Fantasy Football 2024: Training Camp Roundup (8/27)

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 Monday into Tuesday.

WR CeeDee Lamb Locks in New Deal

One of the bigger holdouts of the offseason is officially complete. Lamb never slipped down draft boards — he was routinely drafted second or third overall all summer — and those drafters had their faith pay off.

There never seemed like much doubt that this deal would get done, but it was a bit of a scare that it went all the way until the end of August. But what’s done is done, and Lamb is now locked into a top-five fantasy finish.

RB Nick Chubb Opens Season on PUP

This was always the expectation, but the Browns officially made it official by placing Chubb on the PUP list, meaning he won’t be able to play the first four games of the season.

This has been Cleveland’s plan all along. Chubb’s contract — negotiated in the spring — contains a clause in which he must play 12 games to earn a roster bonus. So there’s financial incentive for Chubb to be ready by Week 5.

Chubb remains a high-risk, high-reward fantasy player. He’s being drafted on the cheap, and he could either give your team a big boost for a playoff push, or the injury could linger and he ends up being a waste. (Personally, I like drafting him, as his cost is very cheap.)

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster Signs with Chiefs

Shortly after being released by the Patriots, Smith-Schuster gets a reunion in KC with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. Is this a sign that a Rashee Rice suspension is incoming? Or is it just a natural place to land for the former promising WR?

Smith-Schuster was a regular starter for the Chiefs just two years ago, but with Rice, Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy, Smith-Schuster is set to be a role player. However, Brown may open the season on the sidelines and Rice could theoretically be suspended at any time, so there’s a chance JuJu will be a worthwhile flier for at least a few weeks.

QB Box Nix Named Starter in Denver

Nix balled out in the preseason and earned the starting role in Denver. Only Jarrett Stidham seemed surprised:

Drake Maye Crushing, But New England Starting QB Still up in the Air

Speaking of QBs balling out in the preseason, perhaps none has been as impressive as Drake Maye. New head coach Jerod Mayo said Maye has outplayed Jacoby Brissett this preseason (something that has been obvious to everyone), but still refuses to name Maye the starter, saying it’s still a “true competition” and that the team is going to take everything into account.