WR Johnny Knox UP

I’m hearing from many sources that the 2^nd year receiver is playing amazingly in camp and looks like the favorite to win the #1 receiver job over Devin Aromashodu and Devin Hester. He won’t be a true #1 because the Bears will throw the ball all over the field, but with his speed he’s perfect for Mike Martz’ scheme and he looks like the favorite to lead the Bears in receiving.

WR Devin Aromashodu DOWN

While Knox is playing well, Aromashadu is not living up to the hype. One man’s gain is another man’s loss in Chicago, though I still like Aromashodu’s value for his average draft range.

QB Philip Rivers DOWN

Talks between left tackle Marcus McNeill and the Chargers are far from close. In fact, many reports say they do not even exist. The Chargers are not willing to pay McNeill what he wants and some, such as the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee believe it is a foregone conclusion that McNeill will not report before week 1. Rivers already had Vincent Jackson suspended for 3 weeks and possibly holding out for longer. McNeill is not a Pro Bowl caliber left tackle in my opinion, but he’s in the top 15 in the NFL so this is a huge loss for the Chargers and a huge loss for Philip Rivers, whose blindside all of a sudden looks very, very vulnerable with Brandyn Dombrowski at left tackle rather than McNeill.

RB Ryan Matthews DOWN

In addition to being a solid pass protector, McNeill at 6-7 336 is a hell of a run blocker. On a Chargers line that already struggles to run block, his potential absence when the season starts is going to hurt rookie Ryan Matthews, the Chargers’ primary between the tackles runner.

 

New York Jets Defense DOWN

I’m not ready to call them no longer an elite squad, but do not draft the Jets defense as the first defense off the board until Revis and his island are in camp. You’re probably safer with a defense like Philadelphia, Minnesota, or Pittsburgh.

RB Lynell Hamilton DOWN

Hamilton, who was the favorite in my mind to be the random guy who gets 150 carries for the Saints this year, has suffered a season ending ACL tear in camp.

RB PJ Hill UP

In Hamilton’s absence, Hill looks like the most likely back to steal 150 carries from Pierre Thomas. I am not quite ready to say draft him yet, because there’s always the chance that the Saints decide to run 250 times with Pierre Thomas this year, but keep your eye on him.

RB Pierre Thomas UP

The chances that the Saints cut into Thomas’ carries with a random running back got a lot slimmer when Hamilton’s ACL tore. There’s now a good chance the Saints make him a true feature back and give him 250 carries, which would mean, unless he gets hurt significantly, we would see 1000+ rushing yards, 300+ receiving yards, and 10+ total touchdowns from Thomas easily in the Saints’ high octane offense.