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​Fantasy Football Training Camp: Ten Players to Watch

Chris Harris runs down the players to watch in training camp—even as teams try to withhold as much information as possible.
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Let's get this out of the way: most of what you'll hear about the NFL over the next six weeks is total bull.

When you hear a coach say he loves what he's seen out of Player X it could mean about 73 different things, including: "The kid can really play," "I want to praise a kid with a fragile ego," "I want to light a fire under a different player," "I want to obfuscate what our actual plans are because I don't want our opponents having any advantage over us," "I just saw the idiot do one correct thing after he messed up for three straight weeks," and "I have fun watching you dummies in the media try and interpret everything I say as though you're slaughtering a goat and reading its entrails."

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(Side note: This is why I like Bill Belichick. He has disdain for the whole stupid, rotting process. He does the bare minimum and doesn't hide his contempt for having to feed the gaping maw of a ridiculous p.r. system.)

Read More: Chris Harris' Preseason Quarterback Rankings

The larger point I'm trying to make is, most of what you'll hear in the next six weeks is bull—but not everything. There are some players who raise questions that really do need answering before we can assemble enough facts to decide where they should be drafted in fantasy leagues. Will we get all the info we need? Nope. But we'll get some. So get that butcher's knife ready. Let's look at the top ten players to watch in training camp.

Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT. Bell is suspended for four games to begin the '16 season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, so we'll already have a tough time figuring out where to draft him and his backup, 33-year-old DeAngelo Williams. Let's also not accept purely on faith that Bell's surgically rebuilt knee is perfect and ready to go. Bell tore his right PCL and MCL on November 1st last year, and I've had medical folks tell me that a PCL can be scarier than an ACL when it comes to a quick bounce-back. I don't doubt Bell will suit up Week 5 against the New York Jets. But will his knee have the same life? I'm not sure what news we could possibly get in August that would convince us one way or another, but keep your ears tuned.

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Jamaal Charles, RB, KC. Charles got his knee-ligament tear out of the way a bit earlier than Bell: October 11 of '15. J-Mail tore his right ACL, four years after tearing his left ACL. The good news is that back then, Charles returned from ACL surgery to post a 1,509-yard rushing season. The bad news is that back then, he was in his age-26 season. Now he's in his age-30 season (he actually turns 30 in December). The Chiefs hope their main offensive weapon can be the same guy, but they've got alternatives ready in Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware. Unfortunately, Charles may not play in the preseason at all.

Jamaal Charles has returned from an ACL tear before—but this time he's about to turn 30. Photo: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Julian Edelman, WR, NE. When it comes to Edelman, who broke his foot in November and required multiple surgeries, we'll really be stretched to get the real story, because the New England Patriots just don't play the "information" game at all. However much Edelman plays in the preseason, we'll be watching him cut to see if that same old snap has returned. We're probably not getting more information than that. Plus, we have to deal with the question of Jimmy Garoppolo under center for four weeks in New England (more on that in a moment). The Patriots simply weren't the same team after Edelman got hurt last year.

Arian Foster, RB, MIA. Foster tore his right Achilles' on October 25th last year, and while that's a concern, it's not his biggest. He turns 30 later this month and has been a walking infirmary for years; in the past three seasons alone, he's been listed on the injury report with groin, hamstring, back, ribs, thumb, chest, and calf problems. So yes, it's correct to wonder whether Foster can bounce back with his one-cut explosiveness after tearing the Achilles', but it's even more correct to wonder what injury is coming next. Foster's new team, the Miami Dolphins, have to weigh his injury history against the potential benefits of having a former All-Pro running back starting in their backfield. If he's healthy, Foster will presumably battle second-year man Jay Ajayi for touches.

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Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL. Finally, here's a non-injury guy to contemplate. Freeman was among fantasy's most valuable players last year, as the 5'8" 206-pounder somehow became an every-down threat. Guys this small tend not to last as feature backs, so the camp question for the Atlanta Falcons is how much they can rely on Freeman and whether they should try and work second-year man Tevin Coleman more into the mix. Despite missing one game, Freeman led all NFL RBs in snaps played last year by a wide margin, and my assumption is that if that happens again, he'll get hurt. We're already hearing lots of lip service about Coleman, but how much will Atlanta actually use him once the preseason begins?

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, NE. Tom Brady will be suspended for a month because of his Deflategate involvement, so the Patriots will hand over the reins to third-year man Garoppolo, who's never taken an NFL snap that mattered. This isn't really a question of whether Garoppolo himself will be a fantasy option; outside of leagues where QBs are extremely scarce, you're better off going with more proven options. No, this is more a question of whether Garoppolo's presence—and the potential for dumbing down the offense sans Brady—will limit the effectiveness of Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Dion Lewis, Martellus Bennett, et al. New England's preseason work with Garoppolo at the helm will be among the most scrutinized in the league.

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Josh Gordon, WR, CLE. Like Bell and Brady, Gordon is suspended for the season's first four games. He was fantasy's No. 1 receiver in '13 but has only played in five games in the two seasons since because of failed drug tests. So the first question with him simply comes down to this: Will he stay away from the giggle weed for the entire year? If he doesn't, he'll be banned from the NFL. Next, we have to wonder whether three years ago was a fluke; Gordon wasn't much of a route runner and mostly made a string of big plays by running go-routes. When he returned from suspension in the second half of '14, he was less effective, as NFL teams seemed to develop a book on him. And finally there's the RG3 question. Is Robert Griffin good enough as a pocket passer to use Gordon effectively?

Is Thomas Rawls ready to take the baton from Marshawn Lynch? And can he stay healthy? Photo: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports.

Jordy Nelson, WR, GB. Here's a tip: ignore most everything that gets said about the NFL in August. Only pay attention to the negative stuff. When a team's p.r. machine can't keep something bad from leaking out, it's probably a real thing. Nelson is recouping from a torn right ACL he suffered in the exhibition season last year; typically, we'd assume that would be enough time to regain his explosiveness. But we've already heard that Nelson has a sore left knee in the early days of training camp, supposedly because he's been overcompensating. That's not a reason to panic, but it's not good. I still expect Nelson to be a top-ten fantasy WR this year, but I'll pay special attention to how many more of Nelson's strains and sprains the Packers can't conceal in August.

Thomas Rawls, RB, SEA. Rawls was surprisingly good during Marshawn Lynch's absence last year and holds the key to the Seahawks running game. He's on the smaller side but he's big enough: 215 pounds and a flailing, vicious runner who has some change of direction but mostly just wants to slash into defenders and pound them. Of course, that running can get a guy hurt, and Rawls broke his ankle last December. We don't typically think of a broken ankle as something that lingers into the next season, but Rawls has pretty much been shut down for seven months and still isn't ready to practice in camp. If Seattle is without him to begin the year, they'll have to rely on rookie C.J. Prosise and (gag) Christine Michael.

Mark Sanchez, QB, DEN. Let's wrap this up by saying of course nobody is drafting the Sanchize. He's one of the most "schemable" quarterbacks in recent memory because pressure and zone coverages confuse him, his throwing accuracy fails him, and his offenses tend to bog down. So what we care about in Denver is not whether Sanchez is a fantasy option, or even if he's a winning player; we want to know what this will do to receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Those guys are really good! It would be a shame if Sanchez or one of his understudies—second-year seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian or rookie first-rounder Paxton Lynch—can't move the ball well enough to keep the WRs in clover. We won't know for sure whether that's the case until the season opener on September 8th, but hopefully we see some QB competence in the preseason.

(Note: For fantasy football advice based on film review every single weekday from now until 2017, listen to the Harris Football Podcast at www.HarrisFootball.com)

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