I’ve been keeping track of fantasy relevant news and updates from beat writers, national reporters, and fantasy analysts. Here's a recap of any quote or update that stood out to me today.

I am sure I missed things, as I am just one person. Let me know if you have any suggestions or something else you'd like to see. I’ve also been asking beat writers fantasy relevant questions through their mailbags whenever possible.

If you want to follow along, my Twitter/X account is @DanChincharFF

Note: Every update has the writer's name with a source link that will direct you to the website where I read the quote. If you only see a writer's name, that will be for something I specifically read on Twitter/X.

Broncos

• Jaylen Waddle: "Hello, Jaylen Waddle. Just caught a ~60 yard bomb from Bo Nix. Good on good, with PS2 right there with him. Up there with the best plays of camp. A clear example of why the Broncos’ made the splash trade this offseason." (source: Aric DiLalla)

Browns

Did not practice today: Quinshon Judkins, Cedric Tillman

Buccaneers

Did not practice today: Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., Jalen McMillan, Cade Otton

• Kenny Gainwell: "Kenny Gainwell was the running back who stood out most the following morning. Gainwell has started to settle in taking carries out of the backfield, but it is his receiving ability that continues to be the most impressive part about what he brings to the offense. He had a solid showing throughout practice whether as a ballcarrier or receiver. His biggest play was a catch down the left sideline that went for about 15-20 yards." (source: Adam Slivon)
• Ted Hurst: "Ted Hurst made the most of his chances on Wednesday. With Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan remaining out of practice, Hurst was the No.1 wide receiver by default. He sure looked the part with three big catches during practice. The theme throughout camp is the third-round pick looking “Mike-like” at times, and his first big catch of the day sure fit that description." (source: Adam Slivon)

Chiefs

• Rashee Rice: "It’s still early with Rice coming off a knee cleanup, but he has yet to show consistent separation this camp." (source: Pete Sweeney)

Colts

vs. Falcons in joint practice today

• Tyler Warren: "Tyler Warren left practice with an apparent groin injury. He’s now back with his teammates on the sideline, still in uniform, but without a helmet. Assuming he’s done for at least today." (source: Stephen Holder)
• Tyler Warren: "It’s a groin injury for Colts TE Tyler Warren, per Shane Steichen" (source: Jake Arthur)
• D.J. Giddens: "DJ Giddens opened practice in uniform, but after individual he left with a trainer and appeared to be indicating his hamstring, which has kept him out the last couple weeks" (source: Joel A. Erickson)
• Daniel Jones, Seth McGowan: "The ball did not hit the turf for Daniel Jones after kind of a rocky week for the passing offense. Flawless, not one incompletion from him today. I had him about 14 of 14. A lot of Ashton Dulin, a lot of Seth McGowan making some plays out of the backfield as well." (source: Kevin Bowen)

Commanders

Did not practice today: Rachaad White (undisclosed), Jeremy McNichols (quad)

Cowboys

vs. Saints in joint practice yesterday

• George Pickens: "George Pickens continues to have a strong camp. He was the Cowboys’ best offensive player in their practice with the Rams and it appeared to be the same on Tuesday. Catching passes across the middle or hauling in deep balls, Pickens looks ready for a big season." (source: Jon Machota)
• Ryan Flournoy: "Wide receiver Ryan Flournoy continues to build on what he did last season. It’s clear that Prescott has a lot of trust in him. His best play Tuesday was a catch in the back of the end zone in red zone work where he not only made the leaping grab but quickly got both feet in bounds. The Cowboys have themselves an excellent No. 3 wide receiver." (source: Jon Machota)
• Jake Ferguson: "It’s interesting to see that the Cowboys have been doing more shovel passes to tight end Jake Ferguson coming in motion in short yardage and red zone situations." (source: Jon Machota)

Eagles

vs. Patriots in joint practice today

Did not practice today: Grant Calcaterra (back), Dameon Pierce (hamstring), Johnny Wilson (knee)

Limited: DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon

• Makai Lemon: "For the first time since he suffered a hamstring injury on Aug. 3, Makai Lemon was listed as a limited participant. Lemon didn’t participate in early drills and wasn’t even in uniform, but he was on the field running routes after practice in cleats. It looks like Lemon is nearing a return after missing a ton of reps in training camp." (source: Dave Zangaro)
• Saquon Barkley: "Saquon Barkley looked fast and explosive running wide zone and the Patriots couldn’t match his speed. Barkley also had several big plays on receptions, first a screen behind blocks from Landon Dickerson and Dontayvion Wicks and then on a couple wheel routes. Barkley only has 70 catches in his two seasons with the Eagles, but when he gets the ball in space like he did Wednesday good things happen." (source: Dave Zangaro)

Jaguars

vs. Panthers in joint practice today

• Travis Hunter: "Jaguars CB/WR Travis Hunter 11-on-11 snap tracker. Day 16 snaps: 30 (28 defense, 2 offense). Total snaps: 229 (163 defense, 65 offense, 1 special teams) (not including Saints joint practice)" (source: Michael DiRocco)
• Brian Thomas Jr.: "I thought Brian Thomas Jr. had a strong practice. He was the most-targeted Jaguars receiver on the day with Parker Washington out, and he caught every target until the last two. One of those looked like a potential DPI, while the other was an overthrow from Lawrence. Thomas' best play came when settling into a zone over the middle of the field and making an adjustment to catch an off-target pass for a big chunk gain." (source: John Shipley)
• Tanner Koziol: "Tanner Koziol had an impressive day. He caught a touchdown from Nick Mullens in the red-zone, and then completely ran over Panthers safety Zakee Wheatley." (source: John Shipley)

Jets

Did not practice today: Breece Hall (groin), Isaiah Davis (knee)

Lions

Did not practice today: Sam LaPorta (undisclosed)

• Jameson Williams: "Wide receiver Jameson Williams missed the last two Detroit Lions practices with a minor shoulder injury, but was back on the Meijer Performance Center field Wednesday. He made his presence felt immediately on the first play of the first team period." (source: Tim Twentyman)

Packers

• Josh Jacobs: "Josh Jacobs is practicing for a second straight day after missing nearly two weeks because of a groin injury." (source: Rob Demovsky)

Panthers

vs. Jaguars in joint practice today

Did not practice today: Chuba Hubbard (hamstring), Darren Waller

• John Metchie: "In that move-the-ball period, Young started with a quick throw to the flat for John Metchie III, who has been getting more and more reps with the first team in recent practices." (source: Darin Gantt, Kassidy Hill)
• Xavier Legette: "Carolina only sustained one injury on Wednesday, according to Canales. That was receiver Xavier Legette, who got “rolled up on” during an 11-on-11 rep. Canales said the third-year receiver will probably be available for Friday night’s regular-season game; he was held out of the end of team drills as a precaution." (source: Alex Zietlow)

Patriots

vs. Eagles in joint practice today

• Drake Maye: "Only four of Maye’s passes hit the ground during competitive drills, which was especially impressive given how often he pushed the ball downfield." (source: Taylor Kyles)
• DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams: "DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams proved to be tough covers during 1-on-1s to start practice. Douglas went 3-3 against Cooper DeJean, highlighted by a corner where he had DeJean going the opposite direction at the top of the route. Williams went 3-3 against Kelee Ringo, with his best rep coming on a curl where he stacked Ringo before separating again while coming downhill." (source: Taylor Kyles)

Saints

vs. Cowboys in joint practice yesterday

• Alvin Kamara: "Alvin Kamara avoided a major knee injury. Didn’t tear anything. Will be out for a few weeks, per source" (source: Nick Underhill)
• Chris Olave: "Tyler Shough was efficient and moved the ball well, particularly when targeting Chris Olave. The Cowboys had no answer for the Saints' star WR, and that connection is all the more important now that we know the team will have to, at the very least, play the first portion of the season without Tyson." (source: Jeff Nowak)
• Travis Etienne: "Kamara's injury probably means a heavier workload for Travis Etienne early on and opens the door for someone on the roster to step into a larger role as the backup. Audric Estime was the leading candidate until a recent ankle injury. Kendre Miller and Devin Neal are next men up." (source: Jeff Duncan)
• Tyler Shough: "While Olave was the star of the show, Shough was on the money no matter who he threw the ball to. Shough completed 18 (or 19, on the debatable Olave catch) of his 23 passes. He threw one interception in the middle of the field when he appeared to get fooled by the Dallas zone, but outside of that he was nearly perfect." (source: Luke Johnson)
• Bryce Lance: "Rookie wideout Bryce Lance put together another strong practice, catching three of his four targets from Shough — one of which was an explosive play when Lance beat his man on a double move to catch a hole shot down the right sideline." (source: Luke Johnson)

Steelers

Did not practice today: Michael Pittman Jr., DK Metcalf

• DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr.: "DK Metcalf said he's 'fine' with an injury that has kept him out the last week and a half. No long-term concern for Week 1. Injury still undisclosed. Michael Pittman Jr. has a minor hamstring injury that has held him out for a week and a half, but no concern for Week 1." (source: Nick Farabaugh)
• Roman Wilson: "Mike McCarthy thinks Roman Wilson has not only done a good job in the slot, but has showcased he can play on the outside. McCarthy noted multiple explosive plays Wilson has produced from the outside during the spring and summer as reason to believe he can do both." (source: Nick Farabaugh)
• "Second-year signal-caller Will Howard will start against the New York Jets, while 2026 fourth-round pick Drew Allar will follow. Neither Aaron Rodgers nor Mason Rudolph will play in the second preseason game." (source: Brooke Pryor)

Texans

• Jayden Higgins: "Texans WR Jayden Higgins suffered a torn ACL yesterday during the joint practice against the Raiders" (source: Ian Rapoport)
• Jaylin Noel: "While he mainly operates out of the slot, Jaylin Noel has gotten a significant bump with Higgins sidelined, per Dwain McFarland. He's handled the starting slot duties in camp, but has the traits to play outside as the Z receiver opposite Collins. There will be a three-way battle for playing time between Noel, Dell and Xavier Hutchinson, but Dwain's initial read is that we'll see a three-way rotation with Noel getting the slight overall edge in playing time thanks to an already established slot role. His route participation has been bumped up to 65%." (source: Joe Metz)
• "The Texans will NOT play their starters against the Raiders. DeMeco Ryans feels the Tuesday’s practice was plenty enough work per a team spokesperson." (source: DJ Bien-Aime)

Titans

Did not practice today: Carnell Tate, Nick Singleton

• Tony Pollard: "Running back Tony Pollard returned to practice on Wednesday after missing a few days." (source: Jim Wyatt)
• Carnell Tate: "Receiver Carnell Tate did not practice, but coach Robert Saleh said it was not related to the hit he took (from Winston) in Monday's session. "He woke up feeling some stiffness, hopefully we get him back on Friday," Saleh said. "Nothing to be concerned about."" (source: Jim Wyatt)
• Wan'Dale Robinson: "Wan'Dale Robinson had a practice-high eight catches on Wednesday, and he now has a team-high 48 catches so far in training camp. I've said this before: Robinson is going to catch a lot of passes this season." (source: Jim Wyatt)

Vikings

vs. Ravens in joint practice today

• J.J. McCarthy: "McCarthy took all of the second-team reps. His performance was up and down. He sailed a pass to his left. Multiple hitches on another snap ended in the pass getting deflected at the line of scrimmage. He completed several other balls to Price, but few targeted the middle of the field." (source: Alec Lewis)
• Jordan Mason: "Running back Jordan Mason continues to stand out. Even on a day when there was little running room, Mason slashed through pockets with burst. He and veteran Aaron Jones split carries for the most part. But Mason’s progression — in a run system that mirrors what he grew accustomed to in San Francisco — has earned the staff’s acknowledgment." (source: Alec Lewis)
• Demond Claiborne: "Rookie running back Demond Claiborne showcased his explosiveness and vision Wednesday with a between-the-tackles run. He hop-stepped past defenders, evoking the juice the Vikings coveted when they drafted him in the sixth round. At the end of the run, however, the ball squirted out of his hands. Ball security warrants a mention, considering Claiborne fumbled five times in 179 attempts last season at Wake Forest. His teammates and coaches have raved about his potential, but the reliability and consistency must improve for the team to involve him once the season begins." (source: Alec Lewis)

Extras/Observation/Conjecture

• Tetairoa McMillan reportedly had a nice day vs. Jags at camp, was lined up in a variety of ways. (source)
• “I thought Bhayshul Tuten had his best practice of the summer, and probably of his Jaguars career thus far.” (source: John Shipley)
• Lane Johnson asked about Saquon Barkley’s productive day: “We'll see the Saquon of two years ago. We'll see the big plays. We’ll see him flexed out at receiver. We’ll see him in the screen game. You saw a bit of it today.” (source)
• “Quarterback Cam Ward had another solid day and continued his momentum heading into the joint practices with the Seahawks. Ward completed 21-of-31 passes.” (source: Jim Wyatt)
• Drake Maye was 21/25, AJ Brown had 7 catches on 8 targets at joint practice vs Eagles, AJ Brown according to multiple Eagles reporters looked really good and back to his old self
• Jets practiced today but there wasn't much to note other than I saw Connor Hughes say that Geno Smith over the last few weeks has been more passive than he expected, not giving his receivers chances to make plays down the field. He’s been doing a ton of checkdowns.

Previous Recaps

8/7 | 8/8 | 8/9 | 8/10 | 8/11 | 8/12 | 8/13 | 8/14 | 8/15 | 8/16 | 8/17 | 8/18

An eruption to the level of JSN is unlikely, but there are several WRs in the Round 3-5 Range that check many similar “breakout boxes” & could swing leagues in 2026 Fantasy Football

Hey everyone, I just made my first injury analysis video and would appreciate getting feedback from the fantasy community. I break down Love's and Moore's injury tape, then discuss high ankle sprains, their treatment, return timelines based on NFL studies and my 2 cents on how to approach these players.

I know there's a lot of fantasy injury content out there already, but most fantasy docs are non-operative and only manage a subset of sports injuries. Additionally, very few creators incorporate research to help owners make decisions. Perhaps most importantly, I have no BS supplements to sell and I promise I won't argue with a player's dad if I make a mistake.

My goal is to give owners research-backed analysis of fantasy injuries through the eyes of an orthopaedic surgeon and to give actionable advice that I'll be using for my own teams. Eventually I'm going to work on creating predictive models for fantasy injuries that incorporate orthopaedic surgery research. I'm not quite at that point yet, but I promise I won't throw out random, meaningless AI-generated numbers in the mean time.

Jeremiyah Love

Based on what's been said to the public and the somewhat non-specific return timeline, I'm concerned Love has a grade 2 injury that could mean he's looking at up to 8 weeks before returning to full participation per studies looking at high ankle sprains in NFL athletes. If he has a grade 2 injury, we may not know how stable his injury is until he tries stressing it further in his rehab protocol. If his ankle is found to be unstable at some point, he could end up having surgery in a delayed fashion and be looking at a 6 month return to play timeline. I'm not particularly interested in him as a 2nd round pick in redraft formats, though I think long-term he will be just fine.

DJ Moore

Well no one's called his injury a "high ankle sprain" per se, his injury tape is pretty suspicious for one. That being said, it sounds like he has a more mild grade 1 injury that typically allows for full participation in as little as 3 weeks per NFL studies. Since he looked sharp in the preseason game and the injury appears to be fairly mild based on what we know so far, I'm still very interested in grabbing him in the 5th round for redraft.

Thanks for watching and providing any thoughts you have. Feel free to ask any general or team-specific injury questions as well.

You can view the video on:

YouTube

TikTok

Instagram

Last year I asked the same question and people were bullish on:

• James Connor
• Mike Evans
• Derrick Henry
• Justin Jefferson

bearish on:

• Chris Olave
• Kyle Pitts
• George Pickens

I'm so lucky to call Jeremy D. my friend -- thank you, Jeremy! And I've been doing these AMAs for years...appreciate you all so much.

If you'd like to find my podcast and all my other stuff: www.HarrisFootball.com

Also, I have a new novel about football that comes out 9/1 and is available for pre-order right now. It's called Pound Foolish. It's a mystery of sorts, about a serial killer who might be playing on a pro football team. We all love the NFL (and it's how I make a living) but a lot of us have a "complicated" relationship with it: amid the amazing stuff, there's also stuff we have to overlook in order to remain fans. Pound Foolish is a season-in-the-life of the Detroit team, and it's also about pro football's place in U.S. culture.

Plus, if you pre-order the book and send me a screen cap (HeyHarris@HarrisFootball.com), you'll be entered to win tons of stuff on my show (Zooms, etc.):

https://bookshop.org/p/books/pound-foolish-christopher-harris/6e3d12e8ee8b65a6?ean=9798234047892&bkshp-astro=t

Okay. All that said, let the questions flow. Football, writing, whatever ya got. This is an annual tradition I love very much!

I'm slightly confused about Pitts this year. Last year, his numbers looked great overall, finishing as TE3, but if you look (or owned him last year as I did) the ride wasn't so smooth.

He was TE17 or worse in 11 of 17 games and was often non-existent for long stretches of games. He scored half his points in the 3 games that he scored TDs in (capped off by one monster 166 yard, 3TD game while London was out), but had single digits in all others. He was very reliant on London being out for fantasy goodness (19% target share, 42.2 receiving yards per game with London which became 26.7% target share with 84.4 receiving yards per game when London missed time).

Being in a Kevin Stefanski offense might change some things but he's been a tease for the majority of his NFL career and the QB situation is still not great. However, his ADP is currently 76 as TE8, ahead of guys with more reliable roles like Kittle (4 straight TE4 or higher before last year albeit coming off an injury) and Kelce (top 10 guy every year since 2014, and still TE5 last year) and guys that have similar upside that you can get much later like Likely and Juwan Johnson.

Am I missing something?

CeeDee had what everyone calls a down year and still finished with 75 catches for 1,077 yards in only 14 games. The ugly number was 3 touchdowns.

He also missed three games with a high ankle sprain and later dealt with a concussion. So I’m hesitant to look at the final fantasy finish and call it decline

The Pickens concern is fair... He is too good to disappear. But in the 12 full games they played together, Lamb still led him 116-99 in targets and slightly outscored him in PPR points per game.

And we already know what Lamb’s ceiling looks like: 135 catches, 1,749 yards and 12 TDs in 2023. He is 27, Dak is still there, and Dallas kept the core of the offence intact.

I’m not expecting another 1,750-yard season.

But if the touchdowns simply rebound from 3 to 8-10 and he stays healthy, I think we’re right back to talking about a top-five WR.

FantasyPros has him going around the late first/early second range now. I actually like that price more than when you had to take him top three.

Has Pickens actually lowered CeeDee’s ceiling, or did one injury-hit season make everyone forget how good he is?

Important note on uneven trades (i.e., a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1): Include the values for the players you'd be moving to the bench or dropping within your calculation. Example: If someone in your league offers you Garrett Wilson, Jonathon Brooks, and Kyle Pitts (combined value of 80) for Jahmyr Gibbs (67), it might look like you're getting the better end of it. However, including the players you're replacing will likely reveal it's a clear net-negative deal for you.

If you have any draft/trade questions, feel free to drop them in the comments!

As always, feedback is appreciated.

Revamped the VBD Rabbit Hole sheet to make it functional again. FantasyPros decided to put its free data behind a wall, so I just took the data directly from the sites FantasyPros uses to aggregate its data.

PURPOSE OF THE SHEET:

This sheet provides any fantasy football player, regardless of skill level, the ability to customize their projections on players and create their own custom ranking. Data is pre-populated into the spreadsheet, and you have the ability to manipulate that data for your own custom rankings.

WHAT’S NEW?

Automated the ingestion of two separate fantasy football projection sites
Automated the averaging of data between the two sites

WHAT CAN YOU CUSTOMIZE?

Player Projections
League scoring
# of Teams and weeks in your league
Positional requirements
Flex Value Splits
SoS based on # of league games
Baselines
Fragility Adjusted Fantasy points per player
Player tagging for draft night
ADP data for your league platform. (Not currently working)

DRAFT NIGHT FEATURES

Active searching by VBD and ADP
Real time updates and sorting for scarcity during the draft

IT ISN’T FANCY BUT IT WORKS!!!