Demario Douglas has been the only Patriots rookie WR to get work with the first-team offense in camp so far, according to The Boston Herald's Doug Kyed. “He’s a smart kid,” HC Bill Belichick said Friday. “He picks things up well, learns quickly, so all things that work in his favor, but we’ll see how it goes when things get more competitive next week.” WRs Tyquan Thornton and Kendrick Bourne are reportedly off to slow starts in camp, opening up more opportunity for Douglas. The sixth-round rookie is still much more of a dynasty stash than redraft target, but we'll continue to keep an eye on him.
The Colts are "considering" placing RB Jonathan Taylor on the non-football injury list, according to insider Mike Chappell. Taylor is currently on the PUP list. Chappell reports that Taylor suffered "some type of back injury while working out on [his] own in Arizona," which would presumably allow the Colts to move him to the non-football-injury list. The drama between these two sides is far from over. We'll keep you updated. We recently moved Taylor down the RB rankings.
Seahawks RBs Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet are both sidelined with injuries, HC Pete Carroll said Sunday. Walker has a groin injury and may remain out "a while," Carroll said, per NFL Network's Taylor Bisciotti. It's worth noting that Walker had hernia surgery during camp last year, although it's unclear if this is related. Charbonnet is dealing with a shoulder injury and is "out indefinitely" while it's getting checked out, Carroll said. We'll keep you updated on both guys. Their absences leave DeeJay and rookie Kenny McIntosh as Seattle's top two RBs.
Update: More Carroll on Walker, per insider Curtis Crabtree: "It's not a terrible injury or anything like that. We just don't want to aggravate it now and make it be something that lingers through camp."
Lions WR Jameson Williams got back on the practice field on Sunday after going down with a leg injury on Monday. It was a "jog through" practice, per HC Dan Campbell, so Williams might not be full speed quite yet. We'll see if the second-year WR can string together a few healthy weeks leading up to the start of the regular season. He's suspended for the first six games for violating the league's gambling policy.
Jets WR Garrett Wilson is dealing with a low-ankle sprain, HC Robert Saleh said. Wilson went down in Thursday's practice and has been sidelined since. He might miss another week or two, but he shouldn't be in any jeopardy of missing the start of the season. Consider Wilson's fantasy value unchanged for now.
The Rams signed RB Royce Freeman. He replaces the recently retired Sony Michel on the roster. Freeman has totaled just 132 carries over the past three seasons and is unlikely to be a 2023 fantasy factor.
Seahawks TE Noah Fant passed his physical and was removed from the PUP list on Sunday. The veteran missed only a few practices with a knee issue. He projects as a low-end fantasy TE2.
The Athletic's David Lombardi writes that 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk “continues dominating” at training camp. Aiyuk brings undeniable talent, and he should be hitting his prime at 25 years old. Volume looks like an issue, though. And we’ll have to see how QB Brock Purdy performs in live action following March elbow surgery.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini doesn’t expect Jets QB Aaron Rodgers to play in the preseason. No surprise there, as Rodgers hasn’t suited up for preseason play since 2018. New York opens the regular season September 11 vs. Buffalo.
Texans beat writer Jonathan M. Alexander believes the ground game will be the “focal point” of new OC Bobby Slowik’s offense. RB Damien Pierce leads the attack after an eye-opening rookie campaign. “For us to be a good offense, we have to have Dameon at his A-game,” Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said. “Dameon has been having a great offseason from OTAs to even now. He looks great and in shape. Every time he touches the ball, you see the speed and physicality.” Now, Pierce has his eyes set on hitting 1,000 rushing yards. “I definitely want to cap 1,000 (yards rushing),” Pierce said. “Slowik expects that, everybody around me expects that and I’m going to try everything in my power to get that.” The 23-year-old hits our fantasy RB rankings as a top-24 option.
Bucs reporter Jenna Laine believes QB Kyle Trask has improved his processing and decisiveness since minicamp. “The QB competition is a lot closer than it was back then,” Laine tweeted. Trask and Baker Mayfield are splitting first-team reps in training camp. We might not get a Week 1 starter named until after the preseason.
The Giants have activated WRs Sterling Shepard and Jamison Crowder from the Non-Football Injury List. They’re practicing today, but both veterans remain off the redraft radar.
Panthers LT Ikem Ekwonu has “quickly become a force,” per The Athletic’s Joseph Person. A 2022 Round 1 pick, Ekwonu struggled early in his rookie season —particularly in his debut against Browns DL Myles Garrett. But he made strides from there, and it sounds like he’s further improved this offseason. Overall, Bryce Young’s O-line looks like an above average unit. For more, read about the relationship between O-line play and fantasy production.
Bucs WR Russell Gage returned to practice on Sunday. He missed the team's first three sessions with a leg injury, per reporter Greg Auman. The veteran is just a late-round flier in fantasy drafts.
The Vikings and Edge Danielle Hunter have agreed to a one-year, $20 million deal, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. The pact ends offseason negotiations that included reports of Hunter being on the trade market. Hunter will play out his age-29 season in Minnesota. He has remained high among D-linemen in our 2023 IDP rankings.
Jets RB Breece Hall (ACL tear) remains on the PUP list. But the team is still “optimistic” he’ll suit up for Week 1, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. The Jets are hosting free agent RB Dalvin Cook this weekend, a development that might seem to run counter to Cimini’s statement. Hopefully, we get word on Cook’s new team this week.
Rams RB Sony Michel informed HC Sean McVay that he intends to retire, The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrique reports. Michel turned just 28 in February but has endured a litany of injuries. With Michel out of the picture, the Rams are back to Cam Akers, Kyren Williams, and Zach Evans as their top three RBs.
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray said Saturday that he was a fan of WR Michael Wilson before the team drafted him. "I saw what he did at the Senior Bowl ... I like his releases, I liked how he moved. His one-on-ones at the Senior Bowl looked good," Murray said. "I was already fond of him before we drafted him." Wilson has gotten some buzz early in training camp and is already getting first-team reps. The rookie has a chance to be a factor this season, especially when Murray gets back on the field.
Chargers WR Mike Williams is kicking inside to the slot more often in OC Kellen Moore's offense, according to The Athletic's Daniel Popper. “People are going to have game plans and matchups associated with where he lines up,” Moore said of Williams. “The more you can line him up in different spots, it just makes it more challenging for other teams to focus on him.” Popper writes that, "the results have been impressive thus far." Consider this a reminder that, despite the addition of first-round rookie WR Quentin Johnston, Williams will remain a big part of this high-scoring Chargers offense. He's a value at his WR26 ADP.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor has requested a trade following a meeting with team owner Jim Irsay on Saturday. For context, Irsay took to social media on Wednesday to comment on the current landscape of the RB market. He shared in a tweet that the current collective bargaining agreement "took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides," calling the attempts by RBs to negotiate for higher pay "inappropriate" and referring to actions by their agents as "selling 'bad faith.'" It's not difficult to see how this situation unfolded from there. Taylor is coming off a year in which he only appeared in 11 games due to an ankle injury that required surgery. He still had a pretty strong season, logging a 192-861-4 rushing line behind a Colts offensive line that ranked 22nd in Football Outsiders' Adjusted Line Yards. A potential trade would send shockwaves through both the NFL and fantasy football landscape wherever Taylor ultimately lands. For now, we're operating under the assumption he'll be in Indianapolis to open 2023. See where he sits in our current RB rankings.
Search
