Team news: Chicago Bears | Page 59

After setting two franchise rookie records by recording 1,046 yards and 71 catches in 2013, Chargers WR Keenan Allen is looking to take his game to the next level. A third-round draft pick last season, Allen made a name for himself as the Bolts’ primary receiver after the injury to Malcom Floyd. He finished his rookie season targeted 104 times for eight touchdowns.

With week four of training camp underway, Allen says his focus right now is not only on trying to improve individually, but also as a team.

“I’m just trying to keep building everyday and keep the chemistry strong,” Allen said. “Keep it going with the guys and just try to get better.”

Building chemistry is key to progress and avoid the dreaded sophomore slump; however, Allen is trying to improve his game physically as well. Averaging 6.2 yards after catch last season, the former Cal receiver said improving his speed is a main goal this camp. Allen also said he wants to be more of a leader. Ranked 11th on our WR list, we project him as a low-end WR1 and he's getting targeted in the early fourth round.

San Diego first-team receivers won the day, whether it was Malcom Floyd hauling in a deep pass in the two-minute offense or fellow starters Keenan Allen and Eddie Royal snagging short and medium passes. Royal praised Chargers defensive backs for “feisty” play.

Perhaps most encouraging here is the that Floyd had a nice day. He's coming back after a terrible injury early last season. Allen is still the guy to own, but Floyd looks like he can be the WR2 the Chargers didn't really have last year.

Chargers first-team receivers won the day, whether it was Malcom Floyd hauling in a deep pass in the two-minute offense or fellow starters Keenan Allen and Eddie Royal snagging short and medium passes.

Coming off the team’s first off day of camp, Vincent Brown (calf) sat out his fourth practice. “He had a great offseason and is still in all the meetings,” McCoy said.

From 2010 to 2012, Floyd finished #36, #32 and #36 as the second or third option in San Diego. He returns from a neck injury at the age of 32 (turning 33 in September) and will likely start as the team’s WR2 opposite Keenan Allen. If he’s starting and can stay healthy (a rather big “if”), he should be fantasy-relevant once again in 2014.

The star of the day at Chargers camp was Malcom Floyd. The 6-foot-5 receiver returning from a serious neck injury made several plays in the passing game, including a deep reception during the two-minute drill that set up a score and a touchdown in the red zone on a skinny post against Brandon Flowers toward the end of practice.

From 2010 to 2012, Floyd finished #36, #32 and #36 as the second or third option in San Diego. He returns from a neck injury at the age of 32 (turning 33 in September) and will likely start as the team’s WR2 opposite Keenan Allen. If he’s starting and can stay healthy (a rather big “if”), he should be fantasy-relevant once again in 2014.

Bills WR Robert Woods took over during the 7-on-7 goal line drill to end practice on Wednesday. Woods ran his routes correctly, didn’t come back to the ball when he was near the goal line and displayed outstanding hands during his few reps. Woods first took a well-placed over the shoulder throw from EJ Manuel while a defender was draped all over the wide receiver. Woods simply reached out with his right arm, still getting his left arm dragged from behind and corralled the pass in for a touchdown. It was a gorgeous play.

Woods averaged 2.9-42-.21 in 14 games as a rookie, which translates to 46-671-3.4 if extrapolated to a full season. As it stands, he had the 5th-most receiving yards of any rookie in 2013. (His extrapolated total would have finished 4th, behind Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins and Terrance Williams.) He should see starter’s snaps opposite rookie Sammy Watkins, but in a run-heavy offense with a mediocre (at best) quarterback, Woods isn’t a sure thing to be fantasy relevant (top 60) in 2014.

One guy quietly having a good camp is Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis. He said during the spring that this has been his best offseason and he feels the best he has in a long time. That has shown up so far in training camp. He’s catching pretty much everything and it looks like the Jaguars are going to keep him involved in the offense the way he was during the last month of the 2013 season, when he caught 16 passes (four TDs) in the final five games. He remains one of the league’s top blocking tight ends.

Lewis is one of our favorite dirt-cheap options at the position. The team was pleased with his play once he returned from injury last season. He’s a good blocker and is a big target in the redzone. He was the #8 TE in the final eight games of the 2013 season.

Clay Harbor, the only tight end on the Jaguars roster besides Marcedes Lewis who has caught a pass in an NFL game, was sidelined with a strained calf muscle Monday night during the team’s practice at Bartram Trail High School.