Training Camp Updates with Fantasy Football Impacts: Mike Evans Injury and More News

With training camps across the league in full swing, it means the start of football, which also means the start of news.

A lot of news.

Even though camp just started, the NFL doesn’t care. There has been so much to talk about already, whether it be injuries, players in new roles, buzz, hype, etc. So each week, we’ll highlight some of the most important headlines that you need to be tracking as you prepare for your fantasy football drafts.

Let’s go.

Training Camp Updates for Fantasy Football

Jayden Reed Finally in 12 Personnel?

When Jayden Reed is on the field, he draws targets and makes plays. The problem?

He’s not on the field as much as we’d like.

Through his first two NFL seasons, Reed missed just one game. But a broken collarbone limited him to just seven games this past season. And even when he is healthy, Green Bay’s wide receiver rotation has limited his snaps and routes. This offseason, that rotation took a hit as the Packers moved on from both Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, opening the door for Reed to play more, especially in two-receiver sets.

Early reports from camp have me excited.

Starters:

Love
Jacobs
Whyle - Dabney
Watson - Reed
Morgan - Monk - Rhyan - Belton - Kinnard

Sorrell - Brinson - Stackhouse - Brooks - LVN
Coop - Zaire
Cisse!!! - Nixon
Williams - X
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) August 2, 2026

If Reed is starting alongside Christian Watson in 12-personnel sets, everything changes.

Since entering the league in 2023, Reed has logged only 31 total snaps and run seven routes out of 12 personnel, which is why his route rate during that span is an underwhelming 69%. When he returned in Week 14 of last year, Reed didn’t play in two-wide sets, even with Golden and Wicks missing some time during those games. Instead, it was Watson and Doubs, but the opportunity is there for Reed to see more playing time in that personnel. And because wideouts see a boost in fantasy points and target upside in multiple-tight-end sets, Reed getting more run in 12 personnel is paramount. The Packers, meanwhile, utilized two-wide sets 20 times per game last year, the sixth-most in the league, accounting for 34% of their plays.

Still, Jordan Love confirmed that Matthew Golden will be playing the role of X-receiver, meaning he’ll play plenty of snaps in 12 personnel, too. But even if Reed is on the field for around 40-50% of two-wide sets, that can go a long way for his fantasy upside.

Kyle Monangai Dealing With Soft Tissue Injury

Monangai has been held out of practice for nearly a week. And for a while, no one really knew why. But head coach Ben Johnson revealed that the second-year running back is dealing with a soft tissue injury, stating that they are taking it one day at a time and that “it should be on the shorter side.” We’ll keep our eye on this over the next week or so, but it sure sounds like Monangai is in zero jeopardy of missing Week 1’s contest against the Carolina Panthers.

Following Kyle Monangai’s breakout Week 9 game last year, the Bears' backfield became more of a two-headed unit. From then on, D'Andre Swift handled 51% of the rush attempts and logged 56% of the snaps, a 10% drop in snap share compared to the first nine weeks. Swift remains, at the very least, the 1A in this Bears backfield, but a healthy Monangai will certainly have a sizable role.

Mike Evans (Quad) Misses Practice Monday

I mean, this is just getting ridiculous.

Ricky Pearsall is out for the season. Christian Kirk is dealing with a calf issue. Rookie De’Zhaun Stribling hurt his hamstring. And now Mike Evans is sitting out of practice with a quad strain. San Francisco now has 14 players dealing with some sort of injury across just five practices so far during training camp, on top of George Kittle continuing to work his way back from last year’s Achilles tear.

Evans has dealt with plenty of soft tissue injuries as of late, though almost all have been his hamstring. And at his age, he’s already facing an uphill battle. Since 2010, only 10 receivers who turned 33 before the start of the year averaged double-digit fantasy points per game during that season. Ian Rapoport reports that Evans’ quad strain is “very minor,” but it’s not exactly the most promising start for the 33-year-old.

More Targets On The Horizon For James Cook?

We know Cook is a Round 1 selection in fantasy drafts. He is coming off a career-high 309 carries and a rushing title. And playing in one of the league’s best offenses, the touchdowns have followed. The only thing keeping him from emerging as one of the five best running backs in all of fantasy is consistent pass game usage.

That could be up next.

Alaina Getzenburg of ESPN highlighted that Buffalo’s running back room has been noticeably more involved in the passing game so far in camp, which matches with earlier reports about Buffalo wanting to get Cook more targets. It would be a welcome sight for Cook, who ran just 44% of the routes last year (23rd among RBs), while ranking 28th at the position in target share (8%). As a team, the Bills ranked 20th in RB screen passes, something that could change in 2026.

New head coach Joe Brady will still be calling the plays, but the addition of offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael could impact the RB usage in the passing game. Carmichael spent much of his career alongside Sean Payton in New Orleans, where so many running backs were very involved as pass-catchers.

KC Concepcion Leaves Monday’s Practice (Shoulder)

Cleveland’s first-round wideout suffered an apparent shoulder injury during practice on Monday, appearing to be in a fair amount of pain. The severity of the injury is unknown. KC Concepcion’s first NFL training camp has been an impressive one so far, but it remains to be seen how much time (if any) he’ll miss. Jerry Jeudy and second-rounder Denzel Boston would stand to see more work if Concepcion is sidelined.