Update on Emeka Egbuka Return to Practice and More for Fantasy Football

This is the busiest fantasy draft weekend of the year. You know why?

Because NFL games will be on our televisions this week.

It’s a beautiful time of year, but of course, we have to continue tracking news from around the league. 

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Emeka Egbuka To Practice Next Week

A toe injury has sidelined Emeka Egbuka for nearly a month now. But with the season kicking off next week, it appears Tampa Bay’s new WR1 is on the mend.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Egbuka is expected to return to practice next week, putting him on track to suit up in the opener against the Bengals. Egbuka got off to a stellar start as a rookie last year, hauling in 4 passes for 67 yards and a pair of scores in his first game. He then went on to average 20.4 PPR PPG during the first five weeks. But then injuries to both himself and quarterback Baker Mayfield derailed his season. And it's likely his hamstring injury, though he didn’t miss any games, played a major factor in his second-half slump. 

Weeks 1-5:                                             Weeks 7-18:

2.50 YPRR (13th)                                   1.40 YPRR (61st)

5.9 YAC/Rec (9th)                                  5.0 YAC/Rec (16th)

17.8 YPC (4th)                                       13.0 YPC (32nd)

Hopefully Egbuka is 100% healthy. And as long as he’s practicing next week, it is safe for him to return to the third round of fantasy drafts. 

TreVeyon Henderson (Ankle) Still Not Practicing

Uh, oh.

With every day TreVeyon Henderson doesn't return to practice, it becomes less and less likely he plays Week 1. Especially considering the Patriots play on Wednesday in a Super Bowl rematch with the Seahawks. Henderson apparently avoided a serious injury to his ankle, but it may keep him sidelined for the first game of the season.

In any event Henderson is out, Rhamondre Stevenson would be a volume-based RB2 in a tough matchup with a Seattle defense that surrendered the seventh-fewest yards before contact per rush last season, as well as the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing backfields. The matchup is clearly difficult, but Stevenson should be flirting with 20 touches if Henderson is sidelined. 

Falcons QB Decision On The Horizon?

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Falcons could finally announce their starting quarterback as early as this Monday, which would seem like an ideal time considering they have to prepare for a game a week from now.

The team apparently eventually wants Michael Penix to start, but it remains to be seen if that’ll happen early in the year as he recovers from a torn ACL. However, Tua Tagovailoa’s preseason play hasn’t exactly instilled a ton of confidence. 

While Penix is aggressive and wants to throw the ball down the field, Tagovailoa is the opposite. See it, throw it, get the ball out quick. And when it’s not there, check it down to the running back. Since 2022, Tagovailoa has targeted running backs over 22% of the time and over the past two seasons, his 14.5% checkdown rate is one of the highest in football. Penix, meanwhile, ranks eighth in percentage of passes of 20-plus yards since entering the NFL in 2024 (14.2%), while ranking fourth in passes of 15-plus yards (24.9%). During that same span, just 7.8% of Tagovailoa’s pass attempts went 20 or more yards down the field, which ranks 47th among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts. Tua starting could give Bijan Robinson a slight boost in fantasy production.

It’s very likely we see both quarterbacks under center at some point this season. As for Week 1? That decision appears to be on the horizon. 

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