Green Bay Packers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Packers WR Christian Watson (knee) was removed from the PUP list on Sunday. HC Matt LaFleur said the rookie will start out doing individual work and walkthroughs. LaFleur wouldn’t commit to Watson, 23, playing some preseason snaps. There’s time for Green Bay’s depth chart to get shaken up, but we wouldn’t count on a big early-season role for Watson right now.

Packers HC Matt LaFleur announced Monday that QB Jordan Love will start the preseason opener. There's obviously nothing to read into this from a roles standpoint, as Aaron Rodgers is locked in for as long as he wants to be. According to The Athletic, LaFleur said he'll decide after the team's 2nd preseason contest whether Rodgers will play at all in the exhibitions. Don't be surprised if we get extended playing time from Love, who has plenty to prove and might even get showcased for potential trades. He's worth keeping in mind if you're playing preseason DFS.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Raiders “are not looking to trade [RB] Josh Jacobs.” Speaking on Jacobs’ extended action in the Hall of Fame Game, Rapoport says that it was simply a case of the new coaching staff wanting to evaluate its lead back. We'll see how his usage looks over the next few weeks.

Tyler Davis led the Packers in "true" 1st-team TE reps in Friday's Family Night practice, according to SB Nation's Justin Mosqueda. Josiah Deguara got more total playing time (15 snaps to Davis' 13) but spent a significant chunk of that in RB positions. Davis, meanwhile, spent more combined time inline or in the slot than Marcedes Lewis and others. Robert Tonyan projects as the lead receiver at the position but is still on PUP as he works back from his ACL tear. Keep Davis on your radar, though, in case Tonyan's return is delayed into the regular season (or if you're playing preseason DFS).

The Packers had a "Family Night" practice for fans at Lambeau Field that included simulated intrasquad scrimmaging. SB Nation's Acme Packing Co. blog counted up the 1st-team snaps and found rookie Romeo Doubs on for 13, compared with 18 for Allen Lazard and 16 for Sammy Watkins. That lines up with reports out of camp, with Doubs ahead of Randall Cobb (6) and others. It's certainly worth noting that fellow rookie WR Christian Watson is not yet practicing. Doubs has been moving up our WR rankings.

Insider Peter King came away from Packers camp believing WR Romeo Doubs will have a "prominent role early" in this offense. That's been the general sentiment from basically anyone who's watched Packers practices over the past couple of weeks. "He's been terrific in training camp," King said. "He has shined." Doubs has quickly become a priority late-round target in fantasy drafts.

We saw some funky usage in the Raiders backfield in Thursday night's Hall of Fame game. QB Derek Carr, WR Davante Adams and TE Darren Waller got the night off, but RB Josh Jacobs played the first 2 series, tallying 5 carries and 2 targets. "I always think it's good for (running) backs to carry the ball in the preseason," HC Josh McDaniels said afterward. “There’s a lot of things that happen when you’re getting tackled and hit that you can’t simulate in practice." Ameer Abdullah and Zamir White were the next 2 RBs in the game for the Raiders -- then came Kenyan Drake. We're not going to read too much into any of this just yet, but we're definitely keeping a closer eye on this backfield going forward.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has noticed improvement in RB AJ Dillon’s receiving ability. "I feel like of all the people we've had the last three years, he's got to be on a very short list of guys who have improved so drastically, and his pass-catching ability is really, really solid," Rodgers said. "He's made difficult catches look easy over the last couple years and this training camp, and I couldn't be more proud of (number) 28 and his approach, the way that he's handled not just being a player in this locker room, an ascending player, but a member of this community.” HC Matt LaFleur had similar complimentary things to say, including an endorsement of Dillon's pass protection. Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com writes that the Packers have “big plans” for Dillon and Aaron Jones, noting their potential to play both RBs at once. We’ll see on that, but it’s clear Dillon, only 24, is an ascending 3rd-year player.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers praised rookie WR Romeo Doubs at training camp. “Every single day, there’s been at least one ‘wow’ play. And that’s rare for a young guy like that,” Rodgers said. “We’ve had some guys over the years do that, but they are all in the top 10 of Packers receiving history. Good start for him.” Missed time from WRs Christian Watson and Sammy Watkins have given Doubs a chance to shine alongside Rodgers. If this continues over the next few weeks, it’s quite possible he sees some run in 3-WR sets.

Packers rookie LB Quay Walker split 1st-team reps with incumbent Krys Barnes in spring, operating next to De'Vondre Campbell. According to Bill Huber of SI.com's Packer Central, "it's been all Walker" there since training camp began. That's not shocking, given Green Bay chose Walker in Round 1 as the 1st off-ball LB. Huber adds that the Packers haven't run a single snap of "dime" defense in camp, an alignment that includes just 1 LB. Green Bay lined up in that formation 24% of the time last season, so we should certainly expect some this year. But the team might also be looking to keep both Campbell and Walker on the field more than it used 2-LB sets in 2021. That would obviously help Walker's IDP upside. Green Bay extended Campbell this offseason at a rate that clearly indicates the plan to keep him in a 3-down role.

Mike Spofford of the team website wrote Friday morning that Packers WR Romeo Doubs "followed up a solid opening workout with a stellar second one." He added that the 4th-round rookie "first caught the defense's attention during OTAs in June with the frequency of his catches and reliability of his hands." HC Matt LaFleur also praised Doubs' work ethic ahead of Friday's workouts. "He's established a routine pretty early," the coach said. He pointed out that rookies often struggle to do so and that finding such a routine can be their key to "taking off." The Doubs buzz is particularly noteworthy because of the seemingly open competition for roles and targets in the post-Davante Adams Green Bay offense. Doubs makes for an intriguing late stash across fantasy football draft formats.

Raiders RB Kenyan Drake is set to play a "significant role in the rotation as a runner and a receiver" in HC Josh McDaniels' offense, according to The Athletic's Tashan Reed. Drake averaged just 4.1 carries and 2.9 targets in 8 games alongside a healthy Josh Jacobs last year, but it sounds like his role could be bigger in 2022. Drake still isn't an exciting fantasy option, but this news makes Jacobs less attractive. Reed told us on a recent podcast that he expects a Patriots-like committee backfield in Vegas.

Per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Packers WR Christian Watson underwent “minor” knee surgery in June. "I think there was kind of a thought process [of] do you want to try to push through the season and finish this after the season or should we just go ahead and do it now?" Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said. "And we just did it now. So he'll miss a little bit of time in camp, but it's nothing long term." Any missed time alongside Aaron Rodgers figures to hurt Watson’s early-season outlook. We’ll keep an eye out for a return date, but the rookie was never a redraft priority.

The Packers have placed WR Christian Watson on the PUP list to begin training camp. It's not clear what injury is keeping him from opening camp with his teammates. Green Bay can activate the rookie at any time, so we'll see how long he remains out. The missed time would seem especially significant to a rookie trying to win a starting gig.

Raiders RB Kenyan Drake said he'll be ready for the start of training camp. He missed June minicamp as he continued to rehab a December broken ankle that required surgery. "I'm definitely going to be ready for camp," Drake said. "It's not going to be full speed ahead once I get into camp, but for the regular season, I'm going to be definitely ready to go." Drake averaged just 4.1 carries and 2.9 targets in 8 games alongside a healthy Josh Jacobs last season. We'll see if his role changes under new HC Josh McDaniels, but we're not expecting Drake to be a standalone fantasy option this season. And he'll need to fend off rookie RB Zamir White for the right to be Jacobs' handcuff.

Matt Schneidman of The Athletic expects the snap shares of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to stay “in the same vicinity” this season. Jones saw ~52% of the snaps in 2021; Dillon handled ~43%. Jones’ ability in the passing game gives him the leg up, but Dillon has made it a point of emphasis this offseason. “Coming in, I was always the big back who’s only good for third-and-short, so I really want to be and I think of myself as an APB, an all-purpose back, no matter what the situation,” Dillon said. “And I feel like last year was a good start, a good foothold if you will, but there’s still a couple opportunities I wish I had caught the ball and been in better placement or ran a route better. So I’m happy with the improvement, but obviously still working on it.” In FFPC drafting, Jones is currently coming off the board around RB10, with Dillion averaging out as the RB26.

Raiders RB Josh Jacobs sat out OTA practices the past 2 weeks with an undisclosed injury, according to Marcus Mosher of Raiders Wire. "Because it’s still voluntary OTAs, it’s probably not worth getting too concerned about," Mosher writes. "But if Jacobs doesn’t practice in some capacity during next week’s mandatory minicamp, then it might be time to worry." We'll keep an eye on the situation.

Multiple reports have rookie WR Romeo Doubs impressing in OTA sessions. That's not surprising given the way GM Brian Gutekunst talked about the 4th-round selection in early May. “He’s got length, he’s really fast, he’s a big-time playmaker and he’s done it for multiple years at Nevada,” Gutekunst told the team website. “He’s probably one of the more polished players coming out of college just because of his experience. We’re excited to see what he can do.” That "polish" will tend to show in these early, padless workouts that are missing a number of veterans. Doubs will be worth tracking, though, as the renovated Green Bay WR corps leaves wide-open opportunity. It doesn't hurt Doubs' path that fellow Packers rookie Christian Watson has dropped some passes already. (But no, we're not overrating that issue for Watson right now.)

New Packers OC Adam Stenavich commented on rookie WR Christian Watson. Stenavich is a former O-lineman who most recently coached Green Bay’s O-line. “His combination of size and speed is great,” Stenavich said. “He's a big guy, he can move, he's going to be a problem once he figures things out.” Watson’s physical traits are obvious. But as Stenavich noted, it’ll be the mental part that’s key for the WR's development.

The Seahawks added Rutgers WR Bo Melton in the 7th round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Melton boosted his draft stock at the Combine, blazing a 4.34-second 40 time with a 38-inch vertical at 5’11 and 189 pounds. He earned a 92nd percentile Relative Athletic Score. That speed and explosion shows up on tape, but Melton’s play strength is a concern. He also failed to reach 640 receiving yards in any of his 5 college seasons. Melton looks like a long shot to emerge as a fantasy asset.