So, I did a crazy thing. In a recently-completed Yahoo draft for a 12-team non-PPR league where I ended up with the second pick, instead of taking one of the normal top four (or top five, depending on where you slot Marshawn Lynch) running backs, I threw caution to the wind and took Dez Bryant instead.

My reasoning was as follows: in every mock draft I've done picking from the top of the draft and taking the expected RB, I've hated the WR corps I've ended up with. Partially that's due to spoiling myself with WR-WR starts in later draft slots, but it's also due to the fact that the talent pool got a lot shallower over the last week. With Jordy Nelson and Kelvin Benjamin out of the picture, elite receivers dry up really quickly, and I couldn't stomach the thought of not getting at least one of them. More than that though, with your first round pick, floor is more important than ceiling. If you don't get premium production from your premium picks, your season is all but done, and when I look at those top RBs I see a lot more risk than I do with Bryant. Le'Veon Bell is playing a max of 14 games and lost his starting center for a good portion of them. Adrian Peterson is an old man in running backs years being counted on to rebound from yet another season spent on the sidelines. Jamaal Charles is all but guaranteed to deal with nagging injuries, whether they cost him games or not. And Eddie Lacy... OK, Lacy seems pretty safe. But still, I felt better bucking conventional wisdom and grabbing a secure WR1 than I did drafting Lacy, so that's what I did.

Had I stuck with Lacy, I essentially would've ended up with him and Alshon Jeffery instead of Dez and Melvin Gordon (Lamar Miller went one pick before I grabbed Gordon at the end of the second round). We'll just have to wait and see exactly how dumb I was.

Anyway, on to the blog. Powered by an epic Cardinals-Raiders preseason matchup being played on the O.co Coliseum infield dirt as we speak, it's your Sunday TCN!

• an MRI on Randall Cobb's shoulder showed just an AC joint sprain, so he should be in the lineup for Week 1. His value obviously spikes with Jordy Nelson gone for the year, but remember that he doesn't have elite size and missed 10 games in 2013 after breaking his leg. Tempting as it is to simply plug him into Nelson's spot on your cheat sheet due to the increased volume he should see, Cobb carries more risk than other early-round WRs
• Tre Mason's tweaked hamstring has him "iffy" for Week 1, which based on comments from Jeff Fisher would seem to be the injury designation between Probable and Questionable, but definitely out for the preseason finale. All the reports on Todd Gurley in camp have been good so far, and Mason's early-season value is more based on the Rams' desire not to rush Gurley back into action after his ACL surgery than any statement Mason's made on the field, so if he's also banged up the team could just as easily use backs like Benny Cunningham to split the load with Gurley. Mason is looking more and more like a pure handcuff, rather than someone who can get you steady production through the first couple of weeks
• Alfred Blue started for the Texans on Sunday and did his usual plodding, unimpressive thing. He is in no way a replacement for Arian Foster, but he'll start anyway and get the goal-line looks even if he loses touches to Chris Polk, so Blue is a low-ceiling/medium-floor option for the early part of the season. The real question is whether, in Foster's absence, the team opens up the offense and tries to get more balls to their one game-breaking threat, DeAndre Hopkins, rather than simply try to get by on Blue's 'two yards and a cloud of dust' approach
• the Browns have no timetable yet for Duke Johnson's return from the concussion he suffered Saturday, which makes him a much less interesting lottery ticket as Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West will now be afforded extra time to establish themselves. Johnson's still the most talented of the trio, but in leagues with a short bench you may not be able to wait until he gets a chance to prove it in game action
• NaVorro Bowman racked up nine tackles and two sacks Saturday... in two quarters. If he stays healthy, all signs point to Bowman being an IDP monster this year, given that he's now effectively a solo act in the middle of a 49ers defense that could be on the field an awful lot
• the ongoing soap opera in DC took another turn when scuttlebutt reported by ESPN's Dianna Russini and Adam Schefter suggested that the front office is ready to just give up on Robert Griffin completely, but Dan Snyder won't let them. Meanwhile, Cookie makes her move to get Lucious removed as CEO... oh wait, sorry, those are the ads for the season premiere of Empire that Fox has been running during every single commercial break. My bad. At any rate, even in two-QB leagues, let someone else deal with the headaches that come from drafting a Washington quarterback, whether it's RGIII or Kirk Cousins. Other teams, like Cleveland or Buffalo, might have less talent at the position, but no organization has as much dysfunction