June 2015 4for4 Player News Articles

Getting past initial contact was a focus for Jeremy Hill this offseason and OC Hue Jackson said that the back did a good job laying the groundwork for better results.

“For me, it’s just getting that acceleration from the first level to the second level,” Hill said, via ESPN.com. “I’m just trying to lift my acceleration up and miss more tackles. That’s the biggest thing for me. The first guy got me down way too much last season.”

ESPN Stats and Info had Hill averaging 2.29 yards after contact during his rookie season, which was good for fourth in the league last season and helps explain why Hill became such a big part of the offense in the second half of the season. If he becomes even harder for defenses to stop this time around, the backfield work in Cincinnati may not be as balanced as Hill expected earlier this offseason.

Hill began to see significant work in Week 9 and averaged 19.1 carries for 103 yards and 0.67 TD over the final nine games. He averaged 18.1 carries for 95 yards and 0.67 TD in the six games in which Giovani Bernard also played during that same span, so it certainly appears that OC Hue Jackson was ready to turn to Hill as the team’s primary ball-carrier.

Cowboys RB Joseph Randle appears to be the lead dog heading into camp. If Darren McFadden is healthy, he could also fill the starting role. Lance Dunbar will likely see more carries, but his biggest impact should come during passing downs.

“We’re very confident in what we have,” Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown said. “We got some very good football players. With the addition of Darren it’s going to be a nice group. I can’t say who is going to be the lead dog right now, but those guys are going to compete and we’re going to do what’s necessary to win games.

“I just think that we have a complementary backfield,” Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. “They’re going to spread out the carries. Some games are going to be different than others. Maybe one guy is going to have more in one game than the other or maybe sometimes two guys are going to split the carries, sometimes it’s going to be three. Again, it’s to be determined. It is a bit rare to have the one guy carry all the load. I tip my hat to DeMarco for being able to do it. But these other guys have different roles now that he’s gone. We’re going to have someone step up, and I know they’re excited about it.”

It may be the team's intention to split the work among the three backs, but a talent disparity between Randle and McFadden along with McFadden's history of fragility leads us to believe that Randle is the back to own in this backfield.

Eagles beat writer Geoff Mosher broke down the team's roster, including the TE position and Zach Ertz.

Look for Ertz to make a sizable jump in snaps, and for Burton, an excellent special-teamer, to be groomed into a future No. 2 behind Ertz.

Ertz was the #13 TE in both standard and PPR formats despite only playing half of the Eagles’ snaps in his second year. Most (73%) of his snaps came on passing downs, so if his playing time is going to increase, a majority of the additional snaps are likely to come in run formations. Still, there’s upside with Ertz if he begins to see starter’s snaps. The Eagles lost their leading receiver -- first DeSean Jackson and then Jeremy Maclin -- in back-to-back seasons, so there will be opportunity from a targets standpoint.

The Bills brought in two new quarterbacks this offseason, trading for Matt Cassel and signing Tyrod Taylor. Most people figured Cassel was in line to start and Taylor was brought in to be a backup. But that may not be the case.

The Buffalo News reports that Bills coach Rex Ryan has shown greater enthusiasm for Taylor than for Cassel, that Ryan has wanted to coach Taylor for a long time and previously wanted the Jets to acquire him, and that Ryan says Taylor is the fastest quarterback in the NFL and can change games with his speed.

It's going to be a run-heavy offense, but if Taylor wins the job, he could become fantasy relevant thanks to his ability to run the ball. The Bills aren't lacking for receiving weapons, either.

One of the more interesting things new coach Todd Bowles said this spring is Jace Amaro is now considered an H-back, not a tight end. We’ll see how that designation plays out under new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. It was hard to get much of a feel for it this spring because Amaro often practiced on the second field with the backups. Then he injured his back in the team’s final week of OTAs, which kept him sidelined for the minicamp.

You would think this means Amaro will play more in the slot or on the wing and not be asked to get in a stance as an in-line tight end, something he never appeared really comfortable doing.

Amaro has struggled with a back injury and he’s missing valuable reps as a result. If healthy, he has a chance to make a fantasy impact in his second year after cracking the 50-yard mark four times in 14 games as a rookie. Amaro's status as a tight end may depend on the individual site/fantasy league.

Geno Smith has a new coordinator and some new weapons. And after experiencing the highs and lows of two NFL seasons, the Jets hope Smith can become a more consistent signal caller in 2015.

“I think Geno, when I’ve looked at him now for a couple of years in the NFL, I see a quarterback that’s getting better,” said ESPN analyst Ron Jaworksi. “He’s forgotten the mistakes and I still remember going to Morgantown, West Virginia for his Pro Day and outside of Robert Griffin III – it was one of the best pro days I’ve seen. So he can make every throw, he can do everything it takes to be an NFL quarterback. It’s just about consistency.”

Smith is expected to get an opportunity to start at least four games so that the franchise can decide if he’s their quarterback of the future. With the addition of Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and receiving TE Jace Amaro in the last two years, the weapons around him are improved. He could work his way into the QB2/streaming conversation if he gets off to a good start.

Browns HC Mike Pettine broke the tight end group down this way: “We really have two different types of tight ends. The ‘Y’ is more the on the ball, blocker type where that’s [Jim Dray] and [Gary Barnidge]. The F is more of a move type, off the ball, more of a wing. You can flex him out some. Gary is kind of a ‘tweener.’ He can do both. We just like the depth in the room. We have three guys that they’re not identical skillsets there. There’s some overlap. Gary, like I said, is kind of both. Jim is more towards the ideal ‘Y,’ and [Rob Housler] is more the ideal ‘F.’”

Housler could be fantasy relevant if he sees starter snaps as a move tight end. He wasn’t given much to do in Bruce Arians’ offense while in Arizona, but he has a good skill set for a "move" tight end.

Lions RB Joique Bell isn't worried about the knee injury that has sidelined him for the entirety of this offseason. He isn't worried about the Achilles either.

He really, really isn't.

Bell is so confident about this season, in fact, that he's predicting he'll become the second Detroit Lions running back to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards since 2004 -- and then some.

"I'm going to rush for over 1,200 yards," Bell told MLive.com. "That's the minimum. If I do less than that, I'll be surprised. I'll be disappointed.

"Anything more than that, I wouldn't be surprised at all."

Bell was the #14 RB in standard formats (#13 in PPR), while racking up 257 touches in 15 games. That works out to a 17.1-touch average. While he certainly benefited from Reggie Bush's injury-plagued season, Bell dominated the touches even when Bush was active and playing. He should continue to see RB1-type touches in 2015 with Bush out of the way, though the arrival of Ameer Abdullah is a concern. Abdullah has shined with Bell sitting out of offseason activities, but Bell should still see 14-15 touches per game.

This make-or-break season for the Washington Redskins is all about quarterback Robert Griffin III taking the next step in coach Jay Gruden's quick-rhythm passing offense.

To help RG3 improve as a more conventional pocket passer, consider new general manager Scot McCloughan's first draft a throwback nod to the Redskins' championship past. McCloughan focused on making the team bigger, tougher and stronger in the trenches, beginning with the fifth overall pick, Iowa's Brandon Scherff, who will start at right tackle. Then McCloughan, who places a premium on building through the draft, added fourth-round guard Arie Kouandjio and seventh-round center Austin Reiter.

In a need-based draft, McCloughan gave RG3 everything he needed to improve.

Think of the 2015 Redskins as The Hogs 2.0 (they can only hope) after McCloughan infused the offensive line with the same smash-mouth mentality that helped the Joe Gibbs-coached Redskins win three Super Bowls behind blockers like Joe Jacoby, Jeff Bostic and Russ Grimm.

"Just get back to the old days — the ground-and-pound football, which will open up the passing lanes," 6-5, 319-pound Scherff said. "I think that's what they want to start doing, and that's what we will start doing from Day 1."

"We want to be able to run the football. It sets up everything else for us," said McCloughan, who seemed to have a solid, meat-and-potatoes first draft. Scherff and second-round pass rusher Preston Smith project as immediate starters."

McCloughan's picks gave new offensive line coach Bill Callahan the resources to revamp a leaky group that also allowed 58 sacks last season. Couple that with a successful running game, and it should take pressure off RGIII. Unfortunately, that game plan won't necessarily make for great fantasy QB production, and Griffin comes in 20th in our rankings. But it could be good news for RB Alfred Morris, who once again shapes up to be a safe RB2 option in the third or fourth rounds of fantasy drafts.

Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson was a week from returning to the Vikings' roster after a three-game suspension for drunken driving, when ESPN reported on Sept. 18 that Simpson had been cited in July for misdemeanor marijuana possession and driving with an open bottle. The Vikings released Simpson later that day, and signed Charles Johnson off the Cleveland Browns' practice squad the next day.

It seemed at the time like a move to replenish the Vikings' wide receiver depth with a known commodity -- quarterbacks coach Scott Turner had been Johnson's position coach the previous year in Cleveland -- but Johnson was less than a year removed from knee surgery, and didn't play more than 20 snaps in a game until Nov. 16. From that point on, though, he caught 25 passes for 415 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and supplanted Cordarrelle Patterson as the team's "X" receiver.

"He was recovering from that knee surgery a year ago and I don't know that he was ever 100 percent," offensive coordinator Norv Turner said. "I think he's 100 percent. He's got great work ethic, and he's a big, strong guy. He's a 218-pound receiver that can run. He's got everything you need to be a productive player in this league."

In organized team activities and minicamp, there was no mystery about where Johnson figured in the Vikings' plans, the story went on to say. He was lined up at split end all spring, and teamed with Mike Wallace and Jarius Wright in the team's three receiver sets. According to ESPN, 33 of Johnson's 58 targets were at least 10 yards downfield, and 13 of those 58 were 20 or more yards downfield. Johnson worked out in Southern California with Bridgewater and a number of the Vikings' receivers this offseason, and also spent time in Houston with Rischad Whitfield, the "Footwork King" who has counted Antonio Brown and DeAndre Hopkins among his clients. Johnson is one of 4for4.com Senior Editor John Paulsen's potential sleepers this year. We rank him 37th on our WR list and he looks to be in a good situation with the offense under OC Norv Turner and a developing QB in Bridgewater.

He’s not the new wide receiver who many call the best player in Houston Texans franchise history. He’s not the dynamic weapon fresh off his first Pro Bowl appearance. He’s not the first-round draft pick with speed that rivals some of the NFL’s fastest players.

Donte Moncrief brings his own unique potential to the 2015 Colts wide receivers group.

As a 21-year old rookie last season, Moncrief forced his way into the lineup and gave Colts coaches enough of a look to feel just fine in increasing expectations for No. 10.

“Moncrief has big play ability and we saw him do that,” Chuck Pagano said back at the League Meetings in March. “He’s going to have more opportunities going forward.

“He’s got such a high ceiling and room for improvement. The sky’s the limit for him.”

There's no question Moncrief has talent, but rookie Phillip Dorsett is getting a lot of press so far this offseason and he could battle Moncrief for the WR3 spot - assuming T.Y. Hilton and Andre Johnson are the top two. In a news article from earlier this month, we thought it was possible Johnson, Moncrief, Dorsett and TEs Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener rotate through the other three positions in one running back sets.

Cowboys beat writer Brandon George thinks Dallas will run the same kind of offense even with the loss of RB DeMarco Murray to free agency.

George: The Cowboys, I believe, will go about their offense the same way as last year with emphasizing the run game behind a dominant offensive line. At least early in the season. If the run game starts to struggle, you could see them start to shy away from it and put the ball int he hands of QB Tony Romo more again. And that hasn't always been positive. They need a strong rushing game again to make this offense click.

In another question, George went on to say he believes Joseph Randle is the team's RB1, but Lance Dunbar and Darren McFadden will also have roles in the running game.
George added that things could change but he'd "put [his] money on Randle at this point." We agree with George and have Randle ranked the highest among the Dallas backs - coming in 24th with an ADP of the sixth round in 10 team leagues. If he can manage to keep the RB1 role, he could provide owners with some nice value from that draft slot.

RB Eddie Lacy was asked to do a lot more for the Packers in 2014 than he was as a rookie, and he delivered.

He stayed on the field on third downs as a pass protector and receiving outlet for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He was solid in blitz pickup, and he boosted his pass-catching numbers considerably, from 257 yards and no touchdowns in 2013 to 427 yards and four scores last year.

All the while, he improved his per-carry rushing average a full half yard, from 4.1 to 4.6, without missing a single game and never touching the ball fewer than a dozen times per contest.

It’s a heavy workload that isn’t likely to diminish in the upcoming season, but the third-year running back is fine with his extensive every-down responsibilities.

“I don’t feel I have too much on my plate,” Lacy said last week as the offseason program wrapped up. “I really think it’s the perfect amount. You can see the chemistry between me and the offensive line, and me and the quarterback. We’re just all on the same page and we’re rolling.”

Lacy will certainly be a major factor again this season, and the coaching staff has emphasized it wants to get clicking from the get-go this year, the story said. That's something Lacy didn't do last season, thanks in part to a tough, early schedule. But we preached to stay patient with Lacy as his schedule eased. It paid off as he finished in the top-eight in both PPR and standard formats. This year Lacy is ranked third among our running backs heading into drafts, but with an ADP of 1.3, he's actually going before Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch, who we have ahead of him here in late June.

With the deadline to agree to a long-term deal coming July 15, Tom Condon, the agent for wide receiver Dez Bryant, and the Dallas Cowboys had their first face-to-face meeting in nearly four months within the past week, according to sources.

Last month, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team would make a push to sign Bryant to a deal, but much work remains before that actually happens.

Bryant has yet to sign his $12.823 million franchise tag tender in hopes of a deal with larger guaranteed money. Bryant's camp has threatened to miss regular-season games even though there would be no financial incentive. After July 15, Bryant has to play the season on the tender and the two sides could begin negotiations again after the season.

Bryant missed most of the Cowboys' offseason program, showing up for a handful of workouts and an organized team activity, according to the story. Bryant attended the final day of the Cowboys' mandatory minicamp on June 18 but did not practice. The Cowboys do not believe the threat to miss games because it would cost Bryant roughly $754,000 each week. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he believes Bryant will be "leading the way" when the Cowboys open the season Sept. 13 against the New York Giants. Bryant is ranked fourth on our WR list with an ADP of late in the first round.

Seahawks beat writer Bob Condotta (of the Seattle Times) was asked to predict the pecking order at receiver:

If you go with just two receivers, then I’d still go with Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse being the two starters for the opening game. They are the two most experienced and proven receivers on the team and also excel at a really underrated aspect of the game that is hugely important to the coaches — blocking. That’s one reason you rarely saw those two come off the field last season. Teams obviously often run three-receiver sets. And if what we saw in OTAs and mini-caps is any indication, then the starting 3-WR sets would well include Baldwin, Kearse and Chris Matthews. Tyler Lockett projects as Baldwin’s backup, with the other spots sort of a jumble at the moment. But as of now, I’d go with Kevin Norwood and Ricardo Lockette as the other backups. As you note, Paul Richardson could well being the year on the PUP list. If he’s healthy by opening day, I’d put him on the second unit. As for the Kearse and Matthews, there’s no question that what Matthews did in the Super Bowl creates a lot of excitement going forward. But Kearse is one of the team’s most versatile receivers and as noted, also excels at blocking. For now, I think he holds on to a role as being more of an every down receiver.

Matthews is a deep sleeper this year despite a great performance in the Super Bowl. Baldwin should be usable in fantasy leagues, but with the addition of TE Jimmy Graham, there will be fewer targets available to the Seattle receivers.

Head coach Rex Ryan is on board with WR coach Sanjay Lal’s plan to develop Percy Harvin as a bona fide receiver on the outside. Harvin never had enough time to invest in being an outside threat because he was spending too much practice time elsewhere on the field, be it in the slot or the offensive backfield or on kick return with his previous clubs.

“He’s a playmaker and I think Percy now he’s just scratching the surface of what kind of outside receiver he can be,” said Ryan. “I’m excited to see how he can elevate his game at that position. He’s extremely talented.”

“Sometimes Percy Harvin may get 10 balls thrown to him. Maybe the next week he gets three, but that’s okay because we just want to win,” said Ryan. “It could mean your number is dialed up a lot more this week than it was the last week. That’s just part of it. We know we have a lot of playmakers and we plan to get the ball in all of their hands.”

This is all well and good, but the Bills still have serious quarterback issues and an offensive coordinator (Greg Roman) who never had an offense finish better than 23rd in total passing yards in four seasons in San Francisco.

Jaguars beat writer John Oehser listed Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns as his top three breakout players:

Robinson missed the end of last season with a stress fracture in his foot, and then was limited early in the on-field portion of the offseason program. Once he returned to full speed around the third week of organized team activities early this month, he emerged quickly as one of the standout players of the offseason. He had the offseason look of a player on the rise, and if that look translates to the regular season, he could be a go-to player at a position where the Jaguars haven’t had one in a while.

Just because we’ve talked about Robinson a lot in the last few weeks doesn’t mean he’s the Jaguars’ only young, ascending receiver. Lee missed OTAs and minicamp with a knee injury, but he was close to being on the field during minicamp in June. He appears to have matured after struggling early in his rookie season and he has more explosiveness than any other Jaguars wide receiver. Hurns has been steady, consistent and reliable in a little more than a year since joining the Jaguars. He must reduce his drops, but he showed last season he can get open against NFL defenses.

Robinson averaged 5.2 catches for 61 yards and 0.22 TD from Week 2 to Week 10, which extrapolates to an 84-974-3.6 over the course of a full 16-game season. In other words, he posted fringe WR2-type numbers before suffering a stress fracture in his foot. He should be better this year, provided new TE Julius Thomas doesn't gobble up all the targets. Lee and Hurns are both late-round types as it's not completely clear who is next in the pecking order.

Chargers running back coach Ollie Wilson says Melvin Gordon has picked up the offense quickly and is improving in his understanding of pass protection, which he didn’t do a lot of at Wisconsin.

“He studies and he’s smart,” Wilson said, via ESPN. “When you give him something, you know that you’re on to the next thing. Usually with rookies it takes a little while to get it done. Now, he’s still working through some of the protection stuff. But for the most part, when we give him something, he’s pretty much got it. So that’s going to help him stay on the field.”

The Chargers traded up to get Gordon, so we’d expect they’ll use him early and often in 2015. In fact, GM Tom Telesco used the phrase "impact player" 11 times in Gordon's introductory press conference. He doesn’t have a lot of experience as a receiver, so we'd expect that Danny Woodhead still gets a lot of work on third down while Gordon establishes himself as a good weapon out of the backfield.

Vikings OC Norv Turner had some nice things to say about WR Charles Johnson.

“CJ has picked up where he left off in December and he’s having a good spring,” Turner said.

Johnson won’t technically be labeled as the No. 1 receiver with the Vikings trading for Mike Wallace from the Dolphins, but he’s expected to have a big role in the offense. Johnson built a rapport with Teddy Bridgewater once he took over as the starting “X” receiver over Cordarrelle Paterson, and the chemistry continued throughout OTAs and minicamp this offseason.

Johnson started playing significant snaps in Week 11, and over the final seven games of the season, he averaged 3.6 catches for 59 yards and 0.29 touchdowns. He was the #31 fantasy receiver in that span. He should continue to have plenty of opportunity to grow in Norv Turner's offense despite the arrival of Mike Wallace.

Dolphins players have been effusive about how Ryan Tannehill has looked all offseason. Even the deep throws are improved. “Ryan is way better than last year and more of a leader,” tight end Dion Sims said.

In his first three seasons, Tannehill finished #24, #16 and finally #9 in quarterback scoring. That’s a nice trend. The Dolphins spent the offseason trying to upgrade his weapons, and ended up with Jordan Cameron at tight end to go along with Kenny Stills, DeVante Parker and Greg Jennings at receiver. Sure, they traded away Mike Wallace and let Charles Clay walk, but that trio (and the emerging Jarvis Landry) should be able to more than offset those losses. Tannehill has a good coordinator in Bill Lazor and host of weapons to utilize. He looks like a very safe pick in the 9th round.

Carlos Hyde missed a lot of the offseason program with a relatively minor leg issue.

That left Reggie Bush to take the first running rep during drills and he reportedly looked strong. Hyde still projects as the early-down starter come Week 1, but his workload will be nibbled into by Bush, rookie Mike Davis and a healthy Kendall Hunter. And if the 49ers end up trailing a lot this season as they very well could, Bush will be logging the majority of snaps as the passing back.

Hyde is expected to take over as the team's primary ball-carrier, with Bush assuming the passing down role. Given Bush's presence and Hyde's 4.0 YPC during in his rookie season, Hyde's upside may be somewhat limited. Expect 240 or so carries and a limited role in the passing game. As for Bush, anytime he stays healthy, he's a factor in PPR formats. He has appeared in 14 or more games in five of his nine NFL seasons, and has finished in the top 14 in PPR leagues in four of those five seasons.

Todd Gurley's rehab from an ACL tear is progressing to the point where the St. Louis Rams running back is eyeing next month's training camp for his return to the field.

"That is definitely a goal that I'm shooting for," Gurley told NFL Media's Tiffany Blackmon from the NFL Rookie Symposium Wednesday night. "Just to be able to get out there and do at least some individual stuff. It's looking pretty realistic. This month I'll be in St. Louis rehabbing, so hopefully I can aim for (training camp)."

The Rams will bring the No. 10 overall pick along slowly. But if he's healthy come the start of September, Gurley could be a huge part of an offense that has deep question marks in the passing game. Teaming Gurley's power with the likes of Tre Mason in the Rams backfield could provide a potent combo for a run-heavy team that relies on its defense to win games.

Gurley is widely considered to be the best running back in the 2015 draft class, but he’s recovering from a November ACL tear. He’ll be nine months into his recovery in August, so his early season availability is unknown. Typically, an athlete can return to their sport six months after surgery, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be game-ready. Prospective owners should draft Tre Mason if possible as insurance. When Gurley returns, he should provide high end RB2 numbers if he begins to get starter’s touches.

Melvin Gordon gives the Chargers a home-run threat at running back. Gordon exceeded expectations during offseason work, which is impressive, considering goals were high for the Wisconsin product after he was selected in the first round of the draft as the replacement for the departed Ryan Mathews. However, Gordon has to take the next step in training camp, which means playing fast and physical, as well as keeping up with a fast-paced San Diego offense led by Philip Rivers.

The Chargers traded up to get Gordon, so we’d expect they’ll use him early and often in 2015. In fact, GM Tom Telesco used the phrase "impact player" 11 times in Gordon's introductory press conference. Ryan Mathews is gone, so it’s Gordon’s job to lose. He doesn’t have a lot of experience as a receiver, so we'd expect that Danny Woodhead still gets a lot of work on third down while Gordon establishes himself as a good weapon out of the backfield. This somewhat limits Gordon's upside since he doesn't project to be an every-down back as a rookie.

Inaccuracy has been Matthew Stafford's calling card his whole career, completing under 60 percent of his passes in four of his six seasons. Of the top 10 passing quarterbacks in 2014, Stafford had the lowest completion percentage (60.3) while attempting the fifth-most passes in the league (602).

However, news out of Lions minicamp is that Stafford has turned things around and is impressing coach Jim Caldwell. "He's improved," Caldwell told MLive.com on Tuesday. "He has a better feel for the system. You can see our timing's better, receivers have a better sense of the routes that they're running. All around I think we've made some improvement."

"I mean, it's obviously always a work in progress," Stafford offered. "But there's no question we've taken strides forward this spring." Caldwell went on to say that, concerning Stafford's completion percentage, he expects "an improvement from where he was last year."

Stafford finished as the #17 QB last season, but in the three previous seasons, he didn’t finish outside the top 10. Stafford tends to struggle when Calvin Johnson isn’t fully healthy, as was the case last year. He should improve his numbers in his second season in Joe Lombardi's offense, especially with a healthy Johnson back in the fold.

Though it’s unwise to make sweeping inferences from a few offseason workouts, there were signs, as the Redskins wrapped up last week’s minicamp, that Pierre Garcon will be featured more prominently in the 2015 game plan as Coach Jay Gruden attempts to rally from his 4-12 debut as a rookie NFL head coach.

Gruden said more than once last season that he wanted to get Garcon more involved in the passing game. But it never really happened, whether as a result of free agent DeSean Jackson’s addition to the receiving corps, the revolving door at quarterback or the failure of Robert Griffin III to make timely, decisive reads.

When the Redskins got back to work this offseason, Garcon frequently lined up split out wide to the right of Griffin rather than in his customary spot to the quarterback’s left. According to wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard, it represented an attempt to diversify the offense and get players comfortable with other roles.

And both Hilliard and Gruden gushed about the work Garcon was putting in. Heading into his eighth NFL season, Garcon, who’ll turn 29 in August, didn’t miss a session of optional workouts or the mandatory minicamp.

After a #11 finish in PPR formats in 2013, Garcon was the #47 receiver last season. His targets dropped from 182 to 105, thanks to the addition of DeSean Jackson and Andre Roberts in free agency. The team is expected to run the ball a bit more this season, so we're not expecting much of a bounce-back season for Garcon.

Browns.com writer Andrew Gribble compared Browns RB Duke Johnson to Giovani Bernard:

Bernard’s name came up last week and Johnson appeared to welcome the comparison. Future NFL Hall of Fame running back LaDanian Tomlinson made that exact same comparison, too, during his pre-draft analysis on the NFL Network. And when you break down their measurables and numbers from the Combine, you start to understand why.

Bernard is 5-foot-9 and 208 pounds. Johnson is 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds. Bernard ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds. Johnson did his in 4.54. Both players are undersized but are tough enough to pick up yards between the tackles. And both can definitely make you pay as a receiver out of the backfield, as Bernard racked up 43 receptions for 349 yards in his second season with the Bengals while Johnson had 38 for 421 -- in three fewer games -- during his final season at Miami.

The Cleveland running game is murky at best. The team has two second-year players, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, who both had fantasy-relevant moments last season, but they added Johnson to the mix in the Draft. He’s the best receiver of the bunch, so he should have a role on third-down at the very least. But he’s capable of stealing carries as well. The Browns should have a good running game, but it’s going to be a headache trying to project these three on a week-to-week basis. We believe that Johnson is the best bet in PPR formats.

NFL.com writer Conor Orr:

I don't think Panthers WR Devin Funchess is crazy when he brings up the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, as all rookies are likely to do around this time of year.

Funchess, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound second-round pick, said as much last week during his NFL.com rookie confessional: "The goal that I've set for myself is to be Rookie of the Year."

Early reports out of camp suggest that the Michigan standout has already played at the X, Z and F slots and is learning all three at a brisk pace. He's giving himself more opportunities to stay on the field and make the plays Newton needs him to.

Funchess will be at best the third option in the passing game after Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olsen. The Panthers are run-oriented, so their WR2 isn’t typically much of a fantasy factor. If he plays starter’s snaps, he should be fantasy relevant, but we’re not expecting fantasy-starter numbers.

49ers writer Tyler Emerick said that RB Reggie Bush was the team's best free agent addition:

If you’ve followed our offseason coverage, you’ve heard Trent Baalke, Jim Tomsula, Tom Rathman, Geep Chryst and Kaepernick all express the same sentiment: Bush, at 30 years old, looks every bit as explosive as ever. The active leader in receptions by a running back with 466 career catches, Bush has urged the 49ers to get him the ball in space. This offseason, that translated not only into the 10th-year pro catching passes out of the backfield, but also getting carries on stretch plays and returning kicks and punts on special teams. Bush sounds like a man with something to prove, and if he can stay healthy, he’ll be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.

Bush is expected to fill a third-down role since it looks like Carlos Hyde is ready to carry most of the rushing load, though Jim Tomsula's comments (about Bush being “a runner...not a gadget guy”) indicate that Bush's presence should be a concern for Hyde owners who were initially excited about the young back's opportunity with Frank Gore gone. The 49ers don't typically use their running backs in the passing game, though longtime OC Greg Roman is gone and new OC Geep Chryst may have a different plan in mind.

49ers.com writer Joe Fann calls Torrey Smith the team's best free agent addition:

The 49ers needed a compliment to Anquan Boldin, and they found the perfect man for the job. Smith is far more than a one-trick pony. Yes, he excels at stretching the field and getting behind defensive backs, but he’s already shown the ability to catch balls in traffic on short and intermediate routes as well. On two specific minicamp plays, Smith caught the ball on a stopping route, then spun away from his defender and accelerated away from everyone in pursuit. I’m not sure I saw him drop a ball this offseason.

Smith got off to a slow start in 2014, posting just six catches for 85 yards in the first three games. Over the final 13 games of the season, he averaged 3.3 receptions for 52 yards and 0.85 touchdowns, which equates to #20 WR-type numbers in PPR formats. As it stands, he finished as the #29 WR in PPR and #19 in standard formats (thanks to the high touchdown rate), which is the fourth time he has finished in the top 23 (in standard formats) in his four-year career. He joins a 49ers receiving corps that has lost Michael Crabtree and has a still-effective Anquan Boldin as a possession receiver. Smith will serve as a deep threat for QB Colin Kaepernick, though this move has to be considered a downgrade from an offensive/quarterback standpoint since the 49ers are typically run-heavy and Joe Flacco is pretty adept at putting touch on the deep ball. Throwing with touch has not been one of Kaepernick's strengths, though he has been working on his passing technique his offseason.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said last week after the final practice of minicamp that it is “not the intent” to put WR Victor Cruz on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list at the start of training camp, which opens July 30.

“Obviously coming off an injury like the one I had, you want to be able to come back stronger and come back in tip-top shape,” Cruz said during an interview with Giants.com. “And I think I’m headed there. I think I’m about a little over 80 percent. These six weeks will be huge for me to continue to build on that and continue to be the force that I was before. So [I’m] just taking it one day at a time.”

Cruz tore his patellar tendon in mid-October, so it's no sure thing that he'll be back for the start of the season, though recent reports are positive. He's not going to get the same number of targets given Odell Beckham's emergence as a top-flight wideout. Cruz will likely play the Randall Cobb role in OC Ben McAdoo's offense, so there is some upside if he's fully healthy by Week 1.

Colts WR Phillip Dorsett added that he's learned all the positions and will be ready to go from the jump of next month's training camp.

"I feel really great about the playbook. I learned most of it," he said. "Everything that they installed at OTAs and minicamp I've learned. All the positions: X, F, Y, Z. I learned them all. I love football and studying football, so it hasn't been really that hard for me."

This versatility will help Dorsett find his way onto the field, though snaps are a major concern given all the talent the Colts have at the receiver position.

Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston has exceeded everyone's expectations. The first-overall pick arrived in Tampa Bay with plenty of questions, most of them off-field-related. But he's shined through minicamp and OTAs, and even if coach Lovie Smith won't anoint Winston the starter, there's no denying the quarterback's work ethic.

“I thought he would be a certain way, and that's what he's been," Smith said, via the team's website. "All of the positive things you've heard about Jameis is what we've been able to see. He is very smart. He is a gym rat -- football junkie. He does have personality. His glass is half full every day."

By all accounts, Winston has had a great offseason and is fitting in well with the Buccaneers. He is a shoo-in to start immediately, so opportunity is plentiful. He has two established weapons to throw to in receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins is expected to make strides in his second season. The situation from a skill position standpoint is very good, though the offensive line isn't. The Bucs did add two offensive linemen in the 2nd round, so there should be improvement up front. Rookie QBs are generally poor fantasy bets, but Winston should be a committee/streaming option in 12-team leagues.

Buccaneers RB Doug Martin had his best offseason in three years, and the upswing in his play could not have come at a better time. Charles Sims is good enough to start and he’ll push Martin hard for the bell-cow role. But the Bucs are probably better with Martin in the lead, Sims filling a third-down pass catcher’s role and Bobby Rainey backing up both.

The coaching staff reportedly loves Charles Sims, but OC Dirk Koetter fought to keep Martin with the team during the offseason, and he still sits atop the team's depth chart after a strong offseason. He's going in the 8th or 9th round, so he's a good target for those owners who are looking for potential starters in the later rounds.

Giants beat writer Jordan Raanan of NJ.com wonders about the role of RB Andre Williams:

Rashad Jennings ran primarily with the first-team offense. Free-agent acquisition Shane Vereen was mixed in constantly, especially on passing downs. Where does that leave Williams, the second-year back out of Boston College, after a strong rookie season? Williams might have trouble finding a role if the other two stay healthy. Jennings may even be a better, more effective short-yardage and/or goal-line back.

Williams averaged 3.3 YPC as a rookie (Jennings averaged 3.8 YPC), so the team probably isn't making it a priority to get the second-year back on the field. It appears that Williams will serve as Jennings' backup, so as long as Jennings stays healthy, he should see the bulk of the carries on 1st and 2nd down.

Per Albert Breer, the Bears have 'big plans' for Eddie Royal.

From PFT:

Royal got off to a fast start in his first year, catching 91 passes for 980 yards and five touchdowns while Jay Cutler was throwing for a career-high 4,526 yards en route to the only Pro Bowl appearance of his career.

It was the only year that the two men worked together, but both remember it fondly and Royal says they’re putting in the same work now that they did then to build the same chemistry.

Royal could create headaches for Kevin White (and perhaps Alshon Jeffery) owners. He has a tendency to either explode or disappear, and that makes it difficult to predict the distribution of production in any passing offense in which he plays.

Cowboys beat writer Todd Archer projects that Ryan WIlliams won't make the 53-man roster.

Archer: How in the world could I keep Ryan Williams off the roster? It was a tough decision, but the fact that he was limited in the spring because of a swollen knee didn’t help his cause. He can work his way into the mix this summer and with his work in the preseason games. Even if I can envision the Cowboys keeping four tailbacks, I have a hard time seeing them taking all four to the game, which makes that spot tenuous at best on the 53-man roster, as teams generally use back-of-the-roster spots on players they might want to groom.

Williams was recently a dark horse in the running back competition, but he's still experiencing swelling in his knee. It's good news for Joseph Randle who is currently in line for a big jump in touches after a productive (if limited) role last season.

Eagles RB Darren Sproles had some nice things to say about TE Zach Ertz.

"He has great hands, man," Sproles said last week, via CSN Philly. "His hands and his route running are just great, really. He's about to be a superstar."

Ertz has earned praise from coaches and teammates for his impressive showing in OTAs and minicamp.

Ertz was the #13 TE in both standard and PPR formats despite only playing half of the Eagles’ snaps in his second year. Ertz played mostly (73%) on passing downs, so if his playing time is going to increase, a majority of the additional snaps are likely to come in run formations. Still, there’s upside with Ertz if he begins to see starter’s snaps. The Eagles lost their leading receiver -- first DeSean Jackson and then Jeremy Maclin -- in back-to-back seasons, so there will be opportunity from a targets standpoint.

In watching Vikings practices this offseason and then listening to coaches and player speak, there’s a sense a healthy TE Kyle Rudolph is a big deal for the offense. In one of Bridgewater’s first press conferences of the offseason program, he was asked about the addition of Wallace. Bridgewater explained that addition was great, but he made a point to talk up how much a healthy Rudolph means to him and the rest of the offense. And this is what Turner, who has had several big-time TEs featured in his offenses, said about Rudolph:

“When he’s healthy and running like he’s been the last three weeks, it’s exciting to have him. We’ll get some coverage on the outside with the speed that we have, he can open it up a lot. He’ll get match-ups, if they’re going to play eight-man fronts, the tight end gets great match-ups through the passing game. It’s nice having him.”

It has been a frustrating two years for Rudolph and his owners, as he’s missed 15 of a possible 32 games in that span. But he saw 17 targets in three games last season before going down with a sports hernia. Over the past three seasons, Rudolph has averaged 5.2 targets per game, which is about what Owen Daniels averaged in 2014. There’s some upside in OC Norv Turner’s TE-friendly offense if he can stay healthy.

Eagles writer Dave Spadaro: If I had to say one player who stood out, it would be running back DeMarco Murray. He is much more fluid as a pass catcher than I thought, and he's in tremendous shape and just looks like he "fits" into this offensive structure perfectly. The backfield is a must-see group with all of that talent.

Murray had a career year in his fourth season, racking up 2,261 total yards and 13 touchdowns on 449 touches. He should get plenty of work in Philadelphia, though the signing of Ryan Mathews and the presence of Darren Sproles make it very unlikely that he’ll approach 450 touches in 2015. LeSean McCoy averaged 353 touches over the past two seasons, so that’s probably Murray’s ceiling if everyone stays healthy. He’ll hold low-end RB1 value, though the presence of Mathews and Sproles may make even that a stretch. Chip Kelly did not utilize McCoy much as a receiver last season.

Bengals TE Tyler Eifert was being brought along a little slower mainly because coaches and trainers simply didn't want to run the risk of getting him hurt. He's fully recovered from late-season shoulder surgery, and his dislocated elbow has healed. Still, they wanted to err on the side of caution when it came to putting Eifert in situations where he could fall to the ground stretching for passes. After all, that's how he hurt the shoulder in the first place during the Bengals' very first practice last spring.

Otherwise, yes, Eifert looks healthy. He caught virtually everything thrown his way during open practices, and looked sharp in his routes.

With Jermaine Gresham out of the way, Eifert should be a nice late-round pick provided he can stay healthy. He has good size and speed, and showed pretty good hands as a rookie. He only played about 60 percent of the snaps in 2013, and averaged 0.14 FP (PPR) per snap. Extrapolate the same production to 90 percent of the snaps (which is typical for a starting tight end), and Eifert shouldn't have any problem posting top 15 numbers. With solid improvement, he could very well be this year's Jordan Cameron (2013) or Travis Kelce (2014).

Without a shadow of a doubt, Bengals coaches are as confident in Marvin Jones' health and style of play as you've undoubtedly read in recent days. Receivers coach James Urban is among the most impressed. He told me a couple days ago that this spring was "baptism by fire" as it pertained to Jones. It was all about getting the rust off the wide out by putting him through every scenario he should face this season. Urban was pleased with what he saw, as was Jones. He was quick and crisp in his routes and started sharpening his timing with quarterback Andy Dalton by the end of the minicamp that concluded Thursday.

Health-wise, Jones told me Thursday he has no lingering effects of the foot and ankle injuries that held him out all of last season. He feels perfectly fine and made it through the practices without any issues. I think it's safe to say Jones is back.

Jones was one of our favorite sleepers last summer, but his season was derailed by an ankle injury. His 51 catches for 712 yards and 10 touchdowns resulted in the 3rd-highest FP/T in 2013. He’s poised to surprise if he can prove he’s fully healthy and win the starting job opposite A.J. Green. Mohamed Sanu played pretty well last season but he struggled with drops, and Jones was ahead of Sanu when disaster struck. Both players are free agents after the season, so this is one of the more interesting camp battles to monitor this summer. One thing to note: Sanu only saw an average of 5.2 targets in the 12 games in which Green played, so Cincinnati’s WR2 it wasn’t a high-volume role in OC Hue Jackson’s run-oriented offense. That could change if Jones wins the job, but it’s something to keep in mind.

In the battle of third-down backs, James White looks like a carbon copy of Shane Vereen. He’s lined up in all the same places, and turned in some spectacular catches, particularly on wheel routes coming out of the backfield. He’s made a few drops, but all in all, looks great. It’s important to remember he also looked great last year at this time before falling off the map.

Free agent pickup Dion Lewis has earned praise on the field from Brady for his route-running. He’s also been a primary kick returner in drills. He has some giddy-up in his step.

Travaris Cadet, another free agent who was the third down back in New Orleans, has had some good moments.

“If they don’t look good in shorts and t-shirts, we got a problem,” running backs coach Ivan Fears reminded us last week. “Let’s wait ’til the bullets start flying.”

There was a similar report last week that Cadet had the lead in the competition, so this job is still very much up in the air. If one player takes over Vereen's role, then he'll be immediately relevant in PPR formats.

Redskins beat writer John Keim on the team's backfield split:

Last season Alfred Morris took 66 percent of the Redskins' 401 carries. And in his first three seasons with Washington, Morris took 64 percent. That's a good number for him, and if he's running well then I'd expect that to continue. I think the other part is that we don't know how well Matt Jones will run the ball in the NFL. If he's running well, then I could see him getting a handful of carries per game. Regardless, he'll have a role as a third-down back. Also, if the Redskins are as committed to the run as they say, then they should have at least 50 more carries than last season's total of 401. That won't change the percentage, but it would mean more chances for both. Another factor is how often they use the zone-read option. If it's less of a factor, then that's more carries for Morris/Jones to split.

Morris should continue to be a fringe RB1 in standard formats and a solid RB2 in PPR leagues. It sounds like Jones will take over the role vacated by Roy Helu.

Saints beat writer Mike Triplett on the fantasy value of the team's running backs:

It's pretty close between C.J. Spiller and Mark Ingram. I'm really excited to see what Spiller will do in this offense as both a runner and receiver - mostly because you can tell that Sean Payton is really excited about the possibilities when he talks about Spiller. I think Spiller and Ingram will be very close in total yards from scrimmage - right around 1,000 yards each, with Ingram gaining almost all of those yards as a rusher and Spiller having a pretty even split between rushing and receiving yards. Spiller will get a boost in point-per-reception leagues. Ingram will probably score more TDs, though.

Senior Editor laid out The Case for C.J. Spiller earlier in the offseason. It's not inconceivable that Spiller posts top 5 PPR numbers a la Darren Sproles in 2011. Ingram should get his share of touches, though a healthy Khriy Robinson is a concern. Spiller would be our choice for PPR formats, with Ingram coming in higher in standard leagues.

Saints beat writer Mike Triplett on the Saints' TE situation:

I've written a lot about Josh Hill this summer, as well. I think he'll pop up on the fantasy radar since he'll get an opportunity at more touches with Graham gone. But I'm not expecting a major breakthrough. I think Hill's 5 TDs last year were a bit misleading since he was usually benefitting from being the "open man" on those plays instead of a red-zone monster. He had only 14 catches overall. I actually think tight end Ben Watson could be a sleeper late-round pickup in deeper leagues and during bye weeks, etc. Watson might have led the Saints in catches during the OTA and minicamp practices that were open to the media. He won't have a breakout year at age 34, but he'll be regularly involved.

Jimmy Graham, Hill and Watson combined for 1,634 snaps last year, with Watson playing 50 percent of the team's snaps. Sean Payton said that Watson's role won't change in 2015, but didn't say if that meant he would play about the same number of snaps. Hill's snaps should at least double (to 50 percent) and he even has upside from there since Jimmy Graham played on 68 percent of the snaps. It was worrisome that Payton mentioned "two-TE sets" when discussing Hill's potential playing time, since it indicates that he's not going to start. At the end of the day, the Saints are looking for playmakers in the passing game, so while we're not as bullish as we were a month ago on Hill's upside, he's still looking like a nice pick in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. If he's producing, he'll play.

"He's doing a great job for us,'' Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said of TE Zach Ertz. "He's got an unbelievable work ethic, has really had no offseason in terms of what he did this past; from when our season ended against the Giants to when we started the offseason program in terms of what he did to work on his craft and make himself better not only as a receiver but as a blocker."

Ertz was the #13 TE in both standard and PPR formats despite only playing half of the Eagles’ snaps in his second year. Ertz played mostly (73%) on passing downs, so if his playing time is going to increase, a majority of the additional snaps are likely to come in run formations. Still, there’s upside with Ertz if he begins to see starter’s snaps. The Eagles lost their leading receiver -- first DeSean Jackson and then Jeremy Maclin -- in back-to-back seasons, so there will be opportunity from a targets standpoint. It's good to hear that Kelly is happy with his blocking -- that's the key to more playing time.

Montee Ball had a disappointing 2014 season in which he was supposed to run away with the starting job. While Ball’s downfall can be linked to his appendectomy before the season, this season he finds himself behind Denver’s breakout star from 2014 C.J. Anderson.

While Ball remains optimistic that he’ll find a way to regain his position as Denver’s featured back, Troy Renck says his time has come and gone.

“If C.J Anderson stays healthy, his commitment is at a new level,” Renck said. “I don’t see Ball getting the chance to prove that anymore. I think the window closed on him last year. It’s a bellcow offense, the back doesn’t rotate in and out.”

Anderson began to see starter-type touches in Week 10 with 17 touches for 163 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders. Over the final eight weeks, he averaged 24.0 touches for 132 yards and 1.3 TD, and was the #1 RB in that span. If the Broncos commit to Anderson (and why wouldn’t they?), he should thrive under new HC Gary Kubiak, who just coaxed a career year out of journeyman Justin Forsett.

Greg Cosell of NFL Films discussed the 49ers' offseason:

People tend to forget with Colin Kaepernick, because he had such great success early, that he's only been a full-time starter for two years. He's still a young quarterback, he's still learning the craftsmanship of the position and the subtleties of the position. With a new coordinator, I think Geep Chryst, my sense is, I think he'll try and be a little more expansive and explosive with the pass game. So I'm anxious to see that. I think they'll try very hard to get Vernon Davis back into it. So I think it's important for people to remember that Colin Kaepernick is still a young quarterback learning.

He was the #14 QB in 2014 after finishing #9 the season before, though his overall production only dipped by 11 fantasy points. He's a bounce-back candidate provided new OC Geep Chryst can design an offense that can move the ball. Chryst previously served as the OC for the Chargers in 1999 and 2000, but his offenses ranked 26th and 28th overall in that span. Any gains that Kaepernick can make as a thrower (due to his offseason work with QB coach Dennis Gile and former Rams/Cardinals QB Kurt Warner) will only help his overall value.

As for Davis, he's quite a bit better than the numbers he posted last year. His 50 targets were his fewest since 2008, and his usage was way too low considering he has finished in the top 8 at his position in four of the last six seasons. He was targeted just once in the red zone after seeing 20 red zone targets in 2013.

"Tavon Austin's had a great offseason," new Rams OC Frank Cignetti said, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It starts in the classroom. He's learning. He's paying attention. He's bringing it to the practice field.

"You just see it from his route running. What a difference. His effort, his attention to details. Every day out there, the guy's made plays."

Whether it's because paint-by-numbers former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer couldn't maximize the receiver/running back hybrid's talents or because Austin lacks any semblance of tackle-breaking power, the development simply hasn't been there.

It's difficult to see Austin making much of a fantasy impact unless Cignetti's able to figure out a way to maximize his skill set.

Bears WR Marquess Wilson is still in the mix, even though Chicago drafted Kevin White No. 7 overall. Because White missed the final week of practice, Wilson received increased reps with the first and second teams. HC John Fox seems impressed by Wilson, who suffered a broken collarbone in training camp last year that derailed his sophomore season.

When it's all said and done, we expect White to start opposite Alshon Jeffery, but he hasn't had a dominant offseason. Both Eddie Royal and Wilson could steal targets, especially given Fox's preference for playing veterans over rookies.

Bears WR Eddie Royal is a rare breed. He is smart and talented enough to do the dirty work on the underneath routes, but fast enough to catch a slant and take it to the house. It’s hard to remember the last time Chicago had such a versatile receiver on the roster.

Royal should immediately fill the slot role for the Bears. He's always been a headache for fantasy owners, either offering inconsistent production and/or taking away targets from other players. Kevin White may be a victim of this in 2015.

Who starts at running back for the Titans isn’t the biggest concern. Bishop Sankey started only nine games last season, but he wound up with 58 more carries than anyone else. David Cobb could wind up in a similar situation this season. The Titans intend to be a committee, but Cobb is the better inside running option and should be the guy in short-yardage and goal line situations. The starter? I don’t know that it matters. Sankey is in line to be better than he was as a rookie, but Cobb should get a good deal of work and depending on the game, he could be the first back they turn to.

The Titans were 26th in total rushing yards last season, so if they're planning to split the work between Sankey and Cobb, there's a good chance that neither player is trustworthy from a fantasy standpoint.

Saints HC Sean Payton indicated that he is experimenting with plays specifically with C.J. Spiller in mind.

"When you sign a player like that ... you are anxious to see how it fits with what you are doing and you begin to expand some things," Payton said.

Quarterback Drew Brees said he envisioned plenty of snaps for Spiller, not only because of his explosiveness, but also because at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, he's sturdy enough to run inside and even block in pass protection, as former Saints running back Pierre Thomas did.

"He's got some of the quickness and the speed and kind of that slash element like a Sproles," Brees said of Spiller. "But he's bigger in stature like a Pierre, and so there's really not anything he can't do."

While New Orleans may not be an ideal landing spot in the carries department, Spiller should have a big role in the passing game with Pierre Thomas, Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills no longer on the roster. He’ll likely take over the role of Thomas, who averaged 11.6 touches in the last two seasons. Thomas finished with a top 30 PPG (PPR) in six of the last seven seasons, so that's a reasonable baseline for Spiller. New Orleans running backs caught 275 passes in the last two seasons, so there are plenty of catches to go around. In short, he has significant PPR upside in this offense, but his workload will be somewhat limited since he'll be part of a committee.

Julius Thomas is the Jaguars’ best player.

Shocker, right? The way he moved around the practice field this month was unlike any player of the Caldwell-Bradley Era. For a franchise that’s been without difference making players, Thomas checks that important box.

If Thomas wasn’t leaping to catch a Blake Bortles catch down the seam — with a linebacker trailing him, he was running a post pattern to catch a Bortles offering — with a safety scrambling to cover him.

It's not shocking, but maybe a bit surprising. Thomas was a very productive tight end in Denver, but we're worried about the quarterback and offense downgrade to Blake Bortles and Jacksonville. He should offer at least baseline fantasy TE1 numbers, but we're dubious about a top 5 finish.

Allen Robinson is by far the Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver.

A quick canvas of the league revealed 10 No. 1-caliber receivers: Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Alshon Jeffrey, A.J. Green, Dez Bryant, DeMaryius Thomas, Jordy Nelson, T.Y. Hilton, Odell Beckham and Antonio Brown.

Robinson, the Jaguars’ second-year receiver, is below that level, but on this team at this moment, he’s the best.

Robinson averaged 5.2 catches for 61 yards and 0.22 TD from Week 2 to Week 10, which extrapolates to an 84-974-3.6 over the course of a full 16-game season. He posted fringe WR2-type numbers before suffering a stress fracture in his foot. The Jacksonville receiving corps should feature Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns. If QB Blake Bortles can progress, this could be a dangerous passing game, and Robinson would be the primary beneficiary.

Drew Brees and Keenan Lewis use the phrase "night and day" to describe the difference in Brandon Coleman's play from last year to this year. The 6-foot-6 wideout is becoming more than just a big body as he's far more reliable catching the football and knowing the offense this offseason. At this rate, Coleman could be on his way to transforming into a viable piece in the passing game in 2015.

He’s vying for snaps behind Brandin Cooks, Marques Colston and Nick Toon, but his teammates have said that the 6’6” receiver is “night and day” from last season, so he could quickly work his way into fantasy relevance with an injury or two in the Saints’ receiving corps.

The Chargers said it last year. They're saying it again now. Ladarius Green is expected to have a larger role in their offense, the team working to take advantage of his size-speed combo to present a mismatch for defenses. He seems to be playing at a faster speed in his fourth NFL offseason.

"I'd be shocked if he didn't have his most productive year," offensive coordinator Frank Reich said.

"He's looked really good," Rivers said. "I hope — we intended to and tried to some last year — I hope and I think we all agree that he needs to be a bigger part of it as we move forward this year. We need to have him be a weapon for us because he'll be a heck of a matchup for us on some defenses."

Green was actually drafted ahead of Antonio Gates in 2014 which turned out to be a gross miscalculation by the fantasy community, which tends to put aging vets out to pasture prematurely. A Gates/Green combo isn't a bad idea given Gates's age and Green's much lower price in 2015. He'll explode if Gates misses any time with injury.

Falcons RB Devonta Freeman is clearly ahead at running back. Freeman is the leader in the clubhouse to earn the No. 1 running back spot over rookie Tevin Coleman. His head is probably spinning with all of the new information to go along with the mild groin strain that kept him out of the final day of minicamp.

“I knew Devonta had terrific hands, but I probably didn’t appreciate the good route-running ability coming out of Florida State and the development he made with (former running backs coach) Gerald (Brown) and the guys here last year," said head coach Dan Quinn. "He can really run routes.”

Quinn stopped just short of declaring a winner in the position battle.

“He’s going to be a guy we’re going to feature in a lot of different ways,” Quinn said. “He’s tough. He’s got great quickness….He’s a factor for sure.”

With Steven Jackson out of the way, GM Thomas Dimitroff said that there was “no question” that Freeman is ready to be the feature back in Atlanta, though the team threw cold water on that notion by drafting Tevin Coleman. Freeman wasn't terribly impressive in his rookie season (248 yards rushing, 3.8 YPC), but he was active and effective in the passing game (30 catches for 225 yards), so we’re expecting he’ll be PPR-relevant as part of a timeshare.

Giants beat writer Jordan Raanan:

QB Eli Manning looked sharp this spring on the days the media was allowed inside the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. His interceptions were down (even if it's just practice). His arm looked lively. And he set the tone with an intensity you rarely see from Manning on the practice.

Usually, he's stoic. Business-like, really. This spring he was pumping his fist on touchdowns and waving his arms in self-disgust on easy misses.

Something tells me Manning is in for a big season in the second year in Ben McAdoo's offense.

Manning finished the season as the #10 fantasy quarterback, but was #2 over the final six weeks, when OC Ben McAdoo said that the team finally played the way it wanted to play. In Odell Beckham, Manning finally has a stud receiver. The free agent signing of receiving specialist Shane Vereen and the return of a (hopefully) healthy Victor Cruz give Manning two more weapons to utilize in the passing game. He looks like a great value for those who want to wait on the position until the 9th or 10th round.

Get ready for a lot of Shane Vereen, the versatile running back signed as a free agent this offseason. Vereen seemed to find his way onto the field constantly, and was catching pass after pass. He's not just going to be a third-down back.

"He can be a quarterback's best friend in a way in the passing game," McAdoo said.

Remember, the Giants like to pass on first, second and third down these days.

Vereen’s arrival in New York puts a dent in the fantasy value of both Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams. Vereen has always been a factor in PPR formats, and the Giants have shown a willingness to utilize their running backs in the passing game (e.g. Tiki Barber) under HC Tom Coughlin. Vereen should post solid RB3 numbers in PPR formats, provided he stays healthy.

Eagles beat writer Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice:

He's legit. Players in the Eagles secondary are already saying he's been the most impressive receiver they've faced so far this offseason, and the media seems to be in unanimous agreement that he looks very fast and shifty. As we noted in the final notes of minicamp, there are some players who don't play to their timed speed. Agholor ran a 4.42 at the Combine, and he plays every bit as fast as that would indicate, and then some. I'd be very surprised if he didn't start Week 1.

Agholor joins a receiving corps that has lost its best receiver (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) in each of the past two offseasons. He’s expected to win a starting job, likely outside opposite Riley Cooper with Jordan Matthews in the slot. If that’s the case, he’ll be a fantasy factor as a rookie.

Eagles beat writer Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice:

Anytime a tight end made any kind of impressive catch, it always seemed to be Zach Ertz. He was very active, and is already becoming one of Sam Bradford's favorite targets. Ertz has said that he wants to be the best tight end to ever play the game. While that is obviously a very lofty goal, I feel fairly ceretain that if the Eagles play him as much as they should this season, he's going to put up big time numbers.

That's the rub with Ertz: Thus far, the team has limited his snaps to keep Brent Celek on the field due to his superior blocking. Ertz was the #13 TE in both standard and PPR formats despite only playing half of the Eagles’ snaps in his second year. Ertz played mostly (73%) on passing downs, so if his playing time is going to increase, a majority of the additional snaps are likely to come in run formations.

Steelers WR Markus Wheaton ran 119 routes out of the slot last year — third most on the team behind Lance Moore and Justin Brown — but had only nine receptions. While he was in the slot, the playbook was limited for him.

“The plays I had last year were customized for me,” Wheaton said. “They made it out so I had some simple stuff. Being there full time, I am going to see a lot more.”

This is actually more about Martavis Bryant than it is Wheaton. The Steelers wouldn't be moving him to the slot if they weren't prepared to give Bryant starter's snaps on the outside. Wheaton will struggle to be fantasy relevant in the slot, while Bryant is looking more and more like a solid pick in the 5th or 6th round.

Lions beat writer Kyle Meinke:

The most impressive rookie of minicamp, easily, has been tailback Ameer Abdullah. It's hard to say much of anything substantive about a tailback, when there are no pads and no contact, but for whatever it's worth, Abdullah has looked like Detroit's best rusher with Joique Bell still out. He's smooth in his breaks, and his first- and second-step acceleration is plus-plus. He just looks comfortable, which you can't always say about a rookie tailback. Again, at this level, where everyone is fast and physical, the true hallmarks of a good rusher are vision and tackle-breaking ability, neither of which can be seen until the pads come on. But you have to like the early returns from the second-round pick.

Most scouts seem to agree that Abdullah doesn’t project to be an every-down back, so Joique Bell’s between-the-tackles role should be safe, at least for this season. On the other hand, Theo Riddick’s role as the Lions’ third-down back is in serious jeopardy. With a small early-down role and significant time on passing downs, Abdullah could ultimately post top 25 numbers in PPR formats. He has upside from there if he's able to bite into Bell's workload.

Rookie receiver Kevin White was held out of the entire minicamp this week with what John Fox indicated was an undisclosed medical issue. The Bears coach, however, said he fully expects White on the field for the first training camp practice July 30.

White is expected to start opposite Alshon Jeffery, but he's losing valuable practice reps. Jay Cutler recently said that White is currently the fourth receiver behind Jeffery, Eddie Royal and Marquess Wilson.

Chiefs WR Chris Conley’s combination of size, speed and the ability to catch the football has been on display throughout OTAs and minicamp.

Conley may beat out Albert Wilson for WR2 duties if he keeps this up. It's not a high-flying offense, but Conley may be fantasy relevant by the end of the year.

Fantasy football fanatics and anxious Browns fans are wondering: Will it be Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson or Terrance West carrying the torch Sept. 13 against the New York Jets? The Browns view all three as legitimate threats with the rock in their hand, but there is no clear favorite in guessing who will lead Cleveland in carries in December.

“I like to go with the guy that has the hot hand. If a guy’s got the hot hand, ride it out,” DeFilippo said. “You’re going to have some gameplan-specific plays for certain guys like a Duke Johnson where you want to get him out on a pass route or running a certain outside zone or whatever. I’m a big believer in the best five offensive linemen up front. I’m a big believer in a guy’s got a hot hand you keep riding him. That’s kind of just a philosophy that I have.”

Once the Browns were done with Ben Tate (Week 11), Crowell out-touched Terrance West 90 to 68 over the final seven games, but West had the last laugh, turning 20 touches into 106 yards and a TD against the Ravens in Week 17. (A seemingly healthy Crowell touched the ball five times for 22 yards.) The team drafted Duke Johnson and last season HC Mike Pettine was handing out touches based on practice performance, so Crowell's current 6th round ADP seems steep given his uncertain workload and Cleveland's projected offensive struggles.

Jaguars WR Allen Robinson has been the star of the offseason program, showing big-play ability all over the field and most noticeably in and around the end zone.

"He's been unbelievable," quarterback Blake Bortles said as the Jaguars wrapped up a mandatory, three-day minicamp. "He's definitely a threat now in the red zone. ... He's physical. He can run and do everything out in the open field, so he's been fun to throw to."

Robinson averaged 5.2 catches for 61 yards and 0.22 TD from Week 2 to Week 10, which extrapolates to an 84-974-3.6 over the course of a full 16-game season. He posted fringe WR2-type numbers before suffering a stress fracture in his foot. The Jacksonville receiving corps should feature Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns. If QB Blake Bortles can progress, this could be a dangerous passing game.

Dallas Cowboys No. 2 receiver Terrance Williams was injured in the final 10 minutes of the club’s last offseason practice Thursday at AT&T Stadium.

Williams was competing for a pass against first-round pick cornerback Byron Jones over the middle of the field in team drills and came down awkwardly on his left arm. Williams suffered a bruised left elbow, and X-rays came back negative.Williams was competing for a pass against first-round pick cornerback Byron Jones over the middle of the field in team drills and came down awkwardly on his left arm. Williams suffered a bruised left elbow, and X-rays came back negative.

The injury doesn't sound too serious. Williams has finished in the top 20 in fantasy points per target in each of his two seasons, but he doesn't see enough targets to be a reliable fantasy option. In fact, his targets dropped from 74 as a rookie to 66 in his sophomore season even though his snaps jumped 18.5% year over year. If the Cowboys move to a pass-heavy offense, then Williams should be fantasy relevant, though he's still competing with Jason Witten and Cole Beasley for Dez Bryant's leftovers.

Ravens wide receiver Jeremy Butler worked the sidelines and the middle of the field for leverage. He created separation from defensive backs and showed sound hands.

It was an impressive performance Thursday from the former undrafted free agent from Tennessee-Martin, who spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury last year.

"Jeremy Butler, he might have had 1,500 yards in a three-day minicamp," quarterback Joe Flacco said. "He was incredible. He caught the ball extremely well. Little things here and there to work on, but the biggest thing is catching the ball.

"He's just a big, strong body and catches the ball really well. It's exactly what he showed last year in training camp, I thought, and he's just coming out here and doing more of that."

The Ravens need playmakers to step up at the receiver position. The 6'2" Butler could quickly work his way into playing time if he continues to have a good offseason.

On Thursday, the Giants completed a mandatory three-day minicamp that was encouraging from an offensive standpoint, despite the absence of the injured star receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz. The play-calling was crisp. Assignments were executed. Routes were run as designed. And Eli Manning was repeatedly on time and on target with his throws.

The Giants are operating with a certainty that was missing last year throughout the off-season, training camp and the start of the regular season. Players are no longer thinking before they act. They grasp the playbook and allow their athleticism to take over.

Manning added: “I feel we are doing things a little bit crisper, a little bit faster.”

Manning finished the season as the #10 fantasy quarterback, but was #2 over the final six weeks, when OC Ben McAdoo said that the team finally played the way it wanted to play. In Odell Beckham, Manning finally has a stud receiver. The free agent signing of receiving specialist Shane Vereen and the return of a (hopefully) healthy Victor Cruz give Manning two more weapons to utilize in the passing game. He looks like a great value for those who want to wait on the position until the 9th or 10th round.

In 2015, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce wants the ball even more and he's making it known on the practice field.

"You're doing things at the line of scrimmage, changing plays with him, (depending on) how they're playing him leverage-wise," quarterback Alex Smith said, per ESPN.com. "He wants a different route so he can get the football. Yesterday in practice, I can hear him make calls at the line of scrimmage because he wants the football.

"Things like that are encouraging. Obviously, he's a tremendous player, but it's so great to kind of see that confidence there on the field, him calling for when he wants the football. As a quarterback, that's encouraging. You want a bunch of guys out there that are feeling good about their matchup and want the football."

Kelce played 54% of the snaps from Week 1 to Week 10, averaging 3.8 catches for 49 yards and 0.44 TD in that span. He played 86% from Week 11 on, posting 4.7 receptions for 61 yards and 0.14 TD over the final seven games of the season. The rise in fantasy points wasn’t as dramatic since his touchdowns didn’t increase with his playing time, but that should rectify itself in 2015. He was the #4 TE in both standard and PPR formats in the final seven weeks of the season and is likely to go in the top 5 at his position in 2015 fantasy drafts.

Cleveland Browns Daily hosts Nathan Zegura and Matt Wilhelm did not sugarcoat their feelings for Taylor Gabriel: They both think he’s been the best wide receiver on the team during the offseason program and that he could shatter the 621 receiving yards he posted as a rookie.

Gabriel is penciled in as the team's fourth receiver behind Dwayne Bowe, Brian Hartline and Andrew Hawkins. He's going to have to move up the depth chart to beat his 2014 numbers. We should have a better idea what sort of playing time he's looking at once training camp begins.

At this point it is clear that Mark Sanchez is ahead of San Bradford when it comes to his ability to move the offense. Sanchez was on fire during both the seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills, getting his team into the endzone twice. Sanchez's best throw of the day came to tight end Brent Celek, who he hit for a touchdown over the fingertips of two defenders. If head coach Chip Kelly really does open up the competition at quarterback, Bradford has his work cut out for him.

We're expecting Bradford to win the job, but if Sanchez continues to play efficiently, Bradford will have to play that much better to win the job in training camp. Whoever wins the job should offer high-end QB2 numbers in Chip Kelly's offense.

Patriots beat writer Ben Volin discussed the pecking order in the team's backfield:

“LeGarrette Blount certainly has the leg up for the primary first down power back. He clearly has an edge over Jonas Gray and anyone else. Besides Blount, it’s kind of a hodge podge of guys who don’t have experience. [Offensive coordinator] Josh McDaniels thinks that’s okay, because he doesn’t mind having a little competition,” Volin said.

For the "passing down" role, "...right now it looks like a battle between Travaris Cadet and James White, and I think Cadet probably has the leg up,” Volin said.

“[Cadet] has more experience in the NFL. He caught 38 passes in the Saints system and is really an explosive runner. James White is coming into his second year, so we’ll see what he can do in training camp,” Volin added. “[White] redshirted last year after having a productive career at Wisconsin, so maybe he wasn’t picking up the offense as quickly as he could have been.”

Regular readers know we're very high on Blount given his ADP. In his last 15 games with the Patriots (including the postseason), he has turned 14.4 touches into 75 yards and 1.0 TD; those are strong and low-end RB1 numbers in standard and PPR formats, respectively. Whoever wins the "passing down" role will become fantasy relevant in PPR formats, but if Cadet and White share the role, neither will be particularly attractive.

Browns OC John DeFilippo said using rookie RB Duke Johnson as a receiver yesterday is part of the plan for how he'll be used.

We've updated our projections for Johnson since he's generating so much buzz in the passing game. We now have him for 45 catches for 294 yards, which makes him a low-end RB3 in PPR formats. He has upside from there if he turns into a Darren Sproles/Danny Woodhead type. The Browns didn't throw the ball much to their running backs last season, but there's a new offensive coordinator in town, so anything could happen. His ADP is currently in the 8th round.

Third-round draft pick Justin Hardy has made a good first impression on some of his fellow skill position players. On Tuesday, Matt Ryan praised the WR for his consistent improvements; today, Julio Jones commended Hardy for the way he’s responded to challenges thrown his way.

Hardy is competing with Devin Hester and Leonard Hankerson for snaps behind Julio Jones and Roddy White. He has a chance to be the third receiver for the Falcons, which doesn’t hold much fantasy value without an injury to a player higher on the depth chart.

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was as good as a $96 million player could be in Wednesday's minicamp practice. He threw seven touchdowns and no interceptions, made good decisions, threw accurate passes, showed good footwork and pocket presence.

Tannehill, who received a lucrative contract extension in the offseason, has played well throughout the offseason program, and Wednesday was one of his best practices. Tannehill, frequently criticized for his inability to throw deep, even connected with wide receiver Jarvis Landry on a beautifully thrown 45-yard touchdown pass. He later hooked up with veteran wide receiver Greg Jennings on a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

"I feel really comfortable in this offense right now in the sense of knowing exactly where everyone is supposed to be," Tannehill said, "and being more of a coach on the field this year as opposed to trying to learn the whole system with everyone else like I did last year."

In his first three seasons, Tannehill finished #24, #16 and finally #9 in quarterback scoring. That’s a nice trend. The Dolphins spent the offseason trying to upgrade his weapons, and ended up with Jordan Cameron at tight end to go along with Kenny Stills, DeVante Parker and Greg Jennings at receiver. Sure, they traded away Mike Wallace and let Charles Clay walk, but that trio (and the emerging Jarvis Landry) should be able to more than offset those losses. Tannehill has a good coordinator in Bill Lazor and host of weapons to utilize. He looks like a very safe pick in the 9th round.

Redskins beat writer Rich Tandler:

Matt Jones was on the field with the first unit early and often. I think they have major expectations for the rookie.

Jones is likely to take over third down duties now that Roy Helu is gone. Alfred Morris should continue to see the bulk of the early down carries.

The Buccaneers’ tight ends, as a group, were highly productive during practice. But Austin Seferian-Jenkins may have been the most active. He worked with several different groups and came on strong for 11-on-11 drills during the final 30 minutes of practice.

New OC Dirk Koetter has a history of featuring the tight end, coaxing a 58-700-10 season out of Marcedes Lewis in 2010 to go along with the 176 catches for 1,965 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons with Tony Gonzalez in 2012-2013. Seferian-Jenkins had an injury-riddled rookie season, but is a breakout candidate in his second season with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator.

On the offensive side, the top play was a catch across the middle from tight end Travis Kelce, who leapt up with one hand and was able to snag the ball out the air more than 15 yards down the field. Alex Smith placed the ball between a couple of defenders and Kelce showed the kind of ability that Chiefs fans are excited to see more of in 2015.

Finally, there was one perfect pass from Alex Smith to Jeremy Maclin on a crossing route about 20 yards down the field. Smith threw the ball into an open window that had Maclin coming out of nowhere as he broke open across the field and made the catch. Smith didn’t wait for Maclin to be open before he threw the ball down the field, which showed the kind of trust and timing that these two have developed throughout the offseason.

Smith is a dirt-cheap quarterback option who could provide high-end QB2 numbers if he becomes a bit more aggressive. He’s dangerous as a runner, and given the addition of a bona fide receiver in Maclin, the emergence of Kelce, and the always-dangerous Jamaal Charles, Smith is an unexciting yet (usually) functional fantasy quarterback.

One of the primary criticisms of Ravens rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman heading into the NFL draft was his tendency to lose concentration and drop passes.

The speedy first-round pick arguably had his roughest practice Tuesday since joining the Ravens, as he dropped four passes, including one deep sideline pass after he had sprinted past cornerback Jimmy Smith and was wide open.

“Just really paying attention, getting too tired and really not focusing,” Perriman said when asked for an explanation about the drops. “I don’t really make excuses for it. They should have been caught, but that’s something that won’t happen too often.”

Perriman has the physical tools (6’2, 4.24 40-yard dash), to replace Torrey Smith in the Ravens’ lineup from the start, but he has to learn Marc Trestman’s offense and prove that he can catch the ball consistently.

A week after returning from one hamstring injury, second-year Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin has another hamstring injury that caused him to miss Wednesday’s minicamp practice.

Benjamin said the injury to his right hamstring will likely keep him out of Thursday’s final minicamp practice, and Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera believes the hamstring issues could be related to Benjamin showing up to OTAs (organized team activities) overweight.

According to a team source, Benjamin, who played last season at 245 pounds, showed up to offseason workouts eight to nine pounds overweight.

“He did come in a little heavy and he had to work himself into shape. Or diet or something. We’re going to take a look at it and make sure it’s not a chronic issue with him. He’s too good a football player to have on the sideline.”

This isn’t the first time Benjamin has shown up to a camp overweight. He was so overweight when he first arrived to Florida State—reportedly 20 pounds—that Seminoles coaches couldn’t justify putting him on the field and used a redshirt for him.

We're not that concerned about a few extra pounds of weight, but if it's causing hamstring issues, then we start to worry. Benjamin had a strong rookie season, finishing as the #15 WR in PPR formats and #16 in standard leagues. However, after his team’s Week 12 bye, Benjamin was just the #42 WR the rest of the way. Benjamin admitted to suffering from mental fatigue as a rookie, which is understandable given how much he was asked to do in his first year.

RB Todd Gurley, selected by the Rams with the 10th overall pick in late April, continues to work his way back from November ACL surgery. His status for training camp is unclear.

“It’s hard to say right now. I can’t predict that,” Fisher said Tuesday. “I know he’s doing well. He had a day off today because he’s doing so well. He’ll rehab with us during the break. ... We’re just going to see how he progresses. ... If he’s not PUP-ed (physically unable to perform), then I think you could probably assume that he’s going to play sooner than you think.”

Gurley is widely considered to be the best running back in the 2015 draft class, but he’s recovering from a November ACL tear. He’ll be nine months into his recovery in August, so his early season availability is unknown. Prospective owners should draft Tre Mason if possible as insurance. When Gurley returns, he should provide high end RB2 numbers if he begins to get starter’s touches.

As Chip Kelly likes to say, it is only June, and the depth chart at this point is almost meaningless. Still, it is pretty clear so far that the Eagles starting receivers on the outside are going to be Riley Cooper and Josh Huff, with Jordan Matthews in the slot. Rookie Nelson Agholor will certainly factor into the rotation, but it is Huff's job to lose right now. Agholor has been up-and-down in camp, making some impressive catches, but he had a bad drop on Wednesday. Huff, meanwhile, had a nice catch that would have gone for a touchdown in a game.

This is mildly surprising, but it's something to monitor as the offseason wears on. It sounds as if Huff has made strides since last year and is currently playing ahead of Agholor. If this continues, then Huff would be fantasy relevant while Agholor will struggle to make much of an impact in limited snaps. Keep in mind that Cooper is hardly entrenched in a starting role after a rough 2014 campaign.

Eagles QB Sam Bradford looked sharp on Wednesday, hitting tight end Zach Ertz down the sideline for what looked like a 20-yard gain. Bradford has been targeting Ertz frequently during these minicamps and OTAs, and that should continue into the season.

It's nice to hear that Bradford and Ertz are developing chemistry. Ertz was the #13 TE in both standard and PPR formats despite only playing half of the Eagles’ snaps in his second year. Ertz played mostly (73%) on passing downs, so if his playing time is going to increase, a majority of the additional snaps are likely to come in run formations. Still, there’s upside with Ertz if he begins to see starter’s snaps. The Eagles lost their leading receiver -- first DeSean Jackson and then Jeremy Maclin -- in back-to-back seasons, so there will be opportunity from a targets standpoint.

Likely being thrust into an outside role in the starting lineup, Eagles WR Josh Huff hopes to live up to the expectations he set for himself after talking about how familiar he was both with scheme and personnel coming from Oregon where Eagles head coach Chip Kelly recruited and coached him for two seasons.

With the growing pains of a rookie campaign behind him, Huff has drawn rave reviews from Kelly about his maturity heading into his second season, something the wide receiver says he's noticed even about himself.

The article also says that Jordan Matthews is 'likely' to start in the slot, so that would mean RIley Cooper or rookie Nelson Agholor would also start outside. The Eagles' pecking order is difficult to predict, but we expect Matthews to see the most targets and fantasy production. It gets murky after that.

Eagles TE Zach Ertz describes his meeting with Tony Gonzalez:

One of the other things I did when I was in Southern California was meet Tony Gonzalez. I got his number from one of our tight end coaches — he played with Tony when they were in Atlanta together — and I just cold texted him. It was a no-lose situation for me. If he said “no,” then I would have respectfully understood.

He said yes. So I drove to see him.

We talked about a lot of things. When it came to football, we talked about the steps I needed to take to go from being good to great. We talked about little things — the nuances of how to run a certain route, what’s advantageous against certain coverages, that sort of thing. He also talked about the importance of having a routine. He had a routine of greatness that he would do every day. He felt it gave him the edge over the competition in the long run.

He also really focused on the mental side of the game. We put so much into our bodies physically and emotionally, he explained, that we kind of ignore training the brain, and learning new ways to train the brain. That’s kind of what we talked about. He reads a lot of books about mental training and successful CEOs to understand what makes them successful. That’s some of the knowledge that he imparted on me.

Ertz was the #13 TE in both standard and PPR formats despite only playing half of the Eagles’ snaps in his second year. Ertz played mostly (73%) on passing downs, so if his playing time is going to increase, a majority of the additional snaps are likely to come in run formations. Still, there’s upside with Ertz if he begins to see starter’s snaps. The Eagles have lost their leading receiver -- first DeSean Jackson and then Jeremy Maclin -- in back-to-back seasons, so there will be opportunity from a targets standpoint.

Saints beat writer Jeff Duncan:

Word of advice: Draft C.J. Spiller on your fantasy football team. The Saints are going to get him the ball in a number of ways this season. If he can stay healthy, he could have a breakout year. It certainly won't be for lack of opportunity.

While New Orleans may not be an ideal landing spot in the carries department, Spiller should have a big role in the passing game with Pierre Thomas, Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills no longer on the roster. He’ll likely take over the role of Thomas, who averaged 11.6 touches in the last two seasons. Thomas finished with a top 30 PPG (PPR) in six of the last seven seasons, so that's a reasonable baseline for Spiller. New Orleans running backs caught 275 passes in the last two seasons, so there are plenty of catches to go around. In short, he has significant PPR upside in this offense, but his workload will be somewhat limited since he'll be part of a committee.

After Tuesday's practice, quarterback Bears QB Jay Cutler indicated Kevin White is competing to be the fourth receiver behind Alshon Jeffery, Eddie Royal and Marquess Wilson.

"Kevin is doing a good job for us, picking up the offense," Cutler said. "He has a bright future."

An undisclosed injury kept White out of the Bears' minicamp practice Tuesday, coach John Fox indicated.

This raises a few eyebrows at 4for4 headquarters, but we still expect White to start opposite Alshon Jeffery. It's a reminder that rookies carry extra risk since their roles are not defined, especially early in the summer.

Ravens veteran tight end Dennis Pitta is still dealing with obstacles in his latest comeback attempt from a major injury, remaining sidelined during a mandatory minicamp.

Pitta hasn't been medically cleared by doctors and his career is in doubt as he tries to return from his second fractured and dislocated right hip within the past two years.

We're not counting on Pitta's return but it's a situation to monitor. His potential return would impact the amount of playing time rookie Maxx Williams will get in 2015.

Eric Ebron wasn't sharp to open OTAs, but has gotten progressively better. That includes no drops in the last OTA that was open to the media, and then no drops on the first day of minicamp. The closest thing was a pass that was broken up at the last moment by Rashean Mathis. Other than that, Ebron caught everything thrown his way, and was a real matchup nightmare. (And despite the good practice, Ebron still stuck around to take extra balls from the JUGS machine after practice. Another indicator his questionable attitude is a thing of the past, even if the drops aren't -- yet.)

Ebron turned 3.8 targets into 1.9 catches for 19 yards and 0.08 TD as a rookie. He played half the snaps, so his lack of production is somewhat alarming. Tight end is a tough position to learn as a rookie, so there is some reason for optimism given Ebron's skill set, especially since he seems to be having a good offseason.

Talking about wide receivers, Nick Toon has been here for years now, do you think that this could potentially be his year to emerge.

Saints QB Drew Brees: “I do, absolutely. This will be his fourth season and that first year he was injured, the second year he made progress, and then last year he had a chance to kind of break out a little bit and get some opportunities to play once (Brandin) Cooks went down and I felt like made the most of it. We saw glimpses. For him it’s just a matter of repetition and the more opportunities he gets I think the more plays he is going to make. We’ve had the ability to maneuver him around and give him more opportunities that way and he’s been able to handle it very well. So I’m excited for Nick Toon, he’s got a great opportunity I think there’s a great fit for him and a great opportunity for him and a great role for him in this offense.”

Toon figures to serve as the WR3 behind Brandin Cooks and Marques Colston. The role hasn't traditionally been a big fantasy producer, but Jimmy Graham is gone so the team figures to get less production out of the tight end position. If anything happens to Cooks or Colston, fantasy owners should have Toon on speed dial.

Falcons RB Devonta Freeman opens up minicamp as the starter, same as OTAs.

Tevin Coleman hasn't passed Freeman yet. Coleman is the new regime's hand-picked running back, so we would expect him to see plenty of playing time as a rookie. But for now Freeman continues to start. He's a late-round option, especially in PPR formats.

Texans beat writer John McClain:

I believe Brian Hoyer will be Texans' starting QB when they open against Kansas City.

Hoyer is such a nautral in the system implemented by coach Bill O'Brien and OC George Godsey. QB gets a lot of freedom at the line.

Hoyer is smooth, smart and accurate. Looks like he's been in this system for years. Has a nice touch on all throws. Looked good today.

Hoyer didn't have much success in Cleveland, but he could work his way into the QB2 conversation if everything breaks his way in Houston. He has a bona fide WR1 in DeAndre Hopkins, but after that there isn't a whole lot of certainty in the receiving corps.

“I would say Davante Adams for someone if, if you want a clear illustration and example of a first-year player taking a jump in his second year, you just saw it here the last four weeks,” Packers HC Mike McCarthy said. “I think he’s been tremendous throughout the OTAs. And he’s got more in front of him, too, so I think that’s what’s exciting. I think Davante has done a great job in the strength and conditioning. He’s been really, really good in practice throughout this deal. Davante, if you wanted me to pick an MVP or an all-star, he would definitely be atop the list.”

Adams had his moments during his rookie season, specifically against the Patriots (6-121 on 11 targets) in Week 13 and in the postseason against the Cowboys (7-117-1 on 11 targets). However, he only saw 66 passes come his way since he played alongside target hogs Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Aaron Rodgers has been highly complimentary of Adams this offseason and says he has “humongous upside.” In 20 games from 2012-13, the team’s WR3, James Jones, managed WR3-type numbers (3.7-50.3-.60 on 5.6 targets) with both Cobb and Nelson in the lineup, but that was mainly due to his unusually high TD rate. In 13 games that Cobb and/or Nelson missed, Jones averaged solid WR2 numbers (4.6-58-.46 on 7.3 targets), but his TD rate regressed. We’re bullish on Adams since he has more potential than Jones. The Packers are also without a tight end of Jermichael Finley’s caliber, so there may be more targets available for the team’s third receiver. Owners should expect fantasy WR2 numbers if Cobb or Nelson go down, making the second-year wideout a great handcuff for either player.

Cowboys beat writer Bob Sturm broke down RB Darren McFadden:

Hundreds of Oakland carries to consider, yet, anybody-but-McFadden averaged over 5.5 yards per carry or 2.2 more than each and every single run from McFadden? Basically, he had 60% the productivity of each of his backup’s runs – over 3 straight years.

In answer to the question of whether “anyone would have problems in Oakland”, it appears that 5.5 yards per carry over 370 attempts might not fully agree with that assessment.

I don’t see his burst or his decisiveness at this point to put him in the same class as what the Cowboys need. So, what do the Cowboys think he can do?

I believe the Cowboys think he is their 3rd down back. I don’t think they want him running on 1st and 2nd down in their offense. I think that will be Randle to start. (3rd down back can mean 30 snaps in a game.)

The soon-to-be 28-year-old McFadden hasn't cracked 3.5 YPC since the 2011 season, when he ran for 614 yards on 113 carries (5.4 YPC) in seven games. That's the rub with McFadden -- fantasy owners haven't been able to count on his durability. He has missed roughly a quarter of his team's games since entering the league. We also believe he’ll serve as a change-of-pace/3rd-down back behind Joseph Randle, but he'll have to beat out Lance Dunbar for that role.

Redskins beat writer Mike Jones on the team's running backs, Alfred Morris and Matt Jones:

If things hold true throughout training camp, then I’d expect to see Morris continue as the workhorse back. Coaches will most likely use Jones to give Morris a breather here in there, or both on short-yardage situations, and on third downs.

In his first three seasons, Morris has finished #5, #14 and #13 in standard formats. He's more of a RB2 in PPR leagues (#7, #19, #17) since he has only averaged 0.8 receptions per game in his career. Bill Callahan's arrival (as offensive line coach) should boost the effectiveness of the team's running game, which in turn will help Morris's fantasy production. He's a solid value and a safe pick in the 3rd/4th round of early PPR drafts.

"If I'm not ready for 11 on 11 by training camp, then something has gone horribly wrong,'' Eagles QB Sam Bradford, who is coming back from his second ACL tear in two years, said. "That's the plan right now. We're going to keep plugging away and be ready when camp starts.''

It appears Bradford is on track for camp. Over the last two seasons, Philadelphia quarterbacks have averaged 16.7 passing game-only fantasy points. Bradford isn’t much of a runner, but he adds about 0.7 FP per game as a rusher. That adds up to 17.4 FP, or about what Eli Manning averaged as the #13 QB in 2014. The Eagles’ offense has lost their top receiver – DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin – in each of the last two seasons, but Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz are emerging and the team added Nelson Agholor in the draft. If Bradford ends up starting for the Eagles, we wouldn’t expect anything more than high-end QB2 numbers, but this is a definite system upgrade due to the overall effectiveness of Chip Kelly’s offense.

Texans RB Arian Foster’s early performance during offseason workouts has been encouraging. A season removed from back surgery, the veteran running back has been a full participant in workouts and stood out again Tuesday, during the first day of a three-day minicamp.

Foster averaged 22.9 touches per game (the 4th-highest workload in the league) and scored 0.79 fantasy points per touch (13th among the top 60 running backs). From a per game standpoint, he was #2 in standard formats and #4 in PPR, so he's still playing at a very high level when healthy. However, he missed three games in 2014 and eight more in 2013, and has only played 14 or more games once in his last four seasons.

On the topic of the Broncos' running back competition between C.J. Anderson, Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman...

In what will be some of his last public comments on the matter until training camp opens in late July, HC Gary Kubiak said, “We’re right where we’re at. Obviously, C.J., that’s in a lot of ways his spot to hang on to. I think that Montee has had a great offseason. I think Ronnie [Hillman] has had a really good offseason. I think it's very competitive. You never know about the backs until you put the pads on. I think C.J. has worked extremely hard. Coming off of last year, he deserves that opportunity, and I think he's getting ready for that opportunity. But he knows he’s being pushed very hard."

Kubiak said Monday that Anderson’s ability in the passing game, both in protection and as a receiver, has kept him there.

"I think in this league as coaches you look for guys that can be three-down players," Kubiak said. "When you have two-down players, that's fine, but it's just very difficult in the game standpoint and getting them the ball and calling the game when you're not out there all the time. He has a knack for protection, he's very bright in protection. So he's a guy that’s not going to leave the field -- as much as he can stand. And that's what the great ones do, so that gives him an excellent chance."

He began to see starter-type touches in Week 10 with 17 touches for 163 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders. Over the final eight weeks, he averaged 24.0 touches for 132 yards and 1.3 TD, and was the #1 RB in that span. Anderson had a tough offseason last year, but is doing much better this time around. He should start the season as the starter, and as long as he doesn't fall on his face (or start fumbling), it should be a very productive role in the Broncos' offense.

ESPN's Adam Caplan on RB T.J. Yeldon:

Not only is Jaguars 2nd-round pick T.J. Yeldon expected to start, he could wind up being a three-down player.

Best hands of their RBs, I'm told. First time in many years their OL has depth, versatility.

Yeldon should see plenty of touches, but the Jaguars' offense has been poor for some time, so he may not see the same number of scoring opportunities as some of the other running backs being drafted in the middle rounds. Denard Robinson had a very nice stretch for four weeks, but otherwise the Jacksonville running backs weren't much of a fantasy factor in 2014. The team did make an effort to improve the offensive line via free agency and the draft, so Yeldon has top 20 potential provided QB Blake Bortles shows progress from his disappointing rookie season.

Saints TE Josh Hill only needed 14 receptions in order to post his five touchdowns. But while his touchdowns-to-receptions ratio is sure to decrease this year, his opportunity to be on the field in myriad offensive sets figures to increase exponentially.

“It just depends on how much two tight end sets we’re in, how much sub (packages),” Coach Sean Payton said. “I couldn’t say specifically that he is going to have 25 percent more playing time but certainly his playing time will increase.

“We utilize multiple tight end sets and obviously that’ll affect him with his number count (of snaps). He has good position versatility. We think he is a guy that can run and stretch the defense. A lot of it will be by game plan and what we are trying to do.”

Hill is one of our favorite sleepers, but it's a bit worrisome that Payton is talking about two-TE sets when discussing Hill's potential playing time. It doesn't sound like he's a shoo-in to start over Ben Watson. The Saints have been kicking the tires on Jermaine Gresham and put in a waiver bid for Tim Wright.

Eagles beat writer was asked to predict how the team will divvy up the carries:

Obviously, when you sign two guys like DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, you expect to spread the carries around a little more, but I don't see this as anything close to an equal time share.

Eagles running backs had about 26 carries per game last season. Overall, the team had 474 rushing attempts, which ranked seventh in the NFL. I think there's a good chance those numbers could increase this season. Running backs coach Duce Staley has already said the offense wants to regain its identity, and that identity is a run-based spread.

My guess (and I reserve the right to change this in August!) is that Murray would get around 17 carries per game; Mathews would get seven; and Darren Sproles would get two.

Assuming Murray stays healthy the whole season, that would translate to 272 carries. Only four running backs in the NFL had more than that last season.

We currently project Murray for 17.9 carries, Mathews for 8.3 and Sproles for 2.8. The Eagles didn't use LeSean McCoy much in the passing game last season, which is why we're a bit down on Murray this year. He should be a fine value around the 1/2 turn.

The top options here include free-agent pickups Nate Washington (31) and Cecil Shorts III (27), and rookie Jaelen Strong, who was taken in the third round with the 70th pick in this year's draft. Strong's start has been delayed a bit, and we'll get to that more later. Coach Bill O'Brien was effusive in his praise of Washington last week. "I really like Nate. I think he's been a good addition to our football team, both from a veteran leadership standpoint and then from his route-running ability. He's really practiced hard all spring. He's been here a lot. He's been out there every day at practice. He's picked up our offense well. He's always communicating with the other receivers and the quarterbacks. I think he's going to add a lot to our offense. I'm glad he's here."

Strong suffered a hamstring injury during the Texans' first OTAs, which is sometimes an injury that is the result of not being in the right condition for practice. He hasn't returned yet, which is a function of those kinds of injuries. Too much time lost will be a big problem, but we aren't there yet. O'Brien called the injury minor a couple of weeks ago.

The WR2 spot in Houston is wide open. Cecil Shorts should be the frontrunner, but it sounds like Washington is the one turning heads. He's a savvy vet who has produced whenever he sees significant targets. Strong is missing valuable reps.

Pro Bowl tight end Martellus Bennett reported to Chicago Bears headquarters for the start of the club’s mandatory minicamp after skipping the previous eight weeks of the offseason program.

Although the sessions he missed were voluntary, his absence disappointed the Bears’ new regime, particularly because of the learning and team-building elements to coach John Fox’s first offseason in charge. Bennett is the only Bears player to miss the entire offseason program to this point.

After making his first Pro Bowl last season, Bennett made clear his desire for a new contract.

Bennett finished #5 in both PPR and standard formats last season, and although he’s playing for a new OC, Adam Gase, he should remain heavily involved in the offense. He’s not happy with his contract, which is a concern.

Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston has made huge strides since he was drafted. He has picked up the playbook well and is comfortable making calls at the line of scrimmage. He has started to build chemistry with wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. Winston still needs to working on not forcing throws into heavy coverage, but the Bucs are very happy with how he has progressed so far.

Winston is a shoo-in to start immediately, so opportunity is plentiful. He has two established weapons to throw to in receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins is expected to make strides in his second season. The situation from a skill position standpoint is very good, though the offensive line isn't. The Bucs did add two offensive linemen in the 2nd round, so there should be improvement up front. Rookie QBs are generally poor fantasy bets, but Winston should be a committee/streaming option in 12-team leagues.

The Cowboys' intrigue with Lance Dunbar has been long-running. He might not be an every-down back, but he can be part of a committee. They like what he can do in space. They believe he can be a mismatch player for defenses. Before arriving from the Detroit Lions, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan had two running backs catch more than 50 passes in a season. Linehan sees Dunbar being able to do some of what Reggie Bush and Joique Bell did in 2013 in Detroit.

"Sometimes he doesn't play as many plays as some of the other guys, but when you look at his production within the plays that he has, it's usually pretty good," coach Jason Garrett said. "He's usually a difference maker. He's a really smart football player. He's talented. He's quick. He's fast and explosive, has great intuition and instincts for the game. We try to use him a lot of different ways, and when we have used him he's been effective for us. You're always trying to give those guys more opportunities."

Dunbar was rumored to be on the chopping block, but it appears that his roster spot is safe. If he beats out Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden for the role of third-down back, he could work his way into fantasy relevancy in PPR formats.

Lions second-round pick Ameer Abdullah has impressed coaches with his quick feet and sure hands, and it's evident that the rookie running back will play significant minutes this fall. He'll get plenty more reps this week, as Joique Bell remains out recovering from off-season knee/Achilles surgeries.

Most scouts seem to agree that Abdullah doesn’t project to be an every-down back, so Joique Bell’s between-the-tackles role should be safe, at least for this season. On the other hand, Theo Riddick’s role as the Lions’ third-down back is in serious jeopardy. If he sees a significant role in the passing game while stealing a few early down carries, Abdullah could ultimately post top 20 numbers in PPR formats. Remember, OC Joe Lombardi came from New Orleans, where they like their running back committees.

49ers TE Vernon Davis had the worst season of his career last year, when he missed two games because of injury and caught only two touchdown passes. Both scores came in a Week 1 win over Dallas. The downfield catches that had been a staple of his career all but vanished as well. After averaging more than 16 yards a catch in 2013, he averaged a career-low 9.4 yards last year. His longest catch last season – 29 yards – also was the most modest “long” of his nine-year career.

“Whenever I’d run, like, my deep over routes, there was a safety sitting over there already,” Davis said. “It was just game planning. And nothing really ever opened up. But I wasn’t really ever a factor in the offense last year. ... The first game, yeah. But the second game, the tight ends (weren’t) really involved as a whole.”

After tinkering with multiple wide receiver sets throughout last season, the 49ers are returning to more traditional looks this year. There will be an emphasis on the running game. And tight ends again will have a major role.

Davis is a talent, but the team didn't do a good job of using him last season. His 50 targets were his fewest since 2008, and his usage was way too low considering he has finished in the top 8 at his position in four of the last six seasons. He was targeted just once in the red zone after seeing 20 red zone targets in 2013. It's up to new OC Geep Chryst (formerly the team's QB coach) to get Davis more involved in the offense. Davis has reportedly looked fast in offseason activities. Given his 15th-round ADP, he's a very cheap lottery ticket at the tight end position.

Titans announced release of RB Shonn Greene.

Greene had been staying away from offseason activities. It appears that the Titans will go with Bishop Sankey and David Cobb as their primary running backs in 2015.

Stephanie Stradley of the Houston Chronicle discusses DeAndre Hopkins and the Texans' receiving corps:

This offseason so far reminds me of the Texans offseasons when it was Andre Johnson and a buncha rando wide receivers competing to see who would be starters. No receiver targets in OTAs have been *oh-wow* type guys where you see a particularly positive future for him when they are in the offense longer.

Rookie Jaelen Strong, Cecil Shorts and Nate Washington seem to be the primary candidates to start opposite Hopkins, but no one is standing out, per Stradley. Damaris Johnson will probably man the slot.

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick was mostly on point throughout the minicamp. Sure, at times there were a few passes he'd like to have back. Kaepernick was intercepted twice in three days: Michael Wilhoite caught a deflected slant pattern; Jaquiski Tartt victimized Kaepernick on an end-zone pass to close out a situational two-minute drill. Other than those two passes, Kaepernick was decisively accurate with the football. Perhaps the most striking observation of the 49ers signal-caller was his accuracy on the move. One of the hardest throws to make is a rollout throw to the left for a right-handed quarterback. But not for Kaepernick. San Francisco's fifth-year quarterback is able to complete nearly every one of his rollout throws. Kaepernick used the three-day period to continue his chemistry with Smith as well as other prime targets like Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin.

It was reported earlier in the offseason that the team planned to utilize Kaepernick’s running ability to a greater degree. Kaepernick ran the ball 12 more times in 2014 than he did in 2013 for an additional 115 yards, so it's not like he abandoned the scramble. It sounds like it's more about utilizing the read-option as a larger part of the offense. If that's the case, it could be a boon to Kaepernick's fantasy value. He was the #14 QB in 2014 after finishing #9 the season before, though his overall production only dipped by 11 fantasy points. He's a bounce-back candidate provided new OC Geep Chryst can design an offense that can move the ball. Chryst previously served as the OC for the Chargers in 1999 and 2000, but his offenses ranked 26th and 28th overall in that span. Any gains that Kaepernick can make as a thrower (due to his offseason work with QB coach Dennis Gile and former Rams/Cardinals QB Kurt Warner) will only help his overall value.

49ers WR Torrey Smith has indeed added a new dimension to San Francisco's pass game. With Smith in the fold, the 49ers were able to attack all levels of the defense. Smith's home-run ability was most evident when he hooked up with Colin Kaepernick on a 40-yard jump ball down the left side line at the expense of second-year cornerback Dontae Johnson. Kaepernick and Smith routinely connected in the minicamp, but on the final day, the deep throw showcased the budding chemistry between the two. Johnson had great coverage on the play, but Kaepernick was able to put the ball up with enough loft for the fifth-year veteran receiver to go up and get the ball. Smith caught slants and intermediate routes for most of the camp, but it's hard not to overlook his ability to stretch the defense and compete for the football at its highest point. Smith's speed and leaping ability was on display throughout the camp. The 49ers will surely tap into those talents come training camp.

Smith got off to a slow start in 2014, posting just six catches for 85 yards in the first three games. Over the final 13 games of the season, he averaged 3.3 receptions for 52 yards and 0.85 touchdowns, which equates to #20 WR-type numbers in PPR formats. As it stands, he finished as the #29 WR in PPR and #19 in standard formats (thanks to the high touchdown rate), which is the fourth time he has finished in the top 23 (in standard formats) in his four-year career. He joins a 49ers receiving corps that has lost Michael Crabtree and has a still-effective Anquan Boldin as a possession receiver. Smith will serve as a deep threat for Kaepernick, though this move has to be considered a downgrade from an offensive/quarterback standpoint since the 49ers are typically run-heavy and Joe Flacco is pretty adept at putting touch on the deep ball. Throwing with touch has not been one of Kaepernick's strengths, though he has been working on his passing technique this offseason.

It hasn't necessarily been a lost offseason for receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, but the second round pick has been slow out of the gate, to say the least. Green-Beckham injured his hamstring during the team's rookie minicamp, re-aggravated the injury during an early OTA, and has been a spectator most of the offseason. Green-Beckham did some work on a limited basis in practices last week, and is expected to be involved in this week's minicamp to some degree. The Titans hope he can make it through the week without any further setbacks, which would allow him to hit the ground running for training camp.

If Green-Beckham picks up things quickly and proves he’s not as raw as his detractors say — one offensive coordinator said he was “completely lost” at the whiteboard in a pre-draft interview — he could certainly start early in the season opposite Kendall Wright, since it seems that Justin Hunter is on the outs with the current coaching staff. If he sees starter’s snaps, he should be fantasy relevant as a rookie, though he'll have to prove he's ready for the mental side of the game. Long-term, he has a chance to flourish if both he and Mariota are the real deal.

Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles discusses the improvements that the team have made along the offensive line:

“I just feel comfortable because I feel like I have a Pro Bowl guard [Ben Grubbs] in front of me and I’ve got Jeff [Allen] back and we went to the playoffs with him,” Charles said, via the Kansas City Star. “We’ve got Fish [Eric Fisher] who is developing more in his third year, we’ve got Donald [Stephenson] and he played a whole season and did a great job when Branden [Albert] and Fish were going at it and battling for depth at the position. I feel like we’ve got some guys that have been playing for a while. We’ve got vet guys up there that can help the young guys. I feel so comfortable with that line now. Not saying I didn’t last year, but I feel a lot more comfortable than I did last year.”

Charles has finished in the top 9 in both standard and PPR formats in each of the last three seasons, and was the #1 running back in both formats in 2013. After racking up an average of 20.9 touches in 2012-13, he touched the ball 16.4 times last season as Knile Davis saw his average workload increase from 5.1 touches in 2013 to 9.4 touches last year. We currently project Charles for 18.8 touches per game, which may be a best-case scenario if Davis remains healthy.

Patriots receiver Brandon LaFell was spotted in a walking boot at a recent event.

This explains why LaFell didn't participate in OTAs. LaFell finished as the #22 WR in both standard and PPR formats, but didn’t catch a single pass in the first two games. He began to see starter-type snaps in Week 4, and was the #15 receiver in standard formats over the final 13 games of the season.

ESPN's Mike Sando:

Eddie Royal's resurgence over the past two seasons and his early grasp of the Bears' new offense has him in great position to play a prominent role right away. The staff seemed excited about him when I visited Bears camp earlier in the offseason. Royal has 10 red zone touchdowns over the past two seasons, tied for ninth in the league among wide receivers.

Royal could continue to be a headache for fantasy owners. He's production tends to be spotty and comes in bunches, which makes it difficult to know when to use him. There's also the possibility that he draws targets away from Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White, Martellus Bennett and/or Matt Forte.

With Sam Bradford in, the Eagles' new quarterback stood in the pocket and threw a bomb down the field. On the other end was tight end Zach Ertz, who hauled in the long pass and kept going for the touchdown.

Bradford and Ertz connecting on the field has been a common sight for those watching the Eagles' OTAs the past few weeks. Although Bradford has only been taking a handful of reps with the team, and isn't yet taking part in 11-on-11 drills as he recovers from a torn ACL, the chemistry he is developing with Ertz is clear.

"He is a great tight end," Bradford said of Ertz. "Obviously he is really athletic. He gives us the ability to stretch the field and make some (big plays) down the field."

"Not only does he have a strong arm, but he is very, very accurate. He can put the ball wherever he wants to," Ertz said. "Being a taller guy, a more athletic guy, he likes to put the ball up high where I can go up and get the ball. He is able to make all the throws in the book."

Ertz was the #13 TE in both standard and PPR formats despite only playing half of the Eagles’ snaps in his second year. Ertz played mostly (73%) on passing downs, so if his playing time is going to increase, a majority of the additional snaps are likely to come in run formations. Still, there’s upside with Ertz if he begins to see starter’s snaps. The Eagles lost their leading receiver -- first DeSean Jackson and then Jeremy Maclin -- in back-to-back seasons, so there will be opportunity from a targets standpoint. Budding chemistry with his quarterback can only help.

RB Danny Woodhead has been one of the pleasant surprises for the Chargers so far during offseason work. He has flashed the quickness and elusiveness that makes him one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league in his return from a serious ankle injury.

Woodhead should resume his role as the Chargers' passing down specialist. In 21 games with the Chargers (including the playoffs), Woodhead has averaged 11.0 touches (4.1 catches) for 58 yards and 0.43 touchdowns, which equate to #13 RB numbers in PPR formats (#21 in standard). He’s not likely to post those numbers with Melvin Gordon coming aboard, but he should continue to see a significant amount of touches as the team’s primary third-down and no-huddle back, making him an excellent value late in drafts.

Running back David Johnson catches the ball so naturally, he looks like he belongs with the receiver's group. But can he gain the tough yards inside? That's something the Cardinals missed last year.

Johnson's isn't the thumper complement that some were expecting that the Cardinals would acquire to join Andre Ellington in the backfield. Instead, they elected to draft a running back with a similar skillset to Ellington so that the offense doesn't miss a beat if something happens to their starter. We view Johnson as a backup and the proper handcuff for Ellington owners.

In only six weeks as teammates, the Bears WRs Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White have developed a sincere admiration for each other.

“He’s a great player,” Jeffery said, rare praise for a rookie. “He’s an explosive player. We can’t wait for the season. What he’s going to do on the field is going to be great.”

White should start immediately and is a threat to post WR3 (or even WR2) numbers as a rookie. The team is installing a new offense under OC Adam Gase, and QB Jay Cutler hasn't been the model of stability, but there are plenty of targets available for White in Gase's offense.

According to wide receiver Roddy White, the offense won’t be as reliant as throwing the ball as they were last season. The Falcons were third in the league with 39.5 attempts per game last season and White expects that number to drop significantly in 2015.

“We’re not going to be passing 35-40 times a game,” White said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

That may well be the plan, but the Falcons are going to have to be a lot more effective running the ball than they were last year if they are going to cut down on the size of the roles that White, Julio Jones and Matt Ryan play in the offense.

Color us doubtful. In seven seasons as an offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan's offenses have thrown the ball on average 34.8 times per game, and he's never at a quarterback of the caliber of Matt Ryan. We currently project the Falcons for 37.3 passing attempts per game.

It's still unclear if Jets running back Stevan Ridley, an offseason free agent pickup, will fully participate in practice at the start of training camp. Ridley didn't get any 11-on-11 team periods work in the spring. He tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his knee during an October game against the Bills. Ridley isn't sure if he'll be 100 percent healthy by the start of camp. He doesn't want to put any undue pressure on himself with expectations about his return to practice, either.

"I really can't predict the future, man," Ridley said Thursday. "I just know that, for me, I've got to be ready for Week 1. That's the goal right now. I'm not going to set myself up for any false hope or say that I'm going to do something that I'm not. What I will say is I'm working hard. I've just got to make sure that I'm 100 percent healthy, and that when I do hit the field, I'm making an impact." Ridley said his knee is "doing well."

Ridley's standing on the team, as the season approaches and he continues to recover, will partly be determined by "what the guys do in front of him," HC Todd Bowles said.

"If all those guys are playing well and he gets limited time, then it's going to be tough [for Ridley]," Bowles said. "If those guys aren't doing very well, and he comes in and makes a splash, then you go by that. Only time will tell. We knew he needed time [to recover]. We want him healthy, and there's no hurry to get him healthy, because we have good running backs on the roster. When we brought him in, we knew it was going to be a process. We didn't know how long [it would take for Ridley to recover], but we knew he had time, and he can take his time. There's no urgency for him to get healthy."

It sounds as if RIdley is going to be buried on the depth chart if Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell and Zac Stacy are performing well. Our money is on Ivory to continue to be the lead back for the Jets, but the team did try to upgrade the position this offseason.

Doug Martin returned to the Buccaneers’ training facilities having shed some body fat, and re-gained the weight in muscle.

“What you’re not seeing that makes me look a little slimmer is my body fat,” Martin said. “I got my body fat down by like four or five percent so I’m in great shape. I feel good and I’m ready to go.”

Martin could have a few new faces blocking for him after the Bucs’ selected tackle Donovan Smith and guard Ali Marpet in this year’s draft. Although the Bucs have only gone through non-contact OTA practices, he can already see improvement along the offensive line.

“They’re doing pretty good,” Martin said. “There’s more communication between the line. We’re more gelled than we were last year. I feel like it’s going to be a good season for us and the line’s doing a good job proving that… or (are) going to prove that.”

The coaching staff reportedly loves Charles Sims, but OC Dirk Koetter fought to keep Martin with the team during the offseason, and he still sits atop the team's depth chart. He's going in the 9th round, so he's a good target for those owners who are looking for potential starters in the later rounds.

Titans RB Bishop Sankey missed almost all of last year's OTAs and wound up behind the eight-ball. But with Shonn Greene absent from this year's OTAs and rookie David Cobb (hamstring) hurting, Sankey has taken oodles of snaps this time around. He now feels more comfortable in the system, and that should help him make more of an impact in his second year.

Sankey qualifies as a post-hype sleeper. This is his first offseason and while his rookie year was a disappointment, he showed flashes of what convinced the Titans to make him the first running back off the board in last year's draft. Given his 8th/9th round ADP, he's a good target for the "wait on RB" crowd.

Steelers WR Martavis Bryant said he went into the offseason intent on adding extra muscle after a rookie season in which it took until Week 7 to crack the lineup.

“It was just something I felt like I needed to do,” Bryant said. “Just to add a different aspect to my game of being physical, being bigger.”

Bryant said he is focusing on mastering the “Z” receiver spot that places him on the outside on the strong side of the field. However, Mann said in three-receiver sets Bryant and third-year receiver Markus Wheaton would be “interchangeable” between the “Z” and the slot.

Bryant figures to be a bigger part of the offense this season. He averaged 30 snaps per game in 2014.

“He's always been strong, but to be honest with you his conditioning is way better now,” Darrius Heyward-Bey said. “That's what we look at — and me being his big bro, I tell him, ‘You gotta work on your conditioning.' And he came back in way better condition than he was last year. “You can be fast — but you need to be fast 10 plays in a row, not just two.”

One of the concerns with Bryant is playing time, but it appears that he's distanced himself from Wheaton and is in line for starter's snaps opposite Antonio Brown. He averaged 2.8 catches for 56 yards and 0.82 TD in the final 11 games of the season (including a 5-61-1 outing against Baltimore in the playoffs). Thanks to the incredible touchdown rate, those are high-end WR2 numbers in standard formats and solid WR2 numbers in PPR. Increased playing time should offset any drop in TD rate. We like Bryant to break out in 2015.

With RB Adrian Peterson now returning to an offense stocked with pass-catching weapons and a promising young quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater, the Vikings don't plan to ask him to do it all alone in 2015.

"No question that the workload will be a lot more balanced than in the past because the organization has done an outstanding job of acquiring talent and other explosive pieces," Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson told Around The NFL on Thursday. "And just as the natural progression as an older back ages, the workload decreases anyway."

Wilson was quick to point out that Peterson has been "extremely explosive" in practice and "still has electric foot speed," saying: "I don't see any difference from the guy who left here X amount of months ago."

The Vikings, though, also love what they see in Jerick McKinnon, with Wilson emphasizing that the "sky's the limit" for the second-year back.

Throwing out his one-game season in 2014, Peterson never finished outside of the top 6 on a per game basis in standard formats (or outside the top 11 in PPR) in his previous seven seasons. He's now on the wrong side of 30, but his legs should be fresh after taking a full season off to deal with his criminal case. OC Norv Turner has a history of feeding the ball to his top running back; LaDainian Tomlinson averaged 20.9 touches per game from 2007-09 while he and Turner were in San Diego. That included 2.86 receptions per game, which would represent a career high 45-46 receptions for Peterson if he catches the ball at the same rate. It does sound like McKinnon will be involved, but when push comes to shove, we expect that Peterson will play the vast majority of snaps on game day.

When Colts QB Andrew Luck worked out of a three-receiver formation during Wednesday evening’s work at Lucas Oil Stadium, it primarily was T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson and Donte Moncrief. But rookie Phillip Dorsett is going to cut into somebody’s playing time this season. That might be Moncrief. And it might be either Coby Fleener or Dwayne Allen as Hamilton uses more three-wide alignments than two-tight end formations.

The Colts are loaded with talent, but they can't play everyone all the time. We would expect T.Y. Hilton to play a ton, but Andre Johnson, Donte Moncrief, Dorsett and the two tight ends, Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener, could rotate through the other three positions in typical one-running back sets.

Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant told NFL Media columnist Michael Silver on Friday that he might miss regular-season action in a contract dispute.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen first reported that Bryant was considering a holdout that could extend into the season.

"This is not a rumor," Bryant confirmed to Silver. "It's legit."

It's no surprise that Bryant would attempt to maximize his leverage and stimulate talks with just five weeks remaining before the July 15 deadline for franchise players to sign new contracts.

Bryant would sacrifice major money if he misses any games, so this sounds like posturing. Hopefully this will be resolved by mid-July. If not, we would expect that he plays for the one-year franchise tender of $12+ million.

Buccaneers, with top priority on waiver wire, claim TE Tim Wright, whom they dealt to New England last summer.

Wright ends up back in Tampa, where he'll compete for snaps behind Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

Texans writer Jesse Clark:

It’s been more of a passing camp than anything else but RB Alfred Blue has much more juice than he had this time last season. I think he’s going to surprise fans when training camp rolls around.

Considering he's the primary handcuff to the oft-injured Arian Foster, Blue is going very late (17th round) in early fantasy drafts.

Earlier in the offseason, Reggie Bush told KNBR radio that the underneath passing game would be a large part of the what the new-look 49ers do under offensive coordinator Geep Chryst.

"Yeah, if you're asking if we're going to throw some swing passes, yes," Bush said, laughing. "I think that'd be an understatement."

This bodes well for Bush and Carlos Hyde in PPR formats. OC Greg Roman rarely used his running backs as receivers, but Frank Gore has said that had more to do with what Colin Kaepernick was seeing than the design of Roman's offense.

Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official website:

Andre Ellington is still the man. Rookie David Johnson, I’m guessing, will eventually have a role and there are other running backs who can help. But make no mistake, Ellington remains the linchpin at the position. He’s healthy and feeling good. He has to stay that way.

The Cardinals drafted David Johnson to lighten Ellington’s workload, and a reduction in touches may actually help his effectiveness, though it's unlikely to help his per game fantasy production. Ellington averaged 22.0 touches per game, but only managed 3.3 YPC after averaging 5.5 YPC in his rookie season. He owned the #10 PPG in PPR formats last year, so he can give up some touches and still provide solid RB2 numbers, especially if his per touch production bounces back.

Browns RBs Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell lined up in the backfield together.

With quarterback Josh McCown standing tall in the shotgun formation, Johnson and Crowell flanked both of his sides. McCown sent Crowell in motion to the far right as a receiver, causing confusion among Cleveland’s linebackers. McCown hiked the ball, faked a pass toward Crowell and, instead, dumped it off on a screen play to Johnson, who bolted into the end zone for a touchdown.

The play design was complex, but the combination of Crowell and Johnson on the field together was more intriguing. Crowell’s powerful stride and bruising style combined with Johnson’s shiftiness and burst is a mixture that screams potential.

Once the Browns were done with Ben Tate (Week 11), Crowell out-touched Terrance West 90 to 68 over the final seven games, but West had the last laugh, turning 20 touches into 106 yards and a TD against the Ravens in Week 17. (A seemingly healthy Crowell touched the ball five times for 22 yards.) The team drafted Duke Johnson and last season HC Mike Pettine was handing out touches based on practice performance, so Crowell's current 6th round ADP seems steep given his uncertain workload and Cleveland's projected offensive struggles. In PPR formats, we'd rather pull the trigger on Johnson since it looks like the team is trying to find ways to get him on the field as much as possible.

Jets tight end Jace Amaro (back) sat out for the third straight day. So he didn't get any practice time in minicamp. He was injured last week during an organized team activities practice, but coach Todd Bowles said the injury isn't serious.

Amaro is missing valuable practice reps as a result. If healthy, he has a chance to make a fantasy impact in his second year after cracking the 50-yard mark four times in 14 games as a rookie.

Joe Kania of Buccaneers.com:

Last week it was Doug Martin that caught our eye. This week, a different running back stood out. While Martin and Charles Sims were used often in the screen game, Bobby Rainey ran a few of the deeper routes out of the backfield. Rainey, Martin and Sims are all battling to be the Bucs’ No. 1 running back, and Rainey’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield is helping his case.

Rainey was by far the best Bucs running back last season, averaging 4.3 YPC, while Martin (3.7 YPC) and Sims (2.8) struggled mightily. Rainey also led the backs in receptions with 33 for 315 yards and a touchdown. He hasn't been discussed much this preseason as the focus has been on Martin and Sims, but he's a player to have on speed dial if either player suffers an injury.

Bob Sturm of the Dallas News gave a brief take on Cowboys RB Darren McFadden.

My biggest concern with McFadden these days is that it looks like he has lost his decisiveness. He seems to not go anywhere particularly fast at the moment he gets the ball. This offense needs a RB shot out of a cannon and I fear that he has been ruined by his difficulties in Oakland.

The soon-to-be 28-year-old McFadden hasn't cracked 3.5 YPC since the 2011 season, when he ran for 614 yards on 113 carries (5.4 YPC) in seven games. That's the rub with McFadden -- fantasy owners haven't been able to count on his durability. He has missed roughly a quarter of his team's games since entering the league. We believe he’ll serve as a change-of-pace/3rd-down back behind Joseph Randle.

Cowboys RB Joseph Randle averaged 6.7 yards a carry off the bench in 2014. He can average well over 5.0 getting 20-plus carries a game as a starter as long as he plays with the discipline that DeMarco Murray sometimes lacked.

Randle’s only obstacle to 1,500-plus yards is Darren McFadden, a fascinating wild card in this backfield equation. In between hamstring pulls and ankles sprains, McFadden has proven to be an excellent straight-line runner. But if Murray is “plywood” on the stiffness scale, McFadden is “oak.” My good friend Greg Cosell of NFL Films once said it best: it’s like McFadden’s lower body and upper body are fused together. An inability to make people miss was something previous Raider coaching staffs didn’t like about the former first-round running back.

The article goes on to say that McFadden might end up being the better fit since Randle's elusiveness may lead to him making poor decisions in the running game. Randle was highly effective (6.7 YPC) in 2014 and is reportedly showing more maturity after several off-the-field issues. He's not going to see a DeMarco Murray-type workload, but 225-250 carries is feasible if he wins the lead back job, and it appears he will.

Lions RB Ameer Abdullah has gotten plenty of reps with Joique Bell being out and he's looked good in the open OTA practices.

Lombardi is already impressed with how polished of a receiver Abdullah is turning out to be, and his quickness and elusiveness as a runner has shown in practice.

He’s a balanced runner -- low to the ground and he can stop and change directions on a dime. It never seems like defenders are able to square him up.

We’ll see what he looks like as a returner in training camp, but so far, it’s safe to say the Lions are impressed with their rookie running back.

Most scouts seem to agree that Abdullah doesn’t project to be an every-down back, so Joique Bell’s between-the-tackles role should be safe, at least for this season. On the other hand, Theo Riddick’s role as the Lions’ third-down back is in serious jeopardy. If things break his way and he sees significant time on passing downs, Abdullah could ultimately post top 25 numbers in PPR formats.

One area Lions QB Matthew Stafford significantly altered was his willingness to attack opposing defenses downfield. In 2014, he attempted just 63 passes that traveled 20 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage. At just 10.5 percent of his total pass attempts, it was the lowest rate of deep shots in his six-year career.

A number of factors contributed to Stafford holstering his cannon more often than not last season. It starts with the conscientious effort to reduce turnovers. Then there was the decreased time in the pocket due to inferior pass protection. And you can't discount the injury issues which hampered top downfield weapon Calvin Johnson much of the season.

The Lions made a serious effort to improve the blocking up front this offseason, using the team's first-round draft pick on guard Laken Tomlinson. Detroit also parted ways with long-time center Dominic Raiola -- an average pass-blocker last season -- making way for last year's third-round pick, Travis Swanson, to take over at that spot.

In addition to the investment in the offensive line, Johnson should be back at 100 percent to start the season. In the first three games last year, before the star receiver first injured his ankle, Stafford attempted five deep passes per game. That dropped to 3.6 attempts the final 13 weeks.

Stafford finished as the #17 QB last season, but in the three previous seasons he didn’t finish outside the top 10. Stafford tends to struggle when Calvin Johnson isn’t fully healthy, as was the case last year. Stafford is a serious threat to finish with QB1 numbers, though we have more confidence in the passers ranked ahead of him.

Colts.com writer Steve Andress on RB Frank Gore's fantasy prospects:

The biggest question with Frank Gore for fantasy football managers is whether he’ll return to PPR prominence in 2015. I believe he will. He’s seen plenty of action catching balls out of the backfield during the offseason program, even lining up out wide during the Colts’ open practice at Lucas Oil Stadium Wednesday. This was a huge part of the offense with Ahmad Bradshaw last year, especially in the red zone, and it looks like we may see the Frank Gore of old that averaged more than 50 receptions per season from 2006-2010. That would be a huge increase to his value in PPR leagues but shouldn’t be overlooked in standard leagues either. Yards are yards.

Gore is turning 32 this summer, but should be able to shore up the Colts' running game. Dan Herron and Vick Ballard are in the mix, but Gore is better than advertised in the passing game. Gore averaged 51.0 receptions from 2006-2010, but as soon as Greg Roman took over as offensive coordinator in 2011, his targets dropped precipitously. He averaged just 28.3 targets over the past four seasons, while the Colts' running backs accounted for 113 targets last season, so look for Gore's value to jump significantly in PPR formats. Due to his age, Gore typically goes later than he should in fantasy drafts, but he hasn't missed a game in three seasons and should be reinvigorated by a change of scenery. For more on Gore, be sure to check out Senior Editor John Paulsen's case for Gore in Indianapolis.

Martavis Bryant already has the Steelers' attention after averaging 21.1 yards per catch as a rookie in 2014. But he's trying to place more eyes on him with a productive offseason that included 10 pounds of added weight and his workout to enhance his footwork.

"Running routes in the sand," Bryant said. "The beach, the sand pit, wherever."

Many receivers employ this routine, Bryant said, but he's used it extensively this offseason to improve mobility he said was lacking early in his playing days.

Bryant's imprint on organized team activities with athleticism and speed has been obvious, as has potential starting slot receiver Markus Wheaton. If Bryant can be a reliable No. 2 receiver, the offense falls into place because Wheaton can take the slot and backups Sammie Coates and Darrius Heyward-Bey provide depth.

Bryant averaged 2.8 catches for 56 yards and 0.82 TD in the final 11 games of the season (including a 5-61-1 outing against Baltimore in the playoffs). Thanks to the incredible touchdown rate, those are high-end WR2 numbers in standard formats and solid WR2 numbers in PPR. What's more, he didn't play 60% of the snaps until the postseason, so there's upside here from a playing time standpoint. If he earns a starting role this offseason -- and it looks like he will -- he’ll be a middle round pick in 2015 fantasy drafts.

ESPN's Adam Caplan heaped high praise on Browns rookie RB Duke Johnson:

Duke Johnson has been the most impressive of their RBs. Versatility and explosiveness shows. Will be an interesting RB camp battle.

My money would be on Duke Johnson to be a 3-down RB for the Browns, but he needs to show he can take next step with pads on.

The Cleveland running game is murky at best. The team has two second-year players, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, who both had fantasy-relevant moments last season, but they added Johnson to the mix in the Draft. He’s the best receiver of the bunch, so he should have a role on third-down at the very least. But he’s capable of stealing carries as well. The Browns should have a good running game, but it’s going to be a headache trying to project these three on a week-to-week basis. Still, Johnson is a good target for the "wait on RB" crowd since he's going in the 9th round.

The Ravens’ offense is vastly different from what Maxx Williams was accustomed to in college.

“It’s just a whole different scheme,” Williams said. “In Minnesota, we were going to run power all day and just run play action. That’s all we did unless we had a drop-back. For me, it’s really just kind of learning a brand-new playbook, so it is starting off fresh where I don’t really have any old habits."

Rookie tight ends are notoriously disappointing, but if Dennis Pitta is out, Williams will have a tremendous opportunity to produce in Marc Trestman's offense. Crockett Gilmore is also in the mix.

Browns RB coach Wilbert Montgomery wants to use rookie Duke Johnson in many spots. Compared role to Cincinnati's Giovani Bernard.

Johnson could be a good late round target in PPR formats as it sounds like his role will be mainly in the passing game. Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West will likely fight over carries on 1st and 2nd down.

In the two previous OTA practices open to the media, Ebron struggled with drops, which has further fueled his critics. To his credit, the young tight end has responded in a promising way this current week of practice. During Wednesday's session, he didn't let a pass touch the ground.

"This week specifically, he's been phenomenal catching the ball and after the catch," Tate said. "The linebackers are having a tough time covering him and even the safeties."

In April, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi noted it's common for tight ends to experience tremendous growth in their second season. He also stated the Lions are counting on Ebron to be the team's third receiving option behind Tate and Calvin Johnson. Tate echoed his coordinator's optimism.

"He's improved a whole lot," Tate said. "We're excited for him this year. I think he's going to be a huge player for us this year."

Ebron turned 3.8 targets into 1.9 catches for 19 yards and 0.08 TD as a rookie. He played half the snaps, so his lack of production is somewhat alarming. Tight end is a tough position to learn as a rookie, so there is some reason for optimism given Ebron's skill set and the investment (a first round pick) the Lions have made in him.

What kind of dimension can C.J. Spiller give this team?

Saints HC Sean Payton: “He’s versatile. He has exceptional speed so he’s a threat on the perimeter. The trick each time you’re obviously getting ready to play each game is trying to find ways to get him the football in those space situations. He can run.”

Payton's comments go along with what he's been saying all summer. Spiller is going to be a big part of the passing attack. For more on Spiller, be sure to check out Senior Editor John Paulsen's case for Spiller.

Going up against linebackers and linemen that were 40 to 50 pounds heavier than him, Redskins TE Niles Paul knew he’d need to bulk up in order to become a better player at the position.

“I know an area I wanted to improve on a lot was blocking. I was always a willing blocker, but I was 230 pounds going against guys who were 260, 270, 280,” Paul told CSN Washington.com. “I just wanted to level out the playing field a little bit. And it has showed up on film out here [in OTAs]. I’ve been doing a good job.”

As it stands now, Paul currently weighs more than 250 pounds for the first time in his career. “I’m 252 right now,” he told reporters. “I feel good, and I feel healthy. I’m happy.”

“You know, he’s a converted wide received for goodness sakes and he’s busted his tail to get himself ready for the tight end spot,” head coach Jay Gruden said of Paul. “He’s stronger; he’s one of our most explosive players in the weight room, done some great things.”

Paul has had his moments with Jordan Reed sidelined. Last year, he caught 21 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown in the first four games with Reed out, and was the #9 TE in that span. But then he posted one-catch clunkers against the Seahawks in Week 5 and the 49ers in Week 12 with Reed sidelined. He's certainly a sleeper if Reed (knee) can't get healthy, but he hasn't been a consistent performer even with Reed out.

Matt Cassel has brutal day.

There was one repetition during red zone 7-on-7s that displayed a good throw from Matt Cassel into the back of the end zone. That play, by itself, was the only redeeming quality of Cassel’s performance against defensive players on Wednesday. Right from the start, Cassel put too much air under his throws, resulting in a number of passes that could have been intercepted by the defense. He was late on throws, he was inaccurate, and missed a deep throw to Tobais Palmer by about 15 yards (and that isn’t an exaggeration). Cassel’s lackluster day was concluded by a fade throw on the right sideline, in which the receiver was covered by three defenders. Predictably, the throw was intercepted — this time by Ronald Darby. Of the other quarterbacks, EJ Manuel had the best day of the bunch, while Matt Simms was getting worked in a bit more after having one week on the job. As for the most interesting man at One Bills Drive, Tyrod Taylor, Wednesday was merely a ‘meh’ day for him.

We currently project Cassel to win the job, but we'll have to adjust our projections if he continues to struggle.

Patriots have released TE Tim Wright, source says.

The writing was on the wall after the team signed Scott Chandler and Fred Davis.

Cowboys WR Terrance Williams has taken advantage of Dez Bryant’s absence in the Cowboys’ organized team activities. The Cowboys rave about the Williams’ off-season work, with coach Jason Garrett contending Williams has become the pacesetter for the offense “in so many ways.”

“Terrance has had one of the best off-seasons I’ve seen in a while,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “So I’m very excited about his approach, the way that he’s played up to this point in the off-season. He’s just improved, and I’m excited about that development.”

Williams has finished in the top 20 in fantasy points per target in each of his two seasons, but he doesn't see enough targets to be a reliable fantasy option. In fact, his targets dropped from 74 as a rookie to 66 in his sophomore season even though his snaps jumped 18.5% year over year. If the Cowboys move to a pass-heavy offense, then Williams should be fantasy relevant, though he's still competing with Jason Witten and Cole Beasley for Bryant's leftovers.

Broncos QB Peyton Manning praised RB C.J. Anderson:

"C.J. of course, if you talk to him you think he's about a 12-year veteran starter and he's only started six games. I'm getting a ton of reps with him, and the sky is the limit for him, I will say that."

Anderson began to see starter-type touches in Week 10 with 17 touches for 163 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders. Over the final eight weeks, he averaged 24.0 touches for 132 yards and 1.3 TD, and was the #1 RB in that span. If the Broncos commit to Anderson (and why wouldn’t they?), he should thrive under new HC Gary Kubiak, who just coaxed a career year out of journeyman Justin Forsett.

Maturity – combined with WR Davante Adams’ natural talent, physical dimensions, athleticism and commitment to learning the offense inside and out – has Packers QB Aaron Rodgers convinced that Adams is headed for big things in 2015, even with Pro Bowl receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb at his position.

“In my mind, he has humongous upside – and he’s starting to reach that upside,” Rodgers said after the team’s open-to-the-public organized team activity practice. “I think the opportunities are going to come for him. He’s got two great guys to play with. His attention to detail is very impressive and his approach.

Adams had his moments during his rookie season, specifically against the Patriots (6-121 on 11 targets) in Week 13 and in the postseason against the Cowboys (7-117-1 on 11 targets). However, he only saw 66 passes come his way since he played alongside target hogs Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. In 20 games from 2012-13, the team’s WR3, James Jones, managed WR3-type numbers (3.7-50.3-.60 on 5.6 targets) with both Cobb and Nelson in the lineup, but that was mainly due to his unusually high TD rate. In 13 games that Cobb and/or Nelson missed, Jones averaged solid WR2 numbers (4.6-58-.46 on 7.3 targets), but his TD rate regressed. We’re bullish on Adams since he has more potential than Jones and Rodgers' comments only reinforce this thinking. The Packers are also without a tight end of Jermichael Finley’s caliber, so there may be more targets available for the team’s third receiver. Owners should expect fantasy WR2 numbers if Cobb or Nelson go down, making the second-year wideout a great handcuff for either player.

Latavius Murray exploded out of the gate late in the 2014 season and has shown no signs of slowing down.

He was running with the first team for the second consecutive day at the Raiders mandatory minicamp Wednesday, showing the kind of speed at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds that makes Murray such an intriguing option to turn around an anemic rushing attack.

“You certainly saw some explosive moments, where he showed big-time speed and the ability to finish,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said.

“Right now Latavius has been running with the lead group, but he knows he’s got to earn that through camp, through the preseason,” Del Rio said. “We’ve added a couple of guys in Trent and Roy and we’ll give them an opportunity as well as with the guys that are here. We’ll sort out our different roles as we get into camp, but we like where we’re headed.”

Murray rushed 82 times for 424 yards (a 5.2 YPC) and two touchdowns, including an incredible four-carry, 112-yard, two-TD performance against the Chiefs in Week 12. He still averaged a solid (if unspectacular) 4.0 YPC when that game is excluded. With good size (6'2, 223 lbs) and great speed (4.38 40-yard dash), Murray has all the physical tools to succeed at the position. He even showed solid hands with 17 receptions on 23 targets. Per beat writer Jerry McDonald, Murray will be “given every chance” to win the starting job. According to ESPN’s Adam Caplan, a Raiders source said that Murray is “freak” and has a chance to have “a huge year” in 2015.

Chiefs WR Jeremy Maclin has foot inflammation and is day to day.

Maclin was the #9 wide receiver in both standard and PPR formats last season, though he faded down the stretch. Now he’ll have Alex Smith as his quarterback and should dominate the targets along with up-and-coming TE Travis Kelce. HC Andy Reid is very familiar with Maclin, so we would expect his transition to be a smooth one, though this is a system downgrade. Maclin averaged 4.6 catches for 61 yards and 0.50 TD (solid WR2-type numbers) from 2010-2012, while playing for Reid. One concern: Chiefs’ WR1 Dwayne Bowe only averaged 6.3 T/G in 2014, while Maclin averaged 9.0 T/G for the Eagles. Maclin is a much better player, so the Chiefs should target him more than they did Bowe, but it’s something to weigh when evaluating his fantasy value.

Mark Ingram was back in action Wednesday during the New Orleans Saints' organized team activities practice -- backing up coach Sean Payton's insistence that the running back wasn't dealing with any significant injury when he was held out of practice during parts of the past two weeks.

Payton had said Ingram was dealing with a minor foot/ankle issue but that it was mostly about being smart and cautious at this time of year.

Ingram averaged 19.6 touches for 85 yards and 0.69 TD per game in his 13-game season in 2014. He averaged 4.27 YPC last season after averaging 5.02 YPC in 2013. He benefited somewhat by injuries to Khiry Robinson, who could potentially eat into Ingram's 2015 workload. The team also signed C.J. Spiller to fill the Pierre Thomas/Darren Sproles role in the offense. Ingram posted the #11 PPG in PPR formats (#8 in standard). We’re expecting a step back from those numbers as the team gets Robinson and Spiller involved.

All along, the plan for Jordy Nelson was to be full-go by the start of the Green Bay Packers' training camp on July 30.

Less than two months away, everything seems to be on schedule.

Nelson took another step in that direction this week, when he practiced for the first time since his offseason hip surgery. The Pro Bowl receiver took part in individual drills during Wednesday's organized team activities (OTAs).

"We're right where we want to be," Nelson said after practice. "We set a plan at the beginning, and we're hitting every target. We feel good and like I said a couple of weeks ago, we'll be ready to go by training camp."

Nelson has finished in the top 11 in standard formats in three of the last four seasons, averaging 5.0 catches for 81 yards and 0.72 TD in that span. The Packers' offense remains intact, so as long as he and Aaron Rodgers stay healthy, we're expecting more of the same in 2015.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer expects Adrian Peterson once again won’t play in the preseason, and the star running back is fine with that.

I probably don’t see that, no,’’ Zimmer told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday. “We’re talking in June, so you can’t hold me to it, but he’s carried the ball a lot (in his eight-year career) and he’s going to continue to carry the ball a lot. He’ll get plenty of looks and reps in practice.’’

Peterson, who returned to the Vikings last week, has no problem with again likely not playing in the preseason.

“It’s the same as before, nothing new,’’ Peterson told the Pioneer Press after having played in the Vikings Children’s Fund Golf Tournament at Rush Creek Golf Club. “I don’t think (he’ll be pushing to play). They’ve seen enough of me. I’ll be ready to play.’’

Throwing out his one-game season in 2014, Peterson never finished outside of the top 6 on a per game basis in standard formats (or outside the top 11 in PPR) in his previous seven seasons. He's now on the wrong side of 30, but his legs should be fresh after taking a full season off to deal with his criminal case. OC Norv Turner has a history of feeding the ball to his top running back; LaDainian Tomlinson averaged 20.9 touches per game from 2007-09 while he and Turner were in San Diego. That included 2.86 receptions per game, which would represent a career high 45-46 receptions for Peterson if he catches the ball at the same rate.

Ameer Abdullah ran for more than 1,600 yards in each of his last two seasons at Nebraska, but it’s his receiving skills that have pleasantly surprised the Lions through nine OTA practices this spring.

“I like Abdullah more every day,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said after Wednesday’s open OTA practice. “Every day you can see him do things that really excite you.

“He didn’t get a chance maybe to show everything he can do as a receiver at Nebraska, but he’s even better in that phase of the game than I thought when we drafted him, so it was kind of a bonus when you see how well he catches the ball and how well he runs routes.”

Abdullah's ability to stop and start and change direction could be a huge asset in space.

“He does a lot of things well for a young guy, but one thing you notice quickly is he can catch the ball,” head coach Jim Caldwell said. “He catches it and knows what to do with it when he gets it in his hands. He’s making good progress in that area.”

Most scouts seem to agree that Abdullah doesn’t project to be an every-down back, so Joique Bell’s between-the-tackles role should be safe, at least for this season. On the other hand, Theo Riddick’s role as the Lions’ third-down back is in serious jeopardy. If things break his way and he sees significant time on passing downs, Abdullah could ultimately post top 25 numbers in PPR formats.

A proper farewell tour for Malcom Floyd can now begin.

The Chargers wide receiver reaffirmed Tuesday he will retire after the 2015 season. This long has been the plan for Floyd, who will turn 34 in September and is entering the final year of his contract.

Stevie Johnson’s arrival may put a dent in Floyd’s targets (92 in 2014), but Johnson was brought in mainly to replace the departed Eddie Royal (91 targets), so Floyd should continue to post solid numbers. He was the 72nd receiver drafted last season and finished the season in the #40 spot. Don’t be surprised if he repeats those numbers, though due to his somewhat spotty big play tendencies, he’s better suited for best ball formats than standard leagues.

Lions WR Calvin Johnson has had a healthy offseason, he says he feels young and his comfort level in Joe Lombardi’s offense is high heading into the second year of the scheme. He sees a lot of great things ahead for this offense and plans to play a big role in 2015.

For the first time in five seasons, Johnson finished outside the top 6 in wide receiver scoring, thanks to a nagging ankle injury. He finished in the top 10 on a points per game basis. He has also had knee problems throughout his career, but as long as he’s healthy, he’s very likely to post WR1 numbers. His fantasy stock hasn’t been this “low” since his rookie season.

Eagles RB DeMarco Murray is drawing rave reviews during his first spring as an Eagle, including from running backs coach Duce Staley during his media availability with the rest of the Eagles' assistant coaches last week.

"He's a perfect fit for us," Staley said. "He's exactly what we want to do: full steam, downhill and full steam ahead. That's what we're preaching every day; one, two, three, four yards and a cloud of dust. And all the backs that we have are able to do that."

Murray had a career year in his fourth season, racking up 2,261 total yards and 13 touchdowns on 449 touches. He should get plenty of work in Philadelphia, though the signing of Ryan Mathews and the presence of Darren Sproles indicate that he won’t approach 450 touches in 2015. LeSean McCoy averaged 353 touches over the past two seasons, so that’s probably Murray’s ceiling if everyone stays healthy. He’ll hold low-end RB1 value on draft day.

ESPN's Adam Caplan:

Raiders source on RB Latavius Murray: "Has a chance at a huge year in this system. Because he is smart, physically a freak."

I know from talking to the former Raiders staff about him, they said he improved pass blocking last season.

Murray rushed 82 times for 424 yards (a 5.2 YPC) and two touchdowns, including an incredible four-carry, 112-yard, two-TD performance against the Chiefs in Week 12. He still averaged a solid (if unspectacular) 4.0 YPC when that game is excluded. With good size (6'2", 223 lbs) and great speed (4.38 40-yard dash), Murray has all the physical tools to succeed at the position. He even showed solid hands with 17 receptions on 23 targets.

In the backfield, we saw a complete running back group for the first time this offseason. Carlos Hyde, who was limited to individual drills last week, was a full participant on Tuesday. During team drills, Hyde took carries and ran routes out of the backfield.

Hyde is expected to take over as the team's primary ball-carrier, with Reggie Bush assuming the passing down role. Given Bush's presence and Hyde's 4.0 YPC during in his rookie season, Hyde's upside may be somewhat limited. Expect 250 or so carries and a limited role in the passing game.

Panthers WR Devin Funchess' size and athleticism makes a good first impression. But the Carolina coaching staff is just as excited about his intelligence.

During organized team activities, the rookie has already displayed knowledge off all three wide receiver positions.

"It's huge," wide receivers coach Ricky Proehl said. "He can fill in for anybody. That helps us tremendously."

He's a big, fluid athlete. Proehl now has to polish his technique so those strengths can be maximized in Carolina's offense.

Funchess could quickly become the team's WR2, but since the Panthers are run heavy that position isn't typically a productive fantasy producer, especially with Greg Olsen at tight end.

“We’ve cleaned a lot of things up and made it more comfortable and friendly for players to be able to go out and make plays,” 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick said of the team's new offense.

After working on his throwing motion and putting touch on the deep ball this offseason, Kaepernick is grateful for the injection of speed brought by newcomers Torrey Smith, Jerome Simpson and Reggie Bush.

“They’ve been huge so far and bring a lot of speed to the field, bring a lot of deep vertical threat,” Kaepernick said.

And that’s not to mention tight end Vernon Davis, who has looked “extremely fast” stretching the field this offseason, according to HC Jim Tomsula.

Davis is a talent, but the team didn't do a good job of using him last season. His 50 targets were his fewest since 2008, and his usage was way too low considering he has finished in the top 8 at his position in four of the last six seasons. He was targeted just once in the red zone after seeing 20 red zone targets in 2013. It's up to new OC Geep Chryst (formerly the team's QB coach) to get Davis more involved in the offense. Given his 15th round ADP, he's a very low-risk pick given his upside.

No Stevan Ridley in minicamp. The running back, signed by the Jets in free agency, sprinted on the far field with cornerback Dee Milliner (Achilles) and safety Marcus Gilchrist (shoulder) during a team period. Ridley is recovering from a torn ACL, sustained last season. Bowles said he won't get any team periods action in this minicamp. It'll be interesting to see how much Ridley can do during the early part of training camp.

Once healthy, Ridley will eventually compete with Chris Ivory and Zac Stacy for carries. We believe Ivory has the inside track, but the Jets have actively tried to upgrade the position this offseason.

Colts RB Frank Gore is still dangerous in the open field, and the Colts' deep passing game could create opportunities for a number of check-down passes to Gore (something that's been seen frequently in recent practices).

Gore is turning 32 this summer, but should be able to shore up the Colts' running game. Dan Herron and Vick Ballard are in the mix, but Gore is better than advertised in the passing game. Gore averaged 51.0 receptions from 2006-2010, but as soon as Greg Roman took over as offensive coordinator in 2011, his targets dropped precipitously. He averaged just 28.3 targets over the past four seasons, while the Colts' running backs accounted for 113 targets last season, so look for Gore's value to jump significantly in PPR formats. Due to his age, Gore typically goes later than he should in fantasy drafts, but he hasn't missed a game in three seasons and should be reinvigorated by a change of scenery. For more detail about Gore, be sure to check out Senior Editor John Paulsen's case for Gore in Indianapolis.

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald still looks as strong and fit as ever, but the chemistry building between Carson Palmer and second year wide receiver John Brown was on full display, especially on deep routes.

"I expect huge things from you this year. There is something different about him," Palmer told me after practice.

Word around the Cardinals building is that his Brown is stronger, in better shape and people are taking notice of his work ethic. (Wide receiver Michael Floyd sat out with a tweaked hamstring) Carson and Brown will continue working together after this week's minicamp ends. Brown will work out in San Diego with Palmer.

Brown finished as the #49 WR in standard formats and #53 in PPR. He saw a hefty 103 targets as a rookie, and with Larry Fitzgerald back and Michael Floyd still in the mix, it's doubtful that Brown's usage will increase too much. If Carson Palmer is healthy, however, the whole passing offense could take a step forward, and that would push Brown into fantasy-starter territory.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Raiders QB Derek Carr has been cleared for participation in minicamp, according to a source informed of his prognosis. Rapoport added that Carr might not throw at full strength during the minicamp practices, but he is expected to be "100 percent" for the start of training camp.

Carr has been battling an issue to his ring finger that has kept him from throwing regularly during the Raiders' offseason program. He threw a few short passes last week during OTAs, but has mostly handed the ball off when not watching from the sidelines.

Carr finished as the #20 fantasy quarterback as a rookie, but averaged only 12.5 FP, which was only a half-point higher than fellow rookie Blake Bortles. The Raiders drafted Amari Cooper, so Carr now has a bona fide WR1 to throw to, and that should help his fantasy stock. He will be in the QB streaming/committee mix in his second season provided he puts his finger injury behind him by training camp.

Texans writer John Harris: When the Texans signed Nate Washington, I wrote a piece on him as it pertained to how his veteran savvy could be seen in his route running. I watched him closely today on a few of his routes and that man can get open in a phone booth. He has a knack of selling his routes to get open and it’s fun to watch a veteran at his age still know how to find seams or win against man coverage.

Our younger readers are wondering, "what's a phone booth?" Washington is the dark horse to start opposite DeAndre Hopkins. He's competing with Cecil Shorts and rookie Jaelen Strong.

Nelson Agholor continued to make a strong impression. It should be noted that receivers tend to have the upper hand during spring workouts when defensive backs are restricted, but you can often see whether rookie receivers have at the very least the skills to compete at this level. Agholor clearly does. He’s fast. Not DeSean Jackson fast, but he’s gets down the field in a hurry. He’s athletic. He made several catches when he out-jumped a defender. And he appears to run crisp routes.

On a Matt Barkley pass over the middle, Agholor high-pointed the ball and pulled it in. Later, when Tim Tebow threw a fade to his back shoulder in the end zone, Agholor went up and caught the ball away from his body. The Eagles’ top pick had a good day. It’s just one practice in shorts, but the signs so far suggest he was worth the investment.

Agholor joins a receiving corps that has lost its best receiver (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) in each of the past two offseasons. We expect him to beat out Riley Cooper, Josh Huff and Miles Austin for a starter’s role opposite Jordan Matthews. If he does, he’ll certainly be fantasy relevant in 2015.

Ravens rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman is as advertised so far. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound speedster from Central Florida is big, fast and explosive.

The first-round NFL draft pick displayed his deep speed in team drills Monday and caught a long touchdown pass while surrounded by defenders. He elevated over defensive backs to make the catch.

“What we saw on tape is what we are getting," offensive coordinator Marc Trestman said of Perriman, who's signed to a four-year, $8.705 million contract. "We really liked what we saw on tape, obviously. And what we’re getting is a guy who is continually improving. He has a good understanding of the game. He’s not just a fast guy, he’s a smart guy.

"He is going to learn how to use patience and use other aspects of playing the position, his size, his hand speed, to get off the line of scrimmage. So, that’s really awesome to see that he’s a quick learner, and he’s catching the ball and making plays just like we saw him do on tape.”

This means that Perriman is doing a good job of picking up Trestman's offense. Physically, he's doing well, so he seems likely to start sooner rather than later. He has a lot of upside in Trestman's pass-happy offense given the state of the team's receiving corps.

Titans WR Kendall Wright said that he was “definitely surprised” after seeing his catches, yards and targets drop sharply in his third year with the team. Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson said that “it was indicative of our season,” which saw three different quarterbacks start games, but Wright wasn’t willing to blame lack of chemistry with quarterbacks for the downturn. He also won’t say if he thinks the change in schemes that accompanied head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s arrival had a negative impact.

“I think a lot of things, but thinking and doing what I have to do are totally different,” Wright said, via the Tennessean. “So I just keep my thoughts to myself. I don’t even speak them out loud. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do.”

Wright averaged 5.1 catches in his first two seasons. In his first year under Whisenhunt, he averaged 4.1 receptions, though he caught six touchdown passes, a career high. He should continue to provide low-end WR3/high-end WR4 numbers. His upside depends largely on the progress of QB Marcus Mariota.

When Chargers RB Danny Woodhead broke his ankle, quarterback Philip Rivers praised the replacements, but said no one player could match Woodhead's knack for winning on option routes, clever pass plays in which Rivers anticipates whether Woodhead will go north, east or west depending on the defense. It would take time, Rivers said, because he and Woodhead had developed a special rapport.

Assuming he's fully healed, he should resume his role as the Chargers' passing down specialist. In 21 games with the Chargers (including the playoffs), Woodhead has averaged 11.0 touches (4.1 catches) for 58 yards and 0.43 touchdowns, which equate to #13 RB numbers in PPR formats (#21 in standard). He’s not likely to post those numbers with Melvin Gordon coming aboard, but he should continue to see a significant amount of touches as the team’s primary third-down and no-huddle back, making him an excellent value late in drafts.

Bob Sturm on the Cowboys' backfield roles: I think [Darren McFadden] is going to be your 3rd Down guy when it all shakes out. That focuses on what he does well and it also limits what he doesn’t do well. So, I have McFadden as a 3rd down guy and [Joseph Randle] on 1st and 2nd as a very reasonable zone runner who can get some nice things done.

The soon-to-be 28-year-old McFadden hasn't cracked 3.5 YPC since the 2011 season, when he ran for 614 yards on 113 carries (5.4 YPC) in seven games. That's the rub with McFadden -- fantasy owners haven't been able to count on his durability. He has missed roughly a quarter of his team's games since entering the league. He's a solid receiver (69.6% catch rate), so a third-down role makes sense given his skill set and injury history. If Randle plays on first and second down, he should be a productive fantasy RB2 behind the Cowboys' stout offensive line.

Ravens WR Kamar Aiken quite simply just gets the job done, and he does it in a variety of ways.

He stole the show last week during the Ravens’ second OTA practice open to the media. Aiken hauled in a deep bomb, stretched for a fingertips grab over the middle, tiptoed the sideline and out leapt a defender for a score.

Aiken was a jack-of-all-trades last season too in a breakout campaign. He caught 24 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns during the regular season. He scored a 19-yard touchdown against the New England Patriots in the divisional playoffs.

With Torrey Smith in San Francisco and Jacoby Jones in San Diego, Aiken now has a chance to become a starting wide receiver. There’s a lot of competition for the spot, but Aiken is competing on the first team and looks to have just as much a chance as any other.

Aiken was 12th in the league in fantasy points (PPR) per target last season. Breshad Perriman figures to win the starting job opposite Steve L Smith, but Aiken could serve as the team's WR3 or even start if Perriman struggles out of the gate.

QB Carson Palmer, recovering from torn ACL, has been cleared to take part in 11-on-11 drills at Cardinals' minicamp that opens today.

Palmer averaged 271 yards, 1.8 touchdowns and 0.5 interceptions in six 2014 starts, or 17.2 fantasy points per game. Those are fringe QB1 numbers, continuing the progress he made in the second half of the 2013 in Bruce Arian's offense. So if Palmer (ACL) is good to go for 2015, he'll be on the radar as a late-round value for those owners looking to stream or form a committee at the position. He's one of our favorite 2015 sleepers at the quarterback position.

Giants RB Shane Vereen caught pass after pass out of the backfield, in particular in the red zone. He's going to be a big part of the offense.

Tiki Barber racked up 164 catches in three seasons under HC Tom Coughlin. Coughlin is a defensive mind, but that's proof that he's willing to let his offense utilize the running backs out of the backfield. Vereen could push for RB2 numbers in PPR formats, but with Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams, the team's RB corps is pretty crowded.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera was non-committal as to how many times he'd like Jonathan Stewart to carry the football during a game, adding that he's encouraged by what he's seen in OTAs from young backs Fozzy Whittaker and Cam Artis-Payne.

In Carolina's backfield, Stewart will also have to split carries with quarterback Cam Newton and fullback Mike Tolbert.

"Honestly it's going to come down to how you are doing," Rivera said. "If you are running the ball well, obviously you are going to feed him. We would like to be able to run the ball when we have to and run the ball when we want to."

Stewart was tremendous down the stretch, averaging 105 total yards (97.0 rushing) in the final seven games, including two playoff games. He averaged 5.30 YPC in that span, including 5.13 YPC versus Arizona and 5.38 YPC against Seattle in the playoffs. Over the final five games of the regular season, he was the #10 fantasy running back. He turns 28 in March, so there is definitely some tread left on his tires. Even though he has missed 20 percent of his team's games due to injury throughout the career, he’ll be a high-upside pick in the middle rounds. The Panthers are committed to running the ball and Stewart has talent. They originally said they planned to limit him to 15 carries per game, but these comments indicate they will continue to give him the ball if he's running well.

First impressions matter. And so far, wide receiver Breshad Perriman is leaving a good one.

Just ask CSNBaltimore.com’s Clifton Brown, who named three things that immediately stood out to him while getting an up-close look at the Ravens’ first-rounder: 1) Perriman’s size, 2) his potential as a possession receiver and 3) his strong hands.

“I think in addition to being a deep threat, which is his primary strength, he’ll be a guy who the Ravens hope can be a possession receiver as well, make some tough catches over the middle,” he said.

Then, there’s the biggest knock on Perriman since he was drafted: the drops.

The only thing is he hasn’t shown that to be a problem since he’s been with the Ravens. There were reports he dropped a ball in rookie camp three weeks ago, but there haven’t been any since.

The Ravens needed a receiver to replace Torrey Smith and Perriman fits the bill. He has great speed, so he’ll complement Steve L. Smith’s intermediate game. Throw in a pass-happy OC Marc Trestman and a solid quarterback in Joe Flacco and it all adds up to potentially heavy snaps and targets for Perriman, presuming he can pick things up quickly as a rookie.

Giants HC Tom Coughlin says Odell Beckham (hamstring) is doing better. Did some individual drills last week. Not sure he'll be ready for minicamp.

Beckham said that the Pro Bowl that he actually had two tears in his hamstring which didn’t fully heal during the season. If true, then perhaps he has just scratched the surface on his full potential. Once his season started in Week 5, he averaged 17.2 FP (standard) and 24.8 FP (PPR), which was the best in the league in both scoring systems. His hamstring should have plenty of time to heal by the time training camp begins.

“I think as a runner he has great balance,” Lions QB Matthew Stafford said of RB Ameer Abdullah after a recent OTA practice. “He’s obviously a low-to-the-ground guy. He seems to hide pretty well behind there and he’s got good vision.

“Out of the backfield, catching the ball, he’s great. He’s got great hands. He has a good feel for route running."

Most scouts seem to agree that Abdullah doesn’t project to be an every-down back, so most of Joique Bell’s between-the-tackles role should be safe, at least for this season. On the other hand, Theo Riddick’s role as the Lions’ third-down back is in serious jeopardy. If things break his way and he sees significant time on passing downs, Abdullah could ultimately post top 25 numbers in PPR formats.

Cardinals RB Andre Ellington appears to 100% after his injury-plagued season. Ellington is showing his elusive quickness in the OTA workouts.

The Cardinals drafted David Johnson to lighten Ellington’s workload, and a reduction in touches may actually help his effectiveness, though it's unlikely to help his per game fantasy production. Ellington averaged 22.0 touches per game, but only managed 3.3 YPC after averaging 5.5 YPC in his rookie season.

Chargers HC Mike McCoy on Danny Woodhead (fibula): "He looks the way (he did) the snap before ... he went down" versus Buffalo in Week 3. Back to form.

Woodhead is signed through the 2016 season, so assuming he's fully healed, he should resume his role as the Chargers' passing down specialist. In 21 games with the Chargers (including the playoffs), Woodhead has averaged 11.0 touches (4.1 catches) for 58 yards and 0.43 touchdowns, which equate to #13 RB numbers in PPR formats (#21 in standard). He’s not likely to post those numbers with Melvin Gordon coming aboard, but he should continue to see a significant amount of touches as the team’s primary third-down and no-huddle back, making him an excellent value late in drafts.

Steelers WR Martavis Bryant got his opportunity in Week 7 against the Houston Texans, catching two passes and his first NFL touchdown. Bryant reached the end zone six times in his first four games.

This time, Bryant wants to make sure he is ready to start the season in Week 1.

"I am more prepared," Bryant said. "I have more confidence. I just trained and did karate and ran routes the whole offseason to get better. I worked on the whole route tree that we run so people can see that I can do more than just catch the deep ball."

Bryant averaged 2.8 catches for 56 yards and 0.82 TD in the final 11 games of the season (including a 5-61-1 outing against Baltimore in the playoffs). Thanks to the incredible touchdown rate, those are high-end WR2 numbers in standard formats and solid WR2 numbers in PPR. What's more, he didn't play 60 percent of the snaps until the postseason, so there's upside here from a playing time standpoint. If he earns a starting role this offseason -- and it looks like he will -- he’ll be a middle round pick in 2015 fantasy drafts.

During OTAs Graham has reportedly been unstoppable and gives Russell Wilson a pass-catcher he can target even when it appears he's not open.

"Throwing to him is easy," Wilson said last week, via the Seattle Times.

The back-shoulder throws and timing patterns that make him a menace to defensive backs -- especially in the red zone --will take time to coalesce between the 6-foot-7 tight end and quarterback, but Graham said he and Wilson are already ahead of the pace.

"That stuff takes time," Graham said, "but honestly me and Russ have been on kind of this accelerated learning curve. He just gets it up and gives you an opportunity to be great. We'll be keep working on that, and we'll be just fine come the season, because that's a big thing. That's all about the connection, that's all about knowing what each other is going to do and what each other likes."

Graham finished with 85 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns, but his season was somewhat disappointing, especially down the stretch. He averaged 4.0 catches for 44 yards and 0.2 TD in his final five games, including a weird zero-target goose egg in Week 13 against Pittsburgh. Now he heads to Seattle, where the Seahawks have been looking to upgrade at tight end for a while. Graham's value takes a minor hit as he heads to the run-oriented Seahawks, though he'll continue to be a target hog given the current state of the Seattle receiving corps. His 14.6 PPR fantasy points was second at his position, and he's likely to be the second tight end off the board in 2015 fantasy drafts.

Jaguars RB Toby Gerhart looks like he did before he got hurt in the season opener last year. You can tell he's finally healthy again. Plus, when you talk to him it's evident that he's rejuvenated by Greg Olson's offense, which features more inside zone runs than the previous offense. That's more of Gerhart's wheel house and he looks more comfortable carrying the ball.

Gerhart blew his chance to be the team's feature back, but it wasn't entirely his fault as he struggled mightily with a foot injury. T.J. Yeldon is expected to start, but Gerhart will vie with Denard Robinson for touches behind the rookie.

Browns HC Mike Pettine described the running backs as a motivated, talented, deep group, which includes second-year players Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West as well as rookie Duke Johnson. Farmer praised Johnson’s playmaking ability and supreme confidence. “I think he’s going to be tremendous for us,” Farmer said of the third-round pick.

The Cleveland running game is murky at best. The team has two second-year players, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, who both had fantasy-relevant moments last season, but they added Johnson to the mix in the Draft. He’s the best receiver of the bunch, so he should have a role on third-down at the very least. But he’s capable of stealing carries as well. The Browns should have a good running game, but it’s going to be a headache trying to project these three on a week-to-week basis.

Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt (of The Tennesseean) listed five players that looked good in OTAs. One was QB Marcus Mariota: The first-round pick is drawing all the attention, of course. He has looked better than I thought he would out of the gate, with impressive arm strength and confidence running the offense. He's bound to have some disastrous days as he finds his way, but he's not yet come close to embarrassing himself.

He also said this of RB Bishop Sankey: I'm not saying he's ready for a breakout year after an underwhelming rookie season. But I have been impressed with his work in non-contact drills. When you consider he was absent last offseason because of school commitments, this has to be viewed as a positive.

Mariota has a chance to work his way into a QBBC/streaming role this season if he picks things up quickly. His weapons are fairly mediocre, but if things break his way he could have a productive rookie year. As for Sankey, he may be a post-hype sleeper, but the team drafted David Cobb, who only serves as more competition for Sankey.

In nine seasons, Alex Smith has never shown a proclivity to push the ball down the field. The Kansas City Chiefs would like to change that slightly in 2015.

"We've got to sort of retrain, rethink just a little bit," offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said this week at OTAs, via ESPN.com. "But going from that first year to where we are now with (Smith), now he sees that kind of stuff. It's just a matter of cutting loose."

With the addition of Jeremy Maclin, Travis Kelce the clear No. 1 tight end, the improvement of speedy Albert Wilson and the move of DeAnthony Thomas full-time to receiver, the Chiefs hope their pass-catchers will help force Smith to pump the ball down the field.

"I like where Alex is," Pederson said. "But now in the spring, we want to see any quarterback shoot the ball down the field and at least test it. That gives him the comfort level the next time he's in that situation."

Smith is a dirt-cheap quarterback option who could provide high-end QB2 numbers if he becomes a tad more aggressive. He has finished #13 and #18 in the last two seasons, but is the 24th QB off the board. He’s dangerous as a runner, and given the addition of a bona fide receiver in Maclin, the emergence of Kelce, and the always-dangerous Jamaal Charles, Smith is an unexciting yet (usually) functional fantasy quarterback.

Who are the likely candidates to handle the Patriots' third-down duties?

Well, at the head of the class is James White. He was, after all, drafted last year as the third-down back of the future. After watching two organized team activity sessions, it appears he’s the man in the driver’s seat. He’s definitely taking more of the quality reps. But it’s early, and he doesn’t have the versatility of some of the other candidates.

White would be the heavy favorite, but the Patriots also signed Travaris Cadet, who is very adept as a pass-catcher. Brandon Bolden is also capable. Whoever wins the job could post RB2 numbers in PPR formats if they dominate the passing down snaps.

Cowboys beat writer Jon Machota was asked about RB Joseph Randle...

Question: What are Joseph Randle's biggest strengths in trying to win the starting RB position?

Jon Machota: Quickness, athleticism and versatility. Randle has very good hands. He had 80 receptions over his last two years at Oklahoma State. As long as he's available, meaning he's staying out of trouble, I believe the starting job is his. As a player, I think he's ready for the opportunity. I don't think he'll be as successful as Murray was in short -yardage situations but he'll hit more home runs.

Randle was highly effective (6.7 YPC) in 2014 and is reportedly showing more maturity after several off-the-field issues. He's not going to see a DeMarco Murray-type workload, but 225-250 carries is feasible if he wins the lead back job.

After coach Tom Coughlin said earlier this week that the offense is “way ahead” of where it was at this point last year, Manning put up a big practice during Thursday’s organized team activities. The franchise quarterback, who is entering his 12th season, threw two touchdowns during 11-on-11 drills, one to tight end Adrien Robinson and the other to wide receiver Preston Parker. Manning is relishing the second offseason in offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system.

“It was important having this last month – watching the film, talking a lot about the mechanics, the footwork, being able to go outside with him and working on a lot of drill work,” Manning said recently during OTAs. “A lot of it is stuff I wasn’t able to do last year. I was coming off the ankle surgery, I had a new offense – of lot of things going through the mind, trying to figure out concepts.

“This year, I understand the concepts. I’m still working on it, but I’m concentrating on the footwork and the mechanics and the timing of everything. It was great to have that this year and kind of get back to the basics of everything. I feel comfortable, I feel real good right now.”

Manning finished the season as the #10 fantasy quarterback, but was #2 over the final six weeks, when OC Ben McAdoo said that the team finally played the way it wanted to play. In Odell Beckham, Manning finally has a stud receiver. The free agent signing of receiving specialist Shane Vereen and the return of a (hopefully) healthy Victor Cruz give Manning two more weapons to utilize in the passing game. He looks like a great value for those who want to wait on the position until the 9th or 10th round.

Doug Martin looked smooth during Thursday’s session, making sharp cuts and catching out of the backfield during one-on-one drills against linebackers. The Boise State product was practicing with first-team offense and, according to Lovie Smith, he’ll stay with that group.

“He’s on the first team like he has always been,” Smith said. “He’s one of our guys, he’s our running back. He’s showing up and he is getting good work. I think it is just as simple as that.”

The team is supposedly very high on Charles Sims, but it sounds as if it's time to pump the brakes a bit. Neither player is a great fantasy option, though with the additions that the Bucs made to the offensive line, the running game should be better in 2015.

Last year, Saints WR Brandon Coleman struggled with the offense and consistency catching the football was nonexistent. Both of those facets have improved dramatically during the first two weeks of OTAs. Coleman came up with several receptions Thursday during first-team drills to drive the point home.

Coleman nabbed a deep ball from Drew Brees as safety Kenny Vaccaro lost him coming off the line as an inside receiver. Coleman picked up another nice reception on a back shoulder throw from rookie Garrett Grayson with cornerback Kyle Wilson in coverage.

Coleman's most impressive play wasn't his flashiest. The Saints wideout outmaneuvered Keenan Lewis in one-on-one coverage on a crossing route to pick up another pass connection with Brees.

It's very early, but no longer does Coleman appear to be just some 6-foot-6 guy you're hoping can become something. He's getting past that point with each practice.

There is opportunity in the Saints' passing game with Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills gone and Marques Colston getting older. Coleman stands 6-6 and could turn into a serious weapon for the Saints if he proves he's ready to play.

Rams HC Jeff Fisher gave an update on wideout Brian Quick, whose suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Kansas City in 2014.

“Brian Quick is probably the one we have to watch,” Fisher said. “We’ll have to watch him, keep him out of contact, but he’s running routes against air. He’s catching and progressing nicely.”

Quick was posting solid WR3 numbers in both standard and PPR formats before his injury in Week 8. He's currently the 50th WR off the board at the end of the 10th round. The arrival of Nick Foles should be good for his prospects in 2015.

While Norv Turner notes that he likes the way the Vikings closed out 2014 on offense, he also knows Adrian Peterson’s return will have a major impact.

“Well, any great player — and you’re talking about one of the greatest players to ever play — it makes a total difference,” Turner said, via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “It changes the whole approach for everybody. If you really break down how we played the last six weeks of the season, we played pretty good on offense. That’s something we’re going to build on. You add Adrian to it and, yeah, it makes a big difference.”

Turner didn’t detail too many of the changes to the approach, but did say that he expects Peterson to be a bigger part of the passing game than he’s been in the past and that other additions (the trade for Mike Wallace, the return to health of Kyle Rudolph) will also reshape the team’s offense for the 2015 season.

Turner has a history of feeding the ball to his top running back; LaDainian Tomlinson averaged 20.9 touches per game from 2007-09 while he and Turner were in San Diego. That included 2.86 receptions per game, which would represent a career high 45-46 receptions for Peterson if he catches the ball at the same rate. If he stays healthy, Peterson is a threat to finish as the #1 overall PPR running back.

Dirk Koetter was signed as the Bucs’ OC in the offseason after serving the same role in Atlanta a year ago.

“He’s a smooth guy,” Mike Evans said after Thursday’s OTA practice. “He knows what he is doing. If you look at the Falcons’ receivers last year they had some of the best stats. He gets his receivers the ball and on this team we have some really good playmakers at the receiver position. I like the way he gets the receivers the ball, so hopefully we’ll have a great year.”

Vincent Jackson feels similarly. He’s been in a few different systems since entering the league in 2005. But this system will spread the ball all around the field and utilize Jackson in several different ways, something he’s excited about.

“Obviously the way I’ve worked in the past was being very dynamic where they can play me in multiple places and Dirk (Koetter) is having fun with that and he’s putting me in a lot of different areas. It’s fun to play inside, outside, stretch the field, cross the field, and that’s what’s good about this offensive system is that we’re going to put the ball all over the place.”

Evans finished as the #11 receiver in standard formats and #13 in PPR. He should enjoy a quarterback upgrade this year and should continue to develop as a receiver. Expect more of the same. After finishing as a low-end WR3, Jackson is a bounce back candidate given the upgrades the team made at quarterback and offensive coordinator.

Quarterback Nick Foles is getting to know his new St. Louis Rams teammates.

"We love him," wide receiver Kenny Britt said Thursday after the second OTA session and first open to reporters. "Great deep ball, he puts it on the money every time.

"He can throw every pass in the book."

"He's got his hands full because we've got great defensive team speed and they're doing a lot of things over there right now," HC Jeff Fisher said. "We've just really been pleased."

Foles’ second season as the starter in Philadelphia didn’t go as well as his first. After a ridiculous 27-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2013, Foles tossed 13 touchdowns against 10 picks last year. It wasn’t all his fault, however, as he was playing behind a patchwork offensive line and didn’t seem as comfortable in the pocket. In the seven games that he finished in 2014, he averaged 16.9 fantasy points, which is about what Philip Rivers scored as the #12 QB on the season. Foles ultimately broke his collarbone in Week 9 and missed the final eight games of the season. Now he joins a run-oriented Rams’ offense that lacks consistent playmakers in the passing game. Sam Bradford had a few good stretches while in St. Louis, so there's no reason that Foles can't post QB2-type numbers if things break his way.

"No. 1, with maybe multiple tight end sets, that's gonna just open it up," Seahawks TE Jimmy Graham told the Seattle Times. "These last couple of years for me, playing against guys who aren't concerned about the run at all. They know I will try to do a double move and run this go route. It makes it more difficult. So this will just make my job easier when it comes to the passing game."

Graham's height and downfield ability have made him a feared weapon, but now paired with Russell Wilson, the tight end foresees a new dynamic in his game, which could lead to increased production.

"Russ’s ability to extend a play is unbelievable. Out there in New Orleans, everything was about timing so when you hit that step, that ball is coming ... And now when you hit a step and look back, maybe he saw something and now he’s scrambling so there’s a second opportunity.

"This offense and this team is dangerous on those second opportunities. When he gets out of the pocket and he’s able to work and kind of play street ball, which I’ve always been pretty good at, the offense is extremely explosive.”

Graham finished with 85 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns, but his season was somewhat disappointing, especially down the stretch. He averaged 4.0 catches for 44 yards and 0.2 TD in his final five games, including a weird zero-target goose egg in Week 13 against Pittsburgh. Now he heads to Seattle, where the Seahawks have been looking to upgrade at tight end for a while. Graham's value takes a minor hit as he heads to the run-oriented Seahawks, though he'll continue to be a target hog given the current state of the Seattle receiving corps. His 14.6 PPR fantasy points was second at his position to Rob Gronkowski, and he's likely to be the second tight end off the board in 2015 fantasy drafts.

Two standouts again in Saints practice today: Young WRs Brandon Coleman, Seantavius Jones. In serious danger of early over-hyping.

Coleman and Jones are competing with Nick Toon and Joseph Morgan for snaps behind starters Brandin Cooks and Marques Colston. The Saints spread it around, so the team's WR3 probably won't hold reliable fantasy value, but whoever wins the position should be on speed dial if Cooks or Colston suffers an injury.

The Vikings are still running around in shorts right now, so players are going through the motions after the handoff. But Captain Munnerlyn said Adrian Peterson arrived in great shape and showed no signs of rust in the team’s three practices this week.

“He’s been out of football for almost a whole year, but a guy like him, though … I haven’t been around him in six months. I didn’t know he was going to come back in this type of shape,” Munnerlyn said. “He’s in unbelievable shape, like he never lost a step. And he’s out to prove a point.”

Throwing out his one-game season in 2014, Peterson never finished outside of the top 6 on a per game basis in standard formats (or outside the top 11 in PPR) in his previous seven seasons. He's now on the wrong side of 30, but his legs should be fresh after taking a full season off to deal with his criminal case last season. OC Norv Turner has a history of feeding the ball to his top running back; LaDainian Tomlinson averaged 20.9 touches per game from 2007-09 while he and Turner were in San Diego. That included 2.86 receptions per game, which would represent a career high 45-46 receptions for Peterson if he catches the ball at the same rate.

This is the most important stretch of Aaron Dobson’s career.

The Patriots’ 2013 second-round draft pick is healthy for the first time in a year and a half, and he is taking advantage of his opportunities during organized team activities. Dobson desperately needs to build on a good camp, which featured a few more impressive catches yesterday, to eventually live up to the Pats’ lofty expectations.

Dobson will likely be the third or fourth receiver behind Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and possibly Danny Amendola. Dobson brings something to the table (speed, size) that Amendola doesn't, so if he shines this offseason, Dobson could play ahead of him.

Running back Mark Ingram was once again watching from the sideline during the New Orleans Saints' second week of organized team activities (OTAs) on Thursday. But coach Sean Payton stressed that he's not dealing with anything "significant" and that the Saints are just being smart at this time of year.

Ingram was also out last Thursday with what Payton described as a minor foot/ankle issue.

“We’ve just sat him,” Payton said. “There’s nothing significant. It’s this time of the year where we’re smart about what we’re doing.”

Ingram averaged 19.6 touches for 85 yards and 0.69 TD per game in his 13-game season in 2014. He averaged 4.27 YPC last season after averaging 5.02 YPC in 2013. He benefited somewhat by injuries to Khiry Robinson, who could potentially eat into Ingram's 2015 workload. The team also signed C.J. Spiller to fill the Pierre Thomas/Darren Sproles role in the offense. Ingram posted the #11 PPG in PPR formats (#8 in standard), and will be drafted as a high-end RB2 in 2015 fantasy drafts, provided this foot issue doesn't linger.

Early word on Raiders WR Amari Cooper, per team source: "Real deal. Almost no mental errors. Runs great routes, consistent route runner."

Oakland would not typically be a good landing spot for a top receiver, but now that the team seems to have a decent quarterback in Derek Carr, there's some potential here. Barring a surprise, he should start immediately since the Raider receiving corps doesn't boast a player of his pedigree. We currently have him ranked as a low-end WR2 since touchdowns may be tough to come by.

If you think 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick's release is more compact, you're right.

"It's the first thing everyone sees -- how fast the ball comes out of his hand," QB Dennis Gile said. That's a result of all the alterations -- from his head to the bottom of his cleats -- that the quarterback has made. "It's not about how hard you can throw it or how fast you can get rid of it," Gile said. "It's how quickly he can release it while still being relaxed."

One of the main things that changed was Kaepernick's stance. Gile said it was too narrow. That is, his feet were close together -- "real tall on his tippy toes," Gile said -- and when he took a step to throw the ball, that step was too big, too exaggerated. That elongated his release.

It's also helped his accuracy. Gile said Kaepernick made the biggest gains with his deep passes. That has to be good news for wideouts like Torrey Smith and Jerome Simpson, who were brought in this offseason to add firepower to a deep passing attack that had been lightly utilized in previous seasons.

Gile said he expected Kaepernick to return to Phoenix and continue to work on his craft during the team's break in early July.

It was reported earlier in the offseason that the team planned to utilize Kaepernick’s running ability to a greater degree. Kaepernick ran the ball 12 more times in 2014 than he did in 2013 for an additional 115 yards, so it's not like he abandoned the scramble. It sounds like it's more about utilizing the read-option as a larger part of the offense. If that's the case, it could be a boon to Kaepernick's fantasy value. He was the #14 QB in 2014 after finishing #9 the season before, though his overall production only dipped by 11 fantasy points. He's a bounce-back candidate provided new OC Geep Chryst can design an offense that can move the ball. Chryst previously served as the OC for the Chargers in 1999 and 2000, but his offenses ranked 26th and 28th overall in that span. Any gains that Kaepernick can make as a thrower (due to his offseason work with Gile and former Rams/Cardinals QB Kurt Warner) will only help his overall value.

49ers Matt Barrows was asked if WR Torrey Smith would go over or under 750 receiving yards this season. His response: "Under. But that won't mean he was a waste of money necessarily."

We currently project Smith for 879 yards, which is a bit lower than his four-year average. His production this season depends largely on the long-ball accuracy of Colin Kaepernick, who was not good in that aspect of the game in 2014, but showed solid deep-ball accuracy in 2013. Kaepernick has spent time this offseason with QB guru Dennis Gile working on his throwing motion and deep-ball accuracy.

Per a team source, DeVante Parker underwent foot surgery this morning. As is always the case when NFL players go under the knife, the surgery was a success. He’s expected to be ready to go for Week One in September.

It’s unclear how or when the injury occurred. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that the surgery was performed as a precaution, and that the injury wouldn’t have kept Parker from playing this week, if it had happened in the regular season.

It’s also unclear whether and to what extent Parker will participate in training camp and the preseason. He’s definitely done for the rest of the offseason program. While he’s expected to be ready for Week One, his readiness for the rest of the work that comes before Week One could influence how effective he’ll be as a rookie.

This is a big blow to Parker's fantasy stock even though he's "expected" to be ready Week 1. As a rookie, he needs the practice reps to learn the offense, build a rapport with Ryan Tannehill and beat out Kenny Stills and Greg Jennings. He could come back strong a la Odell Beckham, but holding him to that sort of standard is probably a bad idea.

The question remains the same about Bears tight end Martellus Bennett, and the answer from coach John Fox is unchanged.

The team hit the halfway point in organized team activities with the veteran still not present.

“As I said before, this is voluntary,” Fox said after Wednesday’s session at Halas Hall. “That is not going to change for the rest of this offseason. You’ll have to ask him that. I just know we have a lot of guys working really hard to get better.”

What isn’t voluntary is the minicamp June 16-18. Does Fox expect Bennett to participate at the minicamp?

“Again, I can’t predict those intentions,” he said. “I would prefer him to be here. Right now, we’re putting all of our energy and focus on the guys who are.”

Bennett did not respond to a request for comment earlier this week.

Bennett finished #5 in both PPR and standard formats last season, and although he’s playing for a new OC, Adam Gase, he should remain heavily involved in the offense. His absence from OTAs is an indicator of his overall attitude towards his current contract. It's a minor concern, but from a fantasy standpoint we'd prefer it if Bennett were happy with his situation.

The Browns got plenty of production from their two rookie running backs in 2014, as Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell combined for 1,280 yards and 12 touchdowns. The expectations are different for Duke Johnson because he’s a different kind of running back in a different set of circumstances, but his development is on the right track to add a new element to Cleveland’s running attack.

“He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s probably a typical rookie where he is right now,” HC Mike Pettine said. “I think we’ve all seen what he can bring – the explosiveness and how we can turn a handoff or a short pass into a significant gain with a back like that.”

Johnson reportedly looked very good in his first practice, running for a couple of big gains. He's mired in a committee on a team with serious quarterback issues, so we're not expecting much from any one Brown running back.

There's a chance that Justin Forsett's reception total of 44 last season could possibly double this season. At last week's organized team activity, Forsett was catching a handful of screen passes. On Wednesday, he was pulling in passes over the middle and in the flats.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said there has never been any talk of whether running backs will get increased chances as receivers and indicated that they've always been involved in the passing game whether it's checkdowns or play-action passes. "That will be a part of what we're doing," Harbaugh said. "It'll be a big part of it."

One of the mainstays of Marc Trestman's offense is getting the ball to his running backs in space. There have been seven instances where a running back has caught at least 69 passes in a season under Trestman: San Francisco's Derek Loville, Arizona's Larry Centers and Michael Pittman, Oakland's Charlie Garner (twice) and Chicago's Matt Forte (twice). In Trestman's two seasons in Chicago, Forte caught a total of 176 passes, which were 48 more than any other running back in the NFL.

"I'm excited about that -- being used more, going out wide or catching passes out of the backfield," Forsett said. "With Coach Trestman coming in, a lot of backs have had a lot of passes. Even in OTAs, I've been catching a lot of balls, so I make sure I am sharp on my routes and ready to be used that way as well."

This goes along with what we've been saying since the team hired Trestman -- Forsett is going to be very, very productive in PPR formats.

The Eagles plan on dividing the rushing workload between running backs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, a far cry from past years when LeSean McCoy carried the load.

Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur revealed the plan Wednesday although he declined to put a percentage on the way touches would be divvied up.

“They’re two really fine players,” Shurmur said at a coaches availability. “They’re two guys that have been starters in places that they’ve been and they’re going to come here and kind of share the role. I think that’s terrific that that’s their mindset. It shows us that you’ve got really, really fine players that understand it’s important to be a good teammate. Any time you can add good players to a unit you make yourself better because you need more than one to play the year.”

There are a variety of ways that the two players can 'share the role,' though this isn't the kind of talk that DeMarco Murray owners want to hear at this point in the offseason. We have Murray projected for 285 carries to Mathews' 132, which is approximately a 2-to-1 split.

Joseph Randle took the first-teams snaps on Wednesday with Darren McFadden working out on the side because of a hamstring strain and Ryan Williams out with a sore knee.

Hamstring injuries at this time of year are not alarming, but this isn't going to generate any confidence in McFadden's ability to hold up as the team's starter given his injury history. Randle is looking like a good bet to finish the season with the most touches.

Redskins TE Jordan Reed, who had a procedure done on his injured knee, also watched. He didn’t walk with a noticeable limp, and didn’t wear a brace on the knee. HC Jay Gruden said he’s not concerned about the stability of the tight end position, praising Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen. (Gruden said Paul has bulked up some more in an attempt to help himself become more effective as a blocker. He’s definitely noticeably bigger).

Paul could surprise if Reed ends up on the shelf with his knee issues. Paul isn't a shoo-in to produce, but he has had his moments with Reed sidelined.

Saints beat writer Nick Underhill was asked to predict who would get more touches -- Mark Ingram or C.J. Spiller.

Let’s assume the Saints log 430 carries next year. I’ll give 185 to Mark Ingram, 140 to Spiller, and the rest to the other guys. Those numbers might seem conservative, but 430 carries would put New Orleans right in the middle of the league.

With the baseline set, I expect Spiller to end up with more touches. I think he’s going to be a big player in the passing game, working out of the backfield and split out as a receiver.

Look, I’ll be honest, I probably have unreasonable expectations for Spiller. I think he’s going to do big things. I’ve let my mind run wild, envisioning all the different ways a creative coach like Sean Payton could use him.

Going back to the question, I think it will be close, but I’ll give Spiller the edge in touches.

We have Ingram projected to carry the ball 212 times, with Spiller getting 80 carries and Robinson with 72, so we favor Ingram heavily in the running game with Robinson seeing more of a role as well. Still, Spiller is an attractive pick, especially in PPR formats. Underhill did say he had "unreasonable expectations" for Spiller, so his projections should be taken with a grain of salt. For more on Spiller, check out Senior Editor John Paulsen's recent article, The Case for C.J. Spiller in New Orleans.

It was a mere five-yard flare pattern to a running back -- and a wobbly one at that -- but it was the closest thing to a forward pass seen from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr in three weeks.

Carr was mostly a spectator during Tuesday's organized team activity apart from a few short throws during drills as he recovers from a reported injury to the ring finger on his throwing hand.

The Raiders, citing team policy, have kept the details of Carr's condition to themselves and coach Jack Del Rio remained circumspect following practice.

There has been no information regarding the injury nor an update on when Carr might be full-go other than he's expected to be ready for training camp in late July. Whether Carr will do much throwing at the mandatory minicamp June 9-11 remains to be seen.

Carr finished as the #20 fantasy quarterback as a rookie, but averaged only 12.5 FP, which was only a half-point higher than fellow rookie Blake Bortles. The Raiders drafted Amari Cooper, so Carr now has a bona fide WR1 to throw to, and that should help his fantasy stock. He will be in the QB streaming/committee mix in his second season.

Jaguars OC Greg Olson on RB T.J. Yeldon:

"He was a playmaker and he played big in big games. He’s a very knowledgeable, intelligent player at the running back position and Alabama runs a Pro-Style offense and we were able to see him do things protection-wise and route running-wise and blocking [-wise] that will translate to this level of football. … [Playing every down] would be asking a lot of any player. I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s another real self-starter and hard worker."

Yeldon should see plenty of touches, but the Jaguars' offense has been poor for some time, so he may not see the same number of scoring opportunities as some of the other running backs being drafted in the middle rounds. Denard Robinson had a very nice stretch for four weeks, but otherwise the Jacksonville running backs weren't much of a fantasy factor in 2014. The team did make an effort to improve the offensive line via free agency and the draft, so Yeldon has top 20 potential provided QB Blake Bortles shows progress from his disappointing rookie season.

An early focus for the Jaguars' new OC Greg Olson and quarterbacks coach Nathaniel Hackett was how Blake Bortles held the football and how it left his hand. They felt Bortles held the ball too low, leaving him susceptible to being stripped. And then the follow-through – making sure he has a more consistent spin on his throws, which will produce a tighter spiral.

“He’s done a great job of cleaning up his mechanics,” Olson said. “He’s very hard on himself and critical of himself but he recognizes what needs to be fixed and he’s able to do that. A lot of guys aren’t able to do that.”

Bortles averaged 12.0 fantasy points per game, which led to a #24 finish at his position. He's a passer who could make a leap in his second season if the Jaguars can give him time to throw and he can clean up his fundamentals. The receiving corps is young but talented, with Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns all capable of producing when given the opportunity. The team signed Julius Thomas to provide a dangerous weapon at tight end. Bortles averaged nearly 30 yards rushing, so he offers some baseline production as a runner.

Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane on the status of QB Sam Bradford:

Sam Bradford, as Chip Kelly said was likely, practiced during seven-on-seven drills. The new Eagles quarterback took about five snaps, splitting time with Mark Sanchez, with the first team on Tuesday. He didn’t participate during the second set of seven-on-seven drills and sat out all of team drills, as expected. Bradford threw the ball well. The drops he took weren’t strenuous. While his full return still appears to be a ways off, Bradford took a small step forward. That is a positive.

He warmed up to the side as most of the team went through conditioning at the start of practice. He then partook in individual drills with the other quarterbacks, jogging to the next station whenever the drill moved. I didn’t notice a hitch in his step as he ran. Bradford walked with a noticeable limp after practice last Thursday, but I didn’t get to see him walk off the fields on Tuesday.

Over the last two seasons, Philadelphia quarterbacks have averaged 16.7 passing game-only fantasy points. Bradford isn’t much of a runner, but he adds about 0.7 FP per game as a rusher. That adds up to 17.4 FP, or about what Eli Manning averaged as the #13 QB in 2014. The Eagles’ offense has lost their top receiver – DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin – in each of the last two seasons, but Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz are emerging and the team added Nelson Agholor in the draft. If Bradford ends up starting for the Eagles, we wouldn’t expect anything more than high-end QB2 numbers, but this is a definite system upgrade due to the overall effectiveness of Chip Kelly’s offense. The health of Bradford's knee is the biggest concern heading into 2015.

Cowboys beat writer Jon Machota predicts that Joseph Randle will have first crack at the RB1 job in Dallas:

Randle has an outstanding opportunity in front of him if he’s able to take advantage. He gets the nod over Darren McFadden because he’s been in the system, has more tread on his tires and had success last season when called upon. If Randle stays out of trouble off the field, he could be Dallas’ next 1,000-yard back.

On average, Darren McFadden is still going ahead of Randle in early drafts, but we believe that Randle is the better bet. He was highly effective (6.7 YPC) in 2014 and is reportedly showing more maturity after several off-the-field issues. He's not going to see a DeMarco Murray-type workload, but 225-250 carries is feasible if he wins the lead back job.

Jimmy Graham put on a one-man show during red zone drills in practice with the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday.

The Seahawks newest addition on offense was practically unstoppable near the goal line in the team’s first workout open to the media with Graham participating since the trade to acquire him from New Orleans in March.

Graham caught four touchdown passes in 7-on-7 drills and added another in full team drills. Any time Graham got singled up on a defender, Russell Wilson was throwing Graham’s direction and finding success in doing so.

“He’s a superstar, he’s going to be one for a long time, and my goal is to help him continue to grow,” Wilson said. “He looked great today, as you guys saw, and that’s how he looks every day, so it’s a spectacular thing.”

Graham finished with 85 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns, but his season was somewhat disappointing, especially down the stretch. He averaged 4.0 catches for 44 yards and 0.2 TD in his final five games, including a weird zero-target goose egg in Week 13 against Pittsburgh. Now he heads to Seattle, where the Seahawks have been looking to upgrade at tight end for a while. Graham's value takes a minor hit as he heads to the run-oriented Seahawks, though he'll continue to be a target hog given the current state of the Seattle receiving corps. His 14.6 PPR fantasy points was second at his position to Rob Gronkowski, and he's likely to be the second tight end off the board in 2015 fantasy drafts, especially if his shoulder injury is fully behind him.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans, who left last Thursday's practice with a "tweak" of his right hamstring, was back in action in today's OTA practice.

It's nice to hear that the hamstring tweak wasn't serious. Evans finished as the #11 receiver in standard formats and #13 in PPR. He should enjoy a quarterback upgrade this year and should continue to develop as a receiver. Expect more of the same.

In his first practice, Eagles WR Nelson Agholor ran smooth crisp routes, showed the kind of speed that vaulted him up draft boards late in the process.

Another wrinkle that the USC product who finished his collegiate career with 179 catches for 2,571 yards and 20 touchdowns is his ability to contribute as a kickoff returner. During Tuesday's practice Agholor was the first receiver up, perhaps giving a glimpse of another area in which he may contribute during his rookie campaign.

Agholor joins a receiving corps that has lost its best receiver (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) in each of the past two offseasons. We expect him to beat out Riley Cooper, Josh Huff and Miles Austin for a starter’s role opposite Jordan Matthews. If he does, he’ll certainly be fantasy relevant in 2015.

Receiver Dwayne Bowe threw a minor scare into the Browns Tuesday when he went up for a pass, got tangled up with a defender and came up limping about midway through the two-hour OTA practice.

Bowe was taken into the facility for an exam, and never returned to the field. But coach Mike Pettine said it's nothing major.

"We might hold him out Thursday,'' Pettine said. "I'll wait to see the results of it. It wasn't anything serious, but especially in the spring with anything, we're going to tend to err on the side of being conservative."

Bowe will likely lead the Browns in targets if he's healthy. He's not much of a fantasy asset at this point, but his ADP is in the tank, and owners will be hard-pressed to find another receiver who's likely to see 100 targets in the 14th round.

Broncos RB C.J. Anderson looks different.

His jersey fits looser, a symbol of how seriously he has taken his metamorphosis from an undrafted free agent to Pro Bowler. In the weeks leading to the Denver Broncos' organized training activity, Anderson modified his diet, ran hills and tracks in Colorado and California.

At this time a year ago, Anderson weighed 243 pounds. He checked in at 221 on Monday, two pounds less than he carried in the final few weeks of his breakout 2014 season.

On the verge of establishing himself as an impact player, he understands there are no second first impressions. He has buried himself in the playbook — he received pointers from Justin Forsett, a friend because of their Cal-Berkley connection — unwilling to concede anything to his competitors.

Anderson began to see starter-type touches in Week 10 with 17 touches for 163 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders. Over the final eight weeks, he averaged 24.0 touches for 132 yards and 1.3 TD, and was the #1 RB in that span. If the Broncos commit to Anderson (and why wouldn’t they?), he should thrive under new HC Gary Kubiak, who just coaxed a career year out of journeyman Forsett.

Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon is expected to be the starter as a rookie, and he has shown versatility as a runner and receiver – as well as noteworthy quickness as a runner. “He looks really good in short-area change of direction,” Jaguars middle linebacker Paul Posluszny said. “He looks really, really good there. It’s, ‘How does a guy move in space? How athletic is he?’ That’s what stands out. With him, he definitely has it.”

Yeldon should see plenty of touches, but the Jaguars' offense has been poor for some time, so he may not see the same number of scoring opportunities as some of the other running backs being drafted in the middle rounds. Denard Robinson had a very nice stretch for four weeks, but otherwise the Jacksonville running backs weren't much of a fantasy factor in 2014. The team did make an effort to improve the offensive line via free agency and the draft, so Yeldon has top 20 potential provided QB Blake Bortles shows progress from his disappointing rookie season.

Cowboys beat writer Bob Sturm on RB Joseph Randle:

I think Randle is capable for sure, but I also wonder about his ability to go from 5 snaps a game to 30 and maintain his impressive quickness and conviction on each play. I also wonder if he is trusted in pass protection and short yardage. If not, he is going to likely be the #1 option on normal run downs 1st and 2nd down, and then give way to Darren McFadden/Lance Dunbar (I assume) on 3rd downs.

[The Cowboys coaches] seem to wonder about his ability to “do it all” or just able to handle one thing over and over. There is also a level of distrust about his maturity and dependability as a professional athlete that he has to earn back to ever fully realize his potential on the field.

That said, he has impressive tools and a chance to play behind a line that does much of the work themselves. It would be a shame not to take advantage of that. There is no reason for us to rule him out as a RB1 candidate in the fall.

Sturm does a fantastic job of breaking down Randle's 2014 campaign, even offering "tape" of 11 different plays in which Randle showed one thing or another. McFadden is going ahead of Randle in early drafts, but we feel Randle is be the better bet. He was highly effective (6.7 YPC) in 2014 and is reportedly showing more maturity after several off-the-field issues. He's not going to see a DeMarco Murray-type workload, but 225-250 carries is feasible if he wins the lead back job.

For the better part of his first two seasons in the league, Titans wide receiver Kendall Wright was given unusual freedom in his route-running: It didn't really matter to the previous coaching staff how he arrived at his route destination -- as long as he arrived.

That philosophy helped Wright put up some big numbers in his first two years, especially in 2013, when he caught 94 passes for 1,079 yards.

But Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt wanted Wright to take a more disciplined and precise approach to route-running last year, which is why the two seemed occasionally to be at odds. Wright's numbers took a noticeable dip in 2014, as he caught 64 passes for 626 yards.

Whisenhunt said last week that he and Wright have spent a lot of time in the offseason talking about their philosophical differences.

The article has more detail about why Whisenhunt wanted Wright to be more disciplined. He averaged 5.1 catches in his first two seasons. In his first year under Ken Whisenhunt, he averaged 4.1 receptions, though he caught six touchdown passes, which was a career high. He should continue to provide low-end WR3/high-end WR4 numbers. His upside depends largely on the progress of QB Marcus Mariota.

The Ravens are hoping for more of the same from Steve L Smith in 2015. In fact, they aren’t just hoping – they’re counting on it.

In one sense, that’s a bit of a dice roll. As ESPN’s Jamison Hensley pointed out Monday, the last 36-year-old NFL receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in a season was Joey Galloway in 2007. It’s only happened five times in league history. There does seem to be a ceiling of sorts for receivers his age.

But if anyone is going to become the next guy to do it, it’s probably Smith. Last season, he made more receptions for Baltimore at age 35 than he did for Carolina at age 30 in 2009. He caught 41 passes in the first half of the season and 38 in the second half, so he didn’t wear down. His eight playoff catches included one for a touchdown against Darrelle Revis.

Now the issue becomes how to get the same production from him in 2015. It’s crucial to the Ravens’ prospects, given the relative inexperience of their other receivers.

Smith was the #20 WR in standard formats and #18 in PPR, but he did most of his damage in the first six weeks of the season when he was the #3 and #4 overall receiver, respectively. He was a fantasy WR4 the rest of the way, though he did have his moments. The Ravens can’t afford to put Smith out to pasture because they let Torrey Smith walk in free agency and the team’s receiver corps is severely lacking experience. Smith has some upside given his ADP (8th/9th round) and the arrival of pass-happy OC Marc Trestman, who should be able to figure out how to best utilize Smith’s skill set.

Eddie Lacy has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, but the third-year Packers running back has detected a missing chip in his on-field performance.

"Finishing runs," Lacy said, per the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "A lot of times I'll get into the secondary and I'll stop my feet or as my coach likes to say, 'Hit the brakes. Hit the air brakes.' This year, I don't want to do that.

"I want to get to the secondary and if there's a guy there, whoever it may be, instead of me hitting the air brakes, I want to push the gas and make it harder on him and maybe he'll miss a tackle and I'll break a long one, or maybe he makes the tackle," Lacy said. "But that's something he's going to have to do for that whole game."

Lacy has finished in the top eight in both standard and PPR formats in his first two seasons and is poised to again in his third year. He got off to a slow start in 2014, posting just 151 total yards and zero touchdowns in his first three games. Then he got on a roll, averaging 109 total yards and 1.0 TD over the final 13 games. Expect more of the same from Lacy in 2015.

Adrian Peterson is back with the Minnesota Vikings.

The 2012 NFL MVP will join the Vikings for organized team activities on Tuesday, ending an absence from the team that stretched nearly nine months, back to when Peterson was indicted on Sept. 12 for injuring his child while disciplining him with a switch.

"I'm returning because I want to. I'm a part of this football team and I owe it to the guys I play with and to our coaches," Peterson wrote Tuesday morning in an email to ESPN. "I was planning on coming in this week, and I'm looking forward to getting back on the field. It's what I love to do."

Throwing out his one-game season in 2014, Peterson never finished outside of the top 6 on a per game basis in standard formats (or outside the top 11 in PPR) in his previous seven seasons. He's now on the wrong side of 30, but his legs should be fresh after taking a full season off to deal with his criminal case last season. OC Norv Turner has a history of feeding the ball to his top running back; LaDainian Tomlinson averaged 20.9 touches per game from 2007-09 while he and Turner were in San Diego. That included 2.86 receptions per game, which would represent a career high 45-46 receptions for Peterson if he catches the ball at the same rate.

Without a doubt, there will be some spirited, hard-fought competition between these two. Head coach Dan Quinn noted Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman are “absolutely battling for it,” and at present, it’s difficult to forecast how the situation will unfold.

For now, as Coleman eases his way into the organization, Freeman remains at the top of the depth chart. And while that could change at any time, it’d take quite an effort from Coleman to reshuffle the deck.

On Freeman: “He’s got terrific hands coming out of the backfield,” Quinn said. “What a weapon that can be. He runs good routes and has really good hands.”

A big reason why the Falcons like Coleman is his knowledge of the zone-blocking scheme. As a senior at Indiana he darted for more than 2,000 yards — many of which came from his ability to read blocks and use his “one-cut-and-go” move to break free. Kyle Shanahan’s system will look a lot like the one Coleman studied at Indiana, at least from his perspective.

The Falcons used a 3rd round pick on Coleman, which probably means that they weren't completely content with their stable of running backs. The new regime inherited Freeman, so his standing isn't exactly clear. We believe Coleman will end up with most of the carries, but that Freeman will finish with more receptions. This is a murky situation at this point.

Cardinals HC Bruce Arians said that QB Carson Palmer is comfortable running no-huddle: “We can play real fast now.” They will use the no-huddle offense more than they have in the past.

Palmer averaged 271 yards, 1.8 touchdowns and 0.5 interceptions in six 2014 starts, or 17.2 fantasy points per game. Those are fringe QB1 numbers, so if Palmer (ACL) is good to go for 2015, he'll be on the radar as a late-round value for those owners looking to stream or form a committee at the position. An increase in the use of "no huddle" should only serve to boost his fantasy value.

Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. held out of team drills as precaution. Sore hamstring, not same as last year, per Tom Coughlin.

Beckham said that the Pro Bowl that he actually had two tears in his hamstring which didn’t fully heal during the season. If true, then perhaps he has just scratched the surface on his full potential. Once his season started in Week 5, he averaged 17.2 FP (standard) and 24.8 FP (PPR), which was the best in the league in both scoring systems. The only (minor) concerns are a potential sophomore slump and the return of Victor Cruz, which could alter the dynamic in the Giants' receiving corps. This latest injury isn't much of a concern at this point in the offseason.

In terms of football, the switch to a new team hasn’t presented that much of a challenge for TE Jordan Cameron because he said the Dolphins offense has similarities to what Cleveland ran two years ago.

It’s exactly what Cameron had said after he signed with the Dolphins in the early days of free agency.

“I was in a similar system two years ago and it’s something I thrive in, I would say,” Cameron said. “It’s a lot of stuff that they throw the ball to the tight end and you’ve got to be able to run and get some separation. I think it’s what I do best, so I’m just looking forward. It’s one of those things that kind of tailors to my game and I think it’s going to be a positive, good year."

Miami is a better landing spot than Cleveland. After finishing #5 in 2013, Cameron only posted 2.4 catches per game last season and finished #24 in standard formats. His targets dropped from 7.9 to 4.8 per game, which didn't make much sense since the Browns were without Josh Gordon for most of the season. He should see an increase in targets since the Dolphins gave Charles Clay 6.0 T/G in 2014 and 6.2 T/G over the last two years. Clay finished #13 in PPR PPG, and Cameron is an upgrade as a receiver. He’s a real threat to finish in the top 10 if he stays healthy. (Concussions are a concern.)

Oft-injured Redskins tight end Jordan Reed had knee surgery and will be sidelined until training camp, Coach Jay Gruden told reporters Monday.

Reed was sent to a doctor last week after reporting soreness in his knee prior to last Tuesday’s OTA practice.

Gruden told reporters that Reed had a “little procedure” on his knee, adding that it was not arthroscopic surgery.

“It’s nothing, really,” Gruden told The Richmond Times Dispatch at the team's charity golf outing. “He’s having a little issue. Nothing serious.”

This is certainly a red flag for a player who has missed considerable time with injury. When healthy, Reed has averaged 10.5 fantasy points in PPR formats over the past two seasons. This extrapolates to low-end TE1 numbers and he's certainly a worthy start when he's healthy enough to play. Niles Paul has shown flashes when given starter's snaps, but he hasn't been consistent even when Reed is out.

Giants tight end Larry Donnell sat out Monday's organized team activity (OTA) workout with a foot or leg injury.

Donnell was spotted on the sideline with a boot on his left ankle/foot. He had participated in last weeks OTAs.

Update from Art Stapleton: "Larry Donnell has Achilles tendinitis"

Donnell averaged 82% of the snaps through the first 11 weeks, but played just 69% over the final six games, due to run-blocking and ball-security concerns. He finished the season as the #11 TE in both standard and PPR formats, but did not crack 60 yards or find the endzone in the final six games. He had the 17th-most targets (5.2 T/G) over that span, after seeing the 7th-most (6.1 T/G) in the first 11 weeks. If he improves his blocking, his snaps should rise and that should result in an increase in production.

Vikings writer Mike Wobschall...

Over the course of the three days, I was impressed with TE Kyle Rudolph. It’s almost daily that he makes a handful of catches that make it obvious he is a special talent, whether it’s posting a LB up over the middle or outrunning a safety on a corner route to haul in long receptions. Rudy is a matchup nightmare for defenses and having him healthy is a big deal for the offense. The last time the Vikings had Rudolph for 16 games, they went to the playoffs and he won MVP honors in the Pro Bowl.

It has been a frustrating two years for Rudolph and his owners, as he’s missed 15 of a possible 32 games in that span. But he saw 17 targets in three games last season before going down with a sports hernia. Over the past three seasons, Rudolph has averaged 5.2 targets per game, which is about what Owen Daniels averaged in 2014. There’s some upside in OC Norv Turner’s TE-friendly offense if he can stay healthy. Granted, that’s a big “if.”