Sammy Watkins Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Ravens WR Sammy Watkins (thigh) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Chargers. WR Rashod Bateman, meanwhile, is expected to make his NFL debut this weekend, HC John Harbaugh said Friday. OC Greg Roman suggested earlier in the week that Bateman would be on a snap count, so we'd try not to use the rookie in Week 6 fantasy lineups.

Ravens WR Sammy Watkins did not practice on Wednesday. He's on the injury report with a thigh, rather than the hamstring injury that was announced during Monday night's win over the Colts. Either way, Watkins is clearly in danger of missing this weekend's game vs. the Chargers.

Ravens WR Sammy Watkins injured a hamstring in the 1st half of Monday night's game vs. the Colts and did not return. We'll look for further updates on his status. Ravens 1st-round rookie WR Rashod Bateman seems close to debuting after August core-muscle surgery.

Ravens WR Marquise Brown (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday night's game vs. the Chiefs. He only got in a limited practice on Friday, so he figures to be operating at far less than 100% if he suits up this weekend. We'd avoid Brown in fantasy lineups. WR Devin Duvernay (groin) is also questionable. Sammy Watkins is the best bet among Baltimore WRs.

Ravens WR Sammy Watkins (undisclosed) returned to practice on Wednesday. He missed over a week of action but appears on track for Week 1. The 28-year-old could supply some deep league value early on while Rashod Bateman is sidelined.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman had successful core-muscle surgery in Philadelphia on Friday, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. HC John Harbaugh reportedly still hopes to get the rookie back “sometime in September.” Bateman’s absence to open the season helps the outlook for both Marquise Brown and Sammy Watkins.

ESPN's Jamison Hensley reports that Ravens WR Rashod Bateman will have surgery on his groin. HC John Harbaugh reportedly says the rookie will be back "sometime in September." We'll see about that as the return gets closer. For now, Bateman probably has to fall down draft boards. He had been performing well in camp, but WR Sammy Watkins has also drawn positive reviews from OC Greg Roman. Bateman's situation certainly adds upside to Watkins as a late fantasy pick.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman "at the very least will be considered week-to-week" with the groin injury suffered in Tuesday's practice, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports. "Evaluations are ongoing and it’s too early to know whether he’ll be sidelined to start the regular season," Garafolo adds. So the 1st-round rookie will, at minimum, miss a bunch of valuable training-camp reps and likely the entire preseason. And it sounds like there's a chance that he's not ready for Week 1. We'll keep an eye on Bateman's rehab, but you should only consider him a late-round flier in fantasy drafts now. WR Sammy Watkins might enter the season with a big role in this passing game.

Ravens WR Marquise Brown is sidelined with a hamstring injury. HC John Harbaugh said it's "a little more serious" than he was told initially. We'll see exactly how serious and how long Brown is out. Rookie WR Rashod Bateman also missed Monday's practice with what Harbaugh called "muscle tightness." Sammy Watkins has been Baltimore's best WR in camp so far according to multiple sources.

Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic writes that Ravens WR Sammy Watkins looks “fresh, explosive, motivated and more importantly, healthy” early in training camp. Zrebiec also noted his the veteran’s ability to get open and make plays “all over the field.” This jives with OC Greg Roman’s recent comment about Watkins being “one of the best receivers in the NFL.” Volume is an obvious concern for the run-heavy Ravens. Watkins, though, is essentially free as the WR77 in FFPC best balls.

According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Ravens WR Rashod Bateman has given the Ravens, “every reason to believe he’ll be a significant contributor from Day 1.” Zrebiec adds that Bateman “hasn’t looked like a rookie.” It's tough to expect consistent fantasy contributions given a run-heavy offense and the presence of Mark Andrews, Marquise Brown and Sammy Watkins. But there’s a real chance that Bateman’s role grows as the season rolls along. He's heavily discounted with a WR62 price in FFPC best ball drafts.

The forecast for today's Jaguars-Chiefs game calls for periods of heavy rain. The good news is that winds are expected to be only 6-7 mph. They aren't ideal conditions, but it's not enough for us to adjust our projections for these passing games. You might use the weather as a tiebreaker if deciding between 2 similarly ranked players, though.