Happy Saturday! I’m just dropping in to share some of my favorite training camp hype from the past week.
Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury believes Chase Edmonds “is a starting running back in this league.”
When Kenyan Drake joined the Cardinals last season, he was in control of that backfield. David Johnson’s snap % dipped down to the mid-20’s while Drake was on the field for a minimum of 64% of offensive snaps. Now that Johnson is out of town in Houston, RB Chase Edmonds gets to step in that role and he’s already receiving high praise from the team.
Kingsbury says he believes Edmonds is a starting-caliber RB in the NFL. Could this be trade fluff? Possibly, but I think it eludes to Kingsbury having more plans for Edmonds on offense. Do I think it will impair Drake’s value? Not really, but it definitely helps bolster Edmonds’ handcuff value in the later rounds.
Kingsbury also wants to get Kenyan Drake more involved in the passing game
Speaking of Drake’s value, this certainly gives me some confidence. My main fear for Drake this season was his tame involvement in the passing game. For the last eight weeks of the season, Drake ranked 14th in RB targets with 35. It’s not awful, but it could be a lot higher for an offense that favors passing the ball quite a bit. With more involvement in the passing game for Drake, his opportunity is massive and I’ll bite on his value in the early second rounds.
Colts HC Frank Reich can already feel the TY Hilton/Philip Rivers rapport growing
This is what I was hoping to hear during training camp. Rivers finds himself on a whole new team, the Colts, after spending his career on the Chargers. Typically we’d be hyping up Keenan Allen being the clear target for Rivers but this season we didn’t know exactly where those targets would go! The start of camp seems to tell us it’s certainly going to be Hilton and that gets me excited. If only Hilton can stay on the field.
Miles Sanders is going to be “that guy” in Philly
Eagles HC has come out and said that they’ve told Miles Sander that he’s “the guy” this season, stating they plan on increasing his reps on offense. That’s big news for Sanders fans! Sanders was the RB8 in the seven games post-by (weeks 11-17) and has built quite a bit of hype this offseason in fantasy. Considering the Eagles haven’t added any veteran RBs to potentially take away from Sanders’ potential, his ceiling is sky-high.
As of right now, however, Sanders is week-to-week with a lower-body injury that is not considered to be serious. Seems like more of a precautionary sideline for the young RB and I still expect to have a few shares this season!
49ers RB Jerick McKinnon is looking good in one-on-one drills
Jerick McKinnon playing a game for the San Francisco 49ers? Is it possible? After signing with the team in 2018 he has yet to play a single down for them after an ACL injury that set him back two seasons. But now that he’s back, QB Jimmy Garoppolo says the two are on the same page when McKinnon is out on a route.
Could McKinnon now find himself as the best deep threat in San Fran? Shanahan says it depends on the route, obviously, but if he can get matched up against linebackers there could be some magic. He’s a quick player and with Jalen Hurd out with an ACL injury, there’s a lot more opportunity in the passing game for him.
Lions RB D’Andre Swift impresses team in receiving game
After a few years of not being fully impressed by Kerryon Johnson, the Lions drafted D’Andre Swift in the early second round. Most fear this backfield won’t be exciting and are laying off both RBs. I can’t blame them, Detroit hasn’t had a fantasy-relevant RB in quite a few years.
But are things different with Swift? After showing off his receiving skills it’s possible he could be thrust into a role that sees him having a solid chunk of targets from Stafford. With a PPR price tag in the mid-sixth round, I’ve been pulling the trigger on Swift as my RB3 and feeling good about it.
