Niners LB Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Browns. He missed the first two practices before returning to a limited Friday. This looks like a risky spot to play Greenlaw. We've moved him down our Week 6 LB rankings but will confirm his game status Sunday.
Niners LB Dre Greenlaw opened this week by missing Wednesday's practice and then returning for a limited Thursday. It's the same way he opened Week 4's practice slate after hurting an ankle in Week 3. Greenlaw played through the injury last Sunday and tallied 10 tackles in the win over Arizona. We'd bet on him being ready for this week's clash against Dallas. We'll watch for confirmation.
Broncos WR Marvin Mims played 17 of 48 offensive snaps in Sunday's win over the Bears, according to Pro Football Focus. That's 35.4% -- not great, but a new season high for the rookie. Mims' 12 pass routes tied for third among Denver WRs with Brandon Johnson, behind Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. That's not nearly enough playing time to make Mims a reliable fantasy play, but he's at least trending in the right direction. He remains worth stashing in fantasy leagues of 12+ teams. Mims was efficient again vs. Chicago, catching both of his targets for 47 yards.
RB Jaleel McLaughlin led the Broncos with seven carries and 72 rushing yards in Sunday's win over the Bears. RB Javonte Williams was knocked out early in the second quarter with a hip injury. McLaughlin tallied six carries and two targets the rest of the way to RB Samaje Perine’s five carries and two targets. McLaughlin was clearly the more explosive back, ripping off a 31-yard run and an 18-yard TD catch. Don't expect McLaughlin to dominate backfield work if Williams misses time. But based on what we saw today, it looks like he'd be the better fantasy play than Perine.
Niners LB Dre Greenlaw (ankle) is active for today's game against the Cardinals. Play him as planned in IDP lineups.
Jaguars TE Evan Engram hauled in 7 of 8 targets for a team-leading 67 receiving yards in Sunday’s loss vs. the Texans. Teammate WR Christian Kirk struggled for much of the contest before finding the end zone on a 26-yard dart. Perhaps the biggest concern from Week 3 is WR Calvin Ridley. The veteran only roped in 3 of 7 targets for 40 yards and dropped two passes in the end zone. This is the second week in a row that Ridley and QB Trevor Lawrence failed to get on the same page, despite abundant efforts. We’re starting to get a little nervous about this offense headed toward Week 4 vs. the Falcons.
Niners LB Dre Greenlaw opened the week missing practice with a groin injury. But he returned for a limited Thursday workout and participated fully on Friday. The 49ers left him off the final injury report, indicating that Greenlaw is ready for Sunday's game against the Rams without restriction.
Niners LB Dre Greenlaw missed practice Wednesday with a groin injury. We'll see how he fares the next two days, ahead of Sunday's meeting with the Rams.
Cecil Lammey and Andrew Mason of Denver Sports expect Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin to have a role on offense in Sunday's opener vs. the Raiders. Lammey threw out a prediction of a 40/40/20 split between Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, and McLaughlin. "Jaleel is trusted on those passing downs ... situations where you need that big play," Lammey added. It's certainly worth remembering that HC Sean Payton often deployed 3-RB committees with the Saints. McLaughlin is certainly not a Week 1 fantasy option, but garnering even a few touches would put a dent in Williams and Perine's fantasy value.
The Broncos swung a trade for K Wil Lutz from New Orleans. Lutz reunites with former Saints HC and current Broncos HC Sean Payton. How strong a fantasy option Lutz will be this season depends entirely on whether Payton can help lead Denver's offense to a bounce-back season.
Bills WR Trent Sherfield has been working in with the first-team offense throughout training camp, along with WRs Khalil Shakir and Deonte Harty, according to The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia. Those three are battling for the No. 3 WR job, behind Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis. And "among the three, Sherfield has had the strongest training camp," Buscaglia writes. Preseason performance might ultimately decide who opens the season as Buffalo's No 3. We'll keep a close eye on the situation.
Jaguars beat writer John Shipley believes TE Evan Engram has performed better in training camp this year than he did in 2022. Engram, of course, broke out with 73-766-4 in his Jags debut. Calvin Ridley’s arrival takes some shine off Engram’s fantasy appeal. Still, the 29-year-old profiles as a top-12 option.
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton has "consistently been quarterback Russell Wilson’s top target in training camp," The Athletic's Nick Kosmider writes. "He is fully healthy and has demonstrated more explosiveness than in any training camp since 2020, when he was dominant in practices leading up to his ACL injury." Kosmider adds that HC Sean Payton believes that Sutton can "thrive as an outside receiver in his system." Jerry Jeudy was Denver's best WR by basically any metric last season. But it's worth noting that the target split between Jeudy and Sutton was relatively close -- 69 to 61 in favor of Jeudy in their nine healthy games together. Jeudy sits well ahead of Sutton in our 2023 fantasy football rankings. But Sutton could certainly prove to be a value at his WR40 ADP.
Broncos rookie WR Marvin Mims returned to practice on Monday. He had dealt with a hamstring issue. If Tim Patrick’s leg injury is serious, Mims will become a staple in Denver’s 3-WR sets.
Broncos WR Marvin Mims is out with a hamstring injury, HC Sean Payton said Wedesday. Mims dealt with an injury to his other hamstring earlier this offseason. Payton expects Mims to be back in action in "about four days, five days, maybe a week." We'll see when the rookie returns to the field. He can't afford to miss too much more time if he wants to push for an early-season role.
The Jaguars have agreed to a three-year deal with TE Evan Engram, ahead of Monday's deadline to extend franchise-tagged players. Engram will get $41.25 million total, with $24 million of that guaranteed, according to NFL.com. Jacksonville extended Engram after he finished among the top 6 TEs across fantasy formats in his first season there. Engram sits low in TE1 territory in our 2023 TE rankings.
Jaguars TE Evan Engram enjoyed a big rebound season in 2022, both in real football and fantasy. That included finishing fifth among TEs in PPR points, fifth in targets, fourth in receptions and yards, and tied for 11th in TDs. Engram's eight top-12 weekly finishes also tied him for sixth at the position. But his weekly lows dipped pretty low. Engram's median weekly PPR finish for the year was TE16. That tied Gerald Everett for just 13th. Jacksonville returns WRs Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, each of whom earned higher Pro Football Focus receiving grades than Engram for the season. WR Calvin Ridley adds a new challenge for targets, and he arrives as arguably the biggest receiving talent on the team. Engram deserves top-12 consideration among TEs in fantasy drafts this year. But his TE8-9 ADP so far puts him a little higher than his spot in our TE rankings. You can mix him in if you're drafting a lot of teams, especially in best ball lineups that include QB Trevor Lawrence. But Engram hasn't been a target player for us in early drafting. Read more specifics about Engram's outlook on his player page.
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton ranked just 40th among WRs in PPR points per game and 41st in half-PPR last year. HC Nathaniel Hackett and QB Russell Wilson were problems. But Sutton finished well behind teammate Jerry Jeudy in fantasy points per game, as well as yards per target (9.7 to 7.6), yards per route run (2.18 to 1.55), and Pro Football Focus receiving grade (77.9 to 69.7). HC Sean Payton should be a significant upgrade for Denver's offense in 2023. But Wilson remains a question mark. And Sutton faces additional target competition with the addition of rookie WR Marvin Mims and the return of WR Tim Patrick (ACL). It all makes Sutton a fairly uninspiring fantasy pick, even at his WR39 ADP. He sits considerably lower than that in our updated WR rankings.
The Broncos signed K Elliott Fry. He's currently the only kicker on the roster after Denver cut Brandon McManus last week. Fry has attempted just six NFL FGs, though, so expect the Broncos to add competition.
The Saints traded TE Adam Trautman plus a seventh-round NFL Draft pick to the Broncos for a sixth-rounder, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. It's noteworthy that HC Sean Payton's new team is acquiring a TE he drafted in New Orleans in 2020. Trautman's arrival crowds a TE room that already included Greg Dulcich, Albert Okwuegbunam, and journeyman Chris Manhertz. There's some potential for targets to get dispersed to the point that no Denver TE presents worthwhile fantasy value. But let's keep in mind that Trautman averaged just 20 receptions per season through three years after arriving in Round 3. That included just 18 catches for 207 yards last year. And then the team that drafted him sent him away for just a move up from Round 7 to Round 6 in the draft. Don't adjust your outlook for Broncos TEs just yet. You can check our numbers on the group now in our 2023 fantasy football TE rankings.
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