There hasn’t been much NFL news lately to roundup for the daily notes, but I scraped some together to make it look like the NFL hasn’t been asleep. Thankfully training camp has officially started because the Cowboys are practicing in San Antonio. I wonder why the Cowboys would want to start before every other team and get all of the spotlight? Seems very odd. Anyway, here’s some news to chew on, if you like the taste of news.
The Wes Welker news keeps getting better for Wes Welker owners and Wes Welker and Tom Brady and a whole lot of people. It looks like he will participate in training camp which means he wouldn’t be eligible for the PUP list. As long as he does participate in training camp his draft position goes way up. You know what he’s capable of, especially in PPR. Wonder Welker will do what he do.
The Chargers haven’t talked to Vincent Jackson since June. That is a long time for the silent treatment, really for any kind of treatment. So I think us fake footballers have to give him similar treatment during our drafts. He has a ton of upside, but the risk outweighs all of that upside at this point.
Terrell Owens is getting a lot of love from the Bengals and the Rams. He would become the main receiver in St. Louis which would be good for him, but he would still be on the Rams with a rookie QB at the helm. The Bengals are starting to worry about Antonio Bryant’s knee and are looking for some insurance. He’d have a more seasoned QB in Cincinnatuh, but would have to share with Ocho and the Bengals are going more run first with Benson. I have a feeling that when he signs, his ADP will rise to where he won’t be much value.
Dez Bryant became the first first round pick to sign. I’m guessing Roy Williams was hoping he would be the last. There is some talk of Bryant usurping Williams before week 1 as the #2 receiver. There’s no doubt he’s probably the more skilled receiver at this point, but we’ll just have to see how he progresses in training camp. His talent along with Romo and a high powered offense pushes his upside higher than most rookie receivers, but we should still temper expectations and only draft him if he falls to a reasonable value.
Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams are both reportedly healed up from their off season surgeries and will both be primed to share carries. There will be enough to go around for fantasy owners, but there will be some inconsistency as one back will probably grab the bulk of the yards per game. I plan on taking J Stew when he falls because DWilly is going a little too early for me in most drafts.
Cedric Benson met with Roger Goodell and all indications are pointing to him not being suspended. This leaves him ready for another good season. If he can go all 16 games without being incarcerated or incapacitated he’s got top 5 potential in non-ppr leagues since he doesn’t have any committee members trying to vote him out of office.
John Clayton believes that Jordy Nelson will beat out James Jones for the Packers’ #3 receiver. I’ve slowy begun to realize that the Professor isn’t quite as professorial as I once thought. He also predicted Tom Brady could hold out and of course that isn’t going to happen. Jones is the better all around receiver and should win out. I think Nelson has plenty to give the Packers and will still get use, which will cut into Jones’ work as long as Driver is 100% (or whatever 100% is for oldies), but Nelson should still end up #4.
Shonn Greene says he will continue to shy away from running out of bounds to save his body from painful collisions with other football players, even now that he is the starter. Well, isn’t that what football players are supposed to do? He may not last 10 years doing that, but most RBs don’t anyway. His risk for injury probably goes up a bit, but I’m not going to freak out about it.
Chris Johnson restructured his contract so he could get a slight bump in salary this season. I never believed he would hold out, but for all you dynasty CJ owners out there you can now breathe again.
Jermaine Gresham looks like he’ll be the Bengals’ starting tight end from week one. He’s a rookie and the Bengals haven’t utilized the TE position much in the past, but they haven’t had much talent in that position either. I’m not drafting him in standard leagues, but he’s worth a bench spot in very deep leagues in the hopes that they use him well.
