Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
A spin around all of the fantasy football buzz as training camps get underway.
Now that all teams have reported to training camps across the NFL, here’s a spin around the league for a look at the most notable fantasy football news as of Thursday, July 28.
A committee approach could wreak havoc on fantasy football plans.
When examining the San Francisco 49ers’ ground game, one aspect deserves top billing. In five seasons under the leadership of head coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers have had five different leading rushers: Carlos Hyde (2017), Matt Breida (2018), Raheem Mostert (2019), Jeff Wilson Jr. (2020), and Elijah Mitchell (2021). That’s long enough to be considered a trend, and it’s one that doesn’t seem to bode very well for Mitchell, a second-year back with durability concerns.
Mitchell sits atop the depth chart for the time being, however, where he’ll be joined by Wilson, the team’s top rusher in 2020, Trey Sermon, last year’s third-round pick who struggled through a tough rookie campaign. If that weren’t already enough competition, insert Tyrion Price-Davis, whom the 49ers invested a third-round choice on this year with the hope he could provide the type of power running Shanahan loves.
Beyond that already-crowded group is wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who became more involved in the running game last season, finishing second on the team in rushing yards (365) while averaging 6.2 yards per carry. That’s a lot of variables to consider, so let’s look at the San Francisco backfield to see how things might shake out.
We have more than a quarter-century track record of creating fantasy football champs. Sign up for The Huddle today to gain an award-winning edge on the competition!
Which players stood out the most in a look at recent ADP results?
Every fantasy football draft season creates what is known as “average draft position” data (ADP), which gamers can utilize to help find trends and get a feel for current valuation tendencies.
It’s a fair way for novice players to relate positional value and also contrast how other drafters perceive worth vs. other positions. That said, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers and fixate too much on them.
Don’t become enamored with the raw data, especially if you’re unable to validate the source material. For example, mock drafters may not be as likely to put forth earnest effort and/or could be willing to take wild risks in relation to making picks when that actually count for something.
[lawrence-related id=465957]
Utilizing ADP data as guidelines is fine, but getting wrapped up in strictly adhering to them will get you in trouble. It’s always a positive to know whereabouts players tend to get selected within a few rounds’ margin or to develop a feel for positional runs — such as how many of the safe QB1s or No. 1 tight ends go in the first eight rounds, on average. ADP never should be treated as the be all, end all.
With that out of the way, here’s commentary from the most recent ADP chart from FantasyFootballCalculator.com. The data used comes from 12-team, PPR drafts between July 16 to July 26, covering 10,360 mocks.
Can a fresh start get the former first-rounder on track in Chicago?
A quick check of the Chicago Bears’ depth chart shows precious few commodities for fantasy football owners to have any interest in, including the wide receiver position where it’s Darnell Mooney and a bunch of guys who have done little and less in their NFL careers. It makes sense then that the team would kick the tires on a former first-round pick in the form of N’Keal Harry, who general manager Ryan Poles acquired on July 13 for the low cost of a seventh-round selection in 2024.
Obviously, any time you can trade for a first-round pick still on their rookie deal for the NFL equivalent of a bag of footballs it’s a surefire sign that things didn’t work out with the original club. Such is the case with Harry, who appeared in 33 of a possible 49 games in three seasons with the New England Patriots, recording 57 receptions, 598 yards, and four TDs. He has topped 50 yards in a game just twice with his best run coming early in 2020 when then-quarterback Cam Newton targeted him 22 times in the season’s first three weeks with his career-best eight-catch, 72-yard effort coming in Week 2.
[lawrence-related id=467211]
For his part, Harry wanted to move on before last season, requesting a trade last July. He returned in time to play out the season, but he was a nonparticipant in the club’s offseason program and looked like a very long shot to make the final cut after New England added more talent at the position. Now, he’ll get a chance to turn the page and possibly resurrect his flagging career in Chicago — he is also entering the final year of his rookie deal, so he’s playing for his financial future.
Harry has good size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) and was well regarded for his ability to make contested catches coming out of Arizona State, but that never showed up with the Patriots. While he lacks great speed, the 24-year-old is joining a team where nothing beyond Mooney as WR1 is set in stone, so he should be given every chance to leapfrog the likes of Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Velus Jones, who despite being a rookie is seven months older than Harry.
Even if Harry cracks the starting lineup, though, what’s his ceiling? A year ago, Chicago’s second-most productive wideout was Allen Robinson (now with the Los Angeles Rams), who caught 38 passes for 410 yards and a score.
Sure, you’d expect improvement from quarterback Justin Fields in Year 2, and it’s a new system, but the idea this offense would: a) create a second playable fantasy wideout, and b) it would be Harry, represent two cavernous leaps of faith. As such, he is currently of zero interest.
Does the Hall of Fame-bound wideout have anything left in the tank?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled the dice on free-agent wide receiver Julio Jones by signing the veteran to a one-year deal, and fantasy football owners must ask themselves if he has anything left in the tank entering his age-33 season.
The Bucs inking the veteran may suggest Chris Godwin (knee) isn’t quite yet right from his ACL tear, but the more likely hope is Jones can give this offense a downfield threat it was sorely lacking.
Jones’ days of being a WR1 for any team are obviously behind him, and it’s unlikely he even could be a No. 2 after the injury-decimated season he endured in Tennessee last year.
The move also makes a dent in the expected returns from fellow former Atlanta Falcon Russell Gage. He came over in the offseason at the beckoning of none other than Tom Brady himself, though Gage’s natural traits as a possession receiver indicate Jones is not much of a threat to his role.
Mike Evans, of course, is the alpha of this receiving corps, and he’s going to get his no matter who lines up alongside this scoring machine. Having Evans to draw doubles and an eventually healthy Godwin to help attract underneath coverage frees up Jones for isolated defensive scrutiny.
Whether he can remain healthy long enough to capitalize on it is anyone’s guess, but we’ve seen enough history to lean toward fading him on draft day. If spry and still able to get deep after a spat of lower-body injuries, Jones may provide more help to guys like Gage, Godwin and tight end Cameron Brate than Jones’ fantasy owners. Clearing defenders is quite possibly the best attribute he has left.
A reasonable expectation sees a low-volume role with an outsized ratio of touchdowns to catches — and we’re still talking single-digit scores coming from a star receiver who effectively has been allergic to the end zone in his illustrious career. That alone makes Jones a headache to roster, let alone play, as knowing when to deploy him will be maddening. Jones’ best utility may be best-ball and daily fantasy action, provided he even makes the final roster.
[listicle id=466654]
Which rookie should gamers target in fantasy football drafts?
It’s almost a rite of passage in the NFL that when an organization parts with a star receiver – either by retirement, release, trade or via free agency – those teams waste little time in trying to replace them in the draft.
Such is the case for both the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans, who have seen their receiver corps reduced for a variety of reasons and both used first-round picks to address the issue.
Atlanta was the first to address wide receiver in the draft when they selected Drake London with the eighth pick. The Falcons have a glaring need at wide receiver since they traded Julio Jones in 2021, let Russell Gage leave in free agency, and will be without Calvin Ridley, who is currently serving a suspension.
We have more than a quarter-century track record of creating fantasy football champs. Sign up for The Huddle today to gain an award-winning edge on the competition!
The same is true with Tennessee. Over 13 months, the Titans moved on from Corey Davis, A.J. Brown and Julio Jones.
So who would you rather have of these two perceived draft saviors?
Checking in with Thomas’ injury status and prognosis for 2022 fantasy football.
Washington Commanders tight end Logan Thomas has been something of a tragic figure in the NFL as he has battled through lower-body injuries throughout his career. Drafted in the fourth round in 2014 as a quarterback by the Arizona Cardinals, his only claim to fame with Arizona was that his one completion on nine attempts went for an 81-yard touchdown. In 2016 alone, he was cut from the New York Giants practice squad eight times before landing in Buffalo and being converted to tight end.
His first significant injury was in 2018 with the Buffalo Bills when he tore a meniscus. He also missed time with a hamstring injury, which started a growing list of ailments.
After a nondescript 2019 season with Detroit, Thomas signed with Washington in 2020 and earned his first chance to be a starter. He shattered all of his previous career marks by catching 72 passes for 672 yards and six touchdowns. Firmly on everyone’s fantasy radar, 2021 was another injury-plagued season that saw him play just six games.
[lawrence-related id=466864]
Last season, he was placed on injured reserve with a Grade 2 hamstring strain in Week 4 and missed six games. He came back but in Week 13 sustained a Grade 3 ACL tear that also required surgical repair to his MCL and meniscus.
By his own admission, he is at about 75-80 percent of his rehab process as training camp opens. While he told the local media that he is shooting for a return on Week 1, it is more likely that he will start the season on one of the injured lists and miss the first three to six games.
The Commanders didn’t take any chances that Thomas may not be back. In addition to 2021 rookie John Bates, who played well after Thomas went down both times last season, the team moved Antonio Gandy-Golden from wide receiver to tight end and drafted Cole Turner from Nevada in the fifth round. These moves have all the appearances of a team preparing to be without Thomas.
With Carson Wentz‘s history of targeting athletic tight ends, Thomas will be a priority weapon who could approach his 2020 numbers — provided he is physically up for it. But, at the moment, there are too many questions and not enough answers.
Although Thomas has the skill level to be a TE1, his injury history and the uncertainty as to whether he will be available for the start of the season drops him to the TE2 level – with some fantasy owners likely to devalue him to the bottom of that tier.
How does New York’s revamped cast of tight ends translate to fantasy football?
Last season was yet another tough one for the New York Jets, which missed the playoffs for an 11th straight year and posted a non-winning record for the 10th time during that stretch. There was a lot of overhauling heading into 2021, including the hiring of new head coach Robert Saleh, and the drafting of quarterback Zach Wilson, and the work has continued this offseason as well.
One of the focal points has been surrounding Wilson with more talent, and to that end the Jets spent a first-round pick on wide receiver Garrett Wilson, and a second-rounder on running back Breece Hall. The team also handed out money in free agency to address the tight end position by signing C.J. Uzomah (Cincinnati Bengals) to a three-year, $24 million deal, and Tyler Conklin (Minnesota Vikings) to a three-year, $20.3 million contract.
That’s a significant financial commitment from the front office, but given how little the team received from the position last season it seems warranted. In 2021, now-Chicago Bears tight end Ryan Griffin led the group with a 27-261-2 line; those 27 catches were good for eighth on the club. Tyler Kroft, now with the San Francisco 49ers, finished behind Griffin with 16 catches, 173 yards, and a score. Expect the tandem of Uzomah and Conklin to far exceed what their counterparts produced.
We have more than a quarter-century track record of creating fantasy football champs. Sign up for The Huddle today to gain an award-winning edge on the competition!
It’s hard to see much TE worth in the Big Easy.
One year after making the transition from longtime franchise quarterback Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints will enter 2022 with head coach Dennis Allen replacing Sean Payton after the latter spent 15 years on the job (not including his one-year suspension in 2012). The team will bring back Jameis Winston (knee) as its starting quarterback, though, after the former No. 1 overall pick had to outlast Taysom Hill for the top job a year ago. Veteran Andy Dalton will be Winston’s backup.
New Orleans will have a new look on the outside with wide receiver Michael Thomas set to return after missing all of 2021 with an ankle injury. He’ll be joined by Ohio State’s Chris Olave, the team’s No. 1 draft pick, and veteran Jarvis Landry, who comes over from the Cleveland Browns. All that extra talent outside could open things up inside, which brings us to the tight ends. Other than Hill (foot) theoretically making the full-time switch to the position upon his return from Lisfranc injury, the Saints decided to run it back and hope Adam Trautman and/or Juwan Johnson elevate their game.
We have more than a quarter-century track record of creating fantasy football champs. Sign up for The Huddle today to gain an award-winning edge on the competition!
Take a chance on these late-round tight end picks.
This year, like in recent offseasons, the tight end position is rather deep for fantasy football prospects. It’s also once again top-heavy, featuring six reliable No. 1 targets before a notable decline in relative safety. Once those names are off the board, gamers have to decide whether to invest in a starter from the next tier of players or wait even longer to chance it on someone assigned to the backup grouping.
In some cases, drafting a No. 2 tight end isn’t a worthwhile venture, though having a reserve is a must if your starter is injury-prone, generally risky, or among the matchup-based tier. These five tight ends are the best places to turn for taking a late-round gamble on a player defying the odds and ascending to the realm of borderline TE1 territory.
