Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

When asked Monday if rookie WR Drake London will be ready for the regular-season opener, Falcons HC Arthur Smith said, "I feel good about where he's at, but I'm not going to make a prediction," according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. London hasn't practiced since Aug. 12 because of a knee issue. It sounds like we'll have to wait until next week's practices leading up to the opener to find out whether London will play Week 1. Even if he's ready to go, it would be risky to toss the rookie into opening-week lineups. He still presents plenty of full-season fantasy football upside from his WR4-level ADP, though.

The Falcons rested RBs Cordarrelle Patterson and Damien Williams for Saturday night's preseason finale against the Titans. Rookie Tyler Allgeier opened in the backfield, with Qadree Allison and Caleb Huntley working in early. That usage makes it appear that Williams will enter the season ahead of Allgeier in line for carries. We'll see whether the rookie can work his way up. If he is 3rd at the moment, that would at least mark progress from how the preseason started. This looks like a backfield to avoid beyond Patterson for now.

Per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, Falcons WR Drake London hasn’t practiced since suffering a knee injury in the preseason opener. That was 2 weeks ago. Rothstein writes that “the goal still is for him to be ready” by the regular season opener, but we’ll check the rookie’s status up through game day. He reportedly showed well in practice — especially in contested catch situations — before the injury.

Bengals S Jessie Bates has re-joined the team to play out the season under the franchise tag, according to multiple reports. Bates skipped training camp after he and the team failed to work out a longer-term extension. (It wasn't technically a holdout, because he wasn't under contract.) Returning now still gives him a little more than 2 weeks to be ready for the regular-season opener. We haven't moved Bates down our IDP rankings at all through his absence. We'll watch to make sure he's on track for a full start to the year.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins returned to practice on Wednesday. He ended up missing the minimum 5 days with COVID. His fantasy stock is unaffected.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Sunday that WR Drake London's knee injury is "not a long-term thing." Smith added that London will likely be sidelined this coming week but is fully expected to be ready for the regular season. We'll see exactly when the rookie is able to get back on the field.

A source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter that the knee injury Falcons WR Drake London suffered in Friday's preseason opener is not serious. "Still, further testing ahead," Schefter adds. We'll pass along any further updates on Drake's status. But, for now, we haven't moved him in the WR rankings.

Falcons WR Drake London injured his knee in Friday night's preseason opener and won't return. The rookie made a 24-yard catch on the opening drive and was able to get off the field. But trainers then examined his knee, and London was ruled out a short time later. We'll update his status as soon as we know more.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID and will be away from the team for at least 5 days. We'll see exactly when he gets back on the field, but this shouldn't impact his 2022 fantasy value.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler hears that the Cardinals envision WR Rondale Moore stepping into the role WR Christian Kirk played last season. Kirk tallied 103 targets across 17 games, finishing 27th among WRs in half-PPR points. "The Cardinals envision Moore, an explosive second-round pick, handling those duties and more, considering his ability to take handoffs," Fowler writes. If Moore gets to triple digit targets -- in addition to some rushing work -- he'll be a smash pick at his 13th-round price tag.

The Cardinals are using WR Rondale Moore all over the formation in camp. “We’ve played him outside and we’ve played him inside, so he’s gotten work at both the X and the H inside,” WRs coach Shawn Jefferson said. “You’re going to see him in a bunch of positions, even in the backfield, coming out of the backfield. He’s one of those guys who can do it all." We'd be surprised if the 180-pound Moore played much on the outside this season, but it's at least encouraging to hear that his role has expanded from a mostly quiet rookie season. Moore is well worth a shot at his 13th-round ADP.

Josh Kendall of The Athletic believe’s there’a “scenario in which RB Tyler Allgeier becomes Atlanta’s starting RB” in 2022. Kendall points out the rookie’s “physical style,” one that was unmistakable on tape. With hybrid Cordarrelle Patterson and Damien Williams as top competition, it certainly wouldn’t surprise us if Allgeier eventually sees starter-level work. We’ll be tracking all of the action closely as training camps begin to open league-wide.

"I think he's gonna finally thrive, really thrive, in a system and a coach that actually respects him." Those were the recent words from ex-Vikings LB Ben Leber, who now works the sideline for team radio broadcasts. Leber added: "Mike Zimmer did not like Kirk Cousins. And I think that showed in the way that Kirk behaved and the way that he carried himself. The team was never given to him." It's quite possible that this is entirely true ... and that the change doesn't impact Cousins' fantasy production. He ranked 5th among QBs in passing-TD rate and yards per attempt over the past 3 years, under Zimmer. (We talked further about Cousins and our expectations for the 2022 Vikings offense in Tuesday's podcast.) If it's true that Zimmer negatively impacted Cousins' day-to-day, then the switch certainly can't hurt his effectiveness.

The Bengals and S Jessie Bates reportedly didn't come close to reaching a longer-term deal before Friday's deadline for franchise-tagged players. That leaves Bates to play out 2022 on the tag, and likely means he'll be finding a new team after the season. Bates struggled early last year and admitted that the lack of a new contract had distracted him. We'd bet on him not getting caught up in the same cycle this time around. Bates has spent most of his career as a strong IDP performer at an inconsistent position. We'd feel comfy drafting him in 2022.

Conditioning has been an offseason “point of emphasis” for Bears WR Darnell Mooney, per Dan Pompei of The Athletic. Mooney ranked 6th among WRs in snaps in 2021. “Last year, I think I struggled with just being there at all times when my number was called,” Mooney said. “I knew I was fatigued a little bit, but my mindset was not coming out of the game.” Mooney also gained about 10 pounds this offseason after playing the past 2 years in the low 170s. “Even though he’s a smaller guy, he’s not that guy that runs out of bounds like a lot of smaller receivers,” WR coach Tyke Tolbert said. “He’ll try to stick his foot in the ground, get upfield and make plays with the ball in his hand, try to break tackles. He’s not trying to save his body. He’s trying to get extra yardage.” With massive target potential, Mooney could inch up the WR2 ranks in 2022.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury singled out WR Rondale Moore when asked for a young player who's flashed this offseason, according to insider Paul Calvisi. "He's taken real strides," Kingsbury said. Moore was relatively disappointing as a rookie, at least in part because of a minuscule 1.2-yard average depth of target. It sounds like he'll be in a more diverse role in 2022. And there's opportunity available with WR Christian Kirk gone and WR DeAndre Hopkins suspended for the first 6 games of the season. Moore is worth a shot at his WR58 ADP in FFPC best-ball drafts.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury talked up a more diverse role for WR Rondale Moore. “We utilized him in different ways than we will this year,” Kingsbury said. “We kind of got it to him in space and did some things and used him on some check downs, but he’s a dynamic route runner. I think that’s what people are going to see. He’s really good getting out of his cuts, good at the top of routes, so I think people are going to see a different side of him.” Moore will get a chance to establish himself early in the season because of DeAndre Hopkins’ 6-game suspension. The 2nd-year man currently projects as a top-50 PPR WR.

Falcons beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter writes that WR Drake London “appeared fine” in OTAs on Friday, “jobbing and running half-speed routes.” The rookie fractured his ankle ~6.5 months ago, so the fact that he’s even on the field is a positive. London, who turns just 21 in July, currently projects in WR3 range.

BYU RB Tyler Allgeier went to the Falcons in Round 5 of the NFL Draft. Allgeier arrived at BYU as a non-scholarship player who spent time at both RB and LB. He eventually earned a scholarship, though, and topped 1,100 rushing yards each of his final 2 seasons. Allgeier reached workhorse status as a senior, delivering a 276-1,601-23 rushing line along with 28-199-0 receiving. He’s not especially speedy or athletic but brings a decent all-around package at 5’11 and 224 pounds. Although he dropped to Round 5, this is as strong a landing spot as Allgeier could have hoped for. He joins a Falcons RB room alongside Cordarrelle Patterson, Mike Davis, Damien Williams and Qadree Ollison. There’s a chance that Allgeier carves out a real role in 2022.

LB Troy Andersen landed with the Falcons in Round 2 of the NFL Draft. Andersen is a highly intriguing prospect who spent just 1 year at LB after converting from both RB and QB. Andersen racked up 147 total tackles, including 14 for losses, and 7 pass breakups in his final season at Montana State. He followed that with a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at 6’4, 243 pounds – good for a 100th-percentile speed score. He lands in an Atlanta defense that just let Foye Oluokun walk in free agency. We'll see whether Andersen is ready to compete for a starting gig right away. There's plenty of long-term upside for IDP dynasty rookie drafts, though.