Andrew Luck out, Leonard Fournette in better place & more Fantasy hot-takes
Fantasy Football news & notes are flying as training camp gears up and now that we are in the wake of the first week of preseason games. Let's talk about it! Follow me on Twitter @mattkdelima
Luck to skip joint practices with Browns
NEWS: Colts QB Andrew Luck will not participate in this week's practices with the Cleveland Browns, Indy's upcoming preseason opponent, as he continues to rest his calf injury.
ANALYSIS: Another injury and we're left wondering how serious this is. Perhaps the Colts now fully appreciate Luck's health and are taking every precaution for every hangnail, pimple and itch the man has and will not take any chances across the board. Or maybe the injury is that serious but we're now going on a few months of battling this calf and we're still unsure when we'll see Luck back at full speed.
According to FullTime Fantasy's Advanced ADP, Luck is now the fifth QB off the board after Mahomes, Watson, Rodgers and MAYFIELD but this mostly has to do with someone boldly grabbing Baker at pick No. 56 which is where Mahomes typically goes. Whew, the hype is strong though for some. Luck is still solidly my QB3 (ahead of Rodgers, behind Mahomes and Watson) but another week of injury concerns will likely begin a steady descent down the rankings.
Fournette dedicated offseason to better health
NEWS: Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette said in a recent interview he is "in a better place" and got "the bad people out of my life." He continued, "I know football is going to take care of itself if I put my mind into it and work hard every day... It's really the personal things, just trying to be in a better place."
ANALYSIS: Hey, we all need to be on that level Leonard. Can I call you Leonard? We all have to try to be the best versions of ourselves and if Fournette is being honest with us, I appreciate his honesty and candor. Doing the right thing is rarely the easy thing. People love shortcuts, people fall in bad routines and I can't imagine the pressures from everyone in his life basically expecting him to an All-Pro caliber player.
Fournette only played in eight games in 2018 and missed five more in 2017. Running back has never been a position with longevity. It's a brutal sport when you think of the hundreds of times that RBs handle the football. I consider Fournette a good value considering the risk involved with some of the players going just ahead of him on draft day such as Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon. For those teams that grab Fournette as a RB2, I think you're sitting pretty snagging two RBs in the first three rounds. Fournette's 30.4 ADP sounds just about right to me. Jacksonville's offense is going to need to pound the rock.
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Quick Fantasy Hot-Takes
Rishard Matthews retires: It's been a series of bad decisions for Matthews since his productive days in Tennessee back in 2016 & 2017. He looked to be a non-factor this season regardless.
T.Y. Hilton says 'best training camp' EVER: A Colts beat writer said "no one" in Indy has looked better than Hilton during training camp. That's fine but Hilton is clearly their best player not named Andrew Luck so I'm not going to eat this up. Now our concern is just waiting for Luck to get back out there ASAP!
Jared Cook having camp impact: The Saints TE coach believes Cook has become a "go-to pass catcher" by adding his "size, athleticism and versatility" to this offense. Adding also that Cook is "impossible to ignore." That's fair but Drew Brees doesn't seem to command such a huge slice of this offense thanks to Alvin Kamara's growth since entering the league. I can't enjoy this much because it's coming from Cook's position coach.
Dante Pettis must "compete" to earn starting job according to head coach: Trouble in paradise? I don't think so, not yet at least. HC Kyle Shanahan said, "We’re trying to see who our starting receivers are and I wanted to get him a chance to get out there." He went on to say, "Dante has a lot of room to grow. He can still get a lot better." Sounds like we need to pump the brakes on the Pettis bandwagon. This offense is nothing but question marks so you have to decide for yourself who you believe in because somebody's going to score TDs besides George Kittle, you just have to hope it's your guy whether it be Marquise Goodwin, Deebo Samuel, Pettis, Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida or Jerick McKinnon. Or maybe another rookie WR like Jalen Hurd, who scored two TDs in the Niners' preseason game.
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