Elijah Mitchell "continues to look like the clear-cut No. 1 option at RB" for the 49ers, ESPN's Nick Wagoner tweeted on Friday. That's been the consistent sentiment coming out of 49ers camp so far. Mitchell figures to lose some goal-line work to QB Trey Lance and doesn't project for a big role in the passing game. But he could still deliver value on his RB24 ADP.
Browns rookie K Cade York had his 1st miss of FG drills Friday, according to Scott Petrak of Browns Zone. That followed 17 straight makes. Cleveland drafted York in Round 4, so they should be counting on him entering the season as their guy. But it's nice to get early confirmation. York looks like a kicker we can mix in across fantasy football draft formats with relative comfort.
Bengals TE Drew Sample left Thursday's practice on a cart after hurting his left knee. HC Zac Taylor told reporters Friday that he's only expected to miss a couple of weeks, though, with a mild sprain. That should put Sample on track to begin the season on time. Sample played in every game last year but tallied only 15 targets. Sample has performed well as a pass-blocker, though. So any regular-season absence could hamper that area. The Bengals have also been without new RT La'el Collins, as he works through a back issue.
The Ravens PR staff released the 1st "unofficial" depth chart of the year Friday, with RB Mike Davis the top active player at the position. That still slots him behind J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, who remain on the PUP. Justice Hill, Corey Clement, Nate McCrary and rookie Tyler Badie follow, in that order. These depth charts are notoriously unreliable, especially ahead of preseason debuts for nearly all teams. We'll be watching to see if Badie -- in particular -- works in earlier once the exhibition contests get rolling. In the meantime, Davis is worth considering as a low-owned, end-of-draft option for best-ball tournament rosters.
Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News noted Friday that WR Darius Slayton was running with the 3rd team. That's a notable fall for a guy who has exceeded 80 targets twice in 3 NFL seasons. We already expected Slayton to be brushed aside in this year's offense, with Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay entering their 2nd Giants seasons and Wan'Dale Robinson arriving in Round 2 of the NFL Draft. Consider this a signal to not even look Slayton's way much as an end-of-draft flyer in best-ball tournaments. Slayton could be in danger of missing the Giants' regular-season roster.
Insider Jordan Schultz hears that the hamstring injury Bucs WR Mike Evans suffered in Friday's practice is "minor." We'll see when he's able to get back on the field, but we haven't moved Evans in the WR rankings.
According to Ravens beat writer Jamison Hensley, WR Devin Duvernay has missed 5 straight practices with a thigh bruise. Not ideal, but the nature of his injury leads us to believe he'll return soon. We’ll see if Baltimore adds a veteran WR, but for now, Duvernay is in the mix for the #2 job behind Rashod Bateman.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule said RB Chuba Hubbard has “really improved” his pass protection. It’s only relevant if Christian McCaffrey misses more time, but it’s a nice development for the 23-year-old after a lackluster rookie season. Currently, Hubbard is battling free-agent addition D’Onta Foreman for scraps behind CMC.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor said Friday that QB Joe Burrow is "day to day" after his late-July appendectomy. Burrow still isn't practicing but has been leading meetings, Taylor said. It doesn't sound like Burrow is in any danger of missing the start of the season, but it'd be nice to see him get in a few weeks of practice before the opener.
John Boyle of The Seahawks’ official site writes that RB Kenneth Walker has “shown off his pass-catching ability” in training camp. It’s noteworthy, as the rookie exited college with only 19 career catches in 3 seasons. Rashaad Penny is currently seeing the bulk of Seattle’s 1st-team reps, but this backfield has the potential to be fluid all season.
Panthers WR Terrace Marshall sat out practice on Friday with a lower leg strain. HC Matt Rhule downplayed the injury, and we’d expect the 2nd-year WR back before long. Marshall projects as the #3 WR behind D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson.
Cowboys OC Kellen Moore confirmed his plans to increase RB Tony Pollard’s role in 2022. “He’s a guy that we want to get the ball to,” Moore said of the contract-year back. “He’s had a ton of success when he does get those opportunities. I think the running back role is one thing, certainly when Zeke and him can kind of tag-team that role, but then it’s another opportunity for him to expand that role and play in some different positions, out in space and some of the things that certainly he’s capable of doing. I think the more we expand those roles, the more opportunities he’ll be able to get out there and get touches.” Pollard, with an ADP at mid-Round 7, is one of our favorite RB3 targets.
Bucs WR Mike Evans "tweaked" a hamstring in Friday's practice, HC Todd Bowles said. This doesn't sound like a serious injury, but we'll keep an eye on it. Evans has dealt with hamstring trouble in 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini calls Jets TE Tyler Conklin an “under the radar” player who’s “impressing the organization.” Cimini notes the veteran’s smoothness as a pass-catcher and ability to line up in several spots. Conklin is coming off a career-best 61-593-3 line in Minnesota, but he’s fully expected to share snaps with C.J. Uzomah this fall. Both guys project as inconsistent fantasy contributors.
Bucs WR Chris Godwin participated in positional drills on Friday for the 1st time since tearing his ACL last December. Here's video. "Very positive sign, but as one source says, not surprising," ESPN's Jeff Darlington tweeted. "This is 'on schedule' in terms of Godwin’s own plan for himself." It's still unclear if he'll be ready for Week 1, but we're expecting to at least see Godwin at some point in September.
We saw some funky usage in the Raiders backfield in Thursday night's Hall of Fame game. QB Derek Carr, WR Davante Adams and TE Darren Waller got the night off, but RB Josh Jacobs played the first 2 series, tallying 5 carries and 2 targets. "I always think it's good for (running) backs to carry the ball in the preseason," HC Josh McDaniels said afterward. “There’s a lot of things that happen when you’re getting tackled and hit that you can’t simulate in practice." Ameer Abdullah and Zamir White were the next 2 RBs in the game for the Raiders -- then came Kenyan Drake. We're not going to read too much into any of this just yet, but we're definitely keeping a closer eye on this backfield going forward.
Rams HC Sean McVay spoke about QB Matthew Stafford's right elbow issue on Thursday. McVay called it "a tricky deal," "abnormal for a QB” and "things that MLB pitchers deal with," per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. McVay added that the team explored different treatment options to alleviate the pain this offseason and that the team wasn't caught off guard by the situation when camp opened. “Could he (push through)? Yes. Is that the best thing? We didn’t think so," McVay said. Here's Rodrigue's take after listening to McVay: "While arm pain is never NOT a concern my sense is after some treatment early spring they decided to go with this onload/deload plan which has been on schedule per McVay." Until we hear that the pain in Stafford's elbow is gone -- or at least know exactly what he's dealing with -- he'll carry some elevated risk in fantasy drafts. His situation, of course, also impacts Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson and the rest of the Rams' skill-position guys.
The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia notes that Bills RB Zack Moss "has worked in with the Josh Allen-led offense every day, which shows he is still very much a part of the running back discussion for 2022." Buscaglia specifically mentions short-yardage situations as an area where Moss could make an impact. We're still not banking on him being a fantasy factor this season without an injury ahead of him on the depth chart. But Moss could be a drain on James Cook and, especially, Devin Singletary if he vultures goal-line carries.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Rams QB Matthew Stafford is "not expected to throw a lot over the next couple of days" to rest his right elbow. Rapoport says the issues has been described to him as "bad tendinitis" and that Stafford had a platelet-rich plasma "type" of treatment over the offseason. That apparently hasn't had the desired effect, as Stafford's throwing arm remains an issue. "Long term everybody in LA thinks this is gonna be fine," Rapoport says. Of course, the fact that he says "thinks" as we're well into the 2nd week of training camp remains cause for concern.
Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie got off to a strong start of training camp. But it came with WR Jamison Crowder sidelined. Crowder is back now, though, and McKenzie has continued to work with QB Josh Allen and the 1st-team offense, according to The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia. "Perhaps it’s a sign of where the competition stands or that they’re letting Crowder crawl before he walks in coming back from an injury," Buscaglia adds. "But it’s also a continuation of what we’ve seen previously when both players were healthy, which shows how great of a chance McKenzie has to win the job." This battle isn't over yet, but McKenzie continues to look like the favorite to be Buffalo's Week 1 starting slot receiver.
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