First off, thank you to everyone who read the article last week. Without the support I received on the first article, I would not be as motivated as I am to churn out another Grab Bag this week and continue with this series hopefully for the rest of the season.
This past week was pretty eventful! We saw all 32 teams in camp action and even had our first taste of pro football since last February thanks to the Hall of Fame game. However, the dark cloud of stars’ holdouts continues to loom over the league and steal all of the headlines. Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon, among others, continue to stand firm waiting to get paid the money that they feel they deserve. Michael Thomas, another holdout at the start of camp, was made the highest-paid wide receiver in the league this week when the Saints gave him a $100M extension, ending his holdout and locking him up for four more years.
But I’m not here to give you the lowdown on the things you already know and can read about anywhere. Here are the stories you’ve been looking for. Here are this week’s Grab Bag headlines:
Rookie running backs Devin Singletary and David Montgomery receive major hype as training camps roll on.
Every single year, we see some of the best value in fantasy drafts come by way of the rookie running back. This year is a little murkier as a lot of rookie running backs landed in already crowded backfields. David Montgomery was selected by the Bears in the third round and joins a backfield with Tarik Cohen and Mike Davis. Fellow rookie Devin Singletary will join a mess of a backfield in Buffalo with guys like LeSean McCoy, TJ Yeldon, and Frank Gore all competing for carries. However, we have seen a recent trend around the league where head coaches are more and more likely to look to their younger running backs for production. So seeing that Montgomery and Singletary are already receiving praise in camp is an encouraging sign for them to get on the field early and often.
Spin: Take a shot on rookie RBs in your fantasy drafts! They are basically lottery tickets that only cost you a dollar because of their cheap draft prices. Who knows, you could find the next Alvin Kamara or Phillip Lindsay. I like the gamble on rookie RBs far more than I like taking a shot on a rookie WR or TE, who generally take 3 years to fully flash their potential.
Dolphins, Eagles, Bucs running back battles heat up in camp.
I feel like I have been writing about the running back position so much recently, but that’s because I think it is truly the make or break position in fantasy football. Sure having a great QB or stud WRs can elevate your season, but nothing can make your season worse than having inconsistent or just straight up bad running backs. That is why it is incredibly important to monitor camp battles to find who the most valuable option will be. In Philadelphia, rookie Miles Sanders has overcome his injury, started to practice and is pushing vet Jordan Howard for a share of the backfield work. Both have received high praise from the coaching staff throughout the first week and no clear favorite has been determined yet. Elsewhere in the league, the Dolphins have a competition on their hands between Kalen Ballage and Kenyan Drake. I just mentioned this battle in my ‘Other Headlines’ section of last week’s Grab Bag. Kalen Ballage did get a little banged up over the last few days of this week, which may open the door for Drake to steal the position. The final battle to highlight is between Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers running backs. I really can’t give you guys a ton of insight on this one because I don’t think anyone knows what will happen. Head coach Bruce Arians gave Ronald Jones all of the early praise in camp, but Barber is certainly not out of the running yet.
Spin: Keep an eye on in-camp position battles as the season gets closer and pre-season games begin to happen. If you have a good feeling about a guy who is in a position battle, take a shot on him! You can even celebrate the victory when the decision is made and you chose the right guy!
Theo Riddick is cut by the Detroit Lions and signs with the Denver Broncos.
I mentioned that Theo Riddick had been cut by the Lions in last week’s article. The new news (if you will) is that he was almost immediately scooped up by the Denver Broncos. Add him to another wildly crowded backfield and it’s pretty obvious that a mean RBBC (running back by committee) is brewing.
Spin: While I think this move is a negative for the Broncos’ backfield as a whole, I’d say that this move most greatly affects Phillip Lindsay. I expect Royce Freeman to handle most of the early-down work and for Lindsay and Riddick to compete for the third-down role. I could be completely wrong about all of this, but I will still be buying Royce Freeman at his current ADP, and I suggest you do so also. His ADP will also only decline as the season approaches, meaning he will be an even better value come your draft date.
Texans cut running back D’Onta Foreman.
In what was perhaps the most surprising move made this week, D’Onta Foreman was cut by the Houston Texans. Foreman was thought of by many as the heir apparent to the starting running back role currently held by Lamar Miller. His massive potential was on full display during his years at the University of Texas, but his professional career was derailed quite early on thanks to an Achilles tear in 2017 which resulted in missing all of 2017 and a majority of 2018. He was never quite as explosive as he was pre-tear which was likely a large factor in the Texans’ decision to move on from him. I expect another team to give him a chance.
Spin: Somehow, I really can’t figure this one out, but Lamar Miller is a starting running back in the NFL with almost no competition for his job. I’m sure his ADP will rise a little bit with the Foreman news, but if the Texans don’t sign anyone else this preseason, Miller makes for a great mid-round steady-floored guy. He will rarely give you a week over 20 points, but you can always count on him for at least 6 or 7 points. I’ll definitely be buying that as my RB3 or RB4.
Other Minor Headlines:
- The New England Patriots extend Tom Brady through 2021.
- Ryan Kalil un-retires to play center for the New York Jets in 2019.
- Chiefs get banged up in week one of training camp as Damien Williams and Tyreek Hill both go down with leg injuries.
