Chargers S Derwin James took part in team drills Monday for the 1st time in training camp. James had been "holding in" until signing his recent contract extension. It's nice to see his participation ramping up still well ahead of Week 1. James remains the clear top DB in our IDP rankings.
Chargers WR Josh Palmer sustained a concussion in Saturday's preseason game, HC Brandon Staley said. He should be cleared in plenty of time for Week 1, but we'll keep an eye on his progress through the league's protocol.
The Titans opened eyes by starting undrafted free agent RB Julius Chestnut over 4th-round rookie RB Hassan Haskins in the 1st preseason game. On Saturday night, though, Haskins got into the game 1st. RB Dontrell Hilliard started (after sitting out the preseason opener as a healthy scratch) and got the only RB touch on Tennessee's 1st drive. Then Haskins took the field for the 2nd and 3rd possessions, with Chestnut entering for the 4th. The Titans are probably still sorting out the RB depth chart behind Derrick Henry and Hilliard. We wouldn't recommend prioritizing either rookie in the handcuff range of fantasy football drafts.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor gave his assessment on new TE Hayden Hurst. “Hayden has a really good catch radius,” Taylor said. “He has got good burst. He has got a good understanding and feel for some of these concepts in the red zone. He’s a really good weapon for us on the field.” Hurst will fill the role left by C.J. Uzomah, who ended 2021 with 49-493-5. Consider Hurst a streaming option in opportune matchups.
Despite coming off the PUP list last week, Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins' availability for Week 1 is still uncertain, HC John Harbaugh admitted Wednesday. "He's made some good progress this week," Harbaugh said. "We measure times of how fast he runs, how fast he decelerates, how fast he changes direction. You can see the improvement is tangible. So, we'll see." The decision to remove Dobbins from the PUP list means the Ravens expect him back by at least Week 4. We'll continue to keep a close eye on his progress.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh says he has been pleased with the progress of RB J.K. Dobbins. The 3rd-year player returned to practice Monday after getting the weekend off. "He looked good," Harbaugh told the team website afterward. "He's kind of back on track, and I thought he looked a little better than he did before – last week. So, he continues to improve, and we'll see where it goes." The coach added that it "remains to be seen" exactly how they'll ramp up Dobbins' workload en route to the regular-season opener. With nearly 4 weeks until that 1st game, Dobbins appears to be on track. But we'll continue to monitor his progress.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh tried to paint an optimistic picture of RB Gus Edwards' rehab in a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM radio but basically conceded that Edwards won't be ready for the start of the season. "Gus is doing really well. He's kind of a patient rehab guy," Harbaugh said. "I don't know that he'll be the first week, but before the season's over I think he's going to be roaring and ready to go." We'll continue to monitor Edwards' progress. But, at this point, he's not worth a pick in most fantasy drafts.
Jon Machota of The Athletic named Cowboys WR Simi Fehoko as the “biggest surprise” in training camp. Machota mentions WR Noah Brown as another strong candidate, but it’s Fehoko who’s mentioned as looking “ready to contribute in year 2.” The Stanford product made only 5 appearances as a rookie and didn’t catch a ball — hardly a surprise as a Round 5 pick on a (then) strong WR corps. Injuries to Michael Gallup and James Washington, plus the trade of Amari Cooper, have given guys like Fehoko a shot to emerge. The 24-year-old goes 6’4, 222 pounds with sub-4.5 speed, so he has some intriguing tools to work with.
Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins (knee) passed his physical and was activated from the PUP list on Monday. ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that Dobbins is now "on track" to play Week 1, while NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Dobbins has "a chance" for the opener. We'll see who proves right there, but Dobbins is clearly trending in the right direction. RB Gus Edwards (knee) remains on the PUP list, which seems to be confirmation that he's behind Dobbins in his rehab.
Lions WR D.J. Chark has been "impressive all camp," Tim Twentyman of the team's website writes. Chark, who signed a 1-year, $10 million contract with Detroit in free agency, "had a monster practice" on Saturday, including this diving catch. Still just 25 and with a 1,000-yard season under his belt, Chark could be a strong value at his current WR60 ADP.
NJ.com's Chris Franklin has Quez Watkins and Zach Pascal as the Eagles' 3rd and 4th WRs right now, behind the obvious lead duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. That leaves 3rd-year WR Jalen Reagor fighting Greg Ward, Britain Covey and Deon Cain for what's expected to be the final 2 spots at the position. Reagor should certainly hold an edge at that level, but this standing doesn't bode well for his chances of finding fantasy football relevance.
Reports on Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins' recovery from last August's left knee injury have been mixed. But Pro Football Focus insider Doug Kyed hears that Dobbins is doing "amazing" in his rehab and that "there doesn’t appear to be any concern that he’ll be ready for the season." RB Gus Edwards, meanwhile, is "deemed questionable" for Week 1 as he recovers from his own torn ACL. Both guys remain on the PUP list as of today.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh admitted that RB Gus Edwards (ACL) is in question for Week 1. Edwards was recently placed on the PUP list, and his return to practice isn’t imminent. He’s not someone we’re looking to buy the dip on in fantasy drafts.
The Athletic's Daniel Popper expects a "big jump" from Chargers WR Josh Palmer this season. He's coming off a 33-353-4 line as a rookie last year, with 3 of those 4 scores coming over the final 5 games. "On top of solid hands and sharp route-running, Palmer has an outstanding work ethic," Popper writes. "He is regularly the last player on the practice field. He throws with [QB Justin] Herbert after practice more than any other receiver on the roster." Palmer is the favorite for #3 WR duties in Los Angeles this year -- although he'll probably need a Keenan Allen or Mike Williams injury to find reliable weekly fantasy production.
The Ravens have placed RB Gus Edwards on the training-camp PUP list. That's no shock, given Edwards is coming off an ACL tear. He has reportedly been trending toward being ready for the season. We'll watch the status of Baltimore's expected #2 back through the summer.
The Ravens have placed RB J.K. Dobbins on the PUP list to begin training camp. This comes as no surprise, given that Dobbins is working back from an August ACL tear (plus LCL and meniscus damage) and is reportedly not a lock to play in the regular-season opener. This designation has no bearing on his status for that game, however. We'll monitor the 3rd-year Baltimore back throughout camp and the preseason.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that there's "certainly a chance" that Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins is not ready for Week 1 of the regular season and that he might even need "a couple weeks" after that. There reportedly has been no setback with Dobbins' recovery from the ACL tear, but the team plans to not rush him back. Gus Edwards -- recovering from his own ACL tear -- "seems like he should be on track" for the opener. We'll certainly watch the status of each player through training camp and preseason. We haven't been close to drafting Dobbins at cost so far this year, though. Rookie Tyler Badie and ex-Falcons RB Mike Davis could factor in early as well, if Dobbins can't go.
Update: Dobbins responded to the Rapoport report on Twitter by saying, "I might not even go on PUP because that's how good my rehab is going and I'm damn sure going to be ready for week 1." We'll see what's true as we get closer to September.
Titans RB coach Tony Dews gave his assessment of rookie RB Hassan Haskins. “Hassan has been a pleasure to work with,” Dews said of the Michigan product. "In the classroom portion, he puts in work. He works hard, he studies the game. And out here on the field, obviously we're in shorts and a big part of his game is his power, the way he runs with the ball. But I am excited to see him as we get going and we get into camp and get pads on and those kinds of things…at this point I am just looking for him to continue to get better each day as he we come out here and work on his skillset.” Haskins will battle veteran Dontrell Hilliard for the #2 job behind Derrick Henry. If Henry misses games, Haskins would project to share the early-down carries with Hilliard handling passing downs.
Jeff Zrebiec considers RB J.K. Dobbins “highly unlikely” to play in the preseason. In fact, Zrebiec considers it “logical” for the Ravens to place Dobbins on the Physically Unable to Perform list at the open of training camp. This all comes after Dobbins sat out the offseason program following an August 2021 ACL tear. “The knee injuries are a little tougher to say what the schedule really is. So, you talk to J.K., he’s the starting running back today, (and) he should have been practicing today, but he’s got work to do still,” HC John Harbaugh said in June. Consider Dobbins a high-risk low-end RB2 until we gain more clarity on his health.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh said he’s “hopeful” RBs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins will be ready for the regular season. Harbaugh also said that they're “on track,” so Week 1 is realistic barring a setback. Both guys will be ~1 year removed from ACL surgery come the regular season, so the question is just how much action they see in training camp. Neither player has practiced so far this spring.
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