NFL Training Camp News Roundup: Brandon Aiyuk, Travis Hunter, and More Fantasy Football Impact Updates

With training camps underway, it’s officially news blurb season! It’s also a good reminder to adjust your phone’s notification settings during work hours. Here's the latest NFL news and how it could affect your favorite players in fantasy, starting with a guy who simply can’t stay out of the headlines during the summer months …

Brandon Aiyuk Is Nowhere Close To A Return Timeline

One of these years, there will be an offseason without considerable drama surrounding the status of Brandon Aiyuk. Sadly, this is not that year.

49ers GM John Lynch said the team’s “not anywhere close to having a concrete timeline” for Aiyuk to return from the torn ACL and MCL he suffered last season. This doesn’t necessarily rule out Aiyuk being ready for Week 1, though, and Lynch even added that he’s “encouraged” by the sixth-year receiver’s recovery thus far.

That’s cool and all, John, but we can’t exactly hang our hats on “encouraged.”

Fantasy managers are rightfully nervous about drafting Aiyuk, which is reflected in his WR46 ADP on FleaFlicker. And until we get a heads up that he’ll be available in our fantasy lineups to start the season, that probably won’t change.

San Francisco's depth chart as a whole is chock-full of question marks, with Deebo Samuel gone to Washington, Ricky Pearsall on the PUP list with a hamstring injury, Jauan Jennings “holding in” for a new contract, and Christian McCaffrey working his way back from multiple injuries.

The hope is this is all much ado about nothing, of course, and our consensus rankings still have Brock Purdy just inside the top 12. Because at least some of these guys will be available and healthy, right? RIGHT??

It should be noted; none of the players mentioned above notched 1,000 yards last year, and Purdy still finished as QB13 playing only 15 games himself. So … deep breaths, everyone.

Matthew Stafford’s Back Problems Are ... Back

At 37 years old, it’s not exactly unusual that Matthew Stafford is dealing with a sore back (who in their late 30s isn’t, am I right?). But considering his track record with these types of injuries—reportedly playing through a broken back in 2018 and ending his 2022 season early due to a spinal cord contusion—this isn’t exactly nothing.

Stafford is absolutely critical to this Rams offense humming along and guiding their receiving weapons to high marks in fantasy.

Our projections currently have both Puka Nacua and Davante Adams topping 135 targets, and I’ve gone on record that both Rams receivers could finish inside the top 12 this season. But the odds of that happening with Jimmy Garoppolo or Stetson Bennett under center are roughly the same odds of Jerry Jones making any contract negotiation a quick and painless process.

Stafford is expected to spend the first part of camp off to the side working with trainers, but fingers crossed, this is just a maintenance issue with the elder quarterback and not an omen of things to come.

He's Fantasy Life's consensus QB22, with Nacua sitting at WR4 and Adams at WR15.

Russell Wilson Officially Named The Giants Starting QB

This might be the least surprising news of the week, but it’s still notable for determining how to approach the Giants offensive pieces in drafts. Brian Daboll saying that “Russ is our starter” tells us they’re not rushing into the Jaxson Dart era.

But how long can Wilson hold onto the job? The rookie QB was taken 25th overall in the draft and earned plenty of praise from Daboll earlier this offseason. Still, 1st-round rookies are never guaranteed significant playing time in Year 1 (see: Michael Penix).

Some of us still expect Wilson to be on the sidelines before December, trading motivational quotes with Jameis Winston like the most PG version of 8 Mile you could imagine. But with Russ taking all the first-team snaps in training camp’s opening practice, we can’t rule out that he’ll be the guy for the majority of the season.

In his 11 starts with the Steelers last year, Wilson ranked 19th in passing yards per game. Here’s how Pittsburgh’s primary skill players fared in fantasy points per game (half PPR) during his time at the helm:

• Najee Harris - RB24
• Jaylen Warren - RB36
• George Pickens - WR30
• Pat Freiermuth - TE12

It’s obviously a new offense with a different scheme and arguably better pieces (at least where Malik Nabers is concerned), but keep expectations in check.

Travis Hunter Playing Both Sides Of The Ball To Come Out On Top

Has any rookie in NFL history been more scrutinized than Travis Hunter? Probably. But my memory is fleeting.

Speculation about how much time he’ll spend playing receiver vs cornerback has reached a fever pitch, with Jaguars’ head coach Liam Coen saying the norm will be for Hunter to “flip-flop” between offense and defense during each practice session.

This is a drastic change from OTAs and mandatory minicamp, when Hunter spent the bulk of his time working on offense. Coen also revealed that “every minute” of the rookie’s time in the building is accounted for.

If nothing else, this shows that Jacksonville is taking Hunter’s conditioning seriously. Which is especially important if you believe what Travis Kelce said on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast; there’s real potential for teams to “run deep balls at him all day” to tire Hunter out on defense.

For the record, everyone in Hunter’s orbit has talked about how the guy never seems to get tired. So maybe we should all chill on that a little.

Still, with the possible reality of a true 50/50 split on both sides of the ball staring us in the face, how does this affect his fantasy outlook?

We currently project Hunter for 105 targets, 71 receptions, 865 receiving yards, and 155.3 fantasy points. That would’ve put him at WR34 in half PPR formats last season, near the likes of Rashod Bateman and Josh Downs.

With Hunter’s ADP sitting at WR32 on FleaFlicker, fantasy drafters will need to decide if the risk is worth the potential reward. This news also puts a little more wind in the sails of Brian Thomas Jr. (WR7 ADP), who will likely remain the target hog of this offense.

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