The NFL Preseason is reaching its end, which means there are a lot of roster shake-ups to get through. A few teams have finally brought some of their positional battles to an end. While others seem to still have some tough decisions to make as to where to put who on their depth charts. Also, was a certain quarterback taking time away from training camp to film a reality show? Find out next time on FantraxHQ… or just keep reading below and you’ll see all of that for yourselves right now.
Training Camp Stories
Tom Brady Returns
Rejoice everyone, as Tom Brady has returned. This is only really news just due to all the rampant speculation that went on as to why he spent time away from the team. For all of you Masked Singer fans out there, I’m sorry to say this but Tom Brady was not filming for the Masked Singer while he was away. Maybe that’s actually good news for some people. Either way Tom Brady being back is important for newcomers Julio Jones, Russell Gage, Kyle Rudolph, and rookie Rachaad White to build that rapport with Tom Brady for the remainder of training camp.
Baker Mayfield Named Week One Starter
This next piece of news should come to the surprise of hopefully no one. The Panthers clearly brought Baker Mayfield to the team to start and not play backup to Sam Darnold. While Baker Mayfield has yet to show that he is one of the top-tier quarterbacks in the league, he’s shown that he’s more capable than Sam Darnold. Now, this probably won’t result in a playoff berth it could potentially save someone’s job. This is clearly a make-or-break year for head coach Matt Rhule, so changing things up at quarterback was definitely the correct move. However, clearly the biggest deciding factor to naming Baker Mayfield as the week 1 starter is to watch the grudge match between the Panthers with Baker leading the charge and his old team the Cleveland Browns. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Raiders Cutting Kenyan Drake
The last thing I’ll be covering is the fact that the Raiders are planning to cut Kenyan Drake. There’s not really too much to say about this situation other than that it’s really unfortunate. Last season Kenyan Drake was a solid handcuff option due to his perceived pass-catching ability, but once he got hurt Josh Jacobs showed that he has some skills when it comes to pas catching. Also with this new Raiders regime drafting Zamir White themselves, something like this just seemed inevitable.
The Rise Of Dameon Pierce
Dameon Pierce’s fantasy stock has slowly been rising and now it’s at an all-time high. This is because Texans head coach Lovie Smith had “seen enough” and didn’t play him in the second preseason game. Also, keep in mind that everyone has so far been impressed by him during training camp. While this doesn’t necessarily mean he has the starting job locked up, it certainly looks very promising. There is still a chance that he is not going to be a bell-cow back and still give up a decent amount of touches to Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead. All signs are pointing towards Dameon Pierce being the Texans’ starting running back, so it’s in your best interest to scoop him up now before he gets even more steamed up.
Chiefs Backfield
The Chiefs seem to be having a fun time figuring out what to do with their backfields. This is mainly to figure out who the number two running back will be. Before training camp began we all assumed that job would go to Ronald Jones. However, Ronald Jones has been unimpressive, to say the least as he was considered a cut candidate by many. Fortunately for him, Derrick Gore was recently placed on IR, so now they will probably keep Ronald Jones for more depth at the position. Attention has shifted to seventh-round rookie Isiah Pacheco to be the number two running back. While Jerick Mckinnon is most likely to be the number two option, it’s still fun to see a seventh-round draft pick find potential fantasy relevance.
Commanders Backfield
Another backfield that has been interesting to watch so far during training camp is the Commanders backfield. Antonio Gibson is going through a fantasy freefall right now. Rookie Brian Robinson seems to be getting more and more reps with the first team. Normally this wouldn’t be such a bad thing, but considering during the last preseason game the Commanders were in Brian Robinson got the starting nod and played with the other starters while Antonio Gibson stayed in with the second stringers is cause for concern. Brian Robinson could very well be the short-yardage goal line back and with J.D. McKissic keeping his role as the pass-catching back where does that leave Antonio Gibson? I’ll tell you where, it should be off your draft boards.