Welcome to the 2015 NFL Training Camp Report!! Loyal readers of Fantasy Alarm know that every summer I like to keep a finger on the pulse of NFL training camps and offer up my analysis to help you prepare for and dominate the upcoming fantasy football season.
Remember that the Fantasy Alarm news department is always on top of every breaking and developing story will be aiding the cause of keeping our readers informed.
Here is the Training Camp Reports for Wednesday July 31st:
Not Buying It
The Seahawks gave QB Russell Wilson a four year $87.6 million contract extension this morning ending the drama that played out all offseason long. Wilson receives a $31 million signing bonus and will earn $21.9 million in base salary per year. This makes him second to only Aaron Rodgers ($22 million per year) in highest paid QB’s in the NFL.
I could go on and on about why I feel this is a bad deal for the Seahawks but I’ll save that for my show on SiriusXM where I can yell at the top of my lungs to voice my displeasure. The most important thing here for fantasy players is that just because the Seahawks gave Wilson all of this money does not make him any more valuable to your fantasy team.
I understand that Wilson was at least a top five QB in any league format last year but I hope that all of you understand just how much luck went into those numbers. Consider that Wilson finished 20th in the NFL in completions, 15th in yards, 23rd in yards per game and 16th in passing TD’s it is astonishing that he scored as many fantasy points as he did. The fact is that his production in 2014 came from running the football. Wilson rushed for 849 yards and six rushing TD’s last season.
A QB that makes $21.9 million per year should not be running the football 118 times as Wilson did in 2014. Even more is that a QB making that kind of money who is just 5’10” and 195 lbs should not be taking that kind of abuse on a regular basis. You have to understand that last year’s fantasy production was a fluke and that Wilson will more resemble the #10-12 scoring QB that he was in the previous two seasons.
Get Used To Hearing This Name
I am a big fan of Ravens rookie WR Breshad Perriman. It makes sense because I actually owned Perriman’s Father when he played for the Detroit Lions and he brought me some real fine performances in those days. But the younger Perriman is already running with the first team offense in Ravens camp which is the good news.
The bad news is that he left practice early today due to a knee contusion suffered when he hit the ground had during a route running drill. Everybody around the Ravens are claiming there is no concern here and that they expect Perriman to be available again as soon as tomorrow.
Running With The Browns
Nobody like the Browns backfield situation these days and that is a very fair position to take. Still, it should be known that there is no clear cut starter here in Cleveland at this time.
Remember, there is a new offensive coordinator in John DeFilippo who runs a different style than predecessor Kyle Shanahan. On Thursday Terrance West ran with the first team offense and actually looked real good in doing so. Today however it was Isaiah Crowell’s turn to lead the RB committee in the Browns backfield.
At this time I would call this race a dead heat between the two with Duke Johnson getting passing down work as well. These guys are nothing more than bye week FLEX options until some of the dust settles on this situation.
Fatty, Fatty Two By Four
Did you hear about Titans rookie WR Doriel Green-Beckham weighing a massive 246 lbs at Titans minicamp this summer? Yes, DGB is 6’5” tall and did weigh 237 at the combine this spring but this is a real concerning trend for any young WR.
For comparison sake, did you realize that Hall Of Fame DE Bruce Smith weighed only 14 pounds more in his playing days than DGB did at minicamp? I’ve gone back through DGB’s past three seasons and found some disturbing weight trends. Last summer when he enrolled at Oklahoma (he was kicked off team in Missouri) he was listed at 6’6” and 230 lbs. The season before while still at Missouri he was listed at 6’5” and 220 lbs. Coming out of Hillcrest Missouri High School in 2012 where he was the #1 ranked WR prospect in the country Green-Beckham was listed at 6’4” and 210 lbs.
You’re talking about a player that hasn’t played much football over the past three seasons, been kicked off of more teams than Josh Gordon and has gained over 30 lbs in that process? Oh yea and he plays for the Titans!! I think that I’ll pass for now, thanks.
Depth Charting
The Falcons kicked off camp with DeVonta Freeman picking up the first team RB snaps. Tevin Coleman worked strictly with the second team the past two days. While this doesn’t mean anything for week one yet, it shows us that Freeman should be the target at least at this time over Coleman in what I expect to be a very productive backfield.
Not that anybody should care but Matt Cassel opened up at QB1 for the Bills this week. E.J. Manuel looked so horrible I am told that he was pulled from a light workout early to speak with a couple assistant coaches in a nearby pavilion.
Hakeem Nicks is running as the “X” WR for Jason Michael & Ken Whisenhunt’s offense right now. The Titans have a bunch of quality WR’s on the squad but it will be a matter of if rookie QB Marcus Mariota can get the ball to them in 2015.