Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans
The biggest story in fantasy football right now is the Joe Mixon injury situation. The veteran back was placed on the NFI list and is out indefinitely, with his Week 1 availability being very much up in the air. The Texans had behaved a bit strangely at running back this offseason, both in terms of addressing Mixon’s injury status as rumors circulated and with personnel additions, and now we know why. I would just advise completely ignoring Mixon’s name in drafts until we get more clarity on his situation.
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Houston’s two big additions at the position this offseason were veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks. Chubb is a legendary player who once had a claim to being the best back in the NFL. However, he looked like a dramatically diminished version of his prior form coming off a devastating 2023 knee injury and then his season ended last year in Week 15 with a broken foot. .
As for Marks, at the time of the NFL Draft, it seemed strange the Texans would part with a 2026 third-rounder to move up and pick a running back. With Mixon now out indefinitely, it makes all the sense in the world. The Texans’ offense projects to be rather pass-happy in a new system this season and Marks caught 216 passes for over 1,500 yards in his college career. If Marks can earn some first-team reps over the next few weeks, he fits squarely on the late-round radar.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
There’s no getting around it: Luther Burden III missed a ton of valuable time in his first NFL offseason, which can really set a receiver back. Head coach Ben Johnson was pretty upfront with the fact that Burden was behind because of it. After missing a few of the first days of training camp, Burden is back at practice. , considering the time missed, nor is it worth the negativity expressed by many observers. Burden is a talented wide receiver prospect who needs to be pushed, which is a big reason I loved this landing spot for his long-term outlook.
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If Burden enjoys a strong rest of his offseason, he could push for playing time in three-receiver looks as a rookie. He wins at the catch point and is a dangerous YAC threat. There’s room for him to rotate at flanker and slot with D.J. Moore, while it appears Rome Odunze has solidified himself as the X-receiver. Burden is worth tracking throughout the course of training camp, but it might take some time before he sees significant volume.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Just like Burden, tight end Colston Loveland also missed most of the spring team activities while recovering from a collegiate injury. However, the reviews for Loveland since he hit the field have been nothing but positive. Loveland has consistently taken reps with the starters and should blaze past Cole Kmet for the TE1 gig. Kmet will still have a role in what should be a 12-personnel-heavy offense but Loveland will see more targets.
Loveland is a player I want to be high on heading into drafts. If you’re waiting on tight end, he presents a good ceiling bet as long as this momentum keeps up.
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Raiders Rookie Wide Receivers
The Raiders’ offense will flow through Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers when they pass the ball. However, don’t overlook their two rookie receivers.
Continuing a theme from OTAs, fourth-round rookie Dont’e Thornton has consistently run with the starters. He is the lone receiver on this team that fits the X-receiver prototype and brings needed verticality to the offense as a hulking speed receiver. He may be more of a sacrificial X-receiver but that in and of itself is critical to opening up space for other players. Pete Carroll showed during his time in Seattle that if you compete and win a job, he doesn’t care about draft status.
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Just because Thornton looks to be earning a role does not mean that Jack Bech isn’t on the rise, as well. As Carroll said in the video above, he has started to take off once the pads have come on; what a shock the football player is showing up now that we’re playing something closer to football. Bech can play inside and outside and helps form a dynamic receiver trio with complementary skills as the group comes together behind Meyers.
Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The first-round wide receiver has been getting . The most glowing may have come from quarterback Baker Mayfield.
With Chris Godwin’s Week 1 status up in the air, Egbuka could play a significant role right from the jump. It’s a crowded room, but this was one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL last year and brought back all their starters. Even with a change in play-caller, we should still want pieces of this attack. Egbuka is a guy I want on all my teams, even as his ADP rises, even if he’s fighting for targets to start the season. I’m less convinced by the day that the latter part of that sentence will be true.
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Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants
It’s been tough for me to get too excited about either of the Giants’ running backs, as any way you slice it, Tyrone Tracey and Cam Skattebo will be in a committee on a team that’s unlikely to score many touchdowns. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the rookie has indeed taken some first-team reps during the second week of camp. The coaches likely want to get a deeper look at his skills and test his work in pass protection.
I have a slight lean toward Skattebo right now over Tracy, as I see him as the more likely goal-line option. The “winner” here will be determined by passing-down work, which is a riddle still to be answered.
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jaguars’ beat reporters have been on point tracking Travis Hunter’s snaps on both sides of the ball so far during training camp. :
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Offense: 72 snaps, 11 targets, 10 receptions, one touchdown.
Defense: 47 snaps, thrown against five times, allowed two completions, broke up three passes.
That’s about what I expect in the real games; Hunter will be offense-first but play both sides. Hunter has also drawn eye-popping praise at both positions, but more importantly for his stamina in the relentless Jacksonville humidity. This was obvious to anyone who watched him play in college. Yes, NFL players are bigger, faster, and stronger, but stamina is stamina, and the ability to play a ton of snaps doesn’t change.
Hunter is totally fine at his WR33 ADP around pick No. 69. You will have to live with volatility based on his time with the defense but that’s more than accounted for at that draft slot.
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Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
The obvious one saved for way too far down this article, Omarion Hampton is a big training camp winner thus far. Najee Harris has yet to practice with the team after an eye injury during the 4th of July and has no timetable for a return.
Hampton has a clear runway to be the lead back in what should be a solid ground game. There are some minor concerns over how consistent Hampton will be early in his career as a gap-scheme runner in an offense that uses plenty of those runs. However, he’s an explosive threat and a functional pass-down option. That’s worth the hype.
Hampton’s RB18 ADP on Yahoo still doesn’t correctly account for the change in circumstances with Harris sidelined and missing valuable time. The conversation for Hampton should be closer to RB12.
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Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots
Kyle Williams was one of my favorite Day 2 receiver prospects so it’s no shock to me he’s having a nice camp. He’s been good for highlight moments and is competing with Kayshon Boutte for the starting X-receiver job. Boutte is a solid backup at the spot but Williams is a better separator and YAC threat.
The Patriots’ receiver room comes together nicely if Williams wins the X-receiver job. Despite his size, he posted an and wins on layup routes, aka the very patterns Drake Maye didn’t have a separator last year. Williams has the game to play at X-receiver and is someone worth grabbing in the late rounds if he solidifies a Day 1 starting job. At the very least, he’s on my waiver-wire speed dial.
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Chargers Rookie WRs
When Mike Williams retired at the dawn of Chargers training camp, my first instinct was not for the team to sign some veteran just because they were a familiar name. I’d much rather see if rookie Tre Harris could handle X-receiver duties from Day 1, . Since then, Lambert-Smith has been putting on a show at Chargers camp, doing precisely what he showed he could do in college: Win in the vertical game.
Harris is much more likely to be a fantasy factor than KLS. However, if the Auburn product can simply make the offense more dangerous by being sprinkled in as a vertical player, it’s a win for all involved. Several Chargers players are in my draft plans this year, so a little extra juice only increases the ceiling projections. KLS is someone I want on my deep dynasty rosters for the long term, however.
