Good morning. We hope this newsletter makes you better at fantasy football (and therefore better than your friends). One thing we don't want to see? Isaih Pacheco going in the first round. Yes, it happened.

Also, can you picture Tom Brady in a Raiders jersey? It almost happened (Dana White explains how, here). And please click the link below, you'll thank me.

Let's get into it.

The Big Story

Guess Who's Back?

After an excused, 10-day absence from training camp, Tom Brady returned after filming an episode of the Masked Singer. Per @NFL_DovKleiman, Brady's absence “included a trip to the Bahamas at an exclusive resort for family time with his wife, Gisele Bundchen." This is proof that Brady never loses, on or off the field.

Speaking of Bucs returning, Mike Evans had "his helmet and shoulder pads on" at practice today and appeared to be a full participant. - @PewterReport.

Hype

Risers: Trending Up

"Gabriel Davis ranks in career target distribution and rank among top-100 WRs in current ADP... Red Zone: 21.6% (1st) - End Zone: 18.4% (1st)" @LordReebs. Davis will have a huge red zone presence on a team that scores a ton.

"The Commanders activated TE Logan Thomas. He's back and ready to practice just over eight months after suffering a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus." When Thomas last suited up for a full season, he finished TE3 in PPR. Worth stashing if you're in a deep league or need a TE. If not, wait until Weeks 2 or 3.

Kyle Pitts lit up the world after burning a Jets CB on a nasty route:

Brian Robinson looks like the 1A in Washington's backfield, yet is still drafted 3-4 rounds later than Antonio Gibson.

Keep throwing those late darts at Ravens TE Isaiah Likely, who beat writers are already calling the "leading candidate" for the No. 3 pass-catcher role on the Ravens.

“At the end of the 2-on-2 period, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel called for the ‘best two’ on offense and defense for one play. The offense sent out Robert Woods and Kyle Philips…” - Observations From Titans Camp on Monday by @jwyattsports. Kyle Philips typically goes undrafted. That will change.

And Aaron Rodgers is counting on Doubs:

“The standard for him will be higher than the rookies we’ve had in the past… because he’s going to be expected to play based on his performance in camp.”

Rodgers also had praise for Christian Watson:

"I told him what to do in the huddle and that's something he's never done before, and he went out and did it perfect. It's those little things like that that start to gain that trust."

Fallers: You Hate to Read It

Patrick Mahomes has played 36 snaps this preseason. Ronald Jones has been on the field for 0 of them. - @adamlevitan. It looks like RoJo will leave KC like I left my basketball career: without anyone noticing.

The Raiders released veteran RB Kenyan Drake, per @TomPelissero.

• And no, this doesn't benefit Josh Jacobs: Adam Levitan is "fully expecting Ameer Abdullah and/or Brandon Bolden to play the "James White role" for Josh McDaniels."

@LindseyThiry said that the Chargers HC said RB Isaiah Spiller is "week to week" with an ankle injury.

Chargers WR Joshua Palmer is in concussion protocol coming out of Saturday’s game.

Quotes

Some quotes you need to hear

Per @AdamSchefter, the Panthers officially named Baker Mayfield their starter against the Browns in Week 1. Baker gets a revenge game and the Panthers get a decent QB.

Matt LaFleur called Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon running backs 1A and 1A. LaFleur was quoted saying, "They're two of the premier backs in our league, in my opinion. They can do anything."

"Wait for next season or buy low on Treylon Burks. Titans OC Todd Downing is the worst." - Us, after researching and reading this tweet:

Content of the Day

The team at Establish The Run put together a Twitter thread of Preseason Week 2 research mapping out player usage. Highly recommend the full thread here. Some key takeaways:

Bucs RBs entered their preseason game in this order: 1) Leonard Fournette, 2) Rachaad White, 3) Ke'Shawn Vaughn. Gio Bernard (injury) did not play.

• Tua Tagovailoa played 14 snaps Saturday. Chase Edmonds played 10 of those (7 routes on 7 Tua dropbacks), Sony Michel played 4, Myles Gaskin 0 (entered with backups). Raheem Mostert was rested.

And there's this:

Overtime

Quick Slants

• The weirdness of the KC Chiefs backfield in the Mahomes/Reid era really has to be examined to be believed (full thread).

• "Sounds like Jaguars expect James Robinson (Achilles) to get cleared for Week 1. But doesn't mean he'll actually play and a limited workload is expected if he does."

• Aaron Donald tells Peter King he'll play until (at least) the 2023 season.

• Chargers OLB Khalil Mack returned from an excused absence over the weekend. He was away from the team to welcome a baby boy, Kylo, into the world, per source. Congrats Mr. Mack!

Tweet of the Day

The only thing worse than the Bears' offensive line are the field conditions at Soldier Field.

And I know we typically post one, but this was too good:

17 days until the NFL season kicks off. For now, draft your a** off.

- Jake, Eddie, Matt & Coach Wehler.