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.
Ravens RB Gus Edwards has COVID and will miss the 1st 10 days of camp, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Edwards’ absence is good news for Justice Hill and any other Baltimore RB hoping to raise his profile. It can’t hurt J.K. Dobbins’ standing either. We’re not adjusting our fantasy outlook for Edwards or Dobbins at this point, though
Giants HC Joe Judge said Tuesday WR Kadarius Toney has returned to the team and will participate in meetings. “Judge made it clear they'll take it slow as far as integrating Toney into practices,” according to Dan Dugan of The Athletic. Toney, of course, recently landed on the COVID list. We don’t expect this to impact his season outlook.
Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. has passed his physical and will not have any restrictions to open training camp, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Cleveland manage his practice time and preseason exposure, but Beckham has been generating positive off-season buzz on the field. We’ll keep tracking reports on the star WR.
Jets QB Zach Wilson was absent for the 1st day of training camp on Tuesday as his agent and the team continue to work on his rookie contract. We'd be surprised if the standoff lasted much longer considering there's not much negotiation to be done with rookie deals nowadays, but we'll continue to monitor the situation. Wilson is coming off a strong start in OTAs and minicamp.
NFL insider Albert Breer believes Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is "trending towards a real role" after attending training camp. "Freiermuth was a monster Saturday," Breer tweeted. "Catches everything." Rookie TEs are generally poor bets in fantasy football. And Freiermuth faces stiff target competition in TE Eric Ebron and WRs Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster. But, if nothing else, his presence is a reason to only view Ebron as a lower-end TE2. We'll see if Freiermuth can work his way on to the fantasy radar.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers reported for the start of training camp on Tuesday. It's still unclear if he and the team have officially agreed to whatever deal they're reportedly working on. But it sure looks like he's committed to play in Green Bay for at least 1 more season. We've bumped Rodgers, WR Davante Adams and RB Aaron Jones up the rankings.
Washington has agreed to a 3-year extension with TE Logan Thomas, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. We haven't seen the terms yet, but this development obviously points to the team wanting Thomas as a key piece beyond this season. That enhances the dynasty outlook for a player who just turned 30 coming off his 1st year with more than 16 receptions. It also gives at least a slight boost to Thomas' 2021 outlook, solidifying his standing with the team.
The Saints signed WR Chris Hogan. He has 216 NFL catches under his belt -- but just 22 have come over the past 2 seasons. Hogan turns 33 in October. He's not the answer to New Orleans' Michael Thomas-sized hole at WR.
Giants HC Joe Judge refused to commit to RB Saquon Barkley (knee) being ready for Week 1 when asked on Monday. “Look, ideally we’d love to have him back as soon as possible,” Judge said. "But ultimately we’ve got to make sure when he comes back he can play 100 percent; he can play aggressive and confident; and that we have him back. So that’s the approach we’re taking. We’re really just watching day by day and evaluating where he’s at and affording him the ability to come back when he’s fully ready to go, because the plan is when we get him back to keep him back. We don’t want to rush him back and do something that’s not best for him individually or best for the team, and we’re really taking a big picture and a long-term view of this.” The "long-term view" has been the theme for Barkley's return from last September's torn ACL all offseason. It's clear the Giants will have no issue holding him out of games -- or perhaps limiting his touches -- if he's not ready to go. We'll continue to keep a close eye on his progress.
The Rams placed rookie WR Tutu Atwell on the reserve/COVID-19 list. If he’s unvaccinated, Atwell must quarantine for 10 days. If he is vaccinated, he can rejoin his teammates after testing negative twice 24 hours apart. Atwell was already a long-shot for year 1 value, and this only further keeps him off the redraft radar.
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