The 2015 NFL season is going to unofficially kick off Sunday evening when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings in the Hall of Fame Game.
With training camps now open around the NFL, it's the perfect time to check in on a few of the biggest fantasy-related stories.
Johnny Manziel to get first-team reps in preseason after putting up impressive performance in the team's scrimmage on Friday night. This doesn't mean Manziel has made himself a legitimate candidate for the starting job over Josh McCown. However, it is an indication that the team likes what it sees from the second-year signal caller.
After missing all but one game last season, Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert appears to be fully healthy. The first-round pick from back in 2013 has reportedly dominated training camp thus far:
"Nobody has been able to cover Eifert since training camp began last week and Dalton throws to him whenever he’s in a jam or needs a big play," Geoff Hobson of the team's official website reported Sunday morning.
Eifert, who stands at 6-foot-6 and weights 250, has long been considered a major matchup problem for opposing defenses. It's now all about staying healthy and turning that into on-field production. Everything else is in place for the former Notre Dame standout to have a monster season.
We previously covered the possibility that Eddie Royal could be a fantasy sleeper this season—a possibility that's only magnified with the ongoing shin injury to rookie wide receiver Kevin White. It now appears the Bears are coming away impressed with the veteran free-agent signee:
"Eddie's got a special explosiveness that a lot of inside guys don't have," first-year offensive coordinator Adam Gase said. "Eddie is a threat at all three levels. He can come underneath. He can break out intermediate. And he can get down the field … He doesn't have to think about it. He just reacts to it. It's natural. It's ingrained."
Royal, 29, is coming off a 2014 season that saw him tally 62 receptions for 778 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught 72 percent of the passes thrown in his direction. With an ADP that currently makes him an undraftable commodity, Royal may now be worth a late-round pick as the Bears' No. 2 wide receiver behind Alshon Jeffery.
Despite previous indications that Arian Foster would be placed on short-term injured reserve after suffering a serious injury in camp last week, there is some optimism from within the Houston Texans organization that Foster may miss only four-to-six weeks. Original reports had Foster literally ripping his groin muscle off the bone in camp. Now that he is said to have under gone sports hernia surgery, the four-to-six week window makes some sense.
And it's relatively big news.
If Foster is able to return by Week 2 or Week 3, he's still a RB1 option. And while there should be concern over his injury history, he's going to be a tremendous fantasy option when on the field. With an ADP currently at the end of the second round, Foster is a must buy. Though, that draft position should strengthen as news of this is taken into account in more recent drafts.