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OLB: DeAndre Levy (W), Tahir Whitehead (S), Kyle Van Noy (S), Josh Bynes (W), Brandon Copeland, Julian Stanford, Jerrell Harris CB: Darius Slay, Rashean Mathis, Quandre Diggs, Josh Wilson, Alex Carter, Crezdon Butler, Christopher Owens, R.J. Stanford, Nevin Lawson S: Glover Quin (FS), , James Ihedigbo (SS), Don Carey, Isa Abdul-Quddus (FS), Taylor Mays, Nate Ness, Isaiah Johnson, Brian Suite, Nathan Lindsey Green Bay Packers QB: Aaron Rodgers is fully healthy entering camp and the Packers do not plan to limit his reps at all. Rodgers should be a top-three fantasy quarterback again this year. RB: Eddie Lacy and James Starks are entrenched as the RB1 and RB2, respectively; which makes the 3rd running back spot the only true position battle, according to reports on Packersnews.com. There's no guarantee the Packers will keep a third running back, after drafting fullback Aaron Ripkowski in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. Lacy, Starks and All-Pro fullback John Kuhn could join Ripkowski to give the Packers four running backs; squeezing out guys like Rajion Neal, who is battling for that hoped-for third running back slot. "I'm pretty confident," Neal said. "This is my second go-around with the plays. I feel like I'm doing a lot of good things as far as just playing with instincts and just the familiarity with the playbook, the quarterbacks, the checks, the calls. I feel I'm in a good spot. I just need to continue to grow off of it, just be consistent." John Crockett, who unfortunately sprained his ankle during spring minicamp, just started practicing on and looks to be far behind Neal at this point. Undrafted rookie Alonzo Harris is also in the mix. WR: Coach McCarthy said Jordy Nelson (offseason hip surgery) is healthy, "Jordy's so consistent. [He] looks like he hasn't missed a beat." After being dubbed the "MVP of OTAs" by McCarthy, Davante Adams started slowly in training camp before making a leaping touchdown in team drills last Thursday. "It's just giving him opportunities," Aaron Rodgers said after practice. "You watch the film last year and he was open a lot on the backside of stuff and it just depended on matchups whether the ball went his way a couple times in a game or 10 times. We had two guys who caught more than 90 balls and as teams start to tilt even more to them (Nelson and Randall Cobb), Davante's going to get more opportunities." Adams has been referred to as a "star in the making" by Rodgers and others. Rookie Ty Montgomery has been impressive. "Strong, very powerful, obviously gifted," according to McCarthy. Although there were questions about Montgomery's hands coming out of college, he has not dropped a single pass so far in camp. Second-year receiver Jared Abbrederis has yet to return to practice after sustaining a concussion at the start of training camp. "It's unfortunate (when) anybody gets a head injury like that," Receivers Coach Alex Van Pelt said. "You just have to get healthy. Once he gets healthy, we'll get him back in the mix. I think he's moving forward." Jeff Janis drew some praise from Van Pelt: "Jeff, he came in last year. He's gotten a lot better obviously. He's productive for us in the spring. Continue to see his arrow going up. Part of that is being more consistent daily." Rookie wide receiver Javess Blue, who dropped an easy touchdown pass earlier in camp, also could not secure an uncontested pass along the sideline during practice on Saturday. Later in the session, Blue left practice after colliding with a non-player while trying to make a catch along the sideline. Trainers were tending to his left arm or left hand, and Blue was taken to the locker room. TE: Richard Rodgers is listed as the first-string tight end; it appears Rodgers has taken the lead in the race to be Aaron Rodgers' relief outlet in the passing game. Andrew Quarless missed the start of training camp due to the death of his infant daughter from delivery complications. He was not held out due to the July 4 incident when Quarless allegedly discharged a firearm (in Miami). Defense: So far, cornerback Casey Hayward reportedly has the first crack at the starting job opposite Sam Shields. As camp opened, rookie Quinten Rollins was placed on the active/NFI list. Rollins is reportedly considered week-to-week and "it might be later rather than sooner" before he gets on the field. He hurt his hamstring working out on his own two weeks prior to the start of camp. Clay Matthews opened training camp lining up at inside linebacker; then Matthews hurt a knee early in camp and has missed practice since last Tuesday. Julius Peppers continues to look fresh despite being 35 years old. Peppers, one of four healthy outside linebackers on the roster, threw a blocker aside to disrupt a running play during the half-line drills on Saturday, and one rep later he rushed into the backfield to notch a tackle for loss. Outside linebacker Nate Palmer is currently playing with a large cast because of an injury on his left hand. Palmer is one of several Green Bay linebackers battling injuries early during training camp. Safety Micah Hyde and receiver Ty Montgomery are already penciled in to be the starting returners against the Chicago Bears opening day according to local reports; something that fantasy owners in leagues that include return yards should note. Special Teams Coach Ron Zook said: "He's (Hyde) returned three for touchdowns in two years, and I don't know if anybody in the league has returned three in two years. You know Randall Cobb, you still have a guy who's a great, great returner in Randall Cobb, too... I don't know who coach (Mike McCarthy) is going to want back there, but there's no doubt in my mind that if he wants Micah back there, Micah can do it." PK: On Saturday night during a live-kicking session that ended the event, Mason Crosby easily connected on all eight of his attempts. Rotating from the right hashmark to the left hashmark, he made attempts from 33, 36, 40, 43, 45, 46, 50 and 51 yards. "I just feel good with how I’m taking care of my week-to-week work, my day-to-day stuff,” Crosby said. “Obviously, it was good to get out there tonight and get on Lambeau Field and hit some good kicks... Obviously, building something here pretty special, and wanted to just continue that process. I just kind of want to keep climbing as we go forward, and keep hitting the ball the way I am coming into the end of camp here." Packers Depth Chart QB: Aaron Rodgers, Scott Tolzien, Brett Hundley, Matt Blanchard RB: , Eddie Lacy, James Starks, Rajion Neal, John Crockett, Malcolm Agnew FB: John Kuhn, Aaron Ripkowski WR: Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jared Abbrederis, Ty Montgomery (KR), Jeff Janis, Myles White, Ricky Collins TE: Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Justin Perillo, Kennard Backman LT: David Bakhtiari, Aaron Adams LG: Josh Sitton, Garth Gerhart C: Corey Linsley, JC Tretter RG: T.J. Lang, Lane Taylor RT: Bryan Bulaga, Don Barclay K: Mason Crosby NT: Letroy Guion, B.J. Raji, Mike Pennel, Christian Ringo DE: Mike Daniels, Datone Jones (susp), Josh Boyd, Khyri Thornton, Bruce Gaston, Lavon Hooks ILB: Clay Matthews (I/O), Sam Barrington, Jake Ryan, Carl Bradford, Joe Thomas, Josh Francis OLB: Julius Peppers, Mike Neal, Nick Perry, Jayrone Elliott, Adrian Hubbard CB: Sam Shields, Casey Hayward, Demetri Goodson, Damarious Randall (FS), Quinten Rollins, Devonta Glover-Wright, Bernard Blake, Ladarius Gunter S: Morgan Burnett (SS), Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (FS), Micah Hyde (FS),Sean Richardson (SS), Chris Banjo (SS), Jean Fenor (FS) Houston Texans QB: The Texans appear no closer to naming a starter as Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer continue to rotate between the first and second team offense every other day. The decision could come down before the first preseason game next week, but there are no guarantees. Both quarterbacks have received their share of positive reviews despite some up and down play through the first week of camp. Mallett has shown off his massive arm with the occasional ‘wow’ throw but also struggled with accuracy at times. His best day of training camp was the first day of joint practices with Washington when he was able to complete his first fifteen throws. Hoyer has had some strong moments as well and he too was impressive against Washington. Hoyer has been able to connect on some beautifully thrown deep balls and seems to be developing a nice rapport with DeAndre Hopkins as the two have hooked up regularly throughout camp. RB: The huge news out of Texans camp is the serious groin injury suffered by Arian Foster. Foster had surgery to repair his groin on Friday morning and the procedure was successful enough that there is now some optimism that Foster may not miss as much time as was initially reported. According to beat writer Aaron Wilson’s sources, the current estimate is that Foster may only miss 4 to 6 weeks of the regular season. However, he would have to be kept on the 53-man roster to maintain the possibility of returning that early and the Texans may not want to burn the roster spot on an injured Foster. If instead the Texans decide to place Foster on the IR-Designated to Return list, he wouldn’t be allowed practice until after Week 6 and would not be eligible to play until after Week 8. With the Texans bye scheduled for Week 9, the most likely return date for Foster appears to be Week 10 against the Bengals. Half of a season of Foster would be highly valuable for fantasy owners, so drafting Foster in the later rounds and stashing him on the bench until he returns could pay off in a major way. In the meantime, the battle to determine who will replace Foster is heating up and the three primary candidates are Alfred Blue, Chris Polk and Jonathan Grimes. Blue has received the majority of the snaps with the first team. DeAndre Hopkins noted that Blue, “has been working hard in the offseason to come in and be a leader (of the) offense.” Blue carries himself with a notable confidence and has said he plans to “hold it down” until Foster returns. “I would say it’s an opportunity. Just make the best of it…and seize the moment,” said Blue. The biggest challenge for Blue will be to cut down on dancing in the backfield and hit the hole harder. As Head Coach Bill O’Brien noted, Blue is “at his best as a downhill, slashing type of runner.” Jonathan Grimes appears to have the inside track to emerge as the primary passing down back. “Grimes has had a good training camp," O'Brien said. "He’s strung about three good practices in a row here. He’s done a good job. He’s a smart player. He’s one of our core special teams players. He’s a guy that really knows our offense well. He plays a lot on third down, but now with Arian out, he’s playing more on first and second down in certain packages. Really dependable guy.” Chris Polk has missed much of training camp but was able to get back on the field over the weekend and made some solid runs in goal line offense drills. Polk’s biggest challenge will be proving he can stay healthy. “I see him as a three-down back,” O’Brien said. “He’s still learning our system. He needs to be out there every day. He’s working hard to stay healthy. He’s a really good guy. He’s a hard-working guy. Biggest thing with him is health.” Rookie power back Kenny Hilliard has been making his presence felt and finished a number of runs against Washington with authority. In fact, Hilliard’s punishing running style was one of the contributing factors in the Texans-Redskins third and final joint practice devolved into an all-out brawl with punches thrown and the teams having to be separated multiple times before both teams decided to hold their own separate practices. WR: DeAndre Hopkins missed all of OTAs and summer minicamps with injuries but has shown no signs of rust as he has impressed in the early days of camp. Both Mallett and Hoyer have repeatedly fed the ball to Hopkins when getting snaps with the first team and Hopkins has been making tough catches all over the field. In a red zone drill against Washington’s first team defense on Thursday, Hopkins capped off a big day with a touchdown catch that “drew ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ from the crowd.” While Hopkins is the undisputed WR1 in Houston, there are a number of players getting a look as the 2nd WR. Veteran Nate Washington is currently listed as the starter and has had a strong first week of training camp, consistently getting open at all different spots and levels on the field. He has been especially effective as a security blanket for the quarterbacks on underneath routes. O’Brien stated that if the Texans had to play a game today, Washington would be the starter opposite Hopkins. Cecil Shorts has been running as the 3rd WR early in camp and been solid. Rookie Jaelen Strong has worked primarily with the second team and made some nice plays in traffic. He is coming on a bit after disappointing the coaching staff when he showed up overweight to minicamp in May and struggled through some minor injuries. Since then, Strong has dropped 20 pounds and looks better now weighing in at 211 pounds. “I think (Strong) continues to improve,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said. “When a guy, when a rookie, especially a rookie, comes in and he’s injured early on, it presents problems for the guy in his development. So, he’s fighting an uphill battle from that perspective, but I think he continues to come out every day and get better. I think he’s increasing in his confidence, and I think the more confident he is, the more success he has, the more I think you’ll see him play.” TE: Garrett Graham has had a solid camp and has so far been able to hold off second year pro C.J. Fiedorowicz in the battle for the starting job. The most talked about highlight of camp so far for the TEs has come from J.J. Watt’s one-handed grabs in practice. Defense: Vince Wilfork should provide a real boost to the Texans’ run defense and made a spectacular play in the scrimmage vs. Washington as he threw the center five yards backwards and right into the running back. Jadeveon Clowney is expected to start practicing on August 17th and the Texans are hoping he can provide some real juice to their pass rush. The Texans pass rush could improve immensely with the addition of Clowney and the continued emergence of Whitney Mercilus. After signing a big contract extension in the offseason, Mercilus has impressed throughout training camp and looks like a different player. Texans Depth Chart QB: Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, Tom Savage RB: Arian Foster (inj), Alfred Blue, Chris Polk (3RB), Jonathan Grimes, Kenny Hilliard FB: Jay Prosch WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Nate Washington, Cecil Shorts, Jaelen Strong, Damaris Johnson (KR), Keshawn Martin (KR/PR), Keith Mumphery, Travis Labhart, Jace Davis, Alan Bonner, Uzoma Nwachukwu, Chandler Worthy TE: Garrett Graham, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Ryan Griffin, Anthony Denham, Khari Lee, Mike McFarland LT: Duane Brown, Jeff Adams, Will Yeatman LG: Xavier Sua-Filo C: Ben Jones, Cody White, James Ferentz RG: Brandon Brooks, David Quessenberry RT: Derek Newton, Tyson Clabo K: Randy Bullock NT: Vince Wilfork, Louis Nix, Chris Neild DE: J.J. Watt, Jared Crick, Jeoffrey Pagan, Keith Browner, Brandon Deaderick, Tevina Finau, Christian Covington, Dan Pettinato,Cameron McLeod, Jasper Coleman ILB: Brian Cushing, Benardrick McKinney, Akeem Dent (inj), Justin Tuggle, Mike Mohamed, Jeff Tarpinian, Max Bullough OLB: Whitney Mercilus (S), Jadeveon Clowney (J) (inj), John Simon (S), Jason Ankrah (J), Kourtnei Brown, Tony Washington, Lynden Trail, Carlos Thompson, Reshard Cliett (IR) CB: Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, A.J. Bouye, Kevin Johnson, Andre Hal, Darryl Morris, Jumal Rolle, Charles James II S: Rahim Moore (FS), Eddie Pleasant (SS), Stevie Brown (FS), Josh Aubrey (SS), Lonnie Ballentine (FS), Terrance Parks (FS), Kurtis Drummond, Corey Moore Indianapolis Colts QB: Andrew Luck is Footballguys’ consensus top quarterback, and you already know he is going to have a huge fantasy season, but there is positive news to report nonetheless. Luck kicked off training camp without throwing an interception in the first three days. Things didn’t go as smoothly at Thursday’s practice when he was picked off three times, but he would rebound in a big way on Friday, picking apart the Colts’ first team defense for five red zone touchdowns. Veteran Matt Hasselbeck remains Luck’s backup, with Bryan Bennett - an undrafted rookie free agent out of Southeastern Louisiana - working as the third stringer. RB: The Colts are counting on Frank Gore to revive a rushing attack that ranked in the bottom third of the league last season. By all accounts, the 32-year-old veteran is off to a good start in training camp, breaking long touchdown runs in practice, and earning the praise of Head Coach Chuck Pagano. “You guys are watching the same stuff I’m watching,” Pagano said. “He looks great.” Gore projects as a three down back thanks to his pass blocking acumen, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Andrew Luck. “I’ve always been impressed with how Frank blocks and protects you,” Luck said. “Just the way he sees things from the backfield and sort of self-talking in communication with each other and ‘Watch the safety. Watch the linebacker.’ He does a heck of a job with that.” It would appear Daniel Herron is the Colts’ backup to own if Gore were to go down with an injury. Zurlon Tipton, sixth round draft pick Josh Robinson, and Vick Ballard will battle it out for third string duties. Ballard, who is coming off a torn ACL and torn Achilles the past two seasons, suffered a setback when he suffered a hamstring injury early in the week. Robinson is currently on the shelf with a hamstring injury of his own. WR: With Andrew Luck primed for a huge year, there will be plenty of fantasy value to mine from the Colts’ wide receiver depth chart. Starting at the top, it appears the team is making progress towards a contract extension with last year’s top wideout T.Y. Hilton. Newcomer Andre Johnson has made a positive first impression on offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. “He approached joining our team as if he was a rookie,” Hamilton said. “He took copious notes, he’s always focused and engaged in meetings. He’s constantly asking questions. He’s working overtime to build a relationship with Andrew Luck and the rest of our guys for that matter.” After watching the first two days of practice, one Colts’ beat writer set the over/under at 80 receptions for Johnson this season. The camp battle for Indy’s third wide receiver job is wide open. First round draft pick Phillip Dorsett made headlines this week when NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport stated, "The Colts could not be higher on Phillip Dorsett. I think they think they added a superstar." Pep Hamilton gave Dorsett a “double thumbs up” for learning the offense. Last year’s third round pick Donte Moncrief has reportedly seen the vast majority of the no. 3 receiver reps, and was described by Hamilton as being “ahead of schedule”. CFL import Duron Carter, signed to a futures deal in the offseason, has also made his presence felt. Carter said he felt “like a bigger, better player” after adding 10 pounds of muscle since March, and it’s shown on the practice field. Matt Hasselbeck found Carter for four red zone touchdowns on Friday. Earlier in the week Hamilton said Carter had made at least one “wow” play in every Colts’ practice this week. It’s worth noting, however, that Carter tweaked his groin on Saturday, and missed Sunday’s practice. Griff Whalen should make the Colts’ final roster as their sixth receiver if he continues his strong start to camp. |