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Fantasy Stock Watch
Training camp is here! Let us all rejoice. That means that while we might still overanalyze, wildly speculate and hyperventilate over the slighest thing each player does, at least we get to do it while watching them on the practice field. So ... progress! Actual games start in just a couple of weeks. But the Stock Watch is already in game shape.

The band is back together! Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets agreed to a one-year deal, reuniting him with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. That trio made beautiful music together last year. Now we get to see what's in store for the encore. For the record, I think this could have been the Year of Geno but I guess we might never really know.

This is why there is always trepidation around Ryan Mathews. The veteran back has plenty of talent but his durability has always been questionable. News that Mathews is now on the non-football injury (NFI) list with an ankle injury is just another reminder of that. By all accounts, this situation isn't very serious but if you weren't totally on board with drafting Mathews, you're probably even less convinced now.

We didn't get to see what Benjamin could do as a sophomore after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp. But it looks like the Panthers wideout is healthy and ready to go. On top of it, he's been working with Cam Newton to try and get the bugs worked out. Newton might not repeat his amazing 2015 season, but having another big target to go to in the red zone should be a happy fun time for everybody. Okay, maybe not defensive backs.

So much of fantasy football nation had spent the past couple of years pining for the return of Josh Gordon. Congratulations folks, you've gotten your with. The prodigal Brown has returned on a conditional basis but is expected to jump right back in as the team's No. 1 receiver. That's a statement that's as much an indictment of Cleveland's receiving corps as it is praise of Gordon's skills. But I guess that's enough of a reason to be excited about his return, except...

Gordon is now on the PUP list because of a quad injury. That issue is going to put him on the shelf for multiple weeks. That's bad news for a player who is ultimately going to go 22 months between on-field NFL appearances. It's also going to prevent us from getting any real idea about his conditioning or his rapport with his quarterback (whomever that might be). Consider this a public service announcement: don't target Gordon before the double-digit rounds.

The Ravens backfield is more crowded than a Tokyo subway train at rush hour. That was already going to make it hard on Dixon to grab a large share of the snaps. But now comes word that the rookie has a Grade 1 MCL sprain. The good news is that this sort of injury is very minor and isn't likely to have a long term impact. The bad news is that Dixon is probably going to miss some practice time, which is especially critical for a rookie trying to work his way into the rotation. Dixon is still a deep sleeper, but he will have his work cut out for him.

When you see 49ers next to a player's name, you're not likely to get very excited about his fantasy prospects. But maybe we should stop sleeping on Bruce Ellington. Matt Harmon explained recently why Ellington could be a breakout player this year and some of the team's beat reporters are inclined to agree. Could there be a sneaky late round pick to be found in the Bay Area? Let's hope so.

We've long since solved the issue of Joe Flacco's eliteness in fantasy football (he's not), but we do still think he can have some low-end QB2 value when he's on the field. Spoiler alert: he's not currently on the field and might not be for a few weeks. The quarterback is still recovering from knee surgery and could very well miss the entire preseason. That might not be the worst thing since he's already pretty locked in with his receivers, but it would be nice to see him get a few reps just to knock the rust off.

Last week, Doctson was in this space because it looked like he was headed for a competition with Jamison Crowder. This week, the rookie lands here because of a lingering Achilles' injury that could cause him to miss the first preseason game. As we mentioned with Dixon, preseason practice reps are critical for rookies so any time Doctson misses will put him farther behind the rest of his position group.

We learned last year that the venerable old tight end can still get it done. This year, there could be added motivation for Gates with the all-time tight end touchdown record in reach. Don't think Philip Rivers doesn't know that. The Chargers quarterback says he wants to get Gates at least eight touchdowns in order to get him past Tony Gonzalez. That sounds like music to our fantasy football ears. Giddy up!