Are you ready for some football?
It is training camp season, and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s time to see how the rookies we have spent all off-season analyzing stack up to the next level of competition. It’s time to see who wins training camp battles. Hopefully, it’s not time to see an abundance of injury-related news.
We know not everyone has hours to spend on Twitter. There is a lot of propaganda to weed through to truly find out what matters. The rest of this month, I will weed through what I feel matters to you, our reader, and what is just coach speak or sensationalism.
The long-expected suspension for Kamara has been handed out. Most feel the three games were on the lighter side. The bigger question with Kamara is does he have anything left. He went from being one of the most efficient running backs to being truly dreadful last year. If he isn’t washed, he may have played injured last year.
Per Player Profiler, Kamara was 46th in true yards per carry. He ended 156th in EPA. He still received his usual work in the passing game with an 18.2% target share. The Saints also spent significant draft capital on running back Kendre Miller, who was drafted in the third round.
Thornton was a bad prospect over-drafted by a team bad at drafting wide receivers. The Patriots were desperate for speed, and Thornton posted a 4.28 forty-yard dash time. It should not be a surprise he is not very good. You can safely sell any Dynasty shares you have remaining. Get whatever you can.
Douglas has outplayed fellow sixth-round Patriots pick Kayshon Boutte this camp. Douglas is a super sleeper who is available in most dynasty leagues.
Douglas impressively had the highest PFF grade of any wide receiver in this class. His level of competition and 5’8″ height are big concerns, but the Patriots have a solid history of success with shorter wide receivers like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman.
After a decorated career at Ohio St., C.J. Stroud was selected 2nd overall by the Houston Texans. With draft capital that high, you expect him to start right away. The fact he is running with the first team reinforces that. With a lack of weapons, low rushing upside, and being a rookie, I wouldn’t expect significant fantasy upside for Stroud this season.
This usage data paints a clearer picture of who is earning targets in camp.
Darren Waller has quickly developed a nice chemistry with Daniel Jones. He looks primed to return to the top three of Fantasy tight ends with Kelce and Andrews after two injury-riddled seasons.
Jalin Hyatt‘s highlights have been all over Twitter, yet he only has four receptions. Be careful of Twitter camp highlights.
Amon-Ra St. Brown has been dominant in camp. Goff has also been quoted as texting his coaches, “St. Brown. Huge year.” St. Brown finished as the WR10 in Fantasy PPG last year and has developed incredible chemistry with Goff. He had nine games of seven receptions or more, showing a nice consistency coveted by Fantasy managers.
First-rounders are usually thrown right into the fire and expected to contribute. Kincaid has lofty expectations for the Bills. He has a solid but not elite college profile, so it will be interesting to see if he can live up to his first-round billing. Kincaid is expected to play the “big slot” role for the Bills with less blocking responsibility than a typical tight end. This should speed up his development and fantasy relevance for a position you typically want to avoid for rookies.
Addison had a decorated college career. This was highlighted by an incredible sophomore year where he had 100 receptions for 1593 yards and 18 touchdowns. Addison was integral in vaulting Kenny Pickett into the first round of the NFL draft. Addison had by far the most fantasy points per game, 23.5, of any wide receiver in this class during his college career. Addison was the second-ranked rookie wide receiver in my WR1 analytical model.
Luke Musgrave has staked his claim as a starting tight end for the Packers. He was drafted in the second round and has superior athleticism. Musgrave registered a 9.77 Relative Athletic Score out of 10, the second highest in this tight-end class.
He was largely unproductive in college but was on his way to a breakout campaign two games into his senior year. He led the team in receiving yards in both games.
Rashaad Penny is the NFL’s all-time leader in yards per carry. He has always had incredible talent. He has just had terrible luck staying healthy.
Penny now goes to Philadelphia, where he will run behind the top offensive line in the NFL on one of the best offenses in the NFL. That inevitably leads to touchdown opportunities, even if Jalen Hurts gets his share.
Penny is one of my most rostered players in Dynasty since he has been so cheap to acquire. While efficient in his own right, the Eagles have been primarily using Swift on passing downs in camp.
I hope you enjoyed reading my article. My goal is to provide actionable advice you can utilize to improve your Dynasty team. Please consider our DFF annual membership. See all the benefits of the annual membership here. It truly is the best value in the dynasty industry. You can follow me on Twitter @force_fantasy.
