We start out today's notes with great news out of Falcons camp, where Julio Jones has proclaimed himself 100 percent, and he'll be ready to play when the regular season begins. Although there hasn't been major reason for concern that he would miss regular season action, this news should put fantasy owners at ease when spending roughly the 15th pick in average drafts to acquire the superstar receiver. After struggling to find the end zone last season, he's become quite a value pick, and with a bit of positive touchdown regression, he's one of the few early draft picks who could easily outperform his draft position.
• Sticking with a positive vibe, Saquon Barkley said that his hamstring feels pretty good and that he's been moving pretty well after putting in a limited practice session on Wednesday. Although he's expected to be held out of this week's preseason contest, he's fully expected to be ready when the regular season begins.
• Unfortunately, not all of today's fantasy news is positive, especially when hearing the Miami Herald reporting that both Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore are expected to have major roles in the Dolphins offense. Those expecting Drake to be the overwhelming touch leader in this backfield could easily find him losing goal line and early-down work to the ancient veteran. However, even if Drake can handle about 15 touches per game, he still could easily perform as a strong weekly fantasy option, but fantasy owners are probably hoping for closer to 20 touches when picking him in the top-40 of drafts.
• After missing the first two weeks of the preseason, Jamison Crowder (groin) has returned to practice and should be able to play in Friday's exhibition against the Broncos. This is excellent news, as he hasn't had much opportunity to gain chemistry with new quarterback Alex Smith, especially since Crowder is expected to run plenty of short and intermediate patterns, which fits perfectly with Smith's typical passing style. Currently, Crowder is being selected about 100 picks into average drafts, but he easily could find himself as the most productive receiver on the Washington roster.
• Second-year running back Marlon Mack continues to miss time with a hamstring injury that he suffered during the first week the preseason, and is expected to miss Saturday's game against the 49ers. Although Mack's still the favorite to be the Week 1 starter, the missed time has given Jordan Wilkins extra opportunities for the coaching staff to consider giving Wilkins a significant workload early in the season. However, Mack is being selected as roughly the 72nd player off the board, and based on potential upside, his ADP accounts for some of the risk he presents.
• Fantasy owners certainly won't be surprised when hearing that Jordan Reed (toe) will be inactive for Friday's preseason game, and unless the team chooses to play him and other starters in the final preseason contest, he will not have had any game action to build chemistry with new quarterback Alex Smith. That said, should Reed be available for Week 1, it's hard to think that Smith won't take advantage of such a dangerous offensive weapon. The tight end, if healthy, could easily outperform the draft status that currently has him as the 93rd player off the board.
• Over in Carolina, David knew of the ESPN.com is reporting that D.J. Moore will likely start the season as the Panthers fourth or fifth wide receiver. Although he certainly could move his way up the depth chart, this would make it seem as if his ADP, currently about pick number 115, might be a little difficult to justify given this update.
• According to Rich Tandler of NBC Sports Washington, Adrian Peterson isn't guaranteed a spot on the team's 53-man roster. The veteran is expected to see touches in this week's preseason contest, but unless he can convince the coaching staff that he's an upgrade over Rob Kelley and/or Samaje Perine (ankle) the team could choose to move on from the future hall-of-famer.
• It was certainly good news that Rex Burkhead (knee) was present for practice Tuesday, though he didn't participate in positional drills. It's been reported that he had a slight tear in his knee, but the fact that he appears to be nearing a return seems to be good news was being drafted at roughly pick number 56. Should he finish the preseason healthy, he has an excellent chance to lead the Patriots backfield when the regular season begins.
That's all for today, but enjoy the exciting third week of preseason action this weekend.