NFL Player News

Skrine opened 2021 with the 49ers, but he ended up finishing the season as a rotational player with the Titans. Now going on his 12th season in the league, Skrine will look to earn a similar role in training camp.

One of Johnson’s missed connections was a drop, but he out-targeted Daniel Bellinger 4-1. Fourth-round rookie Johnson indeed appears to be the place desperate fantasy managers will look to stream tight ends from this moribund offense but hopefully that need is few and far between.

Malik Nabers predictably led the Giants in receiving, but Wan’Dale Robinson cornered the market on scammy check-down targets. Between those two, there is little room for Slayton to thrive at the moment. He remains miles from 12-team re-draft relevance.

Mattison began rotating through with Zamir White prior to the latter’s lost fumble, hinting at the potential for a strict timeshare between the two moving forward. He also turned nine touches into 62 yards and a score compared to the 46 scoreless yards on 15 touches for White. It would take a lot for Mattison to maintain fantasy value moving forward, with the apparent timeshare more a knock on White’s value moving forward.

Smith ran a route on just 19 of the Dolphins’ 48 drop backs on the day. He functioned primarily as a blocking fullback after Miami listed him as a fullback on the team’s official depth chart. It’s hard to see a path to fantasy usefulness for Smith in 2024.

The bigger story here was the split backfield between White and Alexander Mattison, the latter of whom scored a touchdown on 10 opportunities. Furthermore, rookie running back Dylan Laube was inactive in Week 1, indicating the potential for a strict timeshare moving forward between the top two options in the backfield. That spells potential fantasy trouble for managers that invested a top-100 pick into the third-year running back, particularly considering the inability for White to separate himself from Mattison after the latter’s poor showing in 2023 as a member of the Vikings.

Per usual, Hill was moved around the formation for all four quarters. The most interesting development in his usage was an increase in his role as a true running back. Hill got a cary while lined up as a running back before backup running back Jamaal Williams and had four total attempts before Williams saw his first. Hill nearly found paydirt as a receiver with a 50/50 ball in the end zone but was able to come down with it. The shift in usage should help smooth out Hill’s fantasy production with a higher floor of rushing yards. He will rank as a TE2 for his Week 2 matchup with the Cowboys.

Robinson’s pointless checkdowns led the Giants in targets as Daniel Jones looked like a rookie playing against Brian Flores’ elite defense, though Malik Nabers still out-gained him 66-44. We suppose Robinson could subsist off these looks as a last-gasp WR5, but fantasy managers need to be thinking bigger ahead of the Giants’ Week 2 matchup with the Commanders.

Minshew reportedly won the camp battle for the starting quarterback position due to head coach Antonio Pierce’s confidence in his ball security, something the two turnovers and four sacks taken could work to prompt the coach to revisit moving forward. The Raiders seemed to be in control of the game after taking a 7-6 lead into half time but managed just an additional field goal the rest of the way. Minshew largely spread the ball around as he danced away from pressure throughout the game, targeting first-round rookie tight end the most with eight targets. His pocket presence looked spotty at times as did his progressions, even though the offensive scheme appeared to be generating one-on-one matchups all over the field. There might be a continuation of the offseason starting quarterback discussion brewing in Las Vegas. A week 2 matchup against the Ravens is not exactly the get-right spot Minshew needs to maintain control of the starting quarterback position.

Okonkwo ever-so-slightly Moss’d Tyrique Stevenson on his 17-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter but was otherwise invisible along with the rest of the Titans’ passing game as Will Levis attempted to set the quarterback position 10 years. Okonkwo is not looking like a compelling TE2 streamer ahead of Week 2 against the Jets.

Moreau suffered the concussion late in the Saints’ Week 1 win over the Panthers and did not return. It’s a frustrating injury for Moreau after a breakout performance with four catches and a touchdown. If Moreau can’t suit up in Week 2 against the Cowboys, fellow tight end Juwan Johnson will see the bulk of the true tight end snaps, giving him some TE2 value.