Preseason Fantasy Football Position Battle Updates

NFL training camps are well underway, and though we’re starting to get a decent picture of positional hierarchies on some teams, there are still a number of murky situations yet to clear themselves up and that may not be sorted out until you’ve already paid the price in fantasy. Here we take a closer look at some of the potential quagmires you need to be aware of going into drafts.

New York Giants RBs: It could be nothing, but Rashad Jennings has had less first team reps than Andre Williams and Shane Vereen thus far in camp. The Giants could simply be seeing what they have in their backups, but the news is a little disconcerting for current and potential Jennings owners. The biggest winner here could be Vereen, who is going to see action in the passing game regardless of who is starting. The team targeted Vereen specifically for his fit in a Ben McAdoo offense.

Philadelphia Eagles WRs: Jordan Matthews is assured of a major role in Philly’s receiving corps, but it gets hazy after that. Currently, rookie Nelson Agholor is running with the second team, but he should be able to crack into three-wide sets with the first team before long. Josh Huff makes for an intriguing late-round flier, as he’s arguably as talented as anyone in the bunch and played for Chip Kelly at Oregon. The odd man out may be Riley Cooper, who has been nothing more than a warm body on the field (and a racist to boot) for some time now.

Buffalo Bills QBs: The Bills may not name a starting QB until Week 1, which is only good for LeSean McCoy from a fantasy perspective. Just a couple of weeks ago, Matt Cassel was supposedly on the roster bubble, and now he’s a slight favorite to start according to camp reports. E.J. Manuel has been the both best and worst under center depending on the day, and Tyrod Taylor is still lurking in the shadows. All I know is that I’m shying away from any Buffalo skill player aside from Shady on draft day.

Washington Redskin TEs: Niles Paul has been dubbed the new potential starter by many in the ‘Skins camp as Jordan Reed rests up, but Reed is not going to go away quietly. Reed still has the confidence of coach Gruden, and he’ll come into the season completely healthy for the first time ever. Both could end up seeing considerable time on the field, which works out great for the ‘Skins and not so much for fantasy owners of either player. As long as Gruden is in Reed’s corner though, I feel that he is the safer fantasy bet right now.

Cleveland Browns RBs: This herd may actually be thinning out, as news is that Terrance West is having “maturity” issues thus far in camp – which we found odd in a player who overcame near-impossible circumstances to make an NFL roster. It would be easier to write him off if Duke Johnson wasn’t already hobbled. In any case, this is more good news for Isaiah Crowell and his owners.

St. Louis Rams RBs: This is an interesting situation to monitor, as it’s no mystery that Todd Gurley is the Rams back of the future. The real question here is when will that actually happen? The Rams have a solid back in Tre Mason, and they are in no hurry to put Gurley in the line of fire. If I’m drafting Le’Veon Bell this season, I’m also drafting Mason as a potential early season boon for my running game.

Denver Broncos TEs: Both Owen Daniels and Virgil Green are going to be on the field a lot in Kubiak’s heavy running scheme. Daniels is the better pass catcher, but Green is steadily improving and was seen at Peyton Manning’s Duke workouts this offseason. To me, that is the all-important indicator of potential usage, as Manning is basically a player-coach. You can count on productive days from both ends, but don’t rely on consistency from either to start this season.

Tennessee Titans RBs: This is a situation I hope to avoid completely in fantasy. Just when you thought it was going to be Bishop Sankey attempting to hold of David Cobb for carries, Antonio Andrews comes out of nowhere to throw his hat in the ring too. Sankey could end up on top, he’s gained muscle and has a better command of the offense than he did last year, but Cobb and Andrews are too talented to discount. I sense a committee brewing of Belichickian proportions.

Atlanta Falcons RBs: It would be easy to give Tevin Coleman the title of lead back with him being the shiny new toy in the Atlanta backfield, but Devonta Freeman has been better so far, and his shine still hasn’t worn off from last year. We’ve said from the start that Freeman is not about to just concede a job to a player in Coleman we’re not entirely sold on at this point. Both are injured right now, so fantasy favorite Antone Smith has been getting the most action in camp and will see most likely see at least some action on game days, barring injury. I don’t know that any one of these guys will pull away before Week 1, and that’s no good for fantasy. This is a headache I’m avoiding in drafts.

7 Comments

  1. I have a keeper question for you gents. Hopefully you end up seeing it. 10-team standard league, QBs get 6 per TD. You draft your keeper in the round you drafted them last year if it’s the first year you’re keeping them. You have to draft them 2 rounds earlier if they’re you’re keeper again. Waiver wire pickups as keepers get drafted in the last round. I picked up Jeremy Hill as Gio’s handcuff (per your advice) of the wire last year and was fortunate enough to draft Andrew Luck in the 7th. So, with the future also in mind, would you keep Luck in the 7th or Hill in the 16th? My gut says Luck, with little uncertainty but with the potential to keep Hill again after next year and get him in the 14th, I’ve been thinking and looking for a second opinion. Thanks so much.

    1. That’s incredibly hard in a a six-point passing TD league and there’s no real way to go wrong. There isn’t a wrong answer because both are good outcomes. We’d keep Hill and maybe invest a little earlier than you normally would in a high-end QB like Rodgers since you’ve gained so much value with the 16th round keeper. Thanks for reading. Glad we helped you land him, we’ve loved Hill since Day 1.

      1. Thanks for the advice. Now that I’m thinking about it, holding onto Hill is probably a better strategy for me especially with the future on the back burner. I have the 2nd pick this year which means I’ll have the 19th in the 2nd and 22nd in the 3rd. Assuming Rogers or Luck are there at the 22nd, I’ll pick one of them. If one of them (I’m assuming Rogers) goes in the 2nd before my pick, do you draft the other QB at 19 and take the next best RB/WR at 22? If they’re both gone before my 2nd pick, how long do you wait to pick up your first QB?

  2. I am having trouble at who I will be selecting at the 4 spot in my draft. If Lynch and A. Brown are still available at 4 I will have some trouble deciding who to pick. Please help. 12 team non ppr.

    1. please refer to the cheat sheet for all final decisions, but at this time we are leaning toward Brown.

    2. Michael,

      Two strategies here, I’m in same exact situation. Either go Lynch- and then grab Jordy Nelson, AJ Green, Alshon Jeffery in late RD2, and come back and get Emmanuel Sanders or Kelvin Benjamin in RD3.

      Or, if you go Brown- I suggest you then follow up in RD2 and take another elite WR Green, Nelson if you think you can get them. After that you will then fill up on 4-5 high upside RBs through the next 6 rounds or so

      The cheat sheet has been designed to work for both of these situations and will force you into making the right decisions and the results are great either way. Personally, my preference is to start with Brown- but to your point it’s a coin flip. We would just tip the first domino with the guy you’d rather have on your team and foliow the Cheat Sheet the rest of the way. V1.0 will be live on the site before drafts kick off this weekend.

      Good luck!

  3. Keeper question….
    In a $220 cap PPR league I got Ezekiel Elliot for $34 and Tyler Lockett for $6. I can sign them from 1-5 years at that salary. What would you suggest?

    The pertinent keepers I have are Hyde for $18 till 2019, Matt Jones for $3 until 2018, Hopkins for $17 till 2019, Landry for $15 till 2017, Moncreif for $2 till 2017, and Jordy for $8 till 2017.

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