: Russell Wilson
With Seahawks WR Percy Harvin sidelined and Sidney Rice resting, Golden Tate continues to look like a prime breakout candidate as Russell Wilson's favorite target.
QB Matt Flynn is solidifying his role as starting quarterback for the Raiders one year after losing that same job in training camp with the Seattle Seahawks.
Flynn entered camp with the inside track over Terrelle Pryor and rookie Tyler Wilson to replace Carson Palmer in Oakland and has done nothing in the first week to change that equation.
Flynn has been the most impressive of the three quarterbacks so far in training camp with the most accurate arm, a good grasp of the offense and strong leadership on the field.
Flynn has started two games in his career. In 2010, he filled in for an injured Aaron Rodgers in a tough 31-27 loss against the Patriots in Week 15, throwing for 251 yards, three TDs and an interception. In 2011, with Rodgers resting in Week 17, Flynn torched the Lions for 480 yards and six TDs (with one interception). His stock took a dive after he couldn't beat out rookie Russell Wilson, but he was dealing with an elbow injury and Wilson turned out to be pretty good. The Raiders have not been a favorable situation for QBs in recent years, but Carson Palmer was 8th in the league in pass attempts in 2012, so if Flynn finds himself in garbage time as often, he should put up decent fantasy stats. He doesn't have great arm strength, but has shown good accuracy and anticipation on his throws.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin announced via Twitter on Tuesday night that he will undergo hip surgery.
It's uncertain how long Harvin will be sidelined. NFL Network reported early estimations are Harvin will be out three to four months, meaning he would be sidelined until at least November.
Harvin was in New York on Tuesday to receive a second opinion on his injured hip from Dr. Bryan Kelly.
If the 3-4 month timeline is accurate, the best case scenario for a return would be early November, which means Harvin would miss the first eight games of the season. A return in four months means he might be able to play in Week 13. Harvin's follow-up tweet sounded as if he was resigned to miss the season, but depending on the nature of the surgery, he could return for a late-season run. From a fantasy perspective, he's only worth a late round draft-and-stash in leagues that have larger (18+) roster sizes unless he's expected to return midseason. It's obviously a blow to Russell Wilson's upside, though we would still expect him to post top 12 QB numbers given the way he finished his rookie season. At WR, Sidney Rice, (especially) Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin will benefit. Rice is in Switzerland for a non-surgical procedure on his knee, but the team doesn't seem too worried about his Week 1 availability at this point. Rice and Tate finished 35th and 41st in PPR formats in 2012, so they are both definitely on the fantasy radar in the later rounds. Whatever plans the Seahawks may have had to open up the passing game with Harvin probably have been scrapped -- expect a run-heavy offense that features the highly productive Marshawn Lynch.
Patriot QB Tom Brady’s attendance in the offseason program had slipped in recent years, as he has morphed into more of a family man and worldwide icon, but this offseason was different.
Brady stayed in town this spring and put in time with his new teammates. Last week, he reported to training camp four days early, along with the rookies.
Brady didn’t suddenly rediscover a love of conditioning drills. He knew that for the Patriots to be successful this season, he better start working with his new cast of receivers, who lack experience.
“I’m just willing to do whatever it takes,” he said.
Despite the signing of WR Danny Amendola, Brady has to deal with the loss of TE Aaron Hernandez, TE Rob Gronkowski (at least for a little) and WR Wes Welker heading into this season. From a fantasy standpoint, his stock has slipped at bit. Ranked 8th on our QB list, he's getting drafted in the 5th round, which is probably a bit higher than he should be. Other QBs around him like Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III are going in the seventh round. Brady is a bit of a risk this year despite his track record. The Pats will likely have to run more in 2013. Brady should still be productive and a low-end top-10 QB, but certainly don't reach for him considering how deep the position is this year.
Raiders QB Matt Flynn is clearly the No. 1 guy at this point, and looked the part with several accurate passes to the right receivers. Coach Dennis Allen liked Flynn’s effort but wants more consistency than the quarterback and other members of the passing game showed on Friday.
Flynn has started two games in his career. In 2010, he filled in for an injured Aaron Rodgers in a tough 31-27 loss against the Patriots in Week 15, throwing for 251 yards, three TDs and an interception. In 2011, with Rodgers resting in Week 17, Flynn torched the Lions for 480 yards and six TDs (with one interception). His stock took a dive after he couldn't beat out rookie Russell Wilson, but he was dealing with an elbow injury and Wilson turned out to be pretty good. The Raiders have not been a favorable situation for QBs in recent years, but Carson Palmer was 8th in the league in pass attempts in 2012, so if Flynn finds himself in garbage time as often, he should put up decent fantasy stats. He doesn't have great arm strength, but has shown good accuracy and anticipation on his throws.
Eagles beat writer Geoff Mosher on the Eagles' QB competition:
It’s obvious to me that Michael Vick actually has the toughest road to the starting job, more than Nick Foles or Matt Barkley. At 33, which he turned last month, he’s far and away the oldest quarterback on the roster. At more than $7 million this year, he’s also far and away the most expensive. New coaches tend to build their programs around young franchise signal callers, not aging ones whose best days are well behind them.
It also helps that Foles and Barkley are much more salary-cap friendly than Vick. Even if it’s a tie between Vick and Foles or Vick and Barkley as training camp progresses this summer, what impetus would Chip Kelly have to stick with Vick?
It’ll be interesting to see if Barkley can elbow his way into the competition. Logic dictates that if Barkley is just a hair behind Vick and Foles, the coaches will go with him and take their lumps for a few games if they believe he has the most upside, much like the Seahawks did last season with Russell Wilson and the Niners did with Colin Kaepernick.
Vick seemingly is the best fit for Kelly's offense, though Mosher's take certainly throws some cold water on his upside. This is a camp battle to monitor -- at this point, Vick's ADP (11.08) is too steep for a player embroiled in a bona fide QB competition.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson spent last week's minicamp doing what he usually does -- saying all the right things. He talked about the need to grow and expand on what he did in his impressive rookie season. He raved about his team's talented roster, one that now includes explosive wide receiver Percy Harvin.
What Wilson didn't have to say, however, is something that should be all too obvious to anybody watching the NFL this year. Of all the young star quarterbacks coming off breakout seasons, he still has more to prove than any of his peers.
Wilson is ranked 6th on our QB list. That's ahead of guys like Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and even Tom Brady, so that says a lot about his rookie year and his expectations for 2013. The addition of WR Percy Harvin to the offense only helps. Wilson's ADP is the 6th round and that's a great place to wait and take a QB.
Former Bills QB Tarvaris Jackson expected to sign a one-year deal with Seattle, where he once was Seahawks' captain.
HC Pete Carroll talked about signing QBs that were similar in style to Russell Wilson. This may be part of that plan.
Interesting hearing people out here talk about QB Tyler Wilson looking better than Matt Flynn. Have to agree so far.
This is a camp battle to monitor, but it's not like the Raiders is a great situation for a QB. The winner figures to be at best a fantasy QB2, though Russell Wilson blew expectations out of the water last season.
As far as rookies go, quarterback Tyler Wilson looked nothing of the sort Saturday as he displayed the poise and skills of a seasoned veteran in only his second practice as a member of the Raiders.
Wilson showed off a strong arm, placing balls right on target time and again, be it swing passes, throws over the middle or well downfield.
“Obviously, picking up a new system, there’s a little bit of rust there,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said of Wilson. “But throwing the ball, he’s done a nice job. I don’t have any question about his arm strength and his accuracy.”
It's certainly possible that Wilson could win the job this summer. After the success of Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, teams may be more willing to go with the rookie when given the choice. Matt Flynn stands in Wilson's way.
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