Fantasy Football News | Page 273

The Eagles have given away all the signs throughout training camp where Kenneth Gainwell stands on this roster. He's the back they trust the most in late-game and pressure situations, showcasing that by not playing him in the preseason opener (along with the designated players who weren't going to play).

Philadelphia backed that up by having Gainwell on the first team of 11-on-11s during the joint practice, getting the first snaps before D'Andre Swift spelled him. Swift is the back splitting the reps with Gainwell, as the Eagles line him out wide and use his explosiveness in pass-catching.

Related players: Rashaad Penny

The story went on to say Gainwell is the lead guy, but Swift is the counter punch. They are the 1-2 combination at running back, splitting the bulk of the touches. Swift has had an excellent camp and will be in integral part of the offense, the story went on to say. There was no mention of Penny. We've already reflected this on our depth chart and it's no surprise considering Gainwell had a big role last year even with Miles Sanders on the team.

On Monday, Tee Higgins was asked why he has limited his practice work.

“Just precaution . . . just out there talking to [wide receivers coach Troy Walters] going back and forth with him being able to take some team reps off and do individual but actually getting back in there doing everything with the guys feels good,” Higgins said, via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Higgins came down awkwardly during Monday's practice but avoided serious injury and didn't return. The story added any discussion about Higgins’ practice participation also includes a nod to his contract status. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal and joins quarterback Joe Burrow on the list of Bengals players who are looking for new deals before the start of the regular season. Burrow’s deal is a bigger priority, so it remains to be seen what the team can get done ahead of Week 1.

It's not much of a surprise, but the Indianapolis Colts have made it official, naming rookie Anthony Richardson their starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2023 regular season.

Related players: Gardner Minshew

According to our own John Paulsen: Richardson throws a nice deep ball, but according to the experts he misses too many “layups” on shorter throws given his scattershot accuracy. His rookie quarterback model projects 29.3 rushing yards per game, though it should be noted that the model underpredicted Jalen Hurts by about 17%, projecting 43.3 rushing yards to his actual 52.3 rushing yards per game in his first season as the Eagles’ starter. That’s relevant because Richardson will play for Shane Steichen, who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Eagles. If Steichen runs Richardson over projection by the same amount, he could be looking at roughly 34 yards per game. That number could rise further if Steichen elects to run Richardson as much as he did with Hurts–10.1 attempts per game from 2021-22.

Richardson comes in as our QB12 making him a low-end QB1 this fantasy season.

Patriots TE Mike Gesicki suffered a mild dislocated shoulder during yesterday’s practice, source said.

Related players: Hunter Henry

As Rapoport pointed out, Gesicki has been impressive so far in camp. Rapoport added while nothing is given, the hope is he’s back for Week 1 despite the AC joint injury. As we stated yesterday, we do rank Henry higher than Gesicki on our TE list.

Breece Hall is coming off the PUP list today, per source. He’ll be limited at practice.

Related players: Dalvin Cook

Hall returns a day after that Jets sign Cook to join him in the backfield. The Jets will likely bring along Hall slowly for the rest of the summer and perhaps even the start of the season. Many feel eventually Hall will take over the backfield based on youth and talent.

"And since (Roschon Johnson has) gotten in there, we really love the style. We’re just gonna keep letting that thing compete out where it belongs, and we’ll see where it goes."

Related players: Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman

Fantasy opinions have been all over the place when it comes to Johnson and his potential, while reports so far say Herbert has had a great camp and will be tough to overtake as the RB1. Johnson got a couple reps with the first team in 11/11 and in the two min drill on Monday. Cronin said Bears coaches are impressed with what they've seen to give him a look with the starters. The unnamed coach in the post added about Johnson: "Just the running style. He’s a downhill guy that we’re excited about. He’s got good vision."

Free agent RB Dalvin Cook is planning to sign a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million with the New York Jets, per source.

Related players: Breece Hall, Michael Carter, Israel Abanikanda, Zonovan Knight

Another RB domino falls today as many felt it was just a matter of time before Cook ended up with the Jets - this despite a story today where Carter said he felt the team didn't need Cook. Perhaps the biggest question now is the status of Hall, who is coming off a torn ACL last season. Speculation at this point is Hall either isn't completely ready or the Jets just want to ease him back in. As a result, it may be safe to assume Cook leads the backfield, at least early on until Hall is back to form, where perhaps a split or hot hand situation forms. It's a win-now move for the Jets, who didn't seem to want to give Carter, rookie Abanikanda or last year's sensation Knight, a bulk of the work. Cook's signing moves all three backs down the depth chart. Last year, Cook played in all 17 games running 264 times for 1,173 yards and 8 TDs while adding 39 catches for 295 yards and two TDs.

The Saints needed running back help after Kendre Miller’s knee sprain. They brought in free agents Kylin Hill and Darrel Williams to work out for them Monday and decided to sign one of them.

Williams has agreed to terms with the Saints, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Related players: Jamaal Williams

It is a homecoming for Williams, who grew up in Louisiana and played at LSU. He spent his first four NFL seasons with the Chiefs before going to the Cardinals last year. Miller is expected to be ready for Week 1, according to reports. However any missed time may push Miller down the depth chart, at least to start the season.

OC Mike Kafka said early in camp that it was “too early to tell” if Sauqon Barkley would be more of a receiver but “we’re practicing all kinds of things with people at every position.”

But it appears that the brain trust might be reconsidering because Barkley has been an early read on more passes — returning to a plan that was unveiled in May 2022 but scrapped before the season for reasons that Barkley declined to share on the podcast.

Related players: Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, James Robinson, Eric Gray

The story pointed out the irony in Barkley potentially getting his wish to show that he can be a Christian McCaffrey-type dual threat is that the contract he finally agreed to — one-year, $10.1 million with an additional $909,000 in incentives — pays extra for a would-be career-high 1,350 rushing yards and for 65 receptions. But increased receptions, the story said, likely means fewer carries — making it difficult to hit both markers — to manage Barkley’s workload and keep him healthy. For fantasy purposes, an increased workload in the passing game would give a bump to Barkley's value in PPR leagues. Barkley had 91 receptions his rookie season but then 52 in 2019, 41 in 2021 and last year he had 57. He was injured most of 2020.

The Patriots are expected to sign former Cowboys star RB Ezekiel Elliott to a 1-year deal worth up to $6M after his successful FA visit earlier in camp.

Related players: Rhamondre Stevenson, Pierre Strong Jr., J.J. Taylor, Kevin Harris

As Rapoport added, New England loves Stevenson, but they’ve been seeking a running back to bang it between the tackles, while adding Elliott's prowess in pass blocking at the same time. The move seemed to be in the works for a while. Elliott is expected to take on a Damien Harris-type role in the Patriots offense, a role that saw Harris collect about 9-10 carries a game last season in 11 games. He ran for 4.36 YPA and added three TDs. Although older than Harris, Elliott could potentially see a similar workload, and he also has some pass-catching ability as well. Still, Elliott will likely be tough to trust even as a flex, at least early in the season until we see his role.