Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
It can be hard to prep for fantasy football during training camp and the preseason. Things happen every day that might be a huge deal for fantasy … or might be no deal at all. Sometimes we can figure it out, but sometimes it’s just a matter of paying attention to what happens to know what might matter just so things don’t slip through the cracks.
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 2022 NFL regular season.
Darren Waller Returns to Practice
After missing all of training camp because of a hamstring injury, Darren Waller was back in pads and taking part in practice Wednesday. Despite the lack of summer reps, Waller has continued to be drafted as the TE4 in fantasy leagues, so seeing him running routes and moving at full speed has to be a welcome relief for early fantasy drafters.
The veteran tight end will hope to stay healthy until the regular season since he’s poised to have the best supporting cast around him in his career. Waller disappointed fantasy managers in 2021 but should be able to thrive in 2022 with Davante Adams drawing the opposing team’s coverage throughout the season.
Mecole Hardman Carted Off the Field
The Chiefs’ passing attack will look very different compared to years past after the team traded Tyreek Hill away during the 2022 offseason. Mecole Hardman, one of the players vying for an expanded role in the offense, suffered a groin injury Wednesday in practice going up for a jump ball and was ultimately carted off the field.
The training cart is often used to protect players from putting weight on injuries in practice, so it’s too early to tell how severe this injury is. It’s also positive that Hardman tried to walk off the field on his own before eventually taking the cart in to get checked out by the trainers. Hardman was seeing consistent work with the first-team offense. Any time he misses will give rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore more reps with Patrick Mahomes and the first team, which may ultimately lead to the rookie forcing his way into the starting lineup.
CeeDee Lamb Misses Practice
Cowboys’ wide receiver CeeDee Lamb missed Wednesday’s joint practice against the Chargers with a foot injury. It was later revealed that Lamb had a cut on his foot that required stitches after something that happened away from the field. He should be ready to go for Week 1, but it is a setback.
Lamb is poised for a massive workload in Dallas’ passing offense to start the season with the departure of Amari Cooper and the continued rehabilitation of Michael Gallup after a late-season ACL injury. The Cowboys have a very thin wide receiver corps at this time, which will force rookie Jalen Tolbert, Noah Brown and Simi Fehoko into action early in the season. Thankfully, it seems like Lamb’s injury won’t require him to miss any meaningful time outside of practice.
Ken Walker Undergoes Surgery
Reports surfaced Tuesday that Seahawks’ rookie running back Ken Walker suffered a core injury. Well, Wednesday he had surgery to correct it. Pete Carroll was very vague about the nature of the injury and the surgery but expressed optimism that the rookie could be ready for Week 1 of the regular season.
Core injuries tend to linger, and without specifics, it is hard to know exactly how long the running back will be out. Rashaad Penny recently returned to practice and is poised to serve as the team’s primary back with Walker sidelined. Penny was one of the best players in football to close the 2021 season and will be poised to continue that workload until his backfield running mate is fully healed from his surgery.
Joe Burrow Appendix Burst
We finally got some clarity on Joe Burrow after he’s been held out of practice since late July after unexpected appendix surgery. Turns out the emergency procedure took place after Burrow’s appendix actually burst. The good news is Burrow was back throwing passes during individual drills Wednesday after two weeks off.
This does bear some monitoring. Any surgery that requires players to rest typically comes with a loss of muscle and strength. Burrow will be on the field in Week 1 but be mindful of the fact that he’s lost two weeks of physical preparation for the start of the season. It shouldn’t take long for Burrow to return to form, especially compared to last season after an ACL surgery, but the Bengals may rely more on Joe Mixon running behind their offensive line to start the season as Burrow regains his strength.
Aaron Rodgers Campaigns for Both RBs to be on the Field
The Packers’ young receiving corps had a bad day in practice Tuesday, struggling to run the correct routes and dropping passes from Rodgers. Just 24 hours later the veteran quarterback emphasized in an interview that Green Bay needed to “get their 11 best players on the field” on offense when talking about both Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.
Fantasy managers already expected Jones to have a big role in the passing attack based on his second-round ADP. But when Rodgers — a quarterback who noticeably shuts out wide receivers for miscues — mentions getting both him and Dillon on the field, it warrants notice. Dillon has been drafted this offseason like a premium handcuff, but it sounds like if Rodgers has his way, he will have a sizable role in the offense. At this point Rodgers may just be sending a message to the young receivers on the team that they need to clean up mental errors on the field, but if the miscues continue then there may just be a lot more two-RB formations on the field for the Packers in 2022.
