Kansas City Chiefs Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Thursday that TE Irv Smith is "on track" for Week 1. Smith is recovering from August 2 thumb surgery. It sounds like rehab has gone well, but it's still concerning that Smith will miss most of August -- after missing the entire 2021 season with a knee injury. He'll be tough to trust in fantasy lineups early in the season, although there's still top-12 upside here.

Giants WR Kadarius Toney (knee) returned to individual drills on Tuesday. It's a pleasant surprise after HC Brian Daboll said Sunday that Toney was unlikely to practice this week. We'll continue to keep an eye on the mercurial WR, but he seems on track to be ready come Week 1.

Giants HC Brian Daboll said Sunday that WR Kadarius Toney (leg) is unlikely to practice this week. The feeling prior to today was that Toney would return sooner, so perhaps he encountered a setback. The 2nd-year WR made only 10 appearances as a rookie and underwent offseason knee surgery. We'll let you know when he returns to the field.

Giants HC Brian Daboll commented on WR Kadarius Toney’s knee injury. The 2nd-year WR has missed a few training camp practices and Week 1 of the preseason. "He worked really hard coming from the offseason to get to where he is right now," Daboll said. "Things happen in practice, things happen in a game. If he was ready to go, he would be out there. We thought it would be in our best interest and in his best interest not to play this game relative to what he was going through, his injury and hopefully these next few days will calm it down and we'll be ready to go again." Toney remains a volatile fantasy asset with a wide range of outcomes.

The Chiefs started RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the preseason opener against the Bears. We all expected that. But rookie RB Isiah Pacheco was notably the next guy in. Pacheco got snaps in the red zone on K.C.'s opening offensive possession, including a reception. It's just 1 drive of 1 game (which is still going as of this writing), but it's another signal that we should take Pacheco's rise seriously.

Update: Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke had the 1st-drive snap counts at CEH 7, Pacheco 3, Jerick McKinnon 1. Ronald Jones didn't see the field until 2 possessions after Patrick Mahomes and other starters had left.

The Commanders plan to play QB Carson Wentz and other starters for about 15-20 snaps in the preseason opener against the Panthers, according to The Washington Post. We'd bet on that increasing for the 2nd exhibition. We'll be interested to see how Wentz fares with his new WRs, as well as rookie RB Brian Robinson's role and performance.

Insider Peter King believes WR Skyy Moore will be a "Swiss army knife" for the Chiefs this season. "He has played all over the map," King said after attending Chiefs camp. "In the backfield, in the slot, set out wide, running the jet sweep stuff. He's going to be a really interesting weapon for a team that is kind of reinventing itself on the fly." We've seen numerous videos of Moore taking handoffs from the backfield in camp. WR Tyreek Hill averaged 15.5 carries over his 6 seasons in Kansas City, so perhaps Moore can pick up some of that work. The rookie remains an intriguing pick at his 11th-round ADP.

Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco ran with the 1st-team offense again on Sunday, per NFL Network's James Palmer. "He's picking up the offense and the protections faster than they thought," Palmer adds. The note on pass protection is particularly noteworthy because rookies often struggle in that department. (And because Kansas City's QB is on a $450 million contract.) We're still a month away from Week 1, but Pacheco appears to have a real chance to open the season with a significant role in the Chiefs backfield.

Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco is "lightning up camp," insider Albert Breer tweeted Wednesday. "Got Kareem Hunt traits, a gear Hunt didn't have," Breer adds. It's high praise -- and not the 1st time we've heard that the 7th-round rookie is having an excellent training camp. It's time to start taking Pacheco seriously as a factor in the Chiefs offense and a late-round flier in fantasy drafts.

Cardinals WR Marquise Brown was arrested Wednesday morning on criminal speeding charges, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM. We'll see where this goes but doubt it draws a suspension from the league. Brown, of course, missed the first week or so of camp with a hamstring issue. So it hasn't been an ideal start to his Cardinals career.

Chiefs WR Skyy Moore (hip) practiced Wednesday following an early departure on Tuesday. Moore confirmed that he was fine in a social media post yesterday, and this is further proof. He remains a candidate for significant early-season snaps.

Vikings TE Irv Smith underwent thumb surgery on Tuesday, HC Kevin O'Connell said. O'Connell expects Smith to be ready for the start of the season, but we'll track his rehab. The missed practice time isn't ideal for a young player who missed all of 2021 with a knee injury and is now learning a new offense. There's no viable pass-catching TE behind Smith on Minnesota's roster.

Chiefs WR Skyy Moore injured his right hip in Tuesday's practice. Here's video of the play. We'll update Moore' status as soon as we know more. The rookie had been off to a strong start to camp.

Arrowhead Pride's Pete Sweeney gave this update on the Chiefs backfield through the 1st week of camp: "When it comes to running backs with the Chiefs’ first team, it’s been Clyde Edwards-Helaire taking the first rep almost every series. Jerick McKinnon has usually been the next up with Isiah Pacheco, Ronald Jones and Derrick Gore mixing in from time to time." It sure sounds like CEH is in the driver's seat to open the season as Kansas City's lead back. Jones, on the other hand, might not have a roster spot locked up just yet -- not the 1st time we've said that. 7th-round rookie Pacheco has had a strong start to camp and seems to be climbing the depth chart. We'll be keeping a close eye on this backfield in preseason action.

The Cardinals activated WR Marquise Brown (ankle) from the non-football injury list. He ended up missing about a week of camp. Barring a setback, it's a non-factor for his 2022 fantasy value.

Chiefs rookie RB Isiah Pacheco has been "getting good looks in training camp," according to ESPN's Adam Teacher. That has included the 6th-round pick often working ahead of Jerick McKinnon and Ronald Jones in RB drills, behind only Clyde Edwards-Helaire. It's probably a little early to consider Pacheco the #2, but this should be an open competition. And it's well worth noting that he's already factoring in that prominently, despite McKinnon and Derrick Gore being holdovers and Jones bringing much more experience.

Cardinals WR Marquise Brown is on the non-football injury list with a "tweaked" ankle he suffered last week, HC Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday. It was previously reported that Brown was dealing with a hamstring injury. An ankle is actually less worrisome, but we'll see when Brown is able to get back to practice.

Giants WR Kadarius Toney (knee) is ready for the start of training camp. He had minor knee surgery earlier this offseason and was limited in OTAs. But it should be a non-issue going forward. Toney remains an exciting pick at his WR47 ADP.

Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire was out on the field and doing "everything" in Wednesday's training-camp practice, according to Arrowhead Pride's Pete Sweeney. Edwards-Helaire was placed on the PUP list on Tuesday, but it looks like he's already been removed. Sweeney did notice a compression sleeve on CEH's left leg, so that'll bear monitoring going forward.

Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire was placed on the PUP list on Tuesday. Per Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the injury is “nothing major” and CEH “could” miss just a few days. A lengthy absence would certainly spell good news for new Chief Ronald Jones.