Training Camp Daily Dose: Dose: Green-Beckham To Philly
From tantalizing measurements to rookie season flashes, potential has long been the calling card of wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. On Tuesday, the second-year receiver was given a chance to realize that potential on his second NFL team in two seasons as the Tennessee Titans folded their cards and shipped Green-Beckham to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for offensive lineman Dennis Kelly. Titans coach Mike Mularkey showed his impatience with the young receiver while publicly calling him “inconsistent” numerous times over the summer and now put an end to his frustrations as the team ultimately moved on from the former second-round draft pick.
In Philadelphia, Green-Beckham joins the Eagles under coach Doug Pederson, who is in his first season as an NFL head coach after spending the last three seasons serving as Andy Reid’s offensive coordinator in Kansas City. Green-Beckham is a huge target at 6’5’’ and flashed his big-play skills as a rookie, racking up 17.2 yards per catch while finding the end zone four times. Kansas City, with the overly responsible Alex Smith at quarterback, did not have much of a deep passing game in Pederson’s stint as offensive coordinator so how Green-Beckham will fit into this new offense remains to be seen. In fact, Donnie Avery’s 2013 campaign was the only season in which a Chiefs wide receiver caught more than 20 passes while averaging over 12.9 yards per reception under Pederson. Avery was also the most involved WR2 in Pederson’s Kansas City tenure, with 71 targets and 40 catches in the 2013 season.
As Green-Beckham works his way into Philadelphia’s receiver rotation behind Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor, it is hard to imagine this promising talent breaking out as many had hoped during the early summer months. His current ADP sits in the 11th round of 12-team drafts, which isn’t too insane but there are far more enticing breakout candidates available in drafts at that point, making it extremely likely that Green-Beckham’s ADP begins to plummet in coming weeks.
Editor’s Note: For updated rankings, projections, player profiles, positional tiers, mock drafts, sleepers and busts, exclusive columns and plenty more, check out our Draft Guide!
In Other News…
Heralded Cowboys rookie RB Ezekiel Elliott (hamstring) returned to practice on Tuesday after missing the last two weeks due to a hamstring issue. Elliott figures to be in line for a monstrous workload behind Dallas’ stellar offensive line, so the team will likely manage his preseason reps tightly as Week 1 draws near. Elliott is a mid-first round fantasy pick and will need to storm into the NFL with gusto in order to pay off that handsome price. On a Dallas team just one season removed from a campaign with 508 rushing attempts and 2,354 yards on the ground, Elliott has quite an opportunity on the horizon to cement himself in fantasy football’s top-tier of rushers.
Summer hype sensation Devin Funchess received more positive reviews after practice on Tuesday as ESPN called the second-year wide out “one of the MVP’s of training camp,” and the Charlotte Observer declared that Funchess is “ready to break through in a big way.” Funchess’ ADP currently sits in the 14th round of 12-team leagues, which is ripe for value in fantasy drafts. With Kelvin Benjamin coming back from a knee injury and Funchess seemingly improving by the day after an up-and-down rookie season, be sure to skip Benjamin in the early rounds and slap a shiny red bulls-eye on Funchess’ name in the later rounds.
After suffering a concussion on July 31st, Cardinals WR John Brown is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol over two weeks later. Arizona coach Bruce Arians called the situation a “concern” on Tuesday, as the speedy wide receiver continues to miss training camp action. Brown has piles of potential at his current 6th/7th round ADP, but he needs to show some improvement in the near future to make fantasy owners comfortable with his Week 1 prospects. Continue drafting Brown as usual and let the situation develop for another week before radically adjusting the season forecast of the Arizona passing game.
After a nifty preseason performance in which he pumped out 44 yards on seven carries, Christine Michael could now be on the road to chipping away at Thomas Rawls’ workload in the Seattle backfield. ESPN Seahawks reporter Sheil Kapadia thinks that Michael could be looking at “six to eight touches per game” when the 2016 regular season kicks off, with Rawls remaining the Seahawks’ lead back after recovering from an ankle injury. While Rawls remains a reasonable fantasy choice in the third round, Michael now creeps back onto the fantasy radar for the seemingly 384th time and could take over a huge role if Rawls suffers any setbacks with his ankle.
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Quick Slants
Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles (knee) was removed from the active/PUP list and returned to practice on Tuesday. Charles will spend the rest of August tuning up in preparation for Kansas City’s Week 1 game against San Diego. … Jets running back Matt Forte (hamstring) expects to be ready for the season’s first week. … Bengals WR Brandon LaFell has a torn ligament in his hand, but coach Marvin Lewis still believes LaFell will be ready to suit up in Week 1. This situation will need to be monitored as Cincinnati’s opener approaches and could create more opportunity for rookie Tyler Boyd to shine. … Joe Flacco announced that his knee is still not 100 percent after tearing his ACL last November, but Baltimore’s leader has been practicing in full and is on track to start in Week 1. … Colin Kaepernick (dead arm) did not practice again on Tuesday, so the 49ers signed QB Christian Ponder to add to their stack of disastrous signal callers. … Denver coach Gary Kubiak announced on Tuesday that the Broncos’ quarterback competition is still “very close” between Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian. The winner of this battle won’t garner fantasy attention this season. … The Breshad Perriman (knee) injury saga continues and the Ravens’ website now believes his ultimate destination may be the reserve/PUP list.
