NFL Player News

Hines may face tougher competition for snaps this season, but he'll still have plays specifically designed to get him the ball, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

Marlon Mack's Achilles tear in Week 1 last year left the Colts with Hines, Jonathan Taylor and Jordan Wilkins in the backfield. Each of the four is still with the team, and Taylor is locked in for a sizable workload after exploding for 723 total yards and eight touchdowns over the final five weeks of his rookie season. If Taylor stays healthy, it'll be tough for Hines to match his career-best 2020 campaign, though he should still earn most of the backfield snaps in clear passing situations. He's entering the final year of his rookie contract, and his impressive work on punt returns (14.9-yard average, two touchdowns on 39 career attempts) will give his agent some extra ammo in negotiations for an extension. Colts owner Jim Irsay said linebacker Darius Leonard and offensive tackle Braden Smith will be the priorities for extensions this offseason, but Irsay at least mentioned Hines as a third candidate for a new deal among the team's 2018 draft class, according to Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star.

Evans looked fast during spring practices and could earn a role in the Tennessee offense this season, Joe Rexrode of The Athletic reports.

The 2020 third-round pick was limited to five games and 16 touches as a rookie, with recurring hamstring injuries affecting his availability. Now healthy, Evans will challenge Jeremy McNichols for snaps on passing downs, while free-agent acquisition Brian Hill is the chief competition to spell bell cow Derrick Henry on early downs. Even if he wins both roles, Evans will have a hard time establishing mainstream fantasy value unless Henry misses time. Apart from Henry, Tennessee tailbacks accounted for only 150 carries and 55 targets over the past two years combined.

Offseason addition Damien Williams could spell Montgomery at times this season, Sean Hammond of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Montgomery averaged 17.0 carries and 4.9 targets in 12 games after Tarik Cohen went down with a season-ending injury early in 2020, typically playing more than 80 percent of Chicago's offensive snaps. The heavy workload didn't lead to big numbers right away, but Montgomery was a high-end RB1 over the final six weeks of the season, piling up 598 rushing yards, 225 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns in that stretch. While there's no longer any doubt about his ability to handle a three-down role, Montgomery could see a modest workload reduction in 2021 with Williams and Cohen working behind him, rather than last year's substandard backup group of Cordarrelle Patterson, Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce. Still, there's no doubt about Montgomery being the starter, lead runner and primary goal-line back.

Freeman is on the roster bubble after Denver added running backs Javonte Williams and Mike Boone in the offseason, ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold reports.

Williams was a second-round draft pick, and Boone signed a two-year contract that includes $2.6 million guaranteed. Even if the latter move was more about special teams than offense, it gives Boone a level of security that Freeman doesn't have. Freeman has averaged only 4.0 yards per carry and 5.9 yards per catch in 46 games for the Broncos, failing to meet expectations after coming off the board 71st overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. If Freeman does make the team, it might just be as a third-down specialist behind Williams and Melvin Gordon.

Edwards-Helaire and QB Patrick Mahomes both have suggested the Chiefs should throw more passes to running backs this season, ESPN's Adam Teicher reports.

Mahomes also mentioned Jerick McKinnon, Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson as pass-catching options out of the backfield, but it's Edwards-Helaire who figures to play the most snaps and run the most routes. The second-year pro reportedly focused on improving his receiving skills this offseason, after catching only 36 of 54 targets (66.7 percent) for 297 yards (5.5 YPT) and one touchdown in his debut campaign. Edwards-Helaire caught 55 passes his senior season at LSU, with his work in that area seemingly playing a big role in the Chiefs' decision to draft him with the 32nd overall pick in 2020. As such, the 22-year-old back still has a shot to earn a three-down role, though Williams and McKinnon would also be reasonable picks to handle obvious passing downs. The team's running backs accounted for 18.2 percent of the total targets last year, the 16th-highest rate in the league. That number was slightly lower in Mahomes' first season as a starter (2018 - 16.9 percent) and slightly higher in his second year (2019 - 19.9 percent).

Williams is a candidate to lead the Broncos in both rushing attempts and yards this coming season, according to Ryan O'Halloran of the Denver Post.

Assuming returning starter Melvin Gordon turns in a productive training camp, O'Halloran envisions a scenario in which Gordon tends to take Denver's "first snap/series of the game" early on this season, while the team "eases Williams into a bigger role each week." With that in mind, fantasy managers who invest in the rookie may need to exercise a degree of patience out of the gate, but as the 2021 campaign unfolds, Williams' profile in the offense -- and within the looming time-share -- figures to grow. As O'Halloran points out, the Broncos, who traded up in the second round of this past April's draft to take Williams 35th overall "weren't high-fiving and fist-pumping in the draft room because he will watch this year."

Cook told vikings.com's Gabe Henderson that his main goals for the upcoming season are to win a Super Bowl and play in every game.

Team success and durability are the clear areas for improvement, with Cook now safely established as one of the best running backs in the NFL. His 2020 average of 111.2 rushing yards per game prorates to 1,890 over a 17-game campaign, so there's potential for a 2,000-yard season if Cook can avoid multiple absences for the first time in his career. He'll turn 26 in August and will be playing in an offense that looks much the same as last season, albeit with first-round pick Christian Darrisaw replacing Riley Reiff (Bengals) at left tackle.

Henry should have a strong offensive line blocking for him this season, Ben Arthur of The Nashville Tennessean reports.

Henry typically has run behind impressive O-lines in Tennessee, but the unit wasn't quite up to its usual standard last season, as left tackle Taylor Lewan suffered an ACL tear in October and first-round pick Isaiah Wilson played just four snaps. The Titans have since parted ways with Wilson and starting right tackle Dennis Kelly, but they acquired two potential replacements in veteran Kendall Lamm and rookie second-round pick Dillon Radunz. With Lewan on track for Week 1 and WR Julio Jones giving the receiving corps a boost, Henry could end up playing in the most talented offense of his pro career.

Elliott has worked hard this offseason to improve his footwork and get in better shape, and as a result he's looked quicker and more explosive in OTAs and minicamp, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports. "Zeke looks great," Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said this week. "He's in the best shape of his life. Looking fast."

The running back posted career lows of 979 rushing yards and 4.0 yards per carry in 2020, but much of that regression was due to a rash of injuries along the Cowboys' offensive line as well as a sluggish overall attack in the wake of Prescott's season-ending ankle injury. If the unit as a whole returns to form it can only improve Elliott's production, but if he's committed to regaining some of the juice he's lost over the years, the 25-year-old might be able to post huge numbers again without the benefit of a 300-carry workload.

The 49ers restocked the running back cupboard this offseason, putting Hasty in a position where he must fight for a fringe spot on the roster or start the year on the practice squad, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Hasty initially was in line to slot third on the depth chart prior to the acquisitions of veteran Wayne Gallman and rookies Trey Sermon and Elijah Mitchell. Now the shifty receiving back will either have to impress during camp or have injuries open up opportunities to earn snaps to begin the season. Barrows notes the 49ers' poor injury history with backs in recent years could result in the 24-year-old making the main roster at some point, even if he starts on the practice squad. Unless thd team's running back landscape changes, Hasty will head into training camp stripped of fantasy value.