Good morning. Just one day until the Giants v Pats and Titans v Ravens. Mandatory reminder to not overreact if a young QB plays well:

A few months later...

Preseason doesn't matter. Unless it's Christian Kirk, George Pickens, or any of my other guys.

The Hype

Wide Receivers light it up: AJ Brown & Brandon Aiyuk

The Eagles shook up the NFL when they traded for A.J. Brown and quickly signed him to a 4 year, $100,000,000 contract. And Brown's acting the part, dominating Philly camp & building a strong rapport with Jalen Hurts.

• Bo Wulf of the Athletic wrote a primer on Eagles training camp, noting that “A.J. Brown has been the focal point of the Eagles Offense.”

• Matthew Berry compared Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen's third season, noting that the arrival of A.J. Brown is comparable to the Stefon Diggs signing in Buffalo. Diggs finished WR3 that season.

If Hurts can take the next step as a passer and the Eagles improve on being last in the league in pass play %, AJ Brown could be in for a monster year. Haven't seen Philly folks this happy since Bill Burr roasted their entire city (video).

Other hype:

• When he's not throwing punches, Brandon Aiyuk's been having an outstanding camp. "Nearly two weeks in, Aiyuk's been the most consistent offensive performer. No small feat on a unit that includes George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Trent Williams." - Nick Wagoner @ ESPN. After spending last offseason in HC Kyle Shanahan's doghouse, Aiyuk looks primed for a breakout.

• “Probably shouldn't be a surprise, but Michael Thomas is starting to get a very high percentage of targets at Saints camp.”

Goooood Content

2nd overall pick Aiden Hutchinson sings Billie Jean:

Plus: Jake Tribby wrote his 2021 Consistency Review: Gamescript Dependency, a great (free) article by Fantasy Points highlighting how often a player’s team was trailing or leading and each player’s fantasy splits in both categories. The difference between these numbers represents how much a player benefited from a specific gamescript, either leading or trailing. One takeaway: D'Andre Swift owners want the Lions trailing.

Mandatory Dan Campbell Content

Just a quick break from our regular program for some Dan Campbell:

Rookie of the Day: Dameon Pierce

One of the quietest rookies since the draft, the Texans rookie 4th rounder has been turning heads and is separating himself. While he is expected to be in a committee, it's a committee with Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead...

What they're saying:

• “Reports out of Texans camp keep talking up Dameon Pierce as their best running back. He could legit lead rookies in touches this season and is being drafted as like the RB40.” – Michael F Florio, NFL Network

Overtime

Quick Slants

• The Bears coaching staff has been “blown away” with Justin Fields' progression. “His mechanics have improved, he’s in great shape, he works at it and he really cares." The Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney connection looks strong (video).

• Darren Waller hasn’t practiced since June 30th. Allen Iverson never practiced, so we're not worried - but something we'll monitor.

• Courtland Sutton “has a shoulder thing.” Everyone has their thing I guess. I got a short, brown-eyed brunette thing.

• In all seriousness, we watched the tape & Sutton landed hard on his shoulder on a diving grab, so this should be nothing.

• While not surprising, Commanders QB Carson Wentz continues to have an awful camp, "missing layups" to "wide open receivers." Thoughts go out to Terry McLaurin owners.

Tweet of the Day

Bills backup QB Case Keenum goes undercover to see how many autographs he can get from his teammates.

Thanks for joining us this morning - we've now passed over 9,068 subscribers!! Just one short of the big time. Can't thank you all enough, you guys make this special. Now let's crush draft season and win some leagues.

- Jake, Eddie, Matt & Coach Wehler.