College Football Props of the Week: Week 4
Walter Waddell
Training camps provide our first look into NFL players and teams as we prepare for the upcoming fantasy football season. Information will now begin to flood our social media timelines, leaving us to determine the subsequent fantasy impact. It’s a matter of knowing which information matters, and which should be ignored.
So each day in this space, we’ll take a trip through the top news and takeaways around the league’s training camps to offer up what fantasy managers need to know as we head through draft season and into the 2024 NFL regular season.
Today, let’s review the major news as we start from Wednesday into Thursday.
Jacoby Brissett, Russell Wilson Named Week 1 Starters
The Patriots and Steelers finally announced what most everyone had assumed, listing Brissett and Wilson, respectively, as their Week 1 starters. Justin Fields had gotten some buzz early in camp as Wilson dealt with injury, but the team went with the veteran Wilson, who is unlikely to make the mistakes Fields might make. Meanwhile, Drake Maye is almost certainly a better quarterback than Brissett, and absolutely has a higher long-term upside, but there were worries he wouldn’t be ready yet, and with the Patriots rolling with maybe the worst offensive line in the league, the team decided it wouldn’t make sense to risk the rookie’s health from the start. Maye will likely find his way into the lineup at some point in 2024 no matter what Brissett does, but Wilson could hold off Fields if he plays well.
Commanders Sign Noah Brown
Those who scooped up Dyami Brown and/or Olamide Zaccheaus after the Jahan Dotson trade are suddenly in shambles, with the Commanders adding Noah Brown Wednesday. Noah Brown immediately becomes the clear WR2 in Washington, at least until Luke McCaffrey develops. Brown has never put together a full productive season, but he’s topped 500 yards each of the last two years (2022 in Dallas, 2023 in Houston), including a two-week stretch last year where he went 13-325-1 on 14 targets for the Texans, the WR3 over those two weeks. It’s still the Terry McLaurin Show in Washington, but assuming Noah Brown gets up to speed quickly, he’s an interesting flyer in the deepest leagues.
Ja’Marr Chase, Brandon Aiyuk Missing Practice Again
Bengals coach Zac Taylor’s proclamation that Chase would practice all week was certainly short-lived, with Chase only wearing street clothes for Cincinnati practice Wednesday. These situations almost always seem to resolve themselves eventually (with some very notable exceptions), but at this point, we have to worry at least about Chase’s hamstrings if he even plays Week 1 given how much time he’s sat.
Meanwhile, the Aiyuk situation is as murky as ever in San Francisco. The sides appear to be at an impasse with less than two weeks from the 49ers’ season opener. If you know how this will resolve … no you don’t.
Chiefs Add Samaje Perine
Perine was the odd man out in Denver, with Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime in place. Now, he is in Kansas City, where he immediately becomes the No. 2 back behind Isiah Pacheco and one of the league’s more interesting handcuffs. Perine was 14th among running backs with 50 receptions last year. Now, he’ll fill in the Jerick McKinnon role for the Chiefs, working two-minute drills and pass-catching situations. Perine is interesting as a (relatively) high-floor PPR option in deeper leagues.
Falcons Trade Taylor Heinicke to Chargers
The Chargers desperately needed a backup quarterback when Justin Herbert went down last year, with Easton Stick struggling to show much. They now have that in Taylor Heinicke, who should never be relied on to be a starter but is at least good enough to step in in a pinch. With Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. in Atlanta, Heinicke became expendable, but the fact that all the Falcons could get for him was a conditional sixth-round pick shows that Heinicke carried minimal value.
Browns Restructure Deshaun Watson’s Contract
Per ESPN’s Field Yates, Cleveland converted nearly $45 million of Watson’s salary into a signing bonus. That reportedly creates more than $35 million of cap space, giving the Browns more space than any team in the league. It could just be a procedural move, but the Browns have been linked to Brandon Aiyuk all offseason, and with only a week-plus until the season, there aren’t many players out there who could require a team to have as much cap space as the Browns now do. Nothing is happening yet, but…
Later Thursday morning, the Browns also re-signed D’Onta Foreman. Foreman had been a surprise cut Tuesday, but reports immediately came out that it was mostly procedural as the team ran with four quarterbacks and needed the space. After Cleveland released Tyler Huntley Thursday, that opened space for Foreman, who immediately becomes relevant in a backfield that only has Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong until Nick Chubb’s return.
Lions Add Peoples-Jones, Robinson
Detroit signed Tim Patrick to the practice squad Tuesday, and they added veterans Donovan Peoples-Jones (cut by the Lions on cutdown day) and Allen Robinson Wednesday. This is a very “throw everything against the wall and see what sticks” approach for a team with a very shallow depth chart behind Amon-Ra St. Brown — especially if Jameson Williams doesn’t develop as expected. From this group, Patrick has the best chance at being relevant in 2024 (or ever again), but the names are at least interesting to monitor.
Brock Bowers Still Not Practicing
The Raiders’ first-round pick has now missed a week and a half of practice with a sore foot. The warning bells aren’t sounding yet, but this is definitely something to monitor. If Bowers isn’t ready to go Week 1, second-year TE Michael Mayer becomes interesting as a streamer.
Cowboys Sign Dalvin Cook
Dallas really needed some more depth out of the backfield, set to go into the season with just Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle. Now, after signing four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook, Dallas … really needs some more depth out of the backfield. Cook looked all but done last year, scuffling to 3.2 yards per carry with the Jets before being released and latching on with the Ravens for their playoff run. Maybe he finds the Fountain of Youth in Dallas, but it’s hard to imagine getting much of anything out of Cook in 2024.
Broncos Sign Donald Parham Jr.
The Chargers cut Parham loose on cutdown day after four seasons with the team. Parham never cracked 300 yards with the Chargers, and he’s not a blocker, but he’s useful as a red zone weapon. We’ll see if he cracks the rotation in Denver, but Parham could be an end zone threat if he earns playing time.
Packers Claim K Brayden Narveson on Waivers
Green Bay released 2023 starter Anders Carlson on roster cutdown day, then dumped veteran Greg Joseph Wednesday. Narveson, who kicked at Iowa State, Western Kentucky and NC State in college showed a big preseason leg, though he was only 78.0% on field goals in college. Still, the Packers needed to make a move, so it looks like he’ll be the starter to open the season.
