Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official website writes that TE Hunter Henry has been QB Mac Jones' "favorite target" in camp so far. "The duo has shown great chemistry heading into year three," Lazar adds. MassLive's Mark Daniels agrees, calling Henry the Patriots' best player through one week of camp. Meanwhile, TE Mike Gesicki is off to a slow start, failing to catch a pass in competitive 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills. It's too early to make any sweeping conclusions about this TE corps -- or offense in general. But Henry is certainly out to an early lead on Gesicki.
Cowboys S Donovan Wilson is expected to miss four to six weeks after straining his right calf in practice this week, according to ESPN's Todd Archer. That timeline could reach into the regular season. Dallas' defense should be OK, with former starter Malik Hooker as the third safety. Wilson's absence could mean more time in the box for S Jayron Kearse, though. He already looked like a value for fantasy football drafts by our IDP rankings.
According to Jaguar Report's John Shipley, Jacksonville HC Doug Pederson answered a question about camp standouts with this: "I would say Calvin Ridley, on offense. Just the way he practices, it is a different speed, different level." It's interesting to note that Ridley's 40 time back at his Scouting Combine was just 0.02 faster than Zay Jones' and 0.04 ahead of Christian Kirk's. But play speed is different from running in a straight line. Ridley sits below his ADP in our WR rankings. But he certainly leads Jaguars WRs in upside.
The Athletic's Dan Duggan reported that Giants WR Jalin Hyatt saw the "most first-team work since being drafted" by the team on Friday. The Giants selected the 2022 Biletnikoff Award winner out of Tennessee with the 73rd pick of the 2023 NFL Draft in hopes of bolstering a less-than-stellar WR room. This news comes on the heels of Hyatt leaving practice early on Wednesday due to what the team called "heat-related reasons." Considering only one wideout (Darius Slayton) exceeded 600 yards receiving last season, the Giants will need all the help they can get. HC Brian Daboll spoke about Hyatt, saying that it's "up to him to go out there and show what he can do," and that each player will have to "will earn their role" in the offense. Sure, it's just coach speak, but seeing Hyatt out there earning reps with the first-team offense this early on is a great sign. We'll keep an eye on his progress as training camp unfolds.
The theme of the Bills' first week of training camp has been TE Dalton Kincaid "being fast-tracked into what indisputably feels like a prominent, instant-impact role for a rookie within Buffalo's dynamic offense," CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso writes. Kincaid has reportedly been a fixture with QB Josh Allen and the first-team offense. It's not a big surprise considering Buffalo spent the 25th overall pick of this spring's draft on Kincaid, a 23-year-old who should be more NFL-ready than most rookies. Kincaid undoubtedly landed in an exciting spot with this Bills offense and has TE1 upside this season. The issue is that his ADP is sitting between TE12 and TE14, depending on the source. It'll be tough to squeeze much value out of Kincaid at that price.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo hears that Bengals QB Joe Burrow (calf) will likely be available for Week 1, although it doesn't sound like it's a lock. "No one's putting a timeframe on [Burrow's return]," Garafolo said. "But my belief is that Week 1 should be a realistic possibility for Joe Burrow. That's the sound that I'm getting. No one's really saying, 'boy he's really in danger of missing a couple of regular-season weeks.' Now, that being said, it's a calf injury. It's tricky. You can re-injure it. It can lead to other things. So the Bengals surely will be cautious with this." It doesn't sound like we'll see Burrow in the preseason, which is nothing new for him. He's played three preseason snaps in his career. Burrow's health will be the biggest storyline of the rest of the summer. Stay tuned for updates. For now, we've nudged Burrow one spot down the QB Rankings.
The Athletic's Dan Duggan writes that Giants QB Daniel Jones “looks so much more comfortable” in the offense compared to last summer. It’s understandable, as he enters Year 2 alongside HC Brian Daboll and OC Mike Kafka. New TE Darren Waller is drawing rave reviews for his work in training camp, too. As the QB14 in ADP, Jones looks like a fine draft day target.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor said Friday that QB Joe Burrow will be sidelined for "several weeks." Burrow's calf injury isn't likely to cost him regular season games, but we'll pass along updates as they become available.
"A trimmed down Russell Wilson hinted that we are going to see him move around more this season and use his legs more frequently," NFL Network's James Palmer says. He adds that HC Sean Payton is encouraging it and believes "it's still a strength" for the 34-year-old QB. Wilson posted his fewest (13.1) and third-fewest (18.5) rushing yards per game the past two seasons. Although Palmer's report doesn't specifically speak to Wilson rushing for yardage, pursuing mobility more often should help that area. And any rushing boost would help Wilson's fantasy floor and ceiling. He's going at a low-risk, all-reward level in fantasy football drafts so far. See where Wilson sits in our 2023 QB rankings.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson left practice with an unspecified lower-body injury on Friday. Dale Lolley of the team website reports that Johnson "went out and tried to go again in team [drills], but shut it down after coming off the field gingerly." That Johnson returned to the field at all after the initial issue in a July practice suggests this isn't serious. But we'll watch for updates.
Update: Johnson's absence was heat-related. Carry on.
The Athletic's Matt Schneidman calls Packers rookie WR Jayden Reed the “likely” punt returner. That’s in addition to his role in the slot, one he’s looking forward to. "I actually like it, working with space, being able to attack guys, step on their toes and make a move,” Reed said. “It's really helping me out a lot to be able to work in space. I haven't been able to do that in a long time and I'm enjoying it right now.” Reed is one of several fantasy-relevant players on track for a boost in leagues with return yards.
ESPN's Courtney Cronin reports that RBs Khalil Herbert and D'Onta Foreman "have been involved in the passing game quite a bit" in early training-camp practices. That has included "check downs, screens, short passes," she added. Herbert has been the assumed first guy up in Chicago's backfield, so it's not a surprising report for him. It's especially noteworthy for Foreman, however. He has just 23 total receptions since entering the NFL in 2017. Rookie Roschon Johnson not making that note adds intrigue. It was reported soon after Chicago drafted him that Johnson impressed with his passing-game aptitude, including both receiving and blocking. It's early, of course. And this doesn't look like a good offense for RB target counts overall. But we'll certainly keep watching the Bears' backfield competition -- and potentially shuffling our RB rankings.
The Colts have been giving first-team reps to TE Drew Ogletree in early practices -- along with second-year TE Jelani Woods. The latter we expected to climb in offensive prominence this season. Ogletree also arrived in last year's draft (Round 6) after a quiet college career that saw him total 82 catches across three years at Division II Findlay and then one at FCS Youngstown State. Ogletree generated some mild buzz in last year's training camp but suffered an August knee injury that landed him on IR. Expect Woods to remain the clear leader among Colts in our TE rankings, but the playing-time distribution will be worth watching throughout the summer.
Nate Atkins of the Indianapolis Star reports that Colts LB Shaquille Leonard "is moving well and popping people" in practice so far. That's especially good news for the 28-year-old who lost basically all of last summer to a back injury that required surgery. Before that, Leonard was hampered by a nagging ankle issue that limited his practice time even as he was playing through it. At full health, Leonard has been a dominant scorer for IDP leagues. He opened the year inside the top 10 LBs in our IDP rankings. A healthy camp and preseason just might push the Colt even higher.
Browns WR Amari Cooper returned to the practice field for Friday's training-camp session. He ended up missing four days with what never sounded like a significant injury. We'll keep an eye on Cooper the rest of the summer, but consider his fantasy value unchanged.
Commanders RB Brian Robinson said his health is "night and day" now compared to last season. No surprise considering he was shot twice in the lower half last August. Robinson got off to a slow start when he returned from that incident, but he averaged a solid 4.4 yards per carry over his final six games. His lack of pass-catching upside caps his fantasy upside, but Robinson could certainly be a useful fantasy starter in half- and non-PPR fantasy leagues.
Colts owner Jim Irsay told ESPN's Stephen Holder on Thursday that the team hasn't offered RB Jonathan Taylor a contract extension. That helps explain Taylor's frustration with the team -- and why he hasn't participated in training camp yet. “We love Jonathan, we need Jonathan," Irsay said. "Our hope is Jonathan has an outstanding year and that we have a good year as a team and then we get his next contract done. That's the hope. We think the world of him as a person, as a player. It's just timing. When your time comes to get paid, then you get paid.” We'll continue to keep a close eye on the situation. For now, we're not projecting Taylor to sit out regular-season games.
Ravens WR Odell Beckham said he has "no real limitations" as training camp gets underway. "I don't know percentages; I just feel good," Beckham said. "I feel like I'm going to continue to work to get back to who I know I truly am." Beckham has played just 21 games over the last three seasons -- and none since tearing his ACL in the Super Bowl in February 2022. But he's had a healthy offseason and has bounce-back potential in what should be a pass-heavier Ravens offense under new OC Todd Monken.
Vikings OC Wes Phillips highlighted RB Alexander Mattison's versatility on Thursday. "[It's] the consistency of who he is every day, what he's put on tape every opportunity he's gotten: his multifaceted run game, pass protection and then his hands in the pass game — his route-running ability," Phillips said. "I think we're going to see a lot of good things, and maybe people didn't realize how good a player Alex Mattison really is." HC Kevin O'Connell made similar comments back in May, calling Mattison a three-down back. All signs continue to point toward Mattison getting a heavy workload in a strong Minnesota offense. See where he sits in the updated RB rankings.
Bills WR Gabe Davis suffered a high ankle sprain in practice ahead of the team's Week 2 game last season. He missed only that contest, but the injury likely impacted much more of his season. The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia reports that Davis "felt like he 'lost a step' ... and that impacted his whole year." The report adds that Davis "feels fully back to normal and healthy now." Even with that issue, Davis finished 35th among PPR WRs last season. That's higher than his WR41 ADP so far this year. We like the fourth-year wideout as a best ball value. Check out his standing in our 2023 WR rankings.
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