I'll post the news, with a link to the news, with my reaction/analysis, and finally a "too long; didn't read" which will simplify it for you. You can read the tl;dr and get the gist of it. I'll try to do this every day, or every other day until training camp ends. Let's get it going.
---
Headline — Trent Richardson has 50 percent chance of making Raiders final roster
Analysis — Richardson isn't a good running back, and coming into camp out of shape and overweight won't help his case. The Raiders intentionally signed the mega-bust to a low-guarantee contract in case of that exact scenario. Latavius Murray is the team's No. 1 through and through, and Roy Helu has the third-down job locked up too. Richardson probably wouldn't compete for carries even if he stuck on this team.
TL;DR — Trent Richardson isn't good at football.
Headline — Marvis Bryant will miss some time after a elbow procedure
Analysis — He's will probably be held out of the Hall of Fame game next Sunday for precaution, and likely won't miss any other preseason games. Ben Roethlisberger said Markus Wheaton is the team's No. 2 receiver with confidence on Sunday morning, though some still expect Bryant to be able to swoop that spot up from him. That hurts Bryant more than anything.
Roethlisberger: "I think Markus Wheaton is our breakout player of the year... I want that... he's our No. 2." #Steelers
— Christian Hardy (@HardyNFL) August 2, 2015
It doesn't sound like it'll be an easy task for Bryant, especially with Ben backing him. Bryant is clearly the more talented, exciting player out of the two., but at his current ADP, I'd shy away.
TL;DR — Bryant should ultimately win the No.2 receiver job for the Steelers, but the injury/Ben's confidence in Wheaton won't help.
Headline — Cowboys beat writer expects Joseph Randle to handle 15 carries per game
Analysis — The writer adds that he sees Darren McFadden logging 10 per game, and Lance Dunbar logging 5, though he'll be more of a receiving threat than anything. He also said Randle will be "fine" as a DeMarco Murray replacement, and I'm completely on board with that. Watching about 95 percent of the Cowboys snaps last year, I have confidence in saying that there are about 50 backs in the NFL that would be "fine" or better in replacing Murray. They might not be as good, but they will be "fine". This line is absolutely incredible, and there's plenty of backs that can run behind it. That's exactly what Randle will do.
TL;DR — Randle will be "fine" as a DeMarco Murray replacement, and that's okay.
Headline — Jordan Mathews playing the slot for the Eagles in camp
Analysis — I absolutely love this for the Eagles offense. If Bradford is even a mediocre quarterback, this offense is going to be very, very hard to stop with Mathews towering over any slot corner he goes against, just like Marques Colston does with the Saints. It'll be Nelson Agholor and Riley Cooper likely on the outside by the time the Week 1 rolls around, but Josh Huff is in the mix too. I'm on board with taking Mathews as the 18th overall WR, but no higher. His floor is sort of capped with Bradford at QB, for me.
TL;DR — Matthews playing the slot is awesome, but where he is being drafted in fantasy football is around his ceiling.
Headline — Matt Cassel has been a leader in the clubhouse
Analysis — Cassel isn't going to dazzle on the field, but he has far and away the most NFL experience. He's likely to be the least mistake-prone because of it, too. E.J. Manuel (no surpsise) has been awful in camp, and Tyrod Taylor hasn't really been given a chance to really take the job away from Cassel yet. No matter what quarterback this team decides to go with, it's not going to be pretty. It's why there's no real fantasy prospects that I'm interested in on this whole squad.
TL;DR — Projected Bills QB depth chart: Matt Cassel — Starter, Tyrod Taylor — Backup, E.J. Manuel — 3rd string or cut.
Headline — Duke Johnson has a hamstring injury that will keep him out "a little while"
Analysis — Some are on board with this Browns running back, but here's the problem: I stray away from runners on bad teams. I especially stray away from rookies who are missing out on valuable practice time due to an injury on a bad team. With Terrance West and Glenn Winston also sidelined, Isaiah Crowell will dominate the carries at camp for some time. Stay as far away as you can from Duke Johnson, especially when he isn't in camp learning blocking schemes, offense, etc. It's not a good look.
TL;DR — Stay away from Browns RBs, especially Duke Johnson.
Headline — Terrelle Pryor got some reps with the first team
Analysis — He's officially back. Terrelle Pryor is officially back, and he's committed himself to being a wide receiver. At 6'5", this is extremely exciting. It's not exactly the most difficult task to get reps when you're on a team whose wide receiver corps are among the worst in the NFL, but it's impressive nonetheless. Even Joe Haden is on board with Pryor as a receiver, and is on record saying he looks natural in the position. Guys, this is freakin' awesome. We could see Johnny Manziel throwing to Terrelle Pryor in preseason or even at some point in the regular season. I'm pumped. Pryor isn't draftable, but definitely worth a look in any dynasty format due to his size.
TL;DR — Terrelle Pryor is exciting. Keep and eye on him.
Headline — Marcus Mariota has been perfect at camp thus far
Analysis — He hasn't even thrown an interception at camp, according to himself. And he's linking up with Hakeem Nicks tremendously well (a good sign for Nicks, too). While the front on Jameis Winston is relatively quiet, the second overall pick has been dominating camp. Obviously, we have yet to see him in a real-game scenario. But this is certainly a good start for Mariota's career.
TL;DR — Mariota hasn't shit the bed (yet).
Analysis — The writer adds that he sees Darren McFadden logging 10 per game, and Lance Dunbar logging 5, though he'll be more of a receiving threat than anything. He also said Randle will be "fine" as a DeMarco Murray replacement, and I'm completely on board with that. Watching about 95 percent of the Cowboys snaps last year, I have confidence in saying that there are about 50 backs in the NFL that would be "fine" or better in replacing Murray. They might not be as good, but they will be "fine". This line is absolutely incredible, and there's plenty of backs that can run behind it. That's exactly what Randle will do.
TL;DR — Randle will be "fine" as a DeMarco Murray replacement, and that's okay.
Headline — Jordan Mathews playing the slot for the Eagles in camp
Analysis — I absolutely love this for the Eagles offense. If Bradford is even a mediocre quarterback, this offense is going to be very, very hard to stop with Mathews towering over any slot corner he goes against, just like Marques Colston does with the Saints. It'll be Nelson Agholor and Riley Cooper likely on the outside by the time the Week 1 rolls around, but Josh Huff is in the mix too. I'm on board with taking Mathews as the 18th overall WR, but no higher. His floor is sort of capped with Bradford at QB, for me.
TL;DR — Matthews playing the slot is awesome, but where he is being drafted in fantasy football is around his ceiling.
Headline — Matt Cassel has been a leader in the clubhouse
Analysis — Cassel isn't going to dazzle on the field, but he has far and away the most NFL experience. He's likely to be the least mistake-prone because of it, too. E.J. Manuel (no surpsise) has been awful in camp, and Tyrod Taylor hasn't really been given a chance to really take the job away from Cassel yet. No matter what quarterback this team decides to go with, it's not going to be pretty. It's why there's no real fantasy prospects that I'm interested in on this whole squad.
TL;DR — Projected Bills QB depth chart: Matt Cassel — Starter, Tyrod Taylor — Backup, E.J. Manuel — 3rd string or cut.
Headline — Duke Johnson has a hamstring injury that will keep him out "a little while"
Analysis — Some are on board with this Browns running back, but here's the problem: I stray away from runners on bad teams. I especially stray away from rookies who are missing out on valuable practice time due to an injury on a bad team. With Terrance West and Glenn Winston also sidelined, Isaiah Crowell will dominate the carries at camp for some time. Stay as far away as you can from Duke Johnson, especially when he isn't in camp learning blocking schemes, offense, etc. It's not a good look.
TL;DR — Stay away from Browns RBs, especially Duke Johnson.
Headline — Terrelle Pryor got some reps with the first team
Analysis — He's officially back. Terrelle Pryor is officially back, and he's committed himself to being a wide receiver. At 6'5", this is extremely exciting. It's not exactly the most difficult task to get reps when you're on a team whose wide receiver corps are among the worst in the NFL, but it's impressive nonetheless. Even Joe Haden is on board with Pryor as a receiver, and is on record saying he looks natural in the position. Guys, this is freakin' awesome. We could see Johnny Manziel throwing to Terrelle Pryor in preseason or even at some point in the regular season. I'm pumped. Pryor isn't draftable, but definitely worth a look in any dynasty format due to his size.
TL;DR — Terrelle Pryor is exciting. Keep and eye on him.
Headline — Marcus Mariota has been perfect at camp thus far
Analysis — He hasn't even thrown an interception at camp, according to himself. And he's linking up with Hakeem Nicks tremendously well (a good sign for Nicks, too). While the front on Jameis Winston is relatively quiet, the second overall pick has been dominating camp. Obviously, we have yet to see him in a real-game scenario. But this is certainly a good start for Mariota's career.
TL;DR — Mariota hasn't shit the bed (yet).
