Fantasy Football Newspage - Tuesday, August 2

Here are the relevant fantasy football news items for Tuesday:

Fawning Over Funchess

The Charlotte Observer says Panthers second-year receiver Devin Funchess is having an "outstanding" training camp as he prepares to line up opposite Kelvin Benjamin, who is returning from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2015 season. Funchess is looking to build on a solid rookie season in which he caught 31 passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns.

Fantasy impact: Funchess should see a modest rise up draft boards, but considering head coach Ron Rivera plans to have quarterback Cam Newton target "seven to 10" receivers per game, don't go crazy. Funchess is still a WR4-5 with limited upside in a balanced offense.

Gronk-Hernandez, Part II?

ESPN Boston reporter Mike Reiss suggested to Mike Clay that the New England Patriots will use a two-tight-end configuration as their base offense. The Patriots pulled off a two-TE alignment with tremendous results in 2011, as Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez combined for 237 targets, 169 receptions, 2,237 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns.

Fantasy impact: This bodes well for second tight end Martellus Bennett, who should have a significant role in the offense and is worth drafting as a fringe TE1/high-end TE2. Gronkowski remains the top tight end in fantasy football by a considerable margin.

Mularkey to Mariota: Run, Marcus

Look for the Tennessee Titans to get more mileage out of second-year QB Marcus Mariota. Titans head coach Mike Mularkey told the Tennessean he expects to call more run plays for Mariota in an effort to take advantage of certain defensive alignments. Mariota ran for more than 2,200 yards in college but had just 34 rushes for 252 yards in his rookie NFL campaign.

Fantasy impact: Mariota has been the 20th quarterback off the board on average in early August drafts, but a higher ceiling on his running game could see him move up a few spots. He's still a matchups-dependent QB2, but makes for a decent bye week fill-in and is a solid No. 2 in two-QB leagues.

Twin Jets

Speaking to Mike Clay, NJ Advance Media reporter Darryl Slater said Jets running backs Matt Forte and Bilal Powell will have a nearly "even carry split" when the regular season begins. Forte was considered a significant addition to the offense when he signed from Chicago over the offseason, but Powell was retained at nearly the same cost and has a similar skill set.

Fantasy impact: This is a situation worth monitoring throughout the preseason. Neither player can be seen as much more than a high-end RB3 in a true timeshare, but there's a chance one could emerge as the clear top option once preseason games begin.

Carries galore for Rashad Jennings?

Ralph Vacchiano of SportsSet New York is reporting that the committee style running game the Giants implemented last year will be put aside in favor of Rashad Jennings taking on the "clear" No.1 role. Last year, the Giants four-man committee consisted of Jennings, Shane Vereen, Andre Williams, and Orleans Darkwa.

Fantasy impact: Assuming Jennings is handed the lead role, he could be in line for up to 20 carries a game. As the number one for last season's final four games, Jennings averaged 19.7 carries and complied 432 rushing yards with two touchdowns. Though that four-game sample is extremely small, Jennings, if given an RB1-like workload, makes for a great RB2 option worth targeting in the later rounds of any draft.