Welcome to the 2015 NFL Training Camp Report!! Loyal readers of Fantasy Alarm know that every summer I like to keep a finger on the pulse of NFL training camps and offer up my analysis to help you prepare for and dominate the upcoming fantasy football season.
Remember that the Fantasy Alarm news department is always on top of every breaking and developing story will be aiding the cause of keeping our readers informed.
Here is the Training Camp Reports for Wednesday July 31st:
Not Buying It
The Seahawks gave QB Russell Wilson a four year $87.6 million contract extension this morning ending the drama that played out all offseason long. Wilson receives a $31 million signing bonus and will earn $21.9 million in base salary per year. This makes him second to only Aaron Rodgers ($22 million per year) in highest paid QB’s in the NFL.
I could go on and on about why I feel this is a bad deal for the Seahawks but I’ll save that for my show on SiriusXM where I can yell at the top of my lungs to voice my displeasure. The most important thing here for fantasy players is that just because the Seahawks gave Wilson all of this money does not make him any more valuable to your fantasy team.
I understand that Wilson was at least a top five QB in any league format last year but I hope that all of you understand just how much luck went into those numbers. Consider that Wilson finished 20th in the NFL in completions, 15th in yards, 23rd in yards per game and 16th in passing TD’s it is astonishing that he scored as many fantasy points as he did. The fact is that his production in 2014 came from running the football. Wilson rushed for 849 yards and six rushing TD’s last season.
A QB that makes $21.9 million per year should not be running the football 118 times as Wilson did in 2014. Even more is that a QB making that kind of money who is just 5’10” and 195 lbs should not be taking that kind of abuse on a regular basis. You have to understand that last year’s fantasy production was a fluke and that Wilson will more resemble the #10-12 scoring QB that he was in the previous two seasons.
Get Used To Hearing This Name
I am a big fan of Ravens rookie WR Breshad Perriman. It makes sense because I actually owned Perriman’s Father when he played for the Detroit Lions and he brought me some real fine performances in those days. But the younger Perriman is already running with the first team offense in Ravens camp which is the good news.
The bad news is that he left practice early today due to a knee contusion suffered when he hit the ground had during a route running drill. Everybody around the Ravens are claiming there is no concern here and that they expect Perriman to be available again as soon as tomorrow.
Running With The Browns
Nobody like the Browns backfield situation these days and that is a very fair position to take. Still, it should be known that there is no clear cut starter here in Cleveland at this time.
Remember, there is a new offensive coordinator in John DeFilippo who runs a different style than predecessor Kyle Shanahan. On Thursday Terrance West ran with the first team offense and actually looked real good in doing so. Today however it was Isaiah Crowell’s turn to lead the RB committee in the Browns backfield.
At this time I would call this race a dead heat between the two with Duke Johnson getting passing down work as well. These guys are nothing more than bye week FLEX options until some of the dust settles on this situation.
Fatty, Fatty Two By Four
Did you hear about Titans rookie WR Doriel Green-Beckham weighing a massive 246 lbs at Titans minicamp this summer? Yes, DGB is 6’5” tall and did weigh 237 at the combine this spring but this is a real concerning trend for any young WR.
For comparison sake, did you realize that Hall Of Fame DE Bruce Smith weighed only 14 pounds more in his playing days than DGB did at minicamp? I’ve gone back through DGB’s past three seasons and found some disturbing weight trends. Last summer when he enrolled at Oklahoma (he was kicked off team in Missouri) he was listed at 6’6” and 230 lbs. The season before while still at Missouri he was listed at 6’5” and 220 lbs. Coming out of Hillcrest Missouri High School in 2012 where he was the #1 ranked WR prospect in the country Green-Beckham was listed at 6’4” and 210 lbs.
You’re talking about a player that hasn’t played much football over the past three seasons, been kicked off of more teams than Josh Gordon and has gained over 30 lbs in that process? Oh yea and he plays for the Titans!! I think that I’ll pass for now, thanks.
Depth Charting
The Falcons kicked off camp with DeVonta Freeman picking up the first team RB snaps. Tevin Coleman worked strictly with the second team the past two days. While this doesn’t mean anything for week one yet, it shows us that Freeman should be the target at least at this time over Coleman in what I expect to be a very productive backfield.
Not that anybody should care but Matt Cassel opened up at QB1 for the Bills this week. E.J. Manuel looked so horrible I am told that he was pulled from a light workout early to speak with a couple assistant coaches in a nearby pavilion.
Hakeem Nicks is running as the “X” WR for Jason Michael & Ken Whisenhunt’s offense right now. The Titans have a bunch of quality WR’s on the squad but it will be a matter of if rookie QB Marcus Mariota can get the ball to them in 2015.
Player News
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Dolphins released LS Blake Ferguson.
The team also waived CB Ryan Cooper Jr., DT Neil Farrell and OL Chasen Hines. Ferguson has been the team’s long snapper for five seasons and earned a three-year contract extension just before the 2023 season. He should be able to find work snapping footballs farther than the average snap elsewhere in the league.
DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman believes rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa “could make his earliest impact on special teams.”
It’s not much of a surprise, as most rookies cut their teeth with special teams duties. Twentyman mentioned return duties as a possibility, though the former Razorback never returned kicks or punts in college. At 6'4/212 with 4.43 wheels, TeSlaa is an explosive athlete who never translated his physical traits to on-field production at Arkansas. The Lions clearly saw potential for him to do so in the pros and traded two future third-round picks to move up to No. 70 overall for him. It’s going to be a slow burn for TeSlaa in the pros, making him a dynasty-only fantasy option.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.