This article is part of our Job Battles series.
Here are some of the job battles to change most over the last week. Click the past writeups below for prior context on the job battles throughout the league.
Detroit RBs, Washington RBs, and Philadelphia WRs
Indianapolis RBs, San Francisco RBs, and San Francisco WRs
Kansas City RBs, Washington WRs, and Atlanta WRs
Tampa Bay RBs, New England WRs, and Las Vegas WRs
Rams TEs, Pittsburgh RBs, and Atlanta RBs
Denver WRs, Tennessee TEs, and Philadelphia RBs
Buffalo RBs, Minnesota RBs, Detroit WRs
Kansas City WRs
Rams RBs
Miami RBs, Cleveland WRs
Jacksonville WRs, Seattle TEs
August 3: KC RB update, TB RB update, GB WRs, PHI WRs, DET WR update, WAS WR update
August 10: WAS RB update, LV WR update, PIT RBs update
August 17: SF RBs and WRs update, Jets TEs update, Tampa TEs update
August 24: Rams RBs, Cincinnati WRs, New England TEs, Chargers RBs
August 31: Jacksonville RBs
Sept. 3: Tampa RBs, Rams WRs, Chicago RBs, Chargers RBs
Cam Akers
Darrell Henderson (hamstring)
Malcolm Brown
Xavier Jones
Raymond Calais
Darrell Henderson (hamstring) should be a prominent contributor in the Rams offense when healthy, but for their Week 1 contest against Dallas it seems like the second-year back is on the losing end of that race against time. If Henderson is out for Week 1, then Cam Akers and Malcolm Brown should both find themselves busy in a game that figures to log one of the highest play counts of the week.
It was Brown who started the Rams' scrimmage Saturday, according to the Athletic, but Akers has seen a lot of first-team work throughout camp and will likely need to play at least 30 snaps if Henderson is out in Week 1. Brown is a veteran the Rams trust on passing downs and in short yardage, so in a game where both Brown and Akers need to play a lot, it might make sense for the Rams to put Brown out there as the 1A to ward off first-game jitters after a canceled preseason.
After holding off John Kelly for the RB4 role, Xavier Jones somewhat surprisingly made the final Rams roster as an undrafted player out of SMU. Jones (5-10, 208) probably isn't a standout athlete, but he was productive early on in college, where he ran for 3,434 yards (5.2 YPC) and 45 touchdowns in 50 games. Jones should mostly play special teams in games where Henderson is available. Raymond Calais is an interesting waiver claim for the Rams after Tampa cut him as a seventh-round pick out of Lafayette, but at 5-9, 188 he's unlikely to compete for more than a very brief role.
Detroit Running Back
D'Andre Swift (leg)
Kerryon Johnson
Adrian Peterson
Ty Johnson
Bo Scarbrough (IR, undisclosed)
Kerryon Johnson is still expected to start Week 1 with D'Andre Swift (leg) questionable, but the Lions made the already-crowded picture more jumbled yet by signing Adrian Peterson following Washington's decision to cut the 35-year-old runner last week.
Peterson's functions are likely to resemble those of Bo Scarbrough (IR) – ostensibly power-back specialists who almost solely work between the tackles. With such narrowly-defined functions, Peterson is risky in most fantasy formats even if he has a clearly defined role in the absence of Scarbrough. Scarbrough is eligible to return from IR in three weeks, so it's possible that the two are both on the roster at that point.
There's a good chance only one of Peterson or Scarbrough can stick around past Week 4, though. Kerryon, Swift and Ty Johnson might lack power elements to their game, but at least you can call most types of plays with them on the field. Peterson is both a poor receiver and poor pass blocker, so when he's on the field it tips off the run call and gives the defense a chance to adjust its strategy accordingly. Even if Peterson or/and Scarbrough are 'good' as power runners, their returns are liable to lag relative to their merit because their presence assures a defensive adjustment in response to their abilities. Call it the Mike Gillislee Conundrum.
For those reasons, the Lions might eventually find it more practical to give snaps to Kerryon and Swift as the games play out instead of Peterson or Scarbrough. It's easier to throw the ball when Swift or Kerryon is on the field, and that fact means Kerryon and Swift should generally run more successfully than Peterson or Scarbrough, too. In the meantime, this might all turn out to be moot if Swift misses time with his leg injury, or if Kerryon's knee deals with any further troubles, because Peterson might need to play extensively in that scenario.
Philadelphia Wide Receivers
Jalen Reagor (shoulder)
DeSean Jackson
Alshon Jeffery (foot)
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
John Hightower
Greg Ward
Jalen Reagor (shoulder) is likely to miss most or all of September, and Alshon Jeffery (foot) avoided injured reserve and the PUP list at final cutdowns. The Eagles continue to deny any intentions to trade Jeffery, so that leaves Philadelphia with two injured starting receiver candidates racing back to push for playing time while DeSean Jackson and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside project to play outside receiver in the meantime. Greg Ward is believed to be the lead slot specialist, while rookie fifth-round pick John Hightower impressed enough in training camp to probably earn looks both inside and out.
It's difficult to see how the Eagles could possibly trade Jeffery, so we should probably assume he returns to the field sometime in late September or mid-October as he attempts to work back from the Lisfranc injury that required surgical repair in December. If so, his return could occur around the same time as Reagor's, at which point the playing time for Arcega-Whiteside and Hightower will likely decline significantly. It's a situation liable to get crowded, though in the meantime Jackson and Arcega-Whiteside appear to be the clear leaders at outside receiver for the Eagles.
Green Bay Wide Receivers
Allen Lazard
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Equanimeous St. Brown
Allen Lazard is likely locked in as Green Bay's second-leading receiver, but toward the end of Green Bay's training camp Marquez Valdes-Scantling had reemerged as the team's preferred second outside receiver in three-wide sets, likely opposite Davante Adams and with Lazard in the slot. That likely leaves Equanimeous St. Brown as the backup slot receiver to Lazard and WR4 outside. As long as that's the case, St. Brown is off the short-term radar.
Valdes-Scantling began last year as Green Bay's second outside receiver and was doing well enough for a second-year player, but he really tanked in the second half. His 4.37 speed allowed him to keep the upper hand over St. Brown, though, because the Packers want to run the ball well and it's hard to do that if the safeties line up closer to the line of scrimmage. If St. Brown (4.48 40) is the fastest player on the field, then the defense really might as well put both safeties in the box.
Coach Matt LaFleur indicated Valdes-Scantling had improved his route release and hands relative to last year, which at once might not be true but also could prove significant if it is true. Valdes-Scantling didn't have any trouble drawing targets – his 1.62 air yards per snap (83rd percentile) on 561 snaps was quite good – but his 46.4 percent catch rate was non-viable last year, and his 52.1 percent catch rate from his rookie year was concerning too. If MVS has made the improvements LaFleur said he did, then perhaps better releases will lead to higher-quality targets, and better hands will lead to a higher catch rate. Regardless of what happens with MVS, Lazard has no such concerns in the meantime after catching 67.3 percent of his targets at 9.2 yards per target last year.
Philadelphia Backup Running Backs
Boston Scott
Corey Clement
Jason Huntley
Miles Sanders will likely play a consistent three-down role for the Eagles, at least in competitive games. If Sanders is taking a breather with the lead, though, then the Eagles backfield might dissolve into a committee founded on Boston Scott and Corey Clement. Scott had a couple big games last year and poses a convincing threat as an open-field runner, but in more run-heavy game flows the Eagles might elect to send Clement between the tackles if they want keep Scott dent-free for when they really need to score again.
There might be a distant concern worth monitoring in Scott's case, though, after the Eagles claimed Jason Huntley off waivers. The Lions hoped to send Huntley to their practice squad after selecting him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft, so they might not have cut him if they had a redo. The Eagles claimed the 5-8, 190-pound New Mexico State product presumably for his pass-catching and returner potential. As long as Scott plays well, though, he should hold off Huntley. Scott is familiar with the offense and has about 10 pounds on Huntley, so Huntley probably can't compete with Scott as a runner. Huntley is an uncommon pass-catching threat though and might encroach upon Scott in that capacity in the season's second half.
