Fantasy Football Player Notes

As a soon-to-be 31-year-old coming off an injury-plagued season and playing with a new quarterback, it's not a good look to show up to camp with a non-football hamstring injury. There will be no preseason game action for him to build any chemistry with his new quarterback, so training camp was important. Hilton has never been a touchdown guy, as his career high is capped out at seven touchdowns. So, he's reliant upon targets more than someone like D.K. Metcalf, who can score 10 touchdowns. Not only do we have to worry about Hilton's health and age, but we also have to worry about his quarterback's. Philip Rivers was not good last year and hasn't traditionally thrown to guys like Hilton who are undersized and play on the perimeter. With so many variables and lack of true upside, I'm okay fading Hilton, especially at his current cost. If you're able to land him as a backend WR3, I'm okay with the risk/reward, as there aren't too many safe options in that range.

If T.Y. Hilton continues to miss time with his hamstring ailment, Campbell is a candidate for sleeper of the year. Going back through the years with Philip Rivers, there's always been a target over the middle of the field. Whether it be Antonio Gates, Hunter Henry, Keenan Allen, or Eddie Royal. Campbell is going to fill the slot role when T.Y. Hilton is healthy, which isn't a bad thing. And if Hilton were to miss time, Campbell will move around the formation. Fortunately, he's a bigger, stronger, and faster version of Hilton. We haven't seen him play at the level Hilton has, but the Colts did draft him in the second round last year, highlighting their vision for him in this offense. While Hilton remains sidelined and rookie Michael Pittman tries to acclimate to the NFL, Campbell is a dark horse to lead this team in targets. Taking him in the double-digit rounds makes tons of sense, and best of all, you'll find out what you have over the first couple weeks.

He's someone who rapidly moved up draft boards as the NFL Draft approached. The Colts liked him so much that they selected him over Jonathan Taylor (who they then traded up to get a few picks later), so it's clear they love Pittman. They did love Parris Campbell in last year's draft, too, so we can't go overboard. They said the plan is for Pittman to be the "X" receiver in the offense, which should present value with someone like Philip Rivers, who has zero issue throwing into tight coverage, especially when his receiver is 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds. This is your reminder that Mike Williams is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, while Vincent Jackson was 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds. These are wide receivers that Rivers targeted relentlessly. Mike Williams averaged just 2.0 yards of separation at target last year, the second-worst mark in football. Can Pittman make it into the starting lineup opening day? If so, Rivers could fall in love with his size, particularly in the red zone. He's worth a pick with one of your last few selections, as he's a dark horse to lead the team in receiving touchdowns.

The only two wide receivers who know the offense and have been able to put in time with their new quarterback are Pascal and Parris Campbell. Is it possible that Pascal is better than everyone thinks? Pascal averaged 8.4 yards per target last year while playing with Jacoby Brissett and Brian Hoyer, which included five games of 72 yards or more. Knowing that T.Y. Hilton is dealing with a hamstring injury and that Michael Pittman is a rookie, it's possible that Pascal is in the starting lineup. With so much uncertainty around the 2020 NFL season, Pascal could be an early-season waiver wire pickup if he plays 50-plus snaps in Week 1.