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Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities opens with one of the most recognizable lines in literature: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” And week three was definitely the worst of times. Last week brought severe injuries to Julian Edelman, Spencer Ware, and Cameron Meredith. It certainly sucks to lose guys like that. Even Meredith who was a fantasy darling in 2016 was going to play a big role in the Bears offense this year as a primary target and he was going very late in all formats. Hopefully your league didn’t draft this weekend and waited until all the dress rehearsals were complete. But with injuries come opportunities for other players especially the running backs.
Hunting Season
With the injury to Spencer Ware, Kareem Hunt becomes an instant candidate to see a large volume of work in Kansas City’s running game. According to Fantasy Football Calculator, Hunt’s ADP has spiked over the past few days launching him up the draft boards by two-to-three rounds. His ADP could easily climb even more in the coming days. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility for Hunt to see 15+ touches per game. That’s a startable running back each week. It’s worth noting the Chiefs have depth at the position with Charcandrick West and C.J. Spiller who has found a new purpose in KC. Hunt has looked solid running with the first team and he could easily see a starter’s reps with Ware done for the year.
Where can you take these guys?
Kareem Hunt: 4th Round (Maybe Sooner!)
Charcandrick West: 12th Round (if you really need the handcuff to Hunt, maybe Round 10)
C.J. Spiller: Grab off Waivers if need be
Julian Edelman’s Injury
With so many mouths to feed, why bother mentioning a New England WR group? Well because it’s not entirely a sure thing that the targets left behind by Edelman will be distributed to just the wide receivers. Everyone ranted and raved about Chris Hogan’s performance sans Edelman. He didn’t even have 60 targets last year in 15 games. Will he see more? Probably, will it be an enormous amount? Tough to tell. Hogan is a late-round commodity especially because he was so efficient with 17.7 yards per reception last year. The loss of Edelman could also mean more work for Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola reportedly will see more work on special teams and offense.
But why not the running backs? Fantasy players should have considerable interest in James White. He was a key part of the Patriots Super Bowl victory and he caught 60 passes last year on 86 targets. Over the .jpg)
weekend Bill Belichick didn’t exactly give a glowing endorsement of Mike Gillislee who is still being drafted in the fifth-sixth rounds. And don’t forget about Rex Burkhead who is going much later. The value you get with White and the upside of Burkhead makes the Patriots backfield pretty tempting in a PPR format with Edelman now out.
James White: Can be had in the 12th round (Grab him in 11 as a dart throw)
Rex Burkhead: Currently going in the 11th round of 12-team leagues
Dion Lewis: 14th-15th round, but he’s not as exciting as White or Burkhead (but New England is undefeated when Lewis suits up and plays)
All DownHILL From Here
So Jeremy Hill, for what it’s worth, was having a decent training camp. Unfortunately he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to leave Cincy’s last preseason game against Washington. It hurts Hill’s value a little bit as he really didn’t do much to lose the starting RB job. The injury is a setback and an opportunity for Joe Mixon to take the reigns for the Bengals. Mixon, who was a favorite in this piece earlier, is going a bit too high as of right now. His rushing numbers so far in the preseason aren’t an indictment of him as a player, but rather it’s a telling sign of what to expect from the guys blocking for him. The Bengals have a bad offensive line and the rookie is currently being drafted in the third or fourth round of 12-team leagues. That’s a bit too high for a guy with a terrible offensive line and who could find himself in a committee. Coaching staffs, historically, are hesitant to just go out and hand a rookie the starting job. Ezekiel Elliot in 2016 was the exception, not the rule. Does Mixon have the tools and physical build to be an every down RB? Absolutely. However, Gio Bernard made his long-awaited preseason debut with four rushes for 25 yards. It’s a very small sample size, but fantasy owners are falling head over heels way too fast for Mixon.
Joe Mixon: Drafted at the three-four turn in 12-team leagues.
Jeremy Hill: ADP may drop due to injury but currently going at nine-ten turn.
Giovani Bernard: 14th round. He’s a hell of a dart throw late in your draft.
Go Home Latavius!
Latavius Murray made his long-awaited debut for the Vikings. “Long-awaited debut” is being quite generous since nobody actually gave a crap save for the coaching staff. Dalvin Cook has looked like he should be the starting running back this year for Minnesota. Even with a horrible offensive line that allowed Sam Bradford to be sacked thrice and pressured multiple times in the dress rehearsal for the regular season. Despite the horrible blocking Cook has looked like he’s ready for the workload. And here comes Latavius. Behind in studying the playbook and behind in terms of reps. Is there reason to believe his appearance in game three meant anything significant? Hardly. The coaching staff likely wanted to see how he looked with the first team. They know Cook is a special talent, but Murray is coming off injury and he needed to be seen on the field. It wasn’t a great debut so fantasy owners shouldn’t be too worried about Cook’s standing with the coaching staff.
Dalvin Cook: Round three (which is high, he’s better suited in round four)
Latavius Murray: Round 10 (which is reasonable, but it would be better if it was Round 11).
Honorable Mentions
With the loss of Cameron Meredith in Chicago there are extra targets to go around. In his rookie year Howard had 29 catches on 50 targets, which isn’t a great catch percentage by any means, but he could be in line for two-three catches per game at worst heading into this season. He’s still a second-round value, but the potential of additional targets in the passing game increases his potential as a top five running back. Also in Buffalo, Lesean McCoy might see additional reps in the passing game. He’s already a workhorse RB and even though he’s getting older he’ll still get his share. The departure of Sammy Watkins didn’t do much to increase his value, but with the retirement of Anquan Boldin and Jordan Matthews learning the playbook on the fly there’s a little more optimism surrounding Shady. Both Howard and McCoy can be had in the first couple rounds so it’s not like they’re great values. It is, however, worth noting the losses in their offenses could open a few more doors for the both of them.
Player News
Browns GM Andrew Berry said Alabama QB Jalen Milroe has “rare physical talent.”
Berry continued with his praise of Milroe’s physical traits, saying he is maybe the only quarterback faster than Lamar Jackson. Milroe ran for 729 yards and a jaw-dropping 20 touchdowns in his final season at Alabama. Though the Browns don’t appear to be taking a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick, they are up again at No. 33 and could even package that selection with another pick to get back into the first round. The Browns have held visits with all of the major quarterback prospects, including Milroe. They currently have Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett on the roster, neither of whom is a long-term option.
Browns GM Andrew Berry said Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter’s skill set is best suited for wide receiver.
Berry still didn’t rule out Hunter playing both positions at the next level. He also noted that he doesn’t think Hunter needs to be a two-way player to be worth the No. 2 overall pick that Cleveland holds. Hunter is currently the favorite to be taken with the second pick ahead of Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. Giants GM Joe Schoen talked about Hunter yesterday as well. He noted the risks of playing Hunter on both sides of the ball but sounded more than willing to give it a shot. Between Schoen, Berry, and other reports, all signs point to Hunter at least getting some run on both sides of the ball, though not as much as he did in college. The receiver-needy Browns would likely deploy him as a wide receiver first, much to the pleasure of the fantasy football community.
CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala says free agent QB Aaron Rodgers “is not going to play just for the sake of playing.”
Kinkhabwala has had conversations with Rodgers and executives around the league trying to sign him. Based on those conversations, she says, “it’s extremely clear Rodgers is not going to play just for the sake of playing.” He remains unsigned with the 2025 NFL Draft on the horizon and multiple teams needing quarterback help. The Steelers are the most likely fit, but it seems Rodgers won’t force it if he does not find a good fit. This explains why Rodgers has been interested in the Vikings and has not yet signed. The 41-year-old may be headed for retirement if a situation he prefers, like the Vikings, does not want him back. His options remain limited and Rodgers may call it a career if he still does not like his options later in the offseason.
Bears signed LB T.J. Edwards to a two-year, $20 million extension.
Edwards’ extension includes $16.6 million guaranteed. The Bears originally signed him to a three-year, $19.5 million contract two seasons ago and he has outplayed that salary. Edwards has four interceptions, 6.5 sacks, and 20 tackles for loss in two seasons starting for Chicago in the middle of the field. He gets a raise as the Bears lock up another important part of their defense after extending CB Kyler Gordon earlier in the week.
Georgia EDGE Mykel Williams visited the Falcons on Wednesday.
Williams posted on his Instagram that he visited the Falcons facility on what was the last day of pre-draft visits. The 20-year-old is a Georgia native, played at the University of Georgia, and is expected to be selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Falcons have a need for an edge rusher and hold the No. 15 pick. They may look to keep Williams in-state and add his skillset to their pass-rushing group. Williams tallied five sacks last season and has explosive production for any team looking to add an edge rusher in the first round.
Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart “won’t fall out of the first round.”
Schultz reports his sources are indicating that Dart will not fall out of the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He continues that the Giants are a candidate to trade up from pick No. 34 into the first round to take Dart if they do not take a quarterback at pick No. 3. The Saints are also an option with pick No. 9 or a trade up from pick No. 40. Dart is generally considered the third quarterback to come off the board after Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, so a team in need of a franchise quarterback may take a chance on him after Ward and Sanders are selected. Teams could look to gain a fifth-year option on Dart and trade into the first round if he is not taken earlier.