Cardinals RB Marlon Mack has torn his left Achilles' tendon and will miss the season. It's his second time dealing with such an injury. Mack tore the right Achilles' in Week 1 of 2020. The latest injury seems likely to end the 27-year-old's NFL career. He has logged just 44 total carries since the 2020 tear. Don't be surprised if the Cardinals look to bring in another veteran RB.
The Ravens have activated WR Rashod Bateman from the physically unable to perform list, according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley. Bateman missed the first 12 practices of training camp while working back from the foot injury that ended his 2022 early. Bateman had an offseason setback that required a cortisone injection. We'll see how he progresses through the rest of August. Bateman has moved down our WR rankings since the start of camp, though.
The Falcons have “slowly added” to TE Kyle Pitts’ workload in training camp, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. Pitts underwent surgery for an MCL tear back in November. The 22-year-old has avoided setbacks this summer, but we’ll be curious to monitor his preseason snaps. If healthy, a top-3 ceiling remains on the table for this third-year pro. See where he sits inside the fantasy TE rankings.
Jets WR Garrett Wilson (ankle) will be limited in Wednesday's practice, sitting out team drills, per The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt. Wilson sprained an ankle 13 days ago but is clearly on track to be back to 100% well before the start of the season. Consider his fantasy value unchanged.
Chargers RBs Isaiah Spiller and Joshua Kelley "have been splitting reps pretty evenly behind Austin Ekeler in camp," according to The Athletic's Daniel Popper. Kelley played ahead of Spiller all last season, but it sounds like the title of Ekeler handcuff is still up for grabs heading into 2023. We'll track this battle over the next few weeks.
Browns RB Jerome Ford's Week 1 status is in doubt after he injured his hamstring on Monday, according to insider Mary Kay Cabot. Ford seemingly had the No. 2 RB job -- and potentially a third-down role -- locked up. We'll see if this injury spurs the Browns to add to the backfield. Outside of Ford and Nick Chubb, the only other RBs on the roster are Demetric Felton, John Kelly, and Hassan Hall.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp (hamstring) was doing some light work off to the side of Tuesday's practice. Here's video, courtesy of The Los Angeles Times' Gary Klein. It's further confirmation that, barring a setback, Kupp will be ready to roll come Week 1.
The Panthers' initial -- and "unofficial" -- depth chart lists rookie WR Jonathan Mingo as a starter, alongside WRs Adam Thielen and D.J. Chark. This might mean nothing, of course, given that teams differ in how seriously they treat released depth charts. But rookies more often appear lower vs. reality on these initial charts -- not higher than their actual standing. So we'll take this is a good sign for the second-round pick. That doesn't make Mingo an exciting fantasy football draft pick in a situation with limited ceiling potential. But he's fine as a best ball selection. No Panthers WR sits inside the top 50 in either our fantasy football rankings or ADP.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh said Tuesday he expects RB J.K. Dobbins to return to the team soon, according to Sarah Ellison of Ravens Vault (and former editor for the team website. Harbaugh said: "Generally speaking, to be a great player you need to put in the time and effort and get with the team and just get right. And he wants to do that in his case, and that's why I expect him back here pretty soon." We've seen Dobbins' ADP slip in recent drafts. That makes him even more attractive if you have a draft before he returns. We haven't moved Dobbins down our RB rankings at all.
RB Kareem Hunt did not sign with the Saints on Tuesday, despite reports that he was expected to. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Hunt had a "great" visit in New Orleans but will now head to Indianapolis for a Wednesday meeting. The Colts recently added RB Kenyan Drake but remain without RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle/contract) and RB Zack Moss (wrist injury). We'll keep watching Hunt's travels. And Saints rookie RB Kendre Miller will certainly be interested in whether Hunt comes back to town.
Update: ESPN's Dianna Russini reports that Indy called Hunt and offered him more money before he even started working out with the Saints.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen says he is splitting his time between lining up inside and outside in training camp. That's different from his role under OC Joe Lombardi the past two years. "I was stuck in the slot all the time," Allen said Tuesday, according to Alex Insdorf of Chargers Wire. Indeed, Allen spent 62.6% and 64.3% of pass snaps in the slot the past two years. That followed four years of rates from ranging 49.2% to 54.3%. It sounds like we should expect a return to that range. That should help his average target depth at least a little. Allen also saw his yards per route dip to 1.81 over the past two years vs. 2.09 for the previous four. Just another reason you should chase pieces of the Chargers offense in your drafts. See where Allen and crew sit in our fantasy football rankings.
The Bears' first "unofficial" depth chart lists rookie RB Roschon Johnson third. He unsurprisingly trails incumbent Khalil Herbert and veteran free-agent pickup D'Onta Foreman. Reports have had both working ahead of Johnson in training camp. An earlier version of the depth chart also had Johnson behind Trestan Ebner and Travis Homer, but Chicago corrected that. These early depth charts can often prove to hold no value, and Johnson will need to work past at least one veteran to find 2023 fantasy relevance. But he's in a decent spot considering the limited career production of Herbert and Foreman. None of the Bears' backs cracks the top 36 in our RB rankings.
It's been a "tough first two weeks of camp" for Patriots TE Mike Gesicki, The Athletic's Chad Graff writes. "He has not been frequently targeted in drills and has made little impact when targeted," Graff adds. He concludes point blankly that, "Hunter Henry is TE1 over Mike Gesicki." That's especially noteworthy considering Gesicki still sits ahead of Henry in most ADP data. That's not the case in our 2023 TE Rankings.
Colts HC Shane Steichen said Tuesday that RB Jonathan Taylor is still working his way back from right ankle surgery early in the offseason. Steichen wouldn't say if Taylor, after a trade request, is rehabbing at the team facilities. And he also wouldn't say whether Taylor will practice in training camp. “Yeah, I’d like to see that," Steichen said. "We’ll see how it all plays out though.” It'd be a concern if Taylor truly wasn't 100% recovered from surgery that happened over six months ago. But it's possible that he's just milking the injury amidst this squabble with the team. We'll continue to keep a close eye on the situation.
Dolphins RB Devon Achane was back on the practice field on Tuesday. He ended up missing just a couple of days with an undisclosed injury. The rookie's speed has been on full display throughout camp and figures to earn him a Week 1 role alongside Jeff Wilson and Raheem Mostert.
The Saints are expected to sign RB Kareem Hunt, pending a physical, ESPN's Dianna Russini reports. That will further crowd a New Orleans backfield that also includes Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, and rookie Kendre Miller. Kamara, of course, is suspended for the first three games, giving the other guys a shot at useable fantasy value at the start of the season. But we'll see what happens when Kamara returns. It seems unlikely that all four RBs would even be active on game days. Hunt is coming off a disappointing 2022 season that saw him finish with career lows in yards per carry (3.8), yards per catch (6.0), and Pro Football Focus rushing grade.
Bucs rookie Sean Tucker is “a bit behind” the team’s other RBs in terms of learning the offense, per beat writer Scott Reynolds. Tucker missed the entire offseason program because of a heart issue, and for now, he appears no higher than fourth on the depth chart. Reynolds calls Ke’Shawn Vaughn the current No. 2 back behind Rachaad White, with Chase Edmonds “coming on strong" at camp.
On Monday, the Athletic's Mike DeFabo reported that Steelers WR George Pickens is making solid impressions at camp. DeFabo writes that while Pickens entered camp with a lot of buzz, he's "exceeding those expectations" between "highlight-reel grabs" and his spirited competitiveness in practice. Another interesting note in this report is that veteran WR Allen Robinson has "has only strengthened his case" to seize the starting slot role in the Steelers' offense through his performance in the "Seven Shots" red zone drill the Steelers frequently run from the two-yard line. Pickens will need to improve upon ranking 38th in drop rate (7.1%), 49th in yards after catch (110), and 40th in PFF receiving grade among 80 WRs who recorded 50+ targets last season. To his credit, Pickens ranked first in contest catch rate (67.9%) of that group in 2022. Still, greater evolution in his route tree is something both DeFabo and the Draft Sharks staff note as something to watch out for before we get too excited about him. Pickens presently sits as a high-end WR4 in our current WR rankings.
Plenty of opportunities are available in the Vikings' backfield following the offseason release of long-time starter RB Dalvin Cook. Alexander Mattison figures to be the new lead back in Minnesota, but the competition remains open for the RB2 spot behind him. According to The Athletic's Alec Lewis, neither Kene Nwangwu nor Ty Chandler seem to be winning the battle. Lewis highlights "questions about their abilities in pass protection" as big red flags and adds that "it would not surprise [him] to see the Vikings take a shot on a veteran who has experience with a considerable early-down workload," given the large number of available backs on the open free agent market. This report provides far more questions than it answers. It helps to reaffirm that Mattison is secure in his role, but that's about it. Any sort of deeper read into this situation would be mere speculation, though we'll be sure to keep our ears to the ground should any information linking a veteran back to the Vikings arise.
Bills TE Dalton Kincaid has drawn significant intrigue as a fantasy sleeper darling this offseason. The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia fueled the hype on Monday with a glowing report from camp. Buscaglia wrote that, "Almost every day, Kincaid is making himself available through excellent route running and movement skills for his size," adding that QB Josh Allen "has shown complete trust in Kincaid when on the field together." Rookie TEs immediately walking into high-end fantasy relevance is uncommon. However, the Bills' need for a reliable secondary option to WR Stefon Diggs in the passing game was made evident last season, and GM Brandon Beane said following the NFL Draft that they view the 25th overall pick as more of a WR than a TE. We'll see if this drumbeat stays steady for Kincaid, but it's tough to extract much value at a TE13 price tag in current ADP. He's not that far behind that position in our current TE rankings.
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