Hey all! A few updates:

1. Drew Lock returned to Seahawks practice, I doubt anyone cares.
2. I know I haven’t written up the Bucs yet, but offensive linemen are dropping like flies there so keep that in mind if you’re drafting between now and next Wednesday. Brady did finally report, and Mike Evans returned to practice this week.
3. Rams starting RG Logan Bruss tore his ACL and MCL, ending his season. He was kind of a question mark this year in terms of how good he was going to be, but that’s now 3 linemen from last year’s group who will not be with the Rams this year.
4. Brian Robinson has gotten the start in both Clit Commander preseason games. Meanwhile Antonio Gibson has been practicing with the 2nd and 3rd offensive units….oh and he fumbled in a game again.
5. Patriots rookie WR Tyquan Thornton is likely out 8 weeks with a “collarbone injury.” I can only assume that means it’s broken.
6. Rookie RB Isaiah Spiller suffered an ankle injury. This likely hinders his ability to supplant Josh Kelley as Austin Ekeler’s backup. Additionally, Josh Palmer has a concussion.
7. Panthers WR Terrace Marshall is dealing with a hamstring injury.
8. The Giants lost rookie guard Marcus McKethan for the season. Though he was a depth piece there, a few more injuries on this line will not be a good thing.

BrettFavresColonoscopy has requested the Norths this week. Who am I to disappoint?

Actually, I don’t think they remember much at all, otherwise they wouldn’t be making the same mistakes.

Onto the teams!!!

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

Coaching Notes: I definitely didn’t know this, but the Ravens were 3rd in the NFL last season in rushing yards. It just didn’t seem like it because everyone was injured. HC Harbaugh and OC Roman are back. This will be a good running team again. 

O-Line: The Ravens offense took a step back last year. Lamar Jackson missing time is obviously a reason, as were the injuries to JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards, but the Ravens also lost LT Ronnie Stanley, one of the best in the league, for the season in week 1. Stanley is back this year and looking good in camp. However, Bozeman and Villaneuva, staples on this offensive line are gone. The Ravens are trying to revamp their line with 1st round C Linderbaum, because they understand the importance of a good offensive line, and RT Moses, who is a solid run blocker. They also have some decent depth here, but Stanley is talented enough in his own right to be a game changer. The Ravens O-line is still built to run, and it’s still what the coaches want to do. Line Coach Joe D’Alessandris is in his 5th year and clearly works well with Harbaugh and Roman.

This Year’s Ravens: JK Dobbins was recently activated off the PUP list, but the plan is to bring him along slowly. Gus Edwards, who is returning from a torn ACL was just put on the PUP list and is out for 4 weeks at least. The Baltimore backfield is banged up.

Lamar is healthy now though, and apparently looking good in camp, so I would expect some running out of him. With Hollywood Brown gone, and with the subpar season this offense had overall, I feel the Ravens are being a little undervalued. As such, the opportunity to get players on this team at a discount is there. Lamar Jackson finished outside the top 12 in fantasy QBs last season, and it likely cost those who drafted him. In 2020 he was the 6th best QB scorer. I wouldn’t overreach for this offense, but I will gladly take them at a bargain. The only one who appears to not be undervalued is Marc Andrews; he is looking like a late 2nd round/early 3rd round pick, which might be too high for a TE not named Kelce. With Hollywood gone, many are excited about the fantasy prospects of Rashod Bateman, but this team already doesn’t throw a ton and Bateman is up against a difficult set of perimeter CBs this season. That being said, when Lamar does throw, it will probably be to one of Andrews or Bateman.

My interests (or non-interests): Lamar (but not at his current snake draft ADP as the likelihood of him finishing as a top 5 fantasy QB is in question) and Andrews (but I wouldn’t use a 2nd round pick on him). Depending on my teams needs and the cost, I’d consider Bateman. I want to like this run game, but it violates my rules about clarity and drafting injured players. I will be monitoring who WR2 in this offense is. 

Cincinnati Bengals

Coaching Notes: The major players are all returning, and it will be O-line coach Frank Pollack’s 2nd year with the team, but he has nearly 20 years of NFL coaching experience. He had his hands full last season and the team rewarded him by…well…just read the next section.

O-Line: I love when teams realize that they have a significant flaw in their system and go out and address it. That makes me feel sane in these trying times. Everyone and their mother knew that the Bengals O-line was a weakness last year, so they did the right thing and went out and addressed it by adding C Karras, RG Cappa, and RT Collins, all top 25 linemen in the league. There isn’t much depth here, but these additions are significant and should improve what was already a potent offense. 

The TE Position: CJ Uzomah is gone to the Jets (I wouldn’t draft him btw) and Hayden Hurst is poised to hurt me again. When he debuted with the Ravens, I was huge on him, but ultimately it was Marc Andrews who thrived in the Baltimore offense. Hurst got me excited when he moved to Atlanta: “Finally! We’ll see the great pass catching TE he really is!!” Nope, Falcons drafted Kyle Pitts. Hurst could end up being the 3rd passing option in the offense, but it’s more likely that he’ll be 4th or 5th. There will probably be spike weeks for Hurst, but a consistent fantasy point producer he is not.

My Interests: I think you want a part of the Bengal offense this season. Chase, Higgins, Mixon and Burrow are all #1s at their positions and players like Hurst and Boyd should have their weeks as well, but I’ll save them for DFS.

Cleveland Browns

Coaching Notes: Despite bringing in new coaches and revamping the offensive line to one of the best in the league in the last couple of seasons, this organization continues to be a 

I was high on Nick Chubb as many of you know from DFS early last year, but too bad this organization doesn’t use him properly. The Deshaun Watson trade is shaping up to be a potentially franchise crippling trade. Believe it or not though, this club will probably be competitive as a fringe playoff team, even with Jacoby Brissett starting most of the season (lol Baker Mayfield), but a 9 – 8 finish is likely in the cards. 

Look, I get what the coaching staff is trying to do. They are a run first offense. Run first offenses often try to set up play action passes. When he actually played football and wasn’t scrolling through the Massage category on Pornhub (wait, how do you know what that is?), Deshaun Watson was a play action heavy QB. This coaching staff is in its 3rd year together, and that’s historically a good thing as staffs who stay together often find success. Just not sure that this is the year if Brissett has to be under center. Also, many are assuming Watson returns to form…he hasn’t played competitive football in nigh 2 years. 

O-Line: 4 starters are returning and 3 of them are top 20 in the NFL, including 2 (Gs Bitonio and Teller) who are top 5 and have helped to make inside rushing a staple for the Browns offense. C Harris is a 5th rd draft pick from 2020 who is still largely untested, and it doesn’t matter anyway because he recently went down with a season ending knee injury. The line should continue to be a positive for this team despite the Browns coaches and front office doing everything in their power to squander it. 

My interests: None. This could be an 10 – 6 team or a 7 – 9 team depending on how things shake out. I’d love to be in on Chubb, but they don’t use him properly. If he were around after round 5 or on the cheap in an auction draft, I’d consider it because despite my best efforts, I can’t get out of my own way.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Coaching Notes: I think the retirement of Ladies’ Man Ben Roethlisberger is significant for the prospects of the Steeler offense. With either the Truthbisket or Pickett at QB, this coaching staff is going to have more flexibility than they had with Big Ben. OC Matt Canada will have a little more freedom because he isn’t cornered in a bathroom stall…I mean…he’ll have a QB who actually has to listen to him if said QB is hoping for a future in the NFL. We’re going to see many more creative looks than we did last year. RPOs, prep snap movement, play action, heck I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wildcat show up. Those things being said, Tomlin has some new coaches and assistants around him, including a new O-line coach and 1st year DC Teryl Austin, so this is arguably one of the more unpredictable Steeler groups in some time.

O-Line: How the mighty have fallen. Outside of Gs Dotson and Daniels, there isn’t much to like. The team has made some efforts to bring in some new players for this season, but many grade out as mediocre or don’t have much of a sample size. I think Truthbisket’s running ability, as opposed to zero from Roethlisomething, will help the group, but I don’t expect much here. That being said, new O-line coach Pat Meyer has some NFL experience and should be a help to some of the young-ins here. 

Conundrum and Interests: If I follow my own advice, then I should have no interest in anyone on this team. That being said, the opportunity Diontae Johnson has had in the past 2 seasons from a target share perspective is too much to ignore. Same for Najee Harris in terms of overall snaps and opportunities. HC Tomlin has never not had a winning season with the Steelers so that should be taken into account as well. With Trubisky in town I just find DJ to be too much of a risk this year. I could see taking both DJ and Harris for the right price, but I wouldn’t feel great about it. Rookie George Pickens has garnered all kinds of interest in the fantasy world after a highlight reel TD catch in preseason week 1, and for banishing a Seattle cut candidate CB into the shadow realm by shoving him into the turf. (BTW, he did that a few times in college too.) I like Pickens, he looks like a talent, but I don’t throw out my back or blow out a knew hopping on new player bandwagons. Sure I’d take him in a late round, but I’m not paying a premium for someone who showed out against 3rd stringers and has Mitch Fucking Trubisky throwing him the ball. For better or worse, I doubt any Steelers make my seasonal rosters on draft day. 

Always Remember: Mitchell Trubisky was drafted BEFORE Patrick Mahomes, CMC, and Deshaun Watson.

NFC North

Da Bears

Coaching Notes: We have a whole new set of coaches here in HC Matt Eberflus, OC Luke Getsy, O-line Coach Chris Morgan, and DC Alan Williams. Eberflus was most recently the DC for the Colts and will be highly involved in this defensive scheme. Eberflus was a success in Indy, hence the promotion here. The Bears will eventually have one of the best defenses again, just maybe not this year. Getsy is a brand new NFL OC, though he has been an OC in college. Getsy has spent time as a WR coach, a QB coach, and a passing game coordinator as well, so being an OC seems like a reasonable promotion. The prediction here is that Getsy will be catering to Justin Fields’ skill sets, which means RPOs and play action. Additionally, while he is a first year line coach in Chicago, Morgan is an accomplished coach as he has helped to install some highly successful run games in the last decade. The real problem in Chicago, however, is that this is arguably the worst O-line in the NFL.

O-Line: It is no secret that this group is not good. Last season they allowed the most sacks in the league, they will probably repeat that first play performance. Perhaps even more mind boggling is how this franchise didn’t draft a lineman until the 5th round of the draft. The highest ranked player on this line is C Lucas Patrick, who is ranked 46th by Pro Football Focus. Everyone else in the bottom half. This could get real bad in Chicago.

So What’s Going on Here? As an analyst, or just a member of the laypeople, it is very easy to dismiss this coaching staff, many of whom do not have experience in their current positions, as not knowing what they are doing. And that remains to be seen. But they did take 3 linemen in rounds 5 and 6. A deeper dive shows that these rookies come from zone blocking schemes and Morgan plans on installing a zone running scheme. Additionally, David Montgomery has solid numbers when running in such a scheme. I’m not sure they will be successful with this approach, but at least there appears to be a plan here, so I’d argue that it could be foolhardy to just dismiss them, even though it’s what I initially wanted to do.

My Interests: I don’t think I have it in me to draft anyone here. If I ended up with Montgomery and Mooney on my team, I’d probably be okay, but I wouldn’t initially be happy about it. I will say though that I am Bears-curious. Not sure I’ve ever seen an approach like the one this new staff is taking, so I’ll order some popcorn and watch as this either works decently enough (and that might take a couple seasons) or is a complete train wreck. As an aside, the WR room looks like the Island of Misfit Toys.

Pictured Left to Right: Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown, Velus Jones, and Tajae Sharpe

Detroit Lions

Coaching Notes: HC Dan Campbell is in year 2 with Detroit, as is DC Aaron Glenn. Ben Johnson is the new OC though the process of promoting him from TE coach started last year as Campbell removed Anthony Lynn from the OC role. This sounds suspiciously around the same time the Sun God Amon-Ra St Brown started balling out. After Lynn was removed and Johnson promoted, the Lions actually started winning a few games and having more offensive success. The team upped their offensive pace and gave Goff a more simplified play book because, well let’s face it, Goff is a little simple. 

The defense is a work in progress, actually not playing well at all last year. The Lions brought in some players to address specific areas of concern so there is hope. It may cost Glenn his job if it doesn’t.

O-Line: There is actually a lot of talent on this line, but injuries were the issue last year. C Frank Ragnow, specifically, is one of the best in the NFL. Unlike most other offensive lines, there is no gaping hole in Detroit’s starting 5. There isn’t much depth here so if a couple of these guys start to drop, then Goff & Co. could struggle.

The Lions are Good? I’m actually uncomfortably bullish on the Lions offense this year. Goff should be highly motivated having just watched the team that sent him packing win the SuperBowl with the QB they traded him for. Goff has been given two shiny new toys in DJ Chark and Jameson Wlliams, both of whom have legit NFL talent. Add in the explosion the Sun God had last year, a healthy Hockenson and Swift, and it is clear to see Goff has some talent around him. As long as the O-line is healthy, then I have interest. If Goff can’t make it work here, then I don’t foresee him being a starting NFL QB for much longer. Williams might end up being the best of the bunch in a couple years, but he’s likely to start the season on the PUP list as he recovers from a torn ACL. Amon-Ra does have a tough CB schedule this year, so just don’t expect 20 points every week.

My Interests: Swift, Sun God, Chark, the Hock Alarm, and Williams in dynasty. I don’t want more than one Lion on my team though for when it inevitably goes to shit. 

Green Bay Packers

Coaching Notes: Somehow this is HC Matt Lafleur’s 4th year coaching this team. Time flies I guess. We have a new OC in Adam Stenavich who I feel really bad for because Aaron Rodgers is the actual OC here. Much has been made about the relationship between Rodgers and Lafleur, but this team has put together some serious regular season success including putting up the 10th most points in the league last season as well as the most points in 2020. They also have put up 13 wins in each of the last 3 seasons.

O-Line: First year line coach Butkus

will have the luxury of two excellent tackles in Bahktiari and Jenkins but that’s about it. The interior of this line could struggle, especially in pass blocking so we might see Rodgers rolling out a little more. The bench is made up mostly of rookies, so we’ll see if they have anything to add here.

Problems: Adams and MVS are gone. Lazard stayed (and could be WR1), Cobb is back but is 102 years old, Tonyan is recovering from a torn ACL, and Watkins, Christian Watson, and Romeo Doubs have been added. There really is no way to tell who is going to lead this team in target share, though I would argue that Lazard is the odds on favorite. However, I will say that any time Adams missed a game, the primary beneficiary was Aaron Jones who saw more opportunities and targets. He is the surest of things in this offense and definitely worthy of being an RB1/2. Dillon will eat into some of his work as they were practically at a 50-50 splits, but 15 – 20 touches and 3-5 targets a game for Jones are likely especially when you consider the money they are paying him. There have been many reports of Rodgers not seeing eye to eye with his new receivers, especially the rookies, so I’m personally hoping for a terrible season out of him. Sammy Watkins has never lived up to the hype, Lazard has never had a season over 500 yards. Ultimately though, the departure of Adams is significant and the Packer passing attack is likely to not be as good.

My Interests: Lazard, Jones AND Dillon. Doubs and Watson in dynasty. 

Minnesota Vikings

Coaching Notes: Former Ram OC Kevin O’Connell is now the HC for the Vikings. With him is 1st year OC Wes Phillips and 1st year DC Ed Donatell. Yes, this means changes for the Vikings offense. O’Connell will likely use more 3 WR sets than Vikings fans are used to. Last year the Rams led the league in 3 WR usage. Additionally, in the past, the Vikings used the run to set up play action passes, there may be a departure from that this season. While that likely means less rush attempts for Dal Cook, it could mean increased targets. On defense, Donatell has a history of success and has worked with Vic Fangio in recent years, so I would expect the Vikings defense to improve this year, and their secondary desperately needs it.

O-Line: We have another first year O-line coach in Chris Kuper. This is likely going to be a fairly significant change for Minnesota with the departure of Rick Dennison and his blocking scheme. Between Dennison and the type of linemen that the Vikings have brought in over the last few years, this unit is much better at run blocking than pass blocking. I am curious to see how this all shakes out, but my guess is that for the average fantasy player, they won’t even notice a difference as Dal Cook continues to be worthy of a first round pick.

What’s Going to Happen: There are going to be more pass attempts in this offense, but how they get distributed is in question. KJ Osborn, Irv Smith, and Dal Cook will probably have increased roles in the passing game. There are those in the industry who believe this will negatively impact both Thielen and Jefferson, but O-Connell is coming from an offense that had Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and OBJ, and they turned out just fine. 

My Interests: Justin Jefferson and Dal Cook. Cousins as an emergency/backup QB. Adam Thielen will probably be fine, but he is coming off an injury filled season and is on the wrong side of 30, so I’m out. 

We are getting closer and closer to the start of the season and I really can’t wait. I got my first draft of the year this evening and it is an auction one. My biggest one is next Tuesday, so as part of next Wednesday’s article, I’ll let you know who I got and what parts of my own advice I ignored.