ll get day-to-day treatment and evaluation of the latissimus in the shoulder, per Archer’s report. We’ll keep an eye on the QB’s status. This doesn’t yet seem like a major concern, though. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to knock Prescott down a spot or 2 among QBs in current drafts. “Better to be cautious and smart about it,” Prescott said, per NFL Network’s Jane Slater. “I don’t see this as any kind of serious setback. We’ll treat it on a daily basis, and I’ll be fine.”
Colts TE Kylen Granson got work with the 1st-team offense in Wednesday's training-camp practice. In fact, he caught a team-high 3 passes from QB Carson Wentz. "Granson may be more involved than I initially thought," Sports Illustrated's Jake Arthur writes. "He was very much in the mix throughout practice and is the clearest choice for the Colts' athletic 'Y' tight end." It's rare for a TE to make a fantasy impact as a rookie. But Granson might be an exception. The Colts absolutely love him, HC Frank Reich's offense tends to target the TE at an above-average rate, and TEs Mo Alie-Cox and Jack Doyle aren't exactly stiff competition. Keep an eye on Granson over the next month.
Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny is not on the active PUP list to open training camp. He had a clean-up knee surgery this offseason and missed spring workouts -- but he's evidently ready to hit the field now. A healthy Penny remains the clear favorite for the #2 RB job in Seattle. We'll see if he can dodge the injury bug this season.
A foot injury has landed Seahawks WR D'Wayne Eskridge on the active PUP list to open training camp. The rookie missed time this spring with a toe issue. It's unclear if this new injury is related. Regardless, it's a less-than-ideal start to Eskridge's pro career. He has a shot to win Seattle's #3 WR job this year but needs to get on the field.
Jets TE Chris Herndon opened training camp with the 2nd-team offense, according to multiple reports. It was TE Tyler Kroft working with the starters. This isn't a big surprise if you were paying attention to OTAs and minicamp, when Herndon was reportedly out-played by both Kroft and TE Ryan Griffin. At this point, Herndon is only draftable at the tail end of deep best-ball drafts. We'll see if he can turn things around over the next month.
Dolphins WR DeVante Parker will open training camp on the PUP list. No word yet on the specifics, but it’s a rough start nevertheless for a WR with his injury history. Miami brought in serious target competition this offseason — Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle — making Parker a long-shot for WR3 value.
WR Randall Cobb tweeted that he's been traded to the Packers, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that the deal will be done once Green Bay gains cap space to make room. Cobb spent his first 8 seasons with QB Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, finishing as a top 30 fantasy WR 3 times (2012, 2014 and 2015). He posted a 55-828-3 line and WR42 PPR finish with the Cowboys in 2019. Then in Houston last year, Cobb tallied 38 catches, 441 yards and 3 scores in 10 games. He finished 60th in PPR points per game. But Cobb ranked a respectable 26th in yards per target, 52nd in yards per route run and 50th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade among 99 WRs with 40+ targets. Rodgers clearly had a big say in this move -- and we'd expect him to make sure Cobb is the starting slot receiver this season. That'll leave Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard and rookie Amari Rodgers fighting for the last spot in 3-WR sets. In Houston, meanwhile, Cobb's departure frees up the starting slot job. Consider newly acquired WR Anthony Miller the favorite to win that.
Let's just let ESPN's Adam Schefter explain why the Ravens will practice Wednesday without their starting QB: "Lamar Jackson is not practicing today in a COVID-related case the league still is trying to process, per Jamison Hensley and me. Jackson, who tested positive on Thanksgiving, had another test that NFL officials flagged. NFL now going through science, and Ravens awaiting answers." We'll see where this situation goes. It's impossible to tell at the moment whether this is something that will only cost Jackson a day or 2 -- or an issue we should be concerned about. Jackson, of course, had the positive test last November that cost him a game. But we hadn't heard of any related issues since. For now, we're not adjusting Jackson's fantasy outlook.
Sterling Shepard is expected to be the Giants' primary slot receiver this season, according to The New York Post's Ryan Dunleavy. “I love the slot,” Shepard said from training camp on Tuesday. “It’s where I’m super comfortable. I just like the space that you have. I’m able to go all the way across the field, come back out, do the short-intermediate routes, which I enjoy running.” Shepard played 82% of his snaps in the slot as a rookie back in 2016. That rate has steadily declined over the past 4 seasons, bottoming out at 34% last year. Shepard's most efficient seasons in terms of yards per target came in 2017 and 2018, when he played 74% and then 55% of his snaps in the slot. Consider more slot snaps good news for Shepard's 2021 outlook. But we'll have to see if he stays on the field and kicks outside when the Giants go to 2-WR sets. This news also means New York's 3-WR sets figure to feature Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton on the outside. Rookie Kadarius Toney is expected to play mostly in the slot, so it looks like he's is line to open the season no better than 4th on the depth chart.
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert believes rookie RB Najee Harris is ready for a 3-down role right out of the gate. "Him coming in as a senior out of college, he has more experience than some of the other underclassmen, so I think that will help him transition," Colbert said. "He's coming out a traditional NFL-type offense that should help him transition." Harris has the experience and talent to capture a huge role this season. And there isn't a legitimate threat for work behind him on the depth chart. We only have 4 RBs projected for more opportunities (carries + targets) than Harris.
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan declared QB Jimmy Garoppolo his starter on Tuesday. "There's no open competition right now," Shanahan said. "Jimmy is coming in as the one and Trey [Lance] is coming in as the two." Chalk this one up as typical early-camp coach speak. Garoppolo might be the favorite for the Week 1 starting job, but we imagine Lance could change that with a strong summer. And we're definitely betting on seeing the rookie under center at some point this season.
Washington placed WR Curtis Samuel on the active/PUP list for the start of training camp. Samuel sustained a groin strain during OTAs, so we'd bet on this being a cautious approach to managing that issue. We'll keep an eye on how long the former Panther remains out of action.
The Giants have placed LB Blake Martinez on the COVID list, ostensibly for a positive test upon his reporting to training camp. We'll see how soon Martinez returns to action, but we don't expect this to affect his 2021 IDP outlook.
Seahawks S Jamal Adams has reported for the beginning of training camp. Whether he would do so was in question as the star safety and the team remain locked in negotiations on a long-term contract. But IDP fantasy players need not worry about Adams' status.
Sal Maiorana of the (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle says his “hunch is that [Zack] Moss is going to become the No. 1 back, but his snap count will remain pretty close with [Devin] Singletary.” That seems to be the general feeling and lines up with where their ADPs have run. Singletary might be the better best-ball value in the later rounds, but we tend to prefer Moss’ ceiling. Don’t target either too early in your drafts
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Packers are working on a deal for Texans WR Randall Cobb. That follows multiple reports of Aaron Rodgers asking Green Bay to bring back the veteran receiver. We’ll wait for an official move before adjusting our projections. But taking some late shots on Cobb is current PPR best-ball drafting wouldn’t be a terrible idea. His arrival would hurt the outlooks for Amari Rodgers and Allen Lazard most.
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton (knee) will be "managed" early on in training camp, HC Vic Fangio said Tuesday. Now a little over 10 months removed from his torn ACL, Sutton seems to be trending toward being ready for the season opener. “I feel very close to 100%," he said. "The last percent I need is football.” We'll continue to track his progress.
The Packers are releasing QB Blake Bortles now that Aaron Rodgers has returned, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. Expect Green Bay to hit the regular season with just Jordan Love behind Rodgers on the active roster. We’ll see if Bortles lands on another roster
The Broncos are giving 1st reps to QB Drew Lock as training camp begins. But it doesn’t sound like we should read too much into that. "We have these first four days. Everything was 50-50 in OTA. We will take look after the first off day. Then maybe do a day where one gets 70 and the other 30 reps,” Fangio said, according to Troy Renck. “It's going to be 50-50." Expect an even split early. We’ll look for signs that either Lock or Teddy Bridgewater is taking the lead in their competition.
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