Good morning. Are you attending classes at the University of Tennessee this fall? If so, you might recognize a teacher at the College of Communication and Information. Peyton Manning, who is great with kids, is teaching select classes there this academic year.

😭 It took just two days for us to regret our article on the incredible recovery of Justyn Ross. Yesterday, Ross was carted off the practice field with a leg/hamstring injury.

Thankfully, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that this does not appear to be serious and Ross should be OK. Hopefully he’ll be back out there soon.

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RANKINGS

Colts QB Anthony Richardson is trending up (QB17 to QB13) after we learned he’s a rapper under the name GVO. It also helped that Richardson was officially named the Colts’ starter. He’s holds impressive upside but is an unpolished passer who could face a steep learning curve in year 1.

Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins (RB28 to RB19) was activated off the PUP list. Dobbins could have more pass-catching opportunities in OC Todd Monken's scheme, raising his ceiling.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell (RB61 to RB44) is suggested to have received the majority of first-team reps throughout camp. Correspondingly dropped Rashaad Penny (RB36 to RB45) and D’Andre Swift (RB38 to RB43).

Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson moved up (TE24 to TE19) after impressing in the preseason. Ferguson seems locked in as TE1 for the Cowboys. Dalton Schultz’s departure left 89 vacated TE targets in this offense -- the majority of which should go to Ferguson.

View updated ranking list and printable cheat sheet.

STORY

The New Old Boys

Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott signed with division rivals within a few hours of each other. Cook agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million with the Jets shortly after Elliott joined the Patriots on a one-year deal worth up to $6 million.

In New England, Bill Belichick loves RB committees - we expect Zeke to feature in short yardage and goal line situations. Rhamondre Stevenson dropped slightly in our rankings due to the loss of TD opportunities. Zeke was among the league’s best in TD percentage on carries inside the five-yard line in 2022 (56.3%), while Stevenson ranked 23rd (28.6%).

But don’t worry about Rhamondre’s role: Per Jax Falcone, in 2022 Rhamondre had 210 carries and other Patriots running backs had 146 carries. Zeke is coming for those 146.

In New York, Robert Saleh loves ruining promising sophomores - we expect Cook to take a substantial workload while Breece Hall sees a slowly increasing role.

"The Jets' plan is to limit Breece Hall's workload early in the season, leaning on Dalvin Cook as the primary ball carrier, according to a source”, per Rich Cimini, ESPN.

Hall may not be ready for Week 1 and dropped in our rankings (RB16 to RB23) but has one of the highest ceilings in the league. But, the Jets now have 8.6 million reasons to give Cook a significant role, even when Hall is healthy. You shouldn’t be drafting any other NYJ RB.

The Zeke Memes

We had to.

MARKETS

Antonio Rises

📈 Antonio Gibson is trending up. With J.D. McKissic gone, Gibson should be the primary receiving RB in an offense led by OC Eric Bieniemy - last season, Jerick McKinnon saw 71 targets in Bieniemy’s offense. And this offseason, Bieniemy has been beating the Gibson drum.

📉 Rondale Moore was only on the field for 4/9 snaps that Cardinals starting QB Colt McCoy played. Behind both Zach Pascal and Michael Wilson (8 snaps each), Moore only played in 3 WR sets - with a seemingly reduced role in a bad offense, let someone else draft Moore.

📈 David Montgomery remains underrated. As Jahmyr Gibbs has stolen all the hype, many are forgetting that the 2022 Lions supported two top 25 RBs and their 2023 RBs are even better. Montgomery is all but guaranteed to see the goal line work, but with Jared Goff targeting his RBs on passes the 6th most in the NFL, Montgomery should see passing game opportunities.

📉 Damien Harris’s ADP has fallen almost a full round in the last week. “Latavius Murray is not going away… the real concern with Harris here is that (a) James Cook ends up having a bigger role than people are projecting and (b) Latavius Murray takes more of that work behind James Cook than people think.” - Adam Levitan on his weekly Market Monday podcast, which is free and a must listen.

📈 Nico Collins caught C.J Stroud’s first completed pass and is in line to be the Texans WR1. Collins was third on the team in targets in 2022, behind two players no longer with the team (Brandin Cooks, Chris Moore). Virtually free in drafts, Collins should see plenty of volume in a Texans offense likely to be trailing often.

Depth Charts

Rookie: Quentin Johnston

Dropping passes and dropping in rankings, Chargers WR Quentin Johnston got off to a shaky start in his preseason debut. After reportedly struggling with drops throughout training camp, Johnston added a couple more on Saturday. He scored a touchdown in the game, but the reliability of his hands is concerning.

Should you buy low?

Quentin Johnston is a buy-low, but don’t buy-high kind’ve guy:

• His 6'3" 208 lbs frame and 4.40 speed earned him a spot on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List (players who generate buzz inside their programs with unique physical abilities)

• Draft 21st overall by the Chargers

• During his 2022 season at TCU, Johnston was 2nd in the country with 8.9 YAC per reception

• Led all Power-5 WRs since 2014 in missed tackles forced per reception.

While he has all the tools to be a playmaker in the NFL, there have always been concerns about his hands, with several "body catches" on his tape and the fact that he recorded more drops than TDs last year. So the latest news shouldn't be surprising... this is who he is.

Draft Johnston as a late round flier with big time upside in a high-powered offense, but don't expect him to be something he's not (like Ja’Marr Chase dropping passes in preseason).

QUICK SLANTS

Preseason Week 1

📖 Read PFF’s Dynasty Winners from Preseason Week 1. They explain Khalil Herbert: “Herbert played 100% of running back snaps with the first-team offense while Foreman and Johnson spent time working with the backups.” They also mention that since being drafted, Herbert has the 14th highest PFF rushing grade, is averaging 5.1 YPC (better than CMC last season) and a 21% missed tackle rate.

In the three games he played without David Montgomery in 2021 and 2022, Herbert finished as the RB11, RB9, and RB1 in half-PPR scoring. David Montgomery plays in Detroit now.

📖 Read Tom Brolley’s Fantasy Points 2023 Training Camp News Tracker.

One snippet: “The Cowboys have been rumored to be eyeing backfield help behind Tony Pollard, but they passed on the two biggest remaining names on the market. Dallas could still make a play for someone like Leonard Fournette or Kareem Hunt, but they’re not nearly the threats to steal touches that Zeke and Cook were. Pollard has no major competition for touches in what could be one of the league’s better offenses, which makes him a bargain at his current ADP (20, RB6).”

📖 Read ETR’s Jack Miller on How to Draft From Picks 1-4 in 2023 Fantasy Football. They provide readers drafting from the top four picks the most optimal drafting strategy on a round by round basis. Hint: This includes drafting CMC or Austin Ekeler top-4 👀.

📖 Read the damning 14-page petition about The Blindside star Michael Oher’s adopted family (remember Sandra Bullock?). Oher claims that the Tuohy family received millions of dollars off the movie while he received nothing. But the Tuohy’s lawyer responded that this is a “shakedown” and he’s done it before.

📺️ Watch Matthew Berry discuss why he has Anthony Richardson ranked as QB12 and why that may even be too low now that Richardson was confirmed the week 1 starter.

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