With the start of 2023 NFL preseason games one day away, it's time to start prepping for Fantasy Football drafts! In terms of injuries, here is the big news from yesterday:

Rams’ WR Cooper Kupp underwent an MRI on his hamstring and while the team will be very cautious with him, one source said he potentially could be back “for scrimmages in a few weeks.” https://t.co/0KRMH8lzfH

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 2, 2023

Looks like Cupp avoided major injury, but there isn't a firm timetable for his return to practice, nor do we know if he will be ready for Week 1. I believe last year Keenan Allen injured his hamstring in the season opener and was unavailable for several weeks following the injury. Definitely worth keeping an eye on before your draft as Kupp was projecting to the top half of the first round, especially in PPR leagues.

Sources: NFL is suspending Saints RB Alvin Kamara 3 games for his role in a fight outside a Las Vegas nightclub in 2022. Kamara reached a plea agreement in July, and no longer is facing a felony charge for his role in the fight that occurred before the Pro Bowl in February 2022. pic.twitter.com/tmEYhB7NnS

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 4, 2023

Three game suspension for Kamara, should be back for Week 4 vs Tampa Bay. I don't think this should have much effect on his draft position. That being said, the New Orleans backfield seems very muddled with the addition of rookie Kendre Miller, goal line back Jamaal Williams, and the continued red zone threat of Taysom Hill. Feels like a no-touch situation to me unless Kamara really falls in your draft.

Agree that it would make sense for the Zero RB-ers, especially if you can draft Williams at an ADP value. Will be interesting to see how the Saints offense plays out once Kamara is available.

I've had Kamara as a keeper, but will dump him for someone else this year.

They have Hunt, Williams, and now Kamara? No way Kamara will get 20 touches a game unless he's a WR half the time.

Saints backfield (really the entire Saints offense in general) is a stay away from me. Just too many backs and uncertainty. I'd prefer Tank Bigsby at similar ADP over Williams. Splitting time with Etienne, but being carved out a defined role in Jacksonville as the redzone RB to finish drives and score TDs -- which is essentially what you're trying to capture with Williams but a lot more uncertainty. Plus, Jacksonville is going to score more than the Saints.

I wouldn't necessarily say the entire Saints offense is a no-go. Olave should be able to build off of a solid rookie year and I like Shaheed as deep value at WR. Juwan Johnson may also have some value for TE streamers. But there isn't any clarity in that backfield and it remains to be seen how much of an upgrade Carr is over Dalton and Winston.

Your logic for Bigsby over Williams at ADP does make sense. As you said, J-ville should score a lot this year. Plus, there should be some TD regression for Williams after scoring 17 TDs last season.

Don't want to read too much into a preseason game, but the Saints first team offense did look solid on their one drive that resulted in a TD against KC. Worth monitoring going forward.

Changing topics, any thoughts on Breece Hall and the Jets backfield? He was great last year until the injury. Now the question is how long will it take him to get back to 100%. The Jets have a lot of depth to their backfield with Abanikanda, Carter, and Knight, so the Jets can afford to be cautious with Hall.

I would refine my stance after watching their preseason game yesterday -- I think Kamara at current ADP is very intriguing. You'd have to stomach missing three games to start the season, but as a 3rd or 4th RB, he's a steal. Looked explosive yesterday, going to be very involved in the offense, and missing the first three games may actually keep him fresher down the stretch. If Miller's injury is anything serious that will keep him out for a while, then the other NO RBs become more in play with clearer roles.

I like Olave a lot as a player, I just have him a little further down my rankings/preferences than current (Underdog) ADP. On Underdog he is being drafted as the 11-12th WR, I see him more in the mix of 15th-20th. I looked at ESPN PPR at he's listed 15th which I think is more inline.

Breece Hall to me is an upside play. I think he'll be a very frustrating hold the first two months of the season. If I'm the Jets, I'm planning on playing into deep January, so there is no need to rush Hall back and give him more than 15 touches / game in September and October. Let him start to get back into gear and take a more prominent role in the second half of the season when you have your eyes on playoff seeding and actual playoff games. I'd much rather have Hall in a managed format where you can try to piece together RB lineups weeks 1-8 and use Hall as a flex, etc and then hope he becomes a Top 5 RB in the second half and FF playoff stretch. Jets Weeks 14-17 are Texans, Dolphins, Commanders and Browns which would be favorable for Hall being a factor for FF playoffs

txagman1998 said:

---

Changing topics, any thoughts on Breece Hall and the Jets backfield?

---

Hard to have an opinion until some of the FA RBs are settled. Dalvin Cook has been heavily linked to the Jets, and that signing would significantly alter Hall's value.

Quote:

---

I'd much rather have Hall in a managed format where you can try to piece together RB lineups weeks 1-8 and use Hall as a flex, etc and then hope he becomes a Top 5 RB in the second half and FF playoff stretch. Jets Weeks 14-17 are Texans, Dolphins, Commanders and Browns which would be favorable for Hall being a factor for FF playoffs.

---

Given the addition of Dalvin Cook, this looks pretty logical. Cook takes the majority of snaps in the first half of the season and Hall takes over in the stretch run. Will be interesting to see if he gets added to the PUP list to start the season, which would require him missing the first four games. If that happens, he may be available at a significant discount on draft day.

A couple of other RB moves today:

Zeke to the Patriots
Darrel Williams to the Saints

I'm not too concerned with Zeke taking a lot of touches from Stevenson. The addition of Zeke feels more like New England was concerned with their running back depth. I think at least one, if not all of Harris, Strong, and Taylor won't make the team.

As for Williams, I think the Saints needed another camp RB given Kendre Miller's injury. While the injury isn't serious, it seems likely that he misses the last two preseason games. On that note, while I began the thread bearish on Kamara, given how he looked on Sunday and the Miller injury, I may need to eat crow and change my opinion on Kamara, especially if Miller has further injury concerns later this season.

a few notes after doing some mock drafts and one league draft...

the 8th pick in a 12-team league is rough. Picks #8, #17, #32. Ended up going RB heavy because the best available WR's kept going before my choice. (Tyreek at #7 and A.J. Brown at #16 ouch)

Dameon Pierce doesn't seem to be in high demand. Usually goes between picks #35 and #40. I think the concern is a potential low-scoring Texans offense

Jerick McKinnon is lasting until pick 100 or so. A bit surprising. He's a good flex play.

Brandin Cooks as the Cowboys #2 WR has potential as a solid WR3 in fantasy. He gets quite an offensive upgrade with Dak and Lamb. Usually goes between picks #80 and #90

W said:

---

a few notes after doing some mock drafts and one league draft...

the 8th pick in a 12-team league is rough. Picks #8, #17, #32. Ended up going RB heavy because the best available WR's kept going before my choice. (Tyreek at #7 and A.J. Brown at #16 ouch)

Dameon Pierce doesn't seem to be in high demand. Usually goes between picks #35 and #40. I think the concern is a potential low-scoring Texans offense

Jerick McKinnon is lasting until pick 100 or so. A bit surprising. He's a good flex play.

Brandin Cooks as the Cowboys #2 WR has potential as a solid WR3 in fantasy. He gets quite an offensive upgrade with Dak and Lamb. Usually goes between picks #80 and #90

---

Try being last in a 12 team league.

it's an interesting discussion

the owner at the turn...got Pollard at #12 and Diggs at #13...which is a nice start

but the next turn at #36 and #37 was not so favorable

One consideration regarding streaming Baltimore DST is that you are going to have a use a higher draft pick than you would like to get them. Baltimore tends to have a reputation for having a strong DST every year in fantasy. If you wait until your last or next-to-last pick to get your defense, Baltimore will likely be gone by then.

W said:

---

it's an interesting discussion

the owner at the turn...got Pollard at #12 and Diggs at #13...which is a nice start

but the next turn at #36 and #37 was not so favorable

---

This is exactly what I'm dreading. Even thinking about unconventional things like grabbing Hurts or Mahomes early doesn't jive with what the mock drafts are showing so far: these two are going off the board in the mid-20s.

Found out today that my work league is increasing from 12 teams to 14 teams. Any adjustments I should consider, if any, to having two additional teams? Draft position is random and won't be determined until day of the draft.

Starting roster is QB/RB/RB/WR/WR/TE/Flex/K/DST. ESPN full point PPR, 4 points per passing TD. 8 teams make the playoffs (Weeks 15-17).

In a 12 team Superflex PPR league would you rather have pick #1 or pick #12?

I don't really have any experience with Superflex leagues, but I think I would prefer pick #1. You can take who you believe is the best QB, and then at the Round 2/3 turn, take the best QB available and the best RB/WR/TE available (given PPR scoring, this would likely be a WR pick).

Every position across the board will be thinner. That being said, it's to your advantage to secure a top half qb… because the lower end of the qb1's are many tiers below the top half in a 14 team league.

My $0.02

I think your point makes sense. That being said, I ran a 14-team mock draft drafting out of the 13th position, and it is hard to execute that strategy without overreaching. I went Pollard/ARSB with my first two picks and by the time it got back to me at #41, Mahomes, Allen, Hurts, Burrow, and Jackson were all off the board.

Here are the full results of the mock draft:

QB: Lawrence, Carr
RB: Pollard, Kamara, Robinson Jr., Eli Mitchell, Achane
WR: St. Brown, Watson, Kirk, Skyy Moore, Mooney
TE: Kincaid, Ferguson
K: Joseph (MIN)
DST: Baltimore

A few thoughts from this draft:

1. Ironic that I spent half the thread preaching caution re: the Saints backfield and ended up drafting Kamara in Round 4. The Miller injury, plus Kamara's play in preseason, has lessened my concerns a little bit. That being said, I think in a real draft where I have more than 30 seconds to think I may go in another direction here.

2. I don't generally like drafting 2 QBs. However, last year when the league had 12 teams, 18 QBs were drafted. And with 2 more teams being added, there could easily be 20+ QBs drafted, leaving a thin waiver wire during bye weeks, or if there is an injury.

3. I don't think I would plan on drafting 2 TEs again. I drafted Ferguson in the last round and he is the projected starter in Dallas. I also think LaPorta, Juwan Johnson, McBride, Musgrave, etc. will all be available really late in the draft. I'd rather have an extra RB/WR in the 11th round where I drafted Kincaid and wait until the 14th - 16th round to draft my TE, knowing I can play the waiver wire if that late pick doesn't pan out.

where is the board on Najee Harris this year?

if you start your draft WR/WR...he's there in the 3rd round in a 10-team league.

in 12-team leagues, he's usually available at the #24/#25 turn

the Steelers offense should be better in Kenny Pickett year 2

Warren scares me. Najee is not an efficient or explosive RB. He really needs the volume to meet his ADP. I think Warren might cut into that volume a decent amount this year.

Report: #Raiders RB Josh Jacobs will end his holdout and report to the team before Week 1 against the #Broncos, via @reviewjournal

More here:https://t.co/QWeJkkjdp3 pic.twitter.com/wgBzXwXaIK

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 21, 2023

A little clarification on the above. Not quite as definitive.

Here's the source for the Josh Jacobs news that is circulating this morning 👇

"Josh Jacobs is expected to report to the Raiders before their season opener in three weeks, multiple league sources have indicated... Josh McDaniels did not have an update on the situation, but he… https://t.co/b3dyZWO8HJ

— 32BeatWriters (@32BeatWriters) August 21, 2023

Results of my 10-man .5 PPR draft:
QB: Justin Herbert
RBs: Jonathan Taylor, JK Dobbins
WRs: Justin Jefferson, Keenan Allen
FLEXES: Brandon Aiyuk, Drake London
TE: Mark Andrews
K: Tyler Bass
D: Washington

Bench: Antonio Gibson, Jahan Dotson, Skyy Moore, Damien Harris, Jeff Wilson Jr., David Njoku, Jordan Addison

My first year in a 10 team 1pt PPR league, not feeling great about my Qbs. Yahoo standard scoring, 4pt pasing Tds. Worth picking anyone up off the WW?

Team
QB: Dak, Kirk
RB: Joe Mixon, Alexanader Mattison., Rachaad White, Elijah Mitchell, D. Achane, Tank B.
WR: Devante Adams, C. Ridley, J. Jeudy, T. Lockett, Brandin Cooks
TE: Kelce

Top Qbs on Waiver
J. Love
D. Carr
M. Stafford
B. Young
J. Garoppolo
K. Pickett - I'm really looking at Pickett. Might make a nice jump in year 2. Not afriad to run the ball either.

Anyone else taking a flyer on Pickett? Who would I drop? (I dropped my kicker to pick up Tank, so will need to drop 2 before the season, I'm leaning dropping Achane and Cooks to pick up Pickett and a K).

I'm not sure I'd add any of those. Plus if you do I'd drop a QB.

IMO carrying 2 QBs is too many (especially in a 10 team league when the options on the WW are decent during bye weeks) and carrying 3 would be way overkill.

Thanks. I'm probably over thinking. Week one should be pretty telling. Pitt vs SF, DAL @ NYG, MIN vs TB.

I would cut a qb if you add one. 1 qb is plenty in that format but 2 is absolutely max. If you get injuries or off weeks or just poor performances at RB, WR or TE there is very little out there to add. With a qb there is always a decent option out there

Colts have given All-Pro RB Jonathan Taylor permission to seek a trade, per league sources. Other teams now are weighing whether to make an offer to the Colts and what would be fair value. pic.twitter.com/AT7GgJGLAQ

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 21, 2023

Per a league source, the Dolphins are expected to at least explore a trade for Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who has been given permission to seek a trade. Not sure where this will lead, but it would make sense in that he's only 24, 1st team All Pro & NFL rush leader in '21

— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) August 21, 2023

Miami pls!

Just grabbed Deon Jackson lol

Colts apparently want a first in return. So, this means nothing. No chance they're getting a first rounder.