NFL Beat Report: Preseason Week 1 News or Noise? (Fantasy Football)
Training camp is up and running for all 32 teams, and with it, camp hype is real. The NFL news cycle is hot and heavy, with injuries, incredible catches, and muscular quads all over your social media timeline. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds with every “news” blurb that’s being reported. What’s real? What’s fake? What matters? What doesn’t?
Join Matthew Betz and me reacting to the biggest news of the second week of training camp, giving our thoughts on how to adjust in the fantasy football market, and discussing who truly is in the best shape of their life.
Without further ado, here are the biggest storylines we’re currently monitoring from Week 2 of training camp and Week 1 of the preseason.
Editor’s Note: For continuously updated Rankings and Projections from Andy, Mike, and Jason, with context around those rankings, be sure to check out the 2025 Ultimate Draft Kit.
1. Roschon Johnson is headed for a specialized role in the Bears’ offense.
Mark Carman of CHGO Bears and WGN Radio reports that Ro-Jo has been coming in at the goal line.
Julia – News. I have been a R0-Jo believer for a hot minute, and with the addition of Ben Johnson in Chicago, I think he will try to recreate the David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs vibe. We know how Ben Johnson feels about D’Andre Swift; we have literally seen this show before, with the TDs going to Jamal Williams in 2022, the big bruiser who finished the season with 17 TDs to Swift’s five. Swift believers will tell you it couldn’t happen again. Draft Twitter was up in arms over the addition of rookie Kyle Monongai, but 7th-round draft capital does little for me. I think we could have a season where Roschon Johnson becomes the biggest TD vulturer in the NFL.
Just a day or so after this news came, it was reported by the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs that Ro-Jo missed Thursday’s practice due to a foot injury. Then on Saturday, Adam Schefter reported that former Lions RB Jamaal Williams worked out for the Bears. The plot has thickened, and at this point, it must be monitored for fantasy managers.
Betz – News for now. The only reason I say “for now” is because Johnson is nursing a foot injury that popped up last week. Assuming he’s healthy, I do think this is very likely to be a committee approach as Julia outlined above with Roschon the favorite to get some goal line touches. However, it is notable that the team worked out former Lion Jamaal Williams on August 9, which is ironic because we’re trying to fit Roschon into this ‘Jamaal Williams‘ goal line role from a few years ago with Ben Johnson in Detroit. On top of that 7th rounder Kyle Monangai showed well in their first preseason game, carrying the ball six times for 30 yards. He’s pretty clearly RB3 right now behind Swift and Johnson, but there’s a world that exists where the rookie pushed Roschon for that coveted goal line role as the season progresses.
2. Cam Skattebo has optimistic MRI results and Tyrone Tracy is firmly RB1.
Head coach Brian Daboll said Monday that the MRI on Skattebo’s (hamstring) leg yielded optimistic results, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.
Julia – News. A week ago, it was reported that Skattebo dealt with a setback in practice related to his hamstring. “He’s working back from rehabbing something, so had a little bit of setback yesterday and won’t do anything today,” HC Daboll said. “Day to day.” However, the team received better news after an MRI gave hopeful results. This is important as the drumbeat surrounding Skattebo was getting louder. Now it mutes slightly with him off the practice field, and Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary split first-team reps in camp. This RB room might be confusing.
Betz – News and Noise. It’s obviously great news that Skattebo’s injury doesn’t appear to be major, but soft tissue injuries can linger in camp, so I still think it’s possible he misses another 2-3 weeks. If that’s the case, he’ll miss valuable time in camp as a rookie, which means we should obviously expect Tracy to begin the season as the team’s RB1. That part to me, is noise. As a 5th round pick, Tracy performed well last year given the environment around him, but I don’t think ADP should be moving on this Raanan report, yet it is. The moment Skattebo left practice with a hamstring injury, we knew Tracy was the odds on favorite to being the season as RB1. I don’t want to double count this situation, if that makes sense. Skattebo will have a role when healthy. How big that role is remains to be seen, but given that he’s got ~10 lbs. on Tracy, there’s a decent chance he’s the one getting some of those coveted goal line opportunities.
3. James Cook is still not practicing.
Matt Parrino of The Syracuse Post-Standard reported earlier this week that Cook still will not practice due to “business” reasons.
Julia – Newsy Noise. With Kyren Williams signing his contract extension, Cook probably feels even more sure that he can get an adequate contract extension. I think Cook means business, fully aware that he might have to hold in to get this done, but I don’t think anyone expected anything different. Fantasy-wise, I have been leaning away from Cook this draft season due to potential TD regression, and this concerns me even more. John Buhler from Fansided thinks the Bills could trade Cook to the Cowboys for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick, but at this point, that is all chatter. Dianna Russini of The Athletic does not think the Bills and Cook are that far off from an agreement, so if you personally believe in Cook, it might be a good time to buy the dip.
On Saturday, he suited up and participated in warmups prior to Buffalo’s preseason game. Perhaps an indication they are close to a deal?
Betz – Noise for now. Cook is obviously trying to get paid while he can (go get that money, dude!), but Buffalo seems pretty locked in that they’re not going to shell out top tier money. Cook played less than 50% of the snaps a year ago, so him getting paid like let’s say Saquon or King Henry simply wouldn’t make much sense. If he’s stuck on getting top-8, top-6 money at his position, I don’t expect a deal to get done before the season. For now, we continue to wait, but for fantasy, the longer Cook misses practice, the more concerned I am about his early season outlook. The NFL season kicks off in less than 30 days…it’s hard to go from sitting out to playing in a game without enough of a ‘ramp up’ time. He carries a decent amount of risk at his current ADP.
4. The prodigal son, Keenan Allen, returns to Los Angeles.
Allen and the Chargers agreed on a one-year, $8.52 million contract Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Julia – News. On one of the best days of Kyle’s life, Allen returns to the place where it all began. You have to consider Allen a deep fantasy option even on a team that loves to run the ball, but the big boost belongs to QB Justin Herbert, who gets another reliable target.
Betz – News. This is good news for Herbert, but bad news for every other pass catcher not named Ladd. Keenan is obviously not the guy he was five years ago, but even in what was a disappointing year in Chicago, he still caught 70 balls and earned a target on over 21% of his routes. It’s getting harder and harder to paint a super bullish outlook on rookie Tre Harris while Quentin Johnston and KeAndre Lambert-Smith are also going to be pushing for snaps. It’s getting awfully crowded in LA for a team that deep down, probably wants to establish it.
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5. Spencer Rattler is getting first-team reps in New Orleans.
Julia – News? Question Mark? Look, how much investment were we making into the QB room in New Orleans to start? The answer is not much, but this is worth noting if you were taking a deep round shot at Tyler Shough in 2QB leagues, or you have some Chris Olave in your portfolio. Beat reporters Nick Underhill and Ross Jackson called Rattler the clear favorite to start Week 1, with Kellen Moore saying he is close to making a decision. It’s not great news for Olave; in the seven games Rattler played, he only managed four TDs.
Betz – Noise. I’m not sure what to make of this blurb. Does it even matter? Rattler was a train wreck when he was on the field last year, ranking 44th out of 47 QBs in PFF’s pass grade (minimum 100+ drop backs), and we know at some point, the team is going to want to see what Tyler Shough can do in the regular season. I’m not overreacting to who gets named the Week 1 starter, because there’s a really good chance multiple QBs are starting games this season for New Orleans. For what it’s worth, Shough flashed at moments in their first preseason game over the weekend, completing 15 of 22 passes for 165 yards (7.5 YPA) and a score. This camp battle is far from over.
6. Chris Godwin might not play Week 1.
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht said Tuesday that Godwin (ankle) is “exactly where” the team hoped he would be in his recovery but that the team hasn’t yet made a decision on whether he will start the season on the PUP list, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
Julia – News. We kind of saw this coming as Godwin started training camp on the PUP list, still recovering from an ankle dislocation he suffered in Week 7 of last year. The Bucs’ concern level seemed clear as they drafted rookie Emeka Egbuka in the first round of the NFL Draft. I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think Godwin will be on the field to start the season, and if you can grab Egbuka in your drafts, that move may pay off handsomely.
Betz – News. At this point, I think Godwin is more likely to start the season on the PUP list than play Week 1. We’ll get more info this week on his rehab, but he’s still not participating in team drills, and with Egbuka showing out and Jalen McMillan a serviceable WR3 across from Mike Evans, Tampa doesn’t need to force it with Rod God.