A 2^nd round pick in 2009, Andy Levitre finally emerged as an above average player last year, after 2 mediocre years in 2009-2010. Levitre ranked 6^th among all guards on ProFootballFocus last season, making 12 starts at left guard. He also made 3 starts at left tackle and 1 at center, though he graded out much better at guard than anywhere else. He allowed 5 sacks and 11 pressures, while committing 5 penalties on the season, but only allowed 4 sacks and 7 pressures, with 4 penalties, in his 12 games at guard.

Heading into the final year of his 4 year rookie deal, the Bills have begun extension talks with Levitre. He’s not an elite talent, but he’s above average, versatile, and has started all 48 games of his career. He won’t command Davin Joseph, Carl Nicks, or Jahri Evans money, but he could get a deal similar to Evan Mathis or Ben Grubbs. This offseason, Mathis got 25 million over 5 years and Grubbs got 36 million over 5 years. Both would be a major pay raise over the 615 thousand Levitre is owed this season.

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Maurice Jones Drew and Chris Clemons were two of the three under contract players to skip the 1^st day of his team’s mandatory minicamp. The other was Ed Reed, but unlike MJD and Clemons, he didn’t do so in search of a new contract. Reed is still not 100% committed to play in 2012, which would be his 12^th in the NFL and his age 34 season. The Ravens can fine Reed 60 thousand for missing minicamp.

Even though he said earlier this offseason he was not 100% sure he wanted to play this season, most have assumed he would return. His absence at minicamp is a bad sign, but it’s still highly unlikely that he retires. He’s known for wanting to use the offseason to spend time with his family and workout solo. Ray Lewis says that Reed will, for sure, be there for Training Camp. Ravens’ fans should still be more concerned about Reed’s age, injury history, and contract status (he’s unsigned after this season), than about Reed potentially retiring.

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Unlike Chris Clemons and Maurice Jones Drew, Darrelle Revis was not a no show for mandatory minicamp today. However, he still refused to commit for Training Camp and reiterated his desire for a new deal. He says he wants a “sit down” with owner Woody Johnson, GM Mike Tannenbaum, and Head Coach Rex Ryan. It sounds like Revis is trying to be civil about the situation, but may change his tune if he’s not given a new deal by Training Camp.

Revis has finished with the frontloaded 2 years of his 4 year deal and has lived up to the 32.5 million he’s made over the last 2 years. He’s set to make just 13.5 million over the next 2 seasons. There’s still a good chance that Revis was promised a new deal in 2012, 2 years ago, if he continued to be the best cornerback in the league, which he did. He might get a new deal without holding out. This new deal would likely exceed the 60 million over 5 years that Nnamdi Asomugha got last offseason.

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Maurice Jones Drew was the most high profile holdout going official today, but it wasn’t the only one. Seahawks’ defensive end Chris Clemons was also a no show at mandatory minicamp today. Clemons is seeking a new deal as he heads into a contract year. He’s owed 4.5 million this season, which is very inexpensive for a player who has emerged as one of the best pass rushers in the league in 2 years with the Seahawks. He has 24 sacks, 18 quarterback hits, and 97 quarterback pressures over that time period.

However, Clemons turns 31 in October so the Seahawks might be wary of giving him the long term deal he wants. They also just used a 1^st round pick on a player with a similar skill set at his position, Bruce Irvin. The idea with Irvin was likely for him to serve as a situational player as a rookie and then play a bigger role in his 2^nd season with Clemons gone. There’s a very good chance that Clemons won’t get paid and will have to serve the final year of his contract and try to get paid on the open market in 2013 as a 31 year old who has never produced outside of Pete Carroll’s specific system. He doesn’t have much leverage.

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Maurice Jones Drew has made it very clear this offseason that he wants a new deal and today he made it even clearer. MJD was not present for the start of the Jaguars’ 3 day mandatory minicamp today and is not expected to attend at all, which officially makes him a holdout. The Jaguars can fine him 60 thousand for missing all 3 days, but that money is a drop in the ocean compared to what he’s seeking in terms of a raise in a long term deal.

Maurice Jones Drew is one of the league’s top running backs and the Jaguars’ best offensive player by far. He’s set to make just 9.4 million over the next 2 seasons and is seeking, presumably, to be paid in the neighborhood of what LeSean McCoy, Arian Foster, and Chris Johnson have gotten in the last calendar year, 5 years, 8-9 million per.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, have said that they are not going to give him a new deal and want MJD to “fulfill his obligation,” even though they, like every team in the league, frequently rip up the contracts of underperforming players rather than “fulfilling their obligation.” The Jaguars just recently did that with Aaron Kampman. The two sides seem very, very far apart right now and MJD seems very, very serious about wanting a new deal.

Adam Schefter believes this hold out could go into the preseason and even the regular season, which would be a huge loss for an already bad team. This is the most serious hold out this season and reminds me a lot of Chris Johnson’s last year. Johnson got his money right before the season, but had his worst season as a pro because he failed to stay in shape during his holdout. A similar thing could happen with MJD this season. Given that he’s coming off a season in which he led the league in carries and that he plays on a stagnant offense, let him be someone else’s problem in Fantasy Football leagues.

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According to Todd McClure, an offensive lineman for the Atlanta Falcons, the Falcons will put more emphasis on the screen game in 2012. This is a major change from their offensive philosophy in 2011 (the Falcons targeted backs a mere 97 times last year out of 594 attempts, one of the lowest percentages in the league), but offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has been making major changes all offseason. The Falcons will pass more, go to the no huddle more, feature Julio Jones more and Roddy White less, and give Jacquizz Rodgers more carries and Michael Turner less.

This is yet another red flag for Michael Turner’s fantasy value. Turner was already set to get significantly fewer carries in 2012. The Falcons will run less overall and Mike Smith said that Turner would have a reduced role, in favor of Jacquizz Rodgers, a talented 2011 5^th round pick who the coaching staff really likes. Turner will be on the field less the more the Falcons use screen plays because catching passes out of the backfield is one major weakness in Turner’s game. Let Turner, who is now 30, be someone else’s problem in fantasy football leagues. Rodgers, meanwhile, is a nice late sleeper, especially in PPR leagues.

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According to ESPN Twin Cities, Stephen Burton, a 7^th round pick in 2011, has been impressing when given 1^st team reps in OTAs. Percy Harvin has missed some practice time after shoulder surgery and, while it won’t cause him to miss any games, it has allowed Stephen Burton to get 1^st team reps opposite Michael Jenkins. An athletic player who ran a 4.44 at 6-1 224 at his Pro Day last offseason, Burton seems to be living up to his natural abilities.

Harvin will be back soon, but with Jerome Simpson starting the season with a 3 game suspension, Burton could start the season 3^rd on the depth chart ahead of Devin Aromashodu or even 2^nd ahead of Michael Jenkins, if he continues to impress. Simpson will start opposite Percy Harvin when he returns, but Burton could end up coming in on 3-wide receiver sets, where Harvin moves to the slot. Simpson is only on a one year deal, so Burton is a name to know for the future.

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The Texans don’t have any veteran receivers behind Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter after cutting Jacoby Jones earlier this offseason. Their next 3 receivers on the depth chart, in any order, are Lester Jean, DeVier Posey, and Keshawn Martin, who have 0 combined catches in the NFL. The Texans brought in Mike Sims-Walker, a veteran receiver, for a workout at the end of May, but did not sign him to a contract. However, according to Pro Football Weekly, the Texans could still be interested in signing Mike Sims-Walker. We’ll have to see if they extend him an offer. He’d be no lock to make the final roster, however.

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According to the Indianapolis Star, Donnie Avery has been “one of the bright spots” for the Colts in practice this offseason. The Colts took a flier on Avery, who was solid in 2008 and 2009 for the Rams before essentially missing the last 2 seasons with injuries. The Colts have a very thin receiving corps, with Reggie Wayne, who is heading towards that age where wide receivers fall off a cliff statistically, Austin Collie, who has never produced without Peyton Manning, and 3^rd round rookie TY Hilton.

Avery can easily win the #3 receiver job if he continues to impress in practice. He made the ridiculous claim that he can run a 4.2 40 earlier this offseason, but even if that’s not true, he could still contribute in some way to the Colts this season. The fact that he’s impressing in practice is even more impressive when you remember that Andrew Luck has not been able to attend voluntary workouts yet as he’s been finishing up classes at Stanford.

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The Buccaneers have two talented starting wide receivers in Vincent Jackson, one of their big offseason acquisitions, as well as Mike Williams, who had a big season in 2010. However, it was slot receiver Preston Parker who was singled out by quarterback Josh Freeman as someone he was excited about for this coming season. Parker caught 40 passes for 554 yards and 3 touchdowns as a slot receiver in 2011 and, with Kellen Winslow gone, Parker could see more targets over the middle this season. With Josh Freeman likely to have a bounce back season, Parker could easily improve on his 2011 production, but still probably won’t have much value in fantasy leagues.

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