From February through August, potential storylines for the upcoming season are formed and then built up until our first taste of regular season action. The preseason gives us a glimpse of what’s to come, but sometimes it creates more questions than it serves to answer. With week one of the NFL season just days away, here are some of the biggest questions I still have about the season.
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How will Dalvin Cook return from injury?
As a rookie, Dalvin Cook averaged a 69% offensive snap share over his first three games (and his only full games). Only five running backs had a snap share higher than that over the full season, but is that what he’s coming back to? Latavius Murray is a more than competent backup, so it’s reasonable to think the Vikings may use him a lot early on in the season as Cook gets acclimated again to the speed of the NFL. Cook only played one series through the entire preseason and turned his only two carries into just one yard. In Week 1 I’ll be watching to see A) if Cook has his explosiveness back, and B) how much work the Vikings give to Murray.
Who is going to run the ball in Detroit?
The Detroit Lions decided to keep Theo Riddick, Ameer Abdullah, LeGarrette Blount, and Kerryon Johnson all on their roster, and it’s possible that they all have a role in the offense. Based on build and body of work, we can assume that Riddick will remain the pass-catching back and Blount will handle the short-yardage and goal-line work, but that leaves Johnson and Abdullah to split everything in between. I believe Johnson is capable of handling a bell-cow load, and the Lion’s did move up in the NFL Draft to select him in the second round, but he is their future, and that plan may not begin to play out until next season. As of now, the Lions’ backfield is tough to predict, and I would avoid all four of their running backs except for best ball leagues. Maybe we’ll get more clarity early in the season.
Rookie slot receivers
The 2018 NFL Draft featured a bevy of slot receivers that were taken in the first two rounds. DJ Moore, Calvin Ridley, Anthony Miller, and Christian Kirk all expect to contribute immediately out of the slot, but which of them are really going to establish themselves early in the season? Ridley and Miller should fit well alongside Julio Jones and Allen Robinson, respectively, but Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel haven’t gone anywhere, and it’s not a guarantee that the rookies will just slide right into the number two spot on the depth chart. DJ Moore might ultimately be the most dynamic receiver that Cam Newton has in his arsenal, but he still needs to compete with Christian McCaffrey, Curtis Samuel, and Greg Olsen for targets, outside of his fellow receivers Devin Funchess and Torrey Smith. Kirk seemingly has the least amount of competition for targets in Arizona, but the problem there is that Larry Fitzgerald plays out of the slot, and Kirk may be moved around to line up where he’s less comfortable and not at his natural position.
The Browns
After going 1-31 over the last two seasons, the Browns have completely revamped their offense, and it actually has fans excited. It’s anyone’s guess, however, who will be the most relevant player from a fantasy perspective. Carlos Hyde is the “starter” in the backfield, but they’ll want to see what their second-round pick, Nick Chubb, can do behind him, and Duke Johnson will handle the passing-down work. Will Johnson cut into targets that could otherwise have gone to Jarvis Landry, though? And will Landry be able to rack up the 142 targets (on average) that he used to get in Miami with a quarterback that’s only ever thrown as many as 436 passes in a season? On that note, will Baker Mayfield take over at some point in the season and change the dynamic completely? And of course, how effective will Josh Gordon be if and when he’s on the field?
How will Alvin Kamara be used?
Since 2000, only one player besides Alvin Kamara managed at least 725 yards and eight touchdowns on fewer than 125 carries, and that was Michael Vick. There’s no doubt surrounding Kamara’s talents, but Sean Payton insists that he won’t be used as a workhorse and that his workload will be similar to what it was last year. Can we really expect him to put up similarly efficient numbers? The fantasy community expects him to, as his ADP is currently sixth overall in PPR leagues, but I’m very interested in seeing whether or not he’s actually given an increase in workload, and what happens when Mark Ingram returns.
Does Adrian Peterson have anything left?
With little to no news regarding Adrian Peterson all offseason, he ended up with a starting job in the blink of an eye. Derrius Guice was lost for the season with a torn ACL and then Samaje Perine hurt his ankle, so the Redskins really just needed another body. Enter Peterson. He was signed before the third preseason game and then performed as if he was the only good player on the team just four days later, taking his 11 carries for 56 yards. Within another few days, he was named the starting running back. Was his preseason performance a one-time thing? Or can Peterson play like a version of his former self for an entire NFL season without getting injured?
Can Eli Manning lead this Giants?
The New York Giants were expected to do great things last year. Their defense in 2016 ranked in the top 10 in both yards and points given up and they had just signed Brandon Marshall who was going to form a three-headed monster with Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard. Their season went downhill quickly once Beckham and Marshall were lost for the year due to injury. With Beckham, now the highest paid receiver in the league and 100% healthy, and the addition of second-overall pick Saquon Barkley, can Eli Manning lead this team to success? The Giants managed to improve their offensive line in the offseason, and the only remaining question mark is the 37-year-old Manning in decline. Last year, Manning had his lowest quarterback rating since 2013 and threw for under 3,500 yards for the first time since 2008. He has all the weapons a quarterback could ask for, but it will be on him to make it all come together.
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Sam Schlesinger is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Sam, check out his archive and follow him @avishai41.
