We are just a few days away from the first full slate of preseason action. While we wait, there is plenty of training camp news to analyze.
Injury Notes
- Second-year WR Tyquan Thornton has missed preseason time with an undisclosed injury. Fortunately, he saw extensive reps at Patriots' practice on Sunday. Although he did little as a rookie, the 2022 second-round pick, much can be blamed on a dysfunctional offense run by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. With Bill O'Brien running the offense, don't be surprised if the team utilizes Thornton's speed to help expand the offense. Thornton's undrafted in most fantasy leagues, but could be a consideration as a late pick in deep drafts.
- After missing time with a foot issue, Luke Schoonmaker was removed from the active/non-football injury list on Monday. The fact that he was selected in the second round proves the Cowboys were high on him. However, with many TEs needing time to develop along with the time Schoonmaker has missed, he could struggle to move past Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot on the depth chart anytime soon.
Job Battles
- We have conflicting news coming out of Cleveland. RB coach Stump Mitchell suggested Nick Chubb will play on third downs. However, coach Kevin Stefanski isn't sure who will handle the role. Chubb had 36 catches for 278 yards on 49 targets in 2019 with Kareem Hunt on the team. Chubb also had the second-best receiving production of his career last year when he caught 27 passes 239 yards and one touchdown. Even if he's not the full-time third down RB, Chubb could match or slightly exceed his 2019 production.
- Good news for Alexander Mattison. According to beat writer reports, neither Ty Chandler or Kene Nwangwu has a clear lead on the backup role behind Mattison. With neither standing out, it would seem that the backup RBs haven't been making a strong case to take significant work from Mattison, who projects to be a three-down player. His current ADP could be a steal if Mattison isn unchallenged for work.
- No surprise here, but C.J. Stroud has been taking most of the first-team reps in practice. He'll also start the preseason opener to get some reps. With an uncertain WR group that includes Nico Collins, John Metchie, Robert Woods and Dalton Schultz, Stroud is being drafted outside the top-24 QBs. For those in one-QB leagues, he'll likely be on the waiver wire.
- Cowboys' sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn is having a strong start to camp as a runner and receiver. However, at 5'6" and 176 pounds, it's fair to question how much usage he can handle at the NFL level. There are very few RBs of that size in the history of the NFL to be significant parts of their offenses. And it's not like Dallas spent much draft capital on him. Projecting five touches per game may be a reasonable guess if Vaughn continues to show well in camp.
