Team news: Kansas City Chiefs | Page 57

There are three good wideouts ahead of Andy Isabella, but Kingsbury wants to give the speedster more playing time in 2020. “I have to do a better job of expanding his role and finding ways to get him on the field and get him utilized."

Related players: DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald

Isabella could be a late-round option for owners, perhaps especially in deeper leagues. It's going to be tough for Isabella to get on the field in three WR sets with Hopkins, Fitzgerald and Kirk around, but it sounds like the Cards want to see Isabella on the field more this season which means they could use more four WR sets.

Carson Wentz left practice on Sunday with what's being described as a soft tissue injury, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, but the silver lining is he's listed as day-to-day and the ailment itself is viewed as minor.

Related players: Jalen Hurts, Nate Sudfeld

Carson Wentz has to stay healthy in 2020 if the Philadelphia Eagles are to challenge for the NFC East crown, in their quest to be the first team in the division to repeat as champs since they did it in 2003 and 2004. The veteran quarterback is giving the team a bit of a scare just two weeks ahead of the season opener on Sept. 13 against Washington. This could Hurts a few more snaps at practice as he tries to pass Sudfeld for the QB2 job.

Buccaneers WRs Scotty Miller and Justin Watson have seemed to solidify themselves as the favorites for snaps and opportunities behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

The team has been excited about both receivers getting in shape and making the most of their opportunities, a spot many had fifth-round rookie Tyler Johnson penciled in at after the team selected him back in April. Quarterback Tom Brady has developed a nice rapport with both receivers. Miller fared pretty well in place of an injured Evans and Godwin at the end of the 2019 season opposite Breshad Perriman, who is now with the Jets. It will be a good battle throughout the rest of the preseason and into the regular season.

If Chris Herndon stays healthy, the Jets will be set at tight end according to Connor Hughes of The Athletic. "It’s fun watching how Gase uses Herndon, too," wrote Hughes. "While he has traditional tight end abilities (he’s a very good blocker), the Jets line him up all over the field. While I don’t think Herndon will ever be in the same class as Zach Ertz or Travis Kelce, he creates so many matchup problems for defenses."

Hughes addressed the issues at wide receiver in the same article, which also bodes well for Herndon. QB Sam Darnold turned lemons into lemonade with Ryan Griffen in 2019, so the uber-talented Herndon should dwarf his numbers as long as he remains on the field. Herndon has the opportunity to be a top 10 tight end in 2020.

Chiefs running back Darrel Williams is the back-up to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, according to Nate Taylor of The Athletic. "In splitting most of the first-team repetitions with Edwards-Helaire, Williams has been exceptional at every task in the offense," wrote Taylor. "He has been the Chiefs’ best blocker during the running backs’ one-on-one pass-protection drills."

We've seen Williams excel in short work across his three seasons in the NFL, but now he appears to be in a role that will provide consistent fantasy production. The Chiefs are a loaded offense, making any role in that offense one to pay attention to. Williams is a later-round target in fantasy drafts with this news and is an unfortunate injury away from a prominent role in KC and fantasy.

Jordan Akins: By NFL standards, the 28-year-old Akins, a former pro baseball player, isn’t that young, but he is entering just his third pro season and has been a productive red-zone target during practices. Whether he keeps this up will be important, as Darren Fells seems due for some regression after a season in which he caught seven touchdowns, more than doubling his previous season high.

Akins saw 140 snaps out of the slot last season, and though Cobb will absorb most of DeAndre Hopkins’ workload from that spot, Akins could experience an uptick in usage here, too, if his practice production carries over to games.

There are reasons to believe Akins may make a leap in his third year. He led all Houston tight ends in routes run (390) and ran the 10th most routes among all tight ends last year. Given his snap rate (61%), it’s an indicator that the team views him mainly as a receiver. He was fourth among tight ends in yards after the catch per reception and third among tight ends in average YAC above expectations, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats. With the loss of DeAndre Hopkins, Akins should play a larger role in the passing game, especially with Darren Fells another year older. Akins could see competition from second-year player Kahale Warring, but after a lost-rookie season it’s doubtful that he’ll be able to eat into Akins’ snaps.

Now, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that HC Andy Reid’s going to use Clyde Edwards-Helaire as a rookie the same way Reid used Kareem Hunt as a rookie in 2017. Hunt touched it 325 times (remember his 246-yards-from-scrimmage demolition of the Patriots on opening night in Foxboro?) in that rookie season, winning the rushing title and becoming an instant threat in the passing game too. But this is practice, scripted from start to finish; maybe this is two days of getting timing down with Edwards-Helaire. But I doubt it’s just that. I say he’ll be a stud, a prime candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year. He appears a confident and sure runner who can make people miss, a better runner between the tackles than a 5-foot-8, 209-pound guy should be, and a smooth and assured receiver. GM Brett Veach told me: “He’s on pace to have a big year, to be our primary ballcarrier.”

Peter King even said to draft Edwards-Helaire in the first round of your fantasy draft. He went on to rave about CEH in the story, highlighting the first three plays in 11-on-11 were handoffs to him, and he also ran a wheel route out of the background and made an impressive catch. With Damian Williams out of the way, CEH is certainly poised for a big season and the news keeps getting more positive about those chances. He's currently going in the mid-to-late second according to our ADPs, but chances are you'll have to take him before that in your draft.

Browns Nick Chubb cleared from concussion protocol and will be back on the field today.

Related players: Kareem Hunt

Chubb ranks 14th among our RBs heading into drafts. With Hunt in the picture, it's not quite clear how the duo will be used for the Browns. Chubb's PPG dropped when Hunt returned to action last season, going from 17 to 12 PPG in half-PPR leagues. We do expect the Browns to be run-heavy this year after boosting their offensive line.

Nate Taylor of The Athletic expects Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman to serve as the kick and punt returner for Kansas City this season.

This is likely grim news for Hardman's fantasy propsects. A prominent role on special teams means Hardman is unlikely to get consistent targets working behind Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins and Clyde Edwards-Helaire in an explosive but crowded Chiefs offense. Hardman is a interesting fantasy prospect because of his blazing speed, big-play ability and pairing with Patrick Mahomes, but his projected usage just doesn't match his current ADP when compared to other receivers in the WR4 range unless the Chiefs suffer an injury at a skill position.

Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins has been dealing with a minor hamstring injury but returned to practice on Wednesday.

There was even speculation that Hopkins was not actually hurt and was just disgruntled about his contract situation. Those rumors can be put to bed with Hopkins dressed for practice on Wednesday. Hopkins will be hard-pressed to repeat his elite fantasy performances from Houston in 2020 due to volume concerns, but he still has substantial upside playing in Kliff Kingsbury's offense and can be drafted as a WR1 in the second round.