Training Camp Battles with Biggest Impact on the Fantasy Football Landscape

Those who deem the preseason in the NFL meaningless clearly have never played fantasy football. Every August, we find shifting depth charts and dazzling debuts emerge in the exhibition phase of the NFL campaign.

Some of the most telling and revealing information we hunt for this time of year focuses on training camp battles. Teams usually have set their depth charts at each position with some semblance of order by this stage of the offseason, but a number of meaningful scenarios around the league remain unsettled. 

Who will win the battle of the backfield in South Beach? Also, the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking at a new receiving maven from the slot whom no one is drafting just yet, and a battle for tight end snaps in Tampa could reveal fantasy value. 

Join us in exploring some of the more fantasy-relevant training camp battles around the NFL. 

The Steelers' Receiving Depth Chart Offers Intrigue in Fantasy Football

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Antonio Brown goes first overall on average in fantasy drafts, per Fantasy Football Calculator. The next-closest receiver on the team in average draft position is Markus Wheaton, who's going 114th overall. This ADP abyss suggests we could find some value in the Pittsburgh passing game in drafts.

Wheaton was 12th in the NFL last season in routes run from the slot, per Pro Football Focus. However, offensive coordinator Todd Haley is deploying him as the outside complement to Brown, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette. 

"I told Markus in the offseason I didn’t want to pigeon-hole him because he might be our second-best outside guy,” Haley said. “We know what he does inside, it’s very good, and we can win with him, but we may need him outside."

If Sammie Coates wants to get on the field as the slot receiver or big-play vertical threat, he'll need to improve his raw route tree and ball-security issues. Coates has real competition for deployment from the slot and regular work in three-wide receiver sets in Eli Rogers.

Rogers, an undrafted Louisville product who came out of college in 2015, ranks 11th in Pro Football Focus' grading of receivers in the preseason. Coates ranks 231st in the site's grading at the position this preseason, last in the NFL over this sample.

In the aforementioned Bouchette piece, Haley deems Rogers the best slot weapon he's had in his tenure with the Steelers offense:

"

Everything we’ve seen to this point, we haven’t had a slot guy like him since I’ve been here. It hasn’t been close. …

Wayne Chrebet was probably more like this guy — quick, he’ll separate, catch the ball, make you miss. …

He’s unique. Most of the college guys we get are outside receivers in college, and then you’re trying to convert them. Well, he played inside a bunch, so he’s got a very good feel already. He’s ahead of the game and he’s lightning quick.

"

FantasyPros indexes 352 players in its average draft position model. Rogers isn't present on this list, which includes 111 receivers. With tight end Ladarius Green potentially starting the season on injured reserve, per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler, a glut of targets remain unaccounted for in the offense.

It's safe to assume you can land Rogers late in drafts and net an important part of a potentially prolific Steelers passing game.

A Battle on the Bucs' Tight End Depth Chart Offers Fantasy Value

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Cameron Brate is an undrafted tight end out of Harvard who has worked his way from practice-squad asset to NFL contributor. Brate is best known in fantasy circles as the guy ranked ahead of Austin Seferian-Jenkins on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' depth chart at tight end throughout the summer.

Much of this stems from Seferian-Jenkins struggling with the playbook earlier this offseason. He was booted from a practice in June for not knowing where to line up during specific plays, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.

Auman recently wrote Seferian-Jenkins is again working with the offensive starters after a tumultuous offseason. Head coach Dirk Koetter told reporters, "Austin's worked his way right back in there, and when he got moved down the depth chart, all you can ask a player when he gets moved down is that he competes and does better and tries to get back up there, and he's done that."

Brate doesn't bear any fantasy relevance, but Seferian-Jenkins ranked second only to the Washington Redskins' Jordan Reed in fantasy points per route run last season, per a study conducted by the author using data from an ESPN database. Seferian-Jenkins was also tied with Reed for the positional lead in targets per route, earning a look on a gaudy 29.3 percent of his routes last season.

If Jameis Winston does indeed take the sophomore leap to statistical stardom, Seferian-Jenkins is likely to join him with rich red-zone results. This ugly offseason has served to depress ASJ's stock, as he's going 20th at the position on average, per FantasyPros. There are likely to be some lean weeks as Seferian-Jenkins splits snaps with Brate, but the upside for this big (6'5", 260 lbs) and rangy target is undeniable.

South Beach Battle: The Dolphins' Running Back Depth Chart

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Fantasy legend Arian Foster has been trying to buy Jay Ajayi's No. 23 jersey since he was signed by the Miami Dolphins to compete with Ajayi in the backfield in mid-July. According to Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, Ajayi won't give up his number to Foster.

The bigger question for fantasy investors is whether Ajayi is going to cede a majority of meaningful snaps and touches to Foster this season.

The Dolphins have tried to add competition for Ajayi, a fifth-round pick in 2015 out of Boise State, throughout the entire offseason. The team signed Denver's C.J. Anderson to an offer sheet back in March, only to see the Broncos match it, per ESPN.com. Miami drafted Alabama back Kenyan Drake in the third round this past spring, leveraging higher draft capital than the cost for Ajayi a year earlier.

The signing of Foster was yet another sign the team wasn't convinced Ajayi was the true workhorse, or at least wanted to add significant competition for him to prove himself in this capacity.

Foster is coming off a serious Achilles injury and hasn't played 16 games since 2012, so durability and availability concerns for this season are well-founded. That said, beat writers for the team such as Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel have noted the difference in elusiveness and vision between Foster and Ajayi in practice, with the savvy veteran earning praise.

Ajayi and Foster are splitting reps in practice with the first-team offense, while preseason results from the meaningful third game this coming week could be telling for the team's Week 1 intentions.

A fantasy Hall of Famer by our parameters, Foster has four seasons that rate in the top 56 of running backs in fantasy points per game since 2000. Foster is being drafted 70th overall on average and 25th among backs, per FantasyPros. Ajayi is going several rounds later at 91st overall and 35th among tailbacks.

History, particularly in the passing phase, favors Foster, who ranked 11th in receiving grading last season, according to Pro Football Focus, while Ajayi ranked 95th at the position. 

It doesn't make much sense in terms of draft capital to secure both players given their relatively close ADPs. Only Foster has the true RB1 upside—if far greater durability risks—of this contentious duo. 

Training Camp Battles at Tailback and Wideout in Baltimore

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If you know what is going to happen with the Baltimore Ravens' busy backfield and muddy receiver depth chart, you likely have the updated edition of Grays Sports Almanac (yes, that's an awful Back to the Future 2 reference).

Outside of prescient powers, we're left to decipher the evidence we have for both positional charts on the Ravens. Heading into the new season, fantasy investors aren't clear on who the best running back is or who is due to lead the team in receiving attention.

ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley reported the murky backfield scenario could continue into the regular season:

"

Baltimore needs someone to separate himself from a crowded running back race. In the second preseason game, all four running backs averaged 3.7 yards or less. Justin Forsett, Buck Allen, Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon each failed to break a run longer than nine yards against an Indianapolis run defense that ranked No. 25 last season. Forsett, who is still atop the depth chart, was ineffective in his first action of the preseason, gaining 11 yards on five carries. The Ravens' plan in the regular season could be to go with the hot running back from week to week.

"

That certainly clears things up, doesn't it? Forsett appears to have the immediate opportunity on the doorstep of the season; he's handled the most NFL work of the incumbent veterans.

Forsett is an inefficient receiver, however, averaging less than six yards per reception and ranking 66th out of 68 backs in receiving grading last season, per Pro Football Focus. This is a crucial element to consider in a Marc Trestman offense, as his backfields have averaged 120 targets in his NFL experience, per Anthony Amico of RotoViz.

Allen ranked sixth in receiving grading on the same index and would be the team's best solution on third down at the moment. Training camp standout West has potentially earned goal-line work, given he scored twice in the team's first preseason game. You can understand why this scenario is vexing for fantasy investors.

The long-view play is Dixon, as he's a talented rookie capable in the passing phase and earned the second-best elusive rating (forced missed tackle rate) from Pro Football Focus last season in college. In leagues with deep benches, stashing Dixon for any late-season upside is advisable, as he could become a dynamic fantasy asset with the keys to a Trestman offense.

We're avoiding mid-round pricing on Forsett given his age (he turns 31 in October) and receiving inefficiency and instead getting cheaper shares of Allen in points-per-reception formats. West is a worthy flier for any scoring-vulture duties in deeper standard leagues, almost a workingman's LeGarrette Blount, if that's possible.

As for the Ravens' comparably unsettled receiving scenario, veteran wideout Mike Wallace is earning praise from quarterback Joe Flacco, per Ryan Mink of the team's website.

"I think he is going to be a really big hit for us. … We all know he can run,” Flacco said. “But just the way he runs his routes and how good is he at the top of it and coming back to you, and how sure his hands have been—I don’t know if I’ve seen him drop a pass. That stuff has been great.”

We've already endorsed Kamar Aiken as a late-round gem in PPR formats.

Don Markus of the Baltimore Sun reported veteran receiving (and trash talking) legend Steve Smith is motivated in his return from a serious Achilles injury. Smith is the oldest receiver in the league and coming off a brutal injury. That said, we'd keep an eye on him early in the season as a waiver add. Drafting Smith is difficult to stomach outside of leagues of at least 14 teams.

Flacco was on pace for a career-best 4,465 yards last year before going down with a knee injury. Flacco's per-game attempt rate in 2015 over a full season equates to 660 passes, which would have finished just one shy of Philip Rivers' league-leading total.

Predicting how the passing market on this team will break down is difficult with the preseason offering little clarity so far. There is value to be found in this passing offense, however, so getting cheap shares of Wallace and Aiken is quite intriguing.

Uncertain Signal-Caller Scenario in Denver Could Create Value

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A quarterback competition has turned into a conundrum in Denver, where, as Broncos beat scribe Nick Groke of the Denver Post so aptly phrased, "The Broncos are desperate for a quarterback who won’t get in their way. They want a leader who can methodically move the team down the field without turning the ball over, so their defense can win games."

Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com believes the third preseason game should reveal the team's starting signal-caller, since two turnover-filled preseason games have only clouded the depth chart:

"

Trevor Siemian was more consistent overall in Saturday night's preseason loss to the 49ers, but he had an interception returned for a touchdown. With Mark Sanchez's two lost fumbles, the Broncos' top two quarterbacks have had four turnovers in the team's two preseason games. That's certainly not the ratio coach Gary Kubiak is looking for, and those turnovers are likely the biggest reasons no starter has been named yet. With the third preseason game -- the one in which starters normally play into the third quarter -- looming, the guy who cleans up that issue most quickly in practice this week, or at least shows that he understands what's happening and shows he's addressing it, could get most of the reps in the game.

"

We can assume fantasy investors and fans of the team aren't enthused by the prospect of either Siemian or Sanchez starting under center, while rookie Paxton Lynch needs more time to develop before being thrown into NFL action. The consequential aspect of this scenario is the competency of the passing offense and the quarterback's ability to feed both Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders with meaningful targets.

This time last year, Thomas was a first-round selection and Sanders regularly landed in the third round, per Fantasy Football Calculator. Fear of offensive erosion in Denver has pushed Thomas to pick 31 on average this summer, with Sanders slipping all the way to pick 73 on average, again per Fantasy Football Calculator.

So what should we make of this murky scenario? One angle to consider would be that the inherent risks this subpar quarterback situation present are already being baked into the price for these wideouts—their depressed draft stock factors in the deflation for us.

Sticking with this contrarian thinking, consider the fact Peyton Manning was 28th in total quarterback rating last season for the Broncos, per ESPN.com, with Brock Osweiler qualifying 24th in the comprehensive quarterback metric. Essentially, this offense functioned without competent quarterback play last season.

Given the uncertainty surrounding this depth chart, it's unlikely we see 16 starts from a single Denver quarterback this season. However, it's entirely possible to embrace the uncertainty and still invest in this offense.

Thomas and Sanders still produced viable fantasy efforts during last season's troubling results behind center for the Broncos. Thomas finished 12th in PPR points among wideouts in ESPN leagues in 2015, while Sanders finished 25th in the same scoring format. Even rising tight end target Virgil Green—whom you can land for a song in drafts—merits consideration.

We're not advising you chase shares of the Denver receiving duo, but we're also not raising a red flag because the team has an unsettled and unsavory quarterback scenario.

If your peers avoid Thomas and Sanders based on the unsettled competition and they slip past their current ADP spots, consider it market inefficiency worthy of exploiting. This rings especially true when the market has priced many of the worst-case elements of the outcome spectrum in for us.

An Injury to Matt Jones Adds Intrigue to the Redskins Backfield

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The Redskins backfield isn't inherently unclear, as Matt Jones remains listed atop the team's depth chart. The intrigue for fantasy investors is building, however, on account of Jones' shoulder injury that will "keep [him] out for the rest of the preseason," per the team's Twitter feed.

ESPN.com's John Keim expounded on the scenario in a recent training camp update:

"

Running back Matt Jones' sprained AC joint in his left shoulder won't keep him out too long, as tests Saturday confirmed the Redskins' optimism after Friday's preseason game vs. the Jets. But the Redskins don't know exactly when Jones will return. In the meantime, rookie backups Keith Marshall and Robert Kelley have a chance to show what they can do. A Redskins source said Saturday that for now, the team isn't looking hard at backs outside the organization. If the rookies don't show enough, that could change in a few weeks.

"

Jones was last in yards per carry last season among backs with at least 100 carries with a paltry 3.4 yards per tote. While the starting gig is his, according to the coaching staff throughout the offseason, such inefficient results over a feature workload this season would prove dangerous for his job security.

Word from the beat is Kelley has been particularly impressive in camp and played well so far in the preseason in limited exposure, vaulting ahead of Marshall on the totem pole, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post.

Receiving back Chris Thompson could be intriguing as a game-script beneficiary (as in the team could trail often). Consider that the Redskins have the second-toughest strength of schedule this season, per Warren Sharp's respected index on Rotoworld. Cheap PPR shares of Thompson are interesting.

If you do fade Jones on account of his inefficient 2015, his injury or doubts over his ability to capably consume a heavy workload, seeing Kelley move up the depth chart in a training camp battle with Marshall could prove valuable on the waiver wire once the season starts.

The 49ers' QB Battle: Blaine Gabbert vs. Colin Kaepernick

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It's not only the Broncos struggling to identify a starting signal-caller late into the preseason, as the San Francisco 49ers are still in the process of naming their starter between Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick at the pivotal position.

Gabbert has taken the first-team reps throughout camp and in the first two preseason games, as Kaepernick battled "dead arm" for much of camp, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Kaepernick's arm is no longer holding him back from practice, however, per Grant Cohn of the Press Democrat.

Head coach Chip Kelly brings his snap-happy offense to the Bay, offering some intrigue for fantasy purposes even on a San Francisco roster that lacks top-end talent in the skill positions.

We've witnessed Kelly's quarterbacks deliver helpful fantasy production before, as Nick Foles was third in fantasy points per game at the position in 2013, just ahead of guys like Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton. Sanchez was 18th at the position in fantasy points per game over nine appearances in 2014.

Also like the Broncos, this quarterback scenario might have more to do with sustaining the passing game and moving the sticks effectively for the running game rather than for the fantasy merit of either specific quarterback.

In an offense with a talented young back in Carlos Hyde, a proven vertical threat in Torrey Smith—who has four top-25 fantasy seasons to his name—and a rising receiving weapon in Bruce Ellington, it could prove helpful to have some clarity and competency at quarterback.

Gabbert is apparently the leader in the clubhouse for the gig given all the reps he's earned with the first-team offense this offseason. Gabbert doesn't offer much in the way of upside, but he appears to offer a higher floor than Kaepernick.

Gabbert ranked 28th in Pro Football Focus' grading at the position last season, while Kaepernick was last at 37th among qualifying quarterbacks. At his playmaking best, Kaepernick appears ideal for Kelly's scheme, which is rife with vertical 50-50 plays like we saw from Foles in 2013 and with zone-read plays to deploy a quarterback's athleticism.

It's probably safe to assume both quarterbacks will earn snaps for the team during this season. Even in the face of such uncertainty behind center, we're still into cheap shares of Ellington in PPR leagues, real bounce-back potential for Smith and 300-touch breakout appeal for Hyde. Much of this has to do with Kelly's breakneck scheme, which adds immense snap volume to help offset expected inefficiency behind center.

Fantasy statistics and route data sourced from an ESPN database for this piece.