Fantasy football reactions for AFC depth charts
Fantasy football reactions for AFC depth charts
Depth charts can be tricky this early before the season gets rolling. They can be a trove of misinformation and lead fantasy owners to chase a concept down a wormhole to nothingne s. Chip Kelly once said, in regards to an early depth chart, "I don't care". He , that it was his understanding that the PR department put those together. It's true, often these early releases can be just that. With that in mind, let's go over all the AFC depth charts to examine what useful information we can glean, and what we can, within reason, ignore.Buffalo Bills The big items of note are the Frankensteins put together by Rex Ryan at multiple positions. The // hybrid is pretty predictable. Ryan has been intentionally convoluted in delivering me sages on which quarterback he wants to start Week 1. There's still no telling who is the early favorite in this job. had the most dazzling preseason opener, and was tabbed as the second game starter. The other, le s expected mashup was the / combo at receiver. If these two are truly going to split the reps as the number-two receiver, neither will have fantasy relevance in this offense.This version of the depth chart has over , although the latter received most of the praise from camp. Williams was with an unknown i sue. As long as it's not serious, he is still the back to watch, unle s Brown has a strong preseason performance or two.Miami Dolphins Most notable is that the Miami depth chart Mark McGwire Jersey features three wide receivers. The team lists , and as starters. That top three should be all but set in stone to start the season, although (foot) could steal Jennings' spot at flanker once he is healthy. This is an offense that is ascending, and has plenty of young talent to groom.As expected, is the number-two back behind . , a popular draft prospect, is back with the pack and fourth on the depth chart. He is not redraft relevant this year. Williams has some talent, but this is not a handcuff situation. Miller is a workhorse, but if he gets injured, keep Williams on your waiver-wire speed dial. New England Patriots The running back depth chart is as confusing as ever. The team lists two starters, with presumably as the full time running back and the fullback. However, and were listed under this a sumed fullback spot. Those two could not be further from that position. We gleaned no clarity on the running back rotation from this depth chart. New York Jets In case you forgot, is the no-question starter at running back. Supposed potential challengers and are third and fifth on the depth chart, respectively. Ivory's late ADP continues to be baffling. He has weekly RB2 upside every Santiago Casilla Jersey time he hit the field on sheer volume alone. still finds himself in the midst of one of the rougher offseasons around the league. Thought to have a good amount of upside as a second-year player in Chan Gailey's offseason, struggles in OTAs and training camp saw Amaro tumble to third on the depth chart. Until he makes up some ground, he's not rosterable in any seasonal format.Baltimore Ravens has not been on the field for long enough stretches of time this offseason to make a claim for the starting job. Thus, he finds himself behind . Perriman could still leap the veteran before the preseason ends, but we cannot pencil him in for 100-plus targets until he does. looks locked in as the starting tight end. We know rookies at the position rarely make a big splash, which is why is second fiddle right now. Marc Trestman's offense could help Gillmore have some fantasy relevant weeks. Much to the dismay of the Buck Allen supporters, he finds himself behind Lorenzo Taliafarro on the depth chart. The second-year running back is the primary backup to , not the rookie.Cincinnati Bengals No real surprises from the lineup, although it's worth noting that is the current WR2 over . Popular belief held that a healthy Jones would resume his role as the starter, and regain sleeper status, relegating Sanu to the slot. Perhaps the team is waiting to see more before they move in that direction. It looked that way in the preseason, as Jones played deep into the fourth quarter. Cleveland Browns depth chartNot made available at this time.Pittsburgh Steelers As forecasted, is indeed still ahead of on the depth chart. Will that mean Wheaton has more fantasy value than Bryant? That is no given. This team will be in three-wide receiver sets more often than not this season. Even in limited preseason time, Bryant dusted a cornerback for a 44-yard touchdown. The depth chart standing in no way sets this situation in stone.The rest of the team is set in line with how many predicted. is indeed the primary backup to .Houston Texans gets the first crack at the starting quarterback gig. He is listed as the number-one on the depth chart, and took the first reps in their preseason opener. Hoyer did not flounder, but Mallett was still tabbed as the starter for the second exhibition content. This will be an ongoing Dave Henderson Jersey competition throughout the preseason, as there is no favorite dictated by pedigree.The running back battle seems to be 's to lose. He is listed as the top player on the depth chart, and showed good vision in the preseason debut. Say what you want about Blue's talent, but he should be looking at a fine opportunity. Similarly, it appears has the number-two receiver gig locked up. Shorts could have some PPR bye week-filler potential, provided he stays healthy. Indianapolis Colts There's not too much to break down here, all the starting spots are filled with the "as expected" players. is a favorite to push for high-end RB2 status this season, and a favorite of many fantasy analysts. However, his age is still a reality. If he does get hurt or hit the end of the road as a Colt this year, we'll want to know who the backup is. had a few nice games as a pa s catcher down the stretch last season. He's the top listed backup on the depth chart. However, looked quite good in his NFL preseason debut. This is a situation to watch. Jacksonville Jaguars is the team's number-one receiver, but it appears emerged from the offseason as the starter opposite him. cannot stay on the field, and has yet to impre s much when on it. It's looking more and more like this is a player to sell stock in, even this early. T.J Yeldon is already the starting running back. He has workhorse potential, and should see work on all three downs. Yeldon's touchdown upside is capped in this offense, but the touches will be there.It's good to see listed separately from the other backup running backs, even if it means nothing. Robinson performed admirably when stretched out of his skill set comfort zone as the team's featured back last season. Even just anecdotally, it's good to see a player who has worked hard to make a succe sful position switch be viewed highly by his team. Whether that turns into fantasy production is another story with Yeldon entrenched. But Robinson should be on every league's waiver wire speed dial.Tenne see Titans checking in as the starting quarterback falls in line with everything coming out of Tenne see during the offseason. His pa sing game weapons are not so set in stone. comes in as one of the wide receiver starters, despite positive buzz around from camp. Whichever player wins that job will not have consistent fantasy value. is buried on the depth chart, but we should not read too much into that. Some team's early depth charts push rookies down without any real reason. In the preseason opener, Cobb took 11 carries for 53 yards against the . While that was Tony Phillips Jersey very late in the game, he is going to earn first-team reps, per head coach Ken Whisenhunt.Denver Broncos is the starter on the depth chart, just in case there were any delusions anywhere out there that this was not a no-brainer. looks like the number-two player there. still has his moments, but could push him for a roster spot, given his overall competence. is listed ahead of sleeper tight end, . The younger of the two had a nice preseason game against the , and that may push him into late round consideration. Just remember, this could easily be a tight end-by-committee approach in an offense that will throw le s.Perhaps most notable from this depth chart is just how questionable this offensive line is. They have a second-round rookie starting at left tackle, and more inexperience next to him. Gary Kubiak's zone blocking offense can field a strong running game even with a sub-par line in tow. But it's fair to wonder if can still mask deficiencies in the pa s blocking at this age, as he has throughout his career.Kansas City Chiefs is the number-two receiver. This was the projection coming out of OTAs, but it's a reality here in training camp. The do not run an offense with much pa sing volume, but Wilson is emerging as a .Oakland Raiders created plenty of buzz early in training camp, and it earned him the starting spot opposite . Crabtree is a sneaky candidate to catch 70-plus pa ses this season, and is completely off everyone's radar. is listed as the number-two behind . This is curious as NFL Media Insider, Ian Rapoport, reported he po se sed a 50/50 chance to make the roster. Even if he is the primary running Stephen Piscotty Jersey backup, is still the pa sing down back here, and only other interesting a set in the backfield. is apparently the starting tight end. There's been some talk that or may be potential sleepers. One of those two may end up the starter, but Smith's current status reminds us why we should not even bother with this situation. San Diego Chargers Stevie Johnson finds himself listed as the second wide receiver behind . Much like Crabtree, Johnson is a forgotten veteran who could easily outperform expectations away from the mire that was the San Francisco offense. Johnson is going to absorb all of 's 91 targets, and do not rule out him siphoning some from other players. is co-starter at tight end, alongside . We've heard this story before, but in light of Gates' early season suspension, the tune sounds a little sweeter. Green makes sense as an upside flier late in drafts. Matt Harmon is an a sociate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of , who you can follow on Twitter __.