The Daily Briefing Wednesday, August 11, 2021

The DB doesn’t think that fans have been clamoring for more taunting penalties, but here we are.  NFL.com:

Taunting penalties will have bigger repercussions in the NFL going forward.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday that two taunting violations will result in an automatic ejection with fines and suspensions also in play. The updates come from the league’s annual rule change and points of emphasis video.

While automatic ejections and fines for taunting aren’t new, the issue of taunting is one that competition committee chairman Rich McKay said coaches spoke up about in the spring.

“The NFL Players Association, coaches and competition committee have all made a strong statement regarding respect among everyone on the field,” McKay said in the video. “We saw an increase in actions that clearly are not within the spirit and intent of this rule is not representative of the respect to opponents and others on the field. Game officials have been instructed to strictly enforce the taunting rules, and players and coaches are reminded that two taunting penalties committed by an individual player will result in automatic disqualification. In addition, the taunting player may be fined and/or suspended depending on the severity of the actions.”

Illegal use of helmet remains a point of emphasis for officials as well, Pelissero adds.

NFC NORTH

GREEN BAY

QB AARON RODGERS will be able to text QB MATTHEW STAFFORD during games throughout the preseason, as both are ticketed to watch from the sidelines.  Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com:

The Green Bay Packers’ 2021 preseason will be the Jordan Love show.

Coach Matt LaFleur said Tuesday that quarterback Aaron Rodgers will “most likely not” play at all in the preseason. That likely has little or nothing to do with Rodgers’ offseason, in which he voiced concerns about the organization and skipped the entire spring program. Rodgers simply hasn’t played much at all in recent preseasons.

In 2019, when LaFleur took over, Rodgers was slated to play in the third preseason game only, but that was the game in which there were concerns over the field conditions in Winnipeg and the Packers ended up not playing him. There were no preseason games last year.

Rodgers’ last preseason action came in 2018, when he played one series that included seven plays. He hasn’t played more than three series in a single preseason since 2015.

For Love, it will be his first game action of any kind since Jan. 25, 2020, in the Senior Bowl. The Packers’ 2020 first-round pick did not play at all as a rookie. In fact, he never even suited up. He was inactive for all 16 regular-season games plus both playoff games last season.

“So it’s over a year and a half ago, I think,” Love said of his last game action. “I’m super excited. This is the moment I’ve been preparing for even since last year not having preseason. It’s almost like I’ve been training a year just for this first preseason game. I’m sure excited to get out there and get back to playing ball.”

The closest thing Love has come to playing as a pro to date was Saturday’s practice at Lambeau Field in front of 34,835 fans who braved the rain for the annual Family Night. Love mishandled the ball three times, twice on snaps from undrafted rookie center Jacob Capra and another time on a fumble during a scramble.

However, Love also flashed some arm strength that hasn’t been seen all that often in his two NFL summer camps to date. He pushed the ball deep down the field on a pass that receiver Reggie Begelton couldn’t quite bring in, but it was perhaps the best deep ball Love has thrown since he’s been here.

“There were some really good things and then there’s some things we’ve got to clean up,” LaFleur said of that practice. “Certainly, we can’t have the ball on the ground. We had a couple fumbled exchanges. I know he hasn’t necessarily gotten a ton of work with Capra but he’s going to have to potentially in the preseason. We’ve just got to clean up some of those things. He had the one play where he scrambled out and had one hand on the ball when he’s moving up in the pocket and hit his thigh pad and he fumbled that one. I think ultimately we’ve just got to make sure he’s doing a great job of taking care of that football.

“I thought he was able to make a couple nice throws. He almost had a big one to Reggie that got through; I don’t know how that ball got through but it was a great pass to Reggie and one that I think Reggie would like to have back. There was a lot of good. I think more than anything else, the one thing that we’ll make sure to keep pressing on to him is the tempo in and out of the huddle, up to the line of scrimmage, making sure the communication’s on point. There were a couple times where he may have gotten a bad playcall in there in terms of how we set the formations and he’s got to be able to figure that out and get everybody lined up so we can go out there and execute.”

LaFleur said Love will “take the majority of the game” on Saturday against the Texans, and Kurt Benkert will finish it. The Packers have only three quarterbacks in camp after releasing Blake Bortles and Jake Dolegala shortly after Rodgers arrived for training camp.

MINNESOTA

WR K.J. OSBORN has popped up as WR3 in Minnesota.  Mike Florio ofProFootballTalk.com:

There’s a wide-open competition for the third receiver role in Minnesota. For now, one guy has opened up a lead.

K.J. Osborn, a fifth-round pick in 2020, lands as the clear-cut third option on the Vikings’ preliminary depth chart of the preseason.

Next comes free-agent arrival Dede Westbrook, followed by a seven-player cluster of “other” candidates, listed in this order, top to bottom: Dan Chisena, Blake Proehl, Myron Mitchel, Chad Beebe, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Whop Philyor, and Warren Jackson.

NFC EAST

DALLAS

Dan Hanzus of NFL.com lets us know what went on in the first episode of “Hard Knocks”.

“I love scars. I’ve got plenty of them.”

The 16th season of Hard Knocks begins with a private audience for the viewer and one of pro football’s most recognizable stars.

Dak Prescott is explaining the challenges of the past 15 months. First, the tragic death of his older brother last April. Then, the compound fracture of his left ankle six months later. The Cowboys quarterback has made a complete recovery from the latter, but when he talks about scars it’s not hard to see he’s referring to more than just marks on his body.

Like so many of us, Prescott was put through the ringer of life in 2020. And like the rest of us, he’s optimistic for better times in 2021 and beyond. The recent tribulations have tested him in ways he never could have imagined, but Prescott is determined to regain control of his own narrative. That begins on the football field, a place he’s always viewed as safe harbor. The events of that cursed game against the Giants in October challenged even that notion, but Prescott remains undeterred. Like all the best pro athletes, doubt has no place in his mindset.

“There was a season of adversity,” Prescott says. “Now there’s a season of triumph.”

With that, familiar strings fade into the mix and David Robidoux’s stirring “Hard Knocks” theme delivers the goosebumps. Your favorite football show is back.

NFL Films tried to mix things up amidst last year’s COVID-19 madness, documenting both the Rams and Chargers — the first time Hard Knocks had covered two teams simultaneously. The season provided its usual share of memorable moments, but producers were right to return the show to its roots in 2021. A lot of the beauty of Hard Knocks comes via its simplicity. One team. One goal. One journey to Week 1.

And if you’re going to focus on one team, you can’t go wrong with the Dallas Cowboys.

The cold open with Prescott was an immediate reminder why the Cowboys remain fertile subject matter despite a Super Bowl drought that’s now stretched over a quarter century. When you think of America’s Team you think stars, and that goes beyond the logo on the helmet and at midfield. Prescott has a magnetic quality to his personality that makes him a natural leader. His best friend is Ezekiel Elliott, the polarizing star running back who possesses his own unique brand of charisma. Mike McCarthy brings gravitas as the only head coach who ever got Aaron Rodgers to the mountaintop. And then, of course, there’s Jerry Jones — the franchise’s longtime owner, patriarch, hype man and No. 1 fan.

“If I could,” Jones said during a camp-opening press conference, “I’d do anything known to man to get in a Super Bowl. That’s a fact.”

Later, Jones choked back tears as he told the huge throng of assembled media that he could — as a man of immense wealth and status — be anywhere in the world, but he chooses the daily grind with his football team. Jones’ Cowboys have always been about spectacle, and perhaps Jones — with the long pauses and glassy eyes — is putting on a show here. But you know he means it.

Jones has scars, too. Two and a half decades of falling short have taken a toll on a man who has become otherwise accustomed to getting what he wants in life. You wondered what was going through Jones’ mind last weekend as he watched Jimmy Johnson give his Hall of Fame speech in Canton. In the ’90s, Johnson and Jones ruled the football world together. Johnson retired from the sidelines years ago to golf in Miami and get that TV analyst cheese. Jones is still at it, hoping his quarterback is right — the season of triumph is upon his beloved team.

And if it’s not? Ol’ Jerrah will be back in Oxnard again next summer, sitting at a dais in front of 50 cameras and 500 reporters, talking up another Cowboys team he deeply believes in. For the owner, this might all feel like Groundhog Day. For us, it’s Hard Knocks.

Question – does Jimmy Johnson “golf in Miami”?  Does he even golf?  We think he fishes in the Keys.

Justin Thomas has a caddie named Jimmie Johnson.

PHILADELPHIA

The Eagles issue a semi-mandate for masks.  Michael David Smith ofProFootballTalk.com:

The refusal of some to get vaccinated is affecting everyone, and the latest example comes from Philadelphia, where the city has informed the Eagles that every fan — vaccinated or unvaccinated — will need to wear a mask in the indoor areas within Lincoln Financial Field.

“The City of Philadelphia announced earlier today an indoor mask mandate throughout the city, regardless of vaccination status,” the Eagles said in a statement. “In accordance with the mandate, the Philadelphia Eagles have updated their health and safety protocols. All stadium guests and staff will be required to wear a mask when visiting indoor spaces at Lincoln Financial Field. Fans are not required to wear a mask outdoors.”

The Eagles said unvaccinated fans are “strongly encouraged” to wear masks even in the outdoor seating areas except when they’re eating or drinking, although realistically the people who are not following the public health guidance on vaccinations will probably not follow the guidance to wear masks either.

The policy is in effect immediately and will apply to all fans who attend Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Steelers.

NFC SOUTH

NEW ORLEANS

CB PATRICK ROBINSON is retiring.  Mike Triplett of ESPN.com:

Veteran cornerback Patrick Robinson has decided to retire after 11 seasons, adding to the New Orleans Saints’ pressing need at the position.

Robinson, 33, began his career as the Saints’ first-round draft pick in 2010 and won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in arguably his career-best season in 2017. He also spent time with the Chargers and Colts between his two stints in New Orleans.

Robinson was actually a lead contender to be the Saints’ starting No. 2 cornerback this year after the team released veteran Janoris Jenkins during the offseason. And coach Sean Payton acknowledged that he didn’t see Robinson’s decision coming before they talked for about 30 minutes on Tuesday morning.

Not surprisingly, Payton said the cornerback position is still a “must” after he declared it a position that they must add to at the start of training camp.

“We’ll keep working the rosters, and there’ll be a cut-down [that makes other players available around the league]. In the meantime, we’re working closely with the guys we have here,” Payton said of a cornerback group that includes No. 1 starter Marshon Lattimore, newly signed veteran slot cornerback Brian Poole and outside starting contenders Ken Crawley, Prince Amukamara and rookie Paulson Adebo.

As for Robinson, Payton said, “He’s played in this league a long time. … You know, he’s had a great career, he’s been smart with his money, and it’s something that deep down inside he felt.”

“He felt comfortable with his decision, and certainly we respect that. And he’ll get on to his next chapter, and we’ll go from there,” Payton said. “He doesn’t want to let anyone down, and he just felt like in his heart it was the right time, and I respect that.”

Payton said Robinson was not dealing with an injury when he decided to retire. However, injuries did hamper his career in recent years after he re-signed with the Saints in 2018. He missed most of the 2018 season with a broken ankle and also missed four games at the end of the 2020 season with a hamstring injury.

Robinson was due to receive a $2 million base salary in 2021. The Saints will save more than $1 million in salary-cap space once his cap cost is replaced by a minimum-salary player. It’s unclear if Robinson’s $600,000 roster bonus will be affected by his decision.

– – –

Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com has seven possible landing spots for WR MICHAEL THOMAS:

Michael Thomas is one of the Saints’ best and most accomplished players. But tension has seemingly been growing between the two sides for the better part of a year. An injury-riddled 2020 saw Thomas suspended by the team, and the star wide receiver reportedly ignored calls from Saints officials for months after the season. Now, with coach Sean Payton publicly lamenting Thomas delaying an offseason surgery that’ll keep him sidelined into the fall, the wideout has implied the Saints are trying to “damage” his reputation.

A year after ProFootballTalk reported the Saints may be willing to trade Thomas, there is no indication the club is actively looking to part ways with its No. 1 pass catcher. But a future split has also never seemed more possible. New Orleans is still built to contend but has survived without Thomas before. The Saints are also kicking off a new era with a new quarterback and still clawing their way out of a salary cap hole; trading Thomas would save them $1.2 million immediately, as well as a whopping $74.7M from 2022-2024.

Potential suitors would obviously be betting on Thomas staying healthy once he returns from rehab, but his contract — a five-year, $96.3M extension signed in 2019 — shouldn’t be a hold-up, considering he’s owed zero guaranteed money after 2021.

So which teams are potential destinations in the event Thomas’ apparent Saints feud escalates to the point New Orleans fields offers for its disgruntled star? Here are seven of the most feasible:

Honorable mention

Dolphins: They’d need to move some money around, and they’ve already made two big additions in Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller, but Thomas would be a natural target for new full-time starting QB Tua Tagovailoa.

49ers: San Francisco could arguably still use one more big-time pass catcher and has sniffed around veteran additions for years. But the Niners are also in the NFC and have already expended a lot of draft capital for recent moves at QB and OT.

Raiders: They don’t have the money to do it now, but they’ve tried the veteran trade route before, and they might be desperate to make a splash with time ticking on the Jon Gruden-Mike Mayock regime. Senior offensive assistant John Morton also served as Thomas’ WRs coach back in 2016.

7. Eagles

General manager Howie Roseman has tried to distance himself from oft-injured veterans, and Thomas feels more like a blockbuster addition for a team ready to win now, but Philly now has $16 million in cap space and counting, recently positioning itself for a sizable move. New coach Nick Sirianni is a WR coach by trade, and what better toy to add for new QB Jalen Hurts than a short-area safety valve like Thomas, who could start opposite rookie DeVonta Smith? Roseman, never one to shy away from a headline-stealing trade (and perhaps eager to make up for a missed swing for DeAndre Hopkins), could always get out of Thomas’ big deal in 2022, too.

6. Jets

GM Joe Douglas is more likely to sell than buy, but he’s done plenty of the former while also investing in the trenches for new QB Zach Wilson. He’s also got nearly $20M at his disposal. With 2020 second-rounder Denzel Mims buried on the depth chart and reportedly available via trade, what better way to boost Wilson’s chances of success than by adding a premier counterpart for new starter Corey Davis? Like the Eagles, the Jets could justify this as a potential long-term move, with the option to cut the cord early.

5. Chiefs

Can you imagine? We can, because somehow the Chiefs consistently find ways to remain video-game dominant. A little salary cap maneuvering would be in order, but it’s not like Kansas City couldn’t find a spot for him, even if just for one year: Tyreek Hill can play inside and outside, and while Mecole Hardman has flashed, Andy Reid’s offense could still use a more proven outside target.

4. Patriots

New England just got done spending a combined $124.5 million on new pass catchers Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. But why stop there? None of those guys come close to Thomas as a No. 1 target, and the Pats are obviously intent on competing this year. It helps they play in the AFC, so the Saints could keep Thomas out of sight, and at 28, Thomas is young enough to serve as a running mate for Mac Jones.

3. Ravens

They’d need to move some money around to make it work, but they’ve been sniffing around veteran receivers all offseason in hopes of helping out QB Lamar Jackson. Rashod Bateman and Sammy Watkins may very well help the aerial game alongside Marquise Brown, but Thomas would be the most natural target for Jackson, especially in a run-heavy, short-area passing attack. Baltimore is obviously also solely focused on winning now, and they reside comfortably outside of the NFC.

2. Chargers

Los Angeles is all in on second-year QB Justin Herbert, making big investments to protect the gunslinger this offseason. Giving Herbert another bona fide stud out wide would accelerate the Chargers’ hunt to not only make noise in the AFC West but compete for a title. With $17.3M in cap space, they can not only afford Thomas but promise him a return to his home state of California, a better QB situation than in New Orleans, and a place in an already-potent WR corps featuring Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.

1. Jaguars

Jacksonville spent a ton on mostly middling free agents this spring, but the team still has more than enough cap space (an NFL-best $30M) to be bold. They’re out of the NFC, which would put the Saints more at ease. They need any true weapons for Trevor Lawrence they can get, even with D.J. Chark established as a starting WR. And best of all, their new coach just happens to be Urban Meyer, who oversaw Thomas’ emerging stardom at Ohio State and drew an eyebrow-raising endorsement from Thomas this year.

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO

You will have to tune in to find out who plays QB for the 49ers in their preseason opener as Kyle Shanahan is observing media silence.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.comseems to think that means lots of TREY LANCE:

Plenty of coaches are saying plenty of things about quarterback plans for the preseason opener. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is saying nothing.

Via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, Shanahan had “no announcement on QBs for Saturday exhibition [against the Chiefs] or if [Jimmy] Garoppolo must play” during a Tuesday media session.

It’s an important question, for obvious and non-obvious reasons. First, whoever starts the preseason opener will be interpreted (and perhaps accurately) as the current No. 1 quarterback. Thus, if Trey Lance gets the first-team reps despite all the praise given to veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, all the praise given to Jimmy Garoppolo will look like the BS it possibly may be.

As to Garoppolo, a decision to not play him at all in the preseason (if that’s the decision that the team makes) could be regarded as an effort to keep him as healthy as possible, in advance of what could be an eventual effort to trade him — or to squeeze him to take less money before his non-guaranteed salary of $25 million for 2021 becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the active roster as of Week One.

Unless the 49ers get as lucky as the Eagles did five years ago, when Teddy Bridgewater‘s ACL tear opened the door for Philly to get a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick for Sam Bradford, the 49ers may decide to approach Garoppolo with an offer he can’t (or at least shouldn’t) refuse.

In lieu of $25 million for 2021, maybe they’ll offer to pay him something like $15 million, perhaps with the ability to earn back the rest based on playing time or performance. As an extra inducement, the 49ers also can offer to drop the final year of his contract in 2022, allowing him to become a free agent in March.

Or they can just cut him, without even having a conversation about taking less.

Regardless, the 49ers risk owing Garoppolo the full $25 million or 2021 if he suffers a serious injury during preseason games. Given that the 49ers became disillusioned with Garoppolo due in part to his chronic inability to stay healthy, they surely are aware of the risk they’ll be taking if they put him on the field against live tackling during a preseason game.

It also will be important to protect Lance. Some teams don’t like putting an asset as valuable as a top-five quarterback behind a second-string offensive line. It could be smarter and safer to keep Lance on the field only with starters.

The other quarterbacks currently on the roster are Josh Rosen and Nate Sudfeld. It’s possible that the 49ers will give Lance the reps with the first-team offense and that Rosen and Sudfeld will finish the game, with Garoppolo in bubble wrap pending future developments later in August, up to and including an ultimatum that the 49ers possibly have been planning all along.

Regardless, Shanahan’s decision to say nothing at a time when most coaches are saying something should at least be regarded as an acknowledgment that his plan, once implemented, will get people talking — and that he’d rather delay the chatter for as long as he can.

– – –

Matthew Berry on what the Niners may be planning at RB:

The dream scenario for Trey Sermon is that he’s used interchangeably with Raheem Mostert right out of the gate. Matt Barrows from The Athletic makes it sound like that scenario is in play: “The 49ers also have been pleasantly surprised by Sermon’s route-running and pass-catching ability, which he got to display early in his college career at Oklahoma but not as much last season at Ohio State.”

SEATTLE

Brady Henderson of ESPN.com lets us know that two key Seattle contract situations have gone nowhere:

The Seattle Seahawks have made another contract offer to Pro Bowl strong safety Jamal Adams and are awaiting word on whether he will accept it, a source told ESPN on Tuesday.

In the meantime, the organization and Adams’ agent have not spoken in several days, a source confirmed.

Adams is in line for an extension that would undoubtedly make him the NFL’s highest-paid safety, topping the $15.25 million per-year average of the Denver Broncos’ Justin Simmons. The Seahawks and Adams’ agent began negotiating early in the offseason and continued to do so through the start of training camp until their recent period of inaction.

Both Adams and left tackle Duane Brown reported to camp on time but have not practiced because of their unsettled contract situations, each remaining spectators Tuesday for Seattle’s 10th practice.

While it’s clear that the Seahawks plan to extend the 25-year-old Adams, it’s not clear if they want to do the same with Brown, a 14th-year veteran who turns 36 later this month. The Seahawks are not discussing a new deal with Brown at the moment, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Coach Pete Carroll was vague Tuesday when asked if an extension for Brown is under discussion or off the table, saying, “Nothing new is happening with that at this point.”

Carroll said simply “no” when asked if there’s anything new with Adams.

The Seattle Times first reported Tuesday that Seahawks general manager John Schneider and Adams’ agent have not reengaged in negotiations this week and that the team currently is not in discussions with Brown. The Times also reported that quarterback Russell Wilson has told the team he’s willing to move money around in his contract in order to clear cap room for Adams and Brown extensions, which a source confirmed.

However, the Seahawks have long been wary of contract restructures that push cap charges into future years, doing so only twice — including with Wilson in 2017 — since Schneider and Carroll arrived in 2010. Another Wilson restructure would make him more expensive to extend or franchise-tag when his current deal expires after the 2023 season. It would add to the already massive amount of dead money Seattle would incur if it traded him before then.

On Sunday, Wilson called Brown’s absence “pretty significant” and added, “We’ve got to figure that out because we need Duane Brown.”

AFC WEST

DENVER

QB DREW LOCK will start the opener but Coach Vic Fangio wants you to know he does not have a Lock on the regular season starting slot.  Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com:

With the quarterback competition still “even-steven,” Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Tuesday that Drew Lock will start Saturday’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Teddy Bridgewater will start the second preseason game, an Aug. 21 road contest against the Seattle Seahawks. Fangio has consistently said through the opening two weeks of training camp that he would likely give each quarterback one preseason start.

After Tuesday’s abbreviated practice before heading to Minneapolis, Fangio said Lock will start against the Vikings for “the same reason that we gave him the first team snap of the first practice.” When the Broncos opened training camp July 27, Fangio said Lock would take the first snap because “he was here. He’s been here. He’s got more seniority with the Broncos, I guess. It’s really no big deal.”

The Broncos close out the preseason Aug. 28 against the Los Angeles Rams. Fangio has said no decision has been made on who would start that game in either scenario — if he has made a decision on the regular-season starter or if the competition is ongoing.

Fangio said after Tuesday’s practice that he didn’t know exactly how many snaps each quarterback would play against the Vikings.

“You have a hope, but what happens in these preseason games, sometimes you go out there and get a couple three-and-outs and the other team’s driving it on you, so you can’t go by quarters and series and stuff,” Fangio said. “You’ve got to try to go by plays as best you can, because it can get skewed one way or the other … so we’ll keep a running tab during the game.”

As he has in practice, when Lock and Bridgewater have split snaps with the starters equally, Fangio said he would make sure each quarterback played with starters or, at minimum, players who are “in the hunt” to start to make the evaluations more even.

“We’ve got four tackles that are competing, so they’ll be in there with two of those four,” Fangio said. “Same thing with the guards. It may not be what you view as the exact No. 1s, but we’re confident with the guys we’ll have in there.”

In addition to Saturday’s game, Denver and Minnesota will hold joint practices Wednesday and Thursday at the Vikings’ facility in suburban Minneapolis.

Lock and Bridgewater have each had moments in camp when they looked to be nudging ahead of the other, but both have also committed an ill-timed turnover in an 11-on-11 period or had a balky practice period to even it up again. In general, Lock has had more big plays in the workouts, while the offense has played with fewer penalties and a better tempo with Bridgewater in the lineup.

KANSAS CITY

DR/OL LAURENT DUVERNAY-TARDIF, who opted out of 2020 for humanitarian reasons, will miss the 2021 preseason for a personal medical reason:

Chiefs offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif missed all of 2020 as he opted out to aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic off the field.

Bound to return this season, his comeback will be delayed.

Duvernay-Tardif recently broke a bone in his hand during practice and will be out four to six weeks, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday afternoon.

No surgery will be needed and Duvernay-Tardif does have a chance to play in Week 1 when the Chiefs kick off the season against the Browns on Sept. 12, Rapoport added.

A Canadian native and medical school graduate, Duvernay-Tardif was a sixth-round pick of the Chiefs in 2014 and became a staple in the team’s starting lineup at right guard in 2015 (though he played only five games in 2018 due to injury). Ahead of the 2020 season, Duvernay-Tardif became the first NFL player to opt out.

After a Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers to end last season in which quarterback Patrick Mahomes was hounded all game, the Chiefs looked to restock their offensive line and did so with the acquisitions of Orlando Brown, Joe Thuney, Austin Blythe and Kyle Long. Long previously sustained a broken kneecap and Duvernay-Tardif, who was likely battling for a starting spot, will be a bigger hit to depth along the O-line.

For now, the good doctor will be on the mend and aiming to make kickoff after a year away.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

Rookie WR RASHOD BATEMAN has an injury to watch.  This from Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets:

@jeffzrebiec

Story of today’s practice was an injury to first-round WR Rashod Bateman. Bateman pulled up while running a slant against Peters and then fell immediately to ground. Walked to building with pronounced limp. DeCosta followed him in building.

CINCINNATI

In addition to QB JOE BURROW, the other member of Cincinnati’s dream passing tandem seems to be struggling.  Matthew Berry of ESPN.com:

Speaking of bearish Bengals reports, rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase has also been struggling per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.: “You see flashes of (his unique skill set) early, but you also see somebody tentatively getting used to a new offense, new league and not playing football since January 2020. He has not shown as much separation as you’d hope, and the contested balls haven’t gone his way much, either.”

PITTSBURGH

As contract negotiations continue, EDGE T.J. WATT is not practicing.  We don’t know if Kevin Patra of NFL.com is coining the term “hold-in” here, but we like it.

With training camp holdouts essentially eradicated by the new CBA, a smattering of hold-ins — reporting for camp but not fully participating due to a dissatisfied contract — dot the NFL landscape.

In Pittsburgh, for instance, star pass-rusher T.J. Watt, who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2020, isn’t taking part in team drills as sides hope to hammer out a new contact.

Consternation toward these hold-ins varies from team to team. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is among those not fretting about the situation with his star and cornerstone of defense not being on the field in early August. In Tomlin’s view, these things have a way of working themselves out.

“Not unique at all, really,” Tomlin said Tuesday, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “That negotiation process is going to run its course. Some run their courses faster than others. If I remember correctly, Cameron Heyward had less than 100 percent participation when he was in a similar circumstance a short time ago.”

Heyward, in fact, inked a four-year, $64.6 million extension a little more a week before the 2020 season started. Watt’s payday projects to be much bigger, so we’ll see if it takes longer for the Steelers to get it done.

Neither team owner Art Rooney II nor Tomlin seems worried about Watt missing reps at this stage. If anything, the coach is glad to give other players additional snaps — like newcomer Melvin Ingram — as the Steelers try to figure out their edge-rushing rotation outside of Watt.

“The business is going to run its course,” Tomlin said. “He’s highly conditioned. Strength staff is working with him. He’s getting in good work days. The process is running its course. In the meanwhile, man, I’m focusing on the guys that are working, their level of productivity and what type of days they’ve been having.”

AFC SOUTH

INDIANAPOLIS

More signs that rookie QB SAM EHLINGER is moving up the depth chart.  Kevin Hickey of Colts Wire:

Despite Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich saying it wasn’t in the plans, rookie quarterback Sam Ehlinger saw reps with the first-team offense for the first time during training camp on Tuesday.

Ehlinger has shown plenty of poise stepping into the backup role behind Jacob Eason who, up until this point, was the only one working with the starting unit as Carson Wentz works his way back from foot surgery.

Though it seemed there was a bit of separation between the two young passers, we may officially have a quarterback competition—like a real competition—on our hands in Indy.

This could simply be the Colts wanting to see what Ehlinger looks like with the starting pass-catchers. The offense is without four of its starters on Tuesday—three due to injury while Braden Smith gets a rest day.

Ehlinger’s ability to create offense with his legs makes him an intriguing candidate for Reich’s offense. Conversely, Eason’s skill set is more in the mold of a traditional passer, possessing elite arm talent but without much mobility at all.

Ehlinger has thrived working the short passing game during his reps as the backup. However, his poise, accelerated progression in the offense and ability to create with his legs may give the Colts a chance to use more of their playbook.

It will be interesting to see what the quarterback room looks like moving forward, but we may officially have a quarterback competition on our hands.

To recap, Ehlinger started most of four seasons at Texas.  He passed for 11436 yards and 94 TDs in his career (and ran for another 33 scores), but the Longhorns didn’t win enough and he did not capture attention as a pro prospect.  Being 6-1 probably didn’t help his draft status.  He lasted until the 6^th round when the Colts took him.

Ehlinger is from Westlake H.S. in Austin – a school which has given us Drew Brees and Nick Foles.

– – –

The Colts have extended GM Chris Ballard and Coach Frank Reich well into the future.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Colts have been cursed in recent years when it comes to the quarterback position. They’ve been blessed to have a high degree of competence and stability at key off-field positions.

The team has given contract extensions to G.M. Chris Ballard and coach Frank Reich, effective through the 2026 season. Both are under contract for five more seasons.

“In Chris Ballard and Frank Reich, we have as great a General Manager-head coach combination as there is in the NFL, and I can’t tell you how proud I am to have them leading our franchise,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said in a release announcing the move. “I truly believe this football team is on the doorstep of great things, and that’s because of the culture both have cultivated in their time with the Horseshoe. Whether we are marching toward the playoffs or facing adversity, whether we are building our roster or making a difference in the community, we have the ideal leaders in Chris and Frank.”

Ballard arrived in 2017, with Reich the emergency hire a year later, after Josh McDaniels reneged on a verbal agreement to take the job. Reich, who wasn’t seriously considered before the McDaniels fiasco, became in hindsight the right guy for the job, all along.

In four years on the job, Ballard has become one of the most respected executives in the league. He maintains a steady hand and resisted overreacting to whatever challenges land on his desk, even though he has dealt with plenty of it — starting with McDaniels bailing out and franchise quarterback Andrew Luck suddenly retiring not long before the start of the 2019 season.

– – –

QB CARSON WENTZ is in camp without a cast, without a walking boot and without a noticeable limp – so hopes are high that he will be ready for Week 1.  Liz Roscher ofYahooSports.com:

Quarterback Carson Wentz’s recent foot surgery has suddenly made the Indianapolis Colts one of the more interesting stories in football. Instead of going the traditional route and signing a veteran to play in Wentz’s stead until he’s healed and ready to go, they’re letting their backup quarterbacks, Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger, compete for the temporary starting job.

But that job may end up being so temporary that it stops existing entirely. Some new reports from Colts training camp indicate that Wentz is already making great progress just a week after surgery.

The team isn’t revealing any specific details about Wentz’s progress since his foot surgery, but Chris Mortensen reports that things are going swimmingly.

That jives with what The Athletic’s Stephen Holder reported on Tuesday from Colts camp, which is that Wentz is walking around without a boot or even a limp just eight days after foot surgery.

…Wentz was seen at practice Tuesday without any obvious limp or protection on his left foot that was surgically repaired just eight days ago. At the risk of reading too much into that minor development, Wentz being on his feet for the entirety of practice a week after surgery might be something hopeful for fans to hold onto.

With a 5-12 week recovery timeline (now down to 4-11 weeks), it was always possible that Wentz could start Week 1. This report doesn’t mean that it’s more likely he’ll be able to do that, but at least it’s still an option.

The team’s confidence in Wentz’s healing abilities — presumably supported by his no-limp, no-boot appearance at camp — may be why they’re fine letting the backup quarterbacks compete for a starting position that may last 1-2 weeks at most, and why they haven’t rushed out to sign or trade for a veteran backup QB to bridge the gap until Wentz is better.

THIS AND THAT

COMMISSIONER PEYTON MANNING?

Peyton Manning has not seemed to fully exploit his talents in his five retired years, taking it relatively easy.  But his Hall of Fame acceptance speech seemed to signify that he is ready to take on something more grand.  Charles Robinson of YahooSports.comwonders if it would be Commissioner.

A few years ago, when Peyton Manning was quietly making his post-retirement visits through a handful of NFL team facilities, the natural question began to percolate inside some front offices. First he was spotted in the Los Angeles Rams’ cafeteria. Later it was in the Chicago Bears’ facility. Then an Oakland Raiders practice. At every stop, the curiosity grew.

What exactly was Peyton Manning planning?

On the eve of the 2018 kickoff at the Manning Passing Academy, Manning’s longtime agent Tom Condon chuckled at the attention and speculation.

“I think he’s enjoying his life,” Condon said. “But I don’t rule anything out with Peyton. He wants to stay connected to football and I think that he could do whatever he wants if he put his mind to it.”

So what was the preparation for? Was he gearing up to coach? Was he prepping for a $100 million deal as an analyst? Perhaps angling to be a general manager or team president? Or was he preparing for something bigger like team ownership?

“Why not NFL commissioner?” Condon said. “How about that?”

Why NFL could pivot toward Peyton Manning’s leadership 

Well … three years later, the question lingers. He might be the single greatest player ambassador the NFL has ever seen. Manning’s connection to players, coaches, executives and even franchise owners might be stronger today than it ever has been. Not only is he a historian of the game in a way that might rival Bill Belichick’s encyclopedic knowledge, he also has an eye on where the NFL and football in general are going, something that was very evident in Manning’s Hall of Fame enshrinement speech this weekend.

As Manning put it, “I don’t know about you, but I am not done with this game. I never will be. I am committing to ensuring its future, and I hope you join me in that commitment.”

It might be a stretch to say this was Manning throwing his hat in the ring as a potential future replacement for Roger Goodell. But it harkens back to Condon’s question: Why not?

For years, the scuttlebutt has been that the league is going to seek a diplomat as much as a business executive when it comes to replacing Roger Goodell. Someone who can not only connect with the game and the players on a personal and experienced level, but a younger voice who also has the ability to navigate changing times.

It can be argued that Manning has these qualities, something that has been showcased in the years since his retirement, when Manning has arguably become more popular than ever among NFL fans. Of course, what he doesn’t have now is the same thing he didn’t have in 2018: the steeped side of the business operations ledger that team owners will always crave. This could be remedied if Manning were to take over as the president of an NFL team for a sustained time.

It might not be too late for Manning to take that dive, with the longer-term goal of NFL commissioner being his aim. While Goodell is allegedly supposed to complete his run as commissioner by the end of the 2023 season, that’s looking less likely. Regardless of what fans or players think of Goodell, his 15-year stewardship of the league has overseen the most immensely lucrative run in the worldwide history of professional sports. From stadium infrastructure to sustained labor peace to bottom-line revenues and titanic television-rights deals, arguably no sports league in the world has been in a better place than the NFL is right now.

That tends to be the kind of thing that keeps a commissioner around, even if he has personal designs to move on with his life. You can bet that the vast majority of team owners will be leaning on Goodell to stay beyond his scripted end following the 2023 season, with the next target being the league reaching Goodell’s goal of $25 billion in annual revenue by 2027. Indeed, if there were wagers placed on the conclusion of Goodell’s tenure, the smart money would be closer to the middle or end of this decade than three seasons from now.

Would business get in way of Manning commissionership?

So what does that mean for Manning? He has more time than anticipated to figure out what he wants to do and then chart out his course. Frankly, there’s no telling whether he’d be interested in being commissioner. He appears to be enjoying himself every bit as much now as he was in 2018, both in his ability to spend time with a multitude of different franchises as well as his robust career as a pitchman and on the fringes of the entertainment industry.

The question comes down to what Manning wants most — the remainder of his life being involved with the NFL, or a large part of it spent guiding it. If it’s the latter, he’s going to have to get moving on his plans because there are contenders emerging inside the league office and out. And all of them have more business or football operations expertise than Manning does at the moment: They range from NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent to business operations officers Chris Halpin and Brian Rolapp, to outside candidates like Big Ten conference commissioner Kevin Warren.

The history of succession in the league suggests these are the frontrunners, all of whom fit more neatly into the 60-year transition from Pete Rozelle to Paul Tagliabue and finally Goodell. With all three of those choices, NFL franchise owners leaned into the bottom line. Goodell had a background in economics and had spent his career working his way through communications and business operations roles inside the league. Tagliabue spent 20 years in the white shoe law firm of Covington & Burling before his NFL ascent. Even Rozelle was a general manager of the Rams and built the strongest part of his resume on the business side of that operation.

Manning would be a break from that mold. But it would take some remolding that he’d have to embrace, too. It’s something Manning himself recalled to a visitor in 2018, only days after Condon suggested the role of commissioner.

“It’s what I like to think of as sort of the second chapter opportunities in my life,” Manning said from his family’s passing academy in the summer of 2018. “There are a lot of things to consider. I talk to a lot of people about different things — I should say I listen to a lot of different things and try to keep an open mind. But whatever comes next, I know I want to stay involved in football. Part of that is not closing myself off to anything. It’s going to be a journey that I enjoy, and who knows where it will take me.”

Five years after his retirement, it took him to Canton. And five years from now, maybe it will lead him to Goodell’s seat on Park Avenue in New York. Or at the very least, answer the question that Tom Condon offered up in 2018.

Why not?

2021 FANTASY DRAFT

Using something called KUBIAK, Scott Spratt of FootballOutsiders.com offers a list of players who he says are going too high in Fantasy Football drafts:

What do Leonard Fournette, Mike Evans, and Rob Gronkowski have in common? Yes, they all won a Super Bowl last season with Tampa Bay, but they’re also all going too high in fantasy drafts this summer. Those two facts are probably related.

The KUBIAK fantasy projections web tool is an amazing resource for the fantasy player who wants to either print a draft board with rankings that match their league’s scoring and roster settings or do a live accounting of a salary cap league during the draft. But as many options as the tool provides, it cannot explain why players have the projections they do. That’s where this article and next week’s Underrated edition come in. I have picked a handful of players at each position that KUBIAK ranks notably worse than their average draft position (ADP) and will explain our pessimism.

Quarterbacks

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

KUBIAK Rank: 14

ESPN ADP: 12

Yahoo! ADP: 9

Hurts teased top-five fantasy potential in his four rookie starts with 354 yards and three touchdowns as a runner. That may make KUBIAK pessimistic in its projection of 583 yards and 5.2 touchdowns over a full season as a starter in 2021—it lands him fifth in rushing fantasy points at the position behind Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Cam Newton, and Josh Allen. But those totals may also prove optimistic if Hurts sabotages his rushing efforts with continued poor passing. His -17.6% passing DVOA would have ranked 31st last season if he had reached the 200 pass attempts to qualify. He was dramatically less efficient than everyone’s favorite rookie punching bag Tua Tagovailoa (-8.5%). Meanwhile, his 24.1% red zone completion rate was an outlier of a poor total at more than 10% below Sam Darnold (36.5%) at second worst and nearly 20% below the rest of the field of normal starters. Poor arm strength and indecision are often exposed in a compressed field. If Hurts can only excel between the 20s, then the Eagles may move on quickly, even if their replacement options are less enticing on-field talents than the Philadelphian pipe dreams.

Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns

KUBIAK Rank: 24

ESPN ADP: 15

Yahoo! ADP: 17

A much better year (5.1% DVOA) with a much better offensive coach’s new scheme eased my concerns for Mayfield’s NFL prospects. With better health at his skill positions from Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry, Mayfield has room to improve on his 25th-ranked 16.0 fantasy points per game from 2020. But Mayfield remains in a situation that is better for real life than fantasy success. He has the mobility and instincts to extend plays within the pocket and bootleg for better throwing lanes, but Mayfield has not taken the critical fantasy step to scramble. His 165 rushing yards from 2020 are the most he has had in three seasons. Meanwhile, the Browns called a non-quarterback run on 43.1% of their plays last season, the second-highest rate in football.

Ryan Tannehill and Kirk Cousins landed on either side of him and snuck into QB1 consideration with 10th- and 12th-place finishes in fantasy points per game. But that seems like a ceiling for Mayfield in his offense, which makes him a poor strategic draft pick in shallower formats when even uncertain starters Cam Newton and Taysom Hill and rookies Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and Trey Lance could do better with the proper breaks with their rushing abilities.

Running Backs

Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

KUBIAK Rank: 19

ESPN ADP: 12

Yahoo! ADP: 14

With his unusual combination of size (6-foot-2 and 230 pounds), athleticism, and hand-eye coordination, Harris would have been the best rookie back for fantasy pretty much wherever he landed. And in one sense, it’s a boon to his value that he ended up with the Steelers. Head coach Mike Tomlin has relied almost exclusively on bell-cow backs in his 14-year tenure with the team. Harris has little to fear in competition from incumbent options Benny Snell or Anthony McFarland. That said, the Steelers had the worst run-blocking line (3.72 adjusted line yards) in 2020, and that was before they lost Matt Feiler and Alejandro Villanueva in free agency, saw Maurkice Pouncey retire, and released David DeCastro. The team will have less experienced and less heralded starters across their line in 2021, and their one holdover, Chuks Okorafor, is attempting the difficult transition from right to left tackle.

With his exceptional after-contact skills, Harris is a better fit behind a patchwork offensive line than the players the Steelers had last season. And with his expected volume, he remains a top-20 option at the position. But Harris has a tougher road to success than backs such as J.K. Dobbins, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Josh Jacobs in his range of ADP.

Antonio Gibson, Washington Football Team

KUBIAK Rank: 20

ESPN ADP: 11

Yahoo! ADP: 12

I don’t have the same concerns for Gibson’s run-blocking that I do for Harris’, and I’m similarly enamored with the former’s talent despite his third-round draft pedigree. Gibson was as much a receiver as he was a runner at Memphis, and so it’s easy to assume that he will make a marked jump in his pass-catching from his rookie to his sophomore season. Still, I’m skeptical of that growth in workload because of circumstances beyond his control. Quarterbacks Alex Smith and Dwayne Haskins finished first and eighth with 31.0% and 21.7% running back target rates in 2020. New quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has lagged behind them at 18.9%, and he’ll have more talent at wide receiver than his Washington predecessors after the team added Curtis Samuel and Dyami Brown this offseason. Gibson may shift the balance between his 36 catches from 2020 and J.D. McKissic’s 80, but that still may not be enough to best his rookie total if his quarterback is throwing only half as many of his passes to running backs.

Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

KUBIAK Rank: 37

ESPN ADP: 30

Yahoo! ADP: 31

I routinely advocated for Fournette in fantasy in the middle of 2020 over incumbent Bucs runner Ronald Jones because of the latter’s major drops issue. But as the former’s role with his new team expanded, I was dismayed to see that he fared about as poorly as a receiver. For the season, Fournette dropped 14.3% of his catchable targets, the fifth-highest rate among backs with 25 or more such targets. And like his teammate Jones, Fournette had some ugly drops.

That won’t be true in 2021 after the team signed a veteran in Giovani Bernard who is still in his late 20s. Bernard has fewer drops (eight) since the start of 2018 than Fournette had (nine) in 2020 alone, and Bernard saw a healthy volume of 120 catchable targets in that time. He should see most of the team’s third-down work in 2021, and as such, we project Fournette to drop from 36 to 20 catches this year and lose his flex value in PPR formats.

Wide Receivers

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

KUBIAK Rank: 27

ESPN ADP: 12

Yahoo! ADP: 12

The Bucs are about to become the theme of this article. And while Evans does not have the same skill-set limitations that his teammate Fournette does, he suffers a similar problem in the abundance of skill talent around him that will make it difficult for any of the Bucs stars to meet their high fantasy expectations. The team retained wide receivers Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown for 2021, and after the latter joined the team in Week 9, Evans saw just 7.0 targets per game in the second half and playoffs when all three played. That total was just 36th-best at the position.

Fantasy players may not have noticed that downturn in volume, but they would have if Evans scored fewer than his 13 touchdowns, the fourth-highest total in the league. He won’t lose all of them—he is 6-foot-5 and has the best-ever quarterback to throw him the ball. But Evans also caught 2.8 more touchdowns than the expectations of his target locations, the ninth-highest surplus in football. And it wasn’t because of his skill. Evans has fallen short of his expected touchdown total in three of his last six seasons, and Mike Clay’s opportunity-adjusted touchdown research suggests that players rarely beat or fall short of their expected totals year in and year out.

Evans has a track record of health and production that may insulate him from dramatically underachieving on his KUBIAK projections of 914 yards and 7.5 touchdowns. But while you could talk me into an Evans draft selection over players such as Kenny Golladay and Michael Thomas with greater injury concerns, you could not persuade me to consider him in the company of healthy receivers such as Keenan Allen, A.J. Brown, and DK Metcalf with much less competition for their teams’ targets.

D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers

KUBIAK Rank: 36

ESPN ADP: 19

Yahoo! ADP: 20

It’s difficult to make a statistical case that new Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold is as good as his predecessor Teddy Bridgewater. The former produced -15.2%, -20.4%, and -32.2% DVOAs in his three seasons with the Jets. But even if you believe that offensive coordinator Joe Brady can save Darnold’s career, Moore has a low fantasy ceiling because of his lack of touchdown-scoring. In his three-year career, Moore has just 10 touchdowns and hasn’t fallen dramatically short of his 13.5 opportunity-adjusted total. Brady does some creative things in his scheme that often land the smaller Moore (5-foot-11) on the outside with lanky Robby Anderson (6-foot-3) in the slot. But that doesn’t elevate Moore to the red zone threat that rookie receiver Terrace Marshall (6-foot-3) or tight ends Dan Arnold (6-foot-6) and Tommy Tremble (6-foot-3) can be. And in any case, the Panthers will likely rely heavily on their star running back Christian McCaffrey when they approach the end zone. That doesn’t leave a lot of fantasy potential for the rest of the skill talent in the offense.

Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos

KUBIAK Rank: 42

ESPN ADP: 35

Yahoo! ADP: 35

Jeudy does not deserve the full blame for his bottom-four -22.9% DVOA from his rookie season. Just 62 of his 113 targets were catchable. But Jeudy deserves blame for his 16.1% drop rate, the highest among receivers with 50 or more catchable targets. Those could become an issue if the Broncos return to full strength. Second-round draft pick Courtland Sutton broke out with 1,112 yards and a 5.7% DVOA in 2019 before he missed last year with an ACL tear, and undrafted gem Tim Patrick made a compelling case to start on the outside with a 16.1% DVOA rate in 2020. And unfortunately for Jeudy and every Broncos pass catcher, the team failed to swing a trade for star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and are left with incumbent and so-far inaccurate Drew Lock plus Panthers reject Teddy Bridgewater. Jeudy may see another outsized total of uncatchable targets in 2021.

Tight Ends

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

KUBIAK Rank: 7

ESPN ADP: 4

Yahoo! ADP: 4

Sammy Watkins is a role player and Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace are rookies. I doubt that any of the Ravens’ new trio of pass-catchers will knock tight end Andrews from his perch as the team’s No. 1 receiver this season. That said, their skills could portend a major expansion of the team’s passing offense. Last year, Lamar Jackson threw an outlier rate of 42.3% of his aimed passes to the middle of the field. No other quarterback with 200 or more attempts was above 28.9%, and Andrews was the major beneficiary with a league-leading 44.9% of his targets coming in that area. The more Jackson throws outside, the less often he will target Andrews.

Rob Gronkowski, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

KUBIAK Rank: 20

ESPN ADP: 12

Yahoo! ADP: 13

Gronkowski completes the set of the Buccaneers players KUBIAK views as overvalued in fantasy this season. And while he smashed through my similar pessimism from 2020, he might need another teammate injury to repeat the feat in 2021. Gronk saw just 3.5 targets per game the first four weeks of 2020. But after fellow tight end O.J. Howard injured his Achilles tendon, Gronk surged to 5.3 targets per game over the rest of the season. It’s reasonable to bet on the future Hall of Famer’s touchdown upside, but before you do, consider that the Bucs have starter-quality pass-catchers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, and Giovani Bernard fighting over five players’ worth of snaps and targets.

Kickers

Rodrigo Blankenship, Indianapolis Colts

KUBIAK Rank: 25

ESPN ADP: 11

Yahoo! ADP: 11

Carson Wentz’s foot surgery made for an obvious deterrent to his own fantasy value and that of his primary receiving options such as Parris Campbell and Michael Pittman. But don’t overlook the fact that a worse Colts team will create fewer opportunities for their kicker, Blankenship. Last season, when his team was 12th in offensive DVOA, seventh in defensive DVOA, and fifth in average starting position on their drives, Blankenship had 37 field goal attempts and 45 extra point attempts, fourth- and 11th-most. Expect those totals to fall in his sophomore season with the Colts’ mean projections ranking 22nd in offensive DVOA (without even incorporating the Wentz injury) and 11th in defensive DVOA.

Defenses

Cleveland Browns

KUBIAK Rank: 17

ESPN ADP: 10

Yahoo! ADP: 8

A No. 26 DVOA projection may undersell the Browns’ defensive potential after they added stars in Jadeveon Clowney and John Johnson to last year’s 25th-ranked unit. But that pair of players are not the final pieces of a complete puzzle. The Browns lack depth at both defensive end and defensive tackle, and they will have to rely on unproven players such as Greg Newsome, Greedy Williams, Grant Delpit, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in the secondary and at linebacker. They should be a streaming option at the very least, but the Browns look more like a team to watch as a potential in-season pick-up than one to draft, especially with their top-10 projected schedule difficulty and a Week 1 trip to Kansas City.