Fantasy Football Player Notes

The Patriots go from a team that threw the ball an average of 600.7 times over the last seven years, to one that'll likely go towards a more run-heavy attack under Cam Newton. Edelman loses that connection that he and Brady had, which led to him averaging 9.6 targets per game over that time. Newton has tended to target big-bodied wide receivers over his time in the league, though he's never had a slot receiver like Edelman. The Dolphins suddenly have a very talented cornerback unit, though we could see Edelman match up with the weakest of the bunch, rookie Noah Igbinoghene in the slot. He's obviously never played a snap in the NFL, so we could see the Patriots exploit that area of the field. Edelman played 68 percent of his snaps in the slot last year, so he's clearly the one with the best matchup on the field. Slot receivers Jarvis Landry, Tyler Boyd, and JuJu Smith-Schuster all posted 103-plus receiving yards against this defense last year, even if the cornerback unit does look different. Edelman can be played as a semi-high floor WR3 this week.

There are many who are gravitating towards Harry considering Cam Newton has continually targeted big-bodied wide receivers, allowing them to try and win their one-on-one battles. The issue with that this week is that Harry will be matching up against two of the better cornerbacks in the league. Not only did the Dolphins have Xavien Howard, but they also added Byron Jones in free agency, giving them one of the better 1-2 punches at cornerback. Both of them are at least 6-feet tall and weigh over 190 pounds, so they're not smaller guys that Harry can bully. It appears that Harry will be the No. 2 option among wide receivers, as the team moved on from Mohamed Sanu. Julian Edelman will always be the safety valve in Josh McDaniels' offense, but we could see Harry as the red zone target. With that said, it's best to sit back and watch how much playing time/targets Harry gets before trusting him as anything more than a touchdown-reliant WR5 option, especially against this cornerback duo.

It seems the 49ers will have Bourne in the starting lineup come Week 1, though it's hardly something to get excited about considering he tallied more than 42 yards just once in 2019. He has scored nine touchdowns over the last two seasons on just 110 targets, which is impressive, but it's hardly predictable. The Cardinals were a team that he scored in both matchups against last year, though he had just five total catches in the two games for 38 yards. He's in line for a bigger role with all the injuries, but it could also mean less slot opportunities, which is where he's played well. Let's hold on contemplating Bourne for this week outside of deep leagues where he can be played as a WR5.