Fantasy News: Ryan Tannehill, Will Fuller, Ezekiel Elliott, Martavis Bryant, Zay Jones, Chargers O-Line
Before jumping into the latest fantasy news and what to make of it, a word on "news reports." I've continually urged caution when a beat reporter or fantasy guru or anyone else makes a declarative statement that's unlikely to alter fantasy outcomes. I'm not knocking those who make the statements; they're doing their jobs. The problem is when we misinterpret their observations. When ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky tagged Jamaal Williams as the "most likely" RB to challenge Ty Montgomery's starting role, that's an observation. We still have no idea whether other Packer reporters agree, what the coaching staff thinks, or whether Demovsky has seen enough of the other RBs to know for sure this opinion won't change. But when coupled with Packers OC Edgar Bennett's acknowledgement that Williams has "earned work with the first team because of his ability to pass protect," that's fantasy newsworthy. That's a direct link to the team's mindset heading toward the regular season.
So I'll continue to try to ignore reports highlighting how "lean and explosive" so-and-so is looking, or how "QB-A and WR-B seem to have a lot of chemistry." Taking every observation into account diminishes the impact of the ones tied to fantasy outcomes--reports possessing trackable fantasy implications. In Williams' case, I'm now paying closer attention to his practices relative to Montgomery's, and am looking forward to seeing how they're utilized--and how they perform--in otherwise largely meaningless preseason games.
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Ryan Tannehill went down in practice yesterday with a non-contact injury to his mending leg. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last night that the Dolphins "fear" it could be season-ending--that another round of rest and rehab won't be enough. If that's the case, Matt Moore is one of the better NFL backups and would be aided by an above-average receiving corps, so it's quite possible Miami would remain competitive regardless of Tannehill's prognosis. Another wrinkle is the possible signing of Jay Cutler, who also played well under Adam Gase. Although Cutler is one of the most-maligned NFL QBs of his generation, I'd be bullish about his top 16 QB prospects if he returned to the NFL in this system.
Will Fuller is out 2-3 months with a broken collarbone. He was one of my favorite underrated / mostly undrafted wideouts heading into camp. Now he's entirely undraftable, though worth a look in early October as a WR4+ waiver add if he gets his starting job back. In the meantime, Braxton Miller and Jaelen Strong will battle to start opposite DeAndre Hopkins. I've pushed Hopkins up a couple WR spots on my PPR draft board (to #13), while Braxton Miller is potentially the biggest winner; I think he'll win the job over Strong and will be a WR5+ beginning Week 1.
The NFL's suspension ruling on Ezekiel Elliott is now expected to come down in the next two weeks. You can tell they really, really, really want to get this right. But the year-long investigation--now dragging dangerously close to the regular season--puts the Cowboys in an objectively unfair position of not knowing whether to find a viable starting RB to back up or compete with Darren McFadden (Alfred Morris and Rod Smith don't count). There's nothing to do here but wait.
The NFL's also jerking around Martavis Bryant, who has yet to be reinstated. If somehow Bryant remains sidelined this month, Eli Rogers will get a big short-term bounce, while rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster will become a deep-league dart throw.
WKBW Buffalo's Joe Buscaglia reported that Zay Jones is "winning the battle for the second wide receiver spot." Now, first off, as discussed above, this kind of statement alone doesn't matter to me. But according to buffalobills.com, Jones has been lining up not only in the slot (where he played in college) but also on the outside. The Bills working him on the outside suggests one of two things: either he's auditioning for that role opposite Sammy Watkins, or Buffalo's preparing for the possibility that he and Andre Holmes will need to jointly start on the outsides if/when Watkins is sidelined. Buscaglia's statement offers context to the fact that the Jones' experiment on the outside is paying off, making him more valuable heading into the regular season.
Chargers' second-rounder Forrest Lamp tore his ACL and will miss his rookie season. While I'm not keen on immediately downgrading all offensive players when a likely o-line starter is knocked out, we need to at least acknowledge that this is more bad than good for Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon, and the receiving corps.
So I'll continue to try to ignore reports highlighting how "lean and explosive" so-and-so is looking, or how "QB-A and WR-B seem to have a lot of chemistry." Taking every observation into account diminishes the impact of the ones tied to fantasy outcomes--reports possessing trackable fantasy implications. In Williams' case, I'm now paying closer attention to his practices relative to Montgomery's, and am looking forward to seeing how they're utilized--and how they perform--in otherwise largely meaningless preseason games.
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Ryan Tannehill went down in practice yesterday with a non-contact injury to his mending leg. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last night that the Dolphins "fear" it could be season-ending--that another round of rest and rehab won't be enough. If that's the case, Matt Moore is one of the better NFL backups and would be aided by an above-average receiving corps, so it's quite possible Miami would remain competitive regardless of Tannehill's prognosis. Another wrinkle is the possible signing of Jay Cutler, who also played well under Adam Gase. Although Cutler is one of the most-maligned NFL QBs of his generation, I'd be bullish about his top 16 QB prospects if he returned to the NFL in this system.
Will Fuller is out 2-3 months with a broken collarbone. He was one of my favorite underrated / mostly undrafted wideouts heading into camp. Now he's entirely undraftable, though worth a look in early October as a WR4+ waiver add if he gets his starting job back. In the meantime, Braxton Miller and Jaelen Strong will battle to start opposite DeAndre Hopkins. I've pushed Hopkins up a couple WR spots on my PPR draft board (to #13), while Braxton Miller is potentially the biggest winner; I think he'll win the job over Strong and will be a WR5+ beginning Week 1.
The NFL's suspension ruling on Ezekiel Elliott is now expected to come down in the next two weeks. You can tell they really, really, really want to get this right. But the year-long investigation--now dragging dangerously close to the regular season--puts the Cowboys in an objectively unfair position of not knowing whether to find a viable starting RB to back up or compete with Darren McFadden (Alfred Morris and Rod Smith don't count). There's nothing to do here but wait.
The NFL's also jerking around Martavis Bryant, who has yet to be reinstated. If somehow Bryant remains sidelined this month, Eli Rogers will get a big short-term bounce, while rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster will become a deep-league dart throw.
WKBW Buffalo's Joe Buscaglia reported that Zay Jones is "winning the battle for the second wide receiver spot." Now, first off, as discussed above, this kind of statement alone doesn't matter to me. But according to buffalobills.com, Jones has been lining up not only in the slot (where he played in college) but also on the outside. The Bills working him on the outside suggests one of two things: either he's auditioning for that role opposite Sammy Watkins, or Buffalo's preparing for the possibility that he and Andre Holmes will need to jointly start on the outsides if/when Watkins is sidelined. Buscaglia's statement offers context to the fact that the Jones' experiment on the outside is paying off, making him more valuable heading into the regular season.
Chargers' second-rounder Forrest Lamp tore his ACL and will miss his rookie season. While I'm not keen on immediately downgrading all offensive players when a likely o-line starter is knocked out, we need to at least acknowledge that this is more bad than good for Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon, and the receiving corps.