- Matt Forte is expected to miss the first preseason game due to his hamstring injury. Given his mileage (over 2,000 carries) it obviously isn't a good sign that he's already banged up this early in the season. With Chris Ivory now in Jacksonville it would be Bilal Powell who stands to gain the most from any time missed in the regular season by Forte. The next two running backs on the depth chart – Khiry Robinson and Bernard Pierce – are both recovering from injuries as well.
- After Thomas Rawls the Seattle backfield remains something of a mystery. In Rawls' absence Christine Michael has been receiving first team reps and looks good according to his coaches. C.J. Prosise was expected to work as the third-down pass-catcher but a hamstring injury has kept him out since the first day of training camp. Therefore it could be Alex Collins stepping into the mix as the third-down back giving his receiving ability displayed at Arkansas last season. It appears if Prosise can get over the hamstring injury he would have the most upside of the trio after Rawls but the clock is ticking.
- Not surprisingly, Corey Coleman has been a standout at wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns. Both the Browns and Ravens seem to be forgotten in fantasy drafts and the fact is someone is going to be carrying and catching the ball for both teams. While the Josh Gordon news seems to have dominated the media as of late it's important to note that Coleman and Robert Griffin worked together extensively in the offseason and both played at Baylor. There is little competition pushing Coleman for the No.1 wide receiver spot (at least the first four weeks) and there's a case to be made that both him and Gordon could be fantasy relevant come Week 5.
- The Eagles had a mixed day at practice as Ryan Mathews returned from an ankle injury and completed some drills during practice. However, Jordan Matthews took a hard shot to his knee and was down for several minutes. Right now it's being listed as a bad bruise that would be the best case scenario for the big wide receiver. The Eagles are extremely thin at wide receiver (Nelson Agholor is the #2, Rueben Randle #3) so any injury holding Matthews out would be a big blow to the Eagles offense.
- Sterling Shepard continues to receive high praise from everyone including the coaching staff, players, media, water boys and concession workers. It appears he's almost a lock to open the season opposite Odell Beckham and is a great mid-round pick. There aren't a lot of other dependable receiving options for the Giants and Shepard certainly will see softer coverage as long as Beckham is on the field. Beckham (leg) was seen sprinting at practice yesterday and appears to be ready to return in the near future.
- Matt Jones returned to practice Friday after missing Thursday to get some additional rest. Jones is expected to be the feature back in the Washington offense and is one of my favorite mid-round picks especially if you pick wide receivers early. He has little in the way of competition (Chris Thompson should be utilized as a change of pace back) and Alfred Morris defected to the Cowboys. Don't sleep on him come draft day.
- On an unrelated fantasy but topical football note, Montee Ball was sentenced to serve 60 days in a correctional facility stemming from domestic violence incidents. Another sad NFL story; don't expect to see or hear of Ball in the NFL ever again.