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With major departures and injuries greatly affecting both teams for the upcoming season, tonight could give some insight as to who the major contributors on each offense could be.
For the Philadelphia Eagles, it will be interesting to see who they bring out with the first team offense to replace the injured Jeremy Maclin. As of now, Jason Avant is listed as the no. 2 receiver on the Eagles’ preseason depth chart, but there has been talk that the veteran is not fast enough for the high-octane offense that Chip Kelly is looking to bring into Philadelphia.
The next man up to compete for the no. 2 job is, interestingly enough, Riley Cooper.
Despite becoming a YouTube star for all the wrong reasons, Cooper could end up being a big part of the Eagles’ offense this year. It should be interesting to see how much playing time he gets and how/if he can effective during his time on the field. In Cooper’s three years in Philly, his targets have gone up each season, showing his increased involvement in the offense.
There’s also the QB “competition” between Nick Foles and Michael Vick, even though many expect Vick to be the starter come Week 1. It is clearly Vick’s job to lose.
As for the New England Patriots, they have some serious questions to answer. First, who will they start at wideout aside from Danny Amendola? As of this moment, rookie Aaron Dobson appears to be the lead candidate to win the job as he is the one listed as the no. 2 wideout on the depth chart thus far.
But as many receivers before him have noted, the Patriots’ offense isn’t something easy to grasp, especially for a rookie. Look out for receivers Kenbrell Thompkins and Josh Boyce as well, as they have been playing very well in training camp thus far.
The next question the Patriots will need to answer is this: who will be the starting tight end, assuming Rob Gronkowski is not ready to go in time for the regular season? As of now, Michael Hommanawanui is listed as the starter, but he has been anything but consistent in camp.
There are also veterans Daniel Fells and Jake Ballard fighting for the starting job, but neither appear to have the upside that rookie Zach Sudfeld brings to the table. Whoever wins these starting jobs for the Patriots will surely become fantasy commodities with Tom Brady throwing them passes.
Oh, and lets not forget that Tim Tebow will most certainly be making an appearance tonight.
Mike Block is a featured Fantasy Sports columnist for Rant Sports. Follow me on Twitter @Blockski12 and feel free to ask any questions you may have about fantasy sports.
