RB Kenyan Drake is signing with the Ravens, according to insider Jordan Schultz. Drake was dumped by HC Josh McDaniels and the new Raiders regime a little over a week ago. He turns 29 in January and, while he remained effective as a pass catcher last year, he averaged just 4.0 yards per carry and ranked 42nd among 77 qualifying RBs in Pro Football Focus' rushing grades. Drake is an insurance policy for a Ravens team still waiting for RBs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to get over their 2021 knee injuries. We'll see whether Dobbins is ready for Week 1. If not, the Ravens figure to roll with Drake and Mike Davis.
The Ravens will host free-agent RB Kenyan Drake today, and it sounds like he's expected to sign with the team, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This move could signal J.K. Dobbins not being ready for Week 1. Or perhaps Baltimore doesn't feel as good about Mike Davis as his depth-chart slot might seem. We'll see how this situation develops as the opener approaches.
Packers HC Matt LaFleur shared why WR Christian Watson wasn’t active for the team’s preseason finale. "Our medical staff thought it would be in his best interest to give him two more weeks before we put him in a game situation,” LaFleur said. The rookie, of course, missed a chunk of training camp following knee surgery in June. He remains a weak bet for early-season fantasy production.
The Packers are trying to catch 2nd-round WR Christian Watson up with the offense after he missed much of training camp with a knee injury. Watson has been working in with both the 1st- and 2nd-team offenses, according to the Packers' website. QB Aaron Rodgers says he has been pleased with Watson's mental development: "The thing that I've seen with him is just mentally the improvement from day to day. I'm going to test him every single day and give him adjustments and things that they might not have talked about, maybe they've talked about, see what the recall is and see how well they can adjust on the fly." HC Matt LaFleur added that "you could definitely feel his size and speed out there," after Sunday's team workout. It's certainly worth remembering that Green Bay drafted Watson 2 rounds ahead of classmate Romeo Doubs. We'll see how much depth-chart climbing Watson can do before Week 1.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the Raiders plan to release RB Kenyan Drake. It's not a surprise given recent signals that Amber Abdullah has been garnering passing-down work ahead of him. We'll see whether the 28-year-old can find a meaningful role anywhere else.
Packers WR Christian Watson (knee) was removed from the PUP list on Sunday. HC Matt LaFleur said the rookie will start out doing individual work and walkthroughs. LaFleur wouldn’t commit to Watson, 23, playing some preseason snaps. There’s time for Green Bay’s depth chart to get shaken up, but we wouldn’t count on a big early-season role for Watson right now.
Packers HC Matt LaFleur announced Monday that QB Jordan Love will start the preseason opener. There's obviously nothing to read into this from a roles standpoint, as Aaron Rodgers is locked in for as long as he wants to be. According to The Athletic, LaFleur said he'll decide after the team's 2nd preseason contest whether Rodgers will play at all in the exhibitions. Don't be surprised if we get extended playing time from Love, who has plenty to prove and might even get showcased for potential trades. He's worth keeping in mind if you're playing preseason DFS.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Raiders “are not looking to trade [RB] Josh Jacobs.” Speaking on Jacobs’ extended action in the Hall of Fame Game, Rapoport says that it was simply a case of the new coaching staff wanting to evaluate its lead back. We'll see how his usage looks over the next few weeks.
Tyler Davis led the Packers in "true" 1st-team TE reps in Friday's Family Night practice, according to SB Nation's Justin Mosqueda. Josiah Deguara got more total playing time (15 snaps to Davis' 13) but spent a significant chunk of that in RB positions. Davis, meanwhile, spent more combined time inline or in the slot than Marcedes Lewis and others. Robert Tonyan projects as the lead receiver at the position but is still on PUP as he works back from his ACL tear. Keep Davis on your radar, though, in case Tonyan's return is delayed into the regular season (or if you're playing preseason DFS).
The Packers had a "Family Night" practice for fans at Lambeau Field that included simulated intrasquad scrimmaging. SB Nation's Acme Packing Co. blog counted up the 1st-team snaps and found rookie Romeo Doubs on for 13, compared with 18 for Allen Lazard and 16 for Sammy Watkins. That lines up with reports out of camp, with Doubs ahead of Randall Cobb (6) and others. It's certainly worth noting that fellow rookie WR Christian Watson is not yet practicing. Doubs has been moving up our WR rankings.
Insider Peter King came away from Packers camp believing WR Romeo Doubs will have a "prominent role early" in this offense. That's been the general sentiment from basically anyone who's watched Packers practices over the past couple of weeks. "He's been terrific in training camp," King said. "He has shined." Doubs has quickly become a priority late-round target in fantasy drafts.
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.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has noticed improvement in RB AJ Dillon’s receiving ability. "I feel like of all the people we've had the last three years, he's got to be on a very short list of guys who have improved so drastically, and his pass-catching ability is really, really solid," Rodgers said. "He's made difficult catches look easy over the last couple years and this training camp, and I couldn't be more proud of (number) 28 and his approach, the way that he's handled not just being a player in this locker room, an ascending player, but a member of this community.” HC Matt LaFleur had similar complimentary things to say, including an endorsement of Dillon's pass protection. Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com writes that the Packers have “big plans” for Dillon and Aaron Jones, noting their potential to play both RBs at once. We’ll see on that, but it’s clear Dillon, only 24, is an ascending 3rd-year player.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers praised rookie WR Romeo Doubs at training camp. “Every single day, there’s been at least one ‘wow’ play. And that’s rare for a young guy like that,” Rodgers said. “We’ve had some guys over the years do that, but they are all in the top 10 of Packers receiving history. Good start for him.” Missed time from WRs Christian Watson and Sammy Watkins have given Doubs a chance to shine alongside Rodgers. If this continues over the next few weeks, it’s quite possible he sees some run in 3-WR sets.
Packers rookie LB Quay Walker split 1st-team reps with incumbent Krys Barnes in spring, operating next to De'Vondre Campbell. According to Bill Huber of SI.com's Packer Central, "it's been all Walker" there since training camp began. That's not shocking, given Green Bay chose Walker in Round 1 as the 1st off-ball LB. Huber adds that the Packers haven't run a single snap of "dime" defense in camp, an alignment that includes just 1 LB. Green Bay lined up in that formation 24% of the time last season, so we should certainly expect some this year. But the team might also be looking to keep both Campbell and Walker on the field more than it used 2-LB sets in 2021. That would obviously help Walker's IDP upside. Green Bay extended Campbell this offseason at a rate that clearly indicates the plan to keep him in a 3-down role.
Mike Spofford of the team website wrote Friday morning that Packers WR Romeo Doubs "followed up a solid opening workout with a stellar second one." He added that the 4th-round rookie "first caught the defense's attention during OTAs in June with the frequency of his catches and reliability of his hands." HC Matt LaFleur also praised Doubs' work ethic ahead of Friday's workouts. "He's established a routine pretty early," the coach said. He pointed out that rookies often struggle to do so and that finding such a routine can be their key to "taking off." The Doubs buzz is particularly noteworthy because of the seemingly open competition for roles and targets in the post-Davante Adams Green Bay offense. Doubs makes for an intriguing late stash across fantasy football draft formats.
Raiders RB Kenyan Drake is set to play a "significant role in the rotation as a runner and a receiver" in HC Josh McDaniels' offense, according to The Athletic's Tashan Reed. Drake averaged just 4.1 carries and 2.9 targets in 8 games alongside a healthy Josh Jacobs last year, but it sounds like his role could be bigger in 2022. Drake still isn't an exciting fantasy option, but this news makes Jacobs less attractive. Reed told us on a recent podcast that he expects a Patriots-like committee backfield in Vegas.
Per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Packers WR Christian Watson underwent “minor” knee surgery in June. "I think there was kind of a thought process [of] do you want to try to push through the season and finish this after the season or should we just go ahead and do it now?" Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said. "And we just did it now. So he'll miss a little bit of time in camp, but it's nothing long term." Any missed time alongside Aaron Rodgers figures to hurt Watson’s early-season outlook. We’ll keep an eye out for a return date, but the rookie was never a redraft priority.
The Packers have placed WR Christian Watson on the PUP list to begin training camp. It's not clear what injury is keeping him from opening camp with his teammates. Green Bay can activate the rookie at any time, so we'll see how long he remains out. The missed time would seem especially significant to a rookie trying to win a starting gig.
Raiders RB Kenyan Drake said he'll be ready for the start of training camp. He missed June minicamp as he continued to rehab a December broken ankle that required surgery. "I'm definitely going to be ready for camp," Drake said. "It's not going to be full speed ahead once I get into camp, but for the regular season, I'm going to be definitely ready to go." Drake averaged just 4.1 carries and 2.9 targets in 8 games alongside a healthy Josh Jacobs last season. We'll see if his role changes under new HC Josh McDaniels, but we're not expecting Drake to be a standalone fantasy option this season. And he'll need to fend off rookie RB Zamir White for the right to be Jacobs' handcuff.
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