The first full week of the preseason began on Thursday night, and in the week leading up to it there were plenty of developments in some key training camp battles.
Jacksonville Jaguars
After suffering a season-ending knee injury last preseason, Marqise Lee started this training camp on the PUP list. ESPN’s Michael DiRocco reports that beyond Dede Westbrook the receiver position is wide open for Jacksonville. Sophomore D.J. Chark and the benched-in-2018 Keelan Cole are in the mix along with newcomers Chris Conley and Terrelle Pryor . But this is brought up less to discuss which guy might grow into a reliable second option because that seems unlikely to happen, but more to point out that Dede is probably undervalued at WR39 according to our ADP report.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cards worked out Michael Crabtree this week, signaling they may not be happy with their wide receiver group. Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk are set as the top two receiving options, and David Johnson is realistically one of the team’s top three receiving options as well. We just got done talking about how the second receiver in Jacksonville may not be all that relevant, so it may be silly to spend time discussing Arizona’s fourth pass catcher. But given the expectations for their new Kliff Kingsbury-led offense that’s expected to go up-tempo and feature many multi-receivers sets, that third receiver slot is intriguing. Per The Athletic, it’s rookie KeeSean Johnson who currently has that spot. Johnson may not be worth a draft pick outside of deep leagues yet, but he is a name to know.
San Francisco 49ers
It’s no secret that the San Francisco running back room is crowded with Tevin Coleman , Jerick McKinnon , Matt Breida , and even Raheem Mostert on the roster. More than likely, this ends up being a committee that frustrates fantasy owners all season. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reports as much in his piece on the San Francisco backs. However, that article states “Coleman appears to be first in line.” With an ADP rank of RB30 currently, there aren’t a lot of backs going after Coleman that can be considered “first in line,” which means he’s likely a bit undervalued.
Sticking with the 49ers, Dante Pettis is the only San Fran wide receiver going in the top 100, and Marquise Goodwin is the only other of their receivers being drafted in most leagues. But this report from The Athletic says the first four receivers spots belong to Pettis, Deebo Samuel, Jalen Hurd and Trent Taylor . The report even entertains the idea that Goodwin might not end up with a roster spot. If you’re taking fliers on Goodwin in the late rounds of your drafts, stop it.
Kansas City Chiefs
In my pre-camp look at the most important training camp battles to watch on each team, comments were referenced from Andy Reid and OC Eric Bieniemy about Damien Williams being prepared for a feature role. The Chiefs haven’t even played their first preseason game yet, and that’s out the window.
Andy Reid appeared on the @SiriusXMNFL Training Camp tour and said to expect an RBBC in the Chiefs backfield this season. Along with Damien Williams , he pointed out the play of Darrell Williams and also mentioned Carlos Hyde .
— Jeff Ratcliffe (@JeffRatcliffe) August 8, 2019
Williams is still RB14 according to our ADP report, but you have to expect his ADP to drop from the beginning of the third round. Given the real possibility of a committee in KC now, Williams belongs more in the group of backs going in the fourth or fifth round that includes San Francisco’s Coleman who is arguably in a similar situation.
New Orleans Saints
Per ESPN’s Mike Triplett, “Alvin Kamara averaged 54 offensive snaps per game when Mark Ingram was gone from Weeks 1-4. But he averaged just 38.5 per game after that, including the playoffs.” According to Sean Payton, the Saints would like to keep Kamara’s workload relatively similar, with him playing about 60 percent of the team’s snaps. Newcomer Latavius Murray had almost identical carry/reception totals to Ingram last year, though in four more games. Murray may not fill Ingram’s role exactly, but he’s likely to get an only slightly reduced version of it. Ingram finished RB28 in standard scoring last year and Murray is currently going RB35, which means he’s worth a pick in the late-seventh or early-eighth round where he’s being selected.
Cleveland Browns
Two weeks ago, we covered the Cleveland backfield and what could happen if Duke Johnson ’s trade request was accommodated, and yesterday Duke was flipped to Houston for a conditional fourth-round pick. We noted that second-year player Dontrell Hilliard might be the guy that would benefit from a Johnson trade, and Browns’ Senior Media Broadcaster Nathan Zegura noted in his analysis of the trade that Hilliard has impressed in camp. Expect Nick Chubb to trend up from his current ADP spot in the early third round and consider Hilliard as a late-round flier in PPR leagues.
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Colts EDGE Samson Ebukam (Achilles) said he is expected to be cleared for training camp.
Ebukam suffered a torn Achilles in training camp last year and did not play in the 2024 season. He broke out in 2023 with a career-high 9.5 sacks in his first season with the Colts. He now has one year left on his deal and will be looking for a rebound season as he stares down free agency in 2026
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Steelers are “counting on” a 2025 jump for WR Roman Wilson.
Wilson, per Fowler, “looks like a different player than from his injury riddled rookie campaign.” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said in February that the team has “a lot of confidence” in Wilson, the 84th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft who played just five offensive snaps as a rookie after suffering a serious hamstring injury in October. Wilson, entering his age-24 season, had 789 yards and 12 touchdowns on 49 catches in his final season at Michigan. He was 19th among all college wideouts in yards per route run in 2023. An injury-free offseason could position Wilson as the clear No. 2 receiver behind DK Metcalf in 2025.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Steelers “remain in contact with Aaron Rodgers and are hopeful that he’ll be a Steeler.”
Things have been quiet on the Rodgers front since the NFL Draft, though he remains a factor for the QB-needy Steelers, who on Wednesday traded George Pickens to Dallas in exchange for draft picks. That leaves DK Metcalf and perhaps Roman Wilson as the Steelers’ top two receivers. Metcalf’s fantasy fortunes would get a bit of a bump if Rodgers lands with the Steelers. The team’s commitment to a massively run-heavy approach should limit Metcalf’s upside, however. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggested Rodgers is waiting to sign with Pittsburgh until after the NFL’s schedule release “so that the league can’t saddle the Steelers with extra prime-time and/or short-week games.” We’ll continue to monitor the never-ending Rodgers saga.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Cowboys’ plan is for George Pickens “to play out his rookie deal.”
It looks like we won’t see any sort of long-term contract struck between Pickens and the Cowboys after the mercurial wideout was traded from the Steelers to Dallas in exchange for a 2026 third round draft pick and a 2027 fifth rounder. Dallas coaches and Jerry Jones likely want to see how Pickens, 24, acclimates to his new team after alienating coaches and teammates in Pittsburgh last season. Pickens, who has 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over three NFL seasons, will immediately become the team’s No. 2 option behind CeeDee Lamb and a much-needed deep ball target for Dak Prescott.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reports TE Dallas Goedert will remain with the Eagles in 2025.
Goedert agreed to a $4 million salary cut for the upcoming season, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. He will make $10 million in 2025 and be a free agent next offseason. It’s quite the turnabout after Eagles coaches and front office officials strongly implied for months that Goedert had played his last snap with the team. Goedert, 30, has missed 15 games over the past three seasons and was widely expected to be dealt during the NFL Draft. Goedert will be a solid top-12 fantasy option, well behind AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith in the team’s target pecking order. He averaged 4.2 catches and 49.6 receiving yards per game in 2024 and had the ninth highest EPA per target among tight ends.
Titans re-signed DT James Lynch.
Lynch, 26, a former fourth round selection by the Vikings, will return for a second season with the Titans after starting all 17 games in 2024. He had 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack for the Titans last season. Pro Football Focus graded the Titans as last year’s fourth worst pass rush and ninth best run-defending unit.