Chargers RB Joshua Kelley carried just 11 times for 12 yards in Sunday's win over the Vikings. The team went extremely pass-heavy, dropping QB Justin Herbert back on 75.8% of offensive snaps. Despite leading the backfield in routes (13), Kelley tied for just sixth on the team in that category. Kelley tripled the snap count of No. 2 RB Isaiah Spiller, with Austin Ekeler out. But he spent much of his day blocking. Even if Ekeler remains out in Week 4, Kelley will be tough to like against the Raiders after consecutive duds. This week should have been at least a decent spot for him, against a Minnesota team that D'Andre Swift and the Eagles brutalized in Week 2.
Titans WR Treylon Burks led the team in receiving with 76 yards, hauling in 3 of 4 targets. Teammate DeAndre Hopkins had a quiet effort with 4 catches on 5 targets for 40 yards. Considering how often Tennessee runs the ball, it’s going to be difficult to trust any Titans’ pass-catcher to have massive fantasy production. Managers in deep leagues can consider both as potential flex options in Week 3 vs. the Browns.
Chargers RB Joshua Kelley recorded 13 attempts for 39 rushing yards in Week 2 vs. the Titans. Fantasy managers hoping to stream the young back as a replacement for Austin Ekeler (ankle) are likely disappointed by the results of Sunday’s OT loss. Kelley’s heavy involvement in Week 1 still makes him worthy of rostering in deeper leagues, but those in 10 or 12-team leagues can justify throwing him back into the waiver pool. Keep track of the injury reports this week to see if Ekeler will return for next Sunday’s contest vs. the Vikings.
The Titans have ruled CB Kristian Fulton (hamstring) and S Amani Hooker (concussion) out for Sunday's game against the Chargers. That leaves an already weak pass defense without two of its top 4 DBs. Should be a good week for the Chargers' passing game to get going.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll said Monday that S Jamal Adams will return to limited practice participation this week for the first time since tearing a quad muscle in last year's opener. “Let’s take it one day at a time,” Carroll said, per Pro Football Talk. “He’s going to have a limited amount of plays as he gets back and re-enters, but he’ll get individual work and start getting some of the basic stuff just to get him back out there.” It's too early to say when Adams will be ready for game action. But Seattle elected to activate him from the PUP before the season started. That indicates they expect him back by at least Week 4. Julian Love started in Adams' place against the Rams and remains an IDP option until Adams is ready. We'll see about Love's role beyond that.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard logged 14 carries for 70 rushing yards and 2 TDs in Week 1’s win against the Giants. He also added a pair of catches on 3 targets for 12 receiving yards. This game got away from the Giants quickly, so fantasy managers should be glad that Pollard got plenty of points before the Cowboys ultimately took their foot off the gas by the fourth quarter. Rookie Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle split backup RB duties, each receiving 6 carries in the victory. Pollard will look to continue his success again in Week 2 vs. the Jets.
Titans WR Treylon Burks drew an uneventful 3 targets in Sunday's loss to the Saints, trailing WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and RB Tyjae Spears. But Burks played more offensive snaps than any skill-position player besides QB Ryan Tannehill. His 57 snaps led Hopkins by 8. Burks also ran one more route than Hopkins, despite recently returning from a knee injury. Burks will obviously need to turn the playing-time edge into more targets before we can put him in fantasy lineups. But these numbers make Burks' opener look better than his receiving stats do.
Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley had a big opener in every way. He posted big numbers: 8 catches, 101 yards, and a score. And he saw big volume: 11 targets for a 34.4% share. Ridley got open at will against a shaky Colts secondary and looked explosive after the catch. He's in for a big fantasy season and gets plus matchups the next three weeks vs. the Chiefs, Texans, and Falcons.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero hears that the Cowboys are looking to get RB Tony Pollard 18-20 touches vs. the Giants tonight. That's more than enough for him to return RB1 production. "We'll also see Rico Dowdle some on third downs, and they do have packages in the game plan for rookie Deuce Vaughn," Pelissero adds.
Titans WR Treylon Burks (knee) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final Week 1 injury report. It looks like he’s ready for a full workload vs. the Saints on Sunday.
Titans WR Treylon Burks (knee) was a full-go in Wednesday's practice. He'll play in this weekend's opener vs. the Saints -- and is seemingly ready for his usual workload. That puts Burks in the WR4 mix.
Chargers beat writer Daniel Popper believes RB Joshua Kelley will see “most of the carries” behind Austin Ekeler. “Kelley had a great camp and preseason,” Popper writes. “His natural talent has started to shine with [OC Kellen] Moore’s downhill run philosophy and scheme. Kelley has earned the opportunity behind Ekeler to start the season. But that could change as the season progresses.” The Chargers passed on adding a veteran back this offseason, signaling faith in Kelley and Isaiah Spiller. While Kelley looks like the primary RB2 now, this situation could be fluid all year.
The 49ers signed K Matthew Wright. He's insurance for rookie K Jake Moody, who's dealing with a quad injury. Avoid this situation in remaining fantasy drafts and Week 1 lineups.
The Titans are sending a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Patriots for K Nick Folk, according to NFL Network. That moves last year's No. 8 kicker in total fantasy points to a negative situation. Randy Bullock ranked last among regular kickers in fantasy points per game as the Titans' primary guy last year, despite missing only three FG attempts and going perfect on extra points. You can find the aftermath of this bombshell in our fantasy kicker rankings.
Titans WR Treylon Burks (knee) returned to practice on Monday. He'd been sidelined since suffering what was reported as a sprained LCL on August 16. He now has a little less than two weeks to gear up for the season opener. Burks would be a risky fantasy play in that one, but he remains a high-upside fantasy stash.
The Athletic's Joe Rexrode recently wrote that Titans rookie RB Tyjae Spears "is going to matter" to the offense in 2023. Rexrode shares that Spears "will start the season as the third-down back" and perhaps eventually "warrant some carries and pop up in some creative looks" as part of a tandem with starter Derrick Henry. This is a notable read on the Titans' backfield, considering a second RB has yet to make a strong impression in the Henry era. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2018, Henry has led all NFL RBs in carries (1,464) and stayed above a 77.6% share of Titans RB carries in the last four seasons. Fantasy managers should still treat Spears as a handcuff for now, but there's some late-round intrigue should he emerge with a small pass-catching role. Dynasty managers must also remember Henry is set to reach free agency in 2024. See where the Titans' backs appear in our current RB rankings.
Titans HC Mike Vrabel shared on Saturday that he expects TE Chig Okonkwo to return to practice this coming week. The second-year player has been held out due to an undisclosed injury sustained on Tuesday. This news indicates the strong possibility that he'll be healthy to begin the regular season. Despite the free agent addition of WR DeAndre Hopkins, Okonkwo should still carry some quality fantasy value as a low-end TE1/high-end TE2 in 2023. We'll monitor this situation and update as more information becomes available. See where Okonkwo appears in our current TE rankings.
Titans rookie QB Will Levis warmed up ahead of Saturday's preseason game against the Vikings but sat out the contest because of a lower-body injury sustained in practice earlier in the week. The fact that they had him test it ahead of the game points to the issue being minor. Missing the game likely didn't help Levis in his competition with Malik Willis for the No. 2 role. Willis did nothing special with his opportunity, completing 10 of 17 passes for just 85 yards (5.0 per attempt). He threw for 1 TD and 1 INT. Willis also ran for 91 yards on 11 carries. That, of course, would be his primary avenue to fantasy upside if pressed into regular-season duty. Willis has seemed to be trending at least slightly ahead of Levis for the backup job to date. He's an interesting late pick in superflex fantasy football drafts.
Chargers LB Kenneth Murray has looked like a bust through three NFL seasons, after the team drafted him in Round 1 in 2020. The Chargers declined the fifth-year option on Murray's rookie contract this April. But new DC Derrick Ansley is hopeful. “This is really going to be the year, I think, he can break out,” Ansley told The Athletic's Daniel Popper. New LBs coach Jeff Howard also made a point of connecting with Murray early, and they've made a point to simplify Murray's duties within the scheme. The LB, meanwhile, is coming off his first full, healthy offseason since entering the pros. That can only help. And veteran LB Eric Kendricks has reportedly mentored Murray since arriving as a free-agent this offseason. Murray should be so far down IDP draft boards -- likely even going undrafted in many leagues -- that he carries only upside as a fantasy prospect. We've added him to our IDP rankings after initially leaning toward rookie Daiyan Henley as the likely starter next to Kendricks.
Titans WR Treylon Burks suffered merely a LCL sprain in his left knee Wednesday. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Burks "should only miss a few weeks." That seems like good news vs. what could have been, based on reports he left on a cart and wasn't putting weight on the leg. That vague timeline could give him a shot to start the regular season on time. We'll keep watching for more specifics on when Tennessee expects him back. Burks will likely still make sense in WR4 range of fantasy football drafts. Check our 2023 fantasy football rankings to see where he lands.
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