2023 NFL Training Camp is underway!
Every day, the RSJ staff tracks fantasy football news and highlights from around the league, serving as your lead blockers to 2023 fantasy football greatness. From viral highlights to boring coach-speak narratives to season-altering injuries, we’ve got you covered.
Here are some standout fantasy football news and notes from around the NFL on August 17.
CHRIS OLAVE AND MICHAEL THOMAS BALLING OUT IN JOINT PRACTICE VS THE CHARGERS
Similarly to his career at Ohio State, Chris Olave has somehow flown under the radar despite dominating his competition. Coming off a terrific 1,042-yard, 72 reception rookie season with Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston at the helm, Olave is set to take it to the next level with an upgrade at quarterback in Derek Carr. Throughout training camp, Olave’s proven he’s in for a monster sophomore season.
In today’s joint practice against the Chargers and its star-studded secondary, Olave put on a show. According to Nick Underhill, he won all of his one-on-one matchups against the likes of Asante Samuel Jr. and JC Jackson, with the only incompletion flagged as a defensive pass interference.
This isn’t the first time he dominated a camp setting this August.
“Chris Olave is on some kind of run right now,” Underhill noted last week. “The wide receiver recorded six total catches during Friday’s practice, including four during one team period. He looks unstoppable. The best play of the day came when quarterback Derek Carr found him downfield for a long touchdown on a ‘free play’ after the defense jumped offsides. The wide receiver is having an incredible offseason so far and looks like the real deal. Everything you want to see from Olave, you’re seeing.”
Olave’s current Sleeper ADP is 28.8 and Yahoo! ADP is 31.6, aka the beginning of the third round. If Carr continues to flourish and build rapport with his young receiver, Olave will hold significant value at that draft position. The Wolf is way ahead of the curve on the receiver, inking him at 21 overall on his most recent 2023 Fantasy Rankings update.
Chris Olave wasn’t the only former Buckeye who made noise on Thursday afternoon — Michael Thomas cooked that secondary, as well. Thomas, who really hasn’t played since he dismantled secondaries in 2019, appears to be back and ready to rock ahead of the 2023 season.
Thomas got the best of Derwin James on numerous occasions and also beat Jackson a number of times. However, it was never a question of ability with Thomas, it’s been his availability. Since 2019, he suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him most of the 2020 season and the entirety of the 2021 season, and then a toe dislocation that ended his 2022 season in Week 3.
If Thomas can stay healthy and take a WR2 complementary role to Olave, he’s one who could also drip in fantasy value based on his current Yahoo! 108 ADP and Sleeper 100.5 ADP. The Wolf is also higher than the ADP on Thomas, ranking him at 90 overall.
DESHAUN WATSON AND THE BROWNS PASSING GAME HAS BEEN “COMPLETELY UNIMPRESSIVE”
“The passing game has been completely unimpressive. Anything that involves Deshaun Watson remaining in the pocket has been an adventure, and not since early in camp have we seen strings of consecutive completions in any 11-on-11 period.”
– Zac Jackson, The Athletic
Following Browns beat reporters on Twitter during training camp has been quite the ride. Of course, it’s all based on interpretations of what they see, but there hasn’t been much optimism surrounding Deshaun Watson’s play as of late. After missing the entire 2021 season and the majority of the 2022 season due to creepiness, Watson has not been the same quarterback that he once was in Houston.
Although Watson called yesterday’s report “cap” as the kids would say, it’s safe to say it’s doubtful that multiple reporters on both sides misread the situation. Eagles reporter Eliot Shorr-Parks charted Watson 7-for-16 with three touchdowns to two interceptions on the day. He also had Watson 17-for-33 with three touchdowns and three interceptions over the first two joint sessions.
“The pass rush definitely got the better of Watson as he was really only effective in 7v7, not 11v11,” Shorr-Parks tweeted. “The Eagles pressure forced Watson into some bad decisions, and in two days, they ended up picking him off as many times as they allowed INTs”
The Wolf could not be lower on Watson, ranking him at QB16 (-7 vs the ECR).
OTHER FANTASY NOTES
- Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) is expected to miss a few days of practice, while Jameson Williams (hamstring) will likely miss the rest of the preseason. See ya Week 7, Jamo!
- Josh Allen is expected to play “about a quarter and a half” in Saturday’s preseason game
- Esteemed society member, Joe Mixon, was found not guilty of aggravated menacing charges
- Is a trade on the horizon? Jonathan Taylor has left Colts’ camp for personal reasons
- Javonte Williams is expected to play 10-12 snaps on Saturday
- Treylon Burks dodged a bullet after spraining his LCL; he should return in a few weeks
- Although he’s practicing, Breece Hall is still dealing with “occasional knee soreness”
- Phew! Saints rookie RB Kendre Miller (knee) returned to practice just days after he was in question for Week 1
- Vikings wideout Jordan Addison is dealing with “light concussion symptoms.” Meanwhile, KJ Osborn is having a terrific training camp and is in line to start
- Mac Jones and the Patriots’ offense had a very strong day against the Packers. More importantly, Jones has had a much better camp (77% completion in 11v11s) compared to last season (66% completion in 11v11s)
- Justin Herbert peppered Keenan Allen throughout joint practice vs the Saints
