Drake & Stills on trade block, Doctson cut?, Ogunbowale a name to know & more Fantasy hot-takes
Nearly a week until the NFL's regular season begins. It's Fantasy Football crunch time, so let's start to separate from the rest of the pack with smart decisions. Follow me on Twitter @mattkdelima
Dolphins put Drake & Stills on trade block
NEWS: Miami is interested in trading for Jadeveon Clowney and are offering up Kenyan Drake and Kenny Stills as trade options.
ANALYSIS: Drake makes perfect sense as a Lamar Miller replacement in Houston because Drake has been mostly underachieving thus far in his career. He and Miller have that in common. Stills is a solid receiver who can fill in nicely for Keke Coutee. Stills also has no business being confused for a WR1 and this would allow him to face easier coverages in Houston. I like it all the way around since I don't take the Dolphins seriously as a football team or NFL franchise. Does anyone take them seriously? If so, why? Let me put it to you like this, the Dolphins plan on using DeVante Parker this year. Nuff said.
Doctson on trade block, may not make roster
NEWS: Washington is shopping Josh Doctson for a trade and may opt to cut him if there are no takers.
ANALYSIS: Doctson has been a miserable bust for Fantasy owners. He was selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He's never had more than 45 receptions in a season and never posted than 550 receiving yards. He is in the final year of his rookie contract so this is put-up or shut-up time for him. The Redskins seems content to ride out the season with Paul Richardson, Trey Quinn and Terry McLaurin as their top three WRs.
This offense is a total mess. The only things I'm looking forward to here are hard, vicious runs from Derrius Guice and the development of rookie QB Dwayne Haskins. Fantasy owners should hedge their expectations.
Quick Fantasy Hot-Takes
Dare Ogunbowale inside track to third-down role: D.O. is the team's best pass-protector out of the backfield and with this offense preferring to favor the aerial attack is promising. I don't particularly like any of these backs but I don't mind using a late-round flier or a speculative add on D.O. Ronald Jones' poor pass-protection will only severely limit his potential.
Lions release Zach Zenner: This is just me wanting to introduce my clever nickname for the Lions' current backfield trio: Kerryon Johnson, C.J. Anderson, Ty Johnson. JOHNSON AND JOHNSON, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you and you're welcome. Ty Johnson is a favorite deep sleeper of mine for those who believe Anderson to be nothing more than a bowling ball at this stage.
Jalen Hurd may miss Week 1: Hurd is battling a back injury. Then we've got Dante Pettis struggling, Marquise Goodwin and Jordan Matthews are the underachieving veterans, Trent Taylor is questionable for Week 1 and everybody loves Deebo Samuel. That about sum it up? And let's not get started on the three-headed monster in backfield battle between Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida & Jerick McKinnon. What do you make of this? Good luck if you're starting any of these guys in Week 1, including Jimmy Garoppolo.
Beat writer says to "expect" Melvin Gordon to end holdout just before Week 1: That's a sudden pivot. I'm not buying Gordon until I see him strapped up and ready to play. I really like Justin Jackson as a sleeper this year and will continue to buy his shares if the value feels right.
Rob Gronkowski "pain-free", talks possible return: Child please. Let me know when he signs. The regular season can't get here soon enough!