After months and months of waiting, NFL Training Camp is finally here!
Throughout each afternoon, the RSJ staff is tracking fantasy football news and highlights from around the league, serving as your lead blockers to fantasy greatness. From buzzy highlights to common coach-speak to season-altering injuries, we’ve got you covered.
Here are some standout fantasy news and notes from training camps around the NFL on July 29.
Sam Howell ‘putting best foot forward’ in QB battle
Sam Howell is locked in a battle for the starting QB role with NFL journeyman Jacoby Brissett.
Last season, the Commanders primarily juggled between Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz as their starting quarterbacks after taking Howell in the fifth round. Flash forward to 2023 and both quarterbacks are no longer part of the equation and Howell seems like he’s pegged to be the early starter.
Things were… well they weren’t good last season. The Commanders finished 24th in points per game, 30th in yards per game, and 21st in passing YPG. Still, some silver linings were to be appreciated among the Commanders’ otherwise cloudy offense.
Eric Bienemy coming over from the prolific Chiefs offense to be the offensive play-caller projects to be huge for Howell and the offense as a whole. Bienemy will have a full complement of weapons ranging from perennial star Terry McLaurin to exciting second-year receiver Jahan Dotson.
Both wide receivers displayed tremendous success rates in their route trees and are expected to compliment Howell’s deep ball and overall arm talent nicely. Between that and Howell’s more than adequate ability to scramble in the pocket, he projects to be a high-upside late-round quarterback option.
Jordan Love throws ‘pair of impressive touchdown passes’ during practice:
Jordan Love started out training camp strong, throwing two red-zone touchdown passes during Thursday’s practice. The first saw Love hit rookie receiver Jayden Reed behind zone coverage for a 10-yard strike in pay dirt. For the second score, Love came out of a run fake and threaded the needle to rising second-year receiver Christian Watson for a five-yard score while in tight coverage from Rasul Douglas.
“It was bang-bang,” Watson said, via Bill Huber of SI.com. “An eighth-of-a-second earlier or an eighth-of-a-second later, it probably would’ve been different. It was a perfect ball, perfect placement by J-Love and the timing was just perfect. He got a hand on it but it was just the right time where I got a good grip of it.”
Love kept the positive momentum rolling, finishing Saturday’s practice with his best day of camp.
Love appears to be dialed in early and has reportedly displayed great chemistry with Reed, Watson, and fellow second-year receiver Romeo Doubs. While he doesn’t carry the same name value as Aaron Rodgers, Love does offer a strong arm and great arm talent with a slew of young, talented receivers around him.
He’s another late-round high-upside quarterback option and a potential riser if he continues to show out at camp.
James Cook growing into ‘every-down running back’ for the high-octane Bills offense
James Cook was already a popular, yet polarizing player this offseason. Devin Singletary is now a Houston Texan and Damien Harris is the early favorite to share the backfield with Cook. However, Cook might have been the Bills’ biggest beneficiary of the offseason after Nyheim Hines was injured in a fluke jet-ski accident.
With Hines already declared out for the season, Cook has an opportunity to see even more passing volume.
In 2022, Cook was a popular midseason breakout name, but it never really manifested… but that isn’t to say he didn’t flash. He finished tied for ninth among qualifying running backs (100+ opportunities) in fantasy points per opportunity and averaged 8.6 yards per reception. Cook also averaged 5.7 yards per tote, but saw less than 90 carries on the year.
More impressively, Cook showcased what a weapon he could be by turning his 110 total touches into almost 700 yards from scrimmage.
“I think a guy like that provides a lot of versatility for you, not only as a pass catcher, but a guy you could hand the ball off to. He’ll get tough yards, he’ll lower his pads and get some hidden yards. He’s explosive. I think you saw all of that last season,” said offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
Despite his talent though, his smaller frame makes it less likely he will command a heavy workload. He also has never seen more than 113 carries in any football season dating back to his college days.
As the RB34 on the season in the Wolf’s rankings, Cook has the explosivity and pass-catching opportunity to prove to be a late-round running back value.
OTHER FANTASY NOTES:
Zay Flowers has already earned the nickname “the joystick” from quarterback Lamar Jackson. Flowers has been taking advantage of his reps early and continues to impress the Ravens.
Ezekiel Elliott is visiting with the New England Patriots. Despite clearly losing a step, Zeke still was clearly able to handle a heavy workload, seeing over 240 total opportunities last season, including 39 rush attempts inside the red zone.
Deshaun Watson has reportedly been “tearing it up” at training camp, according to Cleveland Browns analyst Fred Greetham. Greetham went so far as to say Watson has looked like the same Watson the NFL saw before the legal issues set in. Good news for that entire offense.
