NFL Player News

Alyssa Barbieri of USA Today views Herbert as the only running back on the Bears after David Montgomery to be a lock to make the team's regular-season roster.

Herbert was excellent when called upon to start for three weeks when Montgomery was injured last year. In those games, Herbert averaged over 100 yards from scrimmage. However, once Montgomery returned, Herbert averaged three touches over the last eight games. Unless he can take work away from Montgomery, Herbert's fantasy potential will only be realized if Montgomery misses time. Also currently in the team's backfield mix behind Montgomery and Herbert as training camp approaches are Darrynton Evans, Trestan Ebner and De'Montre Tuggle.

Atlanta rested Patterson during all of the team's spring workouts with the intention of heading into the regular season with him fully healthy, but expecting the converted return man to operate as a workhorse back in 2022 may be overly optimistic, per Josh Kendall of The Athletic.

Patterson will be Atlanta's starting running back to open 2022 after his breakout performance (1,166 total yards and 11 touchdowns) last season. However, the Falcons are expected to continue taking a cautious approach with the running back to avoid another late-season decline, so it's possible the 2013 first-round pick finds himself in a timeshare to start the upcoming campaign. While the 31-year-old still is expected to garner a major role, Kendall urges fans to pump the brakes on him improving on last season's numbers and suggests that anything other than regression would be a win for Patterson and the Falcons.

New Bears coach Matt Eberflus believes Montgomery has the skills to thrive as a pass catcher, but it is possible the running back shares more carries with his backups under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who comes from a Green Bay system that utilizes multiple backs, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Montgomery played 74.3 percent of snaps in his active games in 2020 and 74.6 percent in 2021, while Packers RB Aaron Jones has never gone higher than 61.5 percent. Of course, Getsy was the QBs coach and then pass-game coordinator in Green Bay, making it unlikely he had much say in the RB usage. Even so, there's a good case for giving Montgomery a little more rest this year, after backup Khalil Herbert averaged 86 rushing yards per game in a four-week stretch last October. A knee sprain caused Montgomery to miss multiple games for the first time, and he didn't have much luck on the ground thereafter, averaging 3.5 YPC and 60 rushing yards per game over the final nine contests. He did average four catches per game in the same stretch, essentially returning to his 2020 level of receiving involvement after seeing limited chances early in the year (six catches over the first four weeks). He comes with many of the same drawbacks under a new coaching staff, namely the likelihood of being stuck in a poor offense, though it is possible the Bears' lack of talent encourages more targets sent to the running backs. Montgomery told reporters he isn't worried about getting a new contract as he enters the fourth and final season of his rookie deal.

Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan prefers resting Mixon on third down rather than early downs, but Callahan did say he'd like to see "maybe a little bit more usage on third down" this season, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Backup Samaje Perine isn't a better pass catcher than Mixon, but Perine did solid work last year, and the Bengals prefer to rest their starter on downs where a run play is unlikely. Coach Zac Taylor noted that more targets for Mixon would mean less for someone else, specifically naming star wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Given that the team still has Perine -- plus another potential passing down back in 2021 sixth-round pick Chris Evans -- it's unlikely this will be the year Mixon gets regular work on third downs. It's been a topic of discussion among fantasy players nearly every season of his career, with some thinking it would happen in 2021 after RB Giovani Bernard ended his eight-year run in Cincinnati. Instead, Mixon found fantasy success with career highs for carries (292), rushing yards (1,205) and touchdowns (16 total), while his mark of 2.6 receptions per game was identical to his career number. Even if he doesn't catch more passes, Mixon has an opportunity to match or exceed his numbers from last year after the Bengals signed three experienced O-line starters (La'el Collins, Alex Cappa and Ted Karras) in the offseason.

Williams could be competing for a roster spot if the Falcons opt to keep only three running backs on their initial 53-man roster, Josh Kendall of The Athletic reports.

Kendall suggests that Cordarrelle Patterson, who led the team in rushing attempts and yards last season, and third-round pick Tyler Allgeier are locks to make the Week 1 roster. However, if the Falcons decide to keep just three running backs, then Williams will be competing for a roster spot with Avery Williams, who's converted from defensive back to running back this offseason. Kendall also mentions that if this is indeed the case, Avery's punt-return abilities would give him a decided advantage over Damien. Damien finished fourth in the NFL in yards after contact per carry (3.59) during his last full season (2019) and ended that campaign with 111 rushes for 498 yards, but he sat out 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns and saw just 40 rushing attempts last year with the Bears.

Cook could see more targets under new head coach Kevin O'Connell, NFL.com's Kevin Patra reports.

Cook doesn't exactly have reliable hands -- he's dropped 20 passes over the past four seasons -- but he knows where to be and is one of the toughest players to tackle in the league. He's thus been able to post strong receiving efficiency numbers by RB standards (career 8.2 YPR, 6.5 YPT, 78.8 percent catch rate) in addition to his excellent work on the ground (4.5 YPC or better every season). O'Connell's background with the Rams has many predicting that the Vikings will throw more passes this season, especially after WR Justin Jefferson told reporters the offense isn't run-first anymore. Cook still will be a focal point, of course, perhaps trading some carries for targets and likely experiencing positive TD regression after scoring only six from 1,383 yards from scrimmage last year. The biggest question, per usual, is how many games he'll play, as he's missed multiple contests every season and has suited up for only 69 percent of the Vikings' regular-season games since they drafted him in 2017. From a per-game standpoint, he looks solid as an RB1.

Harris doesn't expect to get quite as much playing time this upcoming season, but he did say he'll still be on the field a lot, Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. "I will be on the field a lot - but on certain downs, I will not be on the field," said Harris. "Just (pick my spots), I guess. Extra rest."

Harris led NFL running backs in snaps (980) and touches (381) last year, returning first-round fantasy value as a rookie while averaging only 3.7 YPC and 6.3 yards per reception (4.4 per touch). To be fair, a poor offensive line was a big part of that, and QB Ben Roethlisberger's struggles didn't help. The problem for 2022 is that Harris again may have to deal with lousy O-Line and QB play, in which case he'll need all the touches he can handle to achieve numbers similar to last year's. That's certainly possible, as is a major efficiency improvement, but Harris seems to be saying that he anticipates slightly lower snap shares this season. Last year, he was at 83.5 percent, with seven games of 94 percent or higher. If not for a Week 12 blowout and a minor injury Week 18, he might've hit 90 percent snap share for the year. Regardless of the big-picture plan for this season, there still may be weeks where Harris flirts with 90-plus percent, especially if the Steelers don't do anything to upgrade the unproven group of backup RBs behind him (Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland, Trey Edmunds, Mataeo Durant and Jaylen Warren).

Edmonds remains the favorite to handle the majority of touches among Miami's backfield, Mike Masala of USA Today reports.

The Dolphins likely will work in Raheem Mostert (knee) and Sony Michel on a weekly basis, too, while Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed remain available as depth options. However, Edmonds' two-year, $12.1 million contract is far and away the largest monetary commitment given out by Miami within the running back room, and he boasts enough versatility to play all three downs. In fact, the 26-year-old's skill set and track record of efficiency makes him an ideal fit for coach Mike McDaniel's zone rushing scheme, at least on paper. If Edmonds indeed can emerge as a No. 1 option rather than a member of a backfield by committee, he could enjoy a true fantasy breakout during the 2022 campaign.

With D'Onta Foreman having signed with the Panthers, Hassan Haskins and Dontrell Hilliard are in line to compete for RB touches behind Henry, who remains the Titans' clear-cut top back, Mike Moraitis of USA Today reports.

When healthy, Henry -- who was limited to eight regular season games in 2021 -- is destined to see the bulk of Tennessee's carries, a context that probably won't lead to regular volume for his backups. That said, if the Titans are inclined to lessen his workload at all, or if the 28-year-old (who has indicated that he's past his right foot issue) misses time for any reason, Henry's understudies would see an uptick in fantasy value. Unless the team adds another back in advance of Week 1, Haskins (a 2022 fourth-rounder) has a chance to be the next man up, though Hilliard -- who held his own last season while Henry was out -- could factor in as well. Also currently in the team's backfield mix looking to secure depth roles are Trenton Cannon, Jordan Wilkins and Julius Chestnut.

Ekeler, who logged 1,558 scrimmage yards and 20 total TDs in 16 games last season, remains firmly atop the Chargers' RB depth chart as training camp approaches, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN and Daniel Popper of The Athletic.

As long as the 27-year-old remains healthy, he'll be a valuable fantasy asset, especially given his usage as a pass-catcher out of the Chargers' backfield. With Justin Jackson no longer on the roster, Isaiah Spiller, Larry Rountree and Joshua Kelley are in the mix to handle complementary work, and though the team's No. 2 role hasn't been handed to Spiller, it's one that the 2022 fourth-rounder has a solid chance to claim. If so, he'd be the player to target in the event that Ekeler misses any time this coming season.