Fantasy Football 2022: Training Camp Roundup (8/25)

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 Season Opener in Jeopardy?

Things looked promising last week when Darren Waller returned to practice and was moving at full speed. That optimism has proved to be short-lived after another mysterious injury (or a possible contract hold-in) has kept him off the field since. The good news is Raiders’ head coach Josh McDaniels doesn’t seem overly concerned about a long-term injury. The bad news? He also has no idea if Waller will be ready to go for the team’s first game against the Chargers.

Waller has been drafted as the TE4 throughout most of the summer. It’s encouraging that Waller doesn’t have an injury that the coaching staff considers long-term, but there needs to be concern about how little he’s practiced this offseason. Every missed practice is a chance for him to get acclimated to game speed, regardless of the reason. It’s time to start worrying that Waller could get off to a slow start, even if he’s healthy.

Kadarius Toney Struggling to Get Healthy Again

Unlike Waller, we know what has been going on with Kadarius Toney throughout training camp. He has missed both preseason games and hasn’t practiced in three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury during training camp. Based on the video above, he’s back on the field but still struggling to overcome the lingering effects of the injury.

Toney struggled with injuries throughout his rookie season as well, playing in just 10 of 17 games in his first season with the Giants. When healthy, Toney is the most explosive wide receiver in New York and can take over games as evidenced by his Week 5 performance against the Cowboys in 2021 (13 targets, 10 receptions and 189 receiving yards). It would have been nice to see a healthy training camp after an injury-plagued rookie season, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

Toney is currently being drafted as the WR42 in the last two weeks of NFC ADP, regularly coming off the board in the eighth and ninth rounds of fantasy drafts. Toney has the huge upside to hit that ADP, but the constant string of injuries is concerning for his 2022 outlook.

J.K. Dobbins Continues to Rehab

The Ravens formally put Gus Edwards on the PUP list, meaning he will miss the first four games of the season. If J.K. Dobbins can continue to incrementally improve each week of practice, then he will be poised to command a majority of the running back repetitions early in the season. The team is being cautious with Dobbins’ recovery in practice, meaning we won’t see him get any preseason action just one year out from his ACL injury in a preseason game. But a video showing him going through running back drills and running routes is encouraging that he is making progress.

Dobbins’ ADP has remained steady throughout the offseason, and he’s currently going off the board as the RB20 in fantasy drafts, which is probably high since the coaching staff can’t commit to him being available for the first week of the season. However, the third-year running back gets increasingly closer to playing early in the season and will be poised for a huge role ahead of Mike Davis, Justice Hill and Tyler Badie if he’s able to get cleared the first week of the season. Even then, Edwards will need more time to ramp back up, giving us a chance to see if the Dobbins we saw at the end of 2020 (RB11 in fantasy the last six weeks of the season) can be the lead back we all expected when he was a second-round draft pick out of Ohio State.

Chase Edmonds, the Zero-RB Player to Target?

Fantasy managers have been patient drafting Miami’s running backs this season. Former San Francisco offensive coordinator (and multiple-RB enthusiast) Mike McDaniel was hired in Miami this offseason and promptly added Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel to a backfield that already had Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed last season. Miami will likely use the outside zone scheme that has had huge success (and been a fantasy goldmine) with the 49ers and invested in their offensive line this offseason, signing Terron Armstead and Connor Williams. The lack of clarity has ultimately suppressed the ADP of the entire backfield, which has caused Edmonds, the team’s highest-drafted running back, to come off the board as the RB28 in the last two weeks.

For players using the Zero (or Hero) RB approach, this report is a breath of fresh air. Edmonds has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career but has flashed huge upside in the games where he’s been asked to have a big role in the offense. The veteran running back played in only 12 games last season but averaged 9.7 carries and 4.4 targets per game when he was healthy. More importantly, he averaged 5.10 yards per carry and 7.2 yards per reception, making him a big play threat any time he touches the ball.

If Miami can keep Edmonds healthy, he will have every opportunity to produce solid numbers as the lead running back in Miami. Defenses will already have their hands full trying to contain Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle down the field, which could lead to big running lanes and checkdown opportunities behind a revamped offensive line. I’ve been targeting Edmonds as an RB2 or RB3 all summer and this report only reinforces the fact that he could have the kind of upside that easily blows past his current ADP.